China
How coronavirus can save Hong Kong
The coronavirus has enforced a hiatus in Hong Kong’s widespread political unrest with worries about transmission stalling protests. Dissatisfaction with…
A dish served cold
Is the pangolin having its revenge?
The Spectator’s Notes
It was with regret that I read that Albert, retired King of the Belgians, has finally had to admit, following…
Disease control, Chinese-style
The handling of the coronavirus shows a one-party state in action
The whole of China is in an eerie state of shutdown
Shanghai ‘Do you want me to scan your temperature?’ asks the receptionist, brandishing an infrared thermometer. Arriving at my hotel…
Low life
There are no stairs or escalators to take you up to Terminal 4 from the underground Heathrow Express platform. Beyond…
Why we’ll regret the Huawei gamble
It is apparently fine for China to ban western technology from its telecommunications network but quite unacceptable for us to…
The dangers of letting Huawei build our 5G network
This afternoon Boris Johnson finally approved the use of equipment made by Huawei in building parts of Britain’s 5G network.…
Portrait of the week
Home The Duke of Sussex left England to join his wife, Meghan, in Canada. This followed an agreement that stripped…
TikTok is the world’s fastest-growing – and goofiest – digital platform, but should we fear it?
In November last year, an internet video made by a 17-year-old American went viral. The video was less than a…
There’s a long way to go before Trump can declare victory in his trade war
There is no shortage of quotes by Donald Trump that his opponents have tried to use against him — few…
Letters: Should conservatives be worried that high-spending Boris has a majority?
My father’s imprisonment Sir: Harald Maass’s piece on the plight of Uyghurs in China (‘A cultural genocide’, December 14) captures…
The chilling stories from inside China’s Muslim internment camps
Vegetable-seller Kairat Samarkhan didn’t know why he had been summoned to the police station. ‘I had to empty my pockets…
Portrait of the week: Bercow steps down, Hoyle steps up and an election begins
Home Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Labour MP for Chorley and deputy Speaker since 2010, was elected Speaker by the Commons.…
From Brexit to Beethoven: John Humphrys returns to radio
Some listeners will have had quite a shock first thing on Monday. Turning on at six to Classic FM they…
Portrait of the week: Brexit uncertainty, Turkey in Syria and a Chinese threat
Home Brexit teetered from uncertainty to uncertainty. Parliament had been summoned to sit on Saturday 19 October to debate what…
Letting China join the WTO was the worst decision the West ever made
It’s not often that you come across a book that completely transforms your understanding of the world. Just recently I’ve…
Painful, funny — and with a brilliant twist: The Farewell reviewed
The Farewell is a quiet film that builds and builds and builds into a wonderful exploration of belonging, loss, family…
Contraception is the answer to climate change
When last week’s IPCC report warned that the human race may soon have trouble feeding itself, my reaction was: duh.…
Give Hong Kongers real security: a British passport
We seem to be building up to a second Tiananmen Square, 30 years after the first. This time the venue…
From Hong Kong to Kashmir, a new authoritarianism is on the rise
Frank Johnson, editor of The Spectator until cruelly sacked to make way for Boris Johnson, never wasted ideas. He liked…
Hong Kong protesters are following the wrong script
What do you call a global hub without an airport? Hong Kong. No other city can lay claim to this…
Hong Kong protesters are making things easy for China
The world is watching Beijing as it watches Hong Kong. There are nervous expectations that troops will be deployed in…
Letters: Donkeys are the latest victims of China’s gross cruelty to animals
We don’t cut God Sir: The Revd Dr Peter Mullen suggests (Letters, 3 August) that Boris Johnson told him my…
Is China really the enemy?
China is a nation with values deeply at odds with the West. The Chinese spy, steal and bully. They don’t…
