About
Transpacifica is primarily written by me, Graham Webster. I'm an analyst, journalist, and consultant on East Asian politics and technology. Here, I write about East Asian politics mostly in China and Japan, the Internet and society, the environment, and contemporary art. Unavoidably, I sometimes veer off topic—even with a topic as large as the Pacific.
By day, I work at the EastWest Institute in New York City, but all opinions are my own and do not represent EWI or any of my other clients or employers.
Twitter: @gwbstr.
Website: gwbstr.com.-
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- Frog in a Well – The China History Group Blog
- Frog in a Well – The Japan History Group Blog
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China
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- China Media Project at HKU
- Dance to the Revolution – Ella Chou
- Danwei.org
- EastSouthWestNorth
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- Letters from China – Evan Osnos, The New Yorker
- See China
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- The China Tracker – Forbes
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Monthly Archives: June 2008
ABC’s Efforts to ‘Laugh With’ an Imaginary Version of Japan
The things I miss living outside the United States. New last week from ABC, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, has gone to work reinforcing the “odd Japanese” trope with laughter directed at the unsuspecting nation. David Marx writes at … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged ABC, David Marx, I Survived a Japanese Game Show, Japan, Japan-U.S., Marxy, Néojaponism, The New York Times, TV, United States
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The Lost Island ‘Atlantis’ as a Reference to Japan?
Strange Maps, the source of much cartographic delight, features an overlay of the real “new world” and what Columbian era transatlantic explorers expected to see on their way to Cipangu, which is what the Portuguese were calling Japan at the … Continue reading
Cuba–China Ties in Focus as Standing Committee Member Visits Fidel
Fidel Castro met with He Guoqiang, a member of China’s powerful Politburo Standing Committee, for more than two hours yesterday, discussing numerous and diverse topics such as Tibet, Taiwan, food prices, the Olympics, and Fidel’s health (He conveyed President Hu … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged China, China-Cuba, China-Latin America, Cuba, Economics, Fidel Castro, He Guoqiang, Latin America, Politburo Standing Committee
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China’s 2008 Labor Law: Does It Work, or Is It Just a Financial Burden?
Our friend Lyle Morris has a well-reported piece at YaleGlobal on China’s new labor law, which went to effect at the beginning of this year. Under the law, which affects both domestic and foreign companies operating in China, workers will … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged China, Economics, Fair Trade, Labor, Law, Lyle Morris, Trade, YaleGlobal
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Venezuelan–Chinese Investment and an Industrial Showcase
Lest a week go by without new evidence of strengthening ties between China and Venezuela, a massive trade show featuring Chinese companies and products opens tomorrow in Caracas. The fair includes more than seventy Chinese firms from numerous industries, ranging … Continue reading
Tagged China, China, Latin America, NDRC, Trade, Venezuela, Zhang Xiaoqiang
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George Bush Sr.’s Frustrated Tenure in China
One of George H. W. Bush’s less discussed jobs, lost among president of the United States, ambassador to the United Nations, and CIA director, was head of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing during the Nixon administration. Bush’s China journal … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Books, China, China-U.S., China-U.S., George H.W. Bush, Henry Kissinger, James Mann, Richard Nixon
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China and the Stern Review on Climate
The New York Review of Books ran a review June 12 of two books on climate change. It contains the following assessment of the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change. Not having read up on the Stern Review, … Continue reading
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Tagged carbon, China, climate change, Stern Review, The New York Review of Books
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