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Performers dressed as soldiers dance in front of a screen showing rockets being launched during a mass gala marking the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party on June 28 at the Olympic Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing, China.
Performers dressed as soldiers dance in front of a screen showing rockets being launched during a mass gala marking the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party on June 28 at the Olympic Bird's Nest stadium in Beijing, China.

Does Beijing’s Belligerent Birthday Party Herald a New Arms Race?

The Chinese Communist Party’s anniversary celebration is taking place amid a nuclear buildup.

It's Debatable |
Emma Ashford, Matthew Kroenig
The pro-democracy media tycoon and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai is escorted by police on Aug. 11, after being arrested in Hong Kong.
The pro-democracy media tycoon and Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai is escorted by police on Aug. 11, after being arrested in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Police Mix Colonial and Communist Brutality

As Beijing cracks down, it turns to familiar tools of repression.

Argument |
Jack Hazlewood
A float with a giant portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping passes by Tiananmen Square during the National Day parade in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019.
A float with a giant portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping passes by Tiananmen Square during the National Day parade in Beijing on Oct. 1, 2019.

Xi Jinping Is a ‘Good Emperor’

An advocate for China describes why the pandemic has increased his trust in Xi, the party, and Beijing.

Argument |
Eric Li
A propaganda poster on preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus is seen on a wall in Hanoi on April 29.
A propaganda poster on preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus is seen on a wall in Hanoi on April 29.

Vietnam’s Coronavirus Success Is Built on Repression

The Communist Party’s tools of control made for effective virus-fighting weapons.

Argument |
Bill Hayton, Tro Ly Ngheo
Two women wear protective clothing on the street in Wuhan, China, on February 10.
Two women wear protective clothing on the street in Wuhan, China, on February 10.

Xi Jinping May Lose Control of the Coronavirus Story

Will the Wuhan virus hurt party rule in China?

ChinaFile |
Daniel Mattingly, Chenjian Li, Isabel Hilton, Jude Blanchette, Andrew Nathan, Orville Schell, Rui Zhong, Pamela Kyle Crossley
Chinese doctor Li Wenliang
Chinese doctor Li Wenliang

Wuhan Gets Its First Virus Martyr

The coronavirus has killed an early whistleblower. The question now is whether Beijing celebrates his sacrifice—or buries his story.

Argument |
James Palmer
Medical staff walk outside a hospital in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 26.
Medical staff walk outside a hospital in Wuhan, China, on Jan. 26.

Chinese Health Care Needs More Communism

As the Wuhan virus spreads, access to health care is a critical issue.

Argument |
Andreea Brinza
The BT-9 guard tower, part of the Berlin Wall exhibit at the Newseum in Washington before its closure in December.
The BT-9 guard tower, part of the Berlin Wall exhibit at the Newseum in Washington before its closure in December.

Why the Berlin Wall Still Matters

Fragments of the wall have become museum pieces. But with the rise of extremist parties in Germany, the debate over the barrier’s legacy is anything but history.

Artifact |
Justin Jampol
A landlord is executed near Fukang, Xinjiang, circa 1949.
A landlord is executed near Fukang, Xinjiang, circa 1949.

The People’s Republic of China Was Born in Chains

The Communist Party calls 1949 a liberation. But China was far freer beforehand.

Argument |
Frank Dikötter
Foreign Policy illustration/Getty Images
Foreign Policy illustration/Getty Images

Xi Jinping Is the Life and Soul of the Party

The Chinese president’s ambitions can’t be separated from the CCP’s ideology.

Argument |
Richard McGregor
A section of the portfolio for Xijian, China's leading augmented reality firm, explains how their technology can be used to improve Chinese Communist Party propaganda. Courtesy of Xijian
A section of the portfolio for Xijian, China's leading augmented reality firm, explains how their technology can be used to improve Chinese Communist Party propaganda. Courtesy of Xijian

China’s Communist Party Is Making Its Own (Virtual) Reality

Propaganda is getting an upgrade with technological tricks.

Argument |
Eduardo Baptista
Foreign Policy illustration/Madoka Ikegami-Pool/Getty Images/Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Foreign Policy illustration/Madoka Ikegami-Pool/Getty Images/Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Real Origins of the U.S.-China Cold War

The only way to win the next superpower showdown is to understand what exactly caused it.

Feature |
Charles Edel, Hal Brands
Seumas Milne, the Labour Party's executive director of strategy and communications, leaves the Labour party headquarterson September 20, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)
Seumas Milne, the Labour Party's executive director of strategy and communications, leaves the Labour party headquarterson September 20, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

Corbyn’s Pet Stalinist

Seumas Milne loves the Soviet Union, hates the EU, and has the ear of a possible future prime minister.

Argument |
James Bloodworth
Chinese attendants close the curtains at the end of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 14, 2005. (Cancan Chu/Getty Images)
Chinese attendants close the curtains at the end of the National People's Congress in Beijing on March 14, 2005. (Cancan Chu/Getty Images)

Winter Settles on Chinese Universities

What does Xu Zhangrun’s punishment mean for hopes of academic freedom?

ChinaFile |
Sarah Biddulph, Donald Clarke, Jerome A. Cohen, Margaret Lewis, Taisu Zhang, Teng Biao, David Yeliang Xia
Mihrigul Tursun (right) speaks at the National Press Club in Washington on Nov. 26, 2018. Through a translator, Tursun, a member of China’s Uighur minority, said she spent several months in detention in China where she was beaten, tortured, and given unknown drugs. (Maria Danilova/AP)
Mihrigul Tursun (right) speaks at the National Press Club in Washington on Nov. 26, 2018. Through a translator, Tursun, a member of China’s Uighur minority, said she spent several months in detention in China where she was beaten, tortured, and given unknown drugs. (Maria Danilova/AP)

The Chinese Communist Party Always Needs An Enemy

Xinjiang's detainees are the latest victims of a deep insecurity.

Argument |
Samantha Hoffman
Bertolt Brecht in 1937. (Fred Stein/Picture-Alliance/dpa/Associated Press)
Bertolt Brecht in 1937. (Fred Stein/Picture-Alliance/dpa/Associated Press)

Poetry for the Masses

1,200 newly translated poems from Bertolt Brecht offer an unexpected survival guide for difficult times.

Review |
Tara Bray Smith
(Illustration by Penguin Lab for Foreign Policy)
(Illustration by Penguin Lab for Foreign Policy)

China’s Pop Idols Are Too Soft for the Party

Stars like Kris Wu are huge with fans but sit uncomfortably with macho ambitions.

Decoder |
Lauren Teixeira
(Etienne Oliveau/Getty Images/Foreign Policy illustration)
(Etienne Oliveau/Getty Images/Foreign Policy illustration)

中国的大跃退

数十年来，中国设法避免了独裁统治通常会带来的大多数问题，而现在习近平对个人权力的追逐正在毁掉使中国成为例外的整个基础

Essay |
Jonathan Tepperman
A footbridge over the Nujiang River near Bingzhongluo, in Nujiang prefecture, China, on April 10. The bridge links the increasingly modern village of Bingzhongluo with a group of subsistence agricultural communities found at higher altitudes. (Edward Cavanough for Foreign Policy)
A footbridge over the Nujiang River near Bingzhongluo, in Nujiang prefecture, China, on April 10. The bridge links the increasingly modern village of Bingzhongluo with a group of subsistence agricultural communities found at higher altitudes. (Edward Cavanough for Foreign Policy)

Nowhere to Run in Xi’s China

The Chinese leader’s cult reaches into the most remote regions of the country.

Dispatch |
Edward Cavanough
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