Covering China

This text covers the events, anniversaries and processes that have shaped Chinese and American media coverage, the challenges of explaining China to Americans and America to the Chinese and important stories emerging in China.

The relationship between China and the United States has been marked by a lack of mutual comprehension that stretches from America's missionary paternalism in the early twentieth century to the fears and fascinations of the present. Throughout the twentieth century China has attracted the attention of American journalists, from the first China hands who covered an ancient country lurching into the modern world, to the chroniclers of World War II and the Chinese civil war, to the reporters who today explore the contradictions of China's economy. Covering China looks at the questions, concerns, and conceptions of all the generations of American reporters against the backdrop of Chinese history and China's own media.Covering China is divided into three sections. "Histories" takes up the events, anniversaries, and processes that have shaped Chinese and American media coverage over the century. Included here are chapters focusing on the civil war and analyzing American reporting in the 1930s and 1940s in their many viewpoints, as well as in the decades when China was closed to American journalists. Other chapters consider the influence on journalism of various political movements from the anti-Western May 4th movement of 1918 to the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989. "Communicating" explores the challenges of explaining China to Americans and America to the Chinese. Among the topics covered here are the Chinese media reaction to the Clinton scandal, the status of Hong Kong as a window between China and the West, Communist efforts to control public opinion in the media, and the pioneering role of Pearl S. Buck in interpreting China for American readers. The concluding section, "Issues," examines important stories now emerging in China that will matter to both journalists and China watchers, including the changing roles of Chinese women, little-covered instances of ethnic unrest, and the complexities of economic and environmental stories.The variety of points of view expressed in Covering China is a testament to the vigor of contemporary writing on China. As one contributor notes, American media coverage of China needs to challenge existing assumptions and be ready for the unexpected. By doing so, journalists can minimize the sense of shock that erupts in America at each swing of Chinese history. Covering China will be of interest to China area specialists, journalists, and cultural historians.Robert W. Snyder is managing editor of the Media Studies Journal, a historian, and author of Transit Talk: New York's Bus and Subway Workers Tell Their Stories. He has taught at Princeton University and New York University.

“Covering China from Cyberspace in 2014” reviews the year’s major events as seen through the eyes of Chinese censors and the netizens who are brave enough to defy them. A crackdown on free speech and activism that began as soon as President Xi Jinping took office in 2012 only intensified and broadened throughout 2014. A steady stream of filtered search terms and propaganda directives guided coverage and discussion of a broad variety of topics and stories, from Xi’s visit to a steamed bun shop to the arrest of former security chief Zhou Yongkang. The 25th anniversary of June 4th and the protest movement in Hong Kong were both among the most strictly censored stories in China in recent memory. But the harsh tactics used by authorities to silence their critics did not work to intimidate the most outspoken Internet users, who continued to find creative ways to express themselves. This yearbook is not an effort to chronicle everything that happened in China this past year. Rather, it provides a unique lens on some of the biggest stories in China in 2014 by compiling the best of the news reports & analysis, Internet commentary, propaganda directives, cartoons, and other images. “Covering China from Cyberspace in 2014” is a valuable resource for China analysts, journalists, students, and others who wish to broaden their knowledge and understanding of recent events in the country.

The emergence of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in late 2002 and 2003 challenged the global public health community to confront a novel epidemic that spread rapidly from its origins in southern China until it had reached more than 25 other countries within a matter of months. In addition to the number of patients infected with the SARS virus, the disease had profound economic and political repercussions in many of the affected regions. Recent reports of isolated new SARS cases and a fear that the disease could reemerge and spread have put public health officials on high alert for any indications of possible new outbreaks. This report examines the response to SARS by public health systems in individual countries, the biology of the SARS coronavirus and related coronaviruses in animals, the economic and political fallout of the SARS epidemic, quarantine law and other public health measures that apply to combating infectious diseases, and the role of international organizations and scientific cooperation in halting the spread of SARS. The report provides an illuminating survey of findings from the epidemic, along with an assessment of what might be needed in order to contain any future outbreaks of SARS or other emerging infections.

Annotation This title addresses China's ever increasing interest in the Arctic, and in Canada's Far North in particular. It offers a holistic approach to the subject - covering resource development, shipping, scientific research, governance, and military strategy - to better understand both Chinese motivations and the potential impacts of a greater Chinese presence in the circumpolar region. The book draws on extensive research into published Chinese government documentation, secondary source analysis, business and media reports, and the existing academic literature.

Presents an up-to-date look at the social processes and consequences of China's rapid economic growth.