Since childhood, I have had a fascination for borders – the more remote, strange and romantic, the better. And for years, I have wanted to speed across an expanse of snow on a sled drawn by a team of Alaskan huskies. When work took me far into the Arctic, I discovered a small company, Birk […]
Read MoreRecent reports
Recent reports by Humphrey Hawksley for the BBC, YaleGlobal Online, Asian Affairs, and Nikkei Asian Review.
China – A Less than Happy Birthday
China’s October commemoration of the Communist Party’s 70 years in power was extravagant, artistic and disciplined. It ushered in the next decade with verve reminiscent of that displayed at the 60th anniversary ten years earlier, but with one significant difference. Back then, Beijing had just hosted the lavish 2008 Olympic Games with panache and style, […]
Read MoreTaiwan holds lessons for ‘good’ and ‘bad’ dictatorships
In 1979, not long after America’s Jan 1. recognition of Beijing’s Communist regime as the legitimate government of China, former U.S. President Richard Nixon returned to China and was feted as a hero for his groundbreaking visit to the Chinese capital in 1972. […]
Read MoreThe Arctic is Melting
Once frozen wasteland, the wild, inhospitable Arctic is becoming a contest across new frontiers. Melting ice is opening shipping routes and releasing energy resources, prompting a scramble for control and access. Competing businesses race to secure their advantage while rivals prepare for what could become a new theatre. President Vladimir Putin in his quest to […]
Read MoreBeijing’s Achilles’ heels
When the Chinese leadership maps out its long-term regional and global policies, the territories of Hong Kong and Taiwan take special position. While the United States, Europe, the Belt and Road Initiative through Asia and Africa are all vital to China’s continued growth, these two cosmopolitan wealthy, educated societies represent its emotional side. Beijing regards […]
Read MoreTaiwan’s New Southbound Policy is decreasing its reliance on China
Long menaced by its larger neighbor, Taiwan’s efforts to shift away from its reliance on China by increasing trade instead with other regional partners are beginning to pay both economic and political dividends. Known as the New Southbound Policy, the government of President Tsai Ing-wen is encouraging and subsidizing Taiwanese companies to move out of […]
Read MoreChina could display global leadership by being pragmatic, confident and relaxed and allow Hong Kong its democracy
The ongoing protests in Hong Kong offer insights into China’s flexibility of governance and its patient ability to challenge the current world order. Much has and will be written on this issue. But for an answer on how governance may unfold, consider Taiwan, which for 70 years has stood in the storm’s eye of a […]
Read MoreIn New York’s Chinatown, don’t mention politics
The streets in New York’s Chinatown are narrow. Packed with humanity, loud conversations and small businesses — noodle restaurants, laundries and foot massage bars — they spill out the sounds and smells of East Asia. Some 100,000 people live in this part of Manhattan Island, which lies between fashionable Tribeca and the Lower East Side, […]
Read MorePlaying the long game
The re-election success of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes at a unique time for his country because Western democracies are continuing their inward naval-gazing and the world stage is crying out for new players with bold ideas. In his first term, Modi blazed an international trail through the sheer force of his personality and […]
Read MoreHow small nations can stand up to China
Beijing and Moscow haven’t always seen eye to eye. But, assisted by U.S. President Donald Trump’s belligerence, they are putting aside old suspicions and finding new opportunities for cooperation. The vast expanse of the Arctic Ocean is a case in point. Among the most significant practical achievements of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia […]
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