HONG KONG — One could say that long before 1997, the year that Britain handed Hong Kong back to China, the leaders of the city’s major pro-democracy parties had come to a tacit understanding with the Chinese government. The pan-dems, as these politicians are known here, would support the absorption of Hong Kong into a …
Is Hong Kong Really Part of China? – by Yi-Zheng Lian – NYT Read More »
In late 1967, Giap concentrated some 40,000 soldiers in the hills of northwest South Vietnam and orchestrated a series of assaults on a string of American combat bases in the highlands, not far from a Marine base called Khe Sanh, which the North besieged in January 1968. Giap later called these attacks a “diversion” to …
Was America Duped at Khe Sanh? – The New York Times Read More »
The Tây Sơn Rebellion on Facebook Published by David Lindsay · 2 mins · My response to the NYT Comments. Merrill McPeak ends with, “But when Saigon fell, it was not a swarm of ragtag Vietcong guerrillas who overran the city, but columns of Russian-made T-54 tanks, leading a modern field army complete with artillery …
Merrill McPeak | Bombing the Ho Chi Minh Trail – NYT – & response Read More »
The Tây Sơn Rebellion Published by David Lindsay · 20 mins · “In fact, Jakarta is sinking faster than any other big city on the planet, faster, even, than climate change is causing the sea to rise — so surreally fast that rivers sometimes flow upstream, ordinary rains regularly swamp neighborhoods and buildings slowly disappear underground, swallowed by the …
“JODHPUR, India — Every month, about four million more Indians get online. They include people like Manju, a 35-year-old seamstress in this city of ancient palaces, who got her first internet phone last week. “It’s necessary for me to learn new things,” said Manju, who uses only one name. She was so thrilled to discover …
Google Missed Out on China. Can It Flourish in India? – The New York Times Read More »
“Electric cars remain something of a novelty, commanding premium prices and presenting charging challenges, but another kind of electric vehicle has been gaining momentum: the e-bike. Globally, electric cars — battery and plug-in hybrids — account for only about 1 percent of all vehicle sales, with about 1.15 million expected to be sold worldwide this …
“This was not a handover of power. It was a highly controlled, and easily reversible, cession of partial authority. Aung San Suu Kyi’s decisions must be seen in this context. She is playing a long game for real democratic change. “She is walking one step by one step in a very careful way, standing delicately …
Myanmar Is Not a Simple Morality Tale – by Roger Cohen – The New York Times Read More »
“In any event, China’s climate agenda is not so straightforward. The country is the world’s largest coal consumer. Even as it is phasing out coal plants at home, it is building coal plants abroad as part of an ambitious “One Belt, One Road” initiative, designed to expand Chinese global influence. At the same time, China …
Why China Wants to Lead on Climate- but Clings to Coal (for Now) – The New York Times Read More »
“In the late 1980s and early 1990s, students at ANU would use a mainframe computer for statistical work and related tasks. The personal computer, which was not powerful enough to perform such tasks then, was mostly used to type documents and send emails. Prof. Hurle shared his disturbance at learning that overseas Vietnamese students had …
“What do these changes really mean? A key phrase here is “new era,” one that Mr. Xi has used throughout the congress, which began last week. Mr. Xi has described Chinese history since 1949 as divided into two eras: the three decades after Mao seized power in a revolution that established a unified People’s Republic …
China Enshrines ‘Xi Jinping Thought.’ What Does That Mean? – by Chris Buckley – NYT Read More »