David Bandurski

Former President Tsai arrives in Berlin for freedom conference - Focus Taiwan Former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) was welcomed with flowers on her arrival Sunday in Berlin, where she is scheduled to deliver a keynote speech on Monday at the Berlin Freedom Conference.

Tsai in Berlin not long after Hsiao was in Brussels

focustaiwan.tw/politics/202...

I love that Mamdani is what the right claimed Obama was: A Muslim socialist born in Africa. The right practically manifested Mamdani into existence.

Important report—key to highlight is that counter-protestors against the Kirk memorial were peaceful, but were then attacked by event participants, and then the right-wing groups that put the event together started to smear the counterprotestors as violent

EU and China lawmakers spar over Moscow, Taipei in first talks since 2018 Beijing’s delegation defends Russia and questions Nato as EU warns ties hinge on China’s stance over Ukraine.

NEW: EU and China lawmakers spar over Russia, Taiwan in first talks since 2018

EU lawmakers "shocked" by Chinese counterparts parroting Russian talking points on Ukraine

Protect Source Leaks, Limit Leak Investigations Defending press freedom for the next generation

Journalists are not stenographers.

Use our easy action center tool to tell the Senate to reject a nominee for the Army’s top lawyer, who told Sen. Warren the government can punish reporters who publish news it doesn’t authorize.

Yes, Anika. Precisely. "钟寰平" is a moniker we have down for the Ministry of Ecology and Environment “生态环境部” — appearing in their official paper and in the other state media. We have a database of these.

The Repetition Complex - China Media Project Eight days, eight articles, eight assurances that China's economy is thriving and everything is fine. When did confidence require this much convincing?

Just in case you missed it: our take on China’s latest projection of confidence, and it’s underlying insecurities. chinamediaproject.org/2025/10/12/t...

Trump wanted a trade deal. Xi opened a new front instead. Beijing’s rare earth crackdown lays bare the fusion of economic rivalry and national security risk.

“China is flexing its power and trying to show the world that it has the ability to act as a major choke point for global trade.” www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Second leg of APSA2025. Presenting joint work on geopolitics and democratization in Taiwan Saturday 2pm, and then book roundtable Sunday 10am for @lnachman32.bsky.social and his new book “Contested Taiwan: Sovereignty, Social Movements, and Party Formation.” Hope to see you there!

Great. Let’s designate it as a sacrosanct international protected treasure to be administered by a democratic, representative consortium of non-profit organizations. China can claim credit for the idea.

In which we continue to apply basic fact-finding to rumors of Xi’s decline in state media discourse.

So much to explore in this new platform of ours at CMP. We have already logged 150 distinct activities. And this is likely to double in the next few months.

Xi Jinping Still Strong in the Headlines - China Media Project Despite recent speculation about challenges to his authority, China’s leader continues to dominate official party messaging with commanding leads over other top leaders.

Following speculation last month that Xi Jinping was facing internal challenges to his power, and experiencing a marked decline in prestige in China’s official media, we looked at his performance in front-page headlines of the official People’s Daily.

How do things stand now at the close of July?

And does this “prestigious index” understand that scientists, doctors and experts in every field in China are compelled to “speak politics” (讲政治) — placing political principles ahead of their discipline? One manual on genetics urges college instructors to work in talk about “red genes.”

Are China’s universities really the best in the world? Nature’s prestigious index says yes

Does @Nature.com’s “prestigious index” include rankings for the numbers of scientists wrongfully detained, silenced, or exiled by #China govt? www.economist.com/science-and-...

Really interesting piece.

In Finland, I understand, this is called a public library.

Lingua Sinica | Substack News, analysis, and commentary on Chinese-language media from the PRC and beyond. Click to read Lingua Sinica, a Substack publication with thousands of subscribers.

"AI Governance with Chinese Characteristics" (中国特色人工智能治理体系) is a phrase that has just emerged in a key CCP magazine. What does it mean?

Find out in this week's China Chatbot. Paid subscribers not only get early access on Fridays, but also support our work!

linguasinica.substack.com

Indeed. Basic homework needed, like: chinamediaproject.org/2025/06/26/i... Is Xi's Grip Holding? - China Media Project

AsOne Store, a pro-democracy business run by former district councillor Derek Chu in Mong Kok, is distributing commemorative digital candles for free on Wednesday to mark the 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen crackdown.

Photo: Kyle Lam/HFKP.

Lingua Sinica Newsletter, 16 May News, analysis, and commentary on Chinese-language media from the PRC and beyond.

The latest Lingua Sinica newsletter is out! open.substack.com/pub/linguasi...

Sounds lovely. And also like what a Japanese foreign student at Hogwarts get by owl mail in the Great Hall.

Our family did this in Taiwan two years ago when eggs were in short supply and it was fun to lean into the spirit — however imperfect. The five minutes it takes to read this piece would be much better spent getting creative with potatoes 🥔.

Also, running a non-profit promoting freedom of expression in 2025. 🙌

The first and possibly last time you’ll ever hear me shout: “Yay, Harvard!”

Regarding the higher than usual number of spying cases found lately in Taiwan--it's important to remember that these all proceed on different timelines, it's not as though China has "stepped up" its spying or anything. It's that they were all prosecuted now. Correlation, causation

I mean, most of the kids didn’t die, right? Like, more than 50% survived. 🤔🙄🤒