Clifford Coonan

Clifford Coonan

Beijing Correspondent

For the past decade, Clifford Coonan has been based in Beijing writing for The Irish Times about one of the great stories of transformation the world has ever experienced, the rise of China, and the Asian Century as it unfolds.

A Trinity graduate and long-time Reuters correspondent, he covers everything from the opaque political world of the Communist Party, to the stunning economic advances that have shaken the world, all the while focusing on the stories of individual Chinese and how they cope with enormous change.

To give The Irish Times a unique perspective on the region's big breaking stories, Dubliner Coonan has been detained often by the Chinese police, shot at in Thailand and seen the awesome power of nature in earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis across Asia.

Environmentalists fear dams on Nu could befoul one of China’s great waterways

Series of hydroelectric plants on 2,800km river Nu could generate more power than Three Gorges Dam

Ceann Comhairle received by Chinese leadership

Sean Barrett to meet Chinese president

Last week a well-known writer called Hao Qun, whose pen name is Murong Xuecun, had his Weibo accounts with the providers Sina, Tencent, Net-Ease, and Sohu deleted simultaneously. Photograph: Carlos Barria/Reuters
Chinese government starts clampdown on microblogs

State has shut or frozen microblogs written by prominent liberals on Weibo as war declared on ‘spread of rumours’

An aerial view of the 185m-high Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, which would be dwarfed by the planned Shuangjiangkou hydropower project on the Dadu River. Photograph: Reuters
China approves new hydroelectric dam project despite environmental fears

Environmental impact assessment finds dam would have negative impact on rare fish and flora

China was ranked 91st among 185 economies worldwide in the most recent report, which was released in October 2012. The country’s position was dragged down by heavy tax burdens and the bureaucracy involved in granting business permits.
China quibbles with World Bank report

Unhappy with way ‘Doing Business’ study is compiled

Hong Kong is one of the top beneficiaries of investments by wealthy Chinese
Tycoons keeps exit options open

China’s rich increase investment overseas

Getting a reservation at Beijing’s top restaurants is much easier now than a year ago, as government officials steer clear of pricey dinners.
Graft clampdown hits high end catering

China’s new leader has made combatting corruption a priority

The commercial and shopping district in Kunming, Yunnan province.
20 years a-growing and Yunnan’s transformation amazes

Yunnan’s GDP reached €120bn last year, growth of 13% year on year, compared to national average of 7.8%

Reporters crowd around a speakerphone as they listen to a transgender woman it after she won a legal ruling at Hong Kong’s top court allowing her to marry her boyfriend.
Hong Kong allows transsexual woman to marry her boyfriend

The Court of Final Appeal’s decision only covers the right of a transgender person who was born male to marry a man, and for one w(...)

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