In June 2024, a report in the MIT Technology Review shows how AI is reinventing video games. Venture firms are investing in gaming start-ups, many of which utilise AI technologies to create immersive experiences while streamlining game development.[1] AI-augmented games from China have gained commercial success worldwide. Tencent and NetEase, China’s two largest gaming companies, … more
In March 2024, the shocking murder of a 13-year-old boy in Hebei province, allegedly by three classmates, triggered fierce debates on Chinese social media about juvenile crime and the plight of millions of left-behind children 留守儿童. One consequence of China’s mass rural-to-urban migration since the 1980s is an increase in family separation and a rise … more
Professor Ma Junya is a historian at Nanjing University. Ma’s book, The Sacrificed Land: Transformation of Huaibei’s Social Ecology, 1680–1949, first published by the National Taiwan University Press in 2010, is a seminal study of the socioeconomic history of the Huaibei region, which covers the area north of the Huai River, including northern Jiangsu, northern … more
The following translation is an excerpt from an episode of the popular Chinese-language podcast, StoryFM 故事FM. With a subscriber base of over two million, the podcast, hosted by Kou Aizhe 寇爱哲, is celebrated for inviting Chinese people from different regions and backgrounds to tell their own story, in their own voice. The editors Kou Aizhe: … more
Since Hong Kong’s National Security Law came into force in July 2020, a number of high-profile cases have been brought under it against leading political dissidents. These include the pending trial against human rights lawyer Chow Hang-tung, Albert Ho and others for their leadership roles in a group that has long organised annual vigils in … more
China is home to the world’s largest ageing population. In 2023, there were 216.76 million people over 65 years old: more than 15.4 percent of the total population and much higher than the global average of 10 percent.[1] China is on track to be a ‘super-aged’ society in 2030, when at least 20 percent of … more
On a scorching hot afternoon in July 2023, the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, Manneseh Sogavare, met with President Xi Jinping in the Great Hall of the People for the mandatory grip and grin for the cameras. China’s official media had made much of Sogavare’s visit, and he did not disappoint, remarking upon his arrival … more
Located in the heart of Sydney’s inner west, Burwood Chinatown has branded itself as a modern Asian food paradise that provides the ‘best authentic Asian street food’.[1] Unlike its counterpart in Sydney’s CBD—which centres on a pedestrian laneway that begins and ends with two 50-year-old red ceremonial gates—the younger, vibrant Burwood Chinatown is a two-level … more
World Cup winner Lionel Messi’s visit to Hong Kong with Inter Miami on 4 February stirred major controversy after he sat out a one-off exhibition game against the Hong Kong League Selection Team. Despite a major promotion campaign promising fans a once-in-a-lifetime chance of seeing their idol in action, the soccer star remained on the … more
The following translation is based on an episode from the popular Chinese-language podcast StoryFM 故事FM. With a subscriber base of over two million, the podcast, hosted by Kou Aizhe 寇爱哲, is celebrated for inviting Chinese people from different regions and backgrounds to tell their own story, in their own voice. The editors Kou Aizhe: Late … more
