Ben
@benjaminqiu.bsky.social
Lawyer, author; co-chair, Asian Affairs Comm, NYC Bar; former board member, Shanghai Foreign Correspondents Club; youth basketball and track coach
Reposted by Ben
"China stages military drills around Taiwan to warn ‘external forces’ after US, Japan tensions" via AP bit.ly/4so44vA Just one of the fault lines waiting to derail that fragile U.S-China truce.... www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
4 ways China-US relations could fracture in 2026
Dozens of lawmakers foresee a surge in tensions over trade, Taiwan or supply chain disruptions possibly scuttling the current pause in US-China economic hostilities.
www.politico.com
December 29, 2025 at 9:20 PM
"China stages military drills around Taiwan to warn ‘external forces’ after US, Japan tensions" via AP bit.ly/4so44vA Just one of the fault lines waiting to derail that fragile U.S-China truce.... www.politico.com/news/2025/12...
Nikkō Tōshō-gū and the solemn tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu (undisturbed since 1617), Japan’s Mount Vernon + FDR library. 2.5 hours north of Tokyo. Very few tourists.
December 29, 2025 at 2:00 PM
Nikkō Tōshō-gū and the solemn tomb of Tokugawa Ieyasu (undisturbed since 1617), Japan’s Mount Vernon + FDR library. 2.5 hours north of Tokyo. Very few tourists.
Reposted by Ben
Christmas attack on civilians in Kyiv. Sure, the Russians want peace
‼️ Movement of missiles and drones during the massive Russian attack on Ukraine
December 27, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Christmas attack on civilians in Kyiv. Sure, the Russians want peace
Reposted by Ben
One thing I do regret about 2025 is how many nonsense meetings I had to sit through about how China is becoming the world's "green" super power. Two-thirds of electricity generation in China is from thermal power plants (blue). That's coal. Give me a break.
robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/chinas-ele...
robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/chinas-ele...
December 25, 2025 at 4:05 PM
One thing I do regret about 2025 is how many nonsense meetings I had to sit through about how China is becoming the world's "green" super power. Two-thirds of electricity generation in China is from thermal power plants (blue). That's coal. Give me a break.
robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/chinas-ele...
robinjbrooks.substack.com/p/chinas-ele...
Christmas tipple is a 🇯🇵 parlimentary sake from Fukushima.
December 24, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Christmas tipple is a 🇯🇵 parlimentary sake from Fukushima.
Trump Class, Golden Fleet
December 24, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Trump Class, Golden Fleet
Reposted by Ben
Undoing the harm caused by this administration - massive censorship & intimidation of media outlets at home, and transnational repression of international bodies & civil society abroad - is going to absorb a lot of time & effort in the next presidency.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
UK social media campaigners among five denied US visas
The Trump administration bans five people who have called for tech regulation from entering the country.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 24, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Undoing the harm caused by this administration - massive censorship & intimidation of media outlets at home, and transnational repression of international bodies & civil society abroad - is going to absorb a lot of time & effort in the next presidency.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
China shows a possible direction of the future of humanity.
December 20, 2025 at 2:13 AM
China shows a possible direction of the future of humanity.
Reposted by Ben
"When a court staffer commented that someone could get in trouble, Dugan replied, “I’ll do it. I’ll get the heat,” before taking Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a side hall near the stairs." -- Judge Hannah Dugan represents the America that the world respects. news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/j...
Judge Guilty of Obstructing ICE in Courthouse Migrant Arrest (1)
A federal jury in Milwaukee convicted a Wisconsin state judge of obstructing ICE officers—a first-of-its-kind verdict as courts adjust to President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement po...
news.bloomberglaw.com
December 20, 2025 at 12:47 AM
"When a court staffer commented that someone could get in trouble, Dugan replied, “I’ll do it. I’ll get the heat,” before taking Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a side hall near the stairs." -- Judge Hannah Dugan represents the America that the world respects. news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/j...
The "robotics" bubble of China could burst before the AI bubble does in the U.S.
December 19, 2025 at 5:07 PM
The "robotics" bubble of China could burst before the AI bubble does in the U.S.
Reposted by Ben
NEWSLETTER: The world calls for #HongKong to #FreeJimmyLai, we call for sanctions on the officials responsible for his sham trial and guilty verdict, and pressure builds on British PM Keir Starmer to show some backbone in his dealings with #China.
thecfhk.org/global-outra...
thecfhk.org/global-outra...
December 19, 2025 at 2:10 PM
NEWSLETTER: The world calls for #HongKong to #FreeJimmyLai, we call for sanctions on the officials responsible for his sham trial and guilty verdict, and pressure builds on British PM Keir Starmer to show some backbone in his dealings with #China.
thecfhk.org/global-outra...
thecfhk.org/global-outra...
Fav sandwich shop in town hitting the spot again.
December 18, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Fav sandwich shop in town hitting the spot again.
What technology is not "dual-use"?
December 16, 2025 at 5:54 PM
What technology is not "dual-use"?
Japan should note while Einstein was proficient in English, there's no record he was tested for it, and he naturalized as citizen in 1940. He preferred to speak German, socialized w other immigrants, and famously died speaking German to a nurse who didn't understand him www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...
Japan to require language skills for entrepreneur visa holders | The Asahi Shimbun: Breaking News, Japan News and Analysis
Following public calls for stricter requirements, the Immigration Services Agency plans to add Japanese language proficiency as a condition for an entrepreneurs visa, government sources said.
www.asahi.com
December 16, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Japan should note while Einstein was proficient in English, there's no record he was tested for it, and he naturalized as citizen in 1940. He preferred to speak German, socialized w other immigrants, and famously died speaking German to a nurse who didn't understand him www.asahi.com/ajw/articles...
TACO has to be the word of the year
December 16, 2025 at 2:15 PM
TACO has to be the word of the year
The hero bystander at the Bondi Beach attack is a Syrian immigrant named Ahmed al Ahmed from the city of Idlib. Muslim, shop owner, and father of two. He lives in Sydney, where he is a naturalized citizen. His parents, who recently arrived as refugees, said he once served in the police.
December 15, 2025 at 5:33 PM
The hero bystander at the Bondi Beach attack is a Syrian immigrant named Ahmed al Ahmed from the city of Idlib. Muslim, shop owner, and father of two. He lives in Sydney, where he is a naturalized citizen. His parents, who recently arrived as refugees, said he once served in the police.
Reposted by Ben
1/8
It's hard to find anything good in the November economic data for China, just as it is hard to find anything new to say. All the important indicators continue to weaken, as they have throughout the year, in some cases even decelerating further.
english.news.cn/20251215/a59...
It's hard to find anything good in the November economic data for China, just as it is hard to find anything new to say. All the important indicators continue to weaken, as they have throughout the year, in some cases even decelerating further.
english.news.cn/20251215/a59...
China's industrial output up 4.8 pct in November
english.news.cn
December 15, 2025 at 5:17 AM
1/8
It's hard to find anything good in the November economic data for China, just as it is hard to find anything new to say. All the important indicators continue to weaken, as they have throughout the year, in some cases even decelerating further.
english.news.cn/20251215/a59...
It's hard to find anything good in the November economic data for China, just as it is hard to find anything new to say. All the important indicators continue to weaken, as they have throughout the year, in some cases even decelerating further.
english.news.cn/20251215/a59...
Reposted by Ben
“Truth, though powerless and always defeated in a head-on clash with the powers that be, possesses a strength of its own: whatever those in power may contrive, they are unable to discover or invent a viable substitute for it.” - Hannah Arendt
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai Found Guilty in Landmark Security Case
After nearly five years in detention, former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was handed a verdict that could see the 78-year-old locked up for the rest of his life. The outcome may also complicate Chi...
www.bloomberg.com
December 15, 2025 at 1:29 PM
“Truth, though powerless and always defeated in a head-on clash with the powers that be, possesses a strength of its own: whatever those in power may contrive, they are unable to discover or invent a viable substitute for it.” - Hannah Arendt
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
At least one Covid-traumatized group has acted on it -- After 2022, the Chinese entrepreneurs and investors class has radically diversified their wealth, business, and passports for the family away from China, which in part explains the country's worsening domestic economic slump.
I think we're all just pretending that the pandemic that happened a mere 5 years ago didn't traumatize us all
December 14, 2025 at 2:02 AM
At least one Covid-traumatized group has acted on it -- After 2022, the Chinese entrepreneurs and investors class has radically diversified their wealth, business, and passports for the family away from China, which in part explains the country's worsening domestic economic slump.
Sad to ask but why would any artist still perform at the Kennedy Center?
December 12, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Sad to ask but why would any artist still perform at the Kennedy Center?
Flattery was never going to deliver security guarantees for Ukraine.
December 10, 2025 at 7:08 PM
Flattery was never going to deliver security guarantees for Ukraine.
Reading up in the aftermath of the fall of Pax Romana would be useful today.
December 10, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Reading up in the aftermath of the fall of Pax Romana would be useful today.
American soldiers killed by China's AI powered weapons trained on advanced Nvidia chips will have Trump to thank.
December 9, 2025 at 5:28 PM
American soldiers killed by China's AI powered weapons trained on advanced Nvidia chips will have Trump to thank.
Music to the ear and a shot in the arm for Beijing.
December 8, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Music to the ear and a shot in the arm for Beijing.