The original canal system, built by Emperor Yang of the Sui dynasty, was seen by Chinese historians as an act of brilliant madness. Ancient China ... it was a potent political symbol and a ...

A growing economy, it was thought, would go hand-in-hand with a liberalising political system. China was ... one that harks back to the ancient world and the work of Thucydides, the historian ...

Pressure in the form of libel lawsuits and arrests is put upon Chinese journalists and people in the media by the government. The Chinese authorities have spent millions on technology that ...