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Gabriel Corsetti

@gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social
770 followers 489 following 1.6K posts

China, politics, climate change. Views my own. Reposts are indeed endorsements. Why would I repost if I disagree? gabriel965.substack.com

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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
...she found leftists refused to believe her, preferring to read the writings of French Maoist philosophers who had spent three weeks in China and couldn't speak Chinese. Everyone else just didn't care about what she had to say. Profoundly frustrating and relatable. 2/2
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 15/10/2026
Interesting article about Renata Pisu, an Italian journalist and writer. She went to China in 1957 to learn Chinese in PKU, and stayed 4 years. When she got back to Italy and tried telling people about the reality of the situation in China, ... 1/2 claudiogiunta.it/2025/02/quel...
claudiogiunta.it
Quello che ha visto Renata Pisu / Il blog di Claudio Giunta
«Proteggete le nostre verità» (F. Fortini, Composita solvantur) Venticinque anni fa è uscito La via della Cina di Renata Pisu, che è il raro memoir di viaggio che riesce a non annoiare (annoiano molto...
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
French apologist for the Chinese government attacks a fellow French apologist, while making a linguistic claim that's just wrong. Then he refuses to believe the many native speakers of Chinese who tell him he's wrong. Amazing stuff going on over on X. x.com/LAURENTMICHE...
x.com
Laurent Michelon (@LAURENTMICHEL0N) on X
X can be a real treasure trove of self-appointed China experts with zero credentials. Imagine the arrogance of a Westerner copy-pasting some Wikipedia miscellanea and posting a comment about Song Qin...
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
You're blocked, racist moron.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I'm not from the US, and your "white boy" line is racist and means I can safely ignore you.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Jostein said this? He seems too smart to use such an obviously ridiculous line.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I wish the apologists would get some new material. "China is more democratic than the US because the CCP has 99% approval ratings" is an old chestnut. From Keyu Jin to Kishore Mahbubani to Martin Jacques, they've been saying this for years.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
We're back to public executions. The descent into barbarism continues. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Pentagon says execution of Fort Hood shooter will be livestreamed
Nidal Hasan, army psychiatrist who killed 13 people, will be executed by firing squad on 3 December
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Members of the BSW, a left-wing populist party, voted for him, breaching the "firewall" against the AfD. The alliance of the far left and far right is more and more of a reality. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
theguardian.com
State parliament elects Germany’s first far-right speaker since second world war
Tobias Rausch secures role of president in Saxony-Anhalt after AfD’s election breakthrough
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
There were also a book stand run by Thai leftists, with lots of communist literature. I was surprised to see Mao: The Unknown Story on sale, since it's extremely hostile to Mao and seemed out of line with the other material.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
I went to an event at Thammasat University, Bangkok, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 6th of October massacre, when the police and right-wing paramilitaries lynched dozens, maybe hundreds, of left-wing students and activists. There were lots of gruesome photos of the massacre.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Yes, there were terrorist attacks, but in their frequency they were more comparable to terrorism in France or Belgium than to countries at war. They did not prevent ordinary life and business from taking place.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This is the narrative apologists are now pushing: Xinjiang ten years ago was practically Afghanistan, now it's safe and open for business. I was in Kashgar in 2016. It was safe and life was normal. There was no Starbucks, but I remember Dicos (德克士), the Chinese fast food chain.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Many are missing that the French riots are partly about climate change: “We’re also protesting about the conditions in the heatwave,” he said. “It was unbearable sitting exams in 35C-40C heat, even the teachers said those were impossible conditions.” www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
theguardian.com
Fires, fury and hundreds of arrests as France gripped by student protests
Government struggling to deal with worst crisis in months after being taken by surprise by massive demonstrations
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
My review of the Dragon's Pearl, the fascinating story of a Thai girl who grew up in Beijing under the protection of Zhou Enlai, and then got caught up in the Cultural Revolution. capitalinthenorth.substack.com/p/book-revie...
capitalinthenorth.substack.com
Book review: the Dragon’s Pearl
A Thai girl’s struggles in Maoist China
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I'm amazed she apologised. Clearly the backlash was just too great. Perhaps the UN even had a word with her. Still, there's no way she's sincere. She knew what she was doing from the start. Francesca Albanese does not argue in good faith, she's a populist demagogue of the worst kind.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
This gives you a good idea what it's like to live in Kyiv as the city enters its fourth winter of war. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Kyiv has become a frontline city - and winter is on the way
Residents of Ukraine’s capital prepare for power cuts, drones and bitter cold by stocking up on generators, food and ‘dry showers’
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
It's amazing how much the situation changes depending on the area of the city. I'm currently in Bang Wa, I went out in the city centre yesterday evening, ate near the river opposite Iconsiam and walked to Asiatique, then took a taxi home. I encountered no flooding at all.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
When I was in Kashgar's touristy old town recently, I came across a store selling fridge magnets. Some displayed Kashgar's Chinese name (喀什) or other Chinese writing. I asked if there was one with Kashgar written in Uyghur. The lady said "they don't allow us to use Uyghur". A moment of truth.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Israel also produces far more equal life outcomes than America.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
An interesting article. I didn't know the Jews of Kaifeng petitioned to be recognised as a 民族 in the 50s, or lots of other things it talks about. www.tabletmag.com/sections/his...
tabletmag.com
China Erases Its Jewish Past - Tablet Magazine
Jews have lived in Kaifeng for a millennium. It took Xi Jinping only a decade to bring them to the brink.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Offices have been set up in several cities (...) with names like “The Pretend to Work Company”. For a small daily fee of 30 yuan or so, people can sit at a desk, hang out by the water cooler, and enjoy the routine of office life as they submit job applications www.economist.com/china/2026/0...
economist.com
Unemployment is becoming a way of life for China’s young
Some are pretending to work to keep up appearances
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
I've been surprised by how different Hotan feels from Kasghar. The two cities have similar proportions of Uyghurs and Han, and yet Hotan feels much more like a typical Chinese city. Kashgar still feels more Uyghur and unique, in spite of all that's been going on in recent years.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
After days of Uyghurs thinking I'm a Uyghur, a Uyghur taxi driver in Khotan gave me a confused look and asked 你是汉族人吗?(Are you a Han?). I guess because I couldn't speak Uyghur. He didn't even consider I might be a foreigner. For context I look white, although not blonde.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
A shopkeeper in Khotan gives me a little private performance with a dutar, a traditional Central Asian instrument.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
On the train from Yarkand to Kargilik, a couple of musicians pulled out these traditional Uyghur stringed instruments and gave an impromptu performance. It was completely spontaneous, from the look of things.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Interesting. I'd never seen it before. I don't think, though, that this is meant to be some kind of announcement that they're loyal to the Party and don't follow Islam or anything like that.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I think it's meant to be a joke about bossy customers, nothing more.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
As seen in a hotel in Yarkand (莎车), Xinjiang.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The number of people here in Kashgar who have addressed me in Uyghur today, clearly expecting me to understand, is striking. It's happened again and again.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
At the entrance to the tomb of the great Turkic poet and philosopher Yusup Khass Hajip, in Kashgar. Every time someone walks through the gate, the loudspeaker automatically says: “你好,你已经进入公共场所,请使用国家共用语言” (hello, you have entered a public place, please use the national common language).
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
High-speed rail still hasn't arrived in Xinjiang, so I'm taking one of the old green trains for the 16 hour ride through the desert from Urumqi to Kashgar.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
In Urumqi. A lot of places that look like they used to be mosques have now been converted into cafes and restaurants. Some of them still say "mosque" on the top in Chinese (not this one), but there is no sign of any religious activity going on.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
I'm in Chengdu. One thing that strikes me is that you see lots of obvious foreigners on the streets in the city centre. Nothing like Thailand, for sure, but compared to before the pandemic (2018-19) numbers are definitely up.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
I'm looking at hotels in Chengdu on WeChat. There are still a surprising number that refuse foreigners, stating that they only accept guests with a Mainland Chinese ID. It's now been two years since several ministries stated all hotels should accept foreigners "in principle".
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
I've just spent a few days in Khon Kaen. It's a city in the heart of Isaan, and an educational and commercial centre for the whole region. I found it quite a nice place to visit, and very far removed from the stereotypes you hear about the region.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
No way! That the Roman Empire never existed?
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
What's more, North African Berbers still refer to White Europeans as "Romans" in their tongue. This shows that the empire never died!
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
People claim it never ended at all? That's bold.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Like, people claiming it went on until 1453? That's more common, but not nearly as ridiculous, as claiming that it never existed.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
I remember Richard Dawkins, in one of his books, comparing creationism (not believing that species evolve into different species) to claiming that the Roman Empire never really existed.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Actually, this is not entirely true; Gaozu of Tang is thought to have been of mixed Han and Xianbei ancestry (whatever that really meant at the time).
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
The link with Han Chauvinism is less obvious than with the “1644 narrative”, but there’s probably still a connection. CNN makes the link, saying: “The Tang dynasty has been criticised in the past by Chinese nationalists as its founding emperor was not from the Han ethnic group".
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
After taking on the Qing dynasty, China’s online pseudo-historians are at it again! This time the target is the Tang dynasty, which apparently never existed. In fact it was the later Song dynasty that was ruling China the entire time, goes the claim. edition.cnn.com/2026/08/19/s...
edition.cnn.com
Why is one corner of China’s internet insisting a golden era never existed? | CNN
Something weird has been happening on China’s internet. One small and vocal corner has been claiming the country’s most famous historical dynasty never existed.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
I don't know if the guy just wants to get engagement, but stuff like this makes it so obvious that he's never spent any time in China. Drive to a train station and then take a train to a mall? In China?
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Si, uguale. Diciamo che non era affatto scontato che Travaglio diventasse un propagandista del Cremlino, anche perché in politica estera sembrava abbastanza Atlantista. Nel caso di Santoro forse ce lo potevamo aspettare.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Quando denunciava le nefandezze di Berlusconi mi piaceva. Adesso è cambiato, senza dubbio.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Travaglio è un opinionista che prende posizione sui grandi temi della politica. Nulla di male in se, è un gran comunicatore.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Si, anche la sua difesa ad oltranza del M5S mi ha lasciato l'amaro in bocca. Però dico, una persona può avere posizioni lontane dalle mie e rimanere un buon giornalista. E' normale che un giornalista abbia delle posizioni. L'unica cosa è che quelle di Travaglio sono ormai indifendibili.
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Gabriel Corsetti @gabrielcorsetti.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Travaglio era (è) un bravo giornalista. Sulle questioni Italiane lo seguo ancora. Ma la sua propaganda filo-Russa lascia davvero l'amaro in bocca.
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