Sinobabble

Earlier this week, I read a Substack article discussing the rise in viral anti-Japanese content on Chinese social media. The gruesome posts and recent polling data all point to the fact that anti-Japanese sentiment is increasing among Chinese people, despite increasing economic ties and a move away from 'wolf warrior' style diplomacy. Why, when China seems to be more doveish, does Japan still draw so much ire? What is about the history, proximity, and perceived injustices between the two nati...

A (late!) review of our April Book club book The Last Quarter of the Moon by Chi Zijian. A 90-year-old Evenki woman who has spent her life in the forests of northeast China herding reindeer recounts the story of her life, her people, and the encroachment of modernity and imperialism on how they live. A story of nature, love, loss, despair, and change, we also ask if someone who is not part of a particular ethnic group can truly capture their spirit, or are they doomed to orientalism at worst ...

Part 5 of reuploading classic history episodes in the run up to our book club review of Serve the People! by Yan Lianke. In this episode we explore the mysterious and complex character of Lin Biao, and his even more mysterious demise. We ask how he rose to prominence so quickly after being a largely background figure in the party for so many years, and what effect his vice-chairmanship and sudden death had on the Cultural Revolution. *I accidentally say Liu instead of Lin at around the 22:30...

Part 3 of reuploading classic history episodes in the run up to our book club review of Serve the People! by Yan Lianke. In this episode, we look at how Mao reversed the course of the Cultural Revolution, bringing in the army to end the violence and destruction caused by the factionalism between the Red Guards and other mass organisations. We discuss the much vaunted revolutionary committees, temporary governments made up of a triple alliance between the mass organisations, the Cultural Revol...

A reupload of a classic history episode in the run up to our book club review of Serve the People! by Yan Lianke. The first of 8 episodes covering the build up, events, and aftermath of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, which took place in China from 1966 to 1976. In this episode we discuss what the Cultural Revolution was supposed to be, recap its principal causes, discuss the events that led to the declaration of the CR, and cover the formation and expansion of the Red Guards, Mao'...

I’m very excited to have on David Fishman as my guest for today’s episode. David is Head of Lantau Group in Shanghai, where he works as a consultant for stakeholders in the power sector, and advises on energy development, energy infrastructure, and electricity consumption. But I know him as the author of the Substack Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones, a travel and geography publication where he shares his experiences exploring the less-covered corners of China’s economic transformation...

Recently, news of Hebei villagers freezing in their homes this winter has sparked heated discussion online. The villagers are part of a government scheme to convert the population to 'clean' energy sources, mainly via a coal-to-gas policy. But as subsidies taper and the cost of gas rises, poorer residents are opting out of the policy, either using traditional heating methods to stay warm or suffering the cold. In this episode we explore the origins of the coal-to-gas policy, the real-term eff...

China shock 2.0, $1trillion surplus, Adam Smith. Is the neoliberal global order coming to an end? Is it China's fault? Do they care? In this episode we tackle the underlying questions surrounding fears of China's domination of all major manufacturing industries. Should China stop what they're doing? If so, why? And if why, how should they bring back balance and let us poor Westerners keep some of our jobs? We also talk globalisation, who's really to blame for the current situation, and why Or...