Sign in

Tianyu Fang

@tfa.ng
1.4K followers 183 following 71 posts

PhD student in history of science at Harvard. Researcher of technology and culture. Previously Chaoyang Trap

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
NonZero @nonzeronews.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
Seeing China Clearly | Trans-Pacific tech watcher @tfa.ng joins @robertwrighter.bsky.social to take a close look at China—including how the government works (and doesn’t), online censorship, how China sees AI and the chip war, the legacy of the one-child policy, and more.
youtu.be
Seeing China Clearly | Robert Wright & Tianyu Fang
YouTube video by Nonzero
034
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
Noema Magazine @noemamag.com · 01/06/2026
While “war drones are unlikely to be what most people picture when they think of Silicon Valley,” defense tech startups wrapped in the American flag, complete with self-serving claims of patriotism, are taking over the Valley, @tfa.ng writes. www.noemamag.com/silicon-vall...
noemamag.com
Silicon Valley Goes To War | NOEMA
The tech industry’s whiz kids once promised convenience at your fingertips. Now they’re embracing the military-industrial complex to defend the West.
042
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 31/01/2026
They’re so incompetent. I think it’d be wonderful if Ford and other U.S. companies could do tech transfer from some of the best EV manufacturers out there. I guess that makes me Xi Jinping
020
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
Tami Abdollah @latams.bsky.social · 27/01/2026
"The tech industry’s whiz kids once promised convenience at your fingertips. Now they’re embracing the military-industrial complex to defend the West." — @tfa.ng in @noemamag.com www.noemamag.com/silicon-vall...
noemamag.com
Silicon Valley Goes To War | NOEMA
The tech industry’s whiz kids once promised convenience at your fingertips. Now they’re embracing the military-industrial complex to defend the West.
194
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
Noema Magazine @noemamag.com · 27/01/2026
The tech industry’s whiz kids once promised convenience at your fingertips. Now they’re embracing the military-industrial complex to defend the West, @tfa.ng writes. #defensetech #siliconvalley #defense
noemamag.com
Silicon Valley Goes To War | NOEMA
The tech industry’s whiz kids once promised convenience at your fingertips. Now they’re embracing the military-industrial complex to defend the West.
084
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅 @zeyiyang.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
As is often the case with Western narratives about China, these memes are not really meant to paint an accurate picture of life in the country. Instead, they function as a projection of “all of the undesirable aspects of American life—or the decay of the American dream,” says Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng
tiktok.com
So you are Chinese and you didn’t know
TikTok video by Chao Ban
1222
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
Krish Raghav @krishraghav.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Sudden vivid memory of the night we launched, hitting 888 followers @tfa.ng. Miss chaoyang trap, miss everyone ❤️❤️
A phone showing the Substack dashboard, with 888 subscribers
0122
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
JEMc @jasminemcnealy.com · 07/10/2025
Who doesn’t love a good scam story - a mix of geopolitics, statecraft, crypto and public relations by @tfa.ng asteriskmag.com/issues/11/sc...
asteriskmag.com
Scam Cities—Asterisk
Criminal networks throughout Southeast Asia are demonstrating the dangers of making “the ultimate exit.”
041
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
shanley @shanley.com · 07/10/2025
important read on startup cities, criminal networks and the growth of special economic zones from @tfa.ng asteriskmag.com/issues/11/sc...
asteriskmag.com
Scam Cities—Asterisk
Criminal networks throughout Southeast Asia are demonstrating the dangers of making “the ultimate exit.”
1157
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 09/10/2025
thanks for sharing!
010
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 31/08/2025
Glad you found it!
000
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 31/01/2025
excellent essay on xiaohongshu’s recent popularity and the “digital cold war” positionspolitics.org/lilian-kong-...
positionspolitics.org
Lilian Kong and Shiqi Lin, “Hello My Chinese Spy, Take My Data”: Welcome to the Playground of the Digital Cold War
On January 12, 2025, just days before the short video platform TikTok was pressured to shut down in the U.S., a sensational “migration” began. Millions of American internet users flocked to the Chines...
0122
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 20/01/2025
Still waiting for the “secret evidence” that supposedly justifies the TikTok ban. Can’t blame your constituents when your case is “trust me bro”
0110
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
Carwyn Morris @carwynmorris.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Engaging with #Xiaohongshu ( #RED / #REDnote / #LittleRedBook): A Reading List. @qianhuang.bsky.social and I curated this crowdsourced reading list on Xiaohongshu - qianxeniahuang.super.site/resources/xi... We're happy to add more suggestions! Hosted by Qian to make it accessible in China.
33818
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 14/01/2025
no one in china ever calls mao’s quotations “little red book.” the common nickname is hongbaoshu (红宝书, “red treasure book”) and not xiaohongshu (小红书, “little red book”) 📕
1242
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 14/01/2025
people talk about how xiaohongshu literally translates to “little red book” (and therefore communist) but they don’t know that the original little red book isn’t even called the “little red book” in chinese
1180
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 14/01/2025
according to this 2019 interview, the red in xiaohongshu/rednote was a reference to the color of stanford graduate school of business and bain capital, where the founder studied and worked, not chairman mao m.36kr.com/p/1724258762...
65211
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 01/01/2025
Remembering Benjamin Kang Lim @initiummedia.bsky.social theinitium.com/article/2024...
theinitium.com
追憶林洸耀:一位外媒記者的駐華生涯,和與他一同逝去的時代 | 端傳媒 Initium Media
他秉持新聞專業主義的客觀,帶着善意向世界展示中國,但隨着中國威權主義崛起、中西對抗與日俱增,他的立場越發顯得不合時宜。
040
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 31/12/2024
Justin Smith on Semafor’s (so far failed) attempt to engage with China www.semafor.com/article/12/2...
160
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 11/12/2024
important read by former techcrunch china writer rita liao: open.substack.com/pub/chinatal...
open.substack.com
How My China Tech Beat Fell Apart
Why founders gave up on cross-border
032
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 10/12/2024
Yes!
010
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 10/12/2024
Yes, it’s Half Moon Bay!
000
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
Guan Yang @guan.dk · 09/12/2024
Trying to keep a thread of questions arising from the end of birthright citizenship in the US. 1. Is a US passport definitive proof of citizenship? 2. Is an expired passport proof of citizenship when that passport was valid? 3. Is birth in the US legal entry for adjustment of status?
44215
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 10/12/2024
by the fashion police
050
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 10/12/2024
always wear a tie with colors that match the weird jail you’ll stumble upon that day
2270
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 05/12/2024
tsunami warning canceled? the woke mob has gone too far…
0121
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 03/12/2024
Theoretical mathematicians could never
040
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 03/12/2024
The plan: Post your dissertation abstract online to rekindle a decades-long controversy about the utility of the humanities, turning your paper into the most-read publication in the history of your field
1101
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 20/11/2024
it’s great to be back in washington dc
040
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 19/11/2024
how the turntables
020
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 07/11/2023
shocking
000
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 19/10/2023
are you saying this blue boi isn't accelerationist?
100
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 19/10/2023
as you should be
010
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 18/10/2023
marc andreessen quoting editor of the official guide to the 2010 shanghai expo has been the most successful china soft power win since the invention of the printing press
231
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 27/09/2023
this is so weird
030
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 16/08/2023
Here are the revenue numbers from ccTLD domain sales (.ai) in Anguilla, as percentage of total government revenue, since 2015. Data from GovAI (also known as the Government of Anguilla).
030
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 03/08/2023
I write about Oppenheimer, McCarthyism, Caltech’s Suicide Squad, the perils of a techno-nationalist case for immigration, and China’s brain drain: tianyu.co/p/oppenheimer-and-after
tianyu.co
Oppenheimer and After
Also: China’s brain drain isn’t America’s brain gain.
042
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 24/07/2023
Gonna tell my kids this is San Francisco
110
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 11/07/2023
I talked to Rasheed Griffith about one of my favorite niche topics: citizenship by investment programs in the Caribbean.
open.substack.com
Citizenship by Investment in the Caribbean with Tianyu Fang
Listen now (45 min) | The full transcript is available below. In this episode of Caribbean Progress, Rasheed chats with Tianyu Fang, a Fellow of CPSI and a well-known tech journalist. This was a far-r...
021
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 08/07/2023
don’t thread on me 🐍
020
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 04/07/2023
PARENTS BE WARNED
IS YOUR CHILD TEXTING ABOUT CYBERNETICS?

What your feedback-obsessed teen's text messages actually mean: 

brb — bots resemble brains
idc — iteration decides computation
lol — loop on linguistics
lmao — let mcculloch analogize operations
smh — self-sustaining mechanized humans
gtfo — game theory feedback output
stfu — sensor technology for ultrastability
idgaf — information determines goal-seeking autonomous functions
1121
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 03/07/2023
view from the four seasons in East Palo Alto
000
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 02/07/2023
instead of posting/tweeting say “webbing”
020
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 02/07/2023
how they dealt with loss
000
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 02/07/2023
looking for a therapist who's experienced with former tumblr micro-celebrities
140
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 02/07/2023
a bit saddening that the only thing i'm known for ("random person who tweets") will no longer be a social signal
240
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
Emily Liu @emilyliu.me · 02/07/2023
hey new users, Bluesky is a *public* social network please read about data privacy and more in our User FAQ to help you get oriented! even though we require an invite code to create an account, you should treat any posts here as if it's a public blog blueskyweb.xyz/blog/5-19-2023-user-…
What is public and what is private on Bluesky?

Bluesky is a public social network.

Posts and likes are public.
Blocks are public.
Mutes are private, but mutelists are public lists. Your mutelist subscriptions are private.
Invites and invite trees are private.

Why are my posts, likes, and blocks public?

The AT Protocol, which Bluesky is built on, is designed to support public conversations. To make public conversations portable across all sorts of platforms, your data is stored in data repositories that anyone can view. This means that regardless of which server you choose to join, you’ll still be able to see posts across the whole network, and if you choose to change servers, you can easily take all of your data with you. This is what causes the user experience of Bluesky, a federated protocol, to be similar to all the other social media apps you have used before.
521667901
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 01/07/2023
A beautiful place!
000
Tianyu Fang @tfa.ng · 30/05/2023
one of them is not like the others
010
Reposted by Tianyu Fang
Tim Hwang @timhwang.bsky.social · 19/05/2023
wrote about the lost history of tiktok with @tfa.ng in the atlantic today! www.theatlantic.com/technology/arch…
theatlantic.com
America Is Getting TikTok All Wrong
The push to ban the app has clouded just how similar it is to the Silicon Valley giants.
041