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 MoreRecent reports
Recent reports by Humphrey Hawksley for the BBC, YaleGlobal Online, Asian Affairs, and Nikkei Asian Review.
Striking 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.
Read MoreForeign powers back in Asia
The array of nations lined up behind the US sends an unequivocal message that China’s time has not yet come.
The Indo-Pacific: British and Vietnamese Perspectives […]
Read MoreDefine China
Humphrey Hawksley on a new book that plumbs the historic foundations underlying China’s distinct identity and current conduct. Polarising rhetoric between Beijing and Washington is expected to heighten in these months leading up to November’s US presidential election. Already there is a plethora of books by experts delving into China’s military, its modern communism, its intent […]
Read MoreChina and its Challenge to Liberal Democracy
The terminology used to encapsulate China’ expansion is increasingly revolving around scenarios for a new Cold War. On the surface, with anti-China naval deployments to the Indo-Pacific, gulag style camps in the predominantly Muslim region of Xinjiang and a crackdown against political dissent in Hong Kong, comparisons to the 20th Century Cold War may seem […]
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