2019 was a very special year for China and, in particular, the Communist Party of China (CPC). It marked the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on 1 October 1949 (I have commented on the celebrations here). 2021, however, is considered even more important because, on July 1st, it will be 100 years ago when the CPC was officially founded. The discourse surrounding this historical moment will be predictable: nothing but glory to the Party and not a word about any wrongdoing. Foreign commentators will jump in and point to the excesses of the Party’s rule such as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Their (mainly) Chinese counterparts will, in turn, be annoyed by the West’s one-sidedness and ignorance of the Party’s achievements. Et voilà, we’re back at where we started.
Continue reading “Red China: The Pledge”Author: Felix den Ottolander
Owner of China Hand (www.chinahand.blog)
Picking quarrels and provoking trouble
Article 293 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China reads as follows:
Whoever commits any of the following acts of creating disturbances, thus disrupting public order, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention or public surveillance:
- beating another person at will and to a flagrant extent;
- chasing, intercepting or hurling insults to another person to a flagrant extent;
- forcibly taking or demanding, willfully damaging, destroying or occupying public or private money or property to a serious extent; or
- creating disturbances in a public place, thus causing serious disorder in such place.
The final act listed in the Article above is often summarized as “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” (寻衅滋事 – xúnxìn zīshì). This ill-defined crime is frequently used to arrest and detain human and civil rights activists, political dissidents, writers and journalists. Clouded in vagueness and secrecy, one can only guess at the scope of this criminal law and its enforcement. The cases that do reach the international media are just the tip of the iceberg.
Continue reading “Picking quarrels and provoking trouble”Covid-29
2020 has had a very rough start. Initially, I was not sure whether I should write anything about the new Coronavirus and the deadly disease it causes, Covid-19. After the virus went global and became a pandemic, every newspaper, magazine and talkshow has, understandably, incessantly talked about its fallout and how to deal with it. Living in a part of the world that is all too familiar with such virus outbreaks further adds to the attention it receives, even before the rest of the world was affected and rumours about a second SARS coming out of central China first emerged at the end of last year.
Continue reading “Covid-29”Hong Kong, one year in
It has been one year since my girlfriend Marlot and I moved to Hong Kong to start our new life as (semi-)expats. Thinking back on the past year, many wonderful experiences come to mind. Life in Hong Kong is, for one thing, very diverse. With one of the highest numbers of millionaires (about one in seven), some 20% of the city’s population lives below the poverty line. Ranked the world’s most liberal economy, Hong Kong has a certain winner-takes-all philosophy: only the very rich can afford the ridiculously expensive real estate, while many working-class families are forced to cramp in tiny apartments. Its surroundings are very mixed, too. From futuristic skyscrapers to deserted islands with clear-water packed with thick jungle − this place really has it all.
Continue reading “Hong Kong, one year in”Party like it’s 1949
The Communist Party of China (CPC) has turned 70 yesterday. With the biggest military parade ever held in Beijing, showcasing the latest additions of military hardware, China kicks off its 国庆节 (guó qìng jié) ‒ also known as ‘National Day’. It was on 1 October 1949 that Mao Zedong proclaimed the People’s Republic of China. After decades of war and chaos, the country had finally been pacified and reunited under communist rule. At last, China could leave its troubled past behind and start to rebuild.
China Hand 