Kerry Brown

A British minister’s harsh career lesson might also expose the Western mindset of perpetual technological superiority.

The Chinese delivered a masterful display of pure spectacle, ego flattery, and diplomatic theatre.

Never has the hand of the Beijing state apparatus been more visible in the city.

Last Wednesday the annual 'Two Meetings' in Beijing came to an end. At the start of March each year, members of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Consultative Political Conference assemble in the grand Great Hall of the People. Every year the Two Meetings give some theatricality and visibility to the usually opaque world of Chinese politics.