The cyberattack that shut down an American East Coast pipeline underlines a global security challenge that needs urgent attention. When ransom-seeking hackers breached the pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline last Friday, they claimed they were only after money. But their success and ease of operation exposed, yet again, the fragility of civilian infrastructure to hostile forces. […]
Read MoreRecent reports
Recent reports by Humphrey Hawksley for the BBC, YaleGlobal Online, Asian Affairs, and Nikkei Asian Review.
The Cat Warrior’s Feline Diplomacy
I first met Hsiao Bi-Khim on a sidewalk during Taiwan’s 2008 election campaign. Sitting on a low plastic yellow stool, wearing a stylish white trouser suit, she was stuffing leaflets into envelopes. An elderly couple came up and greeted her. She gave them a pile, set them to work, then turned her attention to my […]
Read MoreClarity, communication… and caution
As dust settled from last month’s discordant US-China summit in Alaska, the People’s Daily published two photographs side by side. One showed the 1901 Boxer Protocol meeting in which Western powers forced their way onto Chinese soil after quelling an anti-foreign uprising. China regards those sanctions imposed on the corrupt Qing dynasty as the beginning […]
Read MoreAcclaimed Chinese-born writer tackles feminism and sex
I first met the Chinese writer Hong Ying many years ago in a fashionable bookstore in London’s upmarket Chelsea district. She was surrounded by literary stars and critics, looking a little tense, yet somehow pensive, elegant, patient. A blend of curiosity and bewilderment creased her face while, just beneath, there was an expression best described […]
Read MoreStriking a balance
As Donald Trump was heading out of the White House, China’s Xinhua news agency did not mince its words: ‘Good riddance to the current US administration and its final madness,’ it declared. President Xi Jinping has called for a ‘healthy and stable’ relationship with the Biden administration, one that upholds principles of ‘no conflict’ and […]
Read MoreAsia could give UK the post-Brexit win it needs
The United Kingdom’s full separation from the European Union, due to begin on Jan. 1, is bound to be bumpy. But by shining a spotlight on Asia, London could address accusations that its foreign policy is adrift while underpinning its interests in a region where it has a chance of early success. With care, the […]
Read MoreEurope’s Cultural Curtain
David Foster hosted Humphrey on a TRT Roundtable discussion together with Marcin Zaborowski (Editor-in-chief of Res Publica Foundation) and Agnieszka Legucka (Polish Institute of International Affairs). […]
Read MoreUnited States of Asia
Dust had barely settled on the American presidential election when 16Asian leaders signed a trade deal encompassing a third of the world’s population in an area that accounts for 30 per cent of the global economic output. Although promoted as a pan-Asian initiative, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is regarded as being Beijing-led. With […]
Read MoreThe Quad – Is this the alliance to check Chinese expansion?
David Foster hosted Humphrey on a TRT Roundtable discussion together with Jagannath Panda (Manohar Parrikar Institute) and Francis Lun (CEO of GEO Securities).
Read MoreImpact Journalism – Holding government and business to account
TVE Difficult Dialogues: Hidden Stories, Impact Journalism – talking about reporting human rights abuse in global supply chains such as chocolate, textiles and tea.
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