Xue Zhaofeng and More

New on the site this time:
Two translations that grew out of Xu Jilin’s essay on “Redimensioning the Enlightenment,” which I posted last time:
An interview with celebrity economist Xue Zhaofeng, on “To Consume is to be Linked to Other People in the World,” which is part of “selling consumerism” to Chinese society; and
Wu Changchang, “Video Sites and the ‘Involution’ of State Power,” which is a more difficult read but which is very revealing about various issues touching on online youth entertainment in China and state attempts to regulate it.
Finally, an update to China and the post-pandemic world:  Jiang Ruiping, “The Coronavirus Pandemic is Accelerating the Reshaping of East Asia.”
I would also like to share a recent Pacific Century podcast—“Wang Huning:  The World’s Most Dangerous Thinker?” in which Matthew Johnson and I discuss Wang and other things.  Host Michael R. Auslin’s skillful interviewing technique made this a very good conversation.