Category: China

Conspiracy theories as counter-narratives: Should democracies adapt to disinformation?

     

A Russian-linked operation aimed at dividing Western allies spread disinformation on social media for three years, according to a new analysis, Bloomberg reports: Hundreds of accounts on multiple internet platforms… Read more »

China ‘can’t hide’ Uighur plight after Arsenal’s Mesut Özil calls for solidarity

     

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo on Tuesday came out in support of Arsenal player Mesut Özil for his criticism of China’s treatment of ethnic Uighur Muslims, saying Beijing can censor… Read more »

Mobilizing for democracy? Five myths about protest movements

     

Lebanese security forces fired tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons Sunday to disperse hundreds of protesters for a second straight day, ending what started as a peaceful rally in… Read more »

Why China’s TikTok is a national security concern

     

TikTok, the short-form video app that’s been downloaded 1.5 billion times, is one of the most exciting and goofiest places on the internet, and possibly the only truly fun social… Read more »

Taiwan ‘battling a wave of online disinformation’

     

Taiwan is the territory most exposed to foreign disinformation from you-know-where, research suggests. Thousands of lies flood social media every day in Taiwan, a new frontier of information warfare. Scholars say… Read more »

China’s corrosive capitalism conflicts with West’s liberal meritocratic model

     

China’s economic success undermines the West’s claim that there is a necessary link between capitalism and liberal democracy, argues Branko Milanovic, a Senior Scholar at the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality… Read more »

Taiwan’s Destiny: Election at ‘center of a clash between two forces’

     

Taiwan’s top diplomat said that his government stands with Hong Kong citizens pushing for “freedom and democracy,” and would help those displaced from the semi-autonomous Chinese city if Beijing intervenes… Read more »

As disinformation spreads, ‘microtargeting’ advertising tools may threaten democracy

     

  As Facebook sought to recover from its disastrous 2016 election season, company officials debated ways to curb distortions and disinformation on the platform. One of the most potentially powerful… Read more »

Art of Deceit: West’s strategic culture impedes political warfare against autocrats’ sharp power

     

Authoritarian states have taken a “whole-of-government” approach to weaponizing previously benign activities like diplomacy, media, investment flows, and civil society activity, says a new report. But their activities betray a… Read more »

China’s book-burning a sign of regime’s legitimacy crisis?

     

Library officials in northwestern China recently hoped to demonstrate their ideological fervor and loyalty to the Communist Party by purging politically incorrect books and religious materials in emphatic fashion: They… Read more »