The Korean border news narrative of the Chinese Communist Party seems to be changing in some subtle and perhaps fundamental ways. As Michael Rank first pointed out on North Korea Economy Watch, the Huanqiu Shibao is now reporting on security problems with North Korean refugees along the Tumen River, and doing so in a relatively […]
Leaving the thrall of Hong Kong behind (and not even by boat!), I’ll be moving up into Dalian and the Liaodong peninsula for the next several days. Not being a wealthy Chinese investor with a Hummer in Changchun, there’s no way I can make it to distant Rason, but I will certainly be spending some […]
Regarding the Korean peninsula, the Chinese media strategy of the past several days has been, perhaps, a bit opaque. But yesterday, clarity arrived! The Huanqiu Shibao of December 23 makes rather evident the goal of the recent PRC encouragement of North Korea: just stop the nonsense and make some money. In other words, the narrative […]
In case you hadn’t heard, two North Korean assassins were recently apprehended in South Korea on a mission to kill Hwang Jang Yop, the grizzled 87-year-old architect of the juche philosophy who defected — via Beijing — to Seoul in 1997. This assassination attempt is kind of a big deal because — apart from the […]
Today’s array of data on the Huanqiu Shibao/Global Times page is simply overwhelming; a brief selection of links with minimal commentary shall have to suffice: On the North Korean Front Probably the most explosive item being reported today in the Chinese press is the alleged execution of two officials in a Pyongyang stadium for botched […]
张培 , et. al., “租借朝鲜港口遭猜忌 韩媒称中国正加速进入日本海,” 环球时报“ 3月10日2010年 [Zhang Pei, et. al., "Leasing of North Korean Port Arouses Suspicion: South Korean Media States that China Will Quickly Enter the Sea of Japan," Huanqiu Shibao (Global Times Chinese) March 10 2010 [translation by Adam Cathcart]. 据3月10日出版的《环球时报》报道，“中国100多年来首次在日本海拥有直接立足点”、“中国开辟日本海通道”，9日，中国租借朝鲜罗津港的消息迅速 使外电得出上述轰动性的结论，中国人对此将信将疑。韩国《世界日报》报道称，中国政府正在加速进入日本海，但中国进入日本海的通道一直被俄罗斯和朝鲜堵 住，因而进入日本海是中国的一个历史夙愿。On March 10, “Global Times” reported: “For the first […]
North Koreans in border regions are doing more military drills than usual (click here for Chinese version), but so too are their counterparts on the Chinese side of the border. In Hunchun, peasant militias are getting into gear: In Dandong, everyone is making money and trying to get the North Koreans involved. National news publications, not […]
1. Wangqing County government in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture brings you a fantastic image of how cadre spend a full afternoon. Something tells me these guys didn’t get the “no smoking” memo. I recommend clicking on the picture and watching the facial expression of the cadre all the way at the right side of […]
China has approved, yet again, an international development zone in the Tumen Delta. Global Times reports (in English), as does CCTV. The Chinese government has approved a border development zone in the Tumen River Delta to boost cross-border cooperation in the Northeast Asian region, the provincial government of Jilin announced on Monday. The information office of […]
Well, North Korea may be on fire, but the wise Chinese Communist Party has apparently decided that releasing the news in the PRC would disturb social harmony. Or otherwise interfere with its evolving master narrative on North Korea. As Professor Jonathan Pollack reminds us, the PRC narrative now includes sticks as well as carrots, and […]
