Author | Lightnews

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · 3d

November nights

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · 7d

'For decades, free speech & an impartial justice system were assets reassuring allies, attracting talent & offering hope to those living under repressive governments' writes @dantenkate.bsky.social. 'Now it’s becoming increasingly difficult to discern what values the US stands for' bit.ly/4oK7GFh

The United States Is Missing in Action on Free Speech

Once a beacon of democratic ideals, America now struggles to live up to them. From Nepal to Indonesia, a new generation is looking elsewhere for inspiration.

bit.ly

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · 8d

Malaysia, Truly Asia #MalaysiaBoleh www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opi...

What Trump’s dance said about us, not him

The US president may have danced, but Malaysia led — in rhythm, warmth, and grace.

www.freemalaysiatoday.com

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · 20d

'The underlying structure of Sino-American relations is getting terribly precarious,' says Hal Brands. 'The question is whether Trump grasps this ugly truth' www.bloomberg.com/opinion/feat...

China Is Already Winning the Trade War America Wanted

Trump's “grand bargain” won’t happen at a time when tariffs and export controls have become combat by other means.

www.bloomberg.com

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · 22d

'Do you want to polish slides no one will remember, or tackle the problems no one can forget?' asks @simonvanteutem.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/f01c...

How our brightest minds get trapped in the City

Money is just one reason why graduates are drawn to finance, management consulting and corporate law

www.ft.com

Reposted by Douglas Wong

Matthew Brooker @mbrooker.bsky.social · 27d

The ECHR has taken over post-Brexit as the symbolic oppressor of Britain’s sovereign freedom. But grandiose gesture of leaving would do little to solve the problem it’s designed to address: immigration. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before

www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Britain's Road to a Smaller, Pettier Place

In the days when Britain could still regard itself as a world power, the country played a key role in developing the postwar international architecture that was designed to prevent a repeat of Nazi-er...

www.bloomberg.com

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Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Oct 5

'The prospect of pledging allegiance to a country out of fear that said country might deport me is an unsettling one,' says @meganjgibson.bsky.social 'Who can feel settled in a system this arbitrary or a state this cruel?' www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...

No one will escape Reform’s immigration plans

Faced with the prospect of being deported, I feel a need to justify my existence in the UK

www.newstatesman.com

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Oct 4

Although upset by Xi Jinping's authoritarian revival, he was not distraught, writing that 'his rule will not last forever, and one can then expect another swing of the political pendulum toward a more moderate polity' www.economist.com/china/2025/0...

www.economist.com

Reposted by Douglas Wong

Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · Oct 4

Japan could soon make history with its first-ever female prime minister.

Hardline conservative Sanae Takaichi has been elected the new leader of Japan's ruling party, putting her on track to lead the world's fourth-biggest economy: https://bloom.bg/4gRaKNc

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Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Oct 2

'Britain already feels like a less tolerant country than when my family moved here from Asia three years ago,' writes @mbrooker.bsky.social 'This anti-immigrant environment will impact the high-skilled, high-value workers the UK would like to attract' www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

UK Immigration Policy Is Dancing to a Dutch Economic Tune

A University of Amsterdam research paper has made the question of migrants a financial issue.

www.bloomberg.com

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Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 27

'Together, political predators & digital conquistadors have decided to wipe out the old elites & their rules,' says Giuliano da Empoli 'If they succeed it will not only be the parties of lawyers & technocrats that will be swept away, but liberal democracy as we have known' www.ft.com/content/85ee...

How tech lords and populists changed the rules of power

Digital moguls and strongman leaders are far more than disrupters of the old liberal order. Together they seek to sweep it away, writes Giuliano da Empoli

www.ft.com

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 23

“I had this terrible thirst for contact with Chinese people,” Jerome Cohen, RIP, once said. He went on to spend decades influencing the country’s legal, trade and human-rights policies. www.wsj.com/world/china/...

Jerome Cohen, the First American to Practice Law in China, Dies at 95

An expert on China—and a sometime critic—Cohen defended companies and dissidents.

www.wsj.com

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Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 20

'Has Dubai, which has much higher numbers of immigrants but essentially no permanent path to citizenship,' asks @stephenkb.bsky.social 'really done a better job of integrating people and preserving its identity than the UK has?' www.ft.com/content/43da...

The truth about immigration

Ageing societies seeking to preserve living standards will continue to rely on new arrivals — but governments can be clearer about the trade-offs

www.ft.com

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 18

'Doubling the visa pathway to 10 years would damage the UK’s global reputation for integrity, dependability and fairness — and hand a propaganda coup to China,' writes @mbrooker.bsky.social www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Britain Must Keep Its Promise to Hong Kongers

The UK has a moral obligation and an economic interest in safeguarding the path to citizenship for migrants from the territory it formerly ruled.

www.bloomberg.com

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 17

'How have conditions led to so many feeling unheard, frustrated and angry?' asks @helenpidd.bsky.social 'Until the foundations of Britain are fixed – the NHS, schools, potholes, fuel prices – I can’t see this movement doing anything other than growing' www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

I left the Tommy Robinson rally with the worrying realisation: this movement is only going to get bigger | Helen Pidd

Some in Whitehall were aggressive, some openly racist – but more still felt this far-right gathering was the only place they could be heard, says Guardian journalist Helen Pidd

www.theguardian.com

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 15

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 14

London: sunny with gale ⚠️

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 14

The Graell family, on holiday from Barcelona, had been to the National Gallery that morning and went to a Whitehall pub for lunch “Then when we wanted to go out, we couldn’t leave,” said Elisenda. “It has been interesting.” www.reuters.com/world/uk/pol...

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 14

'You either fight back or you die,' Elon Musk told yesterday's crowd in London. @robynvinter.bsky.social was at the front line www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Far right’s show of force leaves Met desperately kettling counter-protesters

Police almost overwhelmed by brawlers whipped up by Tommy Robinson and his guest demagogues

www.theguardian.com

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Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 11

London's transport chaos adds to the impression of an administration adrift, says @mbrooker.bsky.social, but rather than driverless subway trains , what Britain really needs is a driver for the country www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

London’s Tube Strike Signals a Driverless Nation

Starmer’s Labour government is the big loser as commuters keep calm and carry on.

www.bloomberg.com

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Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 10

'What we so often describe as politics is, in fact, a series of shoves,' writes Jonathan Liew 'Splenetic, emotional and with a wilful blindness to consequence that can so easily be exploited by those with a clear destination in mind' www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

What is the endgame in this toxic immigration debate: is it friends and neighbours thrown out of the country? | Jonthan Liew

The notion of remigration was abstract, but the right is dragging it towards respectability. If the goal is homogeneous whiteness, they should say it, says Guardian columnist Jonathan Liew

www.theguardian.com

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 9

'At some point,' writes @roberthutton.co.uk, 'Labour are going to have to accept the possibility that sometimes the advice they get is bad' thecritic.co.uk/free-for-me-...

Free for me but not for thee | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine

Dan Jarvis rose with the pained air of a man trying to perform an impossible balancing act. He was there to defend the government’s proscription of Palestine Action. The main impact of this has been…

thecritic.co.uk

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Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 6

'The US pivot from free trade and global security has the makings of a decades-defining transformation,' write Tom Orlik and Jennifer Welch. '(Now) Donald Trump’s new world order is crashing into the century-defining challenges of climate change and AI' www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

A Guide to the New World Disorder

French historian Fernand Braudel saw history in three cycles, from days to decades to centuries. In Trump’s second term, all three are shifting at once.

www.bloomberg.com

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Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 3

'Keir Starmer should be calling out the racists, unashamedly defending British tolerance and embrace of different cultures and not shirking the duty of enhancing the present by critically examining the past,' says Stephen Vines open.substack.com/pub/stephenv...

Flagging a problem

Why mostly flag-free England has suddenly become awash with flags and why it matters

open.substack.com

Douglas Wong @douglaswong.bsky.social · Sep 2

'It is absurd to imagine that, in a porn-soaked culture, in which rape is virtually decriminalised, protesting outside migrant hostels should be anyone’s first priority in keeping women and girls safe,' says @glosswitch.bsky.social thecritic.co.uk/reclaiming-p...

Reclaiming “protect girls” | Victoria Smith | The Critic Magazine

Earlier this year, I took part in a radio discussion about feminism, kindness and women’s work. I’d thought it was going quite well, then towards the end it took a slightly odd turn.

thecritic.co.uk