Otto Warmbier, the University of Virginia student who was recently released from North Korea after spending 17 months in detention, died yesterday (June 19), his…
RISK FACTOR
What we know about ISIL’s killing of two Chinese citizens in Pakistan
Last week ISIL claimed responsibility for the killing of two Chinese nationals in Pakistan. The incident occurred as China is extending its economic reach around…
DIVERGENCE
Chinese media finds a Korea angle to the killing of two Chinese citizens in Pakistan
It’s only been a few days since the killing of two Chinese nationals in Pakistan was confirmed but the media coverage of the abduction and…
RIGID DEMAND
Watching porn on China’s censored internet is an infinitely evolving cat-and-mouse game
Pornography is strictly forbidden in China. Those who produce, disseminate, or sell “obscene materials” could be jailed for life, according to the country’s criminal law.…
MOTIVATIONAL SPEECH
John Oliver tells Americans to channel their Trump loathing into fighting climate change
What can be done now that Donald Trump has pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement? In the latest episode of Last Week…
GAOKAO
It takes more than fingerprint checks to beat cheaters in China’s biggest exam
This week, more than 9 million Chinese students will sit roughly nine hours over a period of two days for the gaokao, the high-stakes exam…
UNDER HEEL
China arrested a labor rights activist investigating an Ivanka Trump-linked shoe factory
Three nonprofit workers investigating labor conditions at a Chinese factory making shoes for Ivanka Trump’s eponymous fashion brand have been arrested or gone missing. Police…
DOWN A NOTCH
260% of GDP: A quick look at the debt levels that earned China a ratings downgrade
Moody’s Investors Service downgraded China’s sovereign credit rating for the first time in nearly 30 years, for fear that Beijing will prove unable to tame…
MAN VS. MACHINE
Taking his last stand against AI, humanity’s best Go player says the robots have already won
It’s not looking good for humanity. Earlier today, AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence program developed by Google’s DeepMind team, defeated Ke Jie, the world’s reigning top-ranked…
GO—GOING—GONE
An epic man-against-machine tournament is taking place in China but Chinese viewers can’t watch it live
Google’s major consumer services, including its search engine and maps have long been gone from China, but its artificial-intelligence branch has recently made headway in…
LAO PENG YOU
Donald Trump’s ambassador to China has a 30-year friendship with Xi Jinping
Donald Trump’s chosen ambassador to Beijing, one of the US’s most important foreign envoys, has just been confirmed, four months into his presidency. During that…
LAST HOPE
The final battle between man and machine in the board game Go is here
From May 23, Google’s artificial intelligence program AlphaGo is taking on the world’s No. 1 player Ke Jie in three games in a five-day festival…
