Samuel Wade

2 weeks ago | chinadigitaltimes.net | Samuel Wade

The massive success of Ne Zha 2, boosted by patriotic group-buys and shielded by censors, buoyed a series of triumphal state media headlines earlier this year. Box office takings for the year to date were indeed up substantially from 2024, but this was a relatively low bar after a sharp slump from a spike in 2023. Even that year’s haul fell well short of the industry’s pre-pandemic peak in 2019.

3 weeks ago | chinadigitaltimes.net | Samuel Wade

At Project Sinopsis, Ansel Li examines how many young Chinese are seeking solace in mystical crystals and spirituality-based scams. Superstitious elements have blended with livestream- and app-driven hyperconsumerism; Li even attributes a substantial slice of homegrown AI champion DeepSeek’s public adoption to demand for AI-generated fortunes and horoscopes. This phenomenon is not merely a return to old habits or rural mysticism.

1 month ago | chinadigitaltimes.net | Samuel Wade

Amid signs that U.S. tariffs are starting to bite into China’s exports, the country’s foreign ministry issued a defiant vow not to "kneel" on Wednesday, declaring: "Bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst. […] For China, for the world, we must rise and fight on." Some commentators in the West argue that China has the upper hand; naturally, many official voices in China agree. But some views expressed online are darker.

1 month ago | chinadigitaltimes.net | Samuel Wade

CDT noted last month that recent Chinese naval exercises around Australia had sparked a spike in comments on Chinese social media advocating the conquest of Australia. While some may have been a joke, others appeared serious, and were taken seriously by commentators such as current affairs and science blogger Xiang Dongliang, who wrote: “Popular sentiment really has shifted.

1 month ago | chinadigitaltimes.net | Samuel Wade

Hu Dehua, the third son of former General Secretary Hu Yaobang, died in Beijing on March 30. The anniversary of his father’s death in 1989, which sparked the protests crushed by the June 4 crackdown, is April 15. That historical context, as well as Hu Dehua’s own vocal defense of his father’s legacy and criticism of Xi Jinping, imbued the younger Hu’s death with heightened political sensitivity.