by Jonathan Sharp | 1 Jun 2020 | China, Human Rights
Hong Kong youth are protesting again against the city’s rulers in China. The stakes are sky-high for the world’s economy and, potentially, security. A protester in Hong Kong, China, 24 May 2020 (EPA-EFE/JEROME FAVRE) Is capitalist, free-wheeling Hong Kong...
by Jonathan Sharp | 13 Feb 2020 | Africa, History, Human Rights, Media Literacy
Thirty years ago, South Africa released famed political prisoner Nelson Mandela from prison. I covered the momentous story. Nelson Mandela with his wife Winnie Manela, two days after he was released from prison, in Soweto, South Africa, 13 February 1990 (EPA/STR)...
by Jonathan Sharp | 29 Nov 2019 | Asia, China
Pro-democracy parties in Hong Kong have won a big electoral victory after months of protests. Will Beijing listen — or crack down? Pro-democracy protesters in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong, China, 26 November 2019 (EPA-EFE/FAZRY ISMAIL) Six months into often violent...
by Jonathan Sharp | 3 Oct 2019 | China
The call by Hong Kong protesters for full democracy is the one least likely to be met. One-party state China most emphatically does not do democracy. A portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping lies covered with debris after a protest in Hong Kong, China, 1 October...
by Jonathan Sharp | 5 Sep 2019 | Asia, China, Culture
Away from the hustle, an ancient rite unfolds in a Shanghai park. Parents looking to hitch offspring post want ads in a marriage mart. (Photo by Betty Fu) It’s a poignant ritual, played out every weekend in a shady corner of a Shanghai park. In People’s Park, scores...