Tea Leaf Nation

About Tea Leaf Nation

Tea Leaf Nation decodes Chinese media, analyzes social trends, and features Chinese voices, all to illuminate the country from within.

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This 18-Year-Old Chinese Woman Is Beating the Schools at Sex Ed

In a nation where textbooks still teach that sex before marriage mars girls forever, Yao Sifan is offering a feminist take on the facts of life.

Tea Leaf Nation |
Pro-democracy lawmakers attend a rally in front of Civic Square in support of Nathan Law, Leung Kwok-hung, also known as 'long hair', Lau Siu-lai and Edward Yiu Chung-yim (not pictured) in Hong Kong on July 14, 2017, after a verdict was handed down invalidating their oaths, taken on October 12 last year. Four pro-democracy lawmakers were disqualified from Hong Kong's parliament on July 14 in a move that will worsen growing fears the city's freedoms are under serious threat from Beijing. / AFP PHOTO / ISAAC LAWRENCE (Photo credit should read ISAAC LAWRENCE/AFP/Getty Images)

Beijing Deals Another Blow to Hong Kong’s Autonomy

An oppressive ruling by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee — aided by a compliant Hong Kong judge — has silenced champions of democracy.

Tea Leaf Nation |
A general view shows the skyline of a central business district in Beijing on November 27, 2013. Foreign investment into China rose 5.77 percent on year in the first 10 months of 2013, the government said on November 19. AFP PHOTO / WANG ZHAO (Photo credit should read WANG ZHAO/AFP/Getty Images)

China’s New Megacity: The Anti-Beijing

The government will build another metropolis from scratch. But it's not planning on following the old playbook.

Tea Leaf Nation |
JINING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 28: (CHINA OUT) People wearing raincoats participate in 2014 Confucius Memorial Ceremony on September 28, 2014 in Jining, Shangdong province of China. Memorial ceremony to mark the 2,565th birthday anniversary of Confucius was held in Jining on Sunday. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

Is Beijing Getting Scared of Homeschooled Confucian Activists?

The Communist Party's enthusiasm for private Confucian schools is cooling. It could be fearful of a moral system outside its control.

Tea Leaf Nation |
Nicole Kushner Meyer (3L), the sister of US White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, poses at a promotional event in Shanghai on May 7, 2017. The sister of White House senior adviser Jared Kushner urged wealthy Chinese on May 7 to buy stakes in real estate through a controversial programme that offers US residency in exchange for investment. Nicole Kushner Meyer was in Beijing Saturday and in Shanghai Sunday, seeking more than $150 million in investment in a luxury apartment complex project in New Jersey. / AFP PHOTO / ALBEE ZHANG (Photo credit should read ALBEE ZHANG/AFP/Getty Images)

America’s Green Card-for-Cash Program Is Making a Mess in China

Shady deals. Befuddled investors. SEC investigations. Change can't come fast enough to the EB-5 visa.

Tea Leaf Nation |
BEIJING - JULY 6: A young Chinese internet addict receives an electroencephalogram check at the Beijing Military Region Central Hospital July 6, 2005 in Beijing, China. The clinic, the country's first government-approved facility geared toward curing Internet addicts, has treated more than 300 addicts since opening last October. A dozen nurses and 11 doctors care for the patients, mostly youths aged 14 to 24 who have lost sleep, weight and friends after countless hours in front of the computer, often playing video games with others online. Doctors use a combination of therapy sessions, medication, acupuncture and sports like swimming and basketball to ease patients back into normal lives. The patients usually stay 10 to 15 days, at $48 a day - a high price in China, where the average city dweller's weekly income is just $20. According to government figures, China has the world's second-largest online population - 94 million - after the United States. (Photo by Cancan Chu/Getty Images)

A New ‘Cure’ for China’s Millions of Web Addicts: Hack Their Computer

Some parents prefer the invasive measure to lightly regulated, frequently brutal bootcamps.

Tea Leaf Nation |
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 13: Ivanka Trump attends a round table discussion with her father U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, on the advancement of women entrepreneurs and business leadersat the White House February 13, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Unpacking China’s Curious ‘Ivanka Fever’

The President's powerful daughter evokes deeply-held tropes in Chinese society.

ChinaFile |
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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan wave as they leave the plane upon their arrival at Moscow's Vnukovo II Government airport on May 8, 2015. Jinping arrived in Moscow to take part in the Victory Day celebrations. AFP PHOTO / ALEXANDER NEMENOV (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)

When Xi Meets the Trumps

China's president has descended on Florida for a summit with a counterpart he's never met. What happens now?

ChinaFile |
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In this picture taken on October 11, 2016 a mother is using a leash to keep her child nearby at a beach at the Club Med resort in Sanya. Almost two years after being bought out by Chinese investment fund Fosun, the holiday resort French group Club Med tries to import its recipes on a promising Chinese market, where a growing upper middle-class now discovers the concept - still very new in Chinese society - of holiday resorts. / AFP / NICOLAS ASFOURI / TO GO WITH AFP STORY: "CHINA-FRANCE-TOURISM-INVESTMENTS-SOCIETY" Focus by Julien GIRAULT (Photo credit should read NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP/Getty Images)

It’s Not Communism Holding China’s Youth Back. It’s Their Parents.

Pressure to save, marry, and work leaves no room for democratic aspirations.

Tea Leaf Nation |
BEIJING, CHINA - JULY 06: Chinese Hui Muslim men pray during Eid al-Fitr prayers marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at the historic Niujie Mosque on July 6, 2016 in Beijing, China. Islam in China dates back to the 10th century as the legacy of Arab traders who ventured from the Middle East along the ancient Silk Road. Of an estimated 23 million Muslims in China, roughly half are Hui, who are ethnically Chinese and speak Mandarin. China's constitution provides for Islam as one of five 'approved' religions in the officially atheist country though the government enforces severe limits. Worship is permitted only at state-sanctioned mosques and proselytizing in public is illegal. The Hui, one of 55 ethnic minorities in China (along with the Han majority), have long nurtured a coexistence with the Communist Party and is among the minority groups with political representation at various levels of government. The Hui Muslim population fast from dawn until dusk during Ramadan and it is believed there are more than 20 million members of the community in the country. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

When Marx Meets Islam

A Chinese regulation would prohibit online insults based on religion. Some decry it as antithetical to Communist values.

Tea Leaf Nation |
BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 18: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks during a joint press conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (not pictured) at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on March 18, 2017 in Beijing, China. Tillerson is on his first visit to Asia as Secretary of State. (Photo by Lintao Zhang - Pool/Getty Images)

Did Tillerson’s Beijing Visit Box Him in, or Start a Reboot?
ChinaFile |
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A pro-democracy protester holds up placards featuring (L) Hong Kong's Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie Lam and Chief Executive Leung Chun-Ying during a rally in Hong Kong on December 11, 2016, against a crackdown on pro-democracy lawmakers and an electoral system skewed towards Beijing ahead of elections for a new city leader.  / AFP / Anthony WALLACE (Photo credit should read ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images)

Heads, Beijing Wins. Tails, Hong Kong Loses.
Tea Leaf Nation |
JINING, CHINA - SEPTEMBER 28: (CHINA OUT) People wearing raincoats participate in 2014 Confucius Memorial Ceremony on September 28, 2014 in Jining, Shangdong province of China. Memorial ceremony to mark the 2,565th birthday anniversary of Confucius was held in Jining on Sunday. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

How China’s History Shapes, and Warps, its Policies Today
ChinaFile |
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China's President Xi Jinping (L) meets US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on March 19, 2017. Tillerson met Xi on March 19 just hours after a North Korean rocket engine test added new pressure on the big powers to address the threat from Pyongyang. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / THOMAS PETER (Photo credit should read THOMAS PETER/AFP/Getty Images)

What Just Happened in Beijing?
Tea Leaf Nation |
BERKELEY, CA - FEBRUARY 1: People protesting controversial Breitbart writer Milo Yiannopoulos take to the streets on February 1, 2017 in Berkeley, California. A scheduled speech by Yiannopoulos was cancelled after protesters and police engaged in violent skirmishes. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)

American Unrest Proves China Got the Internet Right
Tea Leaf Nation |
University of California at Irvine Economics Professor Peter Navarro, head of White House National Trade Council nominee for president-elect Donald Trump, arrives in the lobby of Trump Tower in New York, U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017. A top congressional ally to Trump said Thursday that Republicans will repeal Obamacare, including some funding provisions, quickly while a replacement plan is due in "six to eight months." Photographer: Albin Lohr-Jones/Pool via Bloomberg

Trump’s Top China Expert Isn’t a China Expert
Tea Leaf Nation |
BEIJING - OCTOBER 02: Chinese teenager attend a rock-and-roll festival to mark Chinese National Day on October 2, 2005 in Beijing, China. Various activities are being held in China to mark the National Day. (Photo by Guang Niu/Getty Images)

Why Is China So … Uncool?
Tea Leaf Nation |
BEIJING, CHINA - MARCH 05: Chinese President Xi Jinping applauds during the opening of the 3rd Session of the 12th National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People on March 5, 2015 in Beijing, China. The government work report presented: the main targets of economic and social development; a projected 2015 GDP growth of about 7 percent; and consumer prices rising about 3 percent. (Photo by Lintao Zhang/Getty Images)

Don’t Call it the New Chinese Global Order (Yet)
ChinaFile |
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BEIJING, CHINA - NOVEMBER 13: Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto (2nd R) shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping (2nd L) as he and his wife Angelica Rivera (R), Xi's wife Peng Liyuan (L) attend the opening ceremony of the exhibition "Mayas: The Language of Beauty" at the National Museum of China on November 13, 2014 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Jason Lee-Pool/Getty Images)

China Steps Into the Latin American Void Trump Has Left Behind
Tea Leaf Nation |
KASHGAR, CHINA - AUGUST 17: (CHINA OUT) Soldiers of Xinjiang Armed Police Frontier Corps get drill in gobi desert of Yecheng County on August 17, 2015 in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

After ISIS Threat, China May Have to Get off Sidelines in Middle East
Tea Leaf Nation |
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 23: The President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping tours the National Graphene Institute at Manchester University with the Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne on October 23, 2015 in Manchester, England. After listening to a presentation from Dame Nancy Rothwell, the party toured the University Centre which leads the world in graphene research and is one of the most important centres for commercialising the one-atom-thick material. (Photo by Richard Stonehouse - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

China Quietly Abandoning Bid for ‘New Model of Great Power Relations’ With U.S.
Tea Leaf Nation |
Runners of the Shanghai Pride Run make signs with their fingers while wearing rainbow shoelaces at the start of the race in Shanghai on June 18, 2016. The LGBT festival, Shanghai PRIDE 2016, which celebrates diversity in the Chinese city under this year's theme 'I Am Me', kicked-off with a fun run and will last from June 17 to 26. / AFP / JOHANNES EISELE (Photo credit should read JOHANNES EISELE/AFP/Getty Images)

China’s New Multibillion-Dollar Target Market: LGBT Youth
Tea Leaf Nation |

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Protesters—many of them armed—try to enter the Michigan House of Representatives chamber and are stopped by state police during a protest April 30 demanding that businesses be reopened. An “American Patriot Rally” organized by Michigan United for Liberty was held earlier in the day on the steps of the state Capitol in Lansing. JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images

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In the Magazine

Current Issue: Spring 2020 | Archives

In the Magazine

Current Issue: Spring 2020 | Archives
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How to Save Global Capitalism From Itself

Decentralizing decision-making can help left-behind regions get back on track.

Essay |
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Britain’s Post-Brexit Identity Crisis

Boris Johnson has contradictory ideas for his country’s future—and no clear paths for getting there.

Argument |

The Ugly End of Chimerica

The coronavirus pandemic has turned a conscious uncoupling into a messy breakup.

Argument |

The 3 Most Polarizing Words in India

“Jai Shri Ram” was meant to be a celebration of a Hindu deity. But the phrase is turning into hate speech—and a dog whistle for attacks on Muslims.

Decoder |