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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Unpacking China’s Curious ‘Ivanka Fever’
The President's powerful daughter evokes deeply-held tropes in Chinese society.
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?
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.
When Marx Meets Islam
A Chinese regulation would prohibit online insults based on religion. Some decry it as antithetical to Communist values.
Galleries
A Week in World Photos
Migrants in Bosnia, a swan roundup in Germany, and protests in Bolivia, Zimbabwe, and Hong Kong.
30 Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall
Celebration and uncertainty in Germany as communism crumbled on Nov. 9, 1989.
Why Trade Wars Are Inevitable
Trump’s trade wars aren’t just about him or China—but global economic imbalances that the next U.S. administration will still have to address.
The Internet Broke the News Industry—and Can Fix It, Too
The only way to save journalism is to make readers direct participants in making, and paying for, the media.
Repent for Your Frequent Flyer Miles!
Feeling guilty for the carbon burned on your last flight? The Germans have a word for that.
The Women Who Shaped Obama’s Foreign Policy
Two new memoirs by Samantha Power and Susan Rice show how idealists became insiders—and what was lost along the way.