December 14, 2022
In December 2012, I had an article in Foreign Policy magazine that summarized what seemed at the time, and many years since, as a somewhat arcane topic — a standoff between US and Chinese regulators over audit standards. In fact, in December 2020 (eight years later), Congress passed a bill that threatened to delist Chinese companies from […]
December 14, 2022
On August 3, 2022, in the wake of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, I tweeted a brief thread providing some perspective on Taiwan’s history. Since people seemed to appreciate the conciseness of its style and content, I repost that thread here, in its original form: 1. The attention surrounding Pelosi’s trip has prompted a […]
December 14, 2022
This op-ed of mine was published in the Wall Street Journal on September 12, 2012. You can read below or view the original here. At the very last moment, one paragraph was cut from the final version, presumably due to space limitations. I have restored it here in italics, because the crisis facing Suntech (the world’s largest […]
December 14, 2022
This article of mine appeared in the Far Eastern Economic Review in June 2009. To my knowledge, it was the first article that proposed the now-commonplace observation that Chinese citizens were purchasing and stockpiling empty apartments as a form of savings. Though many later assumed that I had predicted an imminent crash in Chinese real estate that […]
August 13, 2009
From August 13, 2009 It’s with a heavy heart that I read a report by Time’s correspondents that Chinese authorities have nearly completed bulldozing the ancient quarter of Kashgar, an oasis on the Silk Road in the far western province of Xinjiang. Old Kashgar and its famed Sunday market (which I’ve heard has also been shut down) […]
April 6, 2010
This excerpt is part of a larger feature I wrote that was published by The Atlantic in November 2009. To read the introduction and access descriptions of the other eight “nations” of China, click here. THE STRAITS(Fujian, Taiwan)Territory: 160,313 km2 (2% of total)Population: 59 million (4% of total)Per Capita GDP: $9,432 (#1 of 9)Exports as % of GDP: 30%Net Trade Balance (ex-China): $51 billion […]
March 30, 2010
This excerpt is part of a larger feature I wrote that was published by The Atlantic in November 2009. To read the introduction and access descriptions of the other eight “nations” of China, click here. THE FRONTIER(Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Tibet)Territory: 5,205,114 km2 (54% of total)Population: 86 million (6% of total) * 30% non-Han minoritiesPer Capita GDP: $2,928 (#6 of 9)Exports as % […]
March 27, 2010
This excerpt is part of a larger feature I wrote that was published by The Atlantic in November 2009. To read the introduction and access descriptions of the other eight “nations” of China, click here. THE RUST BELT(Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang)Territory: 801,553 km2 (8% of total)Population: 109 million (8% of total)Per Capita GDP: $3,724 (#5 of 9)Exports as % of GDP: 15%Net Trade Balance (ex-China): […]
March 26, 2010
This excerpt is part of a larger feature I wrote that was published by The Atlantic in November 2009. To read the introduction and access descriptions of the other eight “nations” of China, click here. SHANGRI-LA(Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi)Territory: 810,690 km2 (8% of total)Population: 132 million (10% of total) * 30% non-Han minoritiesPer Capita GDP: $1,770 (#9 of 9)Exports as % of GDP: 6%Net Trade Balance […]
March 21, 2010
This excerpt is part of a larger feature I wrote that was published by The Atlantic in November 2009. To read the introduction and access descriptions of the other eight “nations” of China, click here. THE CROSSROADS(Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan)Territory: 707,124 km2 (7% of total)Population: 226 million (17% of total)Per Capita GDP: $2,402 (#7 of 9)Exports as % of GDP: 6%Net Trade Balance (ex-China): […]