JARED SIVILA WRITES — After two long years, COVID-19 still rages on, plaguing the world not just with a contagious disease but with fear, paranoia, and absolute desperation. While some countries have reimplemented lockdown protocols, others have embraced a lax stance for the pandemic. Hong Kong appears to have clamped…
Full Article HONG KONG: COVID-19 AND HAMSTER HAVOC
TOM PLATE WRITES — Do dead sculptures tell no tales? Perhaps they still do. Recently the Pillar of Shame statue in Hong Kong, long displayed, was removed from the University of Hong Kong campus by the powers that be. The sculpture had shaped the famous Tiananmen Square incident in terms…
Full Article US-CHINA RELATIONS: CRUMBLING US HAS NO BUSINESS TELLING OTHERS WHAT TO DO WITH THEIR STATUES
EXECUTIVE EDITOR ZHI JIAO DANIELLE GOH WRITES — Legend has it that an apple a day keeps the lie away. That was the slogan of Apple Daily, the most vocal pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong. But what happens when the apple tree falls? On Thursday, Apple Daily printed its last…
Full Article HONG KONG: UPROOTING THE APPLE TREE
HEATHER CREAMER WRITES — It’s a short 25-minute train ride from Central Station in Hong Kong to Quarry Bay, a tightly packed neighborhood on the Eastern side of Hong Kong. The number of commercial buildings in this district has increased exponentially over the past two decades, and more buildings go…
Full Article CULTURE: LIFE IN HONG KONG’s ‘MONSTER BUILDING’
MANAGING EDITOR ZHI JIAO DANIELLE GOH — First it was Hong Kong and Taiwan. Then it was Thailand. And now Myanmar. What’s going on in Asia? Perhaps the Milk Tea Alliance can help you understand the situation in the region. The Milk Tea Alliance began with a tweet by Thai…
Full Article ASEAN: THE MILK TEA MOVEMENT BREWS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
QUINN MCGANNON WRITES — Recent years have seen an explosion of protests across Asia, most stemming from a frustration with oppressive governments and lack of freedoms. An increasing number of young people in Asia are participating in their countries’ affairs, and they’re not being subtle about it. While protests generally…
Full Article ASIA: HOW THE ‘HUNGER GAMES’ SALUTE BECAME A SYMBOL OF SOLIDARITY ACROSS RECENT PROTESTS
TOM PLATE WRITES — You have to wonder how well (if at all) General Secretary Xi Jinping and President Joseph Biden are going to get along. Imagine such a splendid scene as this! With TV cameras broadcasting live around the world you see the leader of the Peoples Republic of…
Full Article TENSE CHINA-US RELATIONS: DO BIDEN AND XI HAVE THE ANSWER?
MONICA KELLY WRITES — Is prison population growth an indicator of justice in Asia? On November 2, Hong Kong officials announced a record-breaking seizure of over half-a-ton of methamphetamine reportedly worth $39 million USD. Drug trafficking is not new to Asia: the continent’s meth trade is estimated to be worth…
Full Article HONG KONG: LONG SENTENCES AND THE SHORT END OF THE STICK FOR FEMALE DRUG OFFENDERS
TAYLOR BOSVELD WRITES — It is no secret that China is continuing to grow its influence on the world stage, yet who would think that one of the most culturally impactful institutions in the United States is the National Basketball Association? And what’s the relationship between China and the NBA?…
Full Article CHINA: MAKING THE NBA JUMP THROUGH POLITICAL HOOPS
MOON CHUNG-IN WRITES –To avoid a new Cold War with Washington, Beijing needs to clarify its national strategy and win over the international community A country where the Communist Party dictatorship oppresses its people. A country whose hegemonic ambitions threaten the world. The country responsible for spreading the COVID-19 virus…
Full Article WORLD: CAN CHINA TRULY BECOME A GLOBAL LEADER?
ASSOCIATE EDITOR ZHI JIAO DANIELLE GOH WRITES — Just last week, Chinese Sukhoi-30 advanced fighter jets briefly entered Taiwan’s airspace. It happened as Taiwan announced that its largest annual live-fire drill would be held next month. At the same time, news about British ministers considering plans to support Taiwan were…
Full Article ANGLO-CHINESE RELATIONS: WHY IS RAPPROCHEMENT UNLIKELY?
SARA SHARPE WRITES — Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, countries have been scrambling to create effective and realistic economic stimulus packages. China has promised a year-long fiscal stimulus package amounting to 3.6 trillion yuan ($500 billion USD) in an attempt to continue its strong rate of economic growth,…
Full Article CHINA: UNCERTAIN COMMITMENT TO COVID-19 STIMULUS PACKAGE
COLUMNIST TOM PLATE WRITES – The decline of the coherence and acumen of American foreign policy would appear to present Beijing with the potential for a century of anything and everything but humiliation. To be sure, historically, the U.S. has demonstrated Olympian bounce-back ability from near-death experiences (from bad economies…
Full Article DEAR BEIJING: IS THIS THE BEST YOU CAN DO?
From News Service Reports — No sooner had after China signaled it would impose new national-security laws on Hong Kong than markets throughout the world trembled. By early afternoon Friday in Hong Kong (22 May), the Hang Seng Index had lost 5.6%, with property, financial and infrastructure stocks retreating between…
Full Article HONG-KONG-WATCH: SHAKEN MARKETS
JOANNE PANG WRITES FROM HONG KONG CHINA – Ah, you ask about the lovely coronavirus pandemic that has made millennials insanely and basically harmlessly obsessed with TikTok to a whole other level? Hong Kong seems to tell a different tale. As COVID-19 began to strike the West (UK and US),…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: CARRIE LAM RIGHTLY CRACKS DOWN ON THE MERRY MERETRICIOUS MILLENNIALS
From Asia Media International in Los Angeles — Congratulations, Hong Kong! Under conditions of the greatest stress, you have pulled off a mainly spotless and brilliant territory-wide election whose results resonate worldwide. Clean and clear elections are not that easy to pull off. (We in the U.S. are learning more…
Full Article CONGRATULATIONS HONG KONG!