Words on the street: ‘Beijing Graffiti’ examines street art in the Chinese capital
A new book examines Beijing's small but vibrant graffiti scene, via photographs and interviews with 25 of the city’s graffiti artists.
Alex Smith
Alex Smith is a writer and researcher from Aotearoa, New Zealand. She has a Master of Arts in East Asian Regional Studies from Columbia University. Prior to moving to New York, she worked as an analyst at the New Zealand Treasury, where she focused on justice sector policy and the annual budget.
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Will New Zealand become more hawkish toward China?
New Zealand's relationship with China since the mid-2000s has been characterized first and foremost as an economic opportunity. But with China’s relations with New Zealand’s allies deteriorating, is Wellington ready to take a more assertive stance?
Macau as a refuge for Jews: Paul French novella ‘Strangers on the Praia’
“Stories on the margins are good,” says bestselling author Paul French. In his latest book, the novella "Strangers on the Praia," he tells the story of young Jewish women who fled Japanese-occupied Shanghai to Portuguese Macau, a city that represented for them one thing: hope.
Shanghai’s history of race, privilege, and escapism explored in ‘Champions Day’
James Carter examines Shanghai’s colonial past through the lens of a single event — its Champions’ Stakes horse race — and in doing so, paints a rich picture of the politics that enabled Shanghai’s so-called “golden era,” as well as the racial dynamics and social rituals that shaped daily life.
A fresh look at the 1930s Jewish refuge, in ‘The Last Kings of Shanghai’
Jonathan Kaufman’s latest book provides an engaging, colorful history of Shanghai’s past that fully explores, but does not romanticize, the cosmopolitanism and colonialism of that era.
China’s mental health care is improving, but stigma and politics still get in the way
Once deemed a symptom of “wrong” political thinking, mental illness has a fraught history in the People’s Republic. While the last two decades have seen rapid development in mental health care in China, there remain significant problems with stigma from an under-informed public, the government’s preoccupation with political stability, and under-resourcing. As a result, many are unable to access the services they desperately need, while others are forced into unnecessary treatment.
Most Taiwanese view China negatively, favor closer ties to the U.S.
A new report by the Pew Research Center, a public opinion research organization based in Washington D.C., has found that a majority of Taiwanese adults hold negative views of mainland China, and support closer economic and political ties with the United States.
China’s poverty-shaming social assistance system and the urgent need for reform
China boasts the largest social assistance system in the world by number of beneficiaries. In theory, this guarantees a basic standard of living for all citizens. Yet invasive income- and asset-testing measures and flawed implementation mean that many eligible citizens never receive full support, and those who do are often left stigmatized and isolated.
China’s poverty-shaming social assistance system and the urgent need for reform
China boasts the largest social assistance system in the world by number of beneficiaries. In theory, this guarantees a basic standard of living for all citizens. Yet invasive income- and asset-testing measures and flawed implementation mean that many eligible citizens never receive full support, and those who do are often left stigmatized and isolated.
The women leading the world’s COVID-19 responses
While women remain vastly underrepresented in politics and account for a mere 7% of world leaders, the past week has seen wide recognition that a disproportionate number of the countries that have been most successful in containing COVID-19 have female leaders. We take a closer look at these women and why their responses have been so successful.