Is reporting on China in Western media influenced by “schadenfreude”? Stephen Harner answers this question by examining recent commentaries on China and explains why negative news about the country has become commonplace in foreign reporting.

For the first time in history, the Communist Party of China made the rule of law the central focus of the Fourth Plenum of the 18th Central Committee. As Chen Qun explains, there are three reasons why this issue became the central theme of this year’s plenary session.

In the Communist Party of China Central Committee’s 4th Plenum, reform of the legal system was the focus of the meeting. Minxin Pei analyzes the “Major Decisions” document and examines the challenges facing Xi Jinping as he puts forth a new concept of “rule according to law.”

Through the personal accounts of three generations of woman, Lijia Zhang recalls the immense women’s progress in the workplace, family, and society. However, Zhang stresses that there is a long way to go to achieve equality, and describes current actions young feminists are taking in China.

The Chinese Communist Party has decided that modernizing its state governance system will be the general goal of reform in the near future. This is of great theoretical and practical significance for China’s political development, writes Yu Keping.

Hollywood coffers are boosted by Chinese box-office figures, but Beijing’s guidelines are the cultural price to pay. Yet, as Philip J. Cunningham explains, the logic of box-office success and how political shifts can affect Chinese cultural production is far more confounding.

By nature, Chinese are no less creative than other people. Yet China hasn’t been a leader in innovation. How has creativity been lost in China? This essay is adapted from Yong Zhao’s recent book Who’s Afraid of the Big Dragon: Why China has the Best (and Worst) Education System in the World.

Reflecting on recent media coverage of “The Umbrella Revolution” in Hong Kong, Wu Sike outlines the three ways in which a “color revolution” typically unfolds and provides his explanation for why the political reform process will continue without being influenced by the demonstrations in Hong Kong.

Those in Hong Kong championing democracy should pay attention to the history of democratization around the world. The results are not so straightforward, and often involve painful sacrifice, writes Zhang Weiwei.

As the leaders of the umbrella movement sit down to negotiate with Hong Kong authorities after weeks of street protests, the big question is whether the two sides can find a compromise that meets both Beijing's concerns about stable and efficient governance on the one hand, and citizens' concerns about genuine, instead of sham, democracy on the other.