director, Future Cities Project; author of 'China's Urban Revolution' and 'New Chinese Architecture.' Critic on architecture, environmentalism, and China.
London
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In 1978, China's urban population was 18%; today it is 65%.
In 1978 there were 193 Chinese cities; today there are around 650.
Thanks @spectator #Chinesewhispers @CindyXiaodanYu for a thoroughly enjoyable chat about cities, development & progress in China.
spectator.co.uk/podcast/hist…
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Meanwhile @TimesRadio reports that Australian politician Helen Haines was attacked by an environmental campaigner... coincidentally "radicalised" into pro-Pal and anti-Israel hatred.
Let's join the pro-nature, anti-human, antisemitic dots.
Ashok Kumar only recently changed his X handle from “Broseph Stalin”, and before leaving for the Greens swore allegiance to Labour. He’s a ridiculous clown who denigrates the meaning of ‘genocide’ (‘ongoing since 1948’) dragging us all down to his level.
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Austin Williams retweeted
"We are the festival that more than anything else bucks trends. We challenge the idea that certain things are the norm."
@Ella_M_Whelan on what you need to have a "battle of ideas"
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Austin Williams retweeted
"The freedom to express is also the freedom to listen and when one person is told 'you can't say that' in the same breath everyone else is being told 'and you can't hear it either'".
@bendelo opens on the importance of FREE SPEECH ALLOWED @ the Battle of Ideas
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Austin Williams retweeted
"We should take the opportunity at this festival to speak freely and debate openly... Hopefully we can strike a blow against conformism and censoriousness. We have no interest in trying to resuscitate the past but are developing something for today and tomorrow ."
@MaximumCities opens #BattleFest 2026
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Austin Williams retweeted
"The greatest menace to freedom is in inert people. Public discussion is a political duty... Genuine democracy is about much more than putting a cross in a box..."
@MaximumCities's opening @ the 21st Battle of Ideas
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.@timothy_stanley on @BBCNewsnight discussing #NEETs starts by parodying @GBNews (ironically noting that journalism is dying), and then could only provide a philistine defence of education.
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Don't know how this amazing woman does it. Straight from organising the #BattleFest with @MaximumCities and @Ella_M_Whelan and a small team, she's out til late demanding transparency of state authority.
Impressive.
Post Battle of Ideas festival weariness aside, I was back in the Lords today to discuss the Public Office Accountability Bill (Hillsborough Law) I mentioned the #BattleFest discussion with @MrsEmmaWebber and @MaggieOliverUK in which there was some audience scepticism about Public Inquiries.
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Thanks very much indeed for posting this. A good discussion indeed. @realzoestrimpel was on form and gave as good as she got... often much better than she got.
Great discussion with @realzoestrimpel , author of Good Slut, at the Battle of Ideas around violence and relative levels of physical strength between men & women. Question: Does being reminded constantly of threat of violence for women disempower us? #BattleFest @academyofideas
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'Captured by a far-left ideology!'
@Alexarmstrong plays a BBC educational game that encourages pupils to back left-wing policies such as open borders and net zero.
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Austin Williams retweeted
The despair of a Parisian - pleading with the feral smooth brains not to destroy her store
The death rattle of Paris as western civ breathes its last gasps.
Notre Dame was no accident. It was the beginning of the end.
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Austin Williams retweeted
What a team! What a day! There's no #BattleFest without the Battle Volunteers. Now for tomorrow... 💪
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Austin Williams retweeted
Just 1 day to go until #BattleFest!
Here's a peek behind the big green curtains with @Ella_M_Whelan and a special volunteer 👧🏼.
Sick of shouting at the telly? Join us for a weekend of no-holds-barred discussion: battleofideas.org.uk/battle-…
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Austin Williams retweeted
💥 Robert Jenrick to Today in Reform vetting row:
“Can you now give a guarantee to your listeners this morning that no BBC presenter in the future will be exposed as a paedophile as a number have been in the recent past?”
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How architects think.
Replacing 2-year old timber windows with uPVC ones, would be "devastating".
architectsjournal.co.uk/news…
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