Ideology

People ride a small train for children on a street in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China on 16 September 2023. (Hector Retamal/AFP)

Why China’s population policies always veer towards the extreme

China’s population policies have had a tendency to veer towards the extreme since the era of Mao, says commentator Yu Shiyu. A delayed response to adjusting the one-child policy, which has resulted in a declining population and is expected to have an adverse economic impact, demonstrates the inefficiency of an authoritarian system in self-correcting. Its decision making could also swing between extremes as it is based on subjective top-level thinking.
People at a shopping mall in Beijing's central business district, China, on 7 September 2023. (Tingshu Wang/Reuters)

Is China’s development losing steam?

The world is concerned that the Chinese people are beginning to lose confidence in China’s future, dampening the prospects for sustainable development. Researcher Wei Da believes that there is little connection between this crisis of confidence and the cyclical boom and bust of the economy, but China’s severe economic problems are ultimately political problems.
A man rides a bike while sheltering from the rain in Beijing, China, on 31 July 2023. (Pedro Pardo/AFP)

Did Mongolians mistreat the Han Chinese during the Yuan dynasty?

It is commonly believed that the Mongol-ruled Yuan dynasty instituted a “four-class system” comprising the Mongols, the Semu, the Han people and the Southerners; they may even have categorised people into ten classes for which Confucian scholars were at the bottom rungs. Taken as truth for centuries, what is the “historical reality” of the matter? Cultural historian Cheng Pei-kai examines the issue.
Protestors attend a rally against Japan's plan to discharge treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant into the ocean, in front of the headquarters of Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the operator of the nuclear plant in Tokyo, Japan, on 24 August 2023. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

Frostier Japan-China ties with Fukushima treated wastewater discharge

Japan’s discharge of treated nuclear wastewater into the sea has dealt another blow to the political, economic and trade relations between China and Japan. Zaobao correspondent Yu Zeyuan elaborates.
People are seen below a giant screen showing news footage of Chinese President Xi Jinping speaking virtually to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting, which was being held in India, at a shopping mall in Beijing, China, on 4 July 2023. (Greg Baker/AFP)

Politics takes precedence over economy in Xi’s Chinese-style modernisation

Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech in February criticising the West was recently quoted in a Chinese Communist Party publication, and Lianhe Zaobao journalist Edwin Ong notes that the renewed attention could be intended to strengthen the political consensus among officials and citizens. Meanwhile, Xi’s emphasis on treading a different path from Western modernisation could come at the expense of its economy.
People ride elevators at a shopping street in Beijing, China, on 16 June 2023. (Florence Lo/Reuters)

Crisis of trust underlies Chinese private sector's unwillingness to invest

Erratic and unreasonable governance of local governments and a shift in public opinion towards left-wing ideology are just some of the causes for the private sector’s lack of confidence in China, says academic Han Heyuan. Even with the latest measures to boost the sector, government efforts seem to fall short of expectations.
Chinese paramilitary police walk on the Bund promenade along the Huangpu river in the Huangpu district in Shanghai, China, on 15 June 2023. (Hector Retamal/AFP)

Can China maintain a hard line against the US?

In this key period of China’s rise, it can either choose to adopt a hard line or to cool down. History tells us that the hard line is likely to prevail, but China should be aware that this may lead to one overestimating its own strength, challenging the existing hegemon too soon, and ultimately meeting failure. The crucial question is whether the hard line is backed by wisdom. What China is going to do with the strength it has gained remains a puzzle to most countries, and this is the root of the perception of the Chinese threat.
Supporters gathered outside one of the main campaign centres in Jakarta, Indonesia, celebrating Jokowi’s victory by sample votes in 2019. (SPH Media)

The Chinese Indonesian vote in the 2024 presidential election

Coming to the end of his second term, Indonesian President Jokowi is still enjoying influence in Indonesian politics, with analysts believing that whoever he endorses will end up the winner in the presidential election in February 2024. How critical will the Chinese Indonesian vote be? ISEAS academic Leo Suryadinata explains.
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a minute of silence for pilots killed in clashes with the mutineers during a revolt by Wagner mercenaries as he addresses troops from the defence ministry, National Guard, FSB security service and interior ministry gathered on the Cathedral Square at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, on 27 June 2023. (Sergei Guneyev/Sputnik/AFP)

Putin’s dilemma: ‘Two-faced people’ in the authoritarian regime

Wei Da points out that the Wagner rebellion could only have happened because of the “two-faced people” in Putin's inner circle. Such people often emerge from the woodwork at critical moments, taking risks and rebelling. China and other countries may sit up and take notice: whether or not these rebellions work, they are usually fatal blows to authoritarian regimes.