David Tobin
@drdavidtobin.bsky.social
Lecturer in East Asian Studies, University of Sheffield. Author of 'Securing China's Northwest Frontier: Identity and Insecurity in Xinjiang' (Cambridge University Press) https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/seas/people/academic-staff/david-tobin
Pinned
David Tobin
@drdavidtobin.bsky.social
· Nov 24
Reposted by David Tobin
Joe Fewsmith RIP
For me, this was one of his most significant contributions:
For me, this was one of his most significant contributions:
November 8, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Joe Fewsmith RIP
For me, this was one of his most significant contributions:
For me, this was one of his most significant contributions:
Are nations ancient or modern?
"从80年代初开始，在中国古代文献中搜检“民族”一词的努力一直在进行..."
"Since the early 1980s, efforts to search for the term "nation" in ancient Chinese texts have been ongoing..."
Hao Shiyuan (2004) 中文“民族“一词源流考辨 ('An Examination of the Origin of the Chinese Term, minzu')
"从80年代初开始，在中国古代文献中搜检“民族”一词的努力一直在进行..."
"Since the early 1980s, efforts to search for the term "nation" in ancient Chinese texts have been ongoing..."
Hao Shiyuan (2004) 中文“民族“一词源流考辨 ('An Examination of the Origin of the Chinese Term, minzu')
November 8, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Are nations ancient or modern?
"从80年代初开始，在中国古代文献中搜检“民族”一词的努力一直在进行..."
"Since the early 1980s, efforts to search for the term "nation" in ancient Chinese texts have been ongoing..."
Hao Shiyuan (2004) 中文“民族“一词源流考辨 ('An Examination of the Origin of the Chinese Term, minzu')
"从80年代初开始，在中国古代文献中搜检“民族”一词的努力一直在进行..."
"Since the early 1980s, efforts to search for the term "nation" in ancient Chinese texts have been ongoing..."
Hao Shiyuan (2004) 中文“民族“一词源流考辨 ('An Examination of the Origin of the Chinese Term, minzu')
This is not a party political issue. No government has adequately addressed the intent or methods in play here.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
China spy case witness removed 'enemy' from evidence under Tories
Security adviser Matthew Collins says the term
www.bbc.co.uk
October 24, 2025 at 12:13 PM
This is not a party political issue. No government has adequately addressed the intent or methods in play here.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by David Tobin
Amazing news! "The Nose Knows: Foreignness and Fortune in China" was just selected by Little Venice Film Festival (London 22-28 October) via FilmFreeway.com!
October 18, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Amazing news! "The Nose Knows: Foreignness and Fortune in China" was just selected by Little Venice Film Festival (London 22-28 October) via FilmFreeway.com!
Shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, I was asked to write an essay on Russia's relations with China. I did and I argued that this would happen. The essay was subsequently withdrawn by the publisher on the grounds that it was "off topic".
edition.cnn.com/2025/09/01/c...
edition.cnn.com/2025/09/01/c...
Xi and Putin stand shoulder to shoulder as China casts itself as an alternative global leader | CNN
Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a veiled swipe at the United States on Monday as he criticized “bullying practices” and cast his country as a new leader of world governance, at a time when President Do...
edition.cnn.com
September 1, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, I was asked to write an essay on Russia's relations with China. I did and I argued that this would happen. The essay was subsequently withdrawn by the publisher on the grounds that it was "off topic".
edition.cnn.com/2025/09/01/c...
edition.cnn.com/2025/09/01/c...
Obviously British universities are underfunded but political interference by China's party-state is also very real.
www.scmp.com/opinion/worl...
www.scmp.com/opinion/worl...
August 15, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Obviously British universities are underfunded but political interference by China's party-state is also very real.
www.scmp.com/opinion/worl...
www.scmp.com/opinion/worl...
🚨 New research report 🚨
“Preventing Transnational Repression: the case of the Uyghur diaspora”
By David Tobin and @nyrolaelima.bsky.social
sites.google.com/sheffield.ac...
“Preventing Transnational Repression: the case of the Uyghur diaspora”
By David Tobin and @nyrolaelima.bsky.social
sites.google.com/sheffield.ac...
August 12, 2025 at 12:16 PM
🚨 New research report 🚨
“Preventing Transnational Repression: the case of the Uyghur diaspora”
By David Tobin and @nyrolaelima.bsky.social
sites.google.com/sheffield.ac...
“Preventing Transnational Repression: the case of the Uyghur diaspora”
By David Tobin and @nyrolaelima.bsky.social
sites.google.com/sheffield.ac...
Reposted by David Tobin
21 years later and this reads almost like prophecy.
2004. "The dynamics of penetration and resistance between the centre and what still remains an indigenous periphery can be expected to generate at the same time both increased sinicization and increased ethno-national unrest."
www.jstor.org/stable/20192...
www.jstor.org/stable/20192...
Staged Development in Xinjiang on JSTOR
Nicolas Becquelin, Staged Development in Xinjiang, The China Quarterly, No. 178, China's Campaign to "Open Up the West": National, Provincial and Local Perspectives (Jun., 2004), pp. 358-378
www.jstor.org
August 11, 2025 at 9:39 AM
21 years later and this reads almost like prophecy.
2004. "The dynamics of penetration and resistance between the centre and what still remains an indigenous periphery can be expected to generate at the same time both increased sinicization and increased ethno-national unrest."
www.jstor.org/stable/20192...
www.jstor.org/stable/20192...
Staged Development in Xinjiang on JSTOR
Nicolas Becquelin, Staged Development in Xinjiang, The China Quarterly, No. 178, China's Campaign to "Open Up the West": National, Provincial and Local Perspectives (Jun., 2004), pp. 358-378
www.jstor.org
August 11, 2025 at 9:22 AM
2004. "The dynamics of penetration and resistance between the centre and what still remains an indigenous periphery can be expected to generate at the same time both increased sinicization and increased ethno-national unrest."
www.jstor.org/stable/20192...
www.jstor.org/stable/20192...
The discussion on Chinese political interference in British academia is long overdue. But it will all be hot air if practical resources, support, and legal protections are not provided to those who are actually doing the work.
www.spectator.co.uk/article/can-...
www.spectator.co.uk/article/can-...
Can 'China Studies' still be trusted?
It is generally agreed that Britain needs to improve its China capabilities. But what happens when institutions responsible for building those capabilities are compromised by the Chinese Communist Par...
www.spectator.co.uk
August 9, 2025 at 11:05 AM
The discussion on Chinese political interference in British academia is long overdue. But it will all be hot air if practical resources, support, and legal protections are not provided to those who are actually doing the work.
www.spectator.co.uk/article/can-...
www.spectator.co.uk/article/can-...
Following the illegal deportation of 40 Uyghurs to China, artists are being censored in Thailand to avoid telling their stories of persecution and survival.
www.reuters.com/world/china/...
www.reuters.com/world/china/...
Exclusive: Thai gallery removes China-focused artworks after 'pressure' from Beijing
In what artists called the latest attempt by Beijing to silence critics overseas, the Bangkok Arts and Cultural Centre changed multiple works by artists in exile in the exhibit on authoritarian governments collaborating across borders.
www.reuters.com
August 9, 2025 at 10:11 AM
Following the illegal deportation of 40 Uyghurs to China, artists are being censored in Thailand to avoid telling their stories of persecution and survival.
www.reuters.com/world/china/...
www.reuters.com/world/china/...
The survey demonstrates that there are sharply differentiated experiences in Chinese Studies depending what you research and how. I would like to hear more answers about how to enable those who do have those experiences to speak safely and less from those who have not engaged with those experiences.
August 5, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The survey demonstrates that there are sharply differentiated experiences in Chinese Studies depending what you research and how. I would like to hear more answers about how to enable those who do have those experiences to speak safely and less from those who have not engaged with those experiences.
Reposted by David Tobin
August 4, 2025 at 11:48 AM
Reposted by David Tobin
It is tragic that the Joint Committee on Human Rights did not mention Uyghurs. They are a key target for transnational repression and receive almost no support.
news.sky.com/story/author...
news.sky.com/story/author...
Authoritarian states operating with impunity to silence dissidents in UK, report finds
China, Russia and Iran were the biggest perpetrators of transnational repression but several other countries are trying to silence dissidents.
news.sky.com
July 31, 2025 at 10:02 AM
It is tragic that the Joint Committee on Human Rights did not mention Uyghurs. They are a key target for transnational repression and receive almost no support.
news.sky.com/story/author...
news.sky.com/story/author...
In June 2025, academics and civil society organisations met in London for an International Network for Critical China Studies workshop to analyse how to prevent transnational repression. Governments & NGOs have not paid enough attention to TNR and need to do much more to protect people's rights.
July 29, 2025 at 12:36 PM
In June 2025, academics and civil society organisations met in London for an International Network for Critical China Studies workshop to analyse how to prevent transnational repression. Governments & NGOs have not paid enough attention to TNR and need to do much more to protect people's rights.
In my undergraduate classes, you have to do the reading before commenting. You also have to analyse evidence by asking, why is this person saying this? Who is their intended audience? What verifiable evidence do they have for their statements? Repeating what people say is not analysis.
Can’t comment on the tel article as I’ve not read it. But the “tinder box” thing (also “powder keg”) has been said to me by so many MPs, charities and council people over the last week I don’t think it can be dismissed as some kind of alt right/McSweeney/Faragist fever dream
July 26, 2025 at 10:50 AM
In my undergraduate classes, you have to do the reading before commenting. You also have to analyse evidence by asking, why is this person saying this? Who is their intended audience? What verifiable evidence do they have for their statements? Repeating what people say is not analysis.
Reposted by David Tobin
We've added a fundamental new feature/direction today, in which we'll be sharing, translating, and automatically validating various internal documents: shahit.biz/eng/#internal
November 7, 2024 at 1:12 PM
We've added a fundamental new feature/direction today, in which we'll be sharing, translating, and automatically validating various internal documents: shahit.biz/eng/#internal
Princeton University Press has yet to apologise for using politicised language and state narratives (e.g., 多元一体) that justify the elimination of group identities that the CCP does not approve.
thediplomat.com/2025/07/prin...
thediplomat.com/2025/07/prin...
July 21, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Princeton University Press has yet to apologise for using politicised language and state narratives (e.g., 多元一体) that justify the elimination of group identities that the CCP does not approve.
thediplomat.com/2025/07/prin...
thediplomat.com/2025/07/prin...
A generous interpretation is that the CCP/CPC 'debate' used to be a squabble over whether to emphasise socialism in one country or an international movement. Now it's a manufactured distraction to attract people who can't read Chinese.
There's also something exceptionally funny when western shills for Beijing insist it's "CPC" when "Chinese Communist Party" is the literal translation of 中国共产党... you know, what it's called in Chinese
The professional apologists are still banging on about whether to use CPC or CCP. The best part is that in China absolutely no one cares. But it's a great distraction from more important issues, as well as a loyalty test.
July 21, 2025 at 8:05 AM
A generous interpretation is that the CCP/CPC 'debate' used to be a squabble over whether to emphasise socialism in one country or an international movement. Now it's a manufactured distraction to attract people who can't read Chinese.
Xi Jinping's "people's war on terror" differed significantly. CCP docs outline how it uses mass mobilisation, more intense surveillance, and detention for pre-crimes 👇
sheffield.ac.uk/las/research...
sheffield.ac.uk/las/research...
July 19, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Xi Jinping's "people's war on terror" differed significantly. CCP docs outline how it uses mass mobilisation, more intense surveillance, and detention for pre-crimes 👇
sheffield.ac.uk/las/research...
sheffield.ac.uk/las/research...
Reposted by David Tobin
CDT is hands-down one of the most important public resources available for trying to understand China
In recent months, we have lost a significant portion of our funding. Yet we remain committed to helping the world better understand China at this critical juncture in global politics. We are asking for your help to keep our websites up and running.
giving.chinadigitaltimes.net/page/serverc...
giving.chinadigitaltimes.net/page/serverc...
Keep CDT Online: Donate for Server Expenses
China Digital Times (CDT) is a non-profit organization that relies on institutional and individual donations to sustain our operations. In recent months, we have lost a significant portion of our inst...
giving.chinadigitaltimes.net
July 2, 2025 at 5:50 PM
CDT is hands-down one of the most important public resources available for trying to understand China
After a Chinese government sponsored tour, Princeton University Press uses explicitly political language to celebrate party-state policies that removed the Uyghur language from the education system. If you are interested in what 多元一体 means in practice, chapter 2 of my book covers this 👇
June 30, 2025 at 12:15 PM
After a Chinese government sponsored tour, Princeton University Press uses explicitly political language to celebrate party-state policies that removed the Uyghur language from the education system. If you are interested in what 多元一体 means in practice, chapter 2 of my book covers this 👇
Reposted by David Tobin
🧵: It’s worth unpacking how the lines that PUP draws almost verbatim from party-state propaganda— most notably about “telling the story” of Xinjiang, which echoes Xi’s call to “tell the China story well” — have very specific applications to task the denial of abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslims
not looking good for Princeton University Press is it @princetonupress.bsky.social
the video can be found on Facebook
www.facebook.com/share/v/16Rv...
the video can be found on Facebook
www.facebook.com/share/v/16Rv...
June 29, 2025 at 12:06 AM
🧵: It’s worth unpacking how the lines that PUP draws almost verbatim from party-state propaganda— most notably about “telling the story” of Xinjiang, which echoes Xi’s call to “tell the China story well” — have very specific applications to task the denial of abuses against Uyghurs and other Muslims
