Wenran Jiang's Blog: China & the World

2010-01-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

I am in the process of resuming my blog. For those who would like to see my profile, my academic and media related publications, and other public works during my tenure as the founding director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta from 2005 to 2008, please visit the following website:

www.china.ualberta.ca

Or the Chinese version here.

Many thanks!

Google vs. China: Google draws line at censorship in prize market

2010-01-13T10:57:00.002-07:00

A Chinese Google user presents flowers to the Google China headquarters in Beijing on Wednesday.

On January 13, 2010, Dr. Wenran Jiang was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor on Google’s recent dramatic threat to close its business in China unless the authorities allow it to provide uncensored search results throws into stark relief the limits to globalization.

Dr. Jiang notes that China’s leaders use their tight control over information as a key tool with which to shore up their power. They see the Internet as a potentially dangerous conduit of information that “Western subversive forces” use to foment dissatisfaction in restive parts of the country such as Tibet and Xinjiang.

Since ethnic riots in the Xinjiang capital, Urumuqi, killed more than 200 people last June, Internet access has been all but cut off in the region. Social-networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube have been blocked throughout the country.

Wenran predicts that while Beijing accepted international trade rules to join the World Trade Organization and a globalized economy, it will not adopt international standards on information freedom any time soon.

“In the long run, they cannot control information, and they will have to find ways to accommodate dissident views,” Wenran says. “But at the moment, they have no other way but censorship."

You can read the whole story here.

Breakdown of Australian natural gas deal shows China becoming more market savvy

2010-01-06T10:30:00.005-07:00

On January 6, 2010, Dr. Wenran Jiang was quoted by the Canadian Press on the recent breakdown of PetroChina's deal to invest in a US$40-billion Australian natural gas project and the message it sent to Canada.
For Dr. Jiang, it shows that Chinese national oil companies are getting more sophisticated in dealing with the international market, and resource-rich countries like Canada can't sit idly by and wait for Chinese investment to roll in.

The deal would have seen the Chinese state-owned firm buy up to three million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year from the Australian offshore project for up to two decades.

While PetroChina did not immediately offer an explanation for its move Tuesday, observers said the Australian project likely lost some of its financial appeal since it was first conceived in Sept. 2007.

"You can see that when the market is not that favourable, they just drop it like that," said Dr. Jiang.

You can read the full story here.

PetroChina's $1.9B buy in oilsands approved

2009-12-30T10:41:00.000-07:00

The federal government on Tuesday gave the go-ahead for PetroChina to buy a $1.9-billion stake in a pair of oilsands projects in northeast Alberta in what observers are saying herald warming trade ties between the two countries.

Dr. Wenran Jiang said the deal marks a turnaround in policy on the part of the Harper government who had previously been critical of the communist country’s human rights record.

A series of high-profile visits by Canadian officials in recent months, including a state visit by the Prime Minister himself, has rekindled the once-chilly relationship leading to greater confidence on the part of the Chinese to invest in Canada.

“It’s a very small number, but it’s big for Canada,” Wenran said in an interview. “The Chinese recognize there has been a major policy shift. Expect more Chinese investment in the resource and energy sectors ... there will definitely be more.”

ID card proponents push for single system

2009-12-12T13:20:00.006-07:00

On December 12, 2008, I was quoted by Ontarion newspaper Business Edge on a proposal calling for the creation of a single identification-card system that can be used by frequent business travellers in both North America and Asia.

I noted that this new system would be a welcome step for travellers as it could reduce the stress associated with customs clearance.

To read the story, click here.

2009-12-12T13:20:00.002-07:00

Bosworth in Pyongyang: Mission Impossible?

2009-12-08T20:24:00.003-07:00

On December 08, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was invited by CNN to comment on top U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth's high profile visit to North Korea.

Click here to read the full story.

China expects Harper's visit to renew bilateral relationship

2009-12-05T19:43:00.002-07:00

On November 26 and December 1, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was quoted in sohu.com and the China Daily commenting on Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to China. Dr. Jiang says this visit will renew ties between both countries and establish new trade opportunities.

Visit here and here to read more.

Canada needs to articulate a clear China strategy

2009-12-02T19:35:00.004-07:00

On December 2, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang published a commentary on the Canadian International Council. In the article, Dr Jiang argues, despite Harper's much anticipated visit to China, the Harper cabinet needs to formulate a strategic China policy and improve the bilateral trade and investment relationship.

To read the full story, please click here.

Dr Jiang was also quoted in the Winnipeg Free Press, The Globe and Mail, and The Canadian Press, commenting on the Conservative government's foreign policy towards China since they came to power.

To read the stories in full, please visit the following links:

The costs of a tattered connection

China slap? Turn the other cheek, shake hands and get on with business: experts

Experts urge Harper not to lose focus on Asian opportunity

Obama Wraps up China Visit

2009-11-18T20:20:00.002-07:00

On November 18 and 19, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor and the Malaysian Insider commenting on U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to China.

Dr. Jiang commented on China - US relations, particularly the interdependence of the two economies.

Click here and here to read the full

The credit crisis and the world's financial architecture

2009-10-23T13:47:00.000-06:00

On October 23, 2008, Dr. Jiang was interviewed in The Agenda program on TVO. The topic was "The credit crisis and the world's financial architecture: Are 20th century institutions up to the task of managing 21st century problems?"

Dr. Jiang stated that developing nations like China should be given an elevated position within the decision-making and agenda-setting structure of World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

To listen to this edition's podcast, please click here.

U. S. Climate debate why America needs more Canada

2009-09-26T18:51:00.001-06:00

On September 26, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was quoted in Calgary Herald on Canada-U.S. energy relations.

You can read the article here.

China's Diplomatic Adventure in Israel and Arab Nations

2009-09-23T18:52:00.001-06:00

On September 23, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was quoted in BBC Chinese News Service on China's recent diplomatic adventure in Israel and Arab nations.

You can read the article, in Chinese, here.

Canadian government slow to woo Asia's giants

2009-09-18T18:49:00.001-06:00

On September 18, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was quoted in Ottawa Citizen on Canada's Conservative government's attempts to thaw relations with China, after a chilly start.

You can read the article here.

China's move into oil sands irks the U.S.

2009-09-01T18:50:00.001-06:00

On September 01, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was quoted in the Globe and Mail commenting on the news that PetroChina Co. Ltd.'s $1.9-billion investment in Alberta's oil sands venture is raising alarms in Washington.

You can read the article here.

Stern Hu knows the stakes at play

2009-07-18T15:27:00.001-06:00

On July 18, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was interviewed by the Australian on the detention of four Rio Tinto executives last week in Shanghai, China, on charges of bribing staff of Chinese steel companies during iron ore negotiations this year.

In the interview, Wenran recalls Stern Hu, one of the detained Rio Tinto executives, from their days together at Beijing University. They were both studying in the history department there 30 years ago. He noted that it's unfortunate to see what's happening to him. In the world of commercial negotiations, the borderline between what is public information and what is a state secret may be easily crossed or blurred in China.

Now, Jiang says, because of China's desire to re-regulate the industry and the resulting media insistence that Chinese businesses that have acted detrimentally to that goal must pay a price, many of Hu's Chinese customers will be shaking, wondering when the police will knock on their door.

You can read the article here.

Chinese buying spree bypasses Canada

2009-07-17T15:29:00.001-06:00

On July 17, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was interviewed by Calgary Herald on China's growing need for energy and its continued quest to shore up supply through overseas buying spree in Brazil, Central Asia, Venezuela, and Russia. What's curious, however, is that none of those deals has taken place in Canada.

In the paper, Dr. Jiang lists a number of reasons for this apparent lack of activity. One of those factors is the lack of pipeline infrastructure to the west coast that could facilitate the export of oilsands production to China and other countries in the Far East. Jiang makes reference to the memorandum of understanding signed with Enbridge back in 2005 in connection with the Gateway Pipeline, but it's been almost four years since that time and the pipeline has yet to be built.

You can read the article here.

Is China Really a Melting Pot?

2009-07-14T15:30:00.004-06:00

Banner image: Ethnic Uighurs go about their daily lives in Xinjiang's famed Silk Road city of Kashgar in China's far northwestern, mainly Muslim Xinjiang region.
Photo: Peter Parks/AFP/Getty Images

On July 14, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was interviewed by KCRW Radio on the July 6 Uyghur riots occurred in the capital of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

First the Tibetans, now the Uighurs, are challenging China's central authority. Can 56 very different cultural and linguistic groups continue to get along?

During the interview, Dr. Jiang said that Han population in the Xinjiang Region has grown from 6 percent to over 40 percent now, but the current migration trend is motivated more by economic opportunism of the "outsiders". Nevertheless, many Uyghurs view this as an infringement over their lives and interests. The tension is on the rise and it threatens stability in the region.

You can listen to the entire audio clip available on the KCRW website. Wenran's comment starts around at 31:00 minutes from the beginning.

Uighur Unrest Seen Highighting China's Ethnic Tensions

2009-07-13T15:42:00.001-06:00

On July 13, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was interivewed by the AFP, commenting on the July 6 Uyghur riots occurred in the capital of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

In the article, Dr. Jiang urges Beijing to squarely face the reality about how minorities are being treated by Hans, not only in Xinjiang, but in the rest of the country.

Even though China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported following the unrest that Xinjiang's economy quadrupled to 400 billion yuan ($60 billion) in 2008 compared with how it stood in 1997, Wenran noted that this has not produced the intended consequences of uplifting the local people as much as the Hans.

You can read the article here.

During the past few days, Wenran also did several interviews with OMNI TV, CBC National Radio News national security reporter Bill Gillespie, and CBC Radio Active Hop Spot host Peter Brown on the same topics, providing his comments, the background of the Xinjing riot, and its latest development.

Resource-rich Xinjiang crucial to China

2009-07-12T15:34:00.001-06:00

On July 12, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was interviewed by the AFP on the July 6 Uyghur riots occurred in the capital of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Wenran noted that the strategic importance of Xinjiang - it takes up one sixth of China's land mass and borders Central Asia - meant any long-term unrest would not be tolerated. He told the AFP during the interview that Xinjing is China's northwest frontier, and like Tibet, is absolutely vital to the country's security. Beijing will not compromise in any way on these regions.

You can read the article here.

West Coast oilsands exports at record, Shipments open new markets for Alberta crude

2009-07-09T15:43:00.001-06:00

On July 09, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was interviewed by the Calgary Herald on Canada's record high oil shipment in spring 2009 through the Port of Vancouver bounding for Asian markets. It was the first time tanker shipments have exceeded the 100,000 bpd threshold. The prospect of Canadian crude exports to China has also increased in proportion to China's growing oil consumption.

Wenran Jiang said China has made major acquisitions of Canadian companies such as Petro-Kazakhstan and, more recently, the $8.27-billion purchase of Addax Petroleum. However, he noted a reluctance on the part of the Chinese authorities to do deals in Canada itself. China will hold off on major investments in Canada until Canadian producers take concrete steps to provide long-term stable supplies, he said.

You can read the article here.

Why China has clenched its fist in Xinjiang

2009-07-08T15:40:00.001-06:00

On July 08, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was interviewed by the Christian Science Monitor on the July 6 Uyghur riots occurred in the capital of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

With respect to Beijing's harsh crackdown to the riots, Wenran noted that with a rising Han population, the military garrisons, and security "the absolute guiding principle" of Beijing's policy toward minorities, there is no doubt that any means will be used to crush any aspirations to separatism.

But at the same time, Wenran sees signs of a debate within the ruling Communist party. "The first thing the authorities need to do is to actually acknowledge the problem," says him. He believes that "more thoughtful" leaders will seek a "more sophisticated" response to Sunday's unrest than a further crackdown.

You can read the article here.

New Frontier, same old problems for China

2009-07-07T21:54:00.003-06:00

On July 07, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, wrote an Op-ed article in the Globe and Mail newspaper commenting on the July 6 Uyghur riots occurred in the capital of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

Dr. Jiang noted in the paper that the unrest raises serious questions about China's stability, the distribution of its wealth and long-term relations between the Han majority and other ethnic groups.

Dr. Jiang first provided a historical and geopolitical background on the Xinjiang Region, followed by his opinion that force alone cannot maintain stability.

He holds the view that ethnic minorities' frustrations and grievances need to be addressed in the long run with innovative policy initiatives if Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao are to be true to their words of building a “harmonious society.”

You can read the article here.

China thirsty for foreign oil

2009-06-30T15:37:00.001-06:00

On June 30, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, was interviewed by the Globe and Mail on China's increasing appetite for crude oil, which has driven it to spend billions to acquire foreign oil producers and construct vast storage facilities to safeguard future needs.

Wenran noted that much of China's demand has come from new car owners -- in May, the government said sales increased by 54.7 per cent year over year to 812,178 vehicles. He further noted that China sold more cars last year than the U.S., and will see another 10-per-cent rise this year. He thinks this means that China is a fast-growing market for oil, and its potential appetite will be huge.

You can read the article here.

China's unquenchable thirst for oil

2009-06-27T20:50:00.003-06:00

June 27, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair at the China Institute and Associate Professor of Political Science, was quoted in the Global and Mail on Sinopec's attempt to acquire Canadian-based oil company Addax for more than $8 billion Canadian dollars.

Dr. Jiang, who maintains close ties to many major Chinese energy firms, said in the paper that oil companies around the world are looking for investment from China. But so far, he said, Canadian-based firms are more likely to sell offshore assets to the Chinese than their domestic holdings.

You can read the article here.

Despite recession, the Chinese are aggressively pursuing energy assets.
Copyright: The Globe and Mail

Tiananmen 20 years later: The withering of ideologies

2009-06-04T17:17:00.001-06:00

Chinese not willing to jeopardize their prosperity by pressing for political reform

The Toronto Star
Jun 04, 2009 04:30 AM
WENRAN JIANG

Twenty years ago today, Canadians and people around the world were glued to their televisions to watch the tragic events in Beijing unfold as the Chinese government used force to crack down on demonstrators in and around Tiananmen Square.

Two decades later, there is much debate about the nature of the student-led movement. While Beijing officially labels it as "turmoil," some call it a forgotten revolution, or even the end of revolution. For most, however, life has moved on and memories of the bloodshed have faded. When I began teaching at the University of Alberta in 1993, all students, including those from China, could recall the live coverage of the Beijing demonstrations. Today, they learn about the event the same way they do the Korean war.

Many young people who participated in the student demonstrations now live affluent middle-class lives, with their own apartments, cars and other modern gadgets, enjoying China's new urban prosperity.

They look back at 1989 with mixed feelings of nostalgia and realism. "It was an exciting moment in Chinese history, and my heart is always with those students," a friend told me recently in Beijing, "but I won't go to Tiananmen now if the same thing happens again, and I won't donate money and time as I did last time."

"Why?" I pressed further.

"Well, I have benefited a lot from the reforms since then, and there is so much to lose if there are dramatic changes."

Indeed, the Chinese government has made providing economic benefits to most citizens its top priority for the past two decades. As Deng Xiaoping, the paramount leader who ordered the bloody crackdown, put it: "Economic development is the core."

This doctrine is based on three pragmatic calculations.

First, the legitimacy of the Chinese Communist party's monopoly on power derives from continuously improving living conditions for the ordinary people. Post-1989 China, while resisting political reform, has experienced explosive economic growth at an annual rate of around 10 per cent. Beijing, Shanghai and other large Chinese cities have been transformed into modern metropolises. Several hundred million poor people have been lifted out of poverty. Today, most Chinese are satisfied with the country's material progress, and China soon will overtake Japan as the second largest economy in the world.

Second, China is becoming a modern world power not through democratization – as Mikhail Gorbachev tried in the Soviet Union – but through Western-style capitalism. Facing post-Tiananmen sanctions by Western countries, Deng asserted that the only way for China to break its international isolation was to pursue open-door economic policies. Believing that foreign multinational corporations were driven by the logic of profit, he predicted that if China could make itself a profitable place, they would return – and so would their governments. And they did. China today attracts the world's largest share of foreign direct investment, holds the largest foreign reserves, and is the largest creditor of the United States. And most Western leaders are muted about Tiananmen.

Third, political and social stability must be maintained at all cost. Zhao Ziyang, the former Communist party general secretary who lost his job in 1989 due to his sympathy with the student movement, revealed in a newly published memoir based on tapes recorded before his death that the Chinese leadership was split on how to deal with the protest: one side favoured negotiation and the other urged force. The latter prevailed at the time but the lessons were not lost on those involved. Today, Beijing does everything possible to preserve elite unity and safeguard social stability. "To nip it in the bud" has become the guiding principle in dealing with any challenges to authority.

Beneath the surface of China's brutal pragmatism, however, there is an ever-growing undercurrent for further political openness. For hundreds of parents who lost their beloved sons and daughters 20 years ago, life has never returned to normal. A group of "Tiananmen Mothers" continues to demand answers from the government. Pressure for transparency, anti-corruption, freedom of expression and other political reforms, all of them raised two decades ago, continues to build from the bottom up.

But unlike the students of the 1980s, many of whom adored the "Goddess of Democracy" and passionately advocated "total Westernization" as the answer to China's political future, Chinese youth today are more sophisticated and critical. They still share the last generation's idealism but are much less ideological.

And there is an unspoken but widely shared consensus among the Chinese people that, sooner or later, the official verdict on the Tiananmen movement as "anti-government riots" will be reversed and the patriotism of the students recognized.

In the mid-1970s, a group of foreign visitors asked long-serving Chinese premier Zhou Enlai, who had studied in France in his youth, about the historical significance of the 1789 French Revolution, which was approaching its 200th anniversary. Zhou reportedly paused for a moment and responded, "It is still too early to tell."

Those were the thoughts going through my mind when I went to Zhao Ziyang's home to pay my respects after he passed away in January 2005 and later attended his funeral – the only foreign academic to do so. I admired his final effort to avoid violent repression of the students in 1989. Today, I remain hopeful that history ultimately will deliver a fair verdict on the tragedy of Tiananmen.

Canada not yet ready for China

2009-06-03T17:16:00.002-06:00

On June 3, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was interviewed by the Financial Post on the recent developments of Canada China energy relations.

As reported in the Financial Post on June 2, China is renewing its push for an energy alliance with Canada and seeking the support of Canadian political leaders to establish a major energy corridor linking Western Canadian supplies to the Chinese market.

Dr. Jiang noted that the Chinese see the oil sands as expensive, largely because of high labour costs. Nonetheless, they feel they can fix the problem by supplying their own cheap workforce, as they are doing in oil projects around the world, but are frustrated by Canadian regulations and public perceptions.

You can read the article here.

GM's gas-guzzler now China's new ride

2009-06-03T17:01:00.000-06:00

On June 3, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was quoted by the Globle and Mail on a likely acquisition deal by a Chinese firm over the Hummer division of troubled General Motors Corp.

Dr. Jiang said the deal is all about China buying a recognizable consumer label – just as in 2004 Lenovo bought the rights to ThinkPad notebooks and other personal computer technology from IBM. He remarked that this is the automobile industry's equivalent of the IBM deal.

You can read the article here.

Tiananmen Anniversary - On the Action Plan

2009-06-01T16:55:00.002-06:00

On June 1, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was interviewed by CBC's the Current, on the twenty years anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Incident.

Twenty years after the killings in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Government is still the focus of a great deal of international criticism over its human rights record.

In April, the Chinese cabinet unveiled a lengthy document meant to address those criticisms. It's what Chinese leaders call an action plan to better protect the political, economic, social and cultural rights of Chinese citizens ... ostensibly the first of its kind in China's history.

According to the offficial line, the plan: "Signals that the human-rights cause has become a major theme of China's national development and will promote the concept of respecting and safeguarding human rights at various levels of government and the whole of society at large."

Dr. Jiang thinks that's a step in the right direction. To listen to his complete interview with the CBC, please go to CBC webpage and click on RealOne player "Listen to Part Two".

Treasury's Geithner Faces an Assertive China

2009-05-31T16:30:00.001-06:00

On May 31, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was quoted by the BusinessWeek on US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's recent visit to Beijing.

China is now pushing for a larger international role for its currency, which would by necessity weaken the leading global role the U.S. dollar now plays.

Wenran noted in the article that this is the beginning of the end for the U.S. dollar if attention is brought to the bigger historical trend. But he also concedes that it could take years for the yuan to become fully convertible and really rival the dollar.

You can read the article here.

China Thinks Beyond the Dollar

2009-05-28T15:44:00.002-06:00

On May 28, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was quoted in the BusinessWeek on China's concerns over the weakness of US dollar and its potentially negative impact on China's vast foreign currency reserves, 70% of which are estimated to be in dollar assets.

Dr. Jiang points out that well-informed Chinese now realize Beijing's strategy of keeping the yuan artificially low vs. the dollar to stoke exports—and then recycling export earnings back into the U.S. Treasury market—has backfired. Chinese blogs rant about "irresponsible investment policies of the Chinese government, which also happen to be subsidizing the U.S. economy.

You can read the article here.

Central banker Zhou wants a new global currency to supplant the greenback
Illustration by Sean McCabe; Photograph of Zhou by Zhang Peng/Imaginechina/ZUMA Press

North Korea Issues Heated Warning to South

2009-05-26T15:31:00.002-06:00

On May 26, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was interviewed by the Washington Post on North Korea's recent long-range missile test.

In China, where condemnation of the North's nuclear test was surprisingly swift and unambiguous, the state media on May 26th printed strong reprimands of North Korea from other countries.

The shower of criticism was far different from the reaction to North Korea's first nuclear test in 2006, when the Chinese media blamed the United States for provoking Pyongyang by cutting off aid.

Dr. Jiang believes that this may be a reflection of Beijing's frustrations for not being able to assert control and influence over North Korea.

You can read the article here.

Little openness in China's progress

2009-05-16T15:13:00.002-06:00

On May 16, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang wrote an article on the Edmonton Journal. In the article, he noted that positive developments in wake of the Sichuan earthquake in China last May have failed to yield concrete political reforms in the country.

You can read the article here.

People flock to the devastated town of Beichuan on May 12, the first anniversary of its destruction in
the Sichuan earthquake. Nearly 87,000 people died or remain missing in the 8.0-magnitude earthquake,
a disaster that galvanized the nation but left deep emotional scars.
Photograph by: Peter Parks, Agence France-Presse, Getty Images, Freelance

The Debate: Whither the United States?

2009-05-14T20:39:00.002-06:00

The Obama administration's emerging foreign policy: mea culpa or managing the relative decline of American power?

On May 14, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang, Mactaggart Research Chair and Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Alberta, participated an hour-long debate on "Whither the US Power" for TVO Agenda with Steve Paikin. The episode is scheduled to be on air at 8 pm, May 15, Friday.

You can access to the information related to this episode here.

Interview by Calgary's CHQR AM 770 The World Tonight Program on the current state of Canada-China relations

2009-05-12T23:14:00.002-06:00

Dr. Wenran Jiang was invited for a 25 minute interview on the current state of Canada-China relations by Calgary's CHQR AM 770 The World Tonight Program on May 12. He discussed with the host Greg Bohnert a range of issues from human rights to trade, especially the recent changing policies by the Conservative government toward China.

China reports first swine flu case

2009-05-12T21:08:00.003-06:00

On May 12, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang's May 6th Toronto Star article "Hard Lessons of SARS Crisis Explain China's Tough Action" was quoted by the Australian on their news coverage on China's swift quarantine measures against the swine flu epidemic.

"This time around, Beijing is not taking any chances," as quoted by the Australian. "Although the virus did not originate in China, the authorities have been on high alert. Senior Chinese leaders have been on the case from the beginning, and the Chinese press has followed the flu story closely with a rather open attitude."

You can read the coverage here.

China takes firm steps to rescue itself from the US dollar trap

2009-05-09T06:53:00.002-06:00

On May 8, 2009, Dr. Jiang was requested by a number of papers around the world to provide a short version of his April 28 YaleGlobal piece on what China is doing recently on the global financial stage, including the Globe & Mail.

His paper was also covered by a Mexican Magazine Enkidu "China: What world recession?".

Hard lessons of SARS crisis explain China's tough action

2009-05-06T07:10:00.004-06:00

On May 6, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was invited to write an Op-ed article in Toronto Star, commenting on China's aggressive measures against the swine flu, including quarantining Canadians travelling in China and banning Alberta pork.

Wenran advises Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon to discuss these issues with persuation, not threat, during his scheduled visit to Beijing next week.

Read the article here.

ANDY WONG/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chinese security officers, wearing masks as a precaution against the swine flu, stand guard in front of a sealed-off hotel where foreign travellers were held under quarantine in Beijing this week. (May 5, 2009)

China Tries to Wriggle Out of the US Dollar Trap

2009-04-30T08:12:00.002-06:00

On April 29, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was invited to write a short essay on what China is doing recently on the global financial stage, published by the YaleGlobal Online magazine. You can read his article here.

Lawsuit claims Chinese workers' wages not paid

2009-04-28T06:14:00.002-06:00

On April 25, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was interviewed by the Edmonton Journal on a lawsuit brought by several Chinese workers against their employer for unpaid wages arising from their service in Canada. Wenran said the case will likely hinge on whatever agreements the Chinese workers signed with the host company before they came to Canada. Read the article here.

Op-ed in Ottawa Citizen: You can’t promote rights from way over here

2009-04-21T09:10:00.000-06:00

BY WENRAN JIANG , THE OTTAWA CITIZEN
APRIL 20, 2009

Let’s give International Trade Minister Stockwell Day credit for making a successful mission to East Asia. The highlights included opening six new Canadian trade offices across China, and breaking the ground for the Canadian-funded reconstruction of a seniors’ home that was levelled in China’s devastating earthquake last year.

As Canada’s top-security-guard-turned-top-salesman, Mr. Day showed unprecedented enthusiasm for forging closer economic ties with China, now Canada’s second-largest trading partner. Yet he insisted that there are no fundamental shifts in the Conservative government’s China policy.

Mr. Day is partly right in the sense that the Conservatives never had a clearly articulated China policy to begin with. Former Canadian ambassador to the United States Derek Burney has characterized Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s China policy as “juvenile” — implying immaturity as the cause of the problem.

The reality of the Conservatives’ China policy in the past three years is more like being infected by an ideological tumor. It did not lead to brain death, largely due to former international trade and foreign minister David Emerson’s persistent efforts to engage China within the cabinet. He was right but almost a lone voice in the Harper top circle. As a result, the body of Canadian national interests has suffered.

The first casualty is in fact human rights. Unlike the commonly accepted perception that this government has emphasized human rights issues since coming to power, the record shows that Canada has done very little in promoting human rights in China since 2006.

Ottawa suspended the annual bilateral human rights dialogue, saying it was not effective, thus throwing the baby out with the bath water. The House Committee on human rights pursued a lengthy hearing that led nowhere, produced nothing tangible and became a disappointment even for human rights groups.

With the Conservatives removing China from their foreign policy priority list, Canada’s economic relations with the world’s fastest growing market have not kept pace with other industrialized countries, losing trade and investment shares. It is now evident more than ever that ignoring China has cost Canadians jobs that would have otherwise been created with an active, engaging strategy at the highest level.

And Harper’s suspension of mutual summit visits with China since 2006 has made Canada totally out of sync with other world powers — all of them have annual regular summit diplomacy with Beijing.

Thus, Harper stands alone and has no effective means of engaging the emerging superpower on important issues such as environment, global warming, and many regional issues vital to Canada’s economic and security wellbeing.

Now Stockwell Day has openly reversed Harper’s infamous quote on not selling out human rights for the mighty dollar by declaring that trade and rights are not mutually exclusive goals in dealing with China. This is a good step in the right direction.

But it’s too early to conclude that the Harperites have come to terms with China’s reality. The Conservatives must make strides in the following areas to make up lost ground in China.
In the short term, Mr. Harper must resume summit diplomacy by going to Beijing, a long overdue trip to reciprocate Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Canada in the fall of 2005. He may send more ministers to China or open more trade offices. But they are all marginal measures in contrast to personally engaging the Chinese leadership at the highest level.

Ottawa’s medium-term goal is to formulate a non-partisan China vision and strategy that treats our relationship with Beijing as no less important than our ties with Washington. It is tunnel vision for those who advocate better Chinese language skills of Canadian diplomats in the Beijing embassy as a solution to advance Canadian interests in China.

Instead, Canada must work actively to re-establish the strategic partnership that the two countries announced in 2005. In addition to regular summit meetings, Canadian interests will be best served with a number of high-level annual bilateral dialogues on issues ranging from trade to investment to security to climate change to human rights.

And Canada’s long-term China policy goal is to design a series of programs that not only serve our own interests but also assist reform-oriented forces in the Chinese society and within the Chinese government to move China toward more openness, more transparency and more respect for human rights.

Canada warms up to Beijing

2009-04-21T09:06:00.004-06:00

On April 20, 2009, Dr. Wenran Jiang was interviewed by the Vancouver Sun commenting on the Conservative government's recent attempt to push for a closer relation with China. “I immediately registered a very different tone from him,” Jiang said. “I see a pragmatist, his body language, the phrases he used to describe his trip.”

You can read the article here.

[Picture: Nicholas Sonntag, president of Westport Asia, says state-owned enterprises in China are highly influenced by politics. Vancouver Sun]

Canada seeks to strengthen trade ties with China

2009-04-18T13:50:00.000-06:00

On April 15, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by International Herald Leader on Canadian International Trade Minister Stockwell's recent trip to China.

He noted that Canada is eager to grow business with its second largest trading partner in part because of the dwindling buying power of its largest trading partner, the U.S.. "In order to have commodity prices and other resources prices to go up, the key factor is not the United States, but China," Dr. Jiang said, "China is the manufacturing powerhouse of the world."

You can read the news report in Chinese, or in English.

The newly released 2009 provincial budget

2009-04-08T15:58:00.000-06:00

On April 8, 2009, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by OMNI TV Edmonton on the newly released provincial budget, its implications for the provincial economy, the education sector and the energy sector.

The Latest Chinese Acquisition of Oil Sands in Alberta

2009-04-02T23:10:00.002-06:00

April 2, 2009, Dr. Jiang was quoted by the Financial Post on the latest Chinese acquisition of oil sands in Alberta.

You can read the article here.

The First Summit between Obama and Hu during the G20

2009-04-02T23:04:00.001-06:00

April 2, 2009, Dr. Jiang was quoted by Xinhua News Agency, in both Chinese and English, on the G20 global leaders meeting in London, and the significance of the first summit between U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

For the English article, please click here.

For the Chinese article, please click here.

The Impact of Global Oil Price Fluctuations on China

2009-04-01T22:50:00.002-06:00

April 1, 2009, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CCTV 9 Dialogue, a 30 minute discussion on the impact of global oil price fluctuations with a focus on China, the United States and China-US relations.

The Rising Impact of China in the Global Economy

2009-03-31T23:13:00.002-06:00

March 31, 2009, Dr. Jiang was quoted by an article in the Globe and Mail, on the rising impact of China in the global economy and the U.S.-China G2 summit during the G20 summit in London.

You can read the article here.

Chinese Economic Situation and the New Stimulus Packages

2009-03-14T23:16:00.001-06:00

March 14, 2009, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CBC TV Newsworld live, on the current Chinese economic situation, the ongoing annual People's Congress and the possible new stimulus packages by the Chinese government to further boost the Chinese economy.

China's Latest Policies on Tibet

2009-03-10T23:18:00.001-06:00

March 10, 2009, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CBC TV Newsworld live, on the one year anniversary of the Tibetan riots, the 50 year anniversary of the exile of the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government's latest policies on Tibet.

The Current State of Canada-China Relations

2009-03-05T10:21:00.001-07:00

March 5, 2009, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CBC Radio International Chinese broadcasting, on the current state of Canada-China relations and the prospects of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's visit to China.

Road to Riches Ends for 20 Million Chinese Poor

2009-02-20T10:24:00.002-07:00

February 20, 2009, Dr. Jiang was quoted by CNN on China's gloomy labor market for the 20 million migrant workers during the recent economic slowdown.

To read the article, please click here.

My Exclusive Interview with Duowei News Agency on U.S. President Obama's First Overseas Visit to Canada

2009-02-18T10:28:00.002-07:00

February 18, 2009, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by Duowei News Agency on U.S. President Obama's first overseas visit to Canada. In the article, he noted that the visit is largely symbolic, along with some real business to be discussed.

To read the entire article in Chinese, please click here.

Duowei News Agency is owned by Chinese Media Net Inc. (CMN), an ethnic media group which operates in the U.S., Canada and Hong Kong.

Beijing's Responses to Falling Oil Prices

2009-02-04T23:22:00.002-07:00

February 4, 2009, Dr. Jiang was invited to write an article for China Brief, an online journal published by the Jamestown Foundation, on the Chinese government's recent energy security policy responding to falling oil prices and world financial crisis.

Please read the article here.

Dr. Jiang is a regular contributor to the China Brief, for his previously published articles, please click here.

China’s Towering Tests

2009-01-31T10:36:00.000-07:00

Edmonton Journal
January 31, 2009
By: Wenran Jiang

After a dramatic 2008, the Year of the Ox could bring soul-searching and unrest

As China enters the "Year of the Ox," there is much to reflect on from the past year and even more to speculate about the coming year.

2008 began with snowstorms that paralyzed most of central and southern China's transport system, interrupting lives and causing severe material damage. Then came the riots in Tibet, which caught the government off guard, followed by embarrassing protests over China's Olympic torch relay in several Western and Asian countries.

As Chinese were wondering why 2008, a year of supposed good fortune marked by the lucky number eight, had started with so much misfortune, an earthquake struck Sichuan province, killing 80,000 people and leaving millions homeless. Emerging more united from this tragedy, the country welcomed the world to the long-anticipated Olympics, which were remarkably successful, but were soon superseded by the tainted-dairy-product scandal in which many babies became ill, and some died.

In contrast to last year, when the rush home for the lunar New Year celebration was hampered by freak storms, this year millions of migrant workers have already returned to their rural homes. Many will be staying there, because the global economic downturn has hit China hard, costing them their jobs. According to the latest numbers, the growth rates of both China's industrial output and GDP have declined sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008, and more than 10 million migrant workers have lost their jobs.

A year of searing milestones Littered with a host of extremely sensitive anniversaries, 2009 could prove even more dramatic and unpredictable than 2008.

Fast approaching is not only the March anniversary of last year's disturbances in Tibet, but also the 50th anniversary of Tibetan unrest in 1959 that led to the exile of the Dalai Lama and his supporters.

Since the riots last spring, China's government has taken many proactive measures, even adopting a "Serf Liberation Day," to defend its record in Tibet of the past 50 years, while continuing to talk with the Dalai Lama's representatives. But it has also implemented heavy-handed police and military controls.

Then comes the 20th anniversary of the June 4 crackdown on the Tiananmen Square student demonstrations. Calls to re-evaluate the official response began when President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao came to power seven years ago. But recently, the pressure has intensified, especially with the publication of "Charter 08," a manifesto signed by hundreds of Chinese intellectuals, journalists, lawyers, and ordinary citizens, criticizing the government's rights record and demanding more democratic reform, press freedom, governmental transparency, and societal openness.

Although neither Hu nor Wen were directly involved in the crackdown, they nonetheless must tread carefully. Doing everything possible to avoid a repeat of the 1989 scenario may well be the Communist Party leadership's top priority in 2009. And, given the economic slowdown, widening income disparity, rising unemployment, and growing popular discontent over corruption, China's leaders will have their hands full.

Of course, the inspiration for almost every political reform movement in China is the May 4th Movement of 1919, when Chinese students protested against a weak and corrupt government and called for China to strengthen itself by adopting two key Western ideals: democracy and science. As the 90th anniversary approaches, China has made great strides in science, but still has a long way to go in terms of democracy.

Less known but no less sensitive is the 10th anniversary of the government's ban on Falun Gong, an organization of self-claimed religious and meditation practitioners that has challenged the Communist Party's legitimacy. Though largely discredited inside the country, this militant movement still has a following around the world, and further protests may come at any time and in unpredictable forms.

While some of the plethora of anniversaries that China's leaders must confront are potentially very destabilizing, several have, and will, work in their favour. For example, the 30th anniversary of China's reform movement and the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States has been a much-celebrated event this January.

Republic will be 60 years old More importantly, October will mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples' Republic of China, an occasion that the Party will commemorate in grand style. After all, the Middle Kingdom has re-emerged as the world's third-largest economy (having recently replaced Germany), sent astronauts into space, dispatched advanced naval destroyers to the Horn of Africa, and become the largest holder of U.S. foreign debt. China will want to flex its muscles and proclaim to the world that the Party has delivered the goods to its people, while making the country strong and prosperous.

As the worst recession since the 1930s continues, both the American and Chinese economies are bound to suffer further setbacks. There is no guarantee that protectionist and xenophobic sentiment in America will not hit China-U.S. relations, or that the economic downturn will not fuel new unrest in China.

Already, the new U.S. treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner, has accused China of "manipulating its currencies," a term that was not used by the former Bush administration and that may have serious consequences for U.S.-China trade relations. During his campaign, Barack Obama used the same language. And Chinese officials have hit back at the new U.S. administration's criticism.

There is also a gathering storm over who is to blame for the U.S. and worldwide financial crisis. Some have argued it was the Chinese continuous purchasing of U.S. treasury bounds and the influx of cheap Chinese goods over the years that are responsible for the subprime mortgage crisis and the U.S. recession, a position rejected by Beijing.

So far it is not that clear how the Obama administration is going to handle its China policy. But one thing is clear: without further Chinese commitment to buy a large amount of U.S.-issued debt, Obama will not be able to pay for his administration's massive stimulus package. Nor will China be overly accommodating to foreign demands when its own domestic situation is turning so volatile.

The world should not misjudge the effect of such disputes and troubles on China. Nor should it forget China's fierce display of nationalism in response to Western protests of the Olympic torch relay, the extraordinary patriotism that swept the country in response to the Sichuan earthquake, and the national pride evinced by the Olympic Games.

But in 2009, it would be a demonstration of courage if China's leadership also takes note of the need to continue assuring the world of its commitment to a "peaceful rise," and to do so by boldly addressing some of the unresolved issues this year's anniversaries will highlight.

the Chinese Economy and More

2009-01-29T10:38:00.001-07:00

January 29, 2009, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CBC Radio Edmonton, Hop Spot Columnist live, on the Chinese economy and the many uncertain anniversary events in China in the year of 2009.

Social Costs of China's Prosperity

2009-01-23T10:43:00.000-07:00

by Wenran Jiang
(Jan 23, 2006)
The Standard

China continues to impress the world with its high GDP growth, staggering trading volumes and surging consumption appetite. Most figures out of Beijing look remarkable, indicating a momentum that the Middle Kingdom is reclaiming its great power status at a speed faster than most forecasts.

Yet evidence is mounting that the high-GDP-centered development paradigm is too costly to sustain: rural, urban and environment-related protest movements are moving from being localized and isolated events to becoming a widespread and serious social crisis.

Some may point to Beijing's newly revised GDP figures as proof of China's successful modernization: its national strength is now 17 percent more than previously thought, allowing China to leap over Italy, France and Britain to become the fourth largest economy in the world; its economic structure seems to be more balanced with a much bigger service industry than previously reported; and China's foreign trade grew by nearly a quarter last year while its foreign reserves tripled.

Yet other recently released numbers, which have received less coverage, indicate a troublesome trend.
As revealed by the China Human Development Report 2005, regional disparities are threatening the country's growth potential, and the widening urban-rural income distribution gap has reached a dangerous level.

Compiled by a group of Chinese researchers for the United Nations Development Program, the report demonstrates that in all major categories of the human development index - from per capita income to life expectancy to literacy rate - regional imbalances are severe and growing.

It concludes that China's Gini coefficient, a measurement of a country's income inequality, has increased by more than 50 percent in the past 20 years, with urban dwellers earning nearly four times that of rural residents.

At 0.46, the mainland's Gini coefficient is lower than in some Latin American and African countries, but its urban-rural income inequality is perhaps the highest in the world.

The new GDP numbers only make the inequality worse, and when systemic factors biased against the rural population are included, the urban-rural income ratio is as high as six to one.

The UNDP report also shows that the inland regions lag behind in education, especially among the female population.

Only two decades ago, China was one of the most equal societies on earth. Today, it ranks 90th in the UNDP's 131-nation human development index.

It is ironic that while 250 million people have been lifted out of poverty in record time - a proud achievement that no one denies - the mainland is also leading the world in creating one of the most unequal societies in history.

The Chinese government has repeatedly told the world that it needs social stability to develop its economy, and Beijing claims to value economic and social rights more than political rights.

The question is whether China's traditional political control plus the new economic and social exclusion of the majority of its population can be accepted as a model of development by those who are now excluded from China's growing prosperity.

Newly released reports from the central government cite 87,000 incidents of public order disturbances last year, up 6.6 percent from the 74,000 figure in 2004; the number of events that interfered with government functions jumped 19 percent, while protests seen as disturbing social order grew by 13 percent in 2005.

Some say that the figures are not surprising and that these may not even be new developments: they show that Beijing now allows more reporting of these protests that have existed for a long time.

Beijing even puts its spin on reports of social disorder, claiming that it is now more democratic by allowing the protests to occur and then informing the public about them.

Despite the differences in assessment, the emerging consensus is that various grassroots protests are increasing in numbers, are better organized, and often turn violent when local officials are no longer seen as working to solve ordinary people's legitimate grievances.

Again, the UNDP survey of Chinese public perception of income distribution gaps reveals popular demand for social justice and potential support for radical actions: more than 80 percent of those surveyed believe that China's current income distribution is either not so equitable or very inequitable.

Meanwhile, a recent global study by the Pew Global Attitude Project seems to contradict such pessimism.

Around 72 percent of Chinese, the highest among 16 countries polled, expressed satisfaction with national conditions. Although the survey acknowledges that the sample is disproportionately urban and is not representative of the entire country, it does convey one important message that the pollsters failed to recognize: mainlanders have extremely high expectations about benefiting from the country's ongoing economic expansion; if such high expectations are not met in the near future, their frustrations may turn to demands for equity and social justice.

Between the 1950s and 1970s, most mainlanders were very poor, but relatively equal; thus social protests were rare and the Chinese Communist Party asserted control with little concern for large-scale grassroots unrest.

Today's China, after more than two decades of reform, is much more prosperous but, at the same time, a very unequal society.

Historical experiences show that when a country is embarking on rapid economic growth, social mobility accelerates and people's expectations for their own share of the prosperity increase. Yet, at the same time, income distribution gaps widen and, with a few exceptions, only a small portion of the population enjoys the benefits of the country's modernization drive.

Such a paradoxical process often results in rising resentment among the populace and leads to large-scale protests for a more equitable distribution of wealth.

China today is at such a crossroads of unprecedented prosperity, high, unmet expectations, and growing frustrations with perceived social injustice.

The current leadership, headed by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, is keenly aware of the growing disparity and its serious consequences. After years of promoting Deng Xiaoping's famous call - to get rich is glorious - the harmonious society seems to have become a central pillar of the Hu-Wen approach to easing China's social tensions.

Despite a number of measures - ranging from investment in remote regions to elimination of agricultural taxes to campaigns against corruption - social unrest is on the rise. With some of the recent bloody confrontations between peasants and local authorities, many wonder if some kind of a tipping point for a social crisis will arrive soon.

Revolutionary change, most evident in Russia in 1917, is precipitated by three conditions: first, the masses can no longer be governed; second, the ruling elites can no longer govern; and third, the social forces are fully mobilized under the leadership of a revolutionary party to overthrow the existing regime. By these standards, China is nowhere close to the tipping point.

Yet it would be a profound mistake to take comfort from such abstract conclusions. The first two conditions have been progressively deteriorating in recent years: widespread social protests are increasing; and the corruption of government and party officials, and the plight of ordinary citizens at the hands of abusive local officials, have weakened the governance structure.

A deadly combination of these two elements could lead to a widespread belief that the majority of the population is not left behind because of its own weakness in competing with others for a better life; rather, it is the corrupt officials and the privileged few who have enriched themselves through exploitation and at the expense of the masses.

This perception may foster pressures that fundamentally reconfigure the existing social, economic, and political order.

This process may well be accelerated if the inevitable economic slowdown in the coming years and natural, environmental and other human-made disasters occur simultaneously.

An externally-imposed, alternative political mechanism is unlikely, if possible at all, given China's tightly controlled conditions. Yet a governance crisis of such magnitude is likely to trigger an internal split within the party ruling elites, with reform-oriented forces openly confronting hardliners who advocate total control by force.

The most challenging task for China and the world today is how to avoid such dangerous showdowns with reforms that effectively address the issue of income inequality, social injustice and lack of democratization.

the New US President and the Prospects of Canada-US Relations and US-China Relations

2009-01-15T10:41:00.001-07:00

January 15, 2009, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CBC Radio International Chinese broadcasting, on the coming new US President Barack Obama and the prospects of Canada-US relations and US-China relations.

Chinese Inroads in DR Congo: A Chinese "Marshall Plan" or Business?

2009-01-12T10:42:00.001-07:00

January 12, 2009, Dr. Jiang contributed an article on China Brief with respect to China's growing presence in Democratic Republic of Congo, and particularly, a 9 billion dollar mining and infrastructure construction deal entered into between state-owned Chinese investors and the government of Democratic Republic of Congo.

Read the article here.

The same article is also available on Asia Times Online here.

CBC Radio Interview on Chinese economy

2008-12-17T13:16:00.002-07:00

The fact that China has come to dominate an industry that was banned 30 years ago shows just how much the country has changed. Three decades ago -- under Deng Xiao Ping -- China changed gears radically and joined the world market.

Today, it's a manufacturing juggernaut and 40 per cent of the country's wealth comes from exports. But with the global economy tanking, many of China's best customers don't look like they'll be buying much in 2009. That suggests tough times ahead for China.

To listen to the audio clip, please click here, and on that webpage, turn on the build-in Adobe flash player "Listen to Part Two".

ID card proponents push for single system

2008-12-12T13:20:00.001-07:00

On December 12, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted by Ontarion newspaper Business Edge on a proposal calling for the creation of a single identification-card system that can be used by frequent business travellers in both North America and Asia.

He noted that this new system would be a welcome step for travellers as it could reduce the stress associated with customs clearance. To read the story, click here.

Appointment of Hillary Clinton and its potential impact on US-China relations

2008-12-02T13:22:00.001-07:00

On December 2, 2008, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by BBC World Report Chinese Service on the implications of the appointment of Hillary Clinton as the US Secretary of State in the Obama administration and its potential impact on US-China relations.

China’s influence among African nations spurs concerns

2008-11-30T13:25:00.001-07:00

On November 30, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted by Altanta Journal Constitution on China's growing influence among African nations. He noted that while China looks at Africa strategically as a continent that has resources it needs to drive its economy forward, concern has grown in the United States and Europe that Beijing’s influence will have negative impacts.

Read the article here.

Terrorist attacks at Mumbai and its impact on the rise of India as a major world power

2008-11-27T13:31:00.000-07:00

On November 27, 2008, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CBC Radio Edmonton, as regular Hop Spot Columnist, discussing the terrorist attacks at Mumbai, India, its implications for the region and the world, and its impact on the rise of India as a major world power.

Opening-up, reform policy brings earthshaking changes to China

2008-11-27T13:29:00.001-07:00

On November 27, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted by Xinhua News Agency on China's significant achievements in the fields of economic performance, democracy, human rights and legal system.

The year 2008 marks the 30th anniversary of the initiation of China's reform and open-market policy, he noted that during the past three decades, China has been immersed fully with the international community and is playing an increasingly larger role in global political and economic affairs.

Read the aticle here.

For a similar report in Chinese, please click here.

Cross-strait ties meet choppy waters

2008-11-11T13:37:00.001-07:00

On November 11, 2008, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CCTV on the recent cross-strait relationship amid Chen Yunlin's contraversial visit to Taiwan in November. Chen is the chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. His visit sparked wide spread protests by pro-independent residents in Taiwan.

Watch the video here.

China and SCO Unite Against Challenges

2008-11-01T13:45:00.000-06:00

November 01, 2008, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CCTV on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's recent summit aiming to tackle the recent global financial crisis.

Watch the video here.

The credit crisis and the world's financial architecture

2008-10-23T13:47:00.000-06:00

OMNI TV Interview on Canadian election

2008-10-06T13:51:00.000-06:00

On October. 6, 2008, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by the OMNI TV Chinese language program on the Canadian election, the political attitudes of Chinese Canadians, and the new government's likely policy orientations on Canada-China relations.

BBC Interview on North Korea nuclear crisis

2008-10-02T13:53:00.000-06:00

On Ocober 2, 2008. Dr. Jiang was interviewed by the BBC World Service Chinese Program on the new development of the North Korea nuclear crisis. With North Korea demanding that the seals by the International Atomic Energy Agency be removed, its intention of re-starting its nuclear program was clear. Dr. Jiang commented on the situation and the complexities involved, and the potential role of China.

CBC Radio Hop Spot Interview on China's tainted dairy products

2008-10-02T13:52:00.000-06:00

On October 2, 2008. Dr. Jiang appeared live on CBC Radio Edmonton's Hot Spot segment with host Peter Brown, and gave his analysis on the latest outbreak of tainted dairy products scandals in China.

There are more than 53,000 babies got sick, over 15,000 hospitalized and 4 have died in the wide-spread fraud and scandal that have caused outrage in China and sent alarms around the world. In Canada, the United States and many other countries, many products containing dairy elements from China have been so far recalled. In the show, Dr. Jiang discussed the current development and its implications.

Is the West too hard on China?

2008-08-11T14:15:00.000-06:00

Wenran's Saturday essay on the Globe and Mail has generated a lot of comments from the paper's readers across Canada. On August 11, Monday, he appeared online and responded to a number of questions posted on the paper's website. You can read the introduction and the discussion through the links.

Canadians arrested over pro-Tibet demonstration

2008-08-10T14:12:00.000-06:00

On August 10, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted by Canwest News Service's news report "Canadians arrested over pro-Tibet demonstration." Dr. Jiang is of the view that while the Canadian protesters likely have good intentions, their decision to use the Olympics as a podium for denouncing China's human rights record may actually be counterproductive.

You can read the article here.

Dr. Jiang was also quoted for the same topic by CTV. Read a brief news report from CTV's website here.

Interview by CTV on Harper's decision of not going to Beijing for the Olympics

2008-08-10T14:08:00.001-06:00

Sentiment towards Stephen Harper in the Chinese community is less than loving after his decision not to go to China during the summer games. On August 10, 2008, Dr. Wenran Jiang appeared on CTV's Question Period discussing Harper's absence and its broader implications for Canada-China relations.

You can watch the clip here.

Revolution from below

2008-08-08T14:16:00.000-06:00

WENRAN JIANG

From Saturday's Globe and Mail

August 8, 2008 at 10:12 PM EDT

By any measure, the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics yesterday were a spectacular show. But in the weeks before this highly anticipated and in many ways controversial event, there has been hardly any good news. And the narrative from most of the Western media has been something like this: Back in 2001, China promised to behave and improve its human-rights records, in exchange for hosting the Games, but has broken its promises; there is more repression of Tibetans and other minorities, more jailing of dissidents, more harassment of the foreign press, more pollution, more censorship; in short, China is not democratizing.

Some of these concerns are genuine and understandable. After all, the Olympics is a great occasion for people from around world to celebrate the human spirit, to have their national teams compete under fair rules, and to bring us all closer together, as a global family. The host nation is called upon to live up to high expectations. China must learn to live with international scrutiny and with protests both inside and outside its borders. But the heavy reporting of negative news is painting an incomplete picture.

Few people I have talked to during my frequent visits to China accept the story that their country is worse off in terms of human rights than in 2001.

We can put aside the government's self-promoting claims, but well-informed Chinese believe that China has made considerable strides in human rights in the past seven years. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the United Nations recognizes freedom from poverty as a major category of human rights. China has lifted some 100 million people out of poverty. Despite severe limitations, there are hundreds of new legislative enactments that protect property rights and workers' rights. China has abolished a system that restricted freedom of movement among regions, and citizens can hold on to their passports to travel abroad. The Supreme People's Court now reviews all death sentences. The children of migrant workers can go to school in the urban centres where their parents work. And China has joined more international human-rights treaties.

There are serious problems of implementation and of government interference, but these tangible steps are moving China toward the rule of law.

To enumerate these advances is not to endorse the Chinese government. They are mainly due to the Chinese people's continuous struggle, often against the mighty control apparatus of an authoritarian state.

Even in the political sphere, there is expanded leeway. China now leads the world in the number of Internet users – 250 million – and cellphone subscribers – more than 550 million people, who send tens of billions of short messages a day. Despite censorship, they use these new tools to push for more rights and openness, and to challenge the authorities with rising success.

The government still interferes, still rounds up severe critics, and has made life harder for foreign reporters since the Tibetan crisis in March. But China's progress since 2001 has been largely along the positive trajectory of the past three decades.

The Chinese enjoy more freedom than at any time in recent history. Ordinary Chinese people enthusiastically support the Beijing Olympics, contrary to many critics who label the Games as a government propaganda showcase.

The protests against the Olympic torch relays in London, Paris, and other cities in Western countries strengthened that feeling. Though not very fond of many aspects of the government, most of the Chinese people were outraged by those who spoke of the “genocide Olympics.” They want to have a good sports party, and they want to have a good time, like everybody else around the world. Their passion is for the basketball star Yao Ming and the Olympic gold hurdler Liu Xiang. They don't like to be lumped together with their government, and resent the exploitation of the occasion for political purposes.

Comparisons of the 2008 Beijing Olympics to the Nazi regime's 1936 Games in Berlin are profoundly ignorant. Whereas Hitler's tyranny in Germany was intensifying through the 1930s, China has moved away from the personal dictatorship of Mao toward a more collective leadership. Whereas Germany went on to launch aggressive wars against other countries after the 1936 Games, leading to the disasters of the Second World War, China has in recent years pursued a good-neighbour policy and settled almost all its border disputes with the surrounding countries.

In addition to keeping a sense of balance in assessing where China is today, we also have to be realistic and patient about where China should be. Clearly, many human-rights advocates have strongly hoped and wished that the 2008 Beijing Olympics would follow the pattern of the 1988 Seoul Olympics in South Korea – that is, the Games would shortly lead to Western-style democratization. With a growing realization that this is unlikely to happen, some people have questioned the usefulness and even the legitimacy of having granted the Summer Games to Beijing in the first place.

Others, more moderately, have complained that neither human-rights groups nor the Western news media are doing a good job in highlighting China's human rights-problems, with the result that this Olympic year will be a sadly missed opportunity.

Such a perspective, well intentioned though it is, seems to have ignored the lessons from the Tibetan crisis and the Olympic torch relay protests earlier this year: A well-organized movement intended to raise awareness of the Chinese government's Tibetan policy overstepped into an attack on the Chinese people themselves, as if they were not worthy of hosting the Olympics. Scenes such as that of pro-Tibetan independence protesters violently seizing the Olympic torch from a wheelchair-bound female Paralympian in Paris were counterproductive; they angered the Chinese public and pushed them to rally around the government, strengthening the hand of the hardliners.

To have counted on the Beijing Olympics to deliver a fast political miracle inside China, or anything else that the outside world might have wanted, was both unrealistic and shortsighted. We need to ask: What happens to China, to all the problems and challenges it faces at the end of this month when the Games are over? What is the leverage then?

At the root of the “whatever China does, it is not good enough” attitude is a heavy dose of old colonial attitudes and racial prejudice, in the widely shared, although not always explicitly acknowledged assumption in both our elite and popular discourse that the West knows what is best for China, and must impose its values and guide the country in the direction the West wants.

Many critics do not understand that the real agent of change in China is neither foreigners nor the Chinese government. The Chinese people are the forces that move China forward. The media should refrain from portraying them as passive and ignorant followers of a Communist dictatorship or as a mass of nationalistic and xenophobic robots lacking in independent judgment.

With or without the Olympics, China's long march toward modernity and democracy will be driven primarily by internal dynamics, managed by the Chinese themselves and at their own pace. The Chinese people want human rights and democracy no less than we Canadians do. We certainly should not think that they demand less or deserve less. For most Chinese, the key questions are not about whether China will become a democracy, but rather how to get there, how long it will take and in what form.

Even the Chinese government is not a monolithic bloc. Internal debates on China's future go on all the time. Battles between reform-oriented leaders and the factions of repression and control are all part of the Chinese process of political reform.

The best the West can do is to support the progressive forces in China, as they transform that country as they have in the past 30 years. The speed of change may be not as fast as we wish, but we need to manage our expectations, just as the Chinese people have managed theirs.

In any case, the Olympics as an international event will have a beneficial impact on many aspects of China's development. China is a very open country now, more so than most people in the West realize. But the Games will push that openness further, and make the Chinese people more aware of the outside world. Let's look beyond what has happened in the past few months and what may come in the next few, and measure things with some historical depth. Decades later, many Chinese who are young now may well look back proudly and define the “patriot Games” of 2008 as the moment that transformed them into internationalists.

China is aiming at getting as many Olympic medals as the American contingent in the Summer Games. It has come a long way since the days when it was called the “Sick Man of Asia.” The Chinese have good reasons to be proud at their coming-out party. We should not hold back in pointing out China's problems, but we should also give credit to the Chinese people and wish the Beijing Olympics great success.

Discussion, Monday: Is the West too hard on China?

China: Panda or Dragon?

2008-08-07T14:20:00.000-06:00

On August 7, 2008, Dr. Wenran Jiang was quoted in the Oilweek, commenting on Canada-China relations and how that has affected the China's outbound resources investment in Alberta. Read it here.

David Emerson crucial for improving Canada-China relation, but more need to be done by the Feds

2008-08-06T14:22:00.000-06:00

On August 6, 2008, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by Sing Tao Daily (Toronto Edition), commenting on the recent Canada-China relation. He believes Emerson's role is enormously important for improving the strained bilateral relation, but more direct initiatives need to be shown from the Harper government. (full report)

Getting in Shape for Games, China Strengthens Ties With Neighbors

2008-08-05T14:26:00.000-06:00

On August 5, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the New York Times on China's improving relationship with neighboring Japan and Beijing's decision-making process for inviting former Japanese prime minister Abe to China in 2006. You can read the whole story here.

The deadly militant attack in Xinjiang

2008-08-05T14:25:00.000-06:00

On August 5, 2008, Dr. Jiang gave a live interview to CTV Newsnet on the militant attack in China's far west province Xinjiang and who might be responsible.

You can watch the clip by clicking the link below the "VIDEO" header located at the center of the CTV webpage, or through its direct link.

David Emerson's appointment is "enormously important" for improving Canada-China relations

2008-08-04T14:28:00.000-06:00

On August 4, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the Globe and Mail, commenting that the new Canadian foreign minister David Emerson's appointment is "enormously important" for improving Canada-China relations. Read it here.

On Cross Country Checkup ...Beijing Olympics

2008-08-03T14:35:00.000-06:00

On August 3, 2008, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CBC Cross Country Checkup as invited expert to comment on the theme "Was China the right choice for the 2008 summer Olympic games?". You can find the audio link here.

GlobeSalon Featured Topic: What do you think of China as Olympic host?

2008-07-29T14:44:00.000-06:00

On July 29, 2008, Dr. Jiang was invited to participate in GlobeSalon, a web based bulletin board hosted by the Global and Mail. In that day's feature, commentators around the world opined what they think of China as Olympic host. Dr. Jiang offered a different perspective on China's recent political development as it approaches the Olympic month. Read it here.

commenting on a recent report claiming China's human rights record worsening

2008-07-29T14:42:00.000-06:00

On July 29, 2008, Dr. Jiang gave a live interview to CTV Newsnet on July 29 on human rights and other issues in China prior to the Olympic games.

You can watch the clip by clicking the link below the "Video" header located at the center of the CTV webpage, or through its direct link.

Which spirit of nation will prevail in rise to greatness?

2008-07-26T14:46:00.000-06:00

On July 26, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the Global and Mail, revisiting the issue of Chinese nationalism days before the Beijing Olympics. Read it here.

A new China appears amid quake rubble

2008-06-17T21:29:00.000-06:00

On June 17, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the Los Angeles Times on how China has been transforming itself, both internally and externally, in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. Read it here.

Governments have key roles in building ties

2008-06-12T21:30:00.000-06:00

On June 12, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the Vancouver Sun, urging Canada's federal government to engage China on both political and economic frontier. Read it here.

Parents' losses compounded by China's one-child policy

2008-06-08T21:31:00.000-06:00

On June 8, 2008, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by CBC Newsworld on China's one-child policy and its implication for bereaved parents who lost their children in the Sichuan Earthquake. View the video clip here.

China earthquake response highlights need for greater understanding

2008-06-06T21:32:00.000-06:00

On June 06, 2008, Dr. Jiang was interviewed by U of A Express News on the response of the government and people of China in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. Read it here.

For China, an opportunity in crisis

2008-06-05T21:34:00.000-06:00

On June 05, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the Asia Times Online on how the international community could contribute to the quake-ravaged region in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. Read it here.

China Quake: Controls Cautiously Lifted on Flood of Volunteers

2008-05-29T21:38:00.000-06:00

On May 29, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor on Chinese government's recent attitude toward civil activism in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. Read it here.

Harper's China policy is not to have one

2008-05-28T21:42:00.000-06:00

Wenran Jiang
28 May 2008
Ottawa Citizen

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is in Europe this week in part to lobby the leaders of Britain, France, Germany and Italy to pressure China on the issue of global warming. Even putting aside Canada's dismal record on controlling its own emission of CO2 for a moment, don't you wonder why Mr. Harper ventures into building a "coalition of the willing" before talking to the Chinese leaders?

After all, other heads of major industrialized countries visit China or receive their Chinese counterparts in their own capitals on a regular basis, and some of them do multiple mutual visits a year. U.S. President George W. Bush claims that he can just pick up the phone and talk to Chinese President Hu Jintao. French President Nicolas Sarkozy went to China only months after assuming his post, openly challenged the Chinese on global warming responsibilities, and then with a stroke of a pen, signed $30 billion worth of contracts selling Airbus planes and nuclear reactors.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown travelled to China in January, also within months of taking over from Tony Blair. Joined by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Brown engaged the Chinese people in a Q and A "town hall" meeting on a range of issues, offered to host 100 Chinese firms in Britain and promised to boost bilateral trade by 50 per cent, all in the next two years.

Australia's new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, a China expert in his early training, headed to Beijing during the recent Tibet crisis. He delivered a speech in fluent Mandarin at Peking University. It was friendly, but frank, bringing up the Tibet issue. Instead of being booted, he was praised as being honest. His predecessor, the Conservative John Howard, actively engaged China, securing some $40 billion in long-term trade deals that have boosted the Australian economy.

So Mr. Harper's counterparts in Europe are likely to look him in the eye and ask two questions: Do you have strong environmental policy credentials at home? What do you have to offer from your own interactions with the Chinese leadership on the subject of global warming? Mr. Harper has neither.

While the world is busy engaging China for easily identifiable reasons, Mr. Harper has been missing in action. Two and half years after President Hu last visited Canada (fall of 2005) and more than two years after the Conservatives came to power, Mr. Harper has yet to find Beijing on the map, not to mention take a trip there anytime soon.

Foreign-policy and China-watching communities have both speculated and heard many reasons for Mr. Harper's lack of initiatives on China. First, there was the talk of an inexperienced young team that may take time to get the China file moving. Then, there was the all-consuming foreign policy challenge of Afghanistan that had to take priority over other things. Then there was the ever-looming domestic election that might come at any time, so a minority government must take care of that first ...

They all bear some truth. But they also sound more like bad excuses now that the Conservatives have been in office for 27 months. Mr. Harper's handling of Canada's China policy has been, by design or default, exactly opposite to that of other world leaders.

While others are emphasizing China's growing importance and forming a comprehensive China strategy, Canada has removed Beijing from its foreign policy priority list; while new leaders from Germany to Japan put summit diplomacy with the Chinese leaders as an indispensable part of their travel itinerary, Mr. Harper has stopped such a practice in Canada; while others are promoting investment and trade with China as a part of increasing jobs and competitiveness at home, the Harper government has let our proportion of trade and investment with China slip; and while others are in constant consultation on some of the most pressing global issues such as the environment and climate change, Mr. Harper is not even on talking terms with the Chinese.

So it is clear that Mr. Harper's China policy is anything but to have one. And contrary to the prevailing but misleading perception that somehow this government has emphasized human rights in its China policy, the Conservatives don't even deserve a passing grade on this subject.

They have suspended Canada's annual human rights dialogue and replaced it with nothing; they have been making grand, but largely self-congratulatory, moral statements regarding China's human rights record but have not implemented a single tangible project to advance human rights and democracy in that country; and Mr. Harper confuses trade with rights by stating that Canada would not sacrifice human rights for the mighty dollar, as if they are mutually exclusive objectives.

Instead of taking fresh China policy initiatives, various House and Senate committees have settled for endless hearings. What they have been told, including testimonies from this author, is very straightforward: we are losing our influence in China, we need a China strategy. Put national interests over and above narrow party politics, and engage China on a range of issues that are absolutely relevant to the long-term wellbeing of Canadians.

Yes, International Trade Minister David Emerson, the only cabinet member who has China expertise, has been going to China since last year and so have a few other ministers. But unless Mr. Harper is willing to engage the Chinese directly by making the long-overdue trip to Beijing, his China agenda on this European trip may yield very little success.

Aftershock and Quake Lake Threat

2008-05-28T21:39:00.000-06:00

On May 28, 2008, Dr. Jiang, was interviewed live by CTV "Canada AM" on the aftershocks and earthquake-created lakes that threaten millions in China. View the clip here.

China enjoys rare moment of global support

2008-05-27T21:45:00.000-06:00

On May 27, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the Christian Science Monitor on China's improved international image in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. Read it here.

An earthquake-induced ceasefire, or a genuine truce?

2008-05-27T21:44:00.000-06:00

On May 27, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the Canwest News on the political repercussion in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. Read it here.

Chinese volunteers soldier on in quake aftermath

2008-05-24T21:46:00.000-06:00

On May 24, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted by Reuters on Chinese civic activism in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. Read it here.

Crisis and Response

2008-05-23T21:53:00.000-06:00

On May 23, 2008, Dr. Jiang was invited to write an article for the Yale University's YaleGlobal Online maganize on China's response to the earthquake. Read the article here.

China: Roused by Disaster

2008-05-22T21:54:00.000-06:00

On May 22, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the Time magazine on the political repercussion of the Sichuan earthquake. Read the article here.

China's quake calms Olympic controversies

2008-05-17T21:58:00.000-06:00

On May 17, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted by the Associated Press on political repercussion in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. Read it here.

‘Shock of consciousness' sweeps China in wake of temblor

2008-05-17T21:57:00.000-06:00

On May 17, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in the Global and Mail on Chinese public reaction in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. Read it here.

China's government gives rare transparent look at disaster

2008-05-16T21:59:00.000-06:00

On May 16, 2008, Dr. Jiang was quoted in CNN on Chinese government's subtle policy changes in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake. Read it here.