The Plain of Jars in Laos has always seemed like a clue to a mystery, and it turns out that it is. The Lao highlands were home to a thriving ancient civilization. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/s...

Dear Mr. Koo is gone. We knew this was coming but it is still very sad. Long Hair cared for him deeply. If he heard Mr Koo had been arrested he would immediately go to the police station to support and help him. Thanks to @hongkongfp.com for this tribute. hongkongfp.com/2026/04/08/b...

What's even the point of sending ground troops to stop Iran's nuke program? They got more powerful leverage now, plus an income stream that makes sanctions worthless. I despair of the idiots in charge of the US, and the pain they are causing the rest of the world www.ft.com/content/04f6...

What MoMA's curators left out of the Wilfrido Lam retrospective www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

The phrase “filthy lucre” just added a whole new meaning.

Seconds before I have to jump on my ferry home, runner Man Wing Yam glides up to the finish post….with his super cute little son balanced on his shoulders. I was so happy for him I missed the photo!

Hometown fave Liu Fo Lok just sailed to the finish line in 56h 39m. It’s his second time finishing this punishing race, and at one point he took a wrong turn on The Peak and had to backtrack! Gotta say he appears more tired compared to Julian (the first finisher)

Julien Chorier just finished the 298k Hong Kong Four trails race in 55h 12m. The guy looked so relaxed and cool at the finish. Incredible 🇫🇷

Wow.

This was a surprise—a thoughtful and knowledgeable backgrounder on the Taiwan and Hong Kong political struggles, with an unexpected detour to.. Columbia University

It’s rare to be able to get a trad HK breakfast (in this case a beautifully realized fresh tomato and hollow macaroni noodle soup) AND a decent latte. Go figure I found it in Tuen Mun! 仙桃居

The Reparation Blog: Beating the Villain with a Slipper: Rituals of Reparation in Urban Hong Kong by @myetcetera.bsky.social:

This is really excellent, glad to see you given the space to go big with this @jamellebouie.net www.nytimes.com/video/opinio...

The Weight of Words For HKers, language is our identity. We speak Cantonese. We write in traditional Chinese. And during the pro-democracy protests when it seemed like no one would hear us, we just made up some new words that speak our truth. Source: Telegram/ Ah-To (Dec 2019)

Bread AND Roses 🌹

I did, and I’m so glad!

There's a particular joy I'm finding now, gathering in NYC with groups of my age cohort. We remember what the city was like when you could live on a song and art was everywhere. We remember the clubs we danced at, the drugs we shared, the crazy characters who became famous and the ones that didn't.

I am walking on Lugard Rd with an American expat friend when we walk smack into Tony Leung and Carina Lau on the empty path. I try to be cool and move on, but my pal is taken by their cute dog and goes over to coo and chat having NO IDEA who this couple is. I managed to keep a poker face but

That HK winter light 💕

The WSJ has been probably the most vocal and consistent defender of Jimmy Lai and press freedom in HK. Yet they're now smearing a local reporter they let go because she refused to resign as the head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association-the front line organization defending press freedom in HK.

During COVID in Hong Kong I hoarded vegetable and bone scraps in plastic freezer bags, terrified that our airfreight-dependent food supply would conk out, or that I'd be suddenly forced to quarantine at home by random gov't diktat. Now I just do it anyway because, well, broth.

Put a stake in the heart of US tourism, then twist it. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/t...

42.0% of Hong Kong's total prison population have not been convicted of a crime — a new record high, according to Webb-site.com.

From @jamespomfret.bsky.social, the backstory behind Mr Wong in the photo that went viral www.reuters.com/investigates...

Both heartbreaking and hopeful

Americans see buildings in flames and think “tragic”. But what they should also be thinking is: this is the inevitable outcome of an authoritarian-run society. Cronyism and corruption, punishment for those who dare stand up and question—these are structures that will bring infernos home to you too

Since the crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, the government has made “national security” its overriding priority. There is a sense among some that while authorities have been chasing down any whisper of dissent, a building they knew wasn't safe burned down. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

I lived in a Hong Kong high rise for more than a decade. While I was there the building underwent renovations and had to "daap pang", build scaffolding and hang protective netting that covered the facade like a Christo. It was horrific. The green net blocks air and sunlight, and casts a 1/x

Hong Kong high rises are solid concrete. I lived in one for more than a decade. The danger is that things INSIDE the building will burn, not the the building itself. Unless it is wrapped in cheap illegal flimsy plastic netting by a supremely shady contractor. www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...

This.

Let’s start the week with style, about Hong Kong style (🎁 Free to read!) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/23/s...

As a born and bred NYer, let me explain. Trump holds a deep lifelong resentment towards the NYC elite, who have never accepted him. Mamdani’s election terrifies this NYC elite. This makes Trump happy! It’s all about the retribution.

Very important tip, and make sure you do it on all your different gmail accounts

I noticed something “interesting” about the Hong Kong “patriotic” election posters this year. In the past, political posters were a lively gaggle of colors, styles, typo + graphic design. Now all the candidates’ posters look virtually identical , as if they came from a single design shop.

Such a moving, rich essay on the Wilfrido Lam retrospective at MOMA by Holland Cotter. I may have to fly back to NYC for this one. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/13/a...

Mamdani's victory wasn't only a repudiation of an old and exhausted political establishment in the city, it was also a triumph over the framing power of the political press, and none more so than the New York Times, whose coverage and editorials worked relentlessly to dampen his appeal.

Maybe Mamdani finally has a shot at the Schumer endorsement

Yes to 🧵. None of Kathryn Bigelow’s films stands up to scrutiny imo—peel away the tension and shock and there’s no there there, because she has nothing to say. And what a misuse/ waste of Idris Elba.

Thank you #HongKong apnews.com/article/hong...

chinese tea garden, main street, decatur, illinois, 1980

As I got off the plane at transit in Seoul there was a sign saying “Welcome to Korea” with 🇰🇷on one side and 🇺🇸 on the other. I felt so ashamed. I know it’s been said before but the way in which the US is destroying every shred of people to people global goodwill is depressing and I think irreparable

The NYT article dryly understates this extraordinary protest as “dozens of countries walked out”. In fact only a handful stayed.

Assata Shakur has "died in Havana, Cuba, as a result of health conditions and her advanced age." She was 78.

People are saying that the HK gov't overkilled it with the typhoon early warning signals. But having 24 hours of extra prep time certainly saved the day on my little island (the local council distributed free sandbags!). And even with all the warnings, you still had some wacko typhoon selfie takers.

There's a lot to unpack and learn in this dense doc, but as a Cold War baby I'm riveted by the images of Khrushchev, who loomed in my 6 year old head as the UN shoe-on-desk banger out to bury me. But K, a solid anti-colonialist, is an unexpected hero of this film www.theguardian.com/film/2024/no...

Hong Kong's Typhoon Ragasa couldn't have happened at a worse time for me. I rent a tiny flat that faces the ocean bay on a small island. But right now I'm in the US preparing to fly back to HK soon. My landlord is vacationing in Vancouver. I'm a bundle of nerves and obsessive refreshing of windy.com

Yet another echo of things we did a few years ago when museums in Hong Kong began “rectifying” history

Picked up Zohran posters today. How I got them says a lot about where we're at. The address came by text. When I arrived at the location I was flummoxed--there were no street numbers on any doors. Finally I took a guess and rang one doorbell, got buzzed into a courtyard, another door then, and...

There's also an ad up for a Classical Music Critic, also sprinkled with key phrases like "digital-first writer" "strong visual, audio and video components". Since all my writing comes from the tips of my fingers, does that make me "digital first"?

This is a must-read for anyone who wants to get up to speed on the mess that is Thai politics, written by the man who was overwhelmingly elected by Thais to be PM. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/o...