Contemporary China Review 2023 Spring Issue

At the time of the publication of the English issue of "Contemporary China Review", domestic floods are rampant, causing thousands of people to suffer and die. Throughout thousands of years of Chinese civilization, emperors would issue a "self-critique proclamation during times of great disasters." Today's so-called "prosperous monarchs" are akin to France's Louis XV of the past, who famously said, "After I die, the deluge can come." For thousands of years, the Chinese have steadfastly believed in a cosmic principle: "Those who do injustice will meet their demise." People are the actors, and heaven is the observer. Recently, the author Guang Mu stated, in the afterword of the novel "The Gate to Rebirth", "The Chinese nationality is now at a turning point in a new era, at a historical moment to eliminate imperial authoritarianism. Every Chinese citizen is responsible for saving the Chinese nationality from being expelled from human civilization. They are obliged to promote truth and the natural order, ignite the beacon of righteousness in the world, and guide the Chinese nationality through the gate of rebirth into freedom and democracy."

This is the Inaugural Issue of an English version of Contemporary China Review. Contemporary China Review was published by Bouden House in New York. A group of Chinese intellectuals have courageously stepped forward to overcome all difficulties and publish an independent periodical that seeks to discuss important issues relating to China openly and honestly.

In October 2022, the 20th Party Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) concluded, extending Xi Jinping's leadership indefinitely, which many view as a one-party dictatorship. Exploring Confucian and socialist principles, this book examines the relationship between the citizens and leaders in the Chinese autocracy. By applying a Foucauldian twist to a range of topics - from discussing the politics of love and pandemic nationalism to analysing Xi's personality - it challenges the binary of authoritarianism and democracy. Interdisciplinary in nature, it will appeal to scholars and students working in the fields of politics, international relations, culture studies and critical theory.

The summer of 2022 is an unusual one. The Russian-Ukrainian war shifted from a stalemate to a strategic counter-offensive in Ukraine. Against the backdrop of this huge geopolitical conflict, Taiwan Strait also became tense again with the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. The clamor for military unification with Taiwan by force in mainland China has been overwhelming. Xi Jinping's call with Biden conveyed that this is not the time for a full-blown crisis to break out. When war breaks out in the Taiwan Strait will depend on the CCP's mindset. However, once the CCP regime falls into the hands of an emperor for life, the outbreak of war will be unpredictable. Several articles analyze Xi Jinping's mentality, psychology, and personality in this issue, which provide a glimpse of the "dictatorial factor" behind the Taiwan Strait crisis. Another article analyzing the 50-year history of US-China relations can also help readers understand the direction of US-China relations and the background of the Taiwan Strait crisis. With the globalized economy at a crossroads, the CCP has taken a big step backward from a semi-market economy to a state-planned economy and is facing a huge economic crisis in the financial, manufacturing to real estate sectors. To divert an economic, social, and political crisis, CCP will solve domestic crises with war. This issue presents a scholarly monography that gives us a glimpse into the social psychology of the general public in mainland China today, especially the underestimated dynamics of the little pinko groups that are driving China toward the mistaken path. Meanwhile, the misunderstanding and misperception of the "Chinese revolution" not only camouflage the legitimacy of the CCP regime but also feed into a false "institutional confidence" for Xi Jinping， who boasts to point out the direction of global development.

本期杂志推出的特稿《中华民族向何处去？》是作家光目最近在博登书屋出版的小说《重生之门》的后记，这本小说上架不到一个月被亚马逊网站评为当月最畅销书。这是一本政治小说，也是一本预言小说，博登书屋正在积极翻译英文版尽快出版。本期学者专辑推出著名自由主义学者理论家胡平的三篇近作。胡平先生几十年如一日，笔耕不缀，著书立说，至今依然是当代中国学人自由主义的一面旗帜。本期思想与理论研究选登了许章润教授和郝建教授的文章。这样有思想深度和真知灼见的文章不可能在国内媒体或学术杂志上刊登，《当代中国评论》杂志义不容辞将继续肩负这个责任，为保留我们这个时代的民族精英的思想结晶和学术成果不被这个极权政权所打压而泯灭。此外本期特别选登了在华语世界目前风声鹊起的 MeeToo 运动的一些文章和报道。特别推荐本期关于海峡两岸推出的主编特邀的两篇重要文章：《台海：习一个人的战争》和《兵凶战危下的台湾大选和美中台关系走向》，两位学者都是我十分尊敬的独立学者，这两篇文章分析到位，有着非常坚实的客观依据。战争是人类历史上的灾难，谁发动战争谁就是历史的罪人，正如中国的一句古话：玩火者必自焚！也特别推荐本期推出的美国时政评论关于在美国华裔特别关心的美国最高法院推翻了 AA 也就是"平权法案"的几篇分析文章，这个问题在华裔圈里引起很大反响和争议，几位作者都是北美网络上非常活跃的作者和公共知识分子。

Studies on Contemporary China collects important research findings of China's contemporary political, economic and social studies conducted by the academics at East China Normal University (ECNU) in recent years. This book covers topics including rural-urban integration, reflection on the future of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, analysis of the effects of risk measures on bank efficiency, new rural social endowment insurance, neotype urbanization, among others. This book is the third volume in the WSPC-ECNU Series on China. The WSPC-ECNU Series showcases the significant contributions to scholarship in social sciences and humanities studies about China. The Series is jointly launched by World Scientific Publishing, the most reputable English academic publisher in Asia, and ECNU, a top University in China with a long history of exchanges with the international academic community.