China
Lack of personality cult
How ‘Xi Jinping Thought’ took over China’s classrooms
Defund the world’s policeman?
It gets lost in the many creative purposes successive American administrations invented to justify remaining in Afghanistan, but the primary…
Did Chinese fentanyl kill Michael K. Williams?
Did Chinese-manufactured fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, kill Michael Kenneth Williams, the man who played ‘Omar’ in The Wire? Within minutes…
Portrait of the week
Home Britain brought its last troops home from Afghanistan, having flown out more than 15,000 people since 14 August; but…
How China drove a wedge between America and Israel
Two weeks ago, CIA director William Burns – who has rather a lot on his plate just now – had…
Would Japan defend Taiwan from a Chinese attack?
In a parliamentary debate in early June about Covid, Japan’s prime minister Yoshihide Suga said that Australia, New Zealand and…
The Supreme Court’s shameful statement on Hong Kong
In a statement which will doubtless surprise the scores of lawyers, democratic politicians and human rights activists who are currently…
China’s Great Game in Afghanistan
China greeted America’s chaotic retreat from Afghanistan and the Taliban seizure of power with a mixture of glee and trepidation.…
China’s zero Covid strategy is being undermined by mahjong
Mao Zedong once said that the game of mahjong should not be underestimated, because: ‘If you know how to play…
Iran’s ‘Ghost Armada’ and its secret alliance with China
When a British security guard was killed in an Iranian drone attack last month, the response from the government was robust. Boris…
How China tried to suppress the lab leak investigation
The lead figure in the World Health Organisation’s work on the origins of Covid-19 has givena remarkable interview to Danish…
Why China’s vaccine diplomacy is running into difficulties
Tear gas and rubber bullets hold off the protestors marching to Government House in Bangkok. They’re looking for Prime Minister…
More diplomacy won’t stop the advance of the Taliban
On 11 August, at Russia’s initiative, an ‘extended troika’ will meet in Doha, Qatar to take stock of the Taliban’s…
The China challenge has no precedent
The US has never been more worried by the rise of China than it is today. In my Times column…
What kind of empire is China building?
As Britain’s small fleet, headed by HMS Queen Elizabeth, cruises towards the South China Sea, there remains a question over…
Power struggle
The troubling truth about Britain’s nuclear deal with China
The Lib Dems’ Vince Cable China problem
Last night, Vince Cable appeared on Nigel Farage’s ‘Talking Pints’ segment on GB News. This, if you haven’t seen it,…
The Lancet, China and the origins of coronavirus
Right from its first issue in 1823, the Lancet was more than just an ordinary medical journal. Its founding editor,…
The man behind Xi Jinping
At the height of the Cultural Revolution, over a billion copies of Mao’s Little Red Book were distributed across the…
China’s Belt and Road to Damascus
There is, it seems, no regime too odious to be a partner of China. Being repressive and corrupt have long…
The Spectator’s Notes
Anyone who thinks Boris Johnson lacks statecraft should pay attention to Dominic Cummings’s attacks on him. They often to seem…
Portrait of the week
Home On the eve of the day that most coronavirus restrictions were to be lifted, the Prime Minister and Chancellor…
Letters
Out of Afghanistan Sir: Boyd Tonkin’s review of Anna Aslanyan’s Dancing on Ropes highlights the post-war abandonment of local Afghan…
China is the latest victim of Pakistan’s Islamist problem
Nine Chinese engineers were killed in an explosion near Pakistan’s Dasu hydroelectric dam last Wednesday. The government initially said that their…
Better to back clean aviation than to punish frequent flyers
Have you been scanning airline websites for exotic destinations to which your double-jabbed status might allow you to slip away…
