Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 20hMedian age of voters in America according to NPR is 65. Let it sink in. 000
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Beautiful Former Ministry of Justice Building of Manchukuo in Changchun, Jilin Province. Now a medical school. 000
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 05/10/2026The daily chipping away of the Trump-Xi detente. www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese...cbsnews.comFBI arrests alleged Chinese agent at LAX after she allegedly surveilled son of Taiwanese presidentWanying "Heather" Zhang, an Irvine, California, realtor, was arrested on a charge of acting as an unregistered agent of a foreign government. 000
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 05/10/2026The techno republic folks voted for and now might vote against. www.engadget.com/2276609/ice-...engadget.comICE is reportedly using a Palantir database to compile dossiers on protestors - EngadgetAn attorney representing protestors said this infringes on First Amendment rights. 000
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 04/10/2026What sets the US apart, is the 1st Amendment. In Texas v Johnson, re burning US flag, SCOTUS reasoned that govt cannot take sides, eg permit worshipping the flag but ban the humiliation of it. Even most western countries are yet to reach that level of jurisprudence. www.economist.com/united-state...economist.comThe coming fight over free speechThe Supreme Court must decide whether to limit the First Amendment or executive power 010
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 02/10/2026Hereby coin the term “coffee wash.” www.ft.com/content/352e...ft.comStarbucks opens first cafés in China’s XinjiangUS coffee giant enters region where Beijing is accused of widespread abuses 020
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Tariff war with Canada going well. "Canadian auto imports from Japan, China jump, as tariffs erode U.S.-made vehicle sales" www.autonews.com/manufacturin...autonews.com 001
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Please, there is no such thing as the “Taiwan issue”. The CCP is the issue. It collaborated with the Japanese military to strengthen itself during WWII, and then with USSR to create a “People’s Republic” ignoring the ROC which the CCP itself recognized and pretended to fight for during the war. 010
Reposted by BenCaptain Mark Kelly @captmarkkelly.bsky.social · 28/09/2026If U.S. law prohibits arms sales to China, why was Trump even suggesting it?? We need answers immediately. 71730260
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 29/09/2026In shows and history about mafia bosses -- The Sopranos came to mind -- face-based respect has a shelf-life of lettuce. www.ft.com/content/8ac7...ft.com‘Xi got face’: China relishes equal treatment from TrumpChinese state media hail the respect that US president offered their country’s leader 000
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 26/09/2026Being (rightly) nervous about AI is like when man-made fire was first invented, disasters were more foreseeable, but probably not the need for the chef, not to mention celebrity chefs. 010
Reposted by BenPeter Baker @peterbakernyt.bsky.social · 25/09/2026In Trump’s White House, China’s Dictator Is Welcome. American Media, Less So. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/u...nytimes.comIn Trump’s White House, China’s Dictator Is Welcome. American Media, Less So.The showdown over President Trump’s partial media ban played out as he welcomed President Xi Jinping, whose government is ranked among the most repressive in the world. 1111332
Reposted by BenMichael Pettis @michaelpettis.bsky.social · 23/09/2026Interesting substack by venture investor David Cheng on his recent China trip. earnedintuition.substack.com/p/involution...earnedintuition.substack.comInvolution Without Export Is Wasted EffortA week in Beijing and Shanghai with the people building AI in China 0228
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026How long will it take before Russian media outlets get welcomed into the WH? 011
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 22/09/2026To ask China to rein in its AI for safety -- There's an apt Chinese saying for that, 与虎谋皮 (Asking a Tiger to give you its fur). apnews.com/article/bess...apnews.comUS proposes AI incident alert system in talks with China, Bessent saysThe U.S. is proposing a new notification system with China for artificial intelligence incidents that could threaten national security. 010
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 20/09/2026When will Trump scorn Nixon for handing Okinawa back to Japan? 000
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Beijing and Moscow have mutually accelerated. After CCP and its ideology lost legitimacy circa 1989-1991, it promoted anti-West nationalism to justify its rule, which Putin copied. As Russia suffocated civil society, manipulated the West, and leveraged its market & supply chain, Xi copied the same. 000
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Japan might warn the Chinese defense chief against getting purged in unveiled jab at China. 000
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 20/09/2026Beijing itself maybe forgot for ~15 yrs after normalizing relations w Japan, there was no hostilities towards the latter. Investments flowed. Turning point was 1989-91. Due to Tian'anmen & Eastern Europe, CCP lost legitimacy. Nationalism/anti-West rhetoric ruled, w Japan being easy target of abuse. 000
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 19/09/2026The WH correspondents can learn from how the U.S. trade partners dealt with the administration unsuccessfully (e.g., allies who caved and hanged separately) vs. successfully (e.g., China, which played hardball and got rewarded). 011
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Cannot think of a more textbook (of any American law school) example of infringement of the freedom of speech, than banning CNN, MSNOW and Politico from the White House. 010
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Old enough to recall how Turkey couldn’t get the F-35 for planning to use Russian missiles. www.wsj.com/world/middle...wsj.comDebris Found in Yemen Suggests Saudi Arabia Fired Its First Chinese MissileThe body of what appeared to be a Dongfeng 15 was found in the desert. 010
Reposted by BenCaptain Mark Kelly @captmarkkelly.bsky.social · 18/09/2026Today is Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. My great grandmother came from Poland with nothing but the hope of a better life. I still have her citizenship papers. That's the story of so many American families. We’ve always been a country of immigrants. No one can change that. 21650103
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 17/09/2026In the news — Russia helps Iran kill American soldiers. Also in the news — a Russian oligarch finances the President's son's wedding party, and the US Administration seeks biz deals with the Russian authorities. 010
Reposted by BenYen-han Chen 陳彥翰 🇹🇼🇺🇸🇺🇦 @chen-yenhan.bsky.social · 17/09/2026Found this account that posts webcam footage from around Taiwan. This is the first light over Taiwan on the day it has been a democracy longer than a dictatorship. 3553103
Reposted by BenDavid Rennie @dsorennie.bsky.social · 15/09/2026China gains when Pres Trump flounders in the Middle East. But the war in Iran has come too soon for China to take full advantage. The country wants to be richer and stronger, and needs a global trading order underwritten by the US to get there. My column economist.com/internationa...economist.comChina is not ready for a post-American worldDonald Trump’s disaster in Iran has come too soon for China to take full advantage 0136
Reposted by BenCaptain Mark Kelly @captmarkkelly.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Donald Trump's trades: 28,700 All of Congress's trades: 22,200 My trades: 0 Ban stock trading in Washington. 231097277
Reposted by BenMichael Pettis @michaelpettis.bsky.social · 16/09/2026Interesting analysis by former Canadian diplomat and China specialist Michael Kovrig on why Chinese state financiers came to Canada’s investment summit. michaelkovrig.substack.com/p/why-chines...michaelkovrig.substack.comWhy Chinese state financiers have come to Canada’s investment summitChina Investment Corp, China International Capital Corp and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority are in Toronto to look for passive stakes, but political influence could follow 173
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 15/09/2026Toyota, the silent giant of the military industrial complex. 000
Reposted by BenEdward Luce @edwardluce.bsky.social · 15/09/2026"Bessent is badly harming himself in his quest not to disappoint the president. As one Washington veteran quipped: “Bessent makes Steve Mnuchin look like Alexander Hamilton.”" My column. as.ft.com/r/1f88e3d7-1...as.ft.comScott Bessent’s wobbly housePolitics seems to be messing with the US Treasury secretary’s head 47644124
Reposted by BenMichael Pettis @michaelpettis.bsky.social · 15/09/2026FT: "China has implemented sweeping new controls on overseas travel for Chinese citizens as President Xi Jinping steps up efforts to secure state secrets, advanced technology and highly skilled workers." www.ft.com/content/3f2b...ft.comChina tightens control of overseas travel in sweeping new lawPresident Xi Jinping steps up efforts to secure state secrets, advanced technology and highly skilled workers 2186
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 12/09/2026When America appears hopeless, just Google "in [X country] is burning the [X country's] flag a legal expression of political speech?" 000
Reposted by BenEric M. Murphy @ericmmurphy.bsky.social · 10/09/2026It’s annoying to have to point this out: 18 U.S. Code § 597 - Expenditures to influence voting www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/... 33211
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 08/09/2026Putin's downfall would probably accelerate China's plans. 001
Reposted by BenJennifer Pak @jpak25.bsky.social · 07/09/2026More than a week after the deadly Nepal China floods, very little is known about the dead or missing in Tibet. China's control over media and digital censorship is in stark contrast to open reporting in Nepal. But it's not new. www.npr.org/2026/09/07/n...npr.orgAs Nepal identifies those killed in the floods, questions grow over China's reportingOne week after the deadly floods, very little is known about China's dead or missing. China's control over media and digital censorship is in stark contrast to open reporting in Nepal. 263
Reposted by BenMichael Pettis @michaelpettis.bsky.social · 07/09/20264/4 Once a country sets a politically determined GDP growth rate, what matters is not how much investment the economy needs to create economic value but rather how much economic activity is needed to achieve the target. carnegieendowment.org/posts/2025/0...carnegieendowment.orgHow to Predict China’s Economic Performance for 2025: A Sectoral ApproachGDP growth means something fundamentally different in China than in most countries. 0152
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 06/09/2026What do folks there think of America (not just today’s America)? 100
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 06/09/2026What are the chances that humans do not become some sort of AI’s pet, for AI’s entertainment and occasional consumption for energy, like horses after the invention of cars? 000
Ben @benjaminqiu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026Tokyo. According Wayve folks, commercial launch here in October. 000
Reposted by BenKai Ryssdal @kairyssdal.bsky.social · 01/09/2026This is a really really important piece. The ideas within aren’t simple, and require open discussion. But Kendall’s spot-on.nytimes.comOpinion | The U.S. Military Must Learn to Say No to Trump (Gift Article)How senior leaders of the armed forces dodge accountability. 1535592
Reposted by BenJoseph Torigian @josephtorigian.bsky.social · 30/08/2026I shared some thoughts for this new podcast "The Dictator's Survival Guide," a deep investigation into the fall of Chinese general Zhang Youxia, a man whose family I've spent much of the last few months investigating. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...bbc.co.ukBBC Radio 4 - Currently, The Dictators' Survival GuideWhy Xi Jinping's purge of China's most senior military general matters to us all. 274