Bologna -- In the world's oldest university, a cradle of the European Renaissance, one is reminded of a great Italian who lived at the onset of that Renaissance half a millennium ago -- the first political scientist Niccolò Machiavelli. In one of his letters to his friend Francesco Vettori, the...

HONG KONG - The vibrancy of contemporary China's art world is on full display at this week's Hong Kong International Art Fair. Barely a generation ago, amateur collectors braving the shabby studios of starving artists in Beijing and Shanghai were buying art for a few hundred dollars apiece.

Today,...

This is a written Q&A with Rachel Beitarie of the Israeli daily newspaper the Calcalist, published on May 3, 2012.

Beitarie: I would like to start not with a comparison of the Chinese and other systems of government, but by a look at the Chinese model itself....

Speculations continue to swirl around apparently the highest-level purge in China's political leadership in years. The intensity seems to be rippling through Chinese society. Websites have been shut down; Weibo comments were disabled; arrests were made. Some continue to attack the government's decision to remove Bo Xilai from his post....

"All is not well in the People's Republic." So proclaim China-watching Hamlets around the world. They seem to have ample evidence. Six months before the 18th congress of the Chinese Communist Party when a major transition of leadership is to take place, a political earthquake is riveting the nation.

In response to a rebuttal:

A healthy debate on democracy seems to be emerging. The South China Morning Post published an article entitled Consent of the Governed is Only Means to Assure Power (February 19, 2012). It presents an argument that can be summarized as follows: Democracy gives...

SHANGHAI -- As the U.S. presidential election shifts into high gear, Washington hosts China's Vice President Xi Jinping, heir apparent of the emergent super power. The world's most powerful electoral democracy and the largest one-party state meet at a time of political transition for both. Many have characterized the competition...

This piece was published in the South China Morning Post on Feb. 9, 2012.

Hong Kong -- A specter is haunting Hong Kong. And it is not communism. It is the sight of undesirable women roaming the streets of this acclaimed world city. They exhibit specific physical attributes. First were...

This piece was co-authored with George Yeo.

The Chinese government recently issued new rules to strengthen Internet regulations. Most notable is the real-name requirement for micro-blog (Weibo) accounts -- China's equivalent of Twitter. Some Weibo users have attested to an increase in government monitoring and self-censorship by hosting companies....

The Munk Debate in Toronto has in the past three years become a significant forum for discussing global issues of our age. The most recent one held in June 2011 (Does the 21st Century Belong to China?) has now been published as a book with the same title. The debaters...