The building of railways in China has had a tortured history. Early attempts were foiled by residents who feared the building of tracks would disturb grave sites and upset an area’s natural harmony. Laborers who made their living driving cart mules or pulling barges naturally felt threatened by competition. Despite the best efforts of reform-minded [...]
On railways and history and the railroading of history
September 4th, 2008 · 7 Comments
Tags: Chinese History
CSM: “An experiment in democracy leads to fierce resistance”
September 4th, 2008 · 6 Comments
There are situations where the venality of officials transcends the usual debate over political systems and makes me despair not for any particular locality or government, but for human nature in general. This is just such a case.
From The Christian Science Monitor:
“When Fang Zhaojuan began organizing her neighbors here to impeach village leaders whom she suspected of corruption, she [...]
Tags: Chinese politics
