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Ilaria Maria Sala

@ilariamariasala.bsky.social
1.9K followers 1.6K following 90 posts

words @guardian @zolima_hongkong @chinafile @nytimes @lettera_22 A ceramist in HK, a Qianlong enthusiast, a tea sipper. Also botany, birds and languages, please. Big on typos. Author of L’Eclissi di Hong Kong, add editore Follow me on IG: @ilariamariasala

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Reposted by Ilaria Maria Sala
weloveallthat @weloveallthat.bsky.social · 23h
Maricarmen - the 87-year old woman whose eviction from her Madrid flat for not paying rent that had been bumped up to three times more than she was paying previously after the building was allegedly purchased by a vulture fund sparked the occupation of the Puerta del Sol - has died in hospital.
bbc.com
Spanish pensioner whose eviction sparked nationwide protests dies, union says
Maricarmen Abascal, 87, was forcibly removed on a stretcher from her apartment of more than 70 years in September.
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Joel Chan @kjoules.org · 29/09/2026
Another great piece by Nathan Batto, this time on Taipei’s mayoral election, which in recent days has become very exciting frozengarlic.wordpress.com/2026/09/27/o...
frozengarlic.wordpress.com
Ocean current hits Taipei mayoral race
It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult.  Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) was supposed to coast to an easy reelection victory. He is young, good-looking, likable, and, most importantly, he ha…
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The Manila Times @themanilatimes.bsky.social · 05/07/2026
MANILA, Philippines — The nation will witness history on Monday, July 6, as the Senate, sitting as Impeachment Court, will begin the trial of Sara Duterte, the first vice president to undergo an impeachment trial. Full story in the comments.
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
qz.com/cdn-cgi/imag... I had interviewed Lam Wing-kee for Quartz, when he was still in Hong Kong. Such a brave man. So sad.
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Yuen Chan @yuenchan.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Historic Hong Kong student publication announces it has ceased operation due the inability to recruit members to its editorial board. "Undergrad" was founded in 1952 by the Hong Kong University Students' Union.
Screenshot of an Instagram post by undergrad.hkusu. It shows a black square with Chinese characters in white reading: Announcment of Cessation of Operation. The logo for "Undergrad is below.
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Per chi vuole sapere di cosa parla il mio libro Flower Power: www.editorialedomani.it/idee/cultura...
editorialedomani.it
Simboli fragili e potentissimi, il linguaggio politico dei fiori
Anche se sbocciano da soli, gli uomini sono sempre pronti a dar loro un significato. Bistrattiamo la natura a ogni occasione, ma sappiamo sfruttarla come messaggio
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Mark Bohlund @mbohlund.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Once destined for Dubai, Riyadh, Tehran and Doha, flowers grown by Ngari Mahihu on the slopes of Mount #Kenya are now fed to his sheep. “When my sheep break wind, it smells of roses,” he said, one of the more bizarre consequences of the US/Israeli decision to bomb Iran. www.ft.com/content/3b04...
ft.com
Donald Trump’s Iran war withers Kenya’s roses and strands its tea
Conflict has crushed Gulf markets and pushed up air freight and shipping costs
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
On Golden Week (7 days holiday in mainland China) HK is seeing the biggest crowds. Here the queue for the starferry - even worse upstairs. Pls send suggestions on books and articles about tourism - this extractive, corrosive, destructive industry. Cities can’t be treated as goods, or commodities
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 22/04/2026
Il mio nuovo libro, Flower Power, storie di fiori e giardini dall’Asia, esce il 15 maggio per Hopeful Monster. In otto capitoli e otto Paesi, parlo di come la botanica viene utilizzata nel colonialismo e nazionalismo, del suo ruolo identitario e della nostra incapacità a proteggerla
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Lynne in Minneapolis @wuwei-wubuwei.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
“Artworks in constant dialogue with Vietnam & the US, & their different approaches to the war & to freedom of expression, that also show how pop culture transformed the Vietnam war, & Vietnam itself, into a Hollywood fantasy – repackaged for tourists while hiding away the horrors it left behind.”
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
As I was writing about the very much missed wonderful Dinh Q. Lê and his retrospective at 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, it really hit me how little certain things change in American wars and our perception of them. The link is here - i dont know if it’s paywalled: www.scmp.com/lifestyle/ar...
scmp.com
Vietnamese-American’s war-themed art stirs painful parallels with clashes today
A Hong Kong exhibition dedicated to the late artist Dinh Q Le highlights his commentary on US military force and the human cost of conflict.
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Hong Kong Free Press HKFP @hongkongfp.com · 09/02/2026
Reporters and police surrounded Cardinal Joseph Zen and Jimmy Lai's wife Theresa as they left the courthouse after the media tycoon was sentenced to 20-years in prison. They got onto a seven-seater vehicle.
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Ryan Ho Kilpatrick 何松濤 @ryanhk.blue · 09/02/2026
Pro-democracy media magnate Jimmy Lai, 76, has been sentenced to 20 years for national security crimes. Since the day he was arrested, everyone has been predicting the government will make sure he dies behind bars. Everyone was, of course, right — but it’s still, to say the very least, a gut punch.
hk01.com
黎智英案判刑 官斥黎是主腦兼推動者並有預謀 判監20年
壹傳媒創辦人黎智英,被指用其國際人脈,在2019年更透過「重光團隊」,極力遊說多個國家,向中港兩地政府及官員作出制裁。他又同時利用旗下的《蘋
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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 25/01/2026
A reminder to the news media: “conflicting accounts” is what you say BEFORE the incontrovertible video evidence appears. After that, your job is to ask why one side is lying, not to repeat the lie and pretend no one knows the truth.
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
By me! On Singapore and it’s very VIP orchids
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ArtReview @artreview.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Two weeks after the devastating fire in Tai Po, it’s clear the fault lies beyond Hong Kong’s iconic plant artreview.com/on-bamboo-bl...
artreview.com
On Bamboo, Blame and Wang Fuk Court
Two weeks after the devastating fire in Tai Po, it’s clear the fault lies beyond Hong Kong’s iconic plant
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
By me:
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
By me:
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
been reading this shaking my head at silly and wrong stereotypes on Italians - if this is the level of Italian cliches imagine for countries further away. Venetians calling for San Gennaro? Why call for the patron saint of Naples when they have San Marco? Who says they called for a saint? Uggghh.
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 21/09/2025
Ho scritto questo:
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 20/09/2025
A cosa serve la democrazia? Ho scritto questo, su Bologna e Tiananmen, perché la differenza esiste www.ilpost.it/2025/09/20/s...
ilpost.it
Memorie di Bologna, amnesie su Tian'anmen - Il Post
La memoria del 4 giugno 1989 si cancella anche a Hong Kong. Chi era a Pechino in quei giorni racconta a che cosa serve la democrazia
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 08/08/2025
I wrote about the fraught floral symbolism of the Sri Lankan’s national flower, for @artreview.bsky.social the link is here: artreview.com/the-fraught-...
artreview.com
Peace or Oppression? The Fraught Symbolism of Sri Lanka’s National Waterlily
How the waterlily can, to some, be a symbol of purity and enlightenment, and to others a reminder of exclusion, persecution and violence
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Internazionale @internazionale.it · 04/07/2025
L’inchiesta di Haaretz sui soldati israeliani. Il dalai lama sfida la Cina. Ascolta la nuova puntata del Mondo con Francesca Gnetti e Ilaria Maria Sala. @ilariamariasala.bsky.social
internazionale.it
Il Mondo
Il podcast quotidiano di Internazionale. Tutte le mattine alle 6. 00 con Claudio Rossi Marcelli e Giulia Zoli. Non c’è estate che non sia Internazionale. Fino al 30 luglio l’abbonamento a Internaziona...
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Melissa Chemam @melissaontheroad.bsky.social · 09/06/2025
Meanwhile, in the #Sahel... The Wagner group gets replaced in #Mali by Africa Corp, another #Russian military company... rfi.my/BkBj.BS
rfi.my
Wagner gets replaced in Mali by Africa Corp, another Russian military group
The Russian paramilitary group Wagner has left Mali and its units there have been taken over by the Moscow-run Africa Corps, diplomatic and security sources told journalists on Sunday.
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
And this, as well, for the same reason. Because we must remember: qz.com/1592502/tian...
qz.com
The last spring all things seemed possible in Beijing
Late '80s China was in social, political, and cultural upheaval, a place heady with possibilities. It was more than just something in the air. Then came Tiananmen.
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 05/06/2025
Posting here something I wrote before, because I think we should tell what we witness: www.chinafile.com/reporting-op...
chinafile.com
Beijing Autumn
Then even August ended. China was disappearing from the news, as portentous events elsewhere thrust themselves to the forefront.South Africa had started to come out of the dark age of apartheid. Easte...
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Ceramic experimentation taken to really wonderful places by HK’s Julie&Jesse. My piece for Zolima: zolimacitymag.com/julie-jesse-...
zolimacitymag.com
Hong Kong Ceramic Experimentation Goes to Milan
Ceramic artists Julie & Jesse, known for their brand Latitude 22N, have been invited to the 2025 Salone di Mobile in Milan.
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Andrew Small @ajwsmall.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
A few quick thoughts on how China is likely to deal with the current situation with India-Pakistan (since I am getting some questions...)
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 23/04/2025
In Italiano, su Bergoglio e la Cina, per Lettera 22 : www.lettera22.it/la-cina-di-b...
lettera22.it
La Cina di Bergoglio, sogni e delusioni - Lettera22
Spesso paragonato a Matteo Ricci e ai gesuiti che risiedevano alla corte Qing, Papa Francesco non è mai riuscito a capitalizzare le sue aperture diplomatiche alla Cina comunista, dando l'impressione d...
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Galileo Cheng @galileocheng.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
Internationally acclaimed Hong Kong film director Ann Hui 許鞍華 holding masterclass sharing with film commentator Tony Rayns in King's College London in London, Britian on April 18, 2025. "Hong Kong itself is not planned, you just work day to day and make it happen."
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
I was at HKU yesterday and this is what the “democracy wall” looks like now. It has the same name. And cameras though. But nothing else
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Steve Herman @newsguy.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Gwen Akiko Robinson, Nikkei Asia's editor-at-large, has died at the age of 65 after a battle with cancer. Throughout her life, she was a "walking internet router," keeping in touch effectively with every contributor and journalist colleague in Asia and elsewhere. asia.nikkei.com/Life-Arts/Ob...
asia.nikkei.com
Gwen Robinson, a driving force in Asia journalism, dies at 65
Trailblazing correspondent and mentor instrumental in shaping Nikkei Asia's global presence
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Edward Luce @edwardluce.bsky.social · 31/03/2025
Goodbye to Gwen Robinson, Asia correspondent extraordinaire, doyenne of FT oped editors, a one-person nuclear power plant, and a true & beloved friend to so many people all over the world. FT's obituary free to read here. enterprise-sharing.ft.com/redeem/3de26...
enterprise-sharing.ft.com
Gwen Robinson, FT foreign correspondent and editor, 1960-2025
[FREE TO READ] The Asia expert was known for her network of contacts, intrepid reporting and ability to handle big egos
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 26/03/2025
For @artreview.bsky.social I wrote this: artreview.com/what-will-th...
artreview.com
What Will the Northern Metropolis Mean for Hong Kong’s Future?
As Hong Kong builds its new, 30,000-hectare housing and technology hub, Ilaria Maria Sala considers the human and ecological costs
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AFP News Agency @en.afp.com · 25/03/2025
#BREAKING Istanbul court orders arrest of AFP photographer after protests coverage: lawyer
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 22/03/2025
Rare Wright’s gardenia reappears in record numbers in Seychelles
theguardian.com
Rare Wright’s gardenia reappears in record numbers in Seychelles
Conservationists find critically endangered species thriving on Indian Ocean island of Aride Record numbers of Wright’s gardenia, one of the world’s rarest and most fragrant trees, have been counted on the tiny tropical island of Aride in Seychelles. The only place in the world where the critically endangered tree occurs naturally is on the 72-hectare granite island in the Indian Ocean. The tree was once found on other, larger islands in the Seychelles archipelago but its sturdy wood was harvested for firewood, leading to its disappearance from everywhere except Aride. Continue reading...
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Joe Segal - Create Positive Solidarity @joesegal.bsky.social · 17/02/2025
Never use AirBnB ever.
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
(In Italian) breve conversazione sul Sri Lanka per il podcast di Internazionale: www.internazionale.it/podcast/ilmo...
internazionale.it
Lo Sri Lanka cede alle pressioni della Cina. Lo stato italiano condannato per i veleni nella Terra dei fuochi.
Il presidente dello Sri Lanka Anura Kumara Dissanayake aveva promesso un’inversione radicale delle politiche economiche del paese, ma la realtà è più complessa di quanto si aspettasse. Con Ilaria Mari...
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Copernicus ECMWF @copernicusecmwf.bsky.social · 04/02/2025
The Copernicus image of the day shows the latest Saharan dust transport forecasted by #CopernicusAtmosphere last Friday. Check our forecast charts here: atmosphere.copernicus.eu/charts/packa... All the images: www.copernicus.eu/en/media/ima... ©European Union, CAMS, Copernicus Sentinel-2 imagery
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Nanjala @nanjala.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
This is the part that has me stumped. Why are people complying? Why are the counsels of these various departments advising their clients to comply?
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
Please say hi if we were already in touch over at the other place and I am not following you yet - I am losing track of those I know !
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Now that my inability to tell a nymphaea from a lotus is out in the open, any suggestions about reads on nymphaea?
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 26/01/2025
Can anyone suggest reads about lotuses?
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
So those who’re mad at immigrants because they say they “steal” their jobs are ok electing gazillionaires who got round every law to plunder the planet. But also we must keep our “identity” even if it’s always a hodgepodge from everywhere. How do we fight this slide? www.nytimes.com/2025/01/23/w...
nytimes.com
Trump Is Leading a Global Surge to the Right
But not all of the leading conservative populist parties in the world are the same — in rhetoric or on policy.
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The China-Global South Project @chinagsproject.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
China’s state-owned oil company Sinopec signed an agreement with the Sri Lankan government to accelerate the building of a $3.7 billion oil refinery in the port city of Hambantota.
chinaglobalsouth.com
China, Sri Lanka to Fast-Track Hambantota Refinery
China’s state-owned oil company Sinopec signed an agreement with the Sri Lankan government to accelerate the building of a $3.7 billion oil refinery in the port city of Hambantota. The agreement inclu...
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Internazionale @internazionale.it · 23/01/2025
Perché Internazionale ha deciso di interrompere la pubblicazione di contenuti su X. L’editoriale di Giovanni De Mauro.
internazionale.it
Meraviglioso
Perché Internazionale ha deciso di interrompere la pubblicazione di contenuti su X. Leggi
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
I wrote about the whale bones in Tai O, Lantau - as a needed distraction. You can read it here: zolimacitymag.com/whales-bones...
zolimacitymag.com
Are Those… Whale Bones?
We take a journey to the fishing village of Tai O temple to find out how whales are being venerated alongside gods.
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Found on Lantau
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Ilaria Maria Sala @ilariamariasala.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
I’m puzzled by the PR op of calling 小紅書 “rednote”. It’s Little Red Book, people. It’s not a very neutral name - why are we like that?
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 11/01/2025
the incredible conclusion of this thread: "Zuck seems to have been fed *the false narrative* that has circled around the Jim Jordan / Matt Taibbi / Elon Musk circus, *rather than* what *actually happened* at Meta by TALKING TO THE PEOPLE AT META who dealt with these issues"
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