As a foreigner in China, you get used to hearing the retort “You don’t know China!” spat at you by locals. It’s usually a knee-jerk reaction to some uncomfortable modern issue or in defense of one of the many historical myths children in the mainland are taught as unshakeable facts about the world. But it’s also true. […]
Tibet’s prime minister-in-exile Lobsang Sangay calling for His Holiness the Dalai Lama to return to the Potala palace in Lhasa is both surprising and odd. Surprising, because it indicates an ongoing conversation between the Chinese government and the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala that has been in the realm of rumour for several months. Read Here […]
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman is currently deep into a coast-to-coast U.S. charm offensive. Leading figures from the worlds of politics, business, entertainment and media are being lined up and are lining up to meet the most influential figure from the world’s leading oil exporter. But who exactly has made the cut? Read Here – Deadline Hollywood
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with the Chinese President on a surprise trip to Beijing this week, state media in both countries confirmed Wednesday. It his first visit abroad since he took power in 2011. Kim traveled to the Chinese capital because he felt compelled to personally inform President Xi Jinping of the rapid […]
The mysterious armoured train that arrived in Beijing on Monday night is one of the main pieces of evidence to support the theory that Kim Jong-un is making a historic visit to China. While Beijing has yet to confirm Kim is in Beijing, the arrival of the train coupled with reports of heightened security at a […]
For about four years now, since Russia’s occupation of Crimea and China’s launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, there has been much speculation about whether another Cold War between East and West is coming. In the last month alone, headlines have proclaimed that “The New Cold War Is Here,” heralded “Putin’s New Cold War,” and warned that […]
In early 2009 the attendees of a conference published a statement of principles in the prestigious journal Science. In light of the role of social scientists in the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica debacle—slurping up data on online behaviour from millions of users, figuring out the personalities and predilections of those users, and nominally using that knowledge to influence elections—that article turns […]
Hawks are closing in on the White House. John Bolton, arguably the most abrasive American diplomat of the twenty-first century, will soon assume the top foreign-policy job at the National Security Council. Read Here – The New Yorker Also Read: What stands between John Bolton and blowing up the world?
China is the world’s biggest importer of soybeans, most of which are used for animal feed. In 2017, it was also the second-largest importer of US agricultural products, buying US$19.6 billion of goods, with 63 per cent of that money going on soybeans. Any punitive tariffs on soybeans would have a huge impact on American […]
It took just two weeks – from the time it was announced to the near unanimous endorsement by the legislature – to make the most drastic revision to the state constitution since it was introduced in 1982, a change that sent shock waves through both Chinese society and the international community. Read Here – South […]
looking beyond borders 