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Background: At the beginning of the 21st century, international adoptions of children with cleft lip and/or palate increased dramatically in Sweden. Many children arrived partially or totally unoperated, despite being at an age when palatoplasty has usually been performed. To date, the speech development of internationally adopted (IA) children has been described up to age 7–8 years, but later development remains unstudied. Aims: To investigate speech development between ages 5 and 10 years in children born with cleft lip and palate (CLP) adopted from China and to compare them with non‐adopted (NA) children with CLP. A secondary aim was to compare the frequencies of secondary palatal surgery and number of visits to a speech and language pathologist (SLP) between the groups. Methods & Procedures: In a longitudinal study, 23 IA children from China were included and matched with 23 NA children born in Sweden. Experienced SLPs blindly reassessed audio recordings from routine follow‐ups at ages 5 and 10 years. Velopharyngeal function (VPF) was assessed with the composite score for velopharyngeal competence (VPC‐Sum) for single words and rated on a three‐point scale (VPC‐Rate) in sentence repetition. Target sounds in words and sentences were phonetically transcribed. Per cent correct consonants (PCC) were calculated at word and sentence levels. For in‐depth analyses, articulation errors were divided into cleft speech characteristics (CSCs), developmental speech characteristics (DSCs) and s‐errors. Information on secondary palatal surgery and number of visits to an SLP was collected. Outcomes & Results: VPF differed significantly between the groups at both ages when assessed with VPC‐Sum, but not with VPC‐Rate. Regardless of the method for assessing VPF, a similar proportion in both groups had incompetent VPF but fewer IA than NA children had competent VPF at both ages. IA children had lower PCC at both ages at both word and sentence levels. More IA children had CSCs, DSCs and s‐errors at age 5 years, and CSCs and s‐errors at age 10. The development of PCC was significant in both groups between ages 5 and 10 years. The proportion of children receiving secondary palatal surgery did not differ significantly between the groups, nor did number of SLP visits. Conclusions & Implications: CSCs were more persistent in IA children than in NA children at age 10 years. Interventions should target both cleft and DSCs, be comprehensive and continue past the pre‐school years. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject: At the beginning of the 21st century, IA children with cleft lip and/or palate arrived in Sweden partially or totally unoperated, despite being at an age when palatoplasty has usually been performed. Studies up to age 7–8 years show that adopted children, compared with NA peers, have poorer articulation skills, demonstrate both cleft‐related and developmental articulation errors, and are more likely to have velopharyngeal incompetence. Several studies also report that adopted children more often require secondary palatal surgery due to fistulas, dehiscence or velopharyngeal incompetence compared with NA peers. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: This longitudinal study provides additional knowledge based on longer follow‐ups than previous studies. It shows that the proportion of children assessed to have incompetent VPF was similar among IA and NA children. It was no significant difference between the groups regarding the proportion that received secondary palatal surgery. However, fewer IA children were assessed to have a competent VPF. Developmental articulation errors have ceased in most IA and all NA children at age 10 years, but significantly more adopted children than NA children still have cleft‐related articulation errors. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: Speech and language therapy should target both cleft‐related and developmental articulation errors. When needed, treatment must be initiated early, comprehensive, and continued past the pre‐school years, not least for adopted children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research involving international research communities has been advocated in the field of behavior analysis (Dymond et al., 2000; Martin et al., 2016). The purpose of the present study was to report the status of behavioral research in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, in terms of number of publications, types of research, and frequency of collaboration with international researchers. Fifteen behavioral journals were selected from the list by Cooper et al. (2020). These were searched by hand to find publications conducted in or authored by researchers from mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan dating from each journal's inception to December 2021. The earliest publication we found appeared in 1980 in The Psychological Record. Over the following four decades (1980–1989; 1990–1999; 2000–2009; 2010–2021), the number of publications per decade increased dramatically and continues in recent years to rise. Publications include research reports, review papers, and conceptual articles, with the majority being basic research reports published in Behavioral Processes. Approximately half the publications involve collaboration with international researchers, mostly in North America. Implications for behavioral research, practice, and policy in mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrastructure has played an agential role in the securitisation of everyday life in the Karakoram high mountains of north Pakistan. Geopolitics bear heavily on this region where Pakistan shares borders with China, with whom it has aligned its foreign and security policy, and with India, with whom Pakistan remains embroiled in a long‐standing territorial dispute. Consequently, in the Karakoram, geopolitical anxieties have reflected inwards onto local populations through both security infrastructure and securitised infrastructure. In this postcolony frontier space, statecraft also frequently bypasses normative legal and administrative structures; such exceptions to normative law and administration have antecedents in colonial statecraft on the territorial margins of empire. This paper also argues that long cycles of military rule have allowed the military to acquire and project technocratic expertise, become custodians of state‐led development, and recently, to assume guardianship of, and to enter into joint financing with China on, construction projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unipolar international order led by the USA has given way to a multipolar order with the emergence of China as a great power competitor. According to many commentators, the deterioration of Sino–US relations in recent years heralds a "new Cold War." The new Cold War differs from its namesake in many respects, and in this paper we focus on its novel territorial logic. Containing the USSR was the overriding objective of American foreign policy for nearly four decades, but in contrast, the USA and China are engaged in geopolitical‐economic competition to integrate territory into value chains anchored by their domestic lead firms through the financing and construction of transnational infrastructure (e.g., transportation networks and regional energy grids). We show this competition poses risks as well as opportunities for small states to articulate and realise spatial objectives. We present cases from Nepal and Laos that demonstrate that by hedging between China and the USA and its partners, their governments are able to pursue spatial objectives. In order to achieve them, however, they must implement significant reforms or state restructuring. The result is the emergence of what we term the 21st‐century infrastructure state, which seeks to mobilise foreign capital for infrastructure projects designed to enhance transnational connectivity. The "rise" of China has precipitated a multipolar international order and, according to some commentators, heightened US–China tension heralds a "new" Cold War. In this context, small states hedge between the USA and its partners and China, as they pursue longstanding state spatial objectives. This necessitates state restructuring, which in some cases leads to the emergence of the 21st‐century infrastructure state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Like many other regional powers in the Asia‐Pacific, Australia is a middle‐sized state wedged between two great powers, the United States (US) and the People's Republic of China. While Australia continues to rely upon the US alliance for security, China remains its biggest trading partner. Over the past two decades, Australia's public foreign policy discussions have centred upon Australia's "China Choice" in the context of growing strategic rivalry between these dominant powers. This debate has sought to grapple with the options available to Australia in managing its relations with an increasingly assertive China and an unpredictable US. This article examines the public debate on China policy since the election of the conservative Liberal‐National Coalition government in 2013. It argues the appropriateness of a pragmatic foreign policy in relation to the engagement of great powers has been the central question in Australia's China debate. Yet what constitutes pragmatic action in relation to Australia's China policy is varied and based on differing understandings of how middle‐sized states can and do seek to cope with structural shifts. The paper also argues, however, that an emergent anti‐pragmatist tradition has recently emerged that reflects the unprecedented challenges facing Australian foreign policy and presents "pragmatism" as a threat to Australian sovereignty, principles, and values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: ‘Community of common destiny’, a new concept in China's diplomacy, has been increasingly used by the Chinese government, especially President Xi Jinping, on international occasions. Given the paucity of academic research on the concept, this paper aims to fill the gap and examine three aspects: meaning, motives and implications. Building upon the author's long observation of China's foreign policy, the paper argues that this concept of ‘community of common destiny’ is vague in meaning and loosely used by China. While initially proposed by China to mend ties with neighbouring states in the context of escalating territorial disputes, the concept constitutes part of China's long‐term strategy to maintain a peaceful ‘period of strategic opportunity’ in the first two to three decades of the 21st century to further develop itself. However, the ambiguity of the concept poses a main challenge for China to promote the acceptance of this concept by the developing world, let alone developed countries. This process demands more transparency, commitment and concrete actions from China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uterus transplantation (UTx) is an emerging surgical treatment for patients with absolute uterine factor infertility. However, the initial low surgical success of human UTx from the teams worldwide has revealed the difficulty of the surgery and called for preparatory team training in large animals. Also, the team who carried out the human UTx without previous systematic research in large animals or deceased donors encountered transplant failures, which was controversial and even deprived them of further trials. Various UTx studies in large animals, including dogs, pigs, sheep and macaques have been performed in China from different teams, compared to other countries around the world. However, among over 70 UTx that have been carried out worldwide, only three were carried out in China, with one live baby achieved. In this paper, we explore the possible challenges for human UTx in China. We conclude that it is critical to learn the lessons from the international team and adopt the international ethic views regarding UTx on humans. Also, it would be positive for the Chinese groups to establishing an academic society for UTx with regular meetings, which will raise public awareness of UTx, and guide the proper development of human UTx in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, maritime sovereignty disputes have become highly visible microcosms of broader contests between security orders in East Asia. Escalating tensions over seas provoke questions about how historical and territorial conceptions of sovereignty map onto maritime areas, and the continuing effectiveness of the so‐called "rules‐based order" in maintaining regimes for deciding jurisdiction of islands, rocks and other maritime land features. The paper examines sovereignty claims and the international law of the sea across various cases, including the contested claims over Dokdo/Takeshima, Senkaku/Diaoyu Dao and China's nine‐dash line. These case studies reveal the tensions between two legal regimes: territorial rules of acquisition (sovereignty) and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This article concludes by considering the ways that the symbolic nature of these disputes has implications for the capacities of UNCLOS and other legal instruments in the US‐led "rules‐based order" to establish orderly relations among states in the maritime arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically highlights the role of nationalism in the development of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan. First, it demonstrates how the pre-1980s Taiwanese developmental state mobilised Chinese economic nationalism against Japanese colonialism and Chinese communism and adopted the strategies of graduated sovereignty, selectively subsidising certain areas and sectors, and promoting national (homogeneously imagined) territorialisation to integrate with the international market. Second, the paper exhibits how in the late 1980s, when the outflow of capital to Mainland China became a compelling phenomenon and Taiwan democratised, popular sovereignty became the norm and Taiwanese nationalism emerged. In response, the democratised state started employing Taiwanese economic nationalism and implementing populist territorial policies to consolidate the support of 'us' (the Taiwanese/Taiwan) versus 'them' (the Chinese/China). This made China and everything related a security concern that had to be excluded as 'the other'. This paper responds to the appeals of political geographers to give nationalism a central place in contemporary theories of the nation-state and contributes to the theory of the developmental state by bringing 'the nation' back. While most of the existing developmental state literature focuses on how the roles and effects of 'the state' influence economic development, taking 'the nation' seriously can provide more accurate explanations for how and why the state focuses on development or not. Accordingly, through valuing the nation this paper promotes a theory of the developmental nation-state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers how webs of connection bridge people from different social worlds and engender affinity ties that can be mobilised to nurture caring relationships, despite the physical and cognitive borders that exist within and between societies. Territorial contestation between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army has precipitated internal displacement in Kachin state (Myanmar). The situation of Kachin internally displaced people in camps at the China-Myanmar border directs attention to how geographical and geopolitical constraints deter international humanitarian assistance yet provide opportunities to engage a different set of humanitarian actors. The paper first argues that Kachin internally displaced people are treated as surplus populations by the sovereign states in both Myanmar and China. Surplus populations come into existence when nation-states impose punitive measures that compromise the survivability of populations that are considered threatening to national sovereignty. Second, the paper examines how mobilising affinity ties enables Kachin humanitarian workers to leverage the citizenship resources of empathetic Chinese nationals to negotiate humanitarianism constraints at the China-Myanmar border. Affinity ties refer to connections emanating from a dynamic constellation of cultural attributes to do with history, ethnicity, religion and place among other malleable identity constructs. Interlocking constellations form webs of connections that transverse essentialising categories of social difference and contribute to shared biographies that allow for cultivating emotional attachments to a place and its people. Affinity ties may congeal into durable ties of solidarity and activism, but no less significant are vernacular expressions of affinity that prompt empathy for proximate or distant strangers and a predilection to act on behalf of those experiencing oppression. The paper proposes that conceptualising affinity ties draws out transversal webs of connections that bridge people of differential social positionings. This approach provides a potential ethical stance and productive analytical lens for advancing wider migration and citizenship debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Complex interdependence refers to the multiple channels of interaction and agenda in interstate relations, which involve domestic (public and private) stakeholders and nonmilitary issues. Since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) came into being, most analyses have largely focused on infrastructure development. The BRI not only has the potential to impact a host government's socioeconomic agenda but also its overall bilateral relationship with China. It is therefore imperative to measure the progress and prospects of China's Belt and Road projects in the Philippines, in line with Beijing's strategic goal to deepen complex interdependence with partner‐states, against the BRI's five major dimensions of cooperation: (a) policy coordination, (b) infrastructure development and connectivity, (c) trade and investment facilitation, (d) financial coordination and integration, and (e) people‐to‐people ties and connectivity. These, together with the examination of China's BRI projects in other Asian countries as modes of comparison, are crucial in assessing probable outcomes in the Philippines. The paper includes policy recommendations based on possible pitfalls and risks that may hamper the advancement of the Belt and Road projects in the Philippines and Sino‐Philippine bilateral interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's trade with South Africa has become more important in recent years, and a SACU-China free trade agreement has been proposed to further strengthen this trade relationship. This paper examines the relevance of this proposed trade policy for further enhancing bilateral trade flows and development in SACU. The paper finds that tariff liberalization alone is inadequate for successful trade integration, as it benefits mostly South Africa only and harms some of SACU's internal and external trade and its welfare through trade diversion. Measures to improve trade complementarity, reduce barriers to intra-industry trade, and implement parallel MFN trade liberalization should also be undertaken by SACU in order to achieve successful trade integration with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper will study the differences between the EU and China on the understanding of human rights and national sovereignty and their impact on EU-China political relations. The paper will be divided into the following parts. The first part will give a review of the concepts of both sovereignty and human rights and the rising concern of human rights in the contemporary world. The second part will study the EU’s policy of human rights to see why the EU adheres to its values. The third part will look at China’s policy on sovereignty and human rights. The fourth part will examine EU-China political relations and analyse the difficulties in bilateral relations, due to differences in values between the EU and China. The fifth part will draw some tentative conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this paper is both modest and ambitious. The modest goal is to show that intercountry adoption should be considered by ethicists and healthcare providers. The more ambitious goal is to introduce the many ethical issues that intercountry adoption raises. Intercountry adoption is an alternative to medical, assisted reproduction option such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection, third party egg and sperm donation and surrogacy. Health care providers working with assisted reproduction are in a unique position to introduce their clients to intercountry adoption; however, providers should only do so if intercountry adoption is ethically equal or superior to the alternatives. This paper first presents a brief history of intercountry adoption. The second section compares intercountry adoption with medical alternatives. The third section examines the unique ethical challenges that are not shared by other medical alternatives. The final section concludes that it is simplistic for a healthcare provider to promote intercountry adoption unconditionally; however, in situation where intercountry adoption is practiced conscientiously it poses no greater ethical concern than several medical alternatives. This conclusion is preliminary and is intended as a start for further discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Beijing Olympic Games, one of the most significant social events for contemporary China, is a milestone for China's efforts for globalization. ‘One World, One Dream’, the motto of the Beijing Olympic Games, is an embodiment of the encounter between Chinese culture and Western civilization, and a symbol of integration between China and the rest of the world. This Special Section seeks to address the psychosocial ramifications of the Beijing Olympic Games and, thereby, to shed light on China's domestic situation and its international relations from a social psychological perspective. Moving beyond the psychology of athletic excellence, the four papers included use a wide range of methods, ranging from longitudinal tracking to priming, to examining self-construal and volunteering, to representations of China's past and future, competition towards foreigners, and perceived intercultural differences. Consistently found across the papers, patriotism was associated with ingroup cohesion, whereas nationalism was associated with competition and differentiation towards outgroups. This Special Section thereby pays tribute to the social psychological significance of the Beijing Olympic Games to China and the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article revisits principles of international relations theory, with emphasis on the influence of geopolitics on Chinese strategic thinking. China has published the fourth Defense White Paper of the country in 2004 entitled "China's National Defense in 2004," which contended that factors of uncertainty, instability and insecurity are on the increase in China. The white paper raised the debate on whether economic interdependence discourages conflict within the advanced world.

Focusing on the resilience of distinctive local consumption cultures, this paper challenges some of the more sweeping claims that have been advanced in the name of ‘globalization’. Thinking about a ‘globalizing’ rather than a fully ‘globalized’ world encourages us to examine the deeply contested nature of the concept and to explore the geographically uneven nature of recent economic, political and cultural transformations. This paper approaches globalization as a site of struggle rather than as an established fact, emphasizing the need for empirically grounded studies of the impact of ‘globalization’ on consumer cultures in different geographical contexts. The paper examines the way that producers have ‘customized’ their products for different markets (drawing on evidence from China and South Africa). It then reviews case study evidence from three contrasting consumption cultures: consumption and ‘public culture’ in India, ‘consumer nationalism’ in China, and ‘artful consumption’ in Russia. The paper concludes by identifying some current debates and outlining some directions for future research, including a re-emphasis on consumption and material culture; an exploration of consumption as social practice; the delineation of commodity-specific consumption cultures; and some reflections on the political, ethical and methodological issues that are being raised in contemporary consumption research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper employs concepts and analytical frameworks drawn from Sociology, particularly collective memory, to examine China's attempts - and the limitations of those attempts - to improve relations with Japan in the new century. In particular, it focuses on a specific episode, the attempt to bring 'new thinking' to Sino-Japanese relations. It concludes that the difficulties and complexities are the product of many factors. In the first place, CCP is constrained by its own definition of nationalism and national identity. Secondly, Beijing's control mechanisms and its ability to direct nationalist discourse in ways convenient to itself are challenged by the rise of popular nationalistic sentiment. In addition, the rise of revisionist nationalism in Japan further complicates Beijing's stance toward Japan. The achievement of China's vision of harmonious world and of 'Mutually Beneficial' relations with Japan will depend on how well China handles the delicate matters of the construction of national identity and the basis of government legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently there seems to be an increasing interest in and demand for China's mediation in resolving conflict. To a certain extent, such a phenomenon is associated with China's re-emerging power. But more importantly, it is probably the style and skills of China's mediation that matters, which represents the emerging of a unique mediation culture, with China being its messenger. The paper examines key elements of such a mediation culture, using examples of China's mediation in regional and international affairs. The shaping of such a culture offers good lessons for mediators around the world who strive for effective conflict resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has been a major power for far longer than is typically acknowledged in the West. This paper seeks to redress established discourse of China as a ‘rising’ power which now enjoys common usage within Western policy-making, academic and popular circles, particularly within the United States; China can more accurately be conceived of as a ‘recovering power’. A tendency by successive Washington administrations to view the world in realist terms has forced the label of ‘rising’ power onto China along with the negative connotations that inevitably follow. We should acknowledge the folly in utilising a theoretical approach largely devoid of any appreciation for the social and human dimensions of international relations as well as the importance of social discourse in the field. Finally, policy-makers in Washington must reconsider their realist stance and, with a fuller appreciation of world history, recognise that American hegemony was always destined to be short-lived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the ongoing international debate concerning the efficacy or otherwise of the NPT and IAEA in preventing or managing nuclear proliferation, Australia's undertaking to enter a nuclear cooperation agreement with the People's Republic of China (PRC), once identified as a “strategic competitor” of Australia's major alliance partner the United States (US), suggests that Australia's approach to proliferation issues is being re-evaluated. This paper argues, utilising an analysis of the relationship between the evolving US approach to nuclear issues and Australian policy, that the Howard government's evolving approach to nuclear issues can be characterised as an attempt to balance the competing imperatives of maintaining Australia's reputation as a nuclear non-proliferation standard bearer, regional strategic and economic considerations and the weight of the Australia-US alliance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the processes of spatial restructuring in the Hong Kong–South China region. The paper analyses urban-rural interaction in a historical and transnational context. Based on detailed census data collected in 1961 and 1996, this study traces the origins of the Hongkongers and maps out their spatial distribution according to their native place identities. The heightened population movement between the rural hinterland in the South China region and the Hong Kong metropolis is inseparable from territorial organisation on the Chinese mainland. The great spatial mobility demonstrated by the Hongkongers, or, their ‘refugee mentality’ as it is known, is found to be deeply rooted in their marginal sub-ethnic identity in the nation. A systematic analysis of spatial data reveals that the diasporic landscape developed in Hong Kong has been polarised by the élite English and Shanghainese speakers on the one end and the Kejia people on the other end. Despite the processes of globalisation, the great spatial mobility of the Hong Kong sojourners and the diasporic landscape they have created have been effectively shaped by their place-based ethno-linguistic identities. If the transnational movement of people is considered an important component of globalisation, then this study reinforces the importance of locality and contests the fashionable notion of globalisation as a ‘placeless’ phenomenon. The seemingly displaced empire of Chinese diaspora capitalism, in which Hong Kong has played a crucial part, has remained grounded by pre-existing place-specific conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is dedicated to a better understanding of the oil and gas links between Central Asia and China and the sequential implications. The author's message is threefold. 1. China's growing economic momentum, coupled with its energy constraints, has led the country to search for overseas resources. Considering the fact that Central Asia enjoys prolific hydrocarbon resources, while China has huge energy demands, there is no doubt about the economic and geopolitical importance of Central Asian resources to China. What China needs to do now is to build a bridge to link these resources. The key rationale behind this is a regional energy linkage, which constitutes a new visionary way of handling input into China. 2. Considering the costs of the transportation infrastructure inside China and the comparison between the replacement costs of foreign and domestic oil, it makes sense for China to move westwards to maximise the benefits from Central Asia and other neighbouring regions. At the same time, China has to bear the huge cost of overseas expansion and high risk, both economically and geopolitically. 3. China cannot ignore the new "Great Game" played in Central Asia and the Caucasus region. All the major powers involved so far have their varying motivations and advantages to reap from their influence on the landlocked region. China, advantageously positioned on the border of Central Asia, sees an opportunity to broaden its geo-economic role in the region and beyond, so as to become a more important geopolitical force. At the turn of the century, China will give higher priority to market penetration and aggressive diplomacy. Further alliances and geopolitical goals in Central Asia, the Middle East and Russia will be explored. However, the benefits to China will depend on the effective management of uncertainties and the status of its geopolitical strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]