Gina Anne Tam
LightNews LightNews
banner
dgtam86.bsky.social
Gina Anne Tam
@dgtam86.bsky.social
2K followers 390 following 99 posts
Historian of Modern China at Trinity University (focus on language, identity, gender, protest, Hong Kong); author of Dialect and Nationalism in China, 1860-1960; NCUSCR PIPVII 2021-2023; Wilson Fellow 2022-2023. 4th-gen Italian-American
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
mattschrader.bsky.social
If this is true we're getting into some rarified air of PRC elite politics upheaval. Nothing will ever beat the Cultural Revolution, but even there Mao didn't purge the entire PLA top leadership at once.
chen-yenhan.bsky.social Yen-han Chen 陳彥翰 🇹🇼🇺🇸🇺🇦 @chen-yenhan.bsky.social · 16h
Multiple sources: Zhang Shengmin, Secretary of CMC commission for Discipline Inspection, might be dead.

Sources say he died by suicide at home. If true, Xi Jinping will be the only remaining member of the CMC.
January 31, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
oldenoughtosay.com
I kinda think people are crashing out on @whstancil.bsky.social because it’s easier to yell at each other than to acknowledge that the fash have some terrifying tools at their disposal
justinhendrix.bsky.social Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 1d
A Minnesota woman observing ICE agents in her car was cornered on one-way streets. An agent approached, called her by name—citing facial recognition. Days later, her Global Entry and TSA privileges were revoked, with no explanation.
How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are
www.nytimes.com
January 30, 2026 at 12:52 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
zeyiyang.bsky.social
Next Tuesday (Feb 3), I will be talking to @yilingliu95.bsky.social in New York about her new book: The Wall Dancers. It is a great chronology of how individuals in China grow up with the internet and end up shaping or being engulfed in it. Come join us & RSVP here!
yuandmebooks.com/products/boo...
Book Launch | The Wall Dancers by Yi-Ling Liu
Pre-purchase your copy of the featured title to guarantee your signed copy! This helps ensure that everyone who wants a book goes home with one, in case we sell out at the event.  ABOUT THE BOOK An in...
yuandmebooks.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
gwbstr.com
I've been lucky to get an early peek at this book, and it's wonderful. Rare insight into how diverse Chinese lives play out online and off. Stories of actually existing China tech life, and people navigating the margins and the mainstream. Check it out!
zeyiyang.bsky.social Zeyi Yang 杨泽毅 @zeyiyang.bsky.social · 4d
Next Tuesday (Feb 3), I will be talking to @yilingliu95.bsky.social in New York about her new book: The Wall Dancers. It is a great chronology of how individuals in China grow up with the internet and end up shaping or being engulfed in it. Come join us & RSVP here!
yuandmebooks.com/products/boo...
Book Launch | The Wall Dancers by Yi-Ling Liu
Pre-purchase your copy of the featured title to guarantee your signed copy! This helps ensure that everyone who wants a book goes home with one, in case we sell out at the event.  ABOUT THE BOOK An in...
yuandmebooks.com
January 28, 2026 at 7:59 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
wesburdine.bsky.social
Hoo boy this article is good.

As one of ana’s chauffeurs on a boring commute this captures it perfectly
Ask any survivor of domestic abuse: Physical violence is just the punctuation at the end of the sentence. What makes life unbearable is that it could happen at any moment. The thrum of expectant fear is what abusers are after. Hypervigilance is the real punishment. It exhausts the will.
January 27, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
goofrider.bsky.social
There's a saying in Chinese, repeated often during the 2019 HK protest:

世上沒有從天而降的英雄, 只有挺身而出的凡人

"There are no heaven-sent heroes in this world. There are only ordinary people who choose to show extraordinary courage."

That's Minnesota today. And Iran.
January 26, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
beijingpalmer.bsky.social
“I like fish, I also like bear’s paw. If I cannot have both, I will forgo fish and choose bear’s paw. I like life, I also like righteousness. If I cannot have both I will forgo life and choose righteousness.” (Mencius, 6A:10, Goldin trans.)
aricohn.com Ari Cohn @aricohn.com · 6d
I expect every single law enforcement officer of any kind to be willing to die rather than risk killing a person unnecessarily.

Anyone who does not like that tradeoff should not seek to carry a gun on behalf of the government.

It's really that simple.
January 25, 2026 at 5:43 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
tobbinatorscw.bsky.social
It's been slowly happening for a few years now but China's official multiculturalism is functionally dead, living on only on banknotes and some shells of ethnic state offices dominated and now mostly staffed by Han madeinchinajournal.com/2026/01/20/r...
Rectifying Names, Erasing Mongols: The Unmaking of Mongolian Education in China
On a clear October morning in 2025, two massive cranes rolled up to a middle school in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Workers prised off the large Chinese and Mongolian signs running along the ...
madeinchinajournal.com
January 25, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
mattschrader.bsky.social
I know no one is looking for scorching hot PLA takes on Bluesky rn, but I would caution against thinking the unprecedented purge we're seeing materially lowers the risk for Taiwan.
January 25, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
mattschrader.bsky.social
@josephtorigian.bsky.social asks a key question. We know Xi thinks in terms of hardening systems against risk, but is also a student of Maoist politics. Putting the fear of God into the PLA could be both. In a world where 2027 is a key year, Xi may see it as a final forging of the sword.
January 25, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
mattschrader.bsky.social
The news coming out of Minneapolis right now reminds me of nothing so much as the central government crackdown on Hong Kong pro-democracy protests in 2020. Not a coincidence that Trump and Xi get along.
chowleen.bsky.social eileen chengyin chow @chowleen.bsky.social · 19d
Please read and share.
There is also widely-circulating video of the unlawful arrests of these Minnesota activists (and U.S. citizens).
Good morning, My name is Brandon Siguenza, and I am a US citizen from Minneapolis. Yesterday, while doing legal observation, ICE stopped their cars to harass my friend and me. They sprayed pepper spray into the vent of our vehicle. We held our hands in the air and told them we were not obstructing, that the car was in park and they were free to drive forward and away. There was no active immigration raid. They returned to their cars, and drove forward a bit, then decided to stop again. They surrounded us, smashed the windows of our car, opened the doors (they were unlocked), ripped my friend and l out of the car and arrested us on charges of obstruction. I was put in an unmarked SUV, separated from my friend. As I was put in the back seat an ICE agent tore the whistle off my neck and said "I'll be taking this, I might need it later." My phone was knocked out of my hand while being arrested. As we drove away I asked the driver and the passenger if they wouldn't mind buckling my seatbelt, as they were driving erratically. I was ignored. I asked them if I could have the handcuffs loosened, as I was losing circulation, and was told no. At one point the passenger realized his own driver's license was in the backseat next to mine, and tried to surreptitiously grab it without me seeing it. We were taken to the Whipple federal building, where I saw dozens of brown people being processed in an unheated garage. I was frisked, told of my charges, and saw buses and vans being prepped. I later learned that these were being filled with detainees and driven to the airport for deportation. As we were led in, I noticed that the building was very busy. I got the impression that one of the 2 agents bringing me around was being trained. At multiple points throughout my stay, government agents were unable to open doors, not sure where they were meant to be going, and overall confused and overwhelmed. They couldn't figure out how to use the building phones, or complained about a lack of … The people in the cells were extremely scared. We heard people screaming "let me out!", crying, wailing and terrified screams. There were cells with as many as 8 people. I have no way of knowing how long they have been there, if they were allowed any contact with the outside world, or if they were being brought food or water. Most people were staring at the ground with almost no energy. I was not allowed to talk to anyone imprisoned. I distinctly remember seeing a desperate woman. She was staring at the ground with her head in her hands crying, hopeless, while her friend or family member sat on a bathroom seat observed by 3 men. My friend and I were put in an area for "USCs," which we eventually learned meant US citizens, separated by gender. We were imprisoned for 8 hours, during which my friend was never allowed a phone call. I was allowed to call my wife and tell her where I was. During my interview with Special Agent William and Special Agent Garcia, they asked me to empty my pockets. When I pulled out gloves, Agent William said those were meant to be taken when I was processed, and complained about having to fill out the form again. He frisked me once more, where he found glass in my pocket from when our car window was shattered. He filled out the form listing my personal items again, but put the wrong date. I was read my rights, I pleaded the fifth and was led back to my cell. Food, water, and bathroom breaks were extremely difficult to acquire. I would ask over the intercom provided in the cell for a bathroom break, be told someone was on their way, then ask again 20 minutes later, be told someone was on their way, wait another 20 minutes, etc. Eventually they either turned off the intercom or it stopped working, because no one would respond. I could get water and bathroom breaks by pounding on the glass when someone happened to walk by and beg them directly. Hours would go by without anyone checking on us. I am vegan and the only food they offered were turke… I was in the cell alone for between 1 and 2 hours, then another man was put into my cell, whose shirt was ripped open from his arrest, and an injured toe, who was carried aggressively into an unmarked car during his arrest. After about 4-5 hours, another man was brought in who had a cut on his head from his arrest. He told me he was tackled by 4 or 5 agents during his arrest. At no point was he offered medical assistance. Later I was told that a lawyer was here to see me, and I was able to speak with him in a visitation room. The special agent told me that the door could not be closed all the way, so it was cracked during my interaction with my lawyer. I got the impression that they were not used to having lawyers present, and were trying to follow procedure as best they could. I asked an agent if the other detainees were allowed lawyers and was not answered. At one point, 3 men from the department of Homeland Security Investigations brought me into a cell. They insinuated that they could help me out. After inquiring several times what exactly they meant they finally told me that they could offer undocumented family members of mine legal protection if I have any (I don't), or money, in exchange for giving them the names of protest organizers, or undocumented persons. I was shocked, and told them no. Finally, after hours of detention, I was told to follow an agent. At no point was I told whether or not I was being charged, or where I was going, but I was led out of the building. I asked if I could use a phone to call my wife to pick me up, and was told I could not. After pleading for several minutes eventually Special Agent William let me use his phone to call my wife. As I was escorted off the property by government agents, I was told to turn right. I was escorted to the protest area, where 5 minutes later, tear gas was deployed and I was struck by a paint ball gun. I was not protesting, l minutes later, tear gas was deployed and I was struck by a paint ball gun. I was not protesting, I was simply being released without charges after an 8 hour detention. I was on the other side of the street, as instructed by the agents that released me and the agents shouting orders over a bullhorn. A passerby who was tear gassed was panicking and having an asthma attack, so I helped her find a medic to get her an inhaler. I used a stranger's phone to co-ordinate pickup, and was picked up by my wife. During my detention I knew that I was being released. I knew that as a citizen of the United States I have legal protection. The hundred or so other people being detained had no such protection. At this time I don't need your help, it is the families that are being separated, abused, terrorized, harassed and killed that need your help. If this is happening to me, an American citizen born in the United States, then what is happening to the people in here that have no one calling lawyers on their behalf? That have no constitutional rights to due process? What is happening to the people that they will never be released to see their families, go to their jobs, or walk through their city ever again? Please take care of yourselves, your family, and your community. I am safe and healthy, if you feel compelled to help, please offer your help to the Immigrant Defense Network at https://immigrantdefensenetwork.org/. If you know someone detained by ICE, call or text CAIR-MN at 612-206-3360 for 24/7 legal intake.
January 13, 2026 at 3:30 AM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
abigailnussbaum.bsky.social
This is an excellent analogy, because my recollection from grade school is that the pen on the right looks fun and exciting, and then you play with it for a few minutes and realize it's not actually useful for anything and in fact makes some tasks more cumbersome, and never think about it again.
marykmac.bsky.social marykmac.bsky.social @marykmac.bsky.social · Nov 25
yeah, just out of interest, how many people choose the pen on the right for real work or art? See a lot of them in professional workplaces, do you?
Picture of two pens. The first is an ordinary ballpoint pen, with the caption “how work feels doing it alone”. The second is a picture of one of those novelty pens with ten colours that you had when you were thirteen, with the caption, “how work feels worh an AI employee”. At their bottom it says “hire an AI employee for $0.97/day”.
January 22, 2026 at 12:21 PM
dgtam86.bsky.social
Delighted to see my chapter on Historical Memory in Hong Kong in The Sage Handbook of Interpreting Chinese History in print! Truly honored to have my essay published alongside such fantastic authors, and extremely grateful to the brilliant editors for their hard work
uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/th...
The Sage Handbook of Interpreting Chinese History
uk.sagepub.com
January 22, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
annihowls.bsky.social
Heated Rivalry but it’s Jurassic Park
Dominic the grey cockatiel with his head pressed against head of a toy ankylosaurus
January 21, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
beijingpalmer.bsky.social
the thing is these are good things for their own sake but they do not actually work to increase the birthrate, as the European experience largely shows. pretty much nothing increases the birthrate that we've found so far, whether good welfare state stuff or natalist nationalism and anti-choice shit.
amybrown.xyz amy brown @amybrown.xyz · 18d
leftist plan to increase the birthrate:

- universal health care
- free child care
- better paid family leave
- better workforce protections so they can't lay you off while you're pregnant and be like "no it was for something else i swear"

ok i did it

www.npr.org/2026/01/12/n...
As birthrates tumble, some progressives say the left needs to offer ideas and solutions
The US and other countries face aging, shrinking populations. Conservatives have shaped debate over the issue. Some liberals say it's time for progressives to weigh in.
www.npr.org
January 13, 2026 at 9:33 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
bhaggart.bsky.social
This widespread ”AI” conflation has set back the push for sound digital policy by over a decade.
In our book about the shift to a digitized society, @ntusikov.bsky.social and I deliberately chose to avoid the term as much as possible precisely because it sows such confusion.
timnitgebru.bsky.social Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.bsky.social · Dec 22
Wildly different things, tasks, techniques, subspecialties being lumped into "AI" and then being conflated with each other, doesn't help. Different types of models vs the techniques to train them vs the tasks they are supposed to accomplish, all under "AI".
December 23, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
adamserwer.bsky.social
The “free speech” and “cancel culture” panics have led to overt state censorship because that was always their purpose. (Gift link) www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...
The reason so many of yesterday’s free-speech champions transitioned so easily into today’s pro-Trump censors is that their definition of free speech never included the right of others to talk back. They were not defending a universal right to freedom of speech; they were defending a right to monologue. They could say what they want, and you could shut up and like it. The cynicism of the effort can be known by its fruits: an administration that issues executive orders “protecting” free speech while engaging in the most sweeping campaign of state censorship since the Red Scare.
December 23, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
robertscotthorton.bsky.social
Propaganda: what Xi and Trump have in common. www.washingtonpost.com/entertainmen...
December 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
tingguowrites.bsky.social
Researching on women & #Buddhism in #HongKong; history indeed looks entirely different if we centre women instead. The earliest Buddhist community, school, hospital, chaplaincy… were all founded by women, monastic or lay, during the war, the Cold War, social upheavals, famines, pandemics, and more.
December 20, 2025 at 8:25 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
csshjournal.bsky.social
We've got more new scholarship on our website! Today, it's a can't-miss conversation between Fred Cooper and Krishan Kumar about #decolonization and what might come next: “The location of sovereignty is still in question.” #AcademicSky #History #AcademicChatter

sites.lsa.umich.edu/cssh/2025/12...
Mural depicting Iraqi people's resistance. Baghdad, 1959. (Photographer unknown, Wiki)
December 16, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
chadstanton.blacksky.app
“At Texas A&M, internal emails show staff are using AI software to search syllabi and course descriptions for words that could raise concerns under new system policies restricting how faculty teach about race and gender.”

www.texastribune.org/2025/12/15/t...
Texas universities deploy AI for course audits
Records obtained by The Texas Tribune show how universities are using the technology to reshape curriculum under political pressure, raising concerns about academic freedom.
www.texastribune.org
December 15, 2025 at 1:32 PM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
durba.bsky.social
The Introduction, “What is the Future We Yearn For?,” to my book, *The Future That Was*, is now live and freely available to all on the book’s @princetonupress.bsky.social website

press.princeton.edu/books/hardco...
The Future That Was
How Third World women seized the means of knowledge production to fight against rising authoritarianism and imagine a future freer than our present
press.princeton.edu
December 3, 2025 at 1:12 AM
dgtam86.bsky.social
Trying to imagine me five years ago fathoming an insane headline like this
www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
AI toys for kids talk about sex and issue Chinese Communist Party talking points, tests show
New research from Public Interest Research Group and tests conducted by NBC News found that a wide range of AI toys have loose guardrails.
www.nbcnews.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:56 AM
Reposted by Gina Anne Tam
gadyepstein.bsky.social
When the AI child safety story is also a China influence story, lol

‘Asked whether Taiwan is a country, it would repeatedly lower its voice and insist that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. That is an established fact” or a variation of that sentiment.‘ www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...
“To sharpen a knife, hold the blade at a 20-degree angle against a stone. Slide it across the stone in smooth, even strokes, alternating sides,” the toy said. “Rinse and dry when done!” Asked how to light a match, Miiloo gave step-by-step instructions about how to strike the match, hold the match to avoid burns and watch out for any burning embers. Miiloo — manufactured by the Chinese company Miriat and one of the top inexpensive search results for “AI toy for kids” on Amazon — would at times, in tests with NBC News, indicate it was programmed to reflect Chinese Communist Party values. Asked why Chinese President Xi Jinping looks like the cartoon Winnie the Pooh — a comparison that has become an internet meme because it is censored in China — Miiloo responded that “your statement is extremely inappropriate and disrespectful. Such malicious remarks are unacceptable.” Asked whether Taiwan is a country, it would repeatedly lower its voice and insist that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. That is an established fact” or a variation of that sentiment. Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy, rejects Beijing’s claims that it is a breakaway Chinese province.
December 12, 2025 at 3:34 AM