Patricia M. Thornton
Professor in the Politics of China at Dept of Politics & IR, Dickson Poon China Centre, University of Oxford and Merton College; British Association of Chinese Studies Council member.
Mostly posting about China, HK, Taiwan politics
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- 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...
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- 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
- 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...
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- 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...
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- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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/...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- SCMP: On July 9, 2024, US's #OpenAI blocked developers in #China from using its closed-source #ChatGPT models. But w/the launch of #DeepSeek’s #OpenAI, the #open-source mvmt started by Chinese firms sent shock waves through Silicon Valley & Wall St, winning hearts & minds sc.mp/p11mt?utm_so...
- SCMP: Scientists in #China develop low-cost cell therapy for cancer, asthma A team of Chinese medical experts say they can produce anti-cancer cells directly inside the human body using gene therapy tools. sc.mp/0xz32?utm_so...
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- SCMP: #China'sForeign Minister Wang Yi told Kaja Kallas, the #EU ’s top diplomat, that Beijing does not want to see #Russia lose in #Ukraine bec. it fears the US would then shift its whole focus to Beijing www.scmp.com/news/china/d...
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- AP: The US & #China have reached an agreement — again — to deescalate trade tensions, but “Silence regarding the terms suggests that there is less substance to the deal than the #Trump Administration implies" apnews.com/article/trum...
- WSJ: #China has told companies in its rare-earth industry to give the government lists of employees with technical expertise, aiming to ensure they don’t divulge trade secrets to foreigners. www.wsj.com/world/china-...
- 川观新闻: State Council Taiwan Affairs Office lambasts #Taiwan 's Lai Ching-teh's June 22 speech as having "split & distorted history" by denying that Taiwan has belonged to China since ancient times, & that its indigenous peoples migrated from #China #台灣 国务院台办发言人陈斌华答记者问 cbgc.scol.com.cn/news/6438942
- BBC: #China has 30 million more men than women-- how can dating camp help them find love? "This is a generation in which a lot of these surplus men are defined as failures because of their economic status.They're seen as the bottom of society, the working class" www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- BBC: #China's military says a British warship's recent passage through the #Taiwan Strait a disruptive act of "intentional provocation" that "undermines peace & stability" HMS Spey's Wed. patrol was part of a long-planned deployment in accordance w/internat'l law. #台灣 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- The Guardian: US weighs in with concerns over #China’s proposed ‘super-embassy’ in #London White House flags potential Chinese access to ‘sensitive communications of one of our closest allies’
- Nikkei Asia Review: United Microelectronics Corp (UMC) founder Robert Tsao wants to vote out #KMT legislators for #Taiwan 's survival & security. "Beijing wants to use the KMT to annex Taiwan. Communist #China has cultivated this Trojan horse for 20 years" #台灣 asia.nikkei.com/Editor-s-Pic...
- SCMP: The search is on to identify the actual manufacturer behind the US$499 "made in America" #Trump Mobile T1 #smartphone w/AMOLED screen. #China manufactures 60%-80% of the world's smarthphones & there are no AMOLED producers anywhere outside Asia, so...watch this space sc.mp/20get?utm_so...
- #China 's state-run CCTV is reporting that, as per Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard, " #Iran has achieved complete control over #Israel 's airspace, & residents there are completely helpless in the face of Iranian missile attacks." 伊朗完全控制了以色列的领空，而那里的居民在伊朗导弹袭击面前完全无助” weibo.com/1371701597/5...
- SCMP: #China records bumper US$33 billion capital inflow in May as Gulf investors reduce US exposure seek a haven against amid rising global instability – an acceleration from April’s US$17.3 billion inflow. sc.mp/0mh1y?utm_so...
- SCMP: #Trump’s first large-scale military parade in decades has prompted commentators in #China to compare & to mock the contrast bet. the US president’s pageantry & the nationwide unrest sparked by his immigration policies. sc.mp/e0lty?utm_so...
- The Economist: Bride prices are surging in #China The govt disapproves. It wants more marriages, in part to boost China’s low birth rate. Lofty bride prices do not help with that. www.economist.com/china/2025/0...
- Bloomberg: #China Forced to Keep Unprofitable Firms Alive to Save Jobs & Avoid Unrest Saddled with the most loss-making industrial companies since 2001, Xi is trying to avoid mass layoffs. Protests rose 41% in the 4th Q from same period in 2023 www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
- Reuters: #China's govt accused #Taiwan of deliberately politicising the damage of undersea communication cables as part of a smear campaign after the island jailed a Chinese ship captain for an incident earlier this year. #台灣 www.reuters.com/business/med...
- Al Jazeera: Two Chinese aircraft carriers seen in Pacific for first time, #Japan says Tokyo says it has conveyed an ‘appropriate message’ to Beijing over the movements o #China’s Shandong & four other vessels within Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/...
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- CNN: National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett has said that he is “very comfortable” with a trade deal closing between the US & #China after the two sides meet today in London. edition.cnn.com/2025/06/08/b...
