Is China’s Social Credit System As We Know It Dead?

Government digitisation initiatives worldwide are infamous for budget overruns, delays and failures to deliver on promises. China is no exception. Hundreds of headlines worldwide have claimed that the Social Credit System will control every step of citizens’ lives. These narratives were rarely matched by the reality. The Social Credit System for the most part does … more

Hong Kong’s Long Struggle for Democracy

I was one of the organisers of the 2014 pro-democracy Umbrella Movement and was sentenced to sixteen months of imprisonment for inciting people to join a seventy-nine-day occupation of some major avenues in Hong Kong. Life in prison was difficult. Food was lousy. The temperature there was unbearably hot summer and chilly in winter. There … more

Escape from the British Museum: Cultural Heritage and China’s Rising Digital Nationalism

Chinese digital nationalism is having a moment. One display is a growing nationwide public interest in cultural heritage, a trend that is particularly pronounced among young Chinese. They express their enthusiasm in the romantic consumption of heritage products, such as traditional Hanfu 汉服 fashion exemplified by the traditional skirt known as mamianqun 马面裙 as well … more

Games Gone Global: How China’s AI-augmented Games Found International Success

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

China’s Second Generation of Left-behind Children

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

The Sacrificed Land: Q&A with Historian Ma Junya

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

‘Decolonising’ Hong Kong by Embracing Colonialism

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