December 2005 Archive 

No carbon copy of the west? With China’s energy consumption increasing by 65 per cent over the past three years alone, its rapid industrialisation has already made it the world’s second largest emitter of the greenhouse gases that accelerate climate change. Mel Jarman looks at how it is approaching the issue

Telling the truth about Tibet Construction cranes, it has been said, are the new national bird of China – and Tibet certainly has its share. Economic development also conceals what is happening under the surface.

The winged killer flies in As avian flu continues its seemingly unstoppable advance through the world’s bird population, fears of a human pandemic are growing. Be afraid, says Mike Davis, be very afraid – not least because we are so unprepared

The struggle continues: fighting back after Tiananmen Sixteen years ago, the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 left the blood of the Chinese democracy movement on the streets of Beijing. Now China’s new economy is claiming more lives. But the workers are fighting back.

From Mao to the market There is more continuity between Maoist and modern-day China than is often recognised, writes John Gittings. It’s the importance of the Chinese people that has been lost along the way

Bolivia at the crossroads A deeply divided Bolivia will go to the polls this month. Evo Morales, the coca growers’ leader and leader of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS), will challenge Tuto Quiroga, a white neoliberal enterpreneur and vice president under the former dictator Hugo Banzer.

The clean green route to power Global warming may be gathering pace, but forecasters predict a cold winter. So how do we warm ourselves without warming the planet? Jeff Rice offers a guide