What Happened to the Tiananmen Spirit?

Chinese state media didn't report Oct. 21 incident

(NEWSER) - In what's believed to be the first of self-immolation in the infamous and heavily-policed Tiananmen Square since 2001, the Telegraph reports that a man set himself on fire there. The incident is also unusual in that Chinese state media didn’t report the Oct. 21 incident—instead, a Telegraph reader happened to witness the act and snap a picture of the aftermath. "The man did it right in front of me," he says. More»

Group calls for human rights in China on Tiananmen Square anniversary

(NEWSER) - Tens of thousands turned out yesterday in Hong Kong to call for human rights in China and commemorate the June 4, 1989 crackdown in Tiananmen Square, the Wall Street Journal reports. Organizers say 150,000 attended the gathering, while local media reports cite police figures—which are generally lower than crowd estimates—of 77,000. Attendees held candles and sang songs, as some called for the release of detained artist Ai Weiwei and dissident Liu Xiaobo . More»

Authorities cracking down in fear of Mideast-style protests

(NEWSER) - Internationally renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei remains missing, more than a day after police stopped him at the Beijing international airport, raided his home, and questioned his wife and assistants. Ai—best-known as a consultant on Beijing's famous "bird's nest" Olympic stadium—has been an outspoken critic of China's government. But supporters hoped his fame and international standing would protect him from arrest. "They asked me about Ai Weiwei's work and the articles he posted online," said Ai's wife. "I told them that everything that Ai did was very public, and if they wanted to know his opinions and work they could just look at the Internet." More»

Better intelligence needed, less realpolitik, fear of Islamism

(NEWSER) - With Hosni Mubarak finally out of power in Egypt, "It's a new day in the Arab world," writes Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times —and hopefully here, as well. "The truth is that the United States has been behind the curve not only in Tunisia and Egypt for the last few weeks, but in the entire Middle East for decades." To fix that, Kristof offers up four changes:

• Get over Islamic fundamentalism. "American paranoia about Islamism has done as much damage as Muslim fundamentalism itself," and as democracy takes hold in the Arab world, "the biggest loser will be al-Qaeda."

The US needs to get its priorities straight and focus on education

(NEWSER) - While many Americans worry about China's rising military might and new stealth fighter, they would be better off worrying about "the rise of China’s education system and the passion for learning that underlies it," writes Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times . He cites how China and Confucian lands like South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore once again dominate a survey of 65 countries' students in math, science and reading, while the United States lags far behind—15th in reading, 23rd in science, and 31st in math. More»