Our fast-paced contemporary age has loaded pop culture with every dystopian tale imagination can conjure, from Orwell’s 1984 totalitarian nightmare, to the social credit-obsessed society of Black Mirror’s Nosedive. No longer are these fictional omens of times to come. With a vast Social Credit System scheduled for 2020, China’s government intends to implement a social reality uncannily […]
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World War 3 – Should we be worried?
Ever since Kim Jong-Il threatened to withdraw North Korea from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 1993, eventually leaving ten years later, in 2003, North Korea has been on a slow and steady trajectory towards nuclear weapons. This trajectory has been continued, if not quickened, by Jong-Il’s son Kim Jong-Un. The reality of this ambition has […]
Ten Tips To Explore China
I was in China for 12 months on an exchange at Peking University, looking back at my travel experiences now, I wish I had known a couple of things before adventuring around China. Here is what I learned from my China travel experiences: Research thoroughly before going My first piece of advice would be to […]
Politicising Campus Space: the meaning of anti-Beijing art at Hong Kong University
If you have been to the campus of Hong Kong University (and you definitely should: the university is set into a mountain and overlooks Victoria Harbour) you will likely have walked past a big, orange pillar outside the main MTR exit and Student Union canteen. It is unlikely that, as a visitor, you would have ventured into […]
What is wrong with democracy?
It goes without saying that politics in the West is perceived by many to be in a bad state. Recently, voters have been fed misinformation by an elite who pander to prejudices and emotions for power. Voters have felt disillusioned with the quick-fix promises offered by the last few decades’ canny politicians, they have felt disenfranchised with Liberalism, and […]
Beijing versus Hong Kong: my experience at a Hong Kong pro-democracy protest
The last few weeks in Hong Kong have been riddled with political turmoil following the election. This came to a head on the 6th November when protesters marched from Wan Chai to Sai wan in Sai Ying Pun district. The cause of this protest? Two of Hong Kong’s elected lawmakers are being barred from standing, […]
Nuclear Power: for or against?
For Nuclear power conjures up vivid imagery in some, evoking thoughts of mushroom clouds and radiation. Although a wonderful inspiration for writers, the truth is that nuclear power is safer and more environmentally friendly than most other readily available sources of electricity generation. Until such a time that renewable energy can reliably generate all of […]
The ‘Great Fall’ of China
China. A nation, which, at least in economic terms, has become synonymous with the idea of eternal growth figures, has not had a brilliant few months on the market. Hubris has awakened, and the allegedly pristine economy, which was once thought to be the poster-child of GDP, has begun to show its cracks. The recent […]
How to change the world: Part one
Campaign against Sex-Selective Abortion in China The Chinese government has launched a new campaign against sex-selective abortion in an attempt to solve ‘the Bachelor Crisis’ as there are currently 33 million more men than women in China. Pre-natal gender testing and sex-selective abortions are currently illegal in China, however the strong cultural bias for sons has […]