1/ As we prepare to leave #Hualien, which is still trembling — seemingly small aftershocks nearly every half hour, or even more frequently — here is our big piece on the quake with Joyu Wang and Chun Han Wong 王春翰 wsj.com/world/china/ta…

Taiwan is rocking & rollin’ tonight. There’s been at least 20 earthquakes in the past 2.5 hours. All rather minor, but this cadence of tremors seems unprecedented in my 25 years here.

In other news, Jinjoo Lee and my commodities, fashion and geopolitics-focused hedge fund is opening for subscriptions this week

Elaine and I worked on the same team and we survived the gruesome Beijing Winter Olympics ‘bubble’ together. She’s a talented, resourceful reporter and a beautiful writer. Hire her.

Make competition with China the lodestar of American foreign policy ... but don't teach anyone to speak or read the language. Interesting plan ...

1/ Today’s weak #China #PMI demonstrates the clear downsides of Beijing’s plan to manufacture/export its way out of trouble. Especially in an environment where US consumers are getting grumpy again

Important point from interesting interview w/ Alec Ash: "My fear is China is becoming somewhat of an abstraction...or seen as something homogenous. The human stories are essential to remind us that [China] deserves to be understood with human empathy." thewirechina.com/2024/06/02/ale…

Police stopped and searched a woman whose mobile phone had its torch function turned on. Officers asked her where she was going, and she told them she was in Causeway Bay to eat ramen. Full coverage: buff.ly/43DAMMe Photos: Kyle Lam/HKFP.