Commentary on visting relatives, China’s police state, the perilous marriage, good riddance to Section 13, parking lot excellence, and a leap in the dark.

A long journey.

Independent -- Peter Popham: Aung San Suu Kyi meant to leave Britain for a few weeks – not 24 years
She and her family paid a terrible price about which she has never been willing to speak.

Living in the shadow of the state.

New York Review of Books -- ‘In the Current System, I’d Be Corrupt Too’: An Interview with Bao Tong
Bao Tong is one of China’s best-known political dissidents. In the early to mid 1980s, he was director of the Communist Party’s Office of Political Reform and the policy secretary for Zhao Ziyang, the party’s former general secretary.

 

Related.

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me! Thanks to David of London.

Macleans – Mark Steyn: I hate to say I told you so. Actually, I don’t. I love it
As I have said, section 13 is not a right-left thing, it’s a free-unfree thing.

Related.

Globe and Mail -- Book about fallen Chinese official a testament to journalistic courage
The announcement last week that Knopf Canada will publish Jiang Weiping’s blockbuster work about the rise and fall of the Chinese official Bo Xilai is the happy conclusion of a David-and-Goliath story that has a distinctive Canadian angle to it.

Group marriages have their troubles.

Financial Times -- A bitter fallout from a hasty union
“Marry in haste; repent at leisure.” Full of impetuous ardour, Germany’s partners seduced – some might say blackmailed – the continent’s most powerful economy into sacrificing monetary independence two decades ago.

Doing it right.

Atlantic Cities -- Can a Parking Lot be 'Excellent'? You Betcha
Big news: The International Parking Institute has unveiled its 2012 "Awards of Excellence" for high-tech, sustainable parking lots across the U.S.

Entering through the back door.

National Post -- John Ivison: Stephen Harper’s push to join Pacific trade deal may be a leap into the dark
Canada has taken an historic leap towards securing its long-term interests in the Asia-Pacific region by joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade negotiations, according to John Manley, the president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives.