Miles Yu
Columns by Miles Yu
Inside China: James Soong shakes up Taiwan presidential election again
He is the most enigmatic figure in Taiwanese politics. Admired by many, loathed by some but courted by most, he has commanded attention in all of the island's key elections and helped decide the outcome in the most crucial ones since Taiwan embraced full-blown democracy in the 1990s. Published July 2, 2015
Inside China: Hung Hsiu-chu’s Taiwan president nomination sign of KMT party weakness
Without the usual boisterous and contentious primary election, and without the traditional backroom wheeling and dealing among party elders and luminaries to decide their next presidential candidate, Taiwan's ruling political party, the KMT, has moved with uncharacteristic alacrity to select a political lightweight to compete against opposition Democratic Progressive Party heavyweight candidate Tsai Ing-wen in next year's election. Published June 18, 2015
Inside China: China’s government’s credibility sunk over Yangtze River ship capsize
The worst domestic maritime tragedy since China's Communists came to power — the still-unexplained capsizing of a Yangtze River cruise ship that claimed more than 440 lives in the dark of night June 1 — has generated worldwide media attention. Published June 11, 2015
Inside China: Credibility of Communist China’s revolutionary heros being challenged
The credibility of the Communist Party's long list of revolutionary military heroes is being challenged as never before by the Chinese people, who are obliged to endure state-sponsored propaganda and forced emulation of these larger-than-life communist model soldiers from kindergarten on. Published June 4, 2015
Inside China: Anti-Japanese TV propaganda dramas backfire
China's sustained, state-mobilized anti-Japanese propaganda campaign, one that has permeated the main news, arts and entertainment industries, has run into a wave of domestic criticism, as many World War II-themed anti-Japanese dramas on television have come across as bizarre, vulgar, even pornographic kitsch. The campaign is causing public revulsion and condemnation. Published May 21, 2015
Inside China: French flotilla in Shanghai fuels talk of deal with China
A French naval flotilla left Singapore and arrived in Shanghai on May 9 for a weeklong visit, fueling a wave of speculation that the timing of the rare naval visit, the first since 2013, signals the two sides may be ready to cut a deal. Published May 14, 2015
Inside China: China, Russia to build moon base
China and Russia have announced plans for a joint space exploration project that ultimately could lead to the establishment of a Sino-Russian base on the moon. Published May 7, 2015
Inside China: Kim Jong-un of North Korea stirs controversy over name of mountain
The story Monday of North Korea's obese leader, Kim Jong-un, scaling a 9,000-foot mountain — in leather shoes and neat dress coat, on a pair of legs that had undergone operation and needed a walking cane only a couple of months ago — has stirred up a firestorm on China's Internet, the world's largest closed cyber community with over 600 million users known as Netizens. Published April 23, 2015
Inside China: Bi Fujian’s ‘Mr. Subliminal’ dinner show offends Communist Party, causes scandal
In a free country, the "Mr. Subliminal" act on "Saturday Night Live" brought Kevin Nealon fame and fortune. But a similar act in communist China has caused a major national scandal, prompting the outraged government to promise the harshest punishments for the offense. Published April 16, 2015
Inside China: Turkey, China fight over Uighurs detained in Thailand
A diplomatic dispute has erupted over China's and Turkey's competing claims for 17 ethnic Uighurs who were detained in Thailand on charges of illegal border-crossing. Each is demanding the Uighurs' return. Published April 2, 2015
Inside China: Myanmar air bombs prompt military buildup on border
A swift but steady Chinese military buildup is taking place along the China-Myanmar border after three Myanmarese air force bombings killed at least four and wounded eight at a Chinese village in one week. Published March 19, 2015
Inside China: Myanmar bombed Chinese village
A Myanmar government MiG-29 fighter plane on March 8 flew over a Chinese village in the border province of Yunnan and dropped a bomb on a house believed to be a safe haven for the Kokang rebels. No major casualty was announced by either the Chinese or the Burmese side. Published March 12, 2015
Inside China: Cuba arms caught by Colombia as illegal cargo on Chinese ship
A Chinese cargo ship has been detained by Colombian authorities for illegally shipping a large amount of arms to Cuba. Published March 5, 2015
Inside China: Narendra Modi riles China
China has unleashed its anger on the man President Xi Jinping has been trying his best to cultivate in recent months, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after the Indian leader on Feb. 20 visited the Indian state called Arunachal Pradesh — the place Beijing calls "South Tibet" and insists is its "sacred and indivisible territory." Published February 26, 2015
Inside China: Zhou Yongkang cronies executed for ‘gangster crimes’
A Chinese mining tycoon, his brother and three associates were executed Feb. 9 in China for "gangster crimes." But it is clear the tycoon's association with China's former security czar Zhou Yongkang was the real reason for their fate. Published February 19, 2015
Inside China: Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je hit over comments
Popular Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je has caused a big stir in the global Chinese community for remarks he made during a recent interview with the U.S. magazine Foreign Policy. Published February 5, 2015
Inside China: Stung by Sri Lanka’s election
Sri Lanka's presidential election earlier this month dealt China a major blow as opposition leader Maithripala Sirisena, who had made curtailing excessive Chinese influence the main focus of his campaign, won a surprise victory over the Beijing-friendly incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Published January 22, 2015
Inside China: Public purge of 16 military officials in corruption crackdown
China on Thursday took the rare step of publishing a list of 16 senior People's Liberation Army officials who were purged on mostly unspecified corruption charges since the beginning of 2014. Published January 15, 2015
Inside China: China lauds Facebook’s blocking of dissident’s account
A leading Chinese Communist Party newspaper is savoring Facebook's decision to block a leading exiled Chinese dissident's account, praising the company's voluntary move as yet another sign that Chinese human rights activists deserve punishment not only by the communist government but also by leading Western social media outlets. Published January 8, 2015
Inside China: China not invited to North Korea anniversary
In a rare display of open brotherly schism between Pyongyang and Beijing, China for the first time was not invited to participate in a major anniversary event held Dec. 17 in North Korea. Published December 18, 2014