China’s refusal to tolerate dissent at home has split families apart, creating exiles who continue to fight for free speech from afar. The saga of Bao Tong and his son, Bao Pu, is one of these stories. Bao Tong once served as the right-hand man for China’s leader, Zhao Ziyang. Both were purged when the…
Category: Communist Party
Corruption
China’s Communist Party sees internal corruption as one of the biggest threats to continued rule. While it has been selectively cracking down on graft, victims of past corruption often cannot get redress. Some who insist upon it are punished. Here are some of my stories on the dark (and light) side of the crackdown: McClatchy,…
Hong Kong
In 2014, I covered the buildup to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy street occupations, and the tumultuous clashes with police and thugs that followed. Here’s a selection of spot news, enterprise and continuing coverage from the dozens of stories I filed. 2016 Christian Science Monitor, January 26, Publisher warns of China’s campaign to ‘wipe out’ free speech…
Smoke, mirrors and sustainability
China’s air pollution crisis is nowhere close to being solved. Yet water – the lack of clean, plentiful supplies – may be a bigger threat to the country’s economy. And pollution issues of all kinds are an increasing source of social unrest, posing another challenge for the Communist Party and its hold on power. 2015…
Stuart Leavenworth 