Tag: China
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Of abandoning mother tongues and shame
A reaction to a fascinating essay on Substack about the cultural pressure of “leaving the mother tongue” and adopting other languages for class mobility. I reflect on the dynamics of language use among Malaysian Chinese, where the shame is about not mastering more languages or being slow at learning languages.
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Linkblog Feb 26, 2026: The Chinese issue
China’s attitudes towards AI, and how China, Chinese culture continues to fascinate.
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Hong Kong Wang Fuk Court Fire: Thoughts & links
On 26 November 2025, a deadly fire broke out at the Wang Fuk Court apartment complex in Tai Po, Hong Kong. My thoughts and links to various articles, social media posts from China, and videos about this tragedy.
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Conversations about AI are different in Asia
In Asia, the real conversations and developments around AI are focused on practical applications for industry. They are quiet, hardly talked about and are not trendy.
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Should we bring up China’s Nanjing Massacre today?
As the movie Dead to Rights (Nanjing Photo Studio)《南京照相馆》gains attention in China and globally, some critics wonder: Why bring it up now?
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Weekend Tales #7: Year ends and bodice rippers in the desert
Reflecting on 2024 while watching trashy TV. Also, links to articles I’ve written and have read.
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5 more reads from Asia
The results of my painstaking digging of the interwebs for your reading pleasure.
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A secret Pentagon campaign to spread vaccine disinformation has come to light
No, really, this is not some conspiracy theory Youtuber reporting this. Reuters broke the story. Here’s how the world is reacting to the news.
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The cold war in Chinese fandom spaces
The “China bad” narrative is infecting even “fluffy” Chinese online fandom spaces, forcing fans to take sides in the US-China cold war. 📧 Subscribe to read the post. Subscription is free.
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3 Body Problem is a bit of a problem
The Netflix drama’s depiction of China is, well, problematic. Or is it? Chinese viewers weigh in. (If you’ve not watched the drama, please note that this issue is slightly spoilery.) 📧 Subscribe to read the post. Subscription is free.
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Have you enjoyed some Chinese propaganda lately? I did.
I watched a Chinese legal drama called Draw the Line and I’d like to reassure you that I’m still not a member of the Communist Party of China. 📧 Subscribe to read the post. Subscription is free.
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I speak four languages. That’s just being Malaysian.
And also the result of an accident in geography and school choices. 📧 Subscribe to read the post. Subscription is free.
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Chinese New Year auntie uncle time
Verily I tell you, 90% of my relatives will not survive cancel culture in the West. 📧Subscribe to read the post.
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Interesting podcast: Multipolarity? Schmultipolarity!
An interesting debate about imperialism, capitalism and why there’s a move towards a multipolar world. Justin Podur and Sam Gindin discussed this with such civility. We need more grounded debates like this.
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It’s probably impossible to be neutral about China
I’m often obsessed about random topics, but none of my pet topics would paint me in a bad light like my current interest in the US-China tensions. It’s pretty disturbing to realise that I will be automatically disliked because I hold a different view of China.
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Being Chinese in an anti-China world
I speak and think in English. But I’m genetically Chinese and that is problematic in an anti-China Western world. 📧 To read, subscribe to the blog.
Elizabeth Tai 