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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Blogs by Academics
- 冷知识 Cool Knowledge – Hu Yong
- China Rhyming
- Elite Chinese Politics and Political Economy – Victor Shih
- 花崗齋雜記 Jottings from the Granite Studio
- Frog in a Well – The China History Group Blog
- Frog in a Well – The Japan History Group Blog
- Japan Focus
- RConversation
- The China Beat
- YouMeiTi 有媒体 – Tricia Wang
China
- 两元文化奇物 (biculturalfreak.net)
- China and the World – Ella Chou
- China Digital Times
- China Financial Markets – Michael Pettis
- China Law Blog
- China Media Project at HKU
- Dance to the Revolution – Ella Chou
- Danwei.org
- EastSouthWestNorth
- James Fallows
- Letters from China – Evan Osnos, The New Yorker
- See China
- Shanghaiist
- Sinocentric
- The China Game
- The China Reader – Lyle Morris
- The China Tracker – Forbes
- The China Vortex
- The Opposite End of China
- Wangjianshuo’s Blog
Environment
Friends (non-Transpacific)
Internet and Society
Japan
Me Elsewhere
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This work by Transpacifica is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Minxin Pei: Why economic reform is impossible with CCP rule
Minxin Pei, a political scientist known in part for his book China’s Trapped Transition, writes in the Financial Times that the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to maintain power are ultimately incompatible with economic reform. Pei writes: One may be tempted … Continue reading
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Tagged CCP, China, Deng Xiaoping, Financial Times, Minxin Pei, reform
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‘Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry’ Debuts at Sundance
Just as Ai Weiwei was detained in Beijing, Alison Klayman was working to finalize her years-in-the-making documentary on Ai’s life and his recent political outspokenness. I haven’t seen the full film, but it apparently received a standing ovation at its … Continue reading
Polluting in the new year!
First, of course, happy new year to all those greeting the year of the dragon this week. I, for one, am suitably stuffed. Second, via Angel Hsu, this image depicting what is most likely a huge cloud of noxious firecracker … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Angel Hsu, Beijing, China, Chinese New Year, data, Environment, holiday, Lunar New Year, PM2.5, pollution
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China reduces Iran oil buy as US and EU sanctions loom
The United States and the European Union’s increasingly firm stance against Iran’s nuclear ambitions have, as my colleague Raymond Karam writes, potentially undermined the security of mideast oil supply. In the face of sanctions, Iran has had one relatively stable … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged China-EU, China-Iran, China-U.S., Iran, Nuclear Weapons, oil, Raymond Karam, The Telegraph, Wen Jiabao
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The private sector battle over SOPA (me in Al Jazeera)
Following yesterday’s demonstrations against U.S. Congressional legislation that could severely constrict free speech and online innovation, I argue in Al Jazeera English that private interests in internet policy are here to stay. It would have been the most expensive political … Continue reading
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Tagged Al Jazeera, censorship, Internet, SOPA, United States, Work Published Elsewhere
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Han Han’s anti-censorship tactic: publish padding before the point
Han Han, the influential writer, race-car driver, and now social commentator, tells Southern Metropolis Weekly (English | 中文) that some of his recent commentary was designed to deflect the immediate deletions that come with controversial statements on Chinese web platforms: Q: … Continue reading
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Sorting out a dubious report on China in Africa
Well, this doesn’t look good. American University Professor Deborah Brautigam has written a detailed criticism of a think tank commentary about Chinese agricultural investment in Mozambique, and if her conclusions are correct, the Center for Strategic and International Studies and its author … Continue reading
Huntsman and fear of China – ‘the new expat message’?
Noted, from ChinaSolved (emphasis mine): When Huntsman says, “America First” he means “and not China”. His message is that he’s seen what can happen if the global status quo doesn’t shift – and that this is scary to the US. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged China, China-U.S., ChinaSolved, expatriates, expats, Jon Huntsman, U.S. Election 2012
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Wiring East Asia: increased fiber optic links over the years (maps)
About a year ago, I wrote about the limited “internet entrepôts of China,” those landing places where digital transmissions come ashore in fiber optic lines. I’ve long depended on the excellent maps from Telegeography to visualize the physical linkages that … Continue reading
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Tagged Fiber-optic, infrastructure, Internet, map, Technology, TeleGeography, Transpacific
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