In Defence of Diplomacy: Reflections on the Crisis in Northeast Asia
In his essay Politics and the English Language, George Orwell diagnosed the problem of Modern English as the following: “It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the …
An Unprecedented Vault of Human Data: the Threat of Super Apps and the Case for Government Involvement in China
With nearly 900 million monthly users, China’s powerhouse super app – WeChat (微信)– has access to an unprecedented amount of social, financial, political, and personal data. Since its government-backed conception in …
The Belt and Road Initiative – China’s Pivot to the West
For most of the past two millennia, China was the world’s dominant economic power. The ancient Silk Road carried oriental goods from the thriving Chinese empire into the Indian subcontinent, …
China, South Korea and a Straw Man
In 1977, at the height of the Cold War, Lucasfilm released Star Wars, the beginnings of a saga centred around totalitarianism, imperialism and planetary destruction. Just a few months earlier, …
China and the “Key” to the North Korean Crisis
The Dandong “Friendship Bridge” on the China-North Korea border seems a fitting emblem of recent developments in China-North Korea relations. Constructed between 1937-43, the so-called “Friendship Bridge”, named thus in …
China’s ‘New Era’ in International Politics
Last week witnessed the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (NCCPC), during which President Xi Jinping further cemented his leadership position and unveiled a vision for a …
