Patricia M. Thornton

Global Taiwan Insights | Global Taiwan Institute Home / Podcasts / Global Taiwan Insights An audio podcast produced and hosted by the staff of GTI, Global Taiwan Insights (formerly GTI Insights) consists of brief, timely interviews with a wide range...

I recently had the privilege of discussing my research on political warfare in #Taiwan with the indomitable
Ben Sando from the Global Taiwan Institute. Check it out: globaltaiwan.org/podcasts/gti...

The interview builds on my 2023 report with @lseideas.bsky.social: www.lse.ac.uk/ideas/public...

For those in London next Fri, please join us for this fantastic event, organised by the Independent Chinese PEN Centre, in partnership with PEN International

May be of interest to your networks: @ppoon.bsky.social, @nicolamacbean.bsky.social, @taniabranigan.bsky.social,
@pm-thornton.bsky.social

Patricia Thornton, Project 2025: China and the United States - positions politics On October 2nd, 2025, Donald Trump dispelled any lingering doubts about his relationship to the überconservative policy positions laid out by the Heritage Foundation’s “Project 2025.” Rowing back on h...

Newly released: " #Project2025: #China & the United States"
(revised from a talk I gave at the Verso Books Conference on China, convened in London on 2-4 October, 2025.)
positionspolitics.org/patricia-tho...

My article about state resistance to transnational #disinformation is out now in
@ejir.bsky.social.

doi.org/10.1177/1354...

Taking #Taiwan's resistance to #China's disinformation as its empirical focus, the article offers 4 contributions to #InternationalRelations:
(1/5)

上報: On her first day as #KMT chair, Cheng received a congratulatory message from #China's Xi Jinping reiterating "the importance of adhering to the shared political foundation of the #1992Consensus & opposing #Taiwan independence" #台灣獨立 #台獨
t.co/mE3EMbR4HV

要聞分析 - 高調親中的鄭麗文會把國民黨帶向哪裡？ 台灣前立委鄭麗文擊敗前台北市長郝龍斌、國民黨立委羅智強等對手，在10月18日當選新任國民黨主席，這是國民黨繼前黨主席洪秀柱之後，黨員直選產生的第2位女性黨魁。但台灣執政黨民進黨和“時代力量”等都對高調親中的鄭麗文提出警告。

RFI: The #KMT elects Cheng Li-wen #鄭麗文, the 2nd female chair in the party's history. Formerly a #DPP activist, Cheng is such an outspoken advocate for #Taiwan's reunification w/#China that the #NPP chair claims it is now just a branch of the #CCP #台灣 t.co/sSRXpwGoXj

The Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies at Oxford is appointing an AP in Modern Chinese Studies working on contemporary #China in anthropology, sociology, political science, international relations or law w/a strong engagement with Chinese texts. For more details see: tinyurl.com/4teuh47w

Xi directs quashing of Chinese feminists even as he praises advances at women’s conference Chinese president is behind patriarchal turn in politics with activists silenced for ‘promoting gender antagonism’

The Guardian: #China's Xi directs quashing of feminists even as he praises advances at global women’s summit in Beijing to mark the 30th anniversary of the historic UN’s world conference on women
Activists in China silenced for ‘promoting gender antagonism’ www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

DPIR’S Patricia Thornton recognised in Recognition of Distinction Scheme 2025

🥳🎉👏Congratulations to @politicsoxford.bsky.social's @pm-thornton.bsky.social, who has had the title of full professor conferred on her in the University of Oxford's Recognition of Distinction Scheme 2025!: www.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/dpirs-p...

‘I have to do it’: Why one of the world’s most brilliant AI scientists left the US for China In 2020, after spending half his life in the US, Song-Chun Zhu took a one-way ticket to China. Now he might hold the key to who wins the global AI race

The Guardian: In 2020, after spending half his life in the US, Song-Chun Zhu took a one-way ticket to #China . "Zhu noted how prescient his departure now looks, given the scorched-earth politics of the second #Trump administration" www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

Patricia Thornton receives title ‘Professor in the Politics of China’ in Oxford University’s Recognition of Distinction exercise 2025

Congratulations to @pm-thornton.bsky.social (Director of #ContemporaryChinaStudies Programme and University Lecturer in the Politics of China @osgaoxford.bsky.social) who has received the title of ‘Professor in the Politics of China’.
Read more: www.area-studies.ox.ac.uk/article/patr...

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...

CNN: Xi & #Putin stand shoulder to shoulder as #China casts itself an alternative global leader in contrast to US's “bullying practices”
Xi unveiled a brand new Global Governance Initiative in contrast to #Trump 's withdrawal from int'l engagement edition.cnn.com/2025/09/01/c...

普京抵达天津出席峰会，俄中两国结成“统一战线”抗衡西方 据路透社援引中俄官方媒体报道，俄罗斯总统普京周日抵达中国北方港口城市天津，出席一场旨在抗衡西方全球影响力的区域安全峰会。

RFI: #China 's state-run CCTV: Sino-Russian relations are at their "best period in history" & have become "the most stable, mature & strategically significant relationship between major powers" "building a more equitable multipolar world order" 普京抵达天津出席峰会，俄中两国结成“统一战线”抗衡西方 www.rfi.fr/cn/%E4%B8%AD...

China tests GFW: On Aug 20, 2025, the Great Firewall of #China (GFW) unconditionally injected forged TCP RST+ACK packets to disrupt all connections on TCP port 443. This incident caused massive disruption of the Internet connections between China & the rest of the world gfw.report/blog/gfw_unc...

Trump’s overhaul of State Department may play into Beijing’s hands for decades US foreign service has lost more than 3,000 employees and dozens of bureaus, leaving China with largest diplomatic corps.

SCMP: #Trump ’s overhaul of State Dept may play into Beijing’s hands for decades
US foreign service lost more than 3,000 employees & dozens of bureaus, leaving #China w/largest diplomatic corps
“We just gutted [development programmes] ourselves, a huge win for China.”
www.scmp.com/news/us/dipl...

China airs Xinjiang history documentary to counter Western narratives It tells the story of Qing dynasty general Zuo Zongtang, who led army to recover the western region from foreign forces in the 19th century.

SCMP: #China aired a documentary last week showing how the Qing dynasty took back #Xinjiang from foreign forces in the late 19th century – Beijing’s latest effort to counter Western narratives and strengthen Chinese national identity in ethnic minority border areas.
sc.mp/p0in0?utm_so...

Looks amazing!

SCMP: #China’s consumer prices flat in July, while producer deflation persists
CPI reading beats market expectations-- Wind had forecast a 0.12% decline for July-- but data suggests demand remains weak amid trade turbulence buff.ly/QQBdFOX

Chinese scientists create meteorite diamond in laboratory breakthrough Unusual variant has previously been confirmed only within the cosmic debris that hit Arizona’s Canyon Diablo 49,000 years ago.

SCMP: Scientists in #China create meteorite diamond in laboratory breakthrough
Unusual variant has previously been confirmed only within the cosmic debris that hit Arizona’s Canyon Diablo 49,000 years ago
sc.mp/v54nf?utm_so...

Taiwan detains TSMC staff for alleged theft of key technology trade secrets | CNN Taiwanese authorities have detained three current and former employees of the world’s largest chip manufacturer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), for allegedly stealing trade secrets...

CNN: #Taiwan detains three current & former employees of #TSMC for alleged theft of key technology trade secrets
TSMC produces more than 90% of the world’s advanced semiconductor chips needed smartphones & artificial intelligence ( #AI ) applications to weapons #台灣
edition.cnn.com/2025/08/06/a...

Joking about her abusive husband launched this Chinese comedian to stardom. The authorities aren’t laughing | CNN With her short, permed hair and unshowy clothing, Fan Chunli looks every bit the middle-aged woman from rural China. Among a crowd of youngsters vying to become the next breakout star in one of China’...

CNN: Joking about her abusive husband launched Fan Chunli to stardom. But authorities in #China are warning against "simplifying gender issues & repeatedly making a fuss about the ‘opposition between men & women," & that discussion of gender issues must be “rational.”
edition.cnn.com/2025/07/27/c...

Protests in China over viral school bullying case One protester in Sichuan province said “things got bloody” after police used batons and electric prods.

BBC: Massive protests in #Sichuan' s #Jiangyou #江油 city after violent video capturing school bullying incident goes viral on social media in #China
More than 1,000 people gathered on the streets on 4 Aug & confronted local riot police in bloody clashes www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Trump’s tariffs are sending African countries into China’s hands | CNN Africa is adjusting to the new reality of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with countries on the continent facing some of the highest export charges.

CNN: #Trump ’s tariffs drive African countries into #China ’s hands
Four African nations - #Libya, #SouthAfrica, #Algeria & #Tunisia - face charges on exports ranging from 25% to 30%. America’s failure to negotiate a deal with Africa is “an open goal for China.” edition.cnn.com/2025/08/02/a...

China proposes global body to govern artificial intelligence Premier Li Qiang warns ‘bottlenecks’ in chip supplies are hindering innovation

FT: #China has unveiled a sweeping plan to expand its role in #AI governance, inc. the creation of a global co-operation organisation, as Beijing vies with Washington for technological leadership.
www.ft.com/content/de06...

Trump’s order to end ‘de minimis’ tariff break expands from China to the world Duty-free exemption on small packages worth $800 or less fuelled China’s dominance in the industry – but the model is now under threat.

SCMP": #Trump’s order to end ‘de minimis’ tariff break expands from #China to rest of the world
Duty-free exemption on small packages worth $800 or less fuelled China’s dominance in the industry – but the model is now under threat
sc.mp/akxmu?utm_so...

Great new must-read from The China Journal: Disappearing Research: Academic Control & Self- #Censorship in #China
Self-censorship restricts #academicfreedom w/in China & hinders Beijing's access to information, impacting effectiveness of its policymaking. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Donald Trump blocks Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te from New York stopover Move comes as US and China hold trade talks and seek to stabilise relations

FT: #Trump blocks Taiwan’s democratically elected President Lai Ching-te from New York stopover
Move comes as US & #China hold trade talks and seek to stabilise relations #台灣 www.ft.com/content/2157...

An emboldened China eyes more concessions from US at Stockholm trade talks | CNN Business For the third time in as many months, US and Chinese officials will meet in Europe for trade talks — and this time, Beijing is arriving at the negotiating table more emboldened than ever.

CNN: An emboldened #China eyes more concessions from US at Stockholm trade talks. Beijing's grip on #rareearths has #Trump rolling back export curbs, inc. a stunning reversal of the ban on sales of key #Nvidia #AI chip. edition.cnn.com/2025/07/27/b...

China, EU need to make the right choice as ‘2 big guys’ on world stage: Xi Relationship is at an ‘inflection point’, von der Leyen tells Chinese leader as 25th China-EU summit begins in Beijing.

SCMP: Xi tells visiting #EU leaders that Europe should make “the right strategic choice” & enhance cooperation w/ #China for global “stability,” during mtg with European Council President Antonio Costa & European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Beijing sc.mp/p784l?utm_so...

Taiwan is paralyzed by political gridlock. A mass recall vote could break the statemate | CNN A democratic check or an abuse of power? Mass recall vote in Taiwan polarizes island after months of paralysis.

CNN: #Taiwan is paralyzed by political gridlock. A mass recall of ‘pro-#China’ KMT lawmakers could break that #台灣 edition.cnn.com/2025/07/23/a...