Is China’s Social Credit System As We Know It Dead?

Government digitisation initiatives worldwide are infamous for budget overruns, delays and failures to deliver on promises. China is no exception. Hundreds of headlines worldwide have claimed that the Social Credit System will control every step of citizens’ lives. These narratives were rarely matched by the reality. The Social Credit System for the most part does … more

The Sacrificed Land: Q&A with Historian Ma Junya

Professor Ma Junya is a historian at Nanjing University. Ma’s book, The Sacrificed Land: Transformation of Huaibei’s Social Ecology, 1680–1949, first published by the National Taiwan University Press in 2010, is a seminal study of the socioeconomic history of the Huaibei region, which covers the area north of the Huai River, including northern Jiangsu, northern … more

Stepping Stone for Migrants? The Reality of Chinese Food Delivery Apps in Australia

Located in the heart of Sydney’s inner west, Burwood Chinatown has branded itself as a modern Asian food paradise that provides the ‘best authentic Asian street food’.[1] Unlike its counterpart in Sydney’s CBD—which centres on a pedestrian laneway that begins and ends with two 50-year-old red ceremonial gates—the younger, vibrant Burwood Chinatown is a two-level … more

China—The New No.2 Space Power

On 4 October 1957, the USSR launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, and with it the Space Age itself. In February 2023, China’s National Museum put on a grand exhibition marking thirty years since the start of the Chinese human space program.[1] The environment in space is very different from that of Earth. The … more

Chinese ‘Incels’? Misogynist Men on Chinese Social Media

In 2020, Yang Li 杨笠, a Chinese female stand-up comedian, rose to national fame with punchlines addressing China’s gender inequality and biting jokes about Chinese men, most famously: ‘How can some men look so ordinary yet be so confident?’ While her piercing humour resonated with many Chinese women, it was not so well received by … more