Democracy in the 21st Century
In Hong Kong, public tensions are mounting over Beijing’s recent decision to restrict free and fair elections in 2017. A week-long strike by students begins on September 22. The citizens' initiative Occupy Central with Love and Peace plans to stage...
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(above - The University of Sydney Quadrangle)
Pushed and pulled in different directions by government policies and market forces, modern universities try hard to be public institutions for the public good. Fond of proclamations, their efforts are impressive - sources of...
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The Farce of Democracy in Hong Kong
In Hong Kong, Occupy Central plans to stage a mass sit-in on the streets of Central to protest Beijing's decision to restrict free and fair elections in 2017. A week-long strike by students begins...
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The following remarks were presented at a recent public forum in Sydney to celebrate the launch of Kerry Brown’s Carnival China: The People’s Republic in the era of Hu Jintao; Essays on Politics, Society and Culture. They tackle the issue...
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During several decades of contact with writers trapped in stressed and strained political circumstances, I can’t ever recall meeting a literary figure who was brave and principled enough to offer herself up for arrest and imprisonment by the authorities. That’s...
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There’s a time-tested ‘law’ in the history of modern self-government: when a bounded nation-state democracy prosecutes war abroad, the spirit and institutions of its democracy are usually vandalised at home.
The Life and Death of Democracy analyses many historical instances of...
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La statue du président irakien Saddam Hussein a été déboulonnée par l'armée américaine le 9 avril 2003, jour de la prise de Bagdad. «Le modèle américain de démocratisation par les armes a conduit à un désastre en Irak et en...
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[caption id="attachment_8881" align="alignnone" width="800"] Image: Fumarole near the base of Mount Erebus, Ross Island, Antarctica nexttriptourism.com[/caption]
The following field notes grapple with the problem of how to understand the emergent polity of Antarctica, and why its break with the language and...
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Photo: Thousands of citizens attended the candlelight vigil at Victoria Park commemorating the 24th anniversary of June 4th Tiananmen Crackdown last year. Photo: Felix Wong...
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3 June, 2014
Most people know from daily experience that memories are vital for their sense of well-being. Memory is the bearer of lavish gifts. It strengthens our capacity for living in the present. Memory brings direction. It prompts us to...
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