China’s most famous dissident, Liu Xiaobo, has died in custody at age 61. The cause was liver cancer. His death, confirmed Thursday evening local time…
BAD ELEMENTS
“Murder without spilling blood”: the Chinese Communist Party’s history of denying medical treatment to its enemies
When news emerged that Nobel Prize winner Liu Xiaobo was gravely ill in hospital with late-term liver cancer, many wondered whether the Chinese Communist Party…
THE LINE IS DRAWN
“One country, two systems” is full of contradictions: just look at the Hong Kong-China border
No place better illuminates the current state of affairs in Hong Kong than its edges. Twenty years after the former British enclave reverted to Chinese…
ALIVE AND KICKING
Cantonese isn’t dead yet, so stop writing its eulogy
When I decided to start studying Mandarin as a teenager, friends and family approved. China was enjoying explosive economic growth, so speaking the country’s lingua…
ESCAPE ROUTE
Hong Kong’s disillusioned youth feel they’re worse off 20 years after the handover
In the 20 years since Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule, the city has been able to count the numerous economic blessings it receives from…
KAFKAESQUE
A straight married couple became a same-sex one and Singapore’s famous efficiency broke down
It was meant to follow the tried-and-tested Singaporean script of life: A young Singaporean couple applies for their first state-subsidized apartment together, they work and…
HUNG, DRAWN, AND QUARTERED
What is a hung parliament?
The results of the UK election on June 8 are in and the results are astounding. The voters rebuked UK prime minister Theresa May, who…
ALL TOGETHER NOW
The song-and-exercise routines of the modern Chinese workplace have revolutionary roots
A few weeks ago, a photo of city workers in a city in eastern China doing push-ups as punishment made the social media rounds (link…
'ONE PLANET WE'VE GOT'
Read Barack Obama’s statement on Trump’s exit from the Paris climate agreement
When Barack Obama signed the Paris climate agreement on Earth Day in April 2016, he did so on behalf of his presidential administration, not the…
DIVERSIFICATION
Taiwan’s gays are ready to marry, and save the crumbling wedding industry to boot
Taipei, Taiwan Crammed with bridal boutiques, tailors, and wedding studios, a short stretch of camphor tree-lined Zhongshan North Road is the epicenter of Taiwan’s once-booming…
HIGH STAKES
The ‘fake news’ trope is making it harder to fight state-sanctioned violence in Asia
In Southeast Asia, a region full of young democracies, journalists and press freedom advocates are alarmed by politicians’ eager uptake of two cultural memes spawned…
SECRET SERVICES
All eyes on Jared Kushner as Russia story takes a “backchannel” turn
Jared Kushner reportedly sought a secret line of communication with Moscow and failed to disclose several conversations with Russian officials prior to his father-in-law, US…
