Chinese villages' failed toilet revolution, clogged ponds and dangerous roads
Professor Zhang Rui takes stock of the government’s high-priority rural revitalisation project in villages, warning of cases of resource misallocation and misplaced priorities. He says while much manpower and resources have been mobilised to build new infrastructure, Chinese villages continue to be afflicted by poor sanitary facilities, lousy roads and a lack of clean water. The problem cannot be solved by simply building more of the same.
Taiwanese art historian: The colour white in Chinese aesthetics and in life
If white could be a state of being, it would be yourself, says Chiang Hsun. Under light and shadow, its true shade sometimes becomes blurry, but it never loses its essence. With that confidence, white in art or in life also means negative space — the void that is at ease when it is not filled, the voice that gives itself the freedom to just be.
Will the EU be setting global standards in a post-pandemic world?
US-based researcher Yu Shiyu notes that the EU seems to have gained greater unity and internal coherence from the stress test of Covid-19. In contrast, the US seems to be more divided and has not found its way around the pandemic as well as its many other domestic issues. What has the EU done right to be able to be a standard setter in the post-pandemic era?
Media guru Chao Shao-kang's return to Taiwan politics: Will this unite or divide the Kuomintang?
Chao Shao-kang, chairman of the China Broadcasting Corporation and a former luminary of the Kuomintang (KMT), declared recently that he was returning to politics and would contest the party chairmanship in July and the presidential election in 2024. His high-profile return reminds Taiwan watchers of former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu — another KMT prodigal son who made good before his star fizzled out at the 2020 presidential elections. Will Chao walk in Han’s path and more importantly, can the KMT be rejuvenated with this breath of fresh air?
South China Sea: The new frontier of Sino-Indian tussle in the Himalayas?
India’s step to send a warship to the South China Sea (SCS) following the clash in the Galwan Valley in the middle of last year proved a point — that it is prepared to link security in the Himalayas to the SCS, which it had erstwhile regarded as a secondary area of interest. Will China bristle at India’s continued quest for leverage and will chances of an accidental escalation in the SCS be raised overall?
Heng Kim Song has been the freelance editorial cartoonist for Lianhe Zaobao since 1984. His cartoons are also featured in many major international publications including The New York Times, Asahi Shimbun, JoongAng Ilbo, South China Morning Post and Yazhou Zhoukan. His many awards include the Top Award in United Nations ESCAP's Cartoon Competition and the Grafica Internazionale Award presented by Italian Museum of Political Satire and Caricature. Heng has also participated in many international exhibitions and events, including the World Economic Forum Annual Meetings held in Davos, Switzerland.