Story time: Since I left Beijing in the middle of the pandemic, I grieved the what-ifs, and a life I so desperately wanted for myself. Through this, I was unsure of how to make sense of my time in China, and my professional journey that was so closely tied to it.

I feel like OSINT folks out there are munching popcorn as they watch signalgate unfold because this is just another day at work, isn't it? 😂

Question for those of you who also read newsletters excessively. 5 years ago, I started a separate inbox for them and it gets updates from think tanks, media houses, substacks and individuals. None of the new tools (Meco/Mailbrew/newsblur) capture all my sources in a nice enough UX. Any reccos?

I made a short game about trying to find an apartment in Amsterdam, and the horror of architecture in a city that mistakes freedom for abundance. It draws on my own desperate housing crisis in 2022 and 2024. There's a demo, and I'd love to hear what you think: krishraghav.itch.io/dont-get-you...

Don't Get Your Hopes Up by Gobi65 Games

An interactive comic about housing shortage and horror in architecture.

krishraghav.itch.io

There are no flights between capital cities yet but apparently Indian and Chinese authorities are discussing flights from Delhi/Lucknow/Kolkata to Lhasa. Not complaining, I'd personally love to be able to fly into Lhasa. www.moneycontrol.com/news/busines...

So new and so late to learn about this but FLN is doing stellar work! If you want to engage with some pretty cool people and support free libraries at the same time, look at their list of artists, writers and others donating time to raise funds. The fundraiser ends on 28 Feb so check it out ASAP!

Free Libraries Network - India@freelibsnet.bsky.social · 2y ago

Free is Equal --> Free Libraries Equal L💙VE! Our Library Love fundraiser campaigns for the 'Right To Read' through free, anti-caste & feminist public libraries #ForALL Priya Kuriyan is making an amazing offer. So scan the QR code on slide 2 to donate OR Click www.fln.org.in/librarylove/

Adani Green is finally pulling out of the wind farms it was supposed to set up at Mannar and Pooneryn in Northern Sri Lanka. This fairly dramatic deal, saw environmental opposition, allegations of corruption and pressure from the Indian PM himself. www.thehindu.com/business/ada...

Adani Green withdraws from controversial renewable energy project in Sri Lanka

Adani Green withdraws from controversial renewable energy project in Sri Lanka amid legal battle and environmental concerns.

thehindu.com

Cancel my goals for the rest of December because I'm only now wtarting on the book that I've been waiting for over 2 years! The local indie bookstore is shipping me a physical copy on 14th Dec when it hits the shelves in India but I'm getting a head start now.

A reminder that English is necessary as the majority of #India does not have Hindi as their mother tongue! #SouthAsiaSky www.thehindu.com/news/nationa...

Uproar in Parliament over Hindi names for Bills

Opposition MPs criticize 'The Bharatiya Vayuyan Vidheyak, 2024' bill's Hindi title imposition, sparking debate in Rajya Sabha.

thehindu.com

The full text of Jaishankar's statement to Parliament on China from yesterday (03 Dec) makes for interesting mid-week reading.

Great story by the @chinamediaproject.bsky.social on the how Huashang Weekly is a complex intersection of private, commercial, and Chinese state interests in Pakistan chinamediaproject.org/2024/11/22/i...

'Iron Brothers' for the China Story - China Media Project

Launched in Pakistan eight years ago, Huashang Weekly offers an up-close look at how China is telling its story overseas by propping up news outlets that amplify its voice.

chinamediaproject.org

only thing I'm gonna miss about Twitter is the mid-tier Chinese cities that followed me. Hefei, I salute you! I will miss your posts about the "poetic tranquility" of parks! Photographs of robots manufacturing other robots! Announcements about new Sam's Club franchises! Million mu fields!

"The rules worry Adhikari, who owns the AG Health Industries Private Limited that produces sanitary pads and diapers in Bhairahawa. “India seems intent to halt imports from Nepal,” said Adhikari." Doesnt matter what the intentions are, the optics are just bad.... kathmandupost.com/money/2024/1...

Exports hit as India wants ‘no Chinese component’ in Nepali goods

Cement exports by multiple Nepali manufacturers have completely stopped for nearly two months now.

kathmandupost.com

With lots of new people joining Bluesky, we thought it would be a good idea to introduce the projects falling under the umbrella of the Global China Lab, a new non-profit we established this year with the aim of advancing open knowledge about China. 1/

Global China Lab

Global China Lab is a non-profit organisation established by researchers and practitioners with the aim of advancing knowledge of contemporary China.

globalchinalab.org

Women VS Disinfo - inspired by @marie-doha.bsky.social dedicated to the Brave, Bright & Brilliant women fighting Disinfo. A huge selection of expert researchers, fact checkers, journalists, debunkers, science communicators, academics, vloggers, etc. of all things Disinfo & CT go.bsky.app/FFCjgks

💡 Tip: You can set your website as your username on Bluesky! This is one form of self-verification, and we especially encourage official organizations and brands to do this! Examples include @npr.org @react.dev @duolingobrasil.com.br. Here's our guide for how to do this:

“Chinese state media has sunk considerable resources into Twitter, via unlabeled state-sponsored influencers, huge bot networks, the famous 50 cent army, … The Twitter bird, they thought, had finally been caged.”Then comes Bluesky. toosimple.substack.com/p/bluesky-ta...

As Bluesky takes flight, China has got a Twitter problem

For years, state media have been seeking to grab the microphone. Now Musk has handed them it.. no one is listening?

toosimple.substack.com

What India and China Agreed and Diverged On When Jaishankar Met Wang Yi - The India China Newsletter indiachina.substack.com/p/what-india...

What India and China Agreed and Diverged On When Jaishankar Met Wang Yi

A parsing of the readouts that came out yesterday, November 19, following the meeting between Foreign Ministers.

indiachina.substack.com

If you're interested in learning more about academic publishing, please join the @risjnl.bsky.social editorial team in a couple weeks for a webinar sponsored by @mybisa.bsky.social and @ceeisa.bsky.social -- all welcome (registration required)! #polisky www.bisa.ac.uk/events/writi...

Writing International Relations: A Publishing Webinar with the Review of International Studies

Review of International Studies (RIS) and the Central and Eastern European International Studies Association’s doctoral network are holding a publishing webinar

bisa.ac.uk

The University of Edinburgh is inviting applications for a PhD scholarship in Buddhist Studies, to begin in September 2025. The application deadline is February 2025. For more details, see buddhist-studies.ed.ac.uk/2025-khyents...

2025 Khyentse Foundation Buddhist Studies Doctoral Scholarship

Thanks to the generous support of the Khyentse Foundation, Edinburgh Buddhist Studies is inviting applications for a doctoral scholarship. The scholarship, which includes a fee-waiver and a stipend, w...

buddhist-studies.ed.ac.uk

Yet another plea to people who are using or following people off follow-farming hashtags like #NoDemUnder1K, #NoDemUnder5K, #BlueCrew, #FBR, etc etc: please do not do that, it's how disinformation operations work. I'm already seeing accounts in those hashtags that are likely disinformation ops. 1/

"The security company will apparently handle the import of weapons and special equipment, including communications devices and restricted tools." Sounds like *someone* is worried about ROI and is looking for ways to have their security personnel in Myanmar. www.irrawaddy.com/news/myanmar...

Myanmar Junta Planning Joint Security Firm with China

The regime has announced that it is working on a deal with Beijing to establish a bilateral company to protect Chinese projects and personnel in Myanmar.

irrawaddy.com

Hello everyone! Since Bluesky and its starter packs are kicking off I have curated one to bring together scholars working on Indian Foreign Policy. Feel free to suggest other potential members or even yourself! ✨ go.bsky.app/GJaoYpk

Just your friendly reminder that we get as much out of social media as we put in. So if you're finding volumes to be low here compared to the birdsite, the best thing to do is to skeet more. :)

Nothing here is dictated by an algo (except the Discover and What’s Hot feeds). Do explore lists, starter packs, and generally put the social into social media. You know, like in the Before Times.

Peter G@zigzackly.bsky.social · 2y ago

I suspect it’s going to be harder for folx with substantial Xwitter followings to adjust to starting over here. I just want to remind you that the things that made you popular there — your basic interestingness, for short — will attract people here too.

#TobRegSky #MedSky #PedSky #EpiSky #addictionsci #policysky #polisky 🛟 In China, the state tobacco monopoly company is also the regulator of tobacco products. China’s state-owned tobacco behemoth is booming, defying global trends and anti-smoking efforts www.cnbc.com/2024/11/12/c...

China's state-owned tobacco behemoth is booming, defying global trends and anti-smoking efforts

Powered by "the biggest tobacco company most people have never heard of," China is bucking global smoking trends as cigarette sales surge in the country.

cnbc.com

Just a reminder that if 36 people are killed in a public safety incident in China, the mayor has to be fired. It's why the government caps the death toll at 35 people for tragedies like this. www.theguardian.com/world/2024/n...

It's interesting that a CRI journalist is taking 2 Indian influencers (with a following of ~434k ppl) around China just after tensions between India & China eased. Ofc correlation does not equal causation, but I will bet good money that we're going to see 'positive' stories from state media soon.