Ch 1: The SCS has made headlines as 1984 come true, but the reality is a lot more messy. So what is it really, and why has it become so messy? This book analyzes hundreds of primary Chinese sources to find out. The answer: even China's government does not really know

And everyone lived up to the ripe old age of 36

Smartphones, Zoom, Google Meet etc. can all make people look better — smoothing out skin and making a thousand other improvements.

At some point, will people start finding it slightly distasteful to see each other in meatspace?

A lot of people already prefer texting and online…

Very sad. Despite concerns with surveillance, I still encourage young Americans - NOT the billionaires, celebrities and politicians that CCP uses to legitimize its abusive rule -- to go to China, because nothing can replace the real-life experience in understanding a country.

'These days, only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of close to 25,000, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at U.S. schools.'

Article quotes Beijing stalwart David Moser (pictured below):

apnews.com/article/china-…

Here it comes. Taiwan's ex-President Ma Ying-jeou this morning calls on Taiwan's president-elect Lai Ching-te to:

1. obey ROC constitution & 'One China framework'
2. reaffirm 2 sides of TW Strait are not two countries
3. ditch Taiwan independence
4. return to 92 'Consensus'. /1

Amazing Wuhan police diss track

Apple depends on China to make its iPhones.

On Episode 2 of our podcast  #FaceOff , we’re talking how iPhones are made by millions of workers in China. I’m joined by Willy Shih, Wayne Ma The Information and Rana Mitter from Harvard University ’s Belfer Center
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fac…

Guy who thinks we need to make groceries more expensive.

(the guy is the republican party's presidential nominee)

This week a group of influential Chinese AI policy scholars released their recommended draft version of 🇨🇳's proposed AI Law.

The text is a window into key policy debates, and a potential preview of where Chinese AI governance is heading. Quick 🧵
fxcxw.org.cn/dyna/content.p…

BREAKING: NGO Reporters Without Borders says it has been denied entry to #HongKong after 6-hours of searches, questioning. In full: hongkongfp.com/2024/04/10/bre… Said the move was 'unprecedented' worldwide.

Rehearsing for ‘Wu Fei and Shanir Blumenkranz’ at Lincoln Center tomorrow 4/11 at 7:30pm U.S. EDT.

Guzheng and oud 古筝和乌德琴
Video live streaming will be at link below ⬇️

lincolncenter.org/series/lincoln…

Today's artist without a (known) birthday: Joos van Craesbeeck, painter & baker of Antwerp. And smoker! Here, in first and last of these roles, 1635.

1/ It’s here: the annual Media Freedoms Report. Take a look.

Tl;dr- reporting conditions have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Interference, intimidation, and surveillance remain on foreign news others.

fccchina.org/2024/04/08/med…

Today is Freedom of Expression Day in Taiwan, commemorating the self-immolation of publisher Nylon Cheng (鄭南榕) during a police raid on his office in 1989.

Thirty-five years after Cheng's death, Taiwan boasts Asia’s freest media environment.
thechinaproject.com/2023/04/07/thi…

Also a committed racist/antisemite.

Not that different from some contemporary 'tech bros' - (he believed since he mastered the 'tech' of the day, i.e. automotive technology, he was not only an 'authority on all matters', but 'infallible').

What’s the Point? That’s the question I ask myself after a very disappointing trek to the China Development Forum. I have seen the CDF in its best and worst days. China’s premier platform of debate and engagement with the world hit a new low in 2024. stephenroachauthor.com/whats-the-poin…

'It is quite remarkable that given an earthquake of this magnitude, we have seen so few reported causalities,' says Daniel Aldrich, a political science professor at Northeastern University who studies earthquake resilience around the world. npr.org/2024/04/04/124…

Now I have to learn to read Ukrainian! Thanks Vita Golod 维塔 for this volume on Ukrainian Sinology.