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Society & Culture

Tibetโ€™s most popular song

Not much has changed in the political situation of Tibet since the last peak of international attention in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics. But culturally, Tibet continues to evolve, and itโ€™s worth taking note as Tibetan-influenced music has become more mainstream in China in recent years. Bill McGrath, a scholar of Tibet and Chinese religions, writes on The China Project about the most popular song in Tibet in recent years โ€” โ€œFly,โ€ by the hip-hop duo ANU.

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Society & Culture

Michelinโ€™s failed guide to food in Beijing

Michelin, the French dining guide, launched its first Beijing edition on November 28, featuring 23 starred restaurants and 77 other recommendations. The editors of the Michelin guides have always been utter philistines when it comes to Chinese food, and this year is no different. Beijing celebrity chef and founder of the Da Dong restaurant group, Dว’ng Zhรจnxiรกng ่‘ฃๆŒฏ็ฅฅ, wrote a widely circulated essay titled โ€œPursuing aroma and expelling stench in food: A reflection of Michelinโ€™s rating of Chinese restaurantsโ€ (in Chinese), which slams the guide.

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Science & Health

Scientists object to DNA collection from Uyghurs

As part of the Orwellian project of surveillance and control of Muslim ethnic minorities like Uyghurs in Xinjiang, Chinese authorities have systematically collected vast amounts of DNA samples and other biometric data. Why did Beijing want all that biometric data? The New York Times has revealed at least one compelling reason: โ€œChinese scientists are trying to find a way to use a DNA sample to create an image of a personโ€™s face.โ€

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Business & Technology

Huawei slammed for treatment of former employee

985, 996, 251, 404. Just random numbers? Not quite. Theyโ€™re what internet users posted โ€” before they were deleted โ€” in the comment section of an open letter penned by Mรจng WวŽnzhลu ๅญŸๆ™š่ˆŸ, the CFO of Chinese telecom giant Huawei, about her arrest in Canada. Li Yuan at the New York Times (porous paywall) says the numbers were โ€œslyly referring to a former Huawei employee who graduated from one of the countryโ€™s top universities in a program code-named 985, worked from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week and was jailed for 251 days after he demanded severance pay when his contract wasnโ€™t renewed.โ€

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Politics & Current Affairs

Chinese diplomats take Twitter lessons from Trump

Despite the fact that Twitter is banned in China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry has made its own Twitter account and is publishing surprisingly Trump-esque tweets full of insults, typos, and ALL-CAPS denials of well-documented facts. Itโ€™s also deploying masterful whataboutism, a classic propaganda technique that is particularly well suited for the social media age.

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Politics & Current Affairs

Trump signs bill supporting Hong Kong protesters

Despite his best efforts, U.S. President Donald Trump has not been able to ignore the Hong Kong protests as he desperately seeks a trade deal with China. But last week, Trumpโ€™s hand was forced by the U.S. Congress, which passed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act of 2019. Trump signed the veto-proof bill into law on November 27. China retaliated by banning U.S. military vessels from visiting Hong Kong, and issuing sanctions on five American NGOs.

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