China: anti-corruption drive — or bid for unrivalled authority?

International affairs analyst Jonathan Manthorpe writes in today’s column: In authoritarian states there is always a fine line between campaigns against social cancers such as corruption, disposing of political rivals in the process, and riding the upheaval to unchallenged personal power. In

Take China’s threats against Taiwan seriously

This time, the world should pay attention to China’s threatening approach to Taiwan, warns Jonathan Manthorpe in his international affairs column today. An excerpt: Xi Jinping is not the first modern Chinese leader to threaten the island nation of Taiwan with invasion if

China’s Xi renews threat to invade Taiwan

JONATHAN MANTHORPEPublished: October 9, 2013  Xi Jinping is not the first modern Chinese leader to threaten the island nation of Taiwan with invasion if they do not soon agree to hand their sovereignty to the Beijing regime. Indeed, it has become a