Political Science Commons^™

Agriculture In The Wto: Limits On Domestic Support, Randy Schnepf

Congressional Research Service Reports

Most of the provisions of the current farm bill, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-246), do not expire until 2012. However, hearings on the 2012 farm bill have already begun. Congress is in the process of reviewing farm income and commodity price support proposals that might succeed the programs due to expire in 2012.

A key question likely to be asked of virtually every new proposal is how it will affect U.S. commitments under the WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture (AA), which commits the United States to spend no more than $19.1 billion annually on domestic farm …

Agricultural Disaster Assistance, Dennis A. Shields, Ralph M. Chite

Congressional Research Service Reports

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers several permanently authorized programs to help farmers recover financially from a natural disaster, including federal crop insurance, the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), and emergency disaster loans. The federal crop insurance program is designed to protect crop producers from unavoidable risks associated with adverse weather, and weather-related plant diseases and insect infestations. Producers who grow a crop that is currently ineligible for crop insurance may be eligible for a direct payment under NAP. Under the emergency disaster (EM) loan program, when a county has been declared a disaster area by either the …

Hardball, Paul Katz

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This year’s holiday cheer has been dampened by a series of events that have shaken Taiwan’s sporting world – the abrupt release by the Sinon Bulls (興農牛) baseball team of All-Star catcher Yeh Chun-chang葉君璋, as well as the fishy circumstances surrounding his aborted attempt to resume his career with the Brother Elephants (兄弟象).

Reminder: China Beat At Aha

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A reminder that China Beat editors, contributors, and readers will be gathering for an informal get-together on Saturday, January 9 at the Marriott Starbucks at 7:30 a.m.

While We Were Away…

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

The most distressing news from China over the holidays was the severe sentence (11 years in prison) handed to dissident Liu Xiaobo for his involvement in the writing and organization of Charter ’08 in December 2008. For those who are catching up on this story, a brief set of readings to bring you up to speed on the situation.

Upcoming Events

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A few upcoming events that we think will be of interest to China Beat readers:

The China Beat: Lost In Translation Edition

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

1. A trackback on Peter Hessler’s recent China Beat photo essay, “Behind the Wheel, About to Snap” led us to this Spanish-language review of his latest book,Country Driving. If you don’t read Spanish, there’s a button on the page that takes you to a Google translation of the review; while the translation hits a few potholes along the way, it’s a generally good rendition of a perceptive and well-written overview of Hessler’s book.

“An Oasis Of Peace And Quietude”: The 1964/’65 World’S Fair China Pavilion, Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

My grandfather took his job as family photographer seriously, and over the course of four decades he produced several huge boxes of slides that my mother has recently begun scanning and digitizing. Mixed in with the usual snapshots of weddings, birthday parties, and holiday gatherings are photos he took during a family trip to the 1964/’65 World’s Fair in New York.

Blogging Aas 2010 (4), Graham Sanders

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This panel attempted to think through a number of issues related to gossip and rumor in traditional China. Paola Zamperini of Amhest College presided over the affair in truly breathtaking Edwardian piratical style. Incisive comments were provided by Robert Hymes of Columbia University. Hymes asked the question of whether or not gossip was normative or subversive, suggesting that there was very little in any of the papers that could be taken as a subversive reading of gossip. Rather, gossip in each case tended to affirm or reaffirm normative social hierarchies and values.

What I Read On My Summer Vacation (Part Iii), Jeffrey Wasserstrom

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

I’ll get to books I actually read over the summer (or in one case, am part of the way through as I write), as opposed to simply ones I dipped into, learned about, wrote about, or thought about, in a minute. First, though, I want to mention briefly a trio of book-related summertime activities of mine that don’t quite fit into the format of this series.

Reading Round-Up: Google And China

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Stories about Google’s announcement that it will no longer censor its Chinese search engine, and that the company is reevaluating its presence in China, have been showing up at a breakneck speed over the past two days. While we anticipate that much more will be written about this development, here are some of the pieces that have caught our attention so far:

Sheep In Wolves’ Clothing? The Book The Han Nationalists Love To Loath, James Leibold

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

What book could cause one Chinese netizen to “shiver with fear from head to toe” and others to suggest that the Han people might once again face genocide? Wolf Totem (狼图腾), the semi-autobiographical polemic of Han author Lü Jiamin 吕嘉民 (aka Jiang Rong 姜戎) and his confessional self-awakening about the beauty, strength and freedom of the Mongolian steppe and its lupine culture.

Penny For A Photo

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

“In the Tibetan town of Tagong, Western Sichuan, this local poses enthusiastically for my camera.

Aha Update: Conference On Asian History Luncheon

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A quick note to call your attention to a scheduling change at this week’s American Historical Association meeting in San Diego:

China Beat At Aha

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

For those attending the American Historical Association meeting in San Diego next week:

Mao Fever And The Story Of A Mao Book, Ross Terrill

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

No abstract provided.

As China Beat Heads Into Its Third Year…, Kate Merkel-Hess

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In January, we marked the end of our second year online. China Beat has changed a lot during that time, and will be changing more in the coming weeks and months as China Beat’s new editor, Maura Cunningham, takes the helm. It’s been my pleasure to have been founding editor of China Beat, and as I transition to a new role at the blog (I will now join the ranks of the blog’s consulting editors), I wanted to look back at how China Beat has developed since January 2008—for new readers and for readers who have been with us since …

A Seventh Take On Jacques, Harald Bockman

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Since Jeff Wasserstrom posted a round-up of reviews of Martin Jacques’ When China Rules the World, pieces that reference the book have continued to be published, including a column by Robert Samuelson at the Wall Street Journalthat calls Jacques’ book ”masterful.” Jacques, meanwhile, published another op-ed on China and the US last week titled ”Crouching Dragon, Weakened Eagle” in the International Herald Tribune. Below, Harald Bockman raises his concerns about the on-going attention Jacques’ book is receiving, and points out—despite that attention—the weakness in the book that most reviewers are still missing.

Reading Round-Up: Barack Obama And The Dalai Lama

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

There have been plenty of news stories recently about today’s meeting between Barack Obama and the Dalai Lama. Here are some suggestions for further reading (and viewing):

China Tweetniks

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Those who follow China Beat on Twitter might have noticed that our long-neglected feed has shown signs of awakening lately.

Another Side Of The Shanghai World Expo: Forum On Ict And Urban Development, Susan Brownell

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

This posting marks my return to blogging after a break following my participation in the founding of The China Beat in 2008 with my postings from Beijing leading up to the Olympics. Contacts I made during the Olympics led to an invitation to do some informal work for the Forum Department of the Expo Organizing Bureau, and so I am now in Shanghai and blogging about China’s second mega-event.

Continuing Coverage Of Country Driving

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

We’ve reviewed Country Driving, and have been reading what others think of the book as well. Reviews are appearing in a variety of places: just a few we’ve seen are at Urbanatomy, The Boston Globe, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune.

Peter Hessler At Uci

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

A few images from today’s “conversation” between Peter Hessler (currently on tour to promote his newest book, Country Driving) and Ken Pomeranz at the University of California, Irvine, with almost 100 in attendance.

Rebuilding, Paul Katz

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Just over five months have passed since the devastation wrought by Typhoon Morakot, and the survivors of the Siaolin Village 小林村 tragedy are coping as best they can with a lot of help from their friends, charitable organizations, and the government. However, the effects of the disaster still linger. Over 400 bodies of victims buried or washed away in the mudslide that followed hours of torrential rains will never be recovered, and there is not a large enough tract of arable land in the unscathed portions of Siaolin, or even all of Chia-hsien Township 甲仙鄉, to rebuild a community sufficient …

What Does China Imagine?, Guangyi Li

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

One day when I was four, I found an interesting book on the shelf, called A Strange Patient. This anthology starts with an impressive piece of science fiction,Miracle on the World’s Highest Peak by Ye Yonglie. The story describes an investigation of Mount Everest, where, with some Tibetans’ help, scientists find a precious dinosaur egg embedded in amber and preserved intact over time. Unlike their counterparts in Jurassic Park, however, the Chinese scientists don’t extract dinosaur genes and clone this extinguished species. Instead, they hatch a baby dinosaur!

Jia Zhangke Does Shanghai…And Other Notes From The Field

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

In addition to checking out the Expo (something I’ve blogged about before and will blog about again) and hosting a series of dialogs at M on the Bund’s Glamour Bar (the last of which takes place this Sunday at 2:30 and will find me in conversation about writing for the web and for print with Evan Osnos of the New Yorker magazine and the excellent “Letter from China” blog), I’ve been trying to take advantage of any opportunities that come along in terms of local cultural events. On the whole, I think I’ve been very lucky with my timing.

Me, Wang Hui, And Liberal Wishy-Washy-Ness, Peter Zarrow

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Wang Hui is a cultural historian and critic, and professor at Qinghua University in Beijing. He was for several years editor of Dushu, a serious general interest magazine perhaps roughly — very roughly — equivalent to the Atlantic monthly in the US. He is also known as a leader of the so-called “New Left” intellectuals, who highlight the costs of economic liberalization, global capitalism, and rigid Western-style modernization policies. Early this year, charges of plagiarism began to appear concerning some of some of Wang Hui’s work. He has since been subject to numerous attacks, including ad hominen blog attacks.

Joan Hinton (1921-2010), Charles W. Hayford

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Joan Hinton died last month in a Beijing hospital at the age of 88. It was surprising that so many mainstream American newspapers ran detailed obituaries. Hinton had lived in China since 1948, mostly running dairy farms, and she didn’t go out of her way to address Americans, as did her brother, William, author of the classic Fanshen: A Documentary of Revolution in a Chinese Village (1967). She did publicly attack American imperialism — in 2006, she displayed a T shirt reading “F—k Bush” in Chinese.

Reading Round-Up, 1/31/2010

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

1. While quite a few writers have discussed the Avatar-versus-Confucius battle currently going on in Chinese cinemas (China Beat posts on the subject can be found here and here), the December 2009 issue of China Heritage Quarterlyincludes a piece by Gloria Davies and M.E. Davies on another attention-getting film, The Founding of a Republic. The authors point out that the movie, released to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the PRC’s founding, is notable for setting forth a new narrative about the events leading up to October 1, 1949:

Google And China: The Analysis Continues

China Beat Blog: Archive 2008-2012

Almost three weeks have passed since Google’s January 12 announcement that it would be reconsidering its Chinese operations, and although the company has not yet indicated a final decision about its future in China, the issues raised by this matter have sparked a number of thoughtful analyses. Yesterday, China Beatfeatured a piece by Geremie Barmé on “The Harmonious Evolution of Information in China”; below, some more recent commentaries on the Google and China story that have gotten our attention: