Tired of being set up on blind dates by family and friends, some young people in China are turning to live stream blind dating chats on the social media platform Xiaohongshu to look for potential partners — with an online audience.
Author: Michelle Courtois
Michelle is South African and Mauritian, has lived in seven countries and speaks four languages. She studied Psychology and International Business Administration at the American University of Paris and is passionate about learning and travelling the world.
Despite her pleasant air and sense of fashion, the now former Syrian First Lady Asma al-Assad was bound to be tied to her husband’s fate. Born and raised in the UK, she was respected by some for openly battling cancer and later adored in China for her glamour. Still, she was largely despised at home for having helped cover her husband’s long list of alleged war crimes.
Despite a growing population and recent policies, “new residents” and their Taiwan-born children are not yet fully integrated into the country’s politics and society. Following the general election in early January, the Singapore-based Initium Media talks with young “new second generation” Taiwanese about their personal and political experiences.
If Chinese food is a link to the homeland, then so is Chinese literature. Two Chinese immigrants in Europe have found a way to connect themselves and others to their culture by setting up spaces where people can buy or borrow Chinese paperbacks.
If computing power becomes a major tool for superpowers like China and the U.S., then what does the latest U.S. technology blockade mean for the race to a more powerful AI? Honk Kong-based daily The Initium looks at the nuclear race of our time, with chips as the modern-day equivalent of enriched uranium.
The simmering UK-Greece dispute over the Elgin Marbles shines a light on the worldwide efforts to push Western powers, often with colonial pasts, to give back looted artistic and historical artifacts.
The credit giant becomes only the second player after American Express to be allowed to set up a bank card-clearing RMB operation in mainland China.
China shares praise, Cambodia throws shade, Germans show pride … and from Moscow?
Taiwanese, though under the weight of a far more powerful neighbor, have the tendency to idealize Israel and fail to create a self-definition beyond the island nation’s anti-China image.
Frustrated by the United States’ unwavering support for Israel’s war on Gaza, Arab governments have looked at other options to help establish a ceasefire before it becomes too late. First stop: Beijing. Moscow’s role may be more obscure, but no less essential, in building a global coalition that counters the West’s stance.
David Cameron’s reentry into British politics as the UK’s new foreign minister is being lauded by Chinese state media as a significant boost for Sino-UK relations. There is a good reason that Beijing is happy to see the former Prime Minister.
The use of “Xizang” instead of “Tibet” by Chinese officials is supported by some nationalists, but viewed by Tibetans, including those affiliated with the Dalai Lama, as veritable erasure of identity.
Secretary of State Blinken is traveling back to Israel with a more explicit message for Netanyahu after President Biden said late Wednesday it’s time for a “pause” right now. Meanwhile, Israel shows no signs of letting up its ground and air assault on Gaza.
In the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel, the United States, often projected as no longer wanting to be the region’s policeman, finds itself deploying aircraft carriers in the eastern Mediterranean and conducting F16 raids against Iranian targets in Syria. But the epoch-shifting challenge is elsewhere.
French multinational insurance company AXA has just published the new edition of its Futures Risk Report — and if climate change remains the top concern, many are keeping a close eye on Big Data and Artificial Intelligence’s worrying rise in the list.
As the Rugby World Cup final approaches, French writer Yves Bourdillon notes that the sport is popular almost exclusively in democratic countries. The reason? Its Anglo-Saxon origins, the complexity of its rules and its values, a miracle of balance between individualism and collective spirit.
There is no doubt that the old museums in Europe and America bear deep imprints of the colonial era; in a mirror image, “protecting treasures” has become a transcendental reference for the new China.
Today, it’s sometimes difficult to distinguish between professional and casual wardrobes. Sneakers at the office, double-breasted jackets at the bar. What’s the reason for this stylistic and societal shift? A French look at all the mixing and matching in the post-pandemic era.
The West has largely been united in clear condemnation of Hamas and support of Israel. For the rest of the international community, even if Hamas has very little backing, most countries have preferred an ambiguous neutrality. It’s part of a deeper shift in geopolitics where the so-called Global South, and elsewhere, no longer tolerate what they see as Western “double standards.”
Climate change has prompted some French champagne houses to take up planting in the southern English countryside.
Despite the panic on social media, at home and abroad, there is absolutely no evidence of a “bed bug invasion” in the City of Lights. French philosopher Gaspard Koenig explores why Paris (and the world) get sucked in to a bunker mentality of always fearing the worst.
Sausages, potatoes and sauerkraut … Ja, but not only! Let us take you on a culinary tour of Hamburg, where hip vegan cafes meet sushi and ramen bars, and Bavarian beer flows aplenty.
Before the G20 summit, which took place in New Delhi from Sept. 9-10, Indian authorities carried out a “beautification” of the city. Entire slums were bulldozed, forcing some of the city’s most vulnerable residents into homelessness.
Research by anthropologist Darren Byler provides a rare look inside the surveillance state China has created to control the Uyghur population of Xinjiang province, where every move is tracked, people are forced to carry cell phones, and “re-education camps” await anyone suspected of trying to break free.
Sign language services are relatively good in such Asian countries as Japan, South Korea and Thailand. Why do they lag in Hong Kong? An exploration of the island’s particular circumstance
A new melodrama broadcast in China about sexual assault in the workplace is a sign that some difficult questions are being addressed, but that serious taboos remain in Chinese society and public life.
Imagine a city with French and Southern Indian fusion cuisine, with gorgeous, century-old colonial-era buildings and beautiful beaches, surrounded by warm, turquoise water. It exists: Pondicherry. The southern city’s cuisine is like no other in India. It combines recipes, flavors and methods from French cooking with regional Indian, often with touches of East Asian and […]
The best tables near Table Mountain!
Just days after the military seized power in Niger last week, the new junta has already been the target of sanctions by Brussels and Washington. What that means for the 1,000 U.S. soldiers stationed in Niger, among other things, remains unclear.
As advocates in Hong Kong work to spread the word that being LGBTQ+ is not an illness, conversion therapy centers like New Creation continue to harm and traumatize those who want to get “out of the gay life.” Members of the LGBTQ+ community struggle to reconcile their faith and their orientation in a society that continues to be institutionally homophobic.
While the 1,600-kilometer border between India and Myanmar has seen waves of Burmese refugees fleeing to India as the civil war and air strikes have intensified, the Chinese government has been vocal about its support of Myanmar’s military junta. Inevitably, already tense relations between China and India
A woman in China who falsely accused a man of filming her on the subway has sparked an avalanche of vitriol against her. There are now fears that the case will stop the many real victims of secret filming from coming forward and fighting back.
North Korea has industrialized the theft of cryptocurrency to finance its nuclear weapons program and its state-sponsored hackers are getting better at emptying digital wallets. But global law enforcement agents are in hot pursuit, and cashing in crypto is harder than ever.
Gentrification is affecting many Latin American cities. As residents push back, there are worries that existing residents and cultures alike will be erased.
Hiked the Great Wall? Walked the hundreds of stairs up the Temple of Heaven? Looks like you need a drink.
In a small town in southern Argentina, people are using grapes first brought to the region by their grandparents to produce unique wine in one of the world’s southernmost wine regions — creating a sustainable production model and strengthening their community.
Saudi Arabia suddenly now leads the world in golf, continues to attract top European soccer stars, and invests in culture and entertainment… Its “soft power” strategy is changing the kingdom’s image through what critics bash as blatant “sportwashing.”
The European Commission has asked digital platforms to create an “Artificial Intelligence label” to alert users of AI-generated texts, photos or videos. But will it be able to stop the tsunami of misinformation?