* Museum lauded for rejecting sculptures Oct 28, 2009
The museum declined to purchase or accept as a gift the Qing dynasty bronze rat and rabbit heads X stolen from the Summer Palace in Beijing by European troops during the Opium Wars X from a French collector earlier this year. At the time, museum director Chou Kung-hsin (P\) denied that French businessman Pierre Berge had offered the works to the museum, and she told legislators the museum would never accept artifacts that are controversial, stolen or of unknown origin, a stance lauded by... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Royal Palaces and Houses of Beijing Oct 23, 2009
However, since its destruction in 1860 by allied forces during the Opium Wars and the subsequent destruction in 1900 of what remained, the Old Summer Palace has not been rebuilt. Ruins are visible throughout the park, with the most impressive located at the northern end, where magnificent architecture combining Eastern and Western styles was once located. (Suite101.com)
Ten years to tacklethe Taiwan equation Oct 22, 2009
Since the Opium Wars in the 19th century, China has been afraid to lose in a minor war, and such a defeat could in turn kindle a power struggle and political crisis at home. It is thus fundamental not to lose in a limited war. (Asia Times Online)
Cultural diplomacy will complement China's power Oct 17, 2009
After the two opium wars (1839-42 and 1856-60), the Chinese elite made great efforts to find out about the Western world, but the Western world was not as eager to discover Chinese culture, except for individual scholars and isolated curiosities. As China rises, the interest from the rest of the world has become as eager as China's desire to be understood. (Xinhuanet, China)
* INTERVIEW: China to rule the world, British author says Oct 4, 2009
I said to [former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten] at the time: Dont you think its hypocritical that you start talking about democracy just as youre handing it over, but since the Opium Wars, nothing was further from our minds. . (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
New in paper: Dennis Lehane's 'The Given Day' Oct 1, 2009
Sea of Poppies by (Picador, $15, fiction, reprint) Indians and Westerners sail across the just before the outbreak of the Chinese Opium wars; first in trilogy. The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell (Riverhead, $16, non-fiction, reprint) Essayist/comedian investigates what it really means to be a Puritan. (USA Today -- Life)
Into the Unknown Aug 1, 2009
There is a crude but commonly held thumbnail sketch of modern Chinese history that goes something like this: Two centuries ago, European powers tried to open a hermetic society to trade; they failed until the Opium Wars forced the issue; China then entered an era of foreign domination and internal chaos, which ended with the imposition of political stability by the Communist Party in 1949; in 1978, after another round of internal unrest, China chose to modernize its economy and adopted market... (Time.com)
Where is NDC Job Creation Plan? Jul 28, 2009
I wondered how similar this scene was to those marking the OPENING UP OF JAPAN with Admiral Perrys gunboat diplomacy or the end of the OPIUM WARS or the surrender of maharajas in India. Joseph Stiglitz, Globalization and its Discontents, (Penguin Books, 2002), pp. (Ghana Web, Ghana)
Reform before revoltin today's China Jun 16, 2009
Foreigners were also attacking: Russians by land in Xinjiang and Westerners by sea during the Opium Wars. In theory, it would have been a good opportunity for the Han majority in China to rally with the rebels or the new foreigners and overthrow the Manchu. (Asia Times Online)
Crowd in Shanghai didn't want PSO to stop the music May 18, 2009
It was forcibly opened when the country lost the Opium Wars with Britain. Starting in 1842, the city had different zones, or concessions, in which foreign countries followed their own rules. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, PA)
China broods over ping-pong success May 14, 2009
This is related to the century-old humiliation of the Middle Kingdom by foreigners, beginning with its defeat during the first Opium Wars in the mid-19th century. For the government, too, gold medals means status. (Asia Times Online)
Communists Can't Outspend Capitalists as China Contends With Jobless Rise May 12, 2009
As a result of the Opium Wars of the mid-19th century, a weakened China had to cede territory -- including Hong Kong and Shanghai -- and give trading concessions to colonial powers. From 1933 to 1945, much of the country was occupied by the Japanese. (Bloomberg -- Canada)
* When self-help trumps invasion May 3, 2009
Projecting power from the sea would stir up bad memories of the Opium Wars, the Boxer Rebellion and other painful episodes from Chinas century of humiliation at the hands of Western naval powers. This would be especially true should the pirates skillfully portray US forces as abusive toward ordinary Somalis. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
Pearl returns to Boston with 'Dickens' Apr 1, 2009
But the plot often overreaches, and the reader loses sight of it, particularly in the less successful subplot - the opium wars in Bengal, India, involving Dickens's son Francis, with which the book confusingly begins. And when the coincidences continue to pile up, the reader's credulity becomes deeply strained. (Boston Globe)
A dangerous balance Mar 13, 2009
China views the relics, installed as fountainheads at the Old Summer Palace, as a significant part of its cultural heritage and a symbol of how Western powers encroached on the country during the Opium Wars. The Opium Wars and the Open Door Policy contributed to the rise of xenophobia in China which found expression in the Boxers Uprising against Western inhabitants and missionaries in foreign concessions in Peking. (Asia Times Online)
U.K. PM To Congress: Avoid Protectionism Mar 5, 2009
Speaking Before Joint Session Of Congress, Gordon Brown Said Nations Should Work Together To Tackle Economic Crisis. WASHINGTON, March 4, 2009. (CBS News)
China condemns sale of bronzes at Paris auction Feb 28, 2009
The Chinese insist that the heads are an integral part of their cultural heritage and represent another symbol of the Western despoliation of China during the Opium Wars of the 19th century. Chinese groups tried to sue in France to block the auction but failed, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry has demanded that the heads be returned. (International Herald Tribune)
China fails to halt sale of looted relics at Paris auction Feb 26, 2009
Despite the heads' European design, the Chinese insist that they are an integral part of their cultural heritage and represent another symbol of the Western despoliation of China during the Opium Wars of the 19th century. Chinese groups tried to sue in France to block the auction but failed, and the Chinese Foreign Ministry has demanded that the heads be returned. (International Herald Tribune)
Human rights absent in relic ransacking Feb 26, 2009
His remarks only serve to remind us of the brutal Opium Wars that the British and French imperialists waged against China 150 years ago. Before they ransacked the Old Summer Palace and stole its treasures, the British and French marauders had already forced China to buy opium and robbed it of its autonomy. (Xinhuanet, China)
Saint Laurent auction breaks world records Feb 24, 2009
Earlier, a court in Paris rejected an attempt by a group representing Chinese cultural and heritage interests to block the sale of two bronze sculptures taken from China in the 19th century Opium Wars and claimed by the Beijing government. (). (Globe and Mail)
Disputed treasures Feb 18, 2009
China views the relics as a significant part of its cultural heritage and a symbol of how Western powers encroached on the country during the Opium Wars. The relics were displayed as fountainheads at the Old Summer Palace, or Yuanmingyuan, until it was destroyed and sacked by British and French forces in 1860. (International Herald Tribune)
