Much has been made of the importance Russian President Vladimir Putin has placed on historical factors in justifying the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In the wake of Putin’s interview with Tucker Carlson, the Cold War historian Sergey Radchenko made the assessment that while Putin’s version of history is “clinically insane,” the fact that “Putin clings … Read more
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered his anticipated New Year speech in a “fireside chat” statement, revealing shades of the Communist Party’s political psychology, highlighting key achievements in 2023, and outlining priorities for 2024. Most notably, Xi declared that “China will surely be reunified,” highlighting an alarming and rapidly growing ambition that suggests potential aggressions toward … Read more
Advertisement It’s become common knowledge that Xi Jinping has cracked down on Chinese civil society and independent analysis, tightening the Chinese Communist Party’s control over academics and schools throughout the country. Yet, even now, the CCP does not have absolute control over Chinese society. In his new book, “Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and their Battle … Read more
Advertisement Had Xie Yan from Chongqing never studied Vietnamese language and spent time in Hanoi as an exchange student back in 2013, she would not have known that Vietnam was under Chinese occupation for centuries. Nor had she been aware that for most of its history, the entity known as Vietnam today used classical Chinese … Read more
Advertisement The May Fourth Movement – named for the protests of May 4, 1919, although the movement itself spanned a longer time frame – was one of the most monumental intellectual revolutions and socio-political reform movements in China’s history. Chinese students and intellectuals rallied to protest against the country’s continued international subjugation – part of … Read more