Searching for Harmony Between Urban and Rural in China
On the Limits of Urban Growth and the Rediscovery of the Countryside by Harry den Hartog We’ve almost forgotten the pandemic. The Shanghai lockdown three years ago (https://www.iias.asia/the-newsletter/article/temporary-dystopia-shanghai-absolute-lockdown-contain-omicron-variant) is etched into the collective memory, but no one really talks about it anymore. Yet that intense experience exposed fundamental questions –
From No Man’s Land to Megacity
by Lieven Walther I’ve now been living in the megacity of Hangzhou for over a year. Despite how massive it is, I’ve mostly gotten used to the constant hustle and bustle that comes with it. But I think it also depends on where you’re coming from. If, for example, you
Between Applause and Aversion: Shen Yun and the Paradox of Freedom
by Taylor Carter The lights dim. Golden curtains slide aside. In front of a twinkling LED decor, fairy dancers float across the stage. Welcome to Shen Yun, a colorful spectacle that presents itself as an ode to 5,000 years of Chinese civilization. Every year, it attracts millions of visitors in
Bao’an, the Chinese Version of the Community Officer
by Ans Hooft In the Netherlands, we know the BOA – a special enforcement officer, best to understand as a kind of neighborhood cop. Ans Hooft introduces us to a similar profession in Shanghai. These are busy times for the bao’an, the security guards. They are deployed everywhere in the
From Drone Lattes to Quantum Chips: A Reality Check for the Boardroom
by Yereth Jansen It took less than three minutes before the phones were out. Our bus had just pulled away from Pudong Airport when a stream of gleaming SUVs and sedans slid past the windows: BYD, Zeekr, Nio, XPeng, Aito, Li Auto, Feifan, Hongqi. A parade of brands many people
ChinaNu almost half a century old; period 2001 – 2006, part 6
In recent times there have been several attempts to publish a magazine about China. None, but one of those attempts was long lasting. We are rightly proud that our VNC magazine ChinaNu has been around for almost 50 years. This is due to the great efforts of the editors-in-chief and
Part 3 of a Four-Part Series: Chinese Associations in the Netherlands
by Im Fong Liu, with thanks to Ed van der Feer Introduction The first Chinese communities settled in the Netherlands more than a century ago. What began with a group of Peranakan Chinese students and dockworkers from Hong Kong and mainland China has grown into a diverse community spread across
From Welcome to Unwanted: Academic Cooperation as a Security Risk
by Robert van Kan Academic cooperation and student exchange between the Netherlands and China are under pressure. Optimism about the seemingly limitless possibilities for academic cooperation and the large supply of smart, hard-working and self-paying students and researchers has turned to concerns about espionage, influence and distrust about the true
America Has Its Own Mao
door Jan van der Putten Donald Trump is one of a kind—or so we think. Yet he has more than one predecessor. Take Silvio Berlusconi, for example. The similarities are striking. In terms of charisma and narcissism, the Italian was barely outdone by the American. Berlusconi regularly looked at himself
House of Huawei
Eva Dou: The Secret History of China’s Most Powerful Company. Book Review by Nout Wellink Book Review by Nout Wellink Eva Dou is a journalist for the Washington Post specializing in technology policy. In her book published this year, she takes a deep dive into the history of Huawei, which
China NOW almost half a century old; period 1996 – 2001
Jaap Post In recent times there have been several attempts to publish a magazine about China. None, but one of those attempts was long lasting. We are rightly proud that our VNC magazine China NOW has been around for almost 50 years. This is due to the great efforts of
A First Introduction to Qi
By Astrid Bouwman Inspired by the VNC invitation to the lecture on Qi, “Between Floating Clouds and Flowing Water,” I rushed through the rain to the Jungle in Amsterdam East, where the China Tea House hosted about twenty curious attendees that afternoon. As someone unfamiliar with Chinese, I had no
Four-Part Series: Chinese Associations in the Netherlands
By Im Fong Liu, with thanks to Ed van der Feer Introduction to this four-part series The first Chinese communities settled in the Netherlands more than a century ago. What once began with a group of Peranakan-Chinese students and dockworkers from Hong Kong and China has grown into a diverse
Journey to the East
Architecture, Innovation, and Academic Entrepreneurship in China By Martijn de Geus For ChinaNU+, Martijn de Geus, successful architect with numerous awards to his name and Associate Professor at Tsinghua University in Beijing, shares how he ended up in China and the personal and professional growth he experienced along the way.
China: From Copycats to Inventors
By Jan van der Putten Once, China was the cradle of great inventions, then it became a land of communist copycats, and now the great inventors are once again Chinese. But didn’t we agree that the Communist Party was stifling the creative spirit? Jan van der Putten, previously China correspondent,
