ARTICLES
CHINA’S MEMORY MANIPULATORS
In this excerpt, the Guardian reprints part of my concluding chapter–the “coda”–of The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern China. This book just came out in the UK and comes out in August in the US.
DECAPITATED CHURCHES
My report in the Sunday New York Times from China’s Christian heartland on the government’s cross-removal campaign and what it means for China’s religious revival.
BURIED BOOKS
In this NYRB article, I look at the political implications of new archaeological finds in China.
GOODBYE TO DAHLEM
My skeptical take on closing the famous Dahlem museums in Berlin. NYR Daily unpaywalled here.
“MY PERSONAL VENDETTA”
As part of my ongoing series of Q&As with Chinese intellectuals and writers, I interview the Hong Kong publisher Bao Pu about his movtivation for tackling some of China’s most sensitive issues.
THE GOVERNANCE OF CHINA
On Jan. 15 and 16, The New York Review of Books, Hong Kong University and several other groups are hosting a conference named after Xi Jinping's book on Chinese politics.
JOURNOS AND ACADEMICS TALK RELIGION
New York University's Center for Religion and Media is launching a new fellowship program to bring journalists and academics closer together.
KUNG-FU, FACE MASKS AND TECHNOCRATS
Why did Beijing issue a “red alert” for smog this week when it has seen far worse days? I explore the implications of Chinese society’s growing environmental awareness in this short NYR Daily blogpost.
ONE FAMILY’S NIGHTMARE
Behind the ubiquitous China Dream campaign is one family’s real-life story of death and tragedy. My article in the NYT.
MOSQUE IN MUNICH IN CHINESE
In this interview with Beijing Youth Daily, I talk about the upcoming publication of A Mosque in Munich in China, the Paris talks, and accessing US archives.
XI’S APOGEE OF POWER
In this piece for the New York Review of Books Daily, I take issue with the idea of Xi as a strong leader, instead seeing him as hobbled by the same problems facing his predecessors.