China | GlobalPost

Year of the Tiger: New hope for the "king of the mountains"?

Kathleen E. McLaughlinFebruary 15, 2010 07:41Updated May 30, 2010 13:21

HUNCHUN, China — The residents of tiny Caomao village have always had a difficult relationship with the local predators, the massive tigers they call “king of the mountains.” Every spring, the villagers traipse into the hills to make offerings to the tiger god, asking protection for their families and livestock. They respect, fear and often hate the tigers — the beasts that feast on their cattle and have killed more than a few people through the decades.

Cash, cars and hookers? Another bad week for Taiwan baseball

Jonathan AdamsFebruary 12, 2010 14:36Updated May 30, 2010 13:21

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan baseball took another hit this week as prosecutors charged 24 people Wednesday in connection with the pro-league's worst game-fixing scandal yet. A probe was launched last October after the end of the Taiwan pro league's season.

Dalai Lama: Blackballed from Thailand

Patrick WinnFebruary 12, 2010 07:47Updated May 30, 2010 13:21

BANGKOK, Thailand — In the age of growing Chinese influence, there’s a simple measure of a country’s willingness to test China’s wrath. Will they stamp the Dalai Lama’s passport? Add Thailand to the shrinking list of nations that won’t.

Opinion: China contributes to Dalai Lama’s mystique

HDS GreenwayFebruary 8, 2010 12:05Updated May 30, 2010 13:20

BOSTON — As tectonic plates rub up against each other, causing shivers and quakes along continental fault lines, so do nations — especially when the rising power of one is seen as a challenge to the once unchallenged power of another. So it is with China and the United States these days. The United States scolds China about its currency valuation, its internet censoring, and China scolds the United States about legally mandated arms sales to Taiwan, and, habitually, any presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama.

Opinion: Tibetans make Gandhi proud

Tenzin DorjeeFebruary 10, 2010 08:12Updated May 30, 2010 13:20

NEW YORK — Last year around this time Tibetans decided to observe the traditional New Year — or Losar — as an occasion of mourning for those killed in China’s crackdown in 2008 following the Tibet uprising.

Taiwan tipple in whiskey tasting shocker

Jonathan AdamsFebruary 3, 2010 02:07

Last month I wrote about Kavalan, Taiwan's first bid to create a world-class, single-malt whiskey. It's got its fair share of skeptics. Just recently Kavalan shocked whiskey snobs — sorry, purists — by winning a Burns Night blind taste-testing, over some of the best tipples produced in Scotland, Ireland and England. The Times Online reported experts' reaction:

Opinion: How did China get double-digit economic growth?

Joel BrinkleyFebruary 3, 2010 12:14Updated May 30, 2010 13:20

PALO ALTO — While the rest of the world struggles to pull out of the global recession, China’s economy is galloping ahead at double-digit rates and is threatening to overtake Japan as the world’s second largest. How did China accomplish that — particularly given that half the nation’s population lives in primitive, impoverished conditions? The average per-capita income is about $2,500, and 35 percent of Chinese don’t even have access to a toilet.

Analysis: Taiwan says hello to arms

Jonathan AdamsFebruary 1, 2010 17:56Updated May 30, 2010 13:20

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan's reaction to America's formal offer of $6.4 billion in weaponry could be summed up as follows: "Thanks — but next time, give us the good stuff. And can we talk about the price?"

Analysis: China's tougher than before

Kathleen E. McLaughlinFebruary 1, 2010 17:55Updated May 30, 2010 13:20

BEIJING, China — China’s irate reaction to the Obama administration’s approval of a $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan comes at a delicate time amid already growing tensions between the two global heavyweights.

Analysis: A Chinese Rockefeller Center?

Bill Dorman March 15, 2010 12:07Updated May 30, 2010 13:20

We long to be seduced by historical parallels. Their powerful attraction lies in the promise that if we properly understand the relationship between two seemingly similar events, then that knowledge can help us predict the future—and perhaps even profit from it. So are there compelling historical parallels between the appreciation of the Japanese yen some 25 years ago, and the impending rise of the Chinese yuan? Don’t bet the Treasury on it.