Columbia University president Shafik has resigned, and says will go back… to the UK House of Lords. “I have been asked by the UK’s Foreign Secretary to chair a review of the government’s approach to international development… Enables me to return to the House of Lords…”

NEW: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators who plan to “shut down” the DNC this week are taking cues from New York City, where protests on college campuses were orchestrated with the help of an encrypted messaging network. w/ Joe Anuta and Betsy Woodruff Swan politico.com/news/2024/08/1…

China’s Communist Party works hard to track public opinion but doesn’t share its findings. So I set out to run my own straw poll in Yichun, Jiangxi, a city with a good claim to be China’s “median city”. I found people in a strikingly glum, risk-averse mood economist.com/china/2024/08/…

Massively exciting that The Examination is a Loeb finalist in our first year of publishing. Huge credit to Will & Raquel Rutledge & our partners. Several lead battery recycling plants we focused on have been shuttered, but the threat persists. More reporting to come.

Verdict coming today in the Stand News sedition trial in Hong Kong. The outlet never got the type of international attention of Apple Daily and Jimmy Lai, but was arguably more influential. Wrote out the outlet for The Atlantic back in 2022: theatlantic.com/international/…

NEW investigation: A look at how pro-Beijing diaspora groups and Chinese diplomats coordinated to repress anti-CCP protesters -- including through violence -- when Xi Jinping visited San Francisco for last Nov's APEC summit washingtonpost.com/world/interact…

A 2022 puff piece on Linda Sun on her alma mater's website. Nothing irritates me more than CCP agents claiming to represent the Chinese diaspora/Asian Americans. Weaponizing the Chinese diaspora and anti-Asian racism to its advantage is classic CCP tactic. barnard.edu/magazine/sprin…

China's consul general in New York expelled over espionage case. cnn.com/2024/09/04/us/…

Adoption from China is deeply enmeshed in its population politics. This The New York Times piece on China’s sudden ban of foreign adoption opened with Prof Wang Feng’s insights that position the current moment in the long chain reactions of the one-child policy. I also shared some thoughts

“Why China’s Universities Are Ditching Their Engineering Programs.” A fascinating and surprising article. While US unis scrap History and foreign languages, China’s are pursuing something different. Admittedly, I’m sad that Chuanda cut nuclear physics. sixthtone.com/news/1015732

Four years ago, I met someone named 'the Sun King' - an entrepreneur who helped build China into the global solar and polysilicon powerhouse it is today, to some controversy. Today, he's building a new factory -- in Indiana, US. npr.org/2024/08/27/119…

Scoop: Execs of Jimmy Lai's Hong Kong media firm mount legal challenge against BDO w/ Greg Torode reuters.com/business/execs…

The number of people under investigation in Mayor Eric Adams’ world continues to grow. If you’re having a hard time keeping up, we don’t blame you. Here's what to know: thecity.nyc/2024/09/09/fbi…

Polling consistently shows strong support for abortion access: 70% of American adults say that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, 64% believe Congress should pass a law guaranteeing access nationwide, & 70% oppose a federal ban. Learn more: bit.ly/4gfP78x

Major weakness with the moderation. They’ve let Trump speak 9 minutes more than her — that’s almost 40% of her time so far.

How does someone’s brain unlock this

The New York Times is opening a new bureau in Vietnam, led by Damien Cave. The Times hasn't had a full-time presence in the country since 1975.