The Berlinzoo

Chen Shui-bian Gets His Just Desserts

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:08:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) There was a time when Chen Shui-bian was a rising political star of Asia. He was a masterful campaigner, an astute politician and viewed by some as the champion of the oppressed. Twice, he won the presidency of the Republic of China, against the better-funded, more-organized Kuomintang (KMT) despite long odds. In 2000, he led the upstart Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) into power in the...

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When Will China Learn to Grow Up?

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 16:51:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) When in doubt, throw a temper tantrum. It matters not that China has the world's third largest economy, perhaps the second-most powerful military and is the only potential global rival to the hegemon that is the United States. You can still count on China acting like a third-rate despot with all the delicacies of a bull in a, well, china shop. So the Dalai Lama decided to visit Taiwan, in an oh-so transparent political maneuver designed to poke and get a rise out of...

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Q&A with Michael Auslin

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 19:40:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) Michael Auslin is the Director of Japan Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, he has been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, a Marshall Memorial Fellow by the German Marshall Fund, and a Fulbright and Japan Foundation Scholar. He’s the author of Negotiating with Imperialism: The Unequal Treaties and the Culture of Japanese Diplomacy (Harvard University Press, 2006) and Japan Society: Celebrating a Century, 1907-2007 (Japan Society Gallery,...

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Congress Can't 'Fix' the BCS

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 02:25:00 +0000

(From BCS Guru) Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) made a lot of noise earlier this year about reforming the BCS. He even wrote an op-ed in Sports Illustrated. Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) went as far as introducing a bill to ban the use of "national championship" by the BCS. Even President Barack Obama (D-World) has promised (or threatened) to "throw his weight around a little bit." But don't hold your breath. The BCS isn't going anywhere and it's not going to change much. And that's a good thing in...

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Q&A with Frank Ching

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:30:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) Frank Ching is a journalist and commentator who was Wall Street Journal's first China Bureau chief when China reopened to the West in 1979. He now writes a weekly column for the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), China Post (Taiwan) and Globe and Mail (Canada). He's the author of three books - Ancestors: 900 Years in the Life of a Chinese Family (1988 and just re-released this month), China: The Truth About Its Human Rights Record (2008) and The Li Dynasty: Hong Kong...

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Q&A with Gordon Chang

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:19:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) Gordon Chang is a columnist for Forbes and author of The Coming Collapse of China (2001) and Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World (2006). He spoke with RealClearWorld about the escalating tensions with these two countries on the forefront of America's foreign policy agenda. RCW: What are the long-term consequences of China's ethnic crisis? Chang: The important aspect of the Xinjiang riots is that it shows the Communist Party doesn't have the ability to...

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Chinese Nationalism Begets Chinese Racism

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:55:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) Call it ethnic cleansing, with Chinese characteristics. For the past two decades, China’s communist mandarins have sought the use of nationalism to offset their dubious legitimacy. In turning every Chinese misstep into a foreign affront, the regime has successfully created a sense of “China Uber Alles,” to borrow a phrase from a long-departed regime. The side effect of the newly fashioned Chinese nationalism is a virulent strand of Chinese racism. To be more exact, the...

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China's Other Powder Keg Erupts

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:16:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) The ethnic riots in China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region has so far claimed 140 lives with 800-plus injured, according to official figures. In reality, those numbers could be much higher. The majority Uighurs in the Xinjiang region, in China's far-flung northwest corner, have resented the hardline rule of the Chinese Communists and the growing influx of ethnic Han Chinese since the People's Liberation Army entered the area in 1949. The latest incident began as a group of...

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Deng Xiaoping's Bloody Power Play

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 13:11:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) On the fateful days leading up to June 4, 1989, Zhao Ziyang frantically tried to halt a looming bloody crackdown. He sought an audience with one man, in whose hands the future of China’s liberalization teetered. But Deng Xiaoping wasn’t listening. He might’ve been nearly deaf, but at the age of 84, Deng understood how to keep the reins of power perfectly. Zhao, in his just-published posthumous memoir - Prisoner of the State – made it clear that the events on June 4 and...

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Ninety Years of Chinese Nationalism

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:52:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) The anniversary of June 4 will be closely observed by China watchers from around the world while it won’t be observed at all in China. But an event that's had far more lasting impact on modern China took place 90 years ago today, and it is this anniversary that should not escape unnoticed. On May 4, 1919, thousands of university students gathered in Peking in an angry protest over China’s treatment in the Versailles Conference following the aftermath of World War I. If...

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Most Disastrous Rescues

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:47:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) Last week -- in honor of Captain Richard Phillips' courageous naval rescue from Somali pirates -- the editorial staff of RealClearWorld featured the world's top five most daring hostage rescues. From the clever, bloodless rescue of FARC hostages in Colombia, to the daring Israeli raid of Entebbe, our staff's selections highlighted the kind of bravery and ingenuity often demonstrated by soldiers and civilians all over the globe. However, for every mission deemed a...

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Most Daring Hostage Rescues

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:44:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) When U.S. Navy SEALs shot and killed three Somali pirates and rescued Captain Richard Phillips on April 12, it was hailed as a great hostage recovery mission. It had all the elements of cunning, surprise and precision that such operations demand to be carried out successfully. Over the last half century, as terrorism has become a global plague, major governments have set up special forces to deal with just these kinds of crises. Highly-skilled and vigorously...

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World's Most Dangerous Cities

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 13:38:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) If last week's violent attacks in Northern Ireland reminded us of anything, it's that every corner of the world - whether it be in Baghdad, Iraq or Belfast, Northern Ireland - holds its own elements of danger and instability. The world has been consumed for several years by two wars, as well as recent violence in the Middle East and Sri Lanka. In determining the World's Most Dangerous Cities, the editorial staff at RealClearWorld instead decided to highlight some of the...

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High Stakes on the High Seas

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:11:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) The recent near-violent confrontation on the South China Sea between the Chinese navy and a U.S. navy reconnaissance ship brought back memories of the 2001 showdown over the crash landing of an American recon plane on Hainan Island. History has a funny way of repeating itself. The Chinese intention is pretty clear - it wants to test a new American president who is even more of a rookie at international affairs than George W. Bush was in April 2001. But more important,...

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The Last Best Chance for Tibet

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 18:58:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) On March 10, 1959, a violent uprising began in Lhasa - one that was orchestrated from the highest levels of the Chinese Communist Party, namely Chairman Mao Zedong himself. Mao wanted an excuse to crush the Tibetans, send the Dalai Lama into exile and put the nominally-autonomous region under the CCP jackboot. All that was accomplished. And now, 50 years later, the Chinese government is at a loss on how to untangle this one last part of Mao's monstrous legacy. The...

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World's Most Influential Women

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 16:25:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) In 2008, the world saw two women assume positions of diplomatic power in the United States, as another battled for the premiership of her own country on the other end of the globe. The female chancellor of Europe's largest economy took center stage as the continent struggled to adapt to worsening economic conditions, as yet another woman fought to keep her premiership in a former Soviet republic. Coming up with a list of the Top 5 Most Influential Women in the World is a...

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Erecting the Great (Pay) Wall for Newspapers

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:31:00 +0000

(From RealClearPolitics - Media Watch) Let's face it, pay-per-view will be returning to newspaper web sites with a vengeance in the near future. If not by the second half of this year, definitely 2010. Ad revenue is way down - for both print and online - and the recession isn't going anywhere soon. By now, everyone's shared their own ideas about how to rescue the business. But lately, it's become apparent that we've run out of new thoughts. Most everyone has returned to some variation of a...

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Top 10 Newspapers in Trouble

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 16:37:00 +0000

(From RealClearPolitics - Media Watch) The Atlantic stirred the pot two months ago with a sensational "End Times" piece that questioned the continued existence of the New York Times. While the Grey Lady has stayed in the news with all her financial woes, other papers are suffering silently, with certain death just around the corner for some. The Christian Science Monitor announced that it was abandoning its print edition back in October last year, and then the avalanche came. The Tribune Co....

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Most Important Presidential Visits

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 16:21:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) It was 37 years ago this week, President Nixon made the audacious visit to the People's Republic of China, paving the way for a new bilateral relationship with the world's most populous nation. The momentous trip gives rise to the expression of "Nixon Goes to China" and underscores the importance of certain presidential visits - how they shape the foreign policy of the United States and in some cases, alter the course of history. Last Thursday, Barack Obama made his first...

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Bar Rafaeli: Draft Dodger, IDF Recruiter

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 15:01:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) Sports Illustrated's vaunted swimsuit issue came out this week. Typically, it's greeted with mild protest, something about exploitation of women who make about eight figures. But this year, SI could not have picked a more politically controversial figure to grace its cover. (In case your mailman swiped your copy) The 2009 cover girl is Bar Rafaeli, an Israeli Jewish supermodel also known for her courtship with Leonardo DiCaprio. But Rafaeli got to where she is today by...

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Most Important Elections of 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:56:00 +0000

As the final voting results from last week's provincial elections in Iraq are finally tallied and analyzed, critics and pundits alike have been busy evaluating the impact these regional contests have had, and will continue to have, on the region for the foreseeable future.In December, RealClearWorld presented you with our own list of the most significant elections of 2008. And with last week's polls in Iraq as the opening act of what should be an eventful year of elections and power shifts...

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Inauguration Day Live Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:34:00 +0000

RealClearWorld will host a live blog on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, from 9:30 a.m. to noon (EST). Please join us for the historic occasion. All readers and commenters are welcome.

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Bush's Foreign Policy Successes

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:32:00 +0000

Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on terrorism. These, among other items, will ultimately be the conflicts and challenges that define the success or failure of the 43rd President's time in office. During a week in which the nation will inaugurate its first African-American president, the celebration will also serve as a reminder of the abundant shortcomings and limitations of President George W. Bush's foreign policy vision. While much of the President's record undoubtedly deserves harsh scrutiny...

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Q&A with Mike Bianchi

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 20:37:00 +0000

(From RealClearSports) RCS: Well, Mike, you predicted an Oklahoma victory. What happened? Mike Bianchi: I thought Florida's defense was good, but I didn't think it was that good. I thought the final score would end up like 40-34 but the Gator defense really rose up there. It was surprising to me. Now you have to wonder why [Florida defensive coordinator] Charlie Strong isn't a head coach somewhere. RCS: And yet there's just one African-American BCS conference head coach out of 67 schools. ...

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Top International News Sites

noreply@blogger.com (Samuel Chi) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 19:26:00 +0000

(From RealClearWorld) When RealClearWorld launched during last year's Beijing Summer Olympics, we made it our mission to provide readers with the best world opinion on the web - a one-stop shop for readers seeking quality commentary and analysis on world politics, international relations and foreign affairs. This daily process requires a lot of reading and a lot of vetting. In our first few months, we’ve had the pleasure of reading and discovering some great foreign dailies, weeklies and...

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