Asia

Xi Jinping should have entered San Francisco’s Apec conference with his tail between his legs, but instead has emerged as something closer to the king of the world.  read more »

Demographia World Urban Areas contains population, land area and population density for the nearly 1,000 identified built-up urban areas in the world with 500,000 or more population. The total population of these urban areas is estimated at 2.36 billion, representing 52 percent of the world urban population as estimated by the United Nations.  read more »

Throughout history, more powerful nations have preyed on smaller ones, as is now being demonstrated by Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. Yet for those outside Europe, China’s economic power makes it a far more formidable threat to democracy than neo-tsarist Russia  read more »

In countries where Asians and Jews immigrated in large numbers, they have long followed a common path. Both groups occupy a dual position: discriminated against for standing out, while at the same time held up as models of success.  read more »

I was disappointed to read in the South China Morning Post that the legendary Kowloon-Canton Railway train from Hung Hom Station in Kowloon (Hong Kong) to Guangzhou East Station would not be restored following its pandemic suspension. The train made the 130 kilometer (80 mile) trip in about 1:40.  read more »

China represents the cutting edge of 21st century urbanism. Its successes and failures will shape global perceptions of city life, not only in that country but around the world.  read more »

It’s important not to let last month’s tragic shootings completely overshadow the significance of Lunar New Year. For us, this holiday normally means a late morning trip to the hillside orchard in my wife’s hometown to visit her parents’ graves.  read more »

In The Communist Manifesto, Marx and Engels warned that the ‘spectre’ of class war loomed over a rapidly industrialising capitalist world. Today, the neoliberal world is increasingly haunted by a similar spectre, this time of a global class conflict.  read more »

On 16 September 2022 the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in a hospital in Tehran following her arrest by Iran’s Guidance Patrol. Although the details surrounding her death has been disputed, given that she suffered from previous brain injuries  read more »

Ah, Sri Lanka.

In 2020: a beautiful, agriculturally self-sufficient island nation full of tea and tourists and holder of the highest “Environmental, Social, and Governance” (ESG) investor rating in the world.  read more »