Society

Researcher and commentator Wei Da says the recent coronavirus situation serves to remind China that self-reflection and finding the right balance between four key variables — democracy, scientific thinking, rule of law and religion — are greatly needed.

The case of a former Wuhan prison inmate who tested positive for Covid-19 after travelling to Beijing has sparked debate about loopholes in China’s lockdown measures. Coupled with signs that new cases are on the rise again in Beijing, fears are renewed. Lianhe Zaobao’s Beijing correspondent Yang Danxu gets to the heart of the matter.

Amid the furore over The Wall Street Journal’s controversial “sick man of Asia” headline, Hu Hao points out that going back to history, the term may have first been coined by a Chinese thinker seeking to galvanise change in society. Instead of physical attributes, it referred to the apathetic, backward, and foolish mindsets of Chinese who were passive and indifferent towards the authoritarian regime they were living under. He asks if the China of today is indeed no longer the "sick man"? And if the Wall Street Journal should indeed apologise as the Chinese government has demanded?

Yu Shiyu observes that China could be reading too much into terms such as “sick man” and should by now, have the self-confidence to let such comments roll off their backs.

A nurse who just had a miscarriage was praised for returning to the medical front line; the word “period” (menstruation) was omitted from broadcast subtitles and in newspaper reports; while nurses sat in tears as their heads were shaved. Closet feminist Wei Shuang can’t help but blow her cover with recent portrayals of women in the media glorifying gender stereotypes. She seconds the view that women need respect, not empty praise. 

Uncertainty over the Myitsone Dam project and the influx of Chinese into Myanmar have not gone down well with the people of Myanmar. ISEAS academic Nyi Nyi Kyaw examines the rise of sinophobia in Myanmar, and the factors behind it.

Ng Soon Kiat finds that the “I am from Taiwan” stickers that have popped up recently are not only a utilitarian guard against sinophobia, but possibly a political badge asserting Taiwan’s separate identity.

In sensitive Covid-19 times, any hint of propaganda elicits a potentially virulent backlash, Chinese authorities learn.

A wild peacock can easily cost up to 10,000 RMB, and is a way to show off new wealth, while regulating the sale of wildlife is also a thankless labour, and may not help Chinese officials gain merits and advancements. Medical researcher Hayson Wang examines the Chinese’s gastronomic, medicinal and economic appetites for exotic wildlife and the reasons why it is so difficult to regulate and stop wildlife trading in China.