Mary Kay Magistad
Pentagon Report Points at China’s Military Ambitions
The Pentagon released a report on Monday linking the Chinese military to cyberattacks on US government computer systems. But the report also detailed the Chinese military’s development of hardware from stealth bombers to nuclear submarines. This report comes in the wake of recent aggressive moves by China in disputed territories with Japan and India. Anchor, Marco Werman talks with The World’s Mary Kay Magistad in Beijing, China to talk about Chinese reaction.
China Past Due: Political Reforms
China’s Communist Party has grown used to governing unchallenged and unchecked, and it likes it that way. Censors erase critical language, courts do what the Party tells them to do, and protests are quickly put down. But a growing chorus of voices, including some in the Party, are saying that Chinese society has changed, and China’s political system needs to change with it.
China Past Due: Economic Reform
China’s economic reforms over the past 30 years have transformed a faltering Communist command economy into a global engine of growth. But China’s economy is trapped in transition, still favoring state enterprises over the much more productive and innovative private sector.
China Past Due: Land Rights
Land is at the heart of any economy, and in China, the Communist Party has chosen to corner that market. Urban land is owned by the state; rural land is owned by village collectives – but, effectively, by the state. The original idea was to end feudalism and give more rights to farmers. But these days, the Party elite are flush and the farmers are the ones losing out.
China Past Due: Facing the Consequences of Control
China’s leaders face great challenges and great expectations. Economic growth is slowing, the population is aging, and the environment is in a state of crisis. In the midst of it all, the Chinese people increasingly expect a different kind of relationship with their government – one of citizens and not subjects. A five-part series by The World’s China correspondent Mary Kay Magistad.
China Past Due: Hukou ‘Economic Apartheid’
The residence permit system was enacted in the 1950s, as part of the Communist Party’s plan to rapidly industrialize the economy. It effectively set up an economic apartheid system – forcing rural residents to stay where they were, and work to support urban workers, who were in the state enterprises getting a full range of social services (albeit low pay) in service of the goal of helping China become an industrial power.
China Past Due: One Child Policy
China’s population is aging, and its working age population is starting to shrink, but the one child policy stands, 30 years on. Critics call it one of the world’s most draconian – and misconceived – pieces of attempted social engineering ever, and say it’s time for it to go.
China’s Xi Jinping Takes Taxi – or Not!
People in China were captivated by a story making the rounds that President Xi Jinping had taken a taxi, just like a regular guy. But then it turned out not to be true.
China Past Due
It’s been awhile now since China’s Communist Party was in the business of running communal kitchens and collective farms, telling people who to marry, what to study and where to work, working to monitor their thoughts and speech even as it tried to micromanage a command economy. But exactly what does or should fall within the government’s purview?
The US Calls on China to Take a Tougher Stance on North Korea
Marco Werman speaks with The World’s Mary Kay Magistad to find out how China is responding to the growing tensions with North Korea and US calls that China help diffuse those tensions.
China’s Bird Flu Credibility Gap
The Chinese government is reacting to the new outbreak of bird flu with some refreshing transparency. But The World’s Mary Kay Magistad in Beijing tells anchor Marco Werman that some Chinese who have questioned official statistics have landed in jail.
20,000 Birds Slaughtered in Shanghai to Prevent Spread of Avian Flu
Anchor Marco Werman talks with China correspondent Mary Kay Magistad about the latest in China on the reported cases of the H7N9 or bird flu virus in Shanghai.
North Korea Rattles its Saber
North Korea has ratcheted up its anti-American rhetoric, saying it has missiles on standby to attack US bases and even the American mainland. But the smart money says North Korea is actually concerned about China. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with The World’s Beijing correspondent, Mary Kay Magistad.
Chinese Authorities Say Thousands of Pig Carcasses Aren’t Contaminating Water Supply
Chinese state media says the number of dead pigs collected from a river near the city of Shanghai has risen to more than 6,000. The Huangpu River is a key source of drinking water for the city of more than 20 million people. The World’s Mary Kay Magistad tells host Marco Werman that Chinese authorities say the floating pig carcasses have not poisoned local water.
The Unique Challenges of Being Catholic in China
Catholics in China are following the Vatican conclave as closely as their brethren elsewhere. But being Catholic in China has its own unique challenges. There, loyalty to the Pope can land you in jail.
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