Former Chinese Language Editor for Global Voices Online, living in Hong Kong.
Latest posts by John Kennedy
Chinese Cultural Revolution Sci-Fi Wins Hugo Awards’ Best Novel Prize
"Even with all the dodgy science in Liu Cixin's sci-fi, his values and literary skill aside, his imagination still far surpasses that of other contemporary Chinese sci-fi writers."
China: How Myanmar's Opening Up Differs
Just back from the Myanmar Investment Summit in Yangon, as the country continues rapid opening to foreign capital, China Law Blog‘s Steve Dickinson contrasts Myanmar's economic globalization efforts with China's own process of opening up.
China: Support for ObamaCare
At Tea Leaf Nation, David Wertime looks at reactions to the US Supreme Court's vote yesterday in support of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). “Evil capitalism. Why can’t Chinese socialism be as evil?” retorts one microblogger.
China: A Portrayal of Portrayals of Cultural And Ethnic Stereotypes
One Chinese vlogger has gone viral with his impersonation of the accents of a few Asian neighbors and other cultures from around the globe. How much do these differ from similar crude stereotypes you've seen elsewhere?
China: Bum Rushing The Bus
Some buses in Beijing are so swamped with throngs of people that some have begun climbing over one another just to get a seat or a place to stand.
China: Cosplay Star Loses Battle With Cancer
A popular figure in China's cosplay scene has passed away after an 18-month-long fight against cancer.
China: Veto of UN Security Council Draft Resolution on Syria Draws Praise and Grief
Once again, China and Russia have vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution aimed at bringing peace to Syria. The latest proposal calls for an end to the killings of those involved in an uprising against the country's current president.
China: Not Worried About Twitter's Decision to Self-Censor
Twitter announced this week that, with an eye on global profits, it has decided to begin censoring content prohibited in the various markets in which the company has users. Although Twitter remains blocked in China, the site's Chinese-language users have responded to the news.
China: ‘Anti-American Warrior’ Gets Head Stuck in DC Airport Escalator
One of China's fiercest critics of liberal values hasn't had much to say after he injured his head on an escalator in Washington, DC, on a trip to the US he apparently did not want his followers to know about. John Kennedy reports.
China: Only Talking About a Revolution
Han Han, supposedly the world's most-read blogger, has succeeded in getting netizens to debate the possibilities (or lack thereof) for greater political freedoms and democracy in China through three new controversial blog posts. Public figures and intellectuals have joined in, many challenging Han's somewhat pro-government stance.
China: A Week Later, Wukan Remains Under Siege
The Nanfang has compiled a day-by-day summary of the recent events in the village of Wukan in southern China's Guangdong province, still under siege.
China: Pandaman vs. Christian “Batman” Bale Goes Viral
Christian Bale's recent run-in with state security police (aka "Pandas") has inspired a series of viral spoof images, and coincides with the news that another high-profile Chinese dissident has been put back in prison 20 months after he was 'released' on probation.
China: Actor Christian Bale Roughed Up Trying to Visit Chen Guangcheng
Hollywood actor Christian Bale made a detour from promotion in Beijing of his upcoming film to try and visit illegally detained Chinese human rights lawyer Chen Guangcheng, hoping to shake the hand of a man he calls an inspiration.
China: Why Didn't Putin Come Pick Up His Confucius Peace Prize?
A renegade operation by Chinese leftists aimed at winning China some soft power points has backfired: Not only has the Chinese government tried to shut them down, but now a second recipient of their annual "Confucius Peace Prize" has declined to accept the award.
China: Monitoring the 2012 Presidential Election
Chinese netizen interest this weekend in the first of three debates leading up to Taiwan's presidential election next month suggests more attention will be paid to this round than was given to the island's 2008 elections, and the focus has also expanded beyond each parties' stance on reunification with China.
China: United States Begins ‘Pacific Century’, Online Nationalism Follows
As the US quickly asserts its position in the Asia-Pacific region, nationalist sentiment has leapt at similar speed from somewhat marginalized online communities to the top of China's largest blog portals.
China: On the Rise But Feeling Boxed In
China is surrounded by 85% of the political hotspots in the world, argues one prominent professor, and needs to be free to deal with those and other geopolitical problems it faces, beginning with access to the seas it borders.
China: Japan's Imaginary Enemy
Recent Japanese media reports portraying China as the enemy in a Japan-US naval exercise reportedly scheduled for this week have brought even more tension to territorial claims between the two Asian nations. John Kennedy reports.
China: Questions Following Mekong River Massacre
Thirteen Chinese sailors were killed earlier this month in an attack on two cargo ships. Nine Thai soldiers have claimed responsibility, which the Thai government says is theirs alone, but contradicting points in the case have left many with lingering doubts.
China: No Clear Solution to the Wall Street Occupation
The occupation of Wall Street has gathered a lot of interest in China, as have three blog posts last week from an investment banker, a columnist and a Yale professor, none of whom seem too optimistic that a new economic vision will arise from the growing global movement any time soon.
China: The Cost of Space Ambition
China's launch of an unmanned space station last week, says the editor of a Tokyo-based newspaper for Chinese expats, has given Japan reason to step up its contribution to the universal endeavor of space exploration - if it can afford it.
John Kennedy's space
