Life and soul for the party: Hu Jintao’s fixation on the communist party as the sole institution with the standing, the ability and the right to govern China remains unshakeable. Can traditional Chinese religions help contemporary China clean up its environmental mess? A top Chinese official seems to think so. Even if Seoul is willing to spend a fortune to revive North Korea’s economy, the cult of Kim Jong Il may make it impossible. Look who’s Mr. Fixit for a fraught age: China helped George W. Bush on North Korea. Can it do the same on Iran? Bush recently announced tougher sanctions on Burma’s brutal military government, hoping to pressure the ruling junta to stand aside. But a closer look at Burma’s major exports reveals why this strategy is likely to fail. Why Burma was crushed: We are failing to see the seismic changes that authoritarian capitalism is bringing the world.
