Here’s one of the more uplifting stories I’ve worked on in a while. I went to Mae Sot to hang out with Burmese women who are trying soccer for the first time — in exile. Stunning photos by ⁦@laurendecicca⁩ nytimes.com/2024/09/23/world…

Hong Kong Journalist Arrested After Covering Gathering Linked to 2019 Protests The national security police detained Tang Ho-wing, founder of the independent outlet Boom News, according to local media and watchdog groups. nytimes.com/2026/10/01/world… @suilee @nytimes

“Is there anybody from China interested in doing business in America?” Mr. Wuttke said. “No, because it’s not possible. So why should they waste their time?” nytimes.com/2026/09/25/busin…

“There are a number of important Chinese C.E.O.s in Washington, waiting on the sidelines, like: ‘Do I get tapped or not?’” said Jeremy Chan of Eurasia Group, a former American diplomat in China. “It would be comical if it weren’t so tragic.” @suilee nytimes.com/2026/09/25/busin…

As I watched video of Xi this week, I couldn't help but think about this quote of his about the fickleness of human nature behind pomp and circumstance. And as a child and young man, he would have seen how his father, a master of the united front, used flattery instrumentally.

Many wrote that they expected Xi to bring planeloads of business folks w/ him to the US—there weren’t any. Former head of European Chamber of Commerce, Joerg Wuttke, commented: “Seeing so many American business executives ‘kissing Xi’s ring’ underscored how lopsided the relationship had become.” “Is there anybody from China interested in doing business in America? No, because it’s not possible. So why should they waste their time?”

mike sounding like he's sucking up alert but he actually mean it: i am really going to miss ellen as our biz day editor nytimes.com/2026/09/16/insid…

A delightful interview with outgoing Biz editor @ellenjpollock1: "In general, I’m not fond of the Three Bs: bureaucracy, bullshit and boredom." "I find the view that we are against capitalism to be particularly galling. I love money and want more of it!" nytimes.com/2026/09/16/insid…

No story in Thailand has shaken me as much as the one about Psi Scott, an heir to the Singha fortune, who accused his brother of sexually abusing him when they were kids. I hear from their mother, the first time she has addressed the accusations. nytimes.com/2026/09/15/world…

Amazing stuff in this Anthropic report. Imagine the Chinese government would like a word with Moonshot for sending queries directly to Claude without informing users, revealing security camera footage outside PLA facilities and code and credentials for major Chinese tech cos.

I have watched this video three times and my jaw is still on the floor.

Singapore ministers will get a one-time pay bump of up to 9%, with an entry-level minister’s salary rising to about $950,000 bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Congrats to our team @thewirechina on the 300th issue! Remarkably, lots of publications that have focused on China have ceased publishing. We're going strong with an incredible team of editors and reporters. Read this week's issue here: thewirechina.com

Shein’s Lackluster Debut Shows a Fast-Fashion Model Left Behind Squeezed by new trade rules, shrinking market share and labor concerns, Shein’s share decline in Hong Kong on Tuesday is a sign investors have moved on. nytimes.com/2026/08/31/busin… @suilee @nytimes

Could AI do this TAMBIEN?

Fabulous piece by my @thewirechina colleagues! Moonshot Moment thewirechina.com/2026/08/16/…

“The absurdity of this is overwhelming,” Mr. Nadiem said in an interview after the verdict. He said hundreds of people were in tears in the courtroom after the sentence was handed down. “Something, I think, has cracked in the conscience of our country.” nytimes.com/2026/06/30/busin…

in case you missed it, this week's issue of @thewirechina has a terrific piece by Savannah Billman on the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the world's largest research organization. It's also a major investor in cutting edge technology startups. See here: thewirechina.com/2026/06/21/…

Princess Bha, who was seen as a potential successor to the Thai throne, died after being in a coma for more than three years. nyti.ms/3S3Yl0b

Thailand has one of the lowest total fertility rates (TFR) in the world. In 2025, the TFR was 0.87, and the preliminary numbers for the first months of 2026 are even lower. The rate is so low that deaths have exceeded births since 2021 and now run 34% higher than births. Thailand’s fertility collapse has always fascinated me. With a flight to a Bank of Thailand conference in Bangkok ahead of me, I spent some time reviewing the data. Thailand’s TFR fell below replacement in 1991. That is early. It means completed fertility has been below replacement for at least a full generation. In 1991, Thailand was neither rich nor well-educated. Even today, its income per capita (in PPP, the right measure here) is about Mexico’s level, around 28% of the U.S. The standard theories for East Asian ultra-low fertility, such as a toxic educational arms race or extreme gender inequality, have little bite here. On the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2025, Thailand scored 0.728 and ranked 66th. South Korea scored 0.687 (101st of 146), and Japan 0.666 (118th of 148, last in the G7). I think Thailand is the clearest example of modernity without high income, and that combination is a recipe for demographic collapse. To illustrate this point: if Thailand’s TFR remained at its current level for 200 years, the population would decline from 65.8 million in 2025 to 1.51 million in 2225. While this is a hypothetical scenario used to make the argument, not a forecast, it gives a sense of the magnitude of the population change involved unless TFR increases at some point. This is not about closing a few maternity wards or fixing Social Security, but about winding down an entire country. Does anyone have a better theory? I don’t have enough information on Thai demographics, and I am happy to update my view. Two caveats. First, I use Thailand’s official data from the National Statistical Office. The UN WPP data (and the databases built on it, such as the World Bank’s) are, as always, way off. Second, the official statistics may undercount births somewhat. Even if they do, the picture changes little.

Breaking news: A major earthquake off the coast of Mindanao in the Philippines triggered tsunami warnings around the Pacific region. nyti.ms/4eeCiv9