You might think Chinese social networks would be all a-Twitter (yes, pun intended) with mentions of the Bo and Chen scandals, but the censors continue to make heroic efforts to tamp that talk down.

So what has been trending there? Talk of "American French Fry Brother" — otherwise known as Jason Loose. FULL POST

By Gordon G. Chang, Special to CNN

Editor’s Note: Gordon G. Chang is a columnist at Forbes.com. He is the author of “The Coming Collapse of China” and “Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World.” The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Gordon G. Chang.

The drama surrounding Chen Guangcheng highlights — again — America’s role as refuge for Chinese citizens.

Late last month, the blind activist, after a request for protection, entered the U.S. embassy in Beijing, smuggled in under the noses of Chinese security agents.

By taking him in, the U.S. had chosen sides in the increasingly volatile confrontation between the Chinese people and China’s Communist Party. Washington, by its actions, had implicitly stated that the rights of citizens were more important than the sovereignty of the People’s Republic. It was a blatant interference in China’s internal affairs — and it was the right thing to do. FULL POST

By Fareed Zakaria

The rise and fall of Bo Xilai is part of a much larger and potentially disruptive trend in China — the return of politics to the Chinese Communist Party.

We don't think of the Chinese Communist Party as a political organization these days. It is dominated by technocrats obsessed with economic and engineering challenges.

These men — and they are almost all men — are comfortable talking about detailed economic and technical data, laying out master plans for development. But they are not politicians, adept at handling large crowds or palace intrigue.

Read more about China and the big questions it faces in the near future at TIME.com

Editor's Note: The following is reprinted with the permission of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng is eligible to apply to study abroad "just like any other Chinese citizen" (NYT), the Chinese Foreign Ministry said today. The announcement came shortly after Chen, who escaped from house arrest and was sheltered at theU.S. embassy inBeijing for six days before being moved to a nearby hospital on Wednesday, indicated to a friend that he did not wish to seek political asylum in theUnited States, but rather accept an offer to study atNew YorkUniversity. The foreign ministry statement offered a potential route out of an impasse that has undermined U.S.-China relations and embarrassed U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. FULL POST

By Fareed Zakaria

The storm over the blind activist Chen Guangcheng has understandably captured the world's attention in the past week. But an event of much greater significance remains the ouster of Bo Xilai, the powerful party boss of Chongqing. The rise and fall of Bo is part of a much larger and potentially disruptive trend in China–the return of politics to the Chinese Communist Party.

We don't much think of the party as a political organization these days. It is dominated by technocrats obsessed with economic and engineering challenges. These men–and they are almost all men–are comfortable talking about detailed economic and technical data, but they are not skilled politicians, adept at handling large crowds or palace intrigue. This apolitical system is a recent phenomenon and the outcome of a conscious decision by the founder of modern China, Deng Xiaoping.

Read my full column over at TIME.

Editor's note: Frida Ghitis is a world affairs columnist for The Miami Herald and World Politics Review. A former CNN producer/correspondent, she is the author of "The End of Revolution: A Changing World in the Age of Live Television."

By Frida Ghitis - Special to CNN

When the blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng staged his astonishing escape from house arrest, he sought American protection at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. Six days later, when Chen left the embassy for a local hospital, it looked as if U.S. officials had found a solution that, as the State Department put it, "reflected his choices and our values."

One official at the U.S. Embassy said Chen was so grateful for America's help that he told Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the phone, "I would like to kiss you."

But the picture is starting to change, with signs emerging that the Obama administration failed to effectively protect Chen.

Did the United States betray the Chinese human rights lawyer?

Read on here.

Editor's Note: Kenneth Rogoff is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Harvard University, and was formerly chief economist at the IMF. For more from Rogoff, visit Project Syndicate's excellent new website or follow it on Facebook and Twitter. 

By Kenneth Rogoff, Project Syndicate

One of the most notable macroeconomic developments in recent years has been the sharp drop in China’s current-account surplus. The International Monetary Fund is now forecasting a 2012 surplus of just 2.3% of GDP, down from a pre-crisis peak of 10.1% of GDP in 2007, owing largely to a decline in China’s trade surplus – that is, the excess of the value of Chinese exports over that of its imports.

The drop has been a surprise to the many pundits and policy analysts who view China’s sustained massive trade surpluses as prima facie evidence that government intervention has been keeping the renminbi far below its unfettered “equilibrium” value. Does the dramatic fall in China’s surplus call that conventional wisdom into question? Should the United States, the IMF, and other players stop pressing China to move to a more flexible currency regime?

The short answer is “no.” China’s economy is still plagued by massive imbalances, and moving to a more flexible exchange-rate regime would serve as a safety valve and shock absorber. FULL POST

Editor's Note: The following is reprinted with the permission of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who fled house arrest last week, left the U.S.embassy in Beijing to go to a medical facility and reunite with his family (NYT), theUnited States said in a statement today. The statement was issued hours after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived inBeijing for planned economic and security talks with senior Chinese officials. The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed that Chen had stayed in theU.S. embassy for six days, while demanding an apology from theUnited States. The incident is expected to overshadow the two days of U.S.-China discussions. FULL POST

Editor's Note: Jiang Xueqin is a deputy principal at Peking University High School and the director of its International Division. The following post was originally published in The Diplomat, a stellar international current-affairs magazine for the Asia-Pacific region. 

By Jiang Xueqin, The Diplomat

I’ve just finished a week visiting Finnish schools, and on my last day, while touring Finland’s best high school, I ran into China’s vice minister of education, who was spending the day in Helsinki looking at what China can learn from the world’s best K-12 school system.

If the vice minister were to ask me what parts of Finland’s education system I thought China could and should emulate (he didn’t) I’d tell him there were two things.

First is Finland’s pre-kindergarten system, in which children as young as nine months-old can attend until they are six. In each class, four university-educated teachers supervise about twenty children as they play sports, eat meals, and sleep together. This voluntary and pay-as-you-can daycare may seem costly, but it’s the best investment a society can make if it wants to ensure equality of opportunity for its children. FULL POST

On Fareed Zakaria GPS this week, the U.S., China, Pakistan, Mexico and more.
Fareed kicks things off with his take: President Obama’s current campaign push is for the “Buffett Rule.” But instead, he should focus on Warren Buffett’s other mantra: “Invest in America”

The Bo Xilai scandal has gone from being an Agatha Christie story to a Chinese version of Watergate. The New Yorker’s Beijing correspondent Evan Osnos sits down with Fareed to explain the larger ramifications.

Then we get the real story on Pakistan’s "Memogate. " Exclusive to CNN, for the first time on TV since the scandal broke, Husain Haqqani explains why he lost his job as Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.S.

What in the World explores a bizarre finding: Why net migration from Mexico to the U.S. has dropped to zero.

Then Fareed goes 1-on-1 with a man who served as National Security Advisor to two U.S. Presidents – Brent Scowcroft. They discuss Syria, the Middle East peace process, and more.

Finally, Charles Duhigg is on the show, with lessons from his great new book, The Power of Habit.

All this on GPS  Sunday at 10am and 1pm Eastern. Excerpts below:

FULL POST