How the China dissident scene changed – Ian Johnson

 

Ian Johnson

China veteran Ian Johnson, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations(CFR), looks at how the groups of China dissents abroad, have dramatically changed since the Tiananmen Square crackdown, on the CFR-blog. “Long known for being riven by personality disputes and having little impact back in China, overseas activists now seem more united and more plugged into China than before.” he writes.

Ian Johnson:

An exhibition space commemorating the June 4, 1989, massacre of protesters in Beijing and other Chinese cities opened Friday in New York, highlighting how recent changes in China have rejuvenated its overseas dissident scene.

Long known for being riven by personality disputes and having little impact back in China, overseas activists now seem more united and more plugged into China than before.

That’s in part due to a recent influx of Chinese journalists, writers, artists, and businesspeople who have chosen to leave China’s increasingly restrictive climate. As James Areddy of the Wall Street Journal notes in an article today, New York has become a gravitational point for many critics and skeptics of the Xi Jinping government, fostering an underground scene of Chinese feminist standup comedy, and democracy “salons” where—like in 1989 in Beijing—ideas are floated for how to change China.

One of those spaces is the June 4th Memorial Exhibit in Manhattan. Located on the fourth floor of a small office building on Sixth Avenue, the space is relatively small but features an impressive display of flags, banners, and some historically significant artifacts from the protests, including a piece of calligraphy found on the square after the massacre that reads “Patriotism is Not a Crime,” a mimeograph machine used to spread speeches and information, and a blood-stained banner used to bind the wound of a victim.

More on the CFR-blog

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How Shenzhen overtook New York in number of billionaires – Rupert Hoogewerf

 

Rupert Hoogewerf

More Chinese cities overtake New York in their number of resident billionaires, Shenzhen being the latest, says Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of the Hurun global rich list to NBC. “It is a significant indicator of where Shenzhen has come from and where it is going,” he said.

NBC:

According to the Hurun Global Rich List, an annual ranking compiled by a private Shanghai-based company, Beijing is home to the world’s greatest number of billionaires at 144, followed by Shanghai with 121. There are 113 billionaires in Shenzhen, compared with 110 in New York, while London came in fifth with 101.

The growing concentration of wealth isn’t news to people in Shenzhen, which added eight billionaires since last year.

“It’s almost more of a wake-up call for the rest of the world,” said Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, the company behind the list.

While rankings can fluctuate, he said the rising number of billionaires in Shenzhen reflected a “megatrend” that will draw more young entrepreneurs to the city in coming years.

“It is a significant indicator of where Shenzhen has come from and where it is going,” he said.

Shenzhen’s rise began in 1980, when it was named China’s first special economic zone as part of the country’s “reform and opening up” under then-leader Deng Xiaoping. That allowed the city to experiment with market capitalism in an effort to attract foreign investment. From 1979 to 2021, Shenzhen’s gross domestic product grew from less than $28 million to almost $475 billion.

Today, the city is home to some of China’s biggest tech companies, including telecom giant Huawei and the internet conglomerate Tencent, inspiring others to follow. Last year, 2,500 new state-recognized high-tech companies were set up in Shenzhen, bringing the total number to 17,000, according to the local government.

More at NBC.

Rupert Hoogewerf is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more financial experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Edgar best fact crime award for Paul French

Celebrity author Paul French flew out in person from Shanghai to receive in New York the prestigious Edgar Best Fact Crime award for his book "Midnight in Peking: How the Murder of a Young Englishwoman Haunted the Last Days of Old China. Report from CSmonitor.

 CSmonitor:

The Best Fact Crime award went to author Paul French for his work “Midnight in Peking,” which explored the death of a young Englishwoman in China in the 1930s as the country was experiencing tremendous change. (Check out Monitor writer Randy Dotinga’s Q&A with French here.) French came from Shanghai to accept his Edgar Award in New York City. 

“It was a very long flight but obviously worth it,” French said during his acceptance speech.

More in CSmonitor.

 Paul French is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.  

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