Diana Fu
Diana Fu is a Doctoral Candidate in Politics and a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford. She is currently researching the development of civil society in China. She analyzes global politics from the ground. She has previously written for Nicholas Kristofâs Blog at The New York Times and has contributed to PostGlobal.
(Pre)-Mourning Google January 15th 2010
Dusk is settling on The Google Empire in the high tech park of Haidian District in Beijing. Â Still, a trickle of Google fans gather outside the building where just a few hours ago, security guards took away a bouquets that Googlers set on the Google plaque in a gesture of mourning. Â Now, only a few single stem roses lay there,... And The Winner Is…Panyu Garbage Protesters January 4th 2010
At least the Southern Metropolis Weekly got it right.  The real ground shakers of 2009  are not the Benankes of the world or even the ordinary Chinese worker.  They are a motley group of urban dwellers in the Panyu district of Guangzhou in South China.  They, unlike the dying migrant construction workers from Hunan who contracted... Playing the Political Ping Pong Game December 16th 2009
The recent two months carried grim news for press freedom in China.  Hu Shuliâs resignation from Caijing pulled a temporary plug out of a publication that Westerners courted as a rising star in Chinese journalism.  Southern Weekendâs top editor got demoted for taking on an Obama interview even though it never appeared in... Dali’s Gay Bar: A Face-Losing AIDS Campaign December 2nd 2009
China Central Television (CCTV)’s idea of “universal access and human rights” on World AIDS Day was to broadcast Dali’s first gay bar funded by the prefecture government to encourage AIDS prevention among homosexual males. The original goal of encouraging AIDS awareness was venerable.  The Chinese government... A Tale of Villages in the City November 3rd 2009
A Tale of Villages in a City When a municipality expands as rapidly as Guangzhou has, it engulfs surrounding villages. The result is approximately 138 pockets of rural villages, some encircled by skyscrapers and others lying at the margins of the city.  Locals call them âvillages in a cityâ (ćäžæ) even though some of... |
