Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan — and beyond
Xinjiang's history as a penal colony and then a high-tech laboratory has resulted in one of the most sophisticated and all-encompassing surveillance networks in the world to be deployed there. Other places may be next.
Editors’ picks — new and from the archives
- Ex-NIO intern assaulted by colleague accuses Chinese EV maker of toxic workplace culture
- China is hardening its stance against Washington
- China’s Two Sessions targets: A modernized military, economic recovery, and key technologies
- Former champion Xinjiang Flying Tigers quit Chinese Basketball Association
- New national data and financial agencies, 119,000 cases of corruption since 2017, Auto exports up by 78.9%
Featured articles
Wu Jizhen elevates Chinese calligraphy to visual poetry about ordinary life
Wu's unconventional brushwork produces Chinese characters that seem to swell and dilate, lurching in unpredictable directions before coalescing into phrases such as “How have you been lately?” Under her brush, these handwritten notes are elevated to visual poetry that speaks to the precious nuances of ordinary life.
It’s complicated: China and North Korea’s difficult relationship
Kim Jong-un regards Xi Jinping as Asia’s other supreme leader. But North Korea’s nuclear weapons pose as much of a threat to China as they do to countries like the U.S. and South Korea.
Grisly Hong Kong: Stories of shocking violence
Hong Kong is among the safest cities in the world, but cases of violent crime, while rare, do exist — and when they happen, they often seize the public’s attention.
Can China clean up its energy act, and can the U.S. go renewable without China? — Q&A with Michael Davidson
A conversation with Michael Davidson, a scholar and engineer with deep expertise in renewable energy in China, India, and the U.S.
Business and technology
Walmart is a China survivor thanks to its wholesale chain Sam’s Club
Big box retailer Carrefour is failing in China, and Walmart has not exactly been a resounding success either. But Walmart is still profitable thanks to its wholesale chain, which is enjoying a post-COVID spring.
A guide to China’s disappeared tycoons and financiers
In February, the chairman and CEO of investment bank China Renaissance disappeared. Ten days later, his firm disclosed that he was cooperating in an official investigation into a former colleague. Bao Fan was not the first and won’t be the last executive that mysteriously disappears in China. These are some of the recent high-profile cases of executives who have been detained incommunicado by security agents.
Chinese autonomous vehicle testing in California is coming under growing scrutiny
Seven Chinese autonomous vehicle companies tested their vehicles in California last year, collectively covering over 450,000 miles of roads. But as U.S. policymakers become more focused on espionage and surveillance, the Chinese companies testing in the Golden State may be on borrowed time.
TikTok: to ban or not to ban?
On February 17, Intelligence Squared hosted a debate. The question was: should the U.S. ban Tiktok? Our reporter was there to question both speakers. Here’s what he found out.
The China Project 2023 Red Paper
2022 was an annus horribilis for China, its people, and its reputation abroad: We look back on a year of lockdowns and slowdowns and make predictions for 2023, Year of the Water Rabbit.
Video from The China Project
China’s anti-corruption agency takes aim at the financial industry | Live with Lizzi Lee
Benjamin Qiu is a partner with the law firm Loeb & Loeb handling venture capital financing for Chinese companies and others.He is also a registered arbitrator with the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration. He recently wrote for Nikkei Asian Review on China's anti-corruption agency, now having its financial sector in sight.
Society and culture
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‘Rat rat, I’: Chinese youth claim the rat as spirit animal in latest internet subculture
Self-deprecation is strong in Chinese internet subculture. In the latest example, many young Chinese are calling themselves “rats” as a way of conveying their real-life struggles.
Best China books of 2022
From reform-era history and present-day policy to wartime history and protest fiction, we round up our top picks from the China bookshelf of 2022.
The best music to come out of China in 2022
While live music endured a tumultuous year in China, artists from the Chinese music scene pushed through and kept listeners comforted, thrilled, and empowered in a time of uncertainty and anxiety.
Featured Categories
Business & Technology
- The Big Four auditors may lose state-owned business in China — would it actually hurt them?
- Can China clean up its energy act, and can the U.S. go renewable without China? — Q&A with Michael Davidson
- Walmart is a China survivor thanks to its wholesale chain Sam’s Club
Society & Culture
- Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan — and beyond
- ‘Hong Kong society is still highly patriarchal’
- Wu Jizhen elevates Chinese calligraphy to visual poetry about ordinary life
Editors' Picks
Peking University’s first Yiddish class
At one of China’s most prestigious universities, students from a variety of majors are learning the Ashkenazi Jewish language.
Why do China books all look the same?
The color red, dragons, cropped Asian faces…when it comes to presenting China, book publishers often rely on a set of familiar tropes — to the detriment of the authors and the genre.
In search of spirit in China’s wild west
Through history, culture, and contemporary China: A motorbike trip from Xi'an to Dunhuang.
China looks to the Western classics
As American universities reevaluate the role of Western classical education, Latin and Greek courses are proliferating in China, where students see the Classics as a wellspring of wisdom that remains relevant regardless of hemisphere.