CHINA ARTICLES by Brian Hennessy
China and greatness
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. October, 2009 China is carrying a lot of excess baggage on its journey to greatness. This nation’s nagging fear however, is that although it may be big, it suspects that it may never be great. Powerful? Yes. Great? I’m not so sure – let’s wait and see. China […]
Culture, Philosophy, and Government.
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. October, 2009 No matter how much Westerners may dislike the Communist Party and its tentacles which infiltrate almost every aspect of daily life in the Middle Kingdom, China’s rise confronts us with an inconvenient truth: maybe this is the best system for governing China at this stage in her […]
Chinese Peoples Political Consult Conf.
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. October, 2009. The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) was formed on the 21st September 1949, and was meant to be composed of people who represented the various sectors of Chinese society. The original aim was for it to be an instrument cooperation and political consultation led by the […]
Chongqing: the big cleanup.
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. September, 2009 Chongqing has the potential to become a hub for tourism in the greater southwest region of China. However, this potential is not being realised. Tourists don’t stay in Chongqing for long. They just regard Chongqing as a place to board a vessel for their trip down through […]
We live in interesting times.
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. January 1, 2009 How will the economic crisis affect China and her relations with the rest of the world? Although I don’t pretend to have all the answers, as an expatriate who has lived and worked in China for five years now, I figure that I am just as […]
China: Credit where it is due.
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. June, 2009 Whether the West likes it or not, and whether the Chinese people like it or not, the reality is that China is a one-party state that we (and they) must live with for the foreseeable future. So let’s separate politics from government for a moment, and take […]
Prediction: a risky business.
Brian Hennessy. An Australian in China. June, 2009 Economics is often called the dismal science. Now I understand why. The proposition that economics is a science is on very shaky ground indeed. Those economists who analyse data and make predictions are too often wrong. Reason enough for this pejoritive moniker. So let me release a little bile on […]
Sichuan earthquake. Shifang. Remembering.
Brian Hennessy. China Australia Consult. 5:12 (2009). On the eve of 5:12, the anniversary of the Sichuan earthquake, I was in the provincial town of Shifang, very close to the epicenter at Beichuan. 6000 residents perished here. China Central Television (CCTV), a nationwide government-controlled service, was due to televise a special live program in memory of […]
Sichuan earthquake. Hongbaizhen. One year later.
Brian Hennessy. China Australia Consult. 2009 I have just spent two days in the earthquake zone. I went there with a small group of volunteers from around China who dropped everything when the earthquake occurred, and went into the zone. Ordinary people: office-workers from Chongqing and Shanghai, off-duty policemen from Guiyang and Xi’an, a businessman from […]
Sichuan earthquake. Beichuan. One year later.
Brian Hennessy. China Australia Consult. 5:12 (2009). My purpose here is to outline what I saw at the epi-center of the earthquake one year after that terrible day. A day when relatives were allowed back into what is left of that city to grieve. Until now, nobody has been allowed to return. Beichuan is beyond […]