How does a new autocrat entertain his dethroned predecessor? Sixty years ago, Chairman Mao Zedong held a grotesque lunch for the last emperor of China, Pu Yi, (溥仪). He had imprisoned him as his most prominent prisoner for a decade before finally pardoning him. Then he suddenly invited Pu Yi as his surprise guest to […]
There is a Chinese saying: Don’t touch a tiger’s butt (老虎屁股摸不得). The old master of Chinese satire Hua Junwu drew a tiger with a sign on its butt: “Taboo zone” and the caption: “The sole decider”. He wanted to mock officials who can’t be criticized. That was in 1979, and after the end of Mao’s […]
The Liuyang River bends through nine bends, and the fifty-mile waterway reaches the Xiangjiang River. There is Xiangtan County by the river. Ah, there is a Chairman Mao, who “leads the people to liberate”. The song to the Great Chairman and his river, “Liuyanghe,” which has been sung for 70 years, has become an evergreen […]
CCP leader Xi Jinping immortalized himself 22 times with his name in a 25-page resolution declared “historic”. Xi declared that the policy document published on Tuesday was drafted by himself, together with his chief theoretician Wang Huning and Zhao Leji, senior Chinese leader of the Communist Party of China. It serves as a summary of […]
Maotai is a magic word that can open all doors in the People’s Republic. However, it has also made the 53-percent millet spirit a symbol of corruption. The name is now synonymous with China, just as vodka is for Russia, or cognac and whiskey are associated with France and Scotland. Beijing has so far failed […]
Ever since business people from all over the world are drawn to China – in the wake of Beijing’s reform and policy of opening-up – training courses on intercultural behavior to avoid gaffes have been booming. The correct way of handing over business cards is right at the top of the list of etiquette issues […]
China’s leadership is once again preparing for a battle of the systems after US President Joe Biden declared its motto: “Democracy versus Authoritarianism”. Party leader Xi Jinping retaliated with: “Real democracy versus false democracy.” And during a conference last week, he gave the starting signal. He praised China’s National People’s Congress (NPC), called a “pseudo-parliament” […]
The photo of Willy Brandt’s genuflection, taken on 7 December 1970 at the memorial dedicated to the victims of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, moved not only Europe. The Chancellor’s plea for forgiveness also touched the Chinese people at the time. Last December, on the 50th anniversary of Brandt’s gesture of humility, many Chinese still remembered […]
The People’s Republic of China, like other socialist states, has become accustomed to the symbolic color red (红色), but party leader Xi Jinping now wants to apply the revolutionary paint for his party and society with an even thicker coat and newfound vigor. Only if the youth grows up with “red genes” would China “never […]
After 1949, more than 90 percent of all urban residents in China belonged to a Danwei (单位 = work unit). It was considered the cornerstone of the socialist planned economy. Factories, government offices, residential areas, hospitals, schools, or universities were each a Danwei. It guaranteed for everyone who belonged to it not only a job […]
