Dissent magazine – Maura Elizabeth Cunningham

A Brief Encounter with the Chengguan

Shanghai is enjoying some absolutely glorious spring weather right now, and since it’s not likely to last long, I’m trying to savor it while I can. I went for a walk after lunch today, passing fruit stands filled with mountains of newly arrived pineapples on every block I traveled. Though I’m not a big fruitContinue reading “A Brief Encounter with the Chengguan“

New Writing: “China’s Para-Police”

Here’s the first paragraph of an article I published last week at the Dissent magazine website, on the chengguan, or “urban management,” units that patrol cities like Shanghai. Chengguan have been in the news recently after the death of a produce vendor at the hands of one such para-police unit. I didn’t notice the appleContinue reading “New Writing: “China’s Para-Police””