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Brendon Hong is the pseudonym of a longtime contributor to The Daily Beast based in Hong Kong.

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One of the World’s Most Watched TV Shows Loves Blackface

WHAT YEAR IS IT?

CCTV’s annual Spring Festival Gala, which is seen by more than a billion people most years, keeps featuring performers in blackface.

Brendon Hong | Published Feb 12, 2021

Inside Burma’s Sudden Coup: Phones Down, Goons at the Door

DYSTOPIA

Some hid from the military and scraped pro-democracy flags off their car windows while others worked to connect citizens to Bluetooth apps as Signal and Telegram went down.

Brendon Hong | Published Feb 03, 2021

Can China Prevent Next Animal-to-Human Pandemic?

CONTAGION

With the origins of COVID-19 still murky, and a long history of viruses jumping from animals to humans inside China, conditions are ripe for another disaster.

Brendon Hong | Published Jan 14, 2021

Sudden Deaths After Whistleblower Says Coders Are ‘Enslaved’

VIRTUAL SWEATSHOPS

A pervasive tech world culture where staff are expected to work for 12 hours a day, six days a week has powered China’s tech boom. At what cost?

Brendon Hong | Published Jan 13, 2021

The American Money Behind Blacklisted Chinese AI Companies

BIG BROTHER

U.S. companies are investing in Chinese artificial intelligence firms whose products are being used to abuse human rights.

Brendon Hong | Published Jan 01, 2021

Amazon Partner Making Face-Recognition Tech to Track Uighurs

DYSTOPIAN

Dahua, a Chinese surveillance-gear supplier, accidentally posted online code for software that specifically identifies Uighurs, and tracks their emotions and movements.

Brendon Hong | Published Nov 12, 2020

China’s Real Invasion of Taiwan Has Already Started

SOFT POWER

China’s United Front has worked behind the scenes for decades to convince Taiwan’s elite that their country should welcome a takeover by Beijing.

Brendon Hong | Published Oct 28, 2020

Taiwan Preps for an Invasion From China as Tensions Heat Up

SABER-RATTLING

After China’s state media issued a threat against the safety of Taiwan’s president, Taiwan’s rival parties jointly called to reestablish formal diplomatic relations with the U.S.

Brendon Hong | Published Oct 07, 2020

China’s State Media: Carve Up Facebook Just Like TikTok

TWO CAN PLAY THIS GAME

Mouthpieces for the Chinese Communist Party are urging leaders to target U.S. tech companies with nationalistic bans similar to what Trump has imposed on TikTok.

Brendon Hong | Published Sep 26, 2020

The New Uighurs? China Moves to Erase Mongolian Culture

ONE CHINA

Mongolians are risking brutal recriminations by publicly protesting moves to end local language classes in school.

Brendon Hong | Published Sep 01, 2020

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