James Griffiths
@jamestgriffiths.com
🇨🇦 Asia correspondent, @theglobeandmail.com
📚 Author, ‘The Great Firewall of China’ and ‘Speak Not’
📍 Hong Kong
🔒 jgriffiths.852
📚 Author, ‘The Great Firewall of China’ and ‘Speak Not’
📍 Hong Kong
🔒 jgriffiths.852
Pinned
James Griffiths
@jamestgriffiths.com
· Sep 9
Leaked files show a Chinese company is exporting the Great Firewall’s censorship technology
Geedge Networks is providing censorship capabilities to foreign governments, including those in Myanmar, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan
www.theglobeandmail.com
As part of a consortium of researchers and journalists, I spent the better part of a year digging into leaked documents from Chinese security company Geedge, which plays a pivotal role exporting the Great Firewall around the world: www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/15c699a...
Reposted by James Griffiths
i set up openclaw on my work machine to have it get my apes back from gas town but instead they are partying with said stolen apes on moltbook, this is the last time i'll ever listen to jimmy fallon
February 3, 2026 at 7:45 PM
i set up openclaw on my work machine to have it get my apes back from gas town but instead they are partying with said stolen apes on moltbook, this is the last time i'll ever listen to jimmy fallon
Reposted by James Griffiths
My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power
February 4, 2026 at 7:40 PM
My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power
Reposted by James Griffiths
"rich dipshit owner doesn't understand the industry he's bought into and clumsily destroys what made it good" feels less like a narrative unique to the washington post and more like the music that's been playing in the background of all our lives for at least 40 years
February 4, 2026 at 2:53 PM
"rich dipshit owner doesn't understand the industry he's bought into and clumsily destroys what made it good" feels less like a narrative unique to the washington post and more like the music that's been playing in the background of all our lives for at least 40 years
Japanese politics is wild.
"the established left-wing parties – the JCP [Communist Party] and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – are more fiscally hawkish than virtually every other party"
observingjapan.substack.com/p/what-the-c...
"the established left-wing parties – the JCP [Communist Party] and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – are more fiscally hawkish than virtually every other party"
observingjapan.substack.com/p/what-the-c...
What the candidates believe | Japan Daily Briefing
Surveys point to several major divides among -- and within -- the parties
observingjapan.substack.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:12 AM
Japanese politics is wild.
"the established left-wing parties – the JCP [Communist Party] and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – are more fiscally hawkish than virtually every other party"
observingjapan.substack.com/p/what-the-c...
"the established left-wing parties – the JCP [Communist Party] and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) – are more fiscally hawkish than virtually every other party"
observingjapan.substack.com/p/what-the-c...
Reposted by James Griffiths
people in sf are scrunging their bungos. they’re wiring fleebs to their pudbots
The AI evangelists want us all to conveniently forget that they were all telling us we had to buy bored apes or we would be left out of the Economy Of The Future four years ago.
January 25, 2026 at 5:50 PM
people in sf are scrunging their bungos. they’re wiring fleebs to their pudbots
Reposted by James Griffiths
I think it's best for everyone to understand that the unified class project of billionaires right now is to do to white collar workers what globalization and neoliberalism did to blue collar workers.
February 4, 2026 at 7:41 PM
I think it's best for everyone to understand that the unified class project of billionaires right now is to do to white collar workers what globalization and neoliberalism did to blue collar workers.
Reposted by James Griffiths
The entire annual operating losses of the Washington Post amount to a single-digit percentage of the everyday noise in the signal of its owner's finances
For scale, Bloomberg lists the most recent daily market fluctuation in Jeff Bezos' net worth as -$3.71 billion
February 4, 2026 at 11:21 PM
The entire annual operating losses of the Washington Post amount to a single-digit percentage of the everyday noise in the signal of its owner's finances
I don't always understand his Canadian sports columns, but my colleague Cathal Kelly (and fellow Beijing 2022 survivor) is always a must read at Olympics time: www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olymp...
February 4, 2026 at 11:21 PM
I don't always understand his Canadian sports columns, but my colleague Cathal Kelly (and fellow Beijing 2022 survivor) is always a must read at Olympics time: www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/olymp...
Reposted by James Griffiths
"Those who were laid off include Caroline O’Donovan, the Post’s beat reporter covering Amazon"
Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post Cuts 30% of Staff, Laying Off More Than 300 Employees Including Amazon Beat Reporter
The Washington Post, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is enacting layoffs that will eliminate "hundreds" of jobs.
variety.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:12 PM
"Those who were laid off include Caroline O’Donovan, the Post’s beat reporter covering Amazon"
Reposted by James Griffiths
For scale, Bloomberg lists the most recent daily market fluctuation in Jeff Bezos' net worth as -$3.71 billion
February 4, 2026 at 11:06 PM
For scale, Bloomberg lists the most recent daily market fluctuation in Jeff Bezos' net worth as -$3.71 billion
"If Bezos took one per cent of his net worth and put it into a trust that would endow the paper with the resources to do the good journalism that it’s been doing, he would be remembered as the savior of the Post and not the destroyer." link.newyorker.com/view/65b735b...
The New Yorker Daily Newsletter
link.newyorker.com
February 4, 2026 at 11:13 PM
"If Bezos took one per cent of his net worth and put it into a trust that would endow the paper with the resources to do the good journalism that it’s been doing, he would be remembered as the savior of the Post and not the destroyer." link.newyorker.com/view/65b735b...
Reposted by James Griffiths
much of the high-end Beijing nightlife was in PLA-controlled areas, largely because they had the immense advantage of only requiring you to bribe one guy a month, which is basically just tax.
covid finally killed Maggie's, I believe (for context for others, this was an infamous hotspot of Mongolian and Russian pros, located in a complex controlled - like a large stretch of central Beijing - by the PLA)
February 3, 2026 at 5:14 AM
much of the high-end Beijing nightlife was in PLA-controlled areas, largely because they had the immense advantage of only requiring you to bribe one guy a month, which is basically just tax.
Reposted by James Griffiths
it is currently eating itself alive with internal paranoia and denunciations because it is being subject to a rolling purge that likely has very little to do with military modernization and everything to do with corruption networks, and which - since it seems to have turned around personnel issues
February 3, 2026 at 5:01 AM
it is currently eating itself alive with internal paranoia and denunciations because it is being subject to a rolling purge that likely has very little to do with military modernization and everything to do with corruption networks, and which - since it seems to have turned around personnel issues
Incredible graphic from NYT showing the depth of Xi Jinping's purge of China's military leadership in recent years: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
February 3, 2026 at 5:22 AM
Incredible graphic from NYT showing the depth of Xi Jinping's purge of China's military leadership in recent years: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
"Standing up for women’s rights is increasingly sensitive in China where the government views feminism as disruptive, especially as officials push women toward more traditional roles in hopes of reversing falling birthrates." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Secret Filming of Women Thrives in China as Officials Silence Activists
Hidden cameras capture women in intimate moments without their consent, yet the authorities do little to stop it.
www.nytimes.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:04 AM
"Standing up for women’s rights is increasingly sensitive in China where the government views feminism as disruptive, especially as officials push women toward more traditional roles in hopes of reversing falling birthrates." www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Shout out to @dispatchmedia.bsky.social which is consistently publishing some of the most interesting, well written features on the UK (and occasionally US) out there. Their weekend newsletter, which highlights content elsewhere too, is also great.
dispatch-media.com/how-to-be-ha...
dispatch-media.com/how-to-be-ha...
How to be happy in England
A visit to England's happiest town • On the saddest day of the year • How does Skipton do it?
dispatch-media.com
February 2, 2026 at 9:27 AM
Shout out to @dispatchmedia.bsky.social which is consistently publishing some of the most interesting, well written features on the UK (and occasionally US) out there. Their weekend newsletter, which highlights content elsewhere too, is also great.
dispatch-media.com/how-to-be-ha...
dispatch-media.com/how-to-be-ha...
"The Hong Kong government and even Beijing, they just don't want any problems. They don't want to deal with anything."
Former govt advisor Chan basically admits loudest conservative voices in HK able to censor things they don't like because the government can't be bothered standing up to them.
Former govt advisor Chan basically admits loudest conservative voices in HK able to censor things they don't like because the government can't be bothered standing up to them.
Zolima Magazine: Is West Kowloon Cultural District too big to fail? zolimacitymag.com/is-the-west-...
Chairman Bernard Chan:
Chairman Bernard Chan:
January 30, 2026 at 1:44 AM
"The Hong Kong government and even Beijing, they just don't want any problems. They don't want to deal with anything."
Former govt advisor Chan basically admits loudest conservative voices in HK able to censor things they don't like because the government can't be bothered standing up to them.
Former govt advisor Chan basically admits loudest conservative voices in HK able to censor things they don't like because the government can't be bothered standing up to them.
Great guide from @sarahjeong.bsky.social, and also fully co-sign this point: being teargassed sucks so much the first time but it's amazing how quickly you get used to it, hence massively diminishing returns for law enforcement as a crowd control method.
www.theverge.com/policy/86857...
www.theverge.com/policy/86857...
January 30, 2026 at 1:35 AM
Great guide from @sarahjeong.bsky.social, and also fully co-sign this point: being teargassed sucks so much the first time but it's amazing how quickly you get used to it, hence massively diminishing returns for law enforcement as a crowd control method.
www.theverge.com/policy/86857...
www.theverge.com/policy/86857...
Sharing a screenshot as @dreyerchina.bsky.social doesn't post on here as regularly. The Chinese Super League continues to be the most heartbreaking to follow in all of world soccer. Shenhua in relegation zone even before the season starts, though at least they still exist, unlike poor Guangzhou.
January 30, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Sharing a screenshot as @dreyerchina.bsky.social doesn't post on here as regularly. The Chinese Super League continues to be the most heartbreaking to follow in all of world soccer. Shenhua in relegation zone even before the season starts, though at least they still exist, unlike poor Guangzhou.
Reposted by James Griffiths
I’m not sure how much notice this has received but the Assembly of First Nations in Canada has issued a travel advisory for the United States after reports that Indigenous people are being increasingly questioned and detained by ICE. www.instagram.com/p/DT-_SacDEH...
January 29, 2026 at 4:54 AM
I’m not sure how much notice this has received but the Assembly of First Nations in Canada has issued a travel advisory for the United States after reports that Indigenous people are being increasingly questioned and detained by ICE. www.instagram.com/p/DT-_SacDEH...
Glad Guardian highlighting security concerns are not new for China visits, it's extremely tiresome watching Western journalists making some big scandal out of advice for them/diplomats to take burner phones (common for visiting many countries, including US).
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Burner phones and lead-lined bags: a history of UK security tactics in China
Starmer’s team is wary of spies but such fears are not new – with Theresa May once warned to get dressed under a duvet
www.theguardian.com
January 29, 2026 at 6:39 AM
Glad Guardian highlighting security concerns are not new for China visits, it's extremely tiresome watching Western journalists making some big scandal out of advice for them/diplomats to take burner phones (common for visiting many countries, including US).
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
“The company promotes diversity and inclusion on its website, and one of its core values is to ‘give back to our communities and be an ally’.”
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
Vancouver social media company Hootsuite looking to work with ICE to ‘build trust’
Company has secured a project with ICE that involves ‘social listening’ after cancelling a contract in 2020 over employee backlash
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:56 AM
“The company promotes diversity and inclusion on its website, and one of its core values is to ‘give back to our communities and be an ally’.”
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...
"The recipients include groups that organise beach clean-ups and artificial intelligence (AI) classes. Most have apparent pro-establishment ties, an HKFP investigation has found." hongkongfp.com/2026/01/18/e...
HK's LGBTQ funding scheme mainly goes to groups with no ties to community
Most recipients of the HK gov't's Equal Opportunities (Sexual Orientation) Funding Scheme are groups that organise activities like beach clean-ups and AI workshops. Most of them appear to have pro-est...
hongkongfp.com
January 19, 2026 at 3:20 AM
"The recipients include groups that organise beach clean-ups and artificial intelligence (AI) classes. Most have apparent pro-establishment ties, an HKFP investigation has found." hongkongfp.com/2026/01/18/e...
Gutted to hear of David’s passing, he was such a generous font of advice and knowledge for journalists in Hong Kong, albeit in his own slightly spiky style. He fought for the little guy and confronted a brutal cancer head on with bravery and dignity.
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
Hong Kong corporate governance activist David Webb dies at 60
A champion of transparency and investor rights, whose investigations and sharp commentaries unsettled the financial elite.
www.scmp.com
January 13, 2026 at 3:16 PM
Gutted to hear of David’s passing, he was such a generous font of advice and knowledge for journalists in Hong Kong, albeit in his own slightly spiky style. He fought for the little guy and confronted a brutal cancer head on with bravery and dignity.
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
I wrote about how China also loves everyone’s favourite show. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/15c699a...
Heated Rivalry is a (pirated) hit in China, despite a crackdown on LGBTQ content
Canadian show proving popular even in country where hockey remains a niche pastime
www.theglobeandmail.com
January 9, 2026 at 9:27 AM
I wrote about how China also loves everyone’s favourite show. www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/15c699a...