China Beyond the Headlines

Book excerpt: This unique book takes the reader Obeyond the headlinesO to explore a China few Westerners have seen. The authors argue that the great gap between what specialists understand and the general public believes has led to distorted and potentially dangerous misunderstandings of China. Seeking to bridge that gap, a group of prominent scholars and activists challenge readers to move past the usual images of China presented by the media and to think about the common problems shared by China and the United States. In a morally engaged spirit, they explore such issues as environmental degradation, unemployment, growing inequality, ethnicity, human rights, corruption, and changing images of women to bring to life the fabric of contemporary Chinese life and how it twines around the political consciousness of Americans.