ARTICLES
THE TEA CAPITAL OF THE WORLD?
I'm a passionate tea drinker but normally prefer Chinese greens. In this article for the New York Times travel section, I look at a surprising corner of Germany where more tea is consumed per capital than any other place in the world, and with strange customs and ceremonies.
THE MOON CITY
A man with trained mice at the East Peak Temple Fair, Feb. 10, 2013. Chinese New Year is the time of year when Beijing empties out but for me it's the best time of the year.
BLOGGING CHINA’S SLO-MO REVOUTION: INTERVIEW WITH HUANG QI
In this interview on the NYRB blog, I talk to veteran grassroots activist Huang Qi, whose Tianwang website has been documenting protests since 1999.
EGYPT’S EL-WATAN ON MOSQUE IN MUNICH, MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD
The liberal Egyptian newspaper El-Watan recently interviewed me on the inherent problems of the Muslim Brotherhood and why it will have difficulty in running a secular state.
CHARITY AND RELIGION CONFERENCE
In 2011 I particiapted in an interesting conference on religion and charity organizations in China and presented a paper on Daoism.
DOOMSDAY FOR CHINA’S RELIGIOUS POLICY?
Why has China arrested over 1,000 members of an odd religious sect in rural China? In this piece for the NYRBI look at the country’s antiquated religious policy and how it could be a challenge for China’s new leadership.
POWER, SACRIFICE AND RITUAL: CHINA’S NEW LEADERSHIP
A lot has been written about the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th Congress but in this essay for the New York Review of BooksI put it together with the other big news from this year, the Bo Xilai scandal, also reviewing a dynamite new e-book from Penguin. (Paywall alert.)
THE FAMINE ARCHIPELAGO
In the current issue of the New York Review of Books (clickable here, no paywall) I have the privilege of reviewing Yang Jisheng's "Tombstone," his history of the Great Chinese Famine (published in 2008 in Hong Kong in Chinese, just out now in translation).
CHINA’S HIGH-SPEED RUSH TO THE FUTURE
China's high-speed rail network is now the world's largest but for many Chinese it's become a symbol of the country's development-at-all-costs strategy.
HAN HAN: LIVING THE GOOD LIFE
One of China's most popular bloggers, Han Han can still write zingers but he increasingly seems tired of the fight and more eager to retreat to the good life of being a celebrity.
AN HONEST WRITER SURVIVES IN CHINA
In the Oct. 11 issue of The New York Review of Books, I have an essay on the Chinese writer Yu Hua, recounting a memorable weekend I spent with him in Hangzhou and how he survives in China despite censorship and restrictions.
THE NORTH PEAK
The Asia Society's new website on China, ChinaFile, has published my contribution to Chinese Characters, the new collection of reportage (see box on left of this webpage for more info on it).