Signs of spring have arrived in southeast Michigan: there’s a pile of asparagus in my kitchen waiting to be trimmed for dinner, I can hear birds chirping through the porch door that I’ve cracked open, and I’m wearing flip-flops instead of fluffy slippers. I’m sure we’re due for at least one more bout of bitterly cold weather before winter officially disperses, but for the time being I’m enjoying the reprieve.
Another sign of spring’s imminent arrival: in a little over a week I’m heading to Seattle to work at the Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference. I’m also staying on in the city for a short vacation after the conference concludes, so please send your Seattle food and sightseeing recommendations my way!
This week, I have a half-dozen recently posted reviews at Goodreads, some more analysis of Alexei Navalny’s death and legacy, the usual array of China stories, and a couple other links from around the world.
Recommendations
China Stories
James Carter, “This Week in China’s History: The Xiangtan Massacre”
Rachel Cheung, “Tone Deaf: Beijing’s crackdown on a celebrated, state-owned media outlet shows just how far Chinese censors have gone.”
Helen Davidson and Chi Hui Lin, “‘Facing up to history’: relatives of Taiwan’s 2-28 massacre victims demand official reckoning”
Wenxin Fan, “How One Woman Duped China’s Censorship Machine”
Ryan Ho Kilpatrick, “The Risky Business of Hong Kong Journalism” — interview with journalism professor Francis Lee
Watching the internet blossom in China was exhilarating, as anyone who was living in China in the first decade of this century can attest. It created a huge, boisterous public sphere where none previously existed — huge, boisterous, or otherwise. The word “netizen,” though coined first in English, quickly fell out of favor in that language except when speaking of China’s online millions. The word was embraced by many Chinese people in its direct Chinese translation: 网民wǎngmín, precisely because being online suddenly felt like being part of a newly empowered polity — not a voiceless subject but a citizen.
Kaiser Kuo, “China’s Internet at 30”
Andrew Peaple, “Dawn Murphy on China’s Growing Influence in the Middle East and Africa”
Vivian Wang, “Murder and Magic Realism: A Rising Literary Star Mines China’s Rust Belt”
Li Yuan, “China Has Thousands of Navalnys, Hidden From the Public”
Wanderings Around the World
Tanka Dhakal, “Mt. Everest is plagued by garbage. These Nepali women are transforming it into crafts”
Ramachandra Guha, “India’s Feet of Clay: How Modi’s Supremacy Will Hinder His Country’s Rise”
Farida Jalalzai, “Yulia Navalnaya, widow of Alexei Navalny, steps forward to lead the Russian opposition – 3 points to understand”
Photographs by Christopher Payne, text by David Waldstein, “Inside the Massive Repair Shops Where Subway Cars Go for a Makeover”
John Ruwitch, “As Vietnam grows ties with U.S., a secret directive seeks to gird the Communist Party”
Standout Stories
Outside the church, people chanted, “Thank you, Aleksei” and “Love is stronger than fear,” according to videos from the scene. As they gathered next to the cemetery, mourners cried out, “peace for Ukraine — freedom for Russia!” Mourners who came within sight of Mr. Navalny’s mother said “thank you for your son!”
Valerie Hopkins, “Thousands Turn Out for Navalny’s Funeral in Moscow”
Steve Rosenberg, “What Navalny’s funeral tells us about Russia today”
I have so much respect for the people who attended Alexei Navalny’s funeral in Moscow on Friday morning—they showed up not knowing what might happen, who might be arrested, or what consequences might await them for their presence. As BBC reporter Steve Rosenberg wrote, in the crowds he saw “a genuine outpouring of support for a politician who had inspired a section of the Russian public with an alternative vision for Russia.” Their determination to bear witness to his death outweighed any hesitation to participate in a mass event that could have provoked a harsh crackdown by Russian authorities.
Feature Photo: Early spring arrives in Ann Arbor, MI, March 3, 2024.
Maura Elizabeth Cunningham 
Local Tide in the Freemont section! It’s amazing seafood and low key. It’s also halfway to the Ballard Farmer’s market from downtown seattle. That was a really cool farmer’s market and with crafts (also Ballard is cool). We e-biked there (those are easy to pick up on almost every corner). Elizabeth M. Lynch China Law & Policy http://www.chinalawandpolicy.comFollow on Twitter: @chinalawpolicy