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Vivian Wang
For Vivian Wang's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
An online army of Chinese nationalists have taken it upon themselves to punish perceived insults to the country — including from some of China’s leading business figures.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 27, 2024
Why are China’s nationalists attacking the country’s heroes?
Many of the grievances seem to be fueled by discontent over China’s economic malaise, potentially making it harder for authorities to quell public anger.
Rescue workers conduct search and rescue operations in the village of Kangdiao, following the earthquake in Jishishan county, Gansu province, China, on Tuesday.
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 19, 2023
Earthquake kills at least 116 in northwestern China
Rescuers were searching for survivors after the quake, which jolted Jishishan County in Gansu province late Monday.
A visitor to an American college fair at a Marriott Hotel in Beijing poses for a souvenir photo next to an eagle mascot on Sept. 23. Students have been traveling between China and the U.S. for generations, propelled by ambition, curiosity and a belief that their time abroad could help them better their and their countries’ futures.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 29, 2023
Can U.S.-China student exchanges survive geopolitics?
Official rhetoric belies obstacles both governments have continued to erect, driven by the same nationalism and concerns about national security.
A woman stands under surveillance cameras on a riverside, during the National People's Congress in Shanghai on March 7.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Sep 3, 2023
China to its people: Spies are everywhere, help us catch them
China’s ruling Communist Party is enlisting ordinary people to guard against perceived threats to the country.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jul 6, 2023
China took her husband. She was left to uncover his secret cause.
Whether her husband was Program Think is virtually impossible to confirm. He was, however, proudly nonconformist — refusing to use social media or buy new clothes — and intensely private.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Apr 9, 2023
China rejects WHO accusations of hiding Wuhan COVID-19 data
The rebukes came after overseas researchers discovered sequences that had not been previously shared.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Dec 27, 2022
China to drop COVID-19 quarantine for incoming travelers
From Jan. 8, visitors will be required to show only a negative PCR test taken within 48 hours.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 29, 2022
A protest? A vigil? In Beijing, anxious crowds are unsure how far to go.
In a country where protests are swiftly quashed, many who gathered to voice their discontent — under the watchful eye of the police — were uncertain about how far to go.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 28, 2022
China’s chest-thumping nationalism now goes too far, movement’s godfather says
Wang Xiaodong, once called the standard-bearer of Chinese nationalism, now fends off criticisms of being too moderate, even a traitor. “They've forgotten,” he said, “I created them.”
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Oct 16, 2022
‘We’re all over this place’: Building a fortress for Beijing’s moment
The mission of security forces is straightforward: make sure nothing disrupts the Chinese Communist Party congress, where Xi Jinping is expected to secure a third term as leader.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Aug 16, 2022
Troops, noodles and familial love: China lays out its ideal Taiwan
Alongside its flashy display of power, China has been laying out its most forceful vision — political, economic, cultural — of a unified future.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Feb 24, 2022
How China under Xi Jinping is turning away from the world
The country's most dominant leader since Mao is redefining China's relationship with the world, recasting the meeting of minds and cultures as a zero-sum clash.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Science & Health
Feb 17, 2022
Hong Kong can’t live with the virus. It can’t stop it, either.
With hospital beds on sidewalks and testing lines winding through parks, the city's flailing response has exposed crucial weaknesses.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 30, 2022
Living by the code: In China, COVID-era controls may outlast the virus
Beijing already had a vast ability to track its 1.4 billion citizens before the pandemic — now that monitoring is far more expansive.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Jan 3, 2022
China moves to overhaul protections for women’s rights, sort of
The Chinese government is set to change its law governing women's rights for the first time in decades, but the obvious contradictions have left many women feeling skeptical.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 29, 2021
Deep underground, a Chinese miner discovered poetry in the toil
More than three decades after scribbling his first poem as a teenager in the mountains of northern China, Chen Nianxi is living a literary dream.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jun 28, 2021
Crossing the red line: Behind China’s takeover of Hong Kong
One year ago, the city's freedoms were curtailed with breathtaking speed. But the clampdown was years in the making, and many signals were missed.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 27, 2021
Hong Kong’s first COVID-19 lockdown exposes deep-rooted inequality
Hong Kong has long been one of the most unequal places on Earth, a city where luxury malls sit shoulder-to-shoulder with overcrowded tenements.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 23, 2021
A year later, the first post-pandemic city
The long months of harsh lockdown have faded from view in Wuhan, the first city in the world devastated by the new coronavirus.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Jan 17, 2021
In Hong Kong, a new party calls for stability — and raises suspicions
The party, led by business executives who moved to Hong Kong from the mainland, is entering the fray amid forceful moves by Beijing to quash dissent.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on