Remember the hip hop 'ban' in China 2018? Turns out that was not the end. I got a chance to see how the industry is now flourishing when I visited Chengdu
apnews.com/article/china-…

Great piece that shows how counterprotesters attacked the UCLA encampment unprovoked for hours - hurling objects, spraying chemicals, beating people and firing fireworks directly into the encampment at least six times, while police stood back. No arrests were made.

Pressed to back up his claims that 'outside agitators' co-opted Columbia's protests, Mayor Eric Adams has repeatedly mentioned a woman on campus whose husband was 'convicted for terrorism.'

I spoke to that woman – a 63-year-old retired teacher – earlier today. apnews.com/article/columb…

This piece by my UCLA colleague, Prof. David Myers, accurately describes what I also witnessed on UCLA's campus on Sunday. To keep the peace, we both put ourselves between some pro-Palestinian protesters (who were mostly disciplined and non-confrontational) and a small…

Displaced people in Gaza held a demonstration on Wednesday to express their gratitude to U.S. college students for carrying out pro-Palestinian protests.

“It is so wonderful,” remarked Abu Yusuf al-Habeel, who is displaced from Shati refugee camp.

“If… signed into law, the bill would broaden the legal definition of antisemitism to include the “targeting of the state of Israel, conceived as a Jewish collectivity.” Critics say the move would have a chilling effect on free speech throughout college campuses.”

🧵Fascinating origin-of-Covid testimony from renowned coronavirus expert Ralph Baric. “The single biggest issue to jump from the pages of Baric’s testimony is his persistent concern over unsafe research practices at the WIV,” writes @katherineeban vanityfair.com/news/story/ral…

12 years ago, it was just a tiny boba shop in our quiet, little unknown town, the fave spot for our high-school puppy love dates. 🧋💞

I never dreamed they'd one day open in NYC's Times Square! 😲🗽

Huge thanks to Yaling for publishing this story! Without her help, the tale of…

Everyone please read this post by roger yang, a policy analyst from Jiangmen, Guangdong province, who witnessed the rise of HeyTea in his hometown some 12 years ago 🥹

Despite its recent financing struggle, HeyTea has inspired a generation of beverage chains in Asia.

I love this…

Obama-era official Evan Medeiros: 'Xi is hardly oblivious to China’s recent problems. But as a committed Marxist-Leninist, he sees his country’s rise not as a linear process but as one that will take time and require adjustments.'
foreignaffairs.com/china/delusion…

North Koreans in China vanish as border reopens

Great reporting by Matthew Walsh on the North Koreans being forced back now that the Sino-DPRK border is re-opening

sg.news.yahoo.com/north-koreans-…

China Xinhua News calls on rolling back restrictive COVID-era measures, such as ID requirements for buying subway tickets, limited hospital visiting hrs, and closed-off campuses, saying they persist because partisan interests are put above the public interest.

Hamas official says group would lay down its weapons if a two-state solution is implemented (from The Associated Press) apnews.com/article/491253…

Shanghai to global visitors: Come back, we won't even require you to have your face scanned by a facial recognition device at check-in any more.
yicaiglobal.com/news/shanghai-…

in a time where filter bubbles dominate how we engage with the outside world, one group in Taiwan has found the magic to pop that bubble: 假新聞清潔劑 or Fake News Cleaner
apnews.com/article/fake-n…

China gets a lot of flak for expelling/denying/harassing journalists. Less covered - how India does the same.

TSMC makes the world’s most advanced chips in Taiwan. Geopolitical shifts are pushing it to set up a new factory in the American desert.

It needs to bring its cutting-edge tech but also a notoriously harsh, military-style work culture to the U.S. 🧵
restofworld.org/2024/tsmc-ariz…