an independent observer, nonpartisan freelancer and communication scholar based in China. educated in China, UK and Ireland. major research interests: political communication, international communication and discourse analysis.
Latest posts by Yantao BI
China: Expectations of Xinjiang people
An article now popular in Chinese cyberspace depicts the sufferings and expectations of the people in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The post suggests that “all the friends across the country” owe an apology and a big “Thank you” to the Xinjiang people [zh].
China: Religious demography and house churches
Last November (21-22, Nov 2008), the China State Council Development Research Center organized a seminar on “Christianity and Social Harmony — Special Session on House Church”. This is the first of its kind organized by a Chinese governmental sector. However, soon after the seminar, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued...
China: CCTV under fire
On the night of February 9, part of China Central Television (CCTV) Tower caught fire when a squad was shooting fireworks to celebrate the Lantern Festival. The fire has reportedly killed one fireman, injured seven other people, and destroyed billions of yuan in broadcast facilities. Speculators have widely noticed the...
China: update on Xintai mental asylum abuses
Prof. Yu Jianrong（于建嵘）exposed [zh] that the governmental probe into the Xintai mental asylum abuses of the 18 protesters who were reportedly locked in a mental hospital in Xintai City, Shandong Province has already reached the conclusion that what the Beijing News reported [zh] is “not consistent with facts”. But Prof....
China: netizens regret donations to Sichuan
Beichuan County, the hardest hit area in 5.12 Sichuan earthquake, has spent RMB 1.1 million (USD160, 854) on one Land Cruiser, an imported luxury car, which has triggered explosive critique among the Chinese netizens. Blogger 心寒 (Chilling Heart) writes he could not help bursting into rage while many others, including...
China: Sino-French Ties in 2009
Mr. Song Luzheng (宋鲁郑）, a Chinese blogger who specializes in international politics, recently listed the five factors that have undermined the Sino-French relations (zh). He asserts that it is too hard to improve the bilateral relations to a mutually satisfying level unless the mutual trust is effectively enhanced.
China: victims of Sichuan earthquake
The victims of the Sichuan 5.12 earthquake are suffering from the chilly winter. A local official says the lowest temperature in the earthquake zone can be 21.1 degrees below zero centigrade. Now how to help the victims pull through the bitter winter remains an urgent and tough task. Last month,...
China: A new black business flourishes
In China, to publish an academic essay is extremely difficult for simply one reason: Too many people are compelled to publish essays in a miserably limited number of journals. Reluctantly, contributors have to pay certain sum of money to get their essays published. But demand still overwhelmingly exceeds supply. Therefore,...
China: Does the secret “Fifty Cents Party” exist?
Wu Mao（五毛）is fifty cents or half yuan in Chinese currency. Wu Mao Dang (五毛党), or Fifty Cents Party, is a derogatory term applied to those pro-government bloggers who are suspected to receive fifty cents for every pro-party post. Does Wu Mao Dang really exist in China, as rumors say? A...
China: Different Interpretation of Taiwan Politics
A well-known Chinese blogger WU Jiaxiang （吳稼祥）argues the “riot” that happened at Taipei Hotel November 6 is in fact part of the rampant “political kidnapping” in Taiwan [zh]. The blogger further analyses who are ultimately behind “the political violence” in Taiwan.
