Frank Ching - The Japan Times

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Frank Ching

Frank Ching is a Hong Kong-based writer who has covered developments in China for several decades. He opened The Wall Street Journal’s Bureau in Beijing after the U.S. and China established diplomatic relations in 1979, becoming one of the first American reporters to be based in China since 1949.

For Frank Ching's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY

Oct 4, 2004

CCP eyes reforms while sustaining Hu

HONG KONG -- A key policy document endorsed by the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party at the same time that it approved Hu Jintao as Jiang Zemin's successor as the country's top leader calls for urgent steps to enhance the party's ability to govern while outlining a cautious strategy of...

COMMENTARY

Sep 26, 2004

Curtain falls on China's 'strongman' era

HONG KONG -- The decision by 78-year-old former President Jiang Zemin to step down as head of the Chinese Communist Party's Central Military Commission in favor of 61-year-old Hu Jintao, his successor as party and state leader, is a milestone in China's political development, marking as it does the completion...

COMMENTARY

Sep 19, 2004

Removing the thorn from Japan-China ties

HONG KONG -- Last month, when Japanese and Chinese teams faced each other in the Asian Games soccer final in Beijing, Chinese fans booed so loudly that they drowned out the strains of the Japanese national anthem. And when Japan won, the spectators pelted the Japanese players' bus with soda bottles and...

COMMENTARY

Sep 4, 2004

China favored in cross-strait tug-of-war

HONG KONG -- When Singapore's then Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited Taiwan in July on what was described as a "private and unofficial" trip, China reacted angrily. Among other things, it canceled a visit by its top banker to Singapore and warned darkly of "grave consequences" for which "the...

COMMENTARY

Aug 21, 2004

A lonely stand against the party machine

HONG KONG -- The extraordinary story of a county Communist Party secretary's lonely six-year battle against corruption in coastal Fujian Province, unveiled last week on the Web site of the official People's Daily newspaper, on one level marks a personal crusade.

COMMENTARY

Aug 7, 2004

Creating a more caring China

HONG KONG -- China under President Jiang Zemin and Premier Zhu Rongji astounded the world with its economic growth, reflected by a substantial increase in gross domestic product year after year. Yet the current leadership of President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao are making it clear that they have...

COMMENTARY

Jul 25, 2004

Gender imbalance exacting social costs

HONG KONG -- A quarter of a century ago, China decided to focus on economic development rather than Maoist class struggle. As part of that drive, it adopted a policy of limiting population growth with couples allowed to have only one child in the cities. Chinese officials say that as a result, 300 million...

COMMENTARY

Jul 9, 2004

Hu's star will keep rising

HONG KONG -- Ever since Hu Jintao took over as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party in 2002 and assumed the presidency in 2003, there has been much speculation as to whether he really wields the powers of those offices or whether his predecessor, Jiang Zemin, who remains head of the armed...

COMMENTARY

Jun 27, 2004

Asian antiterror group finds its footing

HONG KONG -- Last week the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), an international antiterrorist group formed by China, Russia and four Central Asian countries only months before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, inaugurated a new antiterrorism center in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan....

COMMENTARY

Jun 10, 2004

China woos influence with softer style

HONG KONG -- Publicly, American officials such as Secretary of State Colin Powell are saying that relations with China are the best they have ever been. Privately, however, policymakers are not shy about admitting that the two countries are engaged in a diplomatic contest in many arenas, most notably...

COMMENTARY

May 31, 2004

Taiwan-China gap can still be bridged

HONG KONG -- The conciliatory inaugural address May 20 by Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, taken together with a major statement a few days earlier by Beijing, show that both Taiwan and mainland China are eager to avoid a confrontation. It is now conceivable that, given good will and flexibility on both...

COMMENTARY

May 15, 2004

Has President Chen learned his lesson?

HONG KONG -- Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, who narrowly won a disputed election in March, is without doubt the Bush administration's least favorite democratically elected leader.

COMMENTARY

May 2, 2004

Taiwan Strait status quo grows riskier

HONG KONG -- The Shanghai Communique, signed by U.S. President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai in 1972, asserted: "The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States Government...

COMMENTARY

Apr 20, 2004

Hong Kong protesters roll up their sleeves

HONG KONG -- The April 11 protest against Beijing's decision to interpret the Basic Law's provisions in a way that makes it impossible for the Special Administrative Region, or SAR, to initiate moves toward universal suffrage marks the first large protest against the central government since the handover...

COMMENTARY

Mar 18, 2004

China adds protections to Constitution

HONG KONG -- The 2004 session of China's National People's Congress closed Sunday with the passage of several constitutional amendments. Attention focused on those relating to human rights and the protection of private property.

COMMENTARY

Mar 4, 2004

China shines as host at arduous standoff

COMMENTARY

Feb 27, 2004

Watershed for Hong Kong-Beijing ties

HONG KONG -- The relationship between Hong Kong and Beijing is at a critical point, with the central government having cautioned the special administrative region not to rush headlong into democracy while local people fear that their democratic aspirations may be frustrated.

COMMENTARY

Feb 12, 2004

China creeps toward a culture of openness

HONG KONG -- Last month, in a small but significant move toward greater openness and transparency, China for the first time made available to the public a portion of materials from its diplomatic archives for the period between the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 and 1955.

COMMENTARY

Feb 2, 2004

Setbacks have Chen scrambling for win

HONG KONG -- Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian has encountered unexpected setbacks in recent weeks that have slowed down his re-election campaign even though, at this point, the race between him and Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan is still neck and neck.

COMMENTARY

Jan 15, 2004

China more open, at least on medical front

HONG KONG -- Last year, after China was caught suppressing information about the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, it dismissed the minister of health and the mayor of Beijing and dramatically opened its health-care system up to international scrutiny. There was much hope then that the...

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Things may look perfect to the outside world, but today's mom is fine with some imperfection at home.

How 'Reiwa moms' are reshaping motherhood in Japan

By Mai Yoshikawa

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

Vol. 35: Travel in time — and stay there

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