25 Jan 2022
China’s new reality
Forget geopolitics and military muscle flexing. Reality TV is where Beijing and Taipei can put aside their differences.
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6 Aug 2021
Hong Kong security law flexes Beijing’s international muscle
Beijing’s heavy hand in Hong Kong showcases China 2.0 – more confident and less conciliatory. -
17 May 2021
London and Hong Kong: Financial centres in parallel peril
Once mighty, two beacons of the modern global economy are shrouded by political clouds. -
16 Nov 2020
End of the road for Hong Kong’s opposition camp?
A gesture of solidarity, yes. But the mass resignation by 15 pro-democracy lawmakers was also an admission of defeat. -
29 Jul 2020
Battle for Hong Kong takes on a new shape
Squashed by Beijing’s new security law, the pro-democracy movement is going into politics – or going underground. -
7 Jul 2020
The economics of national security in Hong Kong
China’s new Hong Kong legislation shows how national security has become a part of the state’s economic arsenal. -
2 Jul 2020
Hong Kong: The finishing blow
The new legislation marks the completion of Beijing’s total control and surveillance of every quarter of the PRC. -
11 Jun 2020
Hong Kong: What China stands to lose
Xi Jinping’s attempted show of strength in Hong Kong only serves to betray his weakness in Beijing. -
26 May 2020
Hong Kong: System override
Beijing’s proposed new national security law raises the stakes of pro-democracy protests. -
21 Apr 2020
New crackdown will deepen dividing lines in Hong Kong
Both the Chinese Communist Party and the Hong Kong democracy movement are settling in for a long and painful struggle. -
23 Mar 2020
Coronavirus and the Hong Kong protest movement
Covid-19 may have put a damper on pro-democracy street demonstrations, but the spirit is very much alive. -
20 Mar 2020
How people power has flattened the Covid curve in Hong Kong
Quick adaptation has kept down the spread of coronavirus, but it’s no time to relax. -
30 Jan 2020
As Hong Kong wards off coronavirus, authorities struggle to win trust
The government's refusal to close the border has set off a public panic. Is it overreaction – or justified? -
14 Jan 2020
Beijing’s Hong Kong appointment sends a clear message
By installing an old-school party functionary as its chief liaison, China shows where it stands on reform. -
6 Jan 2020
What lies ahead for Hong Kong in 2020
Tear gas instead of fireworks greeted New Year crowds on the streets in Hong Kong amid a shake-up of a political kind. -
24 Dec 2019
Best of The Interpreter 2019: Hong Kong protests
One country, two systems – protesters on the streets have rallied to preserve an idea that Beijing insists it respects. -
26 Nov 2019
Hong Kong: The people’s voice
The District Council election was seen as a de facto referendum on the protests – and the pro-democracy camp won. -
19 Nov 2019
How China is winning the Hong Kong propaganda war
Discredit, attack, and marginalise. Beijing is showing just how to wait out the protests, then turn the tide. -
1 Nov 2019
In search of clarity on Hong Kong’s future
Hong Kong and China would both benefit from a clear understanding of the city status post-2047. -
23 Oct 2019
Hong Kong protesters need a narrative – now
News coverage is beginning to fall away with nothing new to report, because the demonstrations alone don’t tell a story. -
22 Oct 2019
China’s own “Great Delusion”
China has turned American hubris on its head – overselling realism and nationalism while ignoring liberalism. -
11 Sep 2019
Cat videos meet Big Brother
China has harnessed domestic social media to spread its propaganda. What happens when it exports the same tactics? -
21 Aug 2019
Battleground states: Twitter and Facebook ban Chinese-linked accounts
It’s not only the complications of international politics here, but the commercial desire to keep platforms “social”. -
20 Aug 2019
Hong Kong: popular protests, live-streamed
Public backing for the demonstrations is bolstered by their propaganda-puncturing uses of social media. -
13 Aug 2019
Hong Kong Protest City: Podcast out now
Ben Bland and Primrose Riordan discuss the ongoing political unrest in Hong Kong. -
24 Jul 2019
Hong Kong’s political trouble is Singapore’s gain
History looks to be repeating, as earlier strife in Hong Kong helped the rise of another of Asia’s island cities. -
10 Jul 2019
Hong Kong sets an example to push Taiwan even further from China
<p>Taiwan’s close watch on Hong Kong has only firmed its opposition to Beijing’s “one country, two systems”.</p> -
17 Jun 2019
The deeper malaise in Hong Kong’s civil service
<p>The political capture of once neutral institutions of government should be just as alarming.</p> -
17 Jun 2019
Hong Kong climbdown eases external pressures on China
Beijing is fighting many fires at once, so taking the heat out of Hong Kong will suit Xi Jinping. -
14 Jun 2019
Umbrella Movement 2.0 exposes flaws in “one country, two systems”
Even more than the last pro-democracy demonstrations, at stake is Hong Kong’s future with common law at its heart. -
13 Jun 2019
Why China’s rulers won’t admit they could be wrong
By never conceding a mistake – whether over Tiananmen or now in Hong Kong – the cost is a loss of people’s trust. -
8 Apr 2019
Closing the umbrella? The verdict on democracy in Hong Kong
A case against a group of non-violent protestors will be read as a comment on China’s one country, two systems approach. -
11 Feb 2019
Hong Kong: when rich dreams interrupt fortunate life
Heritage and culture is cast aside in a society where it is sinful to block another person’s pathway to wealth. -
5 Nov 2018
How China changed its language on speech
<p>Language helps preserve a unique culture but Cantonese is marginalised by authorities in southern China.</p> -
15 Oct 2018
Shifting sands in Hong Kong
Hong Kong is being drained of it’s language, freedom of speech, and now it’s surrounding seas. Is a brain-drain next?