Leo Timm
Leo Timm covers China-related news, culture, and history. Follow him on Twitter at @kunlunpeaks
US Issues First Sanctions Targeting Beijing for Persecution of Falun Gong
The U.S. Department of State has sanctioned multiple foreign officials for their roles in politically motivated extrajudicial killings and severe violations of religious freedom, including the persecution of Falun Gong, the agency announced in the...
In Forced Demolition of Beijing ‘Agricultural Park,’ Communist Party Fans Old Resentments to Make New Profits
In the middle of November, 2,000, residents living in the Jiuhua Agricultural Science Demonstration Park in the northwestern outskirts of the Chinese capital were given sudden notice that their homes would be subject to compulsory...
Hong Kong Sentences Democracy Activists for Violating National Security Law
On Dec. 2, a Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy leaders Joshua Wong, Ivan Lam, and Agnes Chow Ting to 13 1/2 months, 7 months, and 10 months in prison respectively, for three counts of inciting,...
How Xi Jinping’s Congratulations to Biden Could Backfire
The Chinese leadership’s delayed congratulations to Joe Biden and his running mate may have arisen from confusion — and perhaps self-inflicted misinformation — about the U.S. political process, according to China watchers. On Nov. 25,...
Biden’s Pick for Treasurer Opposed China Tech Restrictions
Democratic U.S. presidential contender Joe Biden intends to make former Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen his administration’s Secretary of the Treasury, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing “people familiar with the decision.” An economist by...
The 10 Admonishments of Imperial Official Lin Zexu (Part 2)
Continued from Part 1 Lin Zexu (林則徐, 1785-1850) was an honest official in the late Qing Dynasty known for his strict crackdown against the opium trade in southern China. In 1839, he made a tour...
The 10 Admonishments of Imperial Official Lin Zexu (Part 1)
Lin Zexu (林則徐, 1785-1850) was an honest official in the late Qing Dynasty known for his strict crackdown against the opium trade. In 1839, he made a tour of Macao and, seeing the ills plaguing...
US Officials Speak Out on Forced Organ Harvesting From Religious Prisoners in China
The Trump administration has expressed concern about long-standing allegations that people imprisoned by the Chinese authorities for their faith are being murdered for their organs, which is called forced organ harvesting. On July 20, U.S....
He Escaped China Over a Decade Ago, but Memory of Repression Remains Close
In late 2000, China Southern Airlines pilot Zhang Guoliang lost his right to fly — for reasons that had nothing to do with his skills or professional record. Rather, it was due to his spiritual...
Hongkongers Defy Police Ban to Commemorate Tiananmen Massacre
Thousands of people gathered in the evening of June 4 in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to hold a vigil for those killed during the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre in Beijing, ignoring police orders to stay...
US Welcomes $12 Billion Investment by Taiwan Semiconductor Firm
The U.S. Department of State on May 14 commended the announcement by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) that it intended to spend US$12 billion on a factory in Arizona, saying that the move was “a...
Beijing Renews Plans for Private Sector Reform as Economy Sinks
The Chinese leadership aims to create a new mechanism that would open up more of the economy to the private sector and lessen state interventionism, according to a May 18 report by the Communist Party-run...