Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

Thanks for joining me this week.

Recommendations

China Stories

Eliot Chen, “Cheng Lei On Life in Chinese Prison”

Jenny Huangfu Day, “Ice Hockey in China”

David Frazier, “Aircraft bunkers in Taiwan’s Yilan county shines light on little-known kamikaze outpost”

After Xiaomi launched an online lottery last January for public access to its highly-automated facility on the outskirts of Beijing, locals and tourists rushed to enter. Word spread on social media. Influencers looking for a perfect photo op competed against tiger moms hoping that a glimpse of the robot-powered assembly lines might inspire their kids to pursue tech careers. More than 100,000 people entered the lottery for about 200 tours in December and January, making the EV plant harder to get into than some competitive colleges.

— Hannah Miao, “Tiger Moms Battle for the Hottest Ticket in China: a Tour of a Factory Floor”

Li Yuan, “In China, a Debate About Political Power Ignites After Maduro’s Capture”

Wanderings Around the World

Built early this century, Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar, means the “abode of kings.” In reality, it is a vast bunker for the top brass of this Southeast Asian nation, who have stolen power for themselves for more than a half century. With its defensive layout and gargantuan scale, Naypyidaw stands testament to the junta’s fear of invasion — and to its tastes for the trappings of a tropical totalitarianism.

— Hannah Beech, with visuals by Daniel Berehulak, “Inside the Generals’ Gilded Fortress, Empty Streets and Moldy Corners”

Ben Cohen, “There Are 29,000 People on a Waitlist for Beans—and It’s Not for the Fiber” (I’m a member of the Rancho Gordo Leguminati; I just cooked a bag of Ceci Neri yesterday)

Alina Edwards and Andrew Limbong, “A 200-year-old book distributor is closing. Here’s what that means for public libraries” (audio)

Charlotte Higgins, “Trump’s assault on the Smithsonian: ‘The goal is to reframe the entire culture of the US’”

Andrei Netto, with photographs by Natalia Favre, “‘History will tell’: as US pressure grows, Cuba edges closer to collapse amid mass exodus”

Youth women’s soccer, alongside weightlifting and table tennis, is something of an athletic arbitrage for cash-strapped North Korea. The Kim regime figures other nations won’t subject preteen girls to arduous training. That’s left opportunities for outsize achievement for a government perennially hunting for propaganda victories and international prestige.

— Dasl Yoon and Timothy W. Martin, “North Korea Is Obsessed With World Domination—in Girls Soccer”

Standout Story

The assaults on immigrants have created a righteous moral outrage on the part of those born in America and others protected by the rights of citizenship, and everywhere ICE and the DHS have embarked on their sadistic and racist kidnapping sprees, they have met resistance from Americans who hate tyranny and love their neighbors. These protesters are among the best of America, ragefully and rightfully facing down the armed forces of a would-be autocrat in an effort to protect the innocent.

— Moira Donegan, “ICE agents have killed – again. The Trump administration blames the victim”

We thank you for ensuring that Renee’s legacy is one of kindness and love. We honor her memory by living her values: rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love.

— Becca Good, quoted in “Renee Macklin Good’s wife says she nurtured kindness”

Featured photo: A local train station outside Yangon, Myanmar, October 2014.