ARTICLES
How Will China Deal With The Taliban?
“In some ways, Afghanistan under the Taliban is China’s perfect partner: dysfunctional, dependent, and happy with whatever China can do for it:” In this Q&A with the Council on Foreign Relation’s cfr.org website, I answer questions from the editors on China’s hopes and
Gaming the System?
One common way of looking at China's success at the Olympics is as metaphor for its rise--with the conclusion being that its rise to the top of the medals tables (just like its rise in its global standing) is tainted by too much state interference--that it's done so by a brutal sports machine.
China in One Village
How does rural China recall the past decades of change? One answer is the pathbreaking 2010 book by Liang Hong, China in Liang Village (中国在梁庄), which recounts the history of Liang’s native town, a village near Zhengzhou in central Henan province.
Council on Foreign Relations
Starting July 1, I will be the new senior fellow for China studies at the Council on Foreign Relations.
REMEMBERING RIK SCHIPPER
In this NYT obituary I recall the life of one of the most influential China scholars of recent years, Kristofer "Rik" Schipper, who died earlier this year in Amsterdam, aged 86.
FORBIDDEN CITY: THE BOOK
Newly published: a new photobook on the Forbidden City that I helped put together with the publisher Assouline. I wrote a 4,000-word introduction, in which I talk about how the Forbidden City has returned to the center of Chinese culture.
WHAT DO CHINESE THINK?
Big question! One answer is to look at what some of the countries thinkers are writing, something that’s been hard for non-Chinese speakers to do. In this article for SupChina I profile David Ownby’s Reading the China Dream translation project.
CHINESE LIBERALS AND U.S. CONSERVATIVES
In this Opinions section piece for The New York Times, I look at a strange phenomenon that’s percolated over the past few years.
STATE NOT SOCIETY
In this Opinions section piece for The New York Times, I look at a strange phenomenon that’s percolated over the past few years.
TEACHING IN THE TIME OF COVID
Students and teachers have been some of the hardest-hit by the pandemic, especially if what currently are temporary measures become permanent.
AWW’S TECHNOCRATIC NIGHTMARE
In his new documentary film, Ai Weiwei presents a China that can quickly crush the pandemic but “offers no answers to humanity’s questions.” See my piece in the NYT here.