ChinaFile

Is There An Off-Ramp for China and Japan? | ChinaFile Japan-China relations are in a deep freeze that began in November when Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested that Japan could intervene militarily in the event of a Taiwan crisis. Beijing responded furiously, invoking World War II, banning exports of dual-use items to a list of Japanese companies, advising citizens against traveling there, and reimposing a seafood import

China banned seafood imports, restricted dual-use exports, and sent joint bomber patrols with Russia near Japan. Is this a familiar pressure playbook—or something more ominous? ChinaFile's latest Conversation:

From Coding to Clay Global China stories, global Chinese voices, and the latest community events around the world.

The latest issue of Hǎi 海 newsletter includes a profile of ceramic artist Chang Liu, and listings of events, podcasts, and articles from the global Chinese community:

To Ensure a More Sustainable Future, Human Rights Work on China Should Move Away from U.S. Government Funding | ChinaFile Last month, the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia announced that it had resumed broadcasts to audiences in China, after cuts under the Trump administration last year largely forced the outlet to halt operation. For many who care about independent journalism and human rights in China, the news brought a brief sigh of relief. However, last year’s dramatic cuts, some of them

"We wouldn't take Chinese or Saudi government money. At what point should we stop taking U.S. government money?" Amid funding cuts, the China human rights community some tough questions.

To Ensure a More Sustainable Future, Human Rights Work on China Should Move Away from U.S. Government Funding Last month, the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Asia announced that it had resumed broadcasts to audiences in China, after cuts under the Trump administration last year largely forced the outlet to ...

Lots of tough but important questions in @yaqiu.bsky.social exploration of the way dependence on USG funding shapes China human rights advocacy. Haven't seen anything before that attempts this kind of blunt cost/benefit analysis. www.chinafile.com/reporting-op...

It’s the Year of the Horse and Comedian Jiaoying Summers is Riding Hǎi Global China stories, global Chinese voices, and the latest community events around the world.

In the latest update from Hǎi海 (a new thing we have in the works) @goldkorn.bsky.social has a laugh with comedian Jiaoying Summers

👇 @brianhioe.bsky.social @chinafile.bsky.social @jfallows.bsky.social

It’s the Year of the Horse and Comedian Jiaoying Summers is Riding Hǎi Global China stories, global Chinese voices, and the latest community events around the world.

In the latest update from Hǎi海 (a new thing we have in the works) @goldkorn.bsky.social has a laugh with comedian Jiaoying Summers

I have revered Zha Jianying since I first read China Pop in the late 90s and it was was the greatest to work with her + @goldkorn.bsky.social on her part-memoir, part polemical lament, "Trains." Here's a short interview we did about the project.

A Family Derailed: On Writing ‘Trains' ChinaFile recently published “Trains: A Chinese Family History of Railway Journeys, Exile, and Survival,” by Zha Jianying, the journalist and author of some of the most memorable recent books on contemporary China and particularly Chinese culture. This ...

Journalist and author Zha Jianying joined @chinafile.bsky.social to discuss her piece "Trains: A Chinese Family History of Railway Journeys, Exile, and Survival."
https://www.chinafile.com/reporting-opinion/notes-chinafile/family-derailed-writing-trains

For Chinese Writers, a Room of Their Own on Fifth Avenue Global China stories, global Chinese voices, and the latest community events around the world.

The latest Hǎi newsletter from @chinafile.bsky.social with a profile of Accent Sisters, an independent Chinese-language books store and LGBTQ friendly event space:

At This Office Park, Scamming the World Was the Business

Incredible reporting from the wreckage of a brutal Chinese-run scam center in Myanmar that wreaked devastation across the globe and in the lives of its workers from @hkbeech.bsky.social. Must read.

www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/w...

A Family Derailed: On Writing “Trains” | ChinaFile ChinaFile recently published “Trains: A Chinese Family History of Railway Journeys, Exile, and Survival,” by Zha Jianying, the journalist and author of some of the most memorable recent books on contemporary China and particularly Chinese culture. This is a lightly edited, abridged transcript of a conversation between Zha Jianying and ChinaFile Editor-in-Chief Susie Jakes and

"my grandfather told her in great detail about that train station farewell, how they parted and his French wife was holding this baby girl and waving this white scarf until they disappeared and none of them knew this was going to be forever…"

A Family Derailed: On Writing “Trains” | ChinaFile ChinaFile recently published “Trains: A Chinese Family History of Railway Journeys, Exile, and Survival,” by Zha Jianying, the journalist and author of some of the most memorable recent books on contemporary China and particularly Chinese culture. This is a lightly edited, abridged transcript of a conversation between Zha Jianying and ChinaFile Editor-in-Chief Susie Jakes and

"my grandfather told her in great detail about that train station farewell, how they parted and his French wife was holding this baby girl and waving this white scarf until they disappeared and none of them knew this was going to be forever…"

"We know from public opinion data that perceptions of the U.S. and faith that the U.S. is a trustworthy ally have declined since Trump returned to office." (Lev Nachman)

How Will China Respond to Maduro’s Capture? On January 3, the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a nighttime raid on Caracas and flew him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Trump announced the ...

In @chinafile.bsky.social's conversation on whether the capture of Maduro affects Beijing's calculus for Taiwan with a number of distinguished experts

www.chinafile.com/conversation...

How Will China Respond to Maduro’s Capture? | ChinaFile On January 3, the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a nighttime raid on Caracas and flew him to New York to face drug trafficking charges. Trump announced the U.S. would temporarily “run” Venezuela until a transition of power occurs. Beijing immediately released a statement condemning the U.S.’s “blatant use of force against a sovereign

We asked a panel of experts: How will Trump's moves and threats against Venezuela, Greenland and other countries affect Beijing’s investments in Venezuelan oil industry, its calculus on Taiwan, and its relations with the rest of the world?

‘Mistress Dispeller’ | ChinaFile The new documentary feature film Mistress Dispeller probes the unraveling and redemption of a marriage at breathtakingly close range. Director Elizbeth Lo follows Teacher Wang, a professional “mistress dispeller,” as she counsels a middle-aged wife undone by her husband’s infidelity and unspools a covert plan to rid them of his lover. The film is currently playing at the IFC

'Mistress Dispeller' has been shortlisted for the Oscars. Here is a recent interview with director Elizabeth Lo by ChinaFile Editor-in-Chief Susan Jakes:

BREAKING: Jimmy Lai nat. security case verdict to be handed down Monday | Hong Kong Free Press HKFP The verdict in the national security trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, 78, is set to be handed down next Monday, according to the judiciary. The founder of Hong Kong’s defunct Apple Daily...

The verdict in the national security trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai is set to be delivered next Monday, according to the judiciary. In full: buff.ly/mahJGVX

Lettere d'amore di un artista cinese dal carcere

Gao Zhen attende il processo in Cina
sua moglie è in un limbo
sostenuta dai lavori che lui realizza con la carta

Le immagini sono state accuratamente strappate a mano da fogli di carta da lettere
realizzate dal marito in carcere di notte 👇

Gao Zhen, Detained Chinese Artist, Keeps Creating From Prison As Gao Zhen awaits trial in China, his wife and child live in limbo, unable to return to America, sustained by the portraits he fashions from scraps of paper.

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

I did a Q&A with Violet Feng on her new film:

This is fascinating

“The Dating Game” in China Violet Du Feng has produced and directed more than a dozen documentary films about China. Her latest is The Dating Game, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Filmed in Chongqing, the…

Filmmaker Violet Du Feng's latest work is ‘The Dating Game,’ which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Filmed in Chongqing, the film follows a group of desperate bachelors participating in a dating “boot camp.” Read her @ChinaFile.bsky.social Q&A:

A Surrogacy Silk Road: Chinese Parents Head West for Babies – chinaobservers This article was originally published in  ChinaFile  and is republished here with the permission of the author. On the popular Chinese social media platform Xia

👉What does this trend reveal about China’s fertility pressures, shifting social norms, and the global surrogacy economy? chinaobservers.eu/a-surrogacy-...

Originally published in @chinafile.bsky.social

Violet Feng's "The Dating Game" follows a romance coach in Chongqing and three of his students. In this Q&A, Feng talks about:

• China's gender imbalance
• 'Left behind' children
• AI boyfriends in China
• Pick up artist culture & global crises of masculinity

A New Global Scene for Independent Chinese Film | ChinaFile On November 6, the IndieChina Film Festival announced its cancellation because of pressure from authorities on China-based filmmakers and participants.This November, two unrelated festivals of independent Chinese-language films are taking place outside of China. The CiLENS Berlin Indie Chinese Cinema Week, which runs from November 1 to 9, is now in its fourth year. In New

Two days after our preview of independent Chinese-language film festivals in Berlin and New York, the NY event was cancelled because of pressure on filmmakers in China. We've updated out story with links to a statement from the organizer and NYT piece.

Renewable Energy Still Comes at the Cost of Forced Labor. It Needs to Be Stopped. Despite dominating global production, China has a polysilicon problem. Having subsidized and encouraged production of this critical ingredient in solar cells and panels, the country now faces massive ...

25% of the polysilicon in solar panels comes from China’s Uyghur region. While the global solar industry is on the rise, so is forced labour in the sector. New piece from @chinafile.bsky.social on ensuring the green transition doesn't come at the cost of slavery: www.chinafile.com/reporting-op...

With mini profiles of filmmaker/curators Echo Xuedan Tang and Zhu Rikun, and a quote from @shellyk.bsky.social

A New Global Scene for Independent Chinese Film | ChinaFile This November, two unrelated festivals of independent Chinese-language films are taking place outside of China. The CiLENS Berlin Indie Chinese Cinema Week, which runs from November 1 to 9, is now in its fourth year. In New York, the inaugural IndieChina Film Festival is on from November 8 to 15.It’s a surprisingly positive development. “Many of us attending a conference on

As China’s space for independent film continues to shrink, two filmmakers-turned-curators have established festivals in Berlin and New York, creating vital platforms for Chinese cinema that can no longer be shown at home.