Does ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’ suffice for Communism in contemporary China?

By Alfie Cranmer, Student of UNNC Summer School 2015. As you take a look around the busy streets of Shanghai, observing the mass crowds squeezing their way into H&M and Zara whilst you sip on your tall Frappuccino in Starbucks, it’s easy to forget that the ruling Communist Party (CPC) claim the People’s Republic of …

Are there lessons from Business for the CCP?

By Joseph Healy, MA student in Contemporary Chinese Studies, UNNC One of the intriguing leadership and management challenges anywhere in the world in 2015 is how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) manages the socioeconomic transition within China. It’s hard to think of a precedent in politics or business to equate to the scale of the …

China to relax ban on Facebook and Twitter?

By Dr. David O’Brien, Assistant Professor, School of Contemporary Chinese Studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China. China may be about to relax its ban on foreign media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the New York Times in order to make ex-pats working in a pilot free-trade zone ‘feel more at home’. …

Summarizing and Reflecting on “The Chinese Communist Party and the Politicization of Traditions” Workshop

By Dr. Ming-Yeh T. Rawnsley, China Media Centre at the University of Westminster, UK. A workshop on “The Chinese Communist Party and the Politicization of Traditions” took place at the University of Zurich, 6–8 June 2013. It brought together political scientists, East Asian Studies specialists and China observers to discuss what, why and how traditions …

Positiveness in the China Daily

By Yvonne Nijenhuis, Studying Media and Culture at the University of Amsterdam Holland. Keeping myself up-to-date of the latest news during the summer school made me a fanatic reader of the China Daily. Besides the latest Chinese news, did it also give a good impression of the Chinese view on contemporary global issues. Instead of …

How Difficult Is It to Obtain Government Information in China?

Dr. Yiyi Lu, Senior Research Fellow at the Beijing-based think tank ChangCe. During the height of the anti-Japan protests in China last year triggered by the Sino-Japanese territorial dispute over Diaoyu/Senkaku islands, a Chinese environmental NGO submitted a request for environmental pollution data to a provincial Environmental Protection Bureau. An official responded by telling the …

The Genius of Gongchandang: A Laowai’s View of the One Child Policy

By Dr. Brian J. Hilton, Associate Professor in Accounting at the Nottingham University Business School China. The one child policy is not the most popular part of CCP’s agenda. Much energy is being put into trying to terminate it. In the view of this author this would be a mistake. When first encountered this policy …

Soft Power Success

By Tony Hong, First Year PhD Student in Contemporary Chinese Studies. The University of Nottingham Ningbo China. It used to be said among the students of Contemporary Chinese Studies that once you have read one book or article on the “Rise of China”, you have read them all. In fact we would all do our …