The immense popularity of social media has afforded China watchers a terrific window onto public opinion in China. In recent years, a slew of English-language websites have emerged to interpret the various trends and phenomena, discourse, and debates on the Chinese Internet for non-Chinese audiences, but for our money the very best of the bunch is Chublic Opinion—public opinion with Chinese characteristics—written by Ma Tianjie. A graduate of Peking University who now works for chinadialogue, Ma Tianjie offers penetrating insight and analysis written with great flare. He joins Kaiser, Jeremy, and Ada Shen in the studio for a wide-ranging discussion that reveals the mysterious origins of “diaosi” culture and looks at some of the controversies and conversations that have dominated Weibo and WeChat in recent months.
Recommendations
- Morning Sun, Carma Hinton and Richard Gordon (Long Bow Group, 2003)
- Shenzhen: A Travelogue From China, Guy Delisle (Drawn and Quarterly, 2000)
- 特殊交易, Yao Tingting (2013)
- “Clinton Vs. Sanders Activism,” Charles M. Blow (February 29, 2016)