« Chine, merci et au revoir » : lettre d’un expat’ qui revient en France. Des Chinois essaient de se rafraîchir à Suining, le 17 juillet 2013 (STR/AFP) J’habite en Chine depuis un peu plus d’un an maintenant.
C’est un pays incroyable sur bien des points. Mais force est de constater que ce pays n’est pas fait pour tout le monde et, a fortiori, il n’est plus fait pour moi ou les gens comme moi, ceux qui voyagent pour expérimenter, goûter, voir, comprendre et apaiser leur curiosité. Making of Notre riverain Lex Siga, infographiste, est français. J’y étais allé avec mon ignorance d’Européen entre la fantaisie de la richesse culturelle et historique du pays et les doutes quant au gouvernement en place et la politique qu’il peut appliquer à sa population. La Chine est devenue une sorte d’Eldorado, un peu comme pouvait l’être l’Amérique. La Chine choisit ses immigrés Cela est encore possible, mais la Chine a décidé d’y mettre ses règles du jeu – à raison, elle a la main sur les décisions.
En Chine, personne ne sait jamais 3000 ans de culture administrative Oh ! « Oh ! China's Mr Xi goes to wary Washington. The portents surrounding the visit to Washington next week of vice-president Xi Jinping, the man expected to become China's new "paramount leader", are not auspicious.
The year of the dragon, just begun, may mark the moment when the aura of inevitability surrounding China's rise as leading global superpower is punctured, if not wholly dispelled. A range of factors, including adverse economic trends, internal challenges to Communist party control and increasing American re-assertiveness suggests an unexpectedly rough ride ahead for Beijing's would-be masters of the universe.
The furious row over China's veto of the proposed UN resolution on Syria is a taste of things to come. Barack Obama's state of the union address vividly illustrated the more combative mood in the US towards a China that is daily accused by Republican presidential candidates of wilfully undermining American jobs and businesses and scheming to supplant the US as world No 1. "But we need to do more. The balance of payments: BoP until you drop. Bo Xilai fired in Chinese Communist Party leadership shakeup. During his more than four years as the party chief in Chongqing, Bo — the son of an early revolutionary hero — had led a crackdown on crime and a revival of Mao-era patriotic songs and sloganeering while promoting an economic model that emphasized a more equitable distribution of wealth.
His approach, known as the “Chongqing model,” attracted the support of modern-day Maoists and others critical of China’s growing income disparity. But Bo’s populism and his authoritarian manner — which prompted accusations that he and his security forces ignored laws and human rights in their anti-crime crusade — unnerved some central government leaders in Beijing. His “red revival” campaign also triggered unwelcome memories of the violence and chaos of Mao Zedong’s 1966-76 Cultural Revolution.
“Basically, his political career is at an end,” said Zhang Ming, a political science professor at Beijing’s Renmin University. Higgins reported from Hong Kong. China’s wealthy and influential sometimes hire body doubles to serve their prison sentences. Illustration by Robert Neubecker.
In May 2009, a wealthy 20-year-old was drag racing through the city streets of Hangzhou, China, when his Mitsubishi struck and killed a pedestrian in a crosswalk. The car was traveling so fast that the victim—a 25-year-old telecom engineer of a modest, rural background—was flung at least 20 yards. Afterward, bystanders and reporters photographed the driver, Hu Bin, as well as his rich friends, who nonchalantly smoked cigarettes and laughed while waiting for the police to arrive at the scene. These images, soon posted online, provoked a public outcry. Anger over the callous behavior of these wealthy Chinese youths was followed by accusations of a police cover-up. But the most stunning allegation was that the man appearing in court and serving the three-year sentence wasn’t Hu at all, but a hired body double. The charge isn’t as far-fetched as it may sound. Sometimes, family members cover for each other. “Replacement convicts” are not new.
Banyan: Burst balloons.