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Phil Robertson on Defending Human Rights in East Asia
Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch discusses defending human rights in East Asia, how he works with authoritarian governments, and why ASEAN doesn’t care about human rights.
What the Cards Say
Where do tarot cards come from and why do some people think they have occult powers? A skeptic delves into the colorful world of tarot.
Great Power Competition Heats up in Latin America
China seems set to expand into Latin America. Can the US do anything about it?
An Insider’s Guide to Guam
What is Guam like beyond the beach resorts and military bases? What is it like to actually live there?
Is China’s Economy Going the Way of Japan’s?
If China really does continue down Xi’s autarkic path, then its slump could be even more pronounced than anything Japan experienced.
Will New Zealand Follow in Australia’s Footsteps on China?
Despite their many similarities, Australia and New Zealand differ wildly in their approaches towards China. But that will change as Wellington finds it increasingly hard to reconcile its differences with Beijing.
With AUKUS, Australia is Finally Coming Into Its Own
AUKUS largely helps Australia achieve its strategic goals and is a sign that the young Western nation is maturing.
What Big Business Won’t Say
Many corporations today are basically amoral, and will do business with any regime, no matter how repressive, for the right price. So why won’t they say it?
The Solomon Islands Torn Between China and Taiwan
The sudden riots in this sleepy Pacific archipelago shows it’s not so easy for China to buy love.
Who’s Afraid of Peng Shuai?
How Beijing turned a non-issue into an international crisis.
How Seoul Engineered the Korean Wave
Korean pop culture didn’t get this popular by itself – it’s the deliberate result of a plan by the South Korean government to boost its entertainment industry and its soft power.
Running Amok
A spate of mass killings in Southeast Asia baffled anthropologists for centuries. Can it shed light on mass shootings today?
FICTION | Rapture of the Deep
My father warned me that the sea was beguiling, dangerous. The deeper you descend, the more the sea wants to pull you down and keep you.
Goodbye Merkel, and Good Riddance
Angela Merkel postured as a stateswoman on the world stage, but constantly shunted unpleasant work and unpleasant decisions to others, and shirked her responsibilities as a major European leader.
Can the West Flip Cambodia?
Though it often behaves like a vassal to China, Cambodia is growing increasingly uncomfortable with its overreliance on Beijing – and that may present the West with an opening.
The CCP Faces Its Greatest Challenge Yet: Apathetic Youths
Many young Chinese are eschewing the rat race in favor of “lying flat,” and the Party is worried.
Can France Help Check China in the Asia-Pacific?
France is an Asia-Pacific power, and will be instrumental in countering Chinese aggression in the region.
The Second Life of Vintage Japanese Singers
The old songs of iconic 1970s Japanese singers are enjoying an uncanny second life on YouTube.
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict is Playing Out…In Malaysia
Many Malays have taken to copying Arabs, not just in their views and practices, but in their friends and enemies too.
Our Royals
Once the rulers of the British people, the royals are now their pets. Here’s how this happened.
Britain’s House Divided on China
The UK’s politicians are torn on how to handle Beijing.
The Future of the EU
As a cold war between China and the US looms, the EU must decide where it stands.
The Ethics of Portraying Famous People Onscreen
Films disproportionately shape how the public views controversial figures. What responsibilities do they have?
China’s Lost Tradition of Journalism
China once had a rich tradition of independent journalism. What’s happened to it?
The Mad Women in the Attic
Gothic literature is strewn with the tortured genius of women at the mercy of the restrictions placed on them by society — and their own minds.
The City & the City
Japanese filmmakers once used city settings to address the loneliness and futility of modern life. Now, they are becoming symbols of hope.
Who’s the Second Most Powerful Person in China?
Trying to identify the second most powerful person in Xi Jinping’s China is a difficult task.
In Praise of Plum Blossoms
Lost and found over the centuries, the Guide to Capturing a Plum Blossom, one of the earliest printed art books in the world, is itself a small miracle.
FICTION | Breaking You. Me.
It is midnight in Harajuku and the streets are still bustling. The boy meets the girl to get some crepes.
Peking Man and Chinese Superiority
How a long-lost fossil became a symbol of Chinese supremacy.
The Rule-Bender
Sri Thanonchai, Thailand’s most popular trickster, is known for his amoral cunning.
Broad Stripes and Bright Stars
A queer, interracial couple visits Middle America for the 4th of July.
Prostitute Priestesses
Often idealized, temple prostitutes were little more than sex slaves. Rather than them, women should emulate the goddesses they served.
The Performativity of Protest: A Cynic’s Guide
Who do we protest for when we’re protesting?
The Controversial Legacy of Charlie Chan
The aphorism-spouting Chinese detective played by a succession of white men in yellow-face continues to both delight and offend.
Kings of New York
Even as New York struggles to contain the coronavirus, Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio continue to feud. New Yorkers aren’t shy about picking a side.
Allegory in the Time of Coronavirus
Starved of meaning in this time of idleness and isolation, we struggle to create it.
Ordinarily Extraordinary
The writer and teacher Léonie Gilmour is overshadowed by her more famous relatives: her partner, the poet Yone Noguchi, her son, the sculptor Isamu Noguchi, and her daughter, the dancer Ailes Gilmour. Yet her life was no less remarkable.
In Search of Harajuku Style
Harajuku style now lives in the imaginations of foreigners more than in real-life Japan.
Malaysia’s King Should Explain His Decision
The king’s decision to appoint the man with apparently less parliamentary support prime minister was controversial. In the absence of an explanation, suspicions will fester.
The Cutthroat Truffle Industry
Theft, counterfeiting, kidnapping, poisoning – all manner of skullduggery is involved when it comes to one of the world’s most expensive foods.
The Parasite and the Awards Host
Parasite is itself parasitic: a foreign film that weaseled its way into the single most prestigious academy in the industry only to attack that very institution and everything it stands for.
FICTION | BETA
“Are you alive?” he asks me. What is alive? I say. He can’t answer me.
The Coronavirus and the Crisis of Responsibility
The Chinese Communist Party’s shirking of responsibility at every level shows why it’s unfit to lead.
POETRY | When I Am Filled With Anxiety
That I am but a ship rat, racing through the pipe dreams of an un-wild west.
The Todai Mystique
Inside Asia’s most prestigious (and most overrated) university.
FICTION | Shadow Holds the Shape
A vampire and a ghost stalk the streets of Manhattan.
The Translators: Marmaduke Pickthall, Yusuf Ali, and the Quran
The two quintessential translators of the Quran underwent conversions in opposite directions: Pickthall became a Muslim and Ali became an Englishman.
On the Trail of Iris Chang
Iris Chang, the historian who brought the tragedy of the Nanking Massacre home to the West, lived a life that was as incandescent as it was brief, and pioneered the way for Chinese American writers.
Melting Palaces
Beautiful, transient, and completely impractical, ice palaces are monuments to the human sense of novelty and wonder.
The Short, Tortuous History of the Qipao
Fashion statement, symbol of decadence, cultural relic, and party dress, this traditional Chinese garment has come to mean different things to different people.
Sex Slavery in San Francisco’s Chinatown
A journey through San Fran’s sordid past.
The Subversive History of Japanese Tattoos
Traditionally associated with outlaws and gangsters, tattoos in Japan have a long and colorful history.
Vanishing Chinatowns
Chinatowns are disappearing across America. How is this affecting Asian American life?
Kitsune: The Japanese Fox Trickster
Kitsune are adept at shape-shifting from male to female, from animal to human, and back again.
FICTION | The Doll
An overworked and underappreciated wife and mother creates a novel solution to her problems.
Port in the Storm
To say Bradley’s living on borrowed time would be an understatement. It’s more like he’s living on stolen time. Like he made a deal with the devil years ago and he keeps shrugging it off.
Malaysia’s Democratic Moment
Malaysia has a rare shot at democracy. Will it drop the ball?