Chinese at the border
Perhaps the most famous border in the world is the one along the Rio Grande that separates Mexico from the United States. It is almost certainly the most popular. U.S.…
Xi Jinping
Xi puts women in their place
When President Xi Jinping introduced his Politburo Standing Committee at the 20th Communist party congress in Beijing, one thing stood out. Of the seven, none were women. Furthermore, of the…
How fares the emperor?
Xi Jinping has it all: general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, chairman of the Central Military Commission, commander-in-chief of the People’s Liberation Army, and the Politburo Standing Committee filled…
Nancy P’s Asian adventure
On first hearing about U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s planned visit to Taiwan it struck me as a rather, shall we say, stupid idea. It would infuriate the…
The international macho fraternity
Macho men have throughout history dominated societies—kings, warlords, military leaders and assorted demagogues. Despite the advance of democracy in the past few centuries, modern societies still have their share. Three…
Big climate promises at the UN … but
The United States and China, rivals on the world stage and also the two biggest economies and the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases made some big climate promises at…
The China dilemma—global warming or human rights?
If anything scares China’s formidable president, Xi Jinping, it’s probably democracy. The idea of the Chinese people choosing their own president must be nightmarish to the new emperor. His current…
China has a soft power shortage
Now would seem to be the moment for China’s star to shine. It has gained control of the coronavirus pandemic rapidly and effectively, and it is the only member of…
Democracy embarrassed
As a committed democrat, I would dearly love to be able to convince doubters of democracy’s superiority by pointing to its leaders. And in the past that has often been…
We still need the U.S.
Reading The Guardian last week, two articles captured my attention. Set side by side were “A ‘tyrant-clown’ has destroyed my love affair with America” by Robert McCrum and “‘Chairman Xi’…
What Jinping, Putin, Trump have in common.
Why are we surprised if American president Trump wants to be named president for life? The man hardly wants less than his counterparts, Xi Jinping, president for life of China,…
From Emperors to Emperors and Tsars to Tsars—Plus ça change
The French proverb plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose (the more things change, the more they stay the same) most aptly describes what has been happening at the…
The EU Declares War
I apologize for the alarmist headline. The European Union hasn’t actually declared war, more a case of having recognized a war, a shadow war. Vera Jourova, Vice President of the…
Another week in the Annals of Diplomacy: in stormy times, half a loaf is better than none
From the sublime to the ridiculous, it would appear, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will do anything to keep Donald Trump sweet. Consider the dissimilar cases of Meng Wanzhou and…
Donald Trump and the Coming War With China
I'm sure we all remember the horrified look on Angela Merkel's face, when she came face to face with the madness of Donald Trump, two weeks ago.Or the rude way…
China Cancelling Debt of Developing World
China has announced that it will provide debt relief to the developing world. President Xi Jinping made the announcement at the UN and anticipates the fund to help the developing…