Hong Kong’s protests have disrupted Yang Yang’s family life. Though the 29-year-old lives in mainland China, he was inspired by the demonstrations to write a song about freedom and upload it to the internet. When censors deleted it, he complained to his family. They weren’t sympathetic. “How can you support Hong Kong separatists?” they asked. […]
China’s Political Correctness: One Country, No Arguments Read More »
Lu Yingxin has been singing “My People, My Country” for the past week. An earnest propaganda anthem from 1985, the song typically wouldn’t stand a chance against Taylor Swift, K-pop and other modern tunes the 18-year-old college student and her friends like to listen to. Then, on Sunday, Ms. Lu and her roommates saw a
China Masters Political Propaganda for the Instagram Age Read More »
SAN FRANCISCO — The 2020 presidential election is still 13 months away, but already Iranians are following in the footsteps of Russia and have begun cyberattacks aimed at disrupting the campaigns. Microsoft said on Friday that Iranian hackers, with apparent backing from the government, had made more than 2,700 attempts to identify the email accounts
Iranian Hackers Target Trump Campaign as Threats to 2020 Mount Read More »
“Fight the Landlord” is one of the most popular card games in China. The name comes from the 1950s, when the Chinese Communist Party confiscated property from landowners, often violently, in the name of the masses. As many as two million people were killed. China’s state-controlled media is playing a new game of “Fight the
China Plays ‘Fight the Landlord’ to Tame Hong Kong Read More »
CARDIFF, Wales — A few hours before a recent Wales-Ireland rugby match in Cardiff, amid throngs of fans dressed in team colors of red and green, and sidewalk merchants selling scarves and flags, police officers popped out of a white van. The officers stopped a man carrying a large Starbucks coffee, asked him a series
Real-Time Surveillance Will Test the British Tolerance for Cameras Read More »
COPENHAGEN — Casper Klynge, a career diplomat from Denmark, has worked in some of the world’s most turbulent places. He once spent 18 months embroiled in reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. For two years, he led a crisis management mission in Kosovo. Yet Mr. Klynge, 46, says his toughest foreign posting may be the one he
The World’s First Ambassador to the Tech Industry Read More »
HARARE, Zimbabwe — When Zimbabwe turned off the internet during a recent crackdown, Obert Masaraure, a prominent government critic, had no way of knowing when it was safe to emerge from hiding. He waited one day, then another. On the third day he broke cover, hoping that a wave of arrests had come to an
Governments Shut Down the Internet to Stifle Critics. Citizens Pay the Price. Read More »
