The other day, a funny thing (or four) happened on the way to the (Internet) forums: first of all, I learned that no one calls them forums anymore. Secondly, netizens in China are actually debating the definition of "swag" and whether Frank Ocean has it. (Hat...

Seeing as how Linsanity has reached the peak of its crescendo (for now), shall we set aside our newly minted "All I do is Lin" t-shirts and rose-tinted glasses (or for Knicks fans, your "homer" glasses) for just a minute? Put on our dunce caps and disapprovingly stare...

China's half-forgotten second-tier cities are an abyss of longing, regret, and what-ifs. What if Nanjing had survived the Japanese invasion and had gone on to flourish as the commercial and cultural capital of China? What if Suzhou had lived up to its state-sponsored reputation as "Venice of the East," instead...

As goes the World Expo, so goes Shanghai. As goes Shanghai, so goes the security blanket of China. That was the conventional wisdom espoused way back in early 2010, when most feared that the Expo was yet another inflated symbol of China, the world's greatest issuer of puffery. Surely, cried...

If I learned anything from my three-and-a-half-year stint in Shanghai, it's that the notions we once held dearest prior to living abroad are quickly being debunked before our very eyes. That, and the fact that no one will ever care about what happens in China as much as

In these topsy-turvy times, it's oddly appropriate for a film like Slumdog Millionaire to storm its way nearly unobstructed to a Best Picture Oscar. One could argue that its massive success -- and subsequent backlash in certain media quarters -- represents the pinnacle of globalization -- or its nadir.

So...

What makes life in China so trying isn't the constant threat of melamine or even the wide chasm of cultural differences. It's that every perspective, regardless of how well -- or ill-informed it is, must contain multitudes, and in those multitudes, both chaos and clarity stand on equal footing. Take...

While the U.S. continues to usher in an era of economic sturm und drang, China faces its own transitional crisis: the age of post-Olympic discovery.

After all, while it's true that to the victor goes the spoils (51 gold medals is 51 gold medals is 51 gold medals), it's...

In my less-than-humble estimation, American media coverage of China tends to slant one of two ways: toward fat, happy and unquestioning globalization, or small-minded, unblinking provincialism. Both are born of dangerously naïve First World Entitlement -- it's not so much "we're better than you" as it is "we are the...