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...
Hong Kong "had two decades of spirited opposition politics, which took off in the final years of British colonial rule and grew into a pro-democracy coalition in the 2010s before being wiped out." hongkongfp.com/2025/11/03/h...
Hong Kong legislature now an 'echo chamber,' 4 years after shake-up
Departing lawmakers reflect how Hong Kong no longer tolerates even mild dissent in the legislative chamber, and that attempts to change the system from within have failed, according to scholars and ob...
hongkongfp.com
November 5, 2025 at 2:16 AM
Hong Kong "had two decades of spirited opposition politics, which took off in the final years of British colonial rule and grew into a pro-democracy coalition in the 2010s before being wiped out." hongkongfp.com/2025/11/03/h...
In case any residents of Gyeongju weren’t annoyed at the inconvenience associated with hosting APEC meetings, the authorities are blowing up people’s phones with 2-3 emergency alerts every day about traffic and facility closures.
October 31, 2025 at 12:03 AM
In case any residents of Gyeongju weren’t annoyed at the inconvenience associated with hosting APEC meetings, the authorities are blowing up people’s phones with 2-3 emergency alerts every day about traffic and facility closures.
"By controlling access, the British Government maintains a handle on the narrative of its colonial administration and on the broader history of Hong Kong." www.historyworkshop.org.uk/empire-decol...
October 23, 2025 at 3:52 AM
"By controlling access, the British Government maintains a handle on the narrative of its colonial administration and on the broader history of Hong Kong." www.historyworkshop.org.uk/empire-decol...
"Questions I fielded from diplomats, scholars, journalists ... revealed how distorted the picture of the US has become. The Party’s success in sealing out Western influence has also sealed in ignorance about the American policy process and political economy." www.choosingvictory.com/p/a-proud-su...
October 23, 2025 at 3:50 AM
"Questions I fielded from diplomats, scholars, journalists ... revealed how distorted the picture of the US has become. The Party’s success in sealing out Western influence has also sealed in ignorance about the American policy process and political economy." www.choosingvictory.com/p/a-proud-su...
Love this series from the Times highlighting environmental activism across all 50 states: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
50 States, 50 Fixes
A series about local solutions, and the people behind them, to environmental problems.
www.nytimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:43 AM
Love this series from the Times highlighting environmental activism across all 50 states: www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by James Griffiths
Good year to beat them at their national game
October 21, 2025 at 3:22 AM
Good year to beat them at their national game
Reposted by James Griffiths
poutine for every body
October 21, 2025 at 3:07 AM
poutine for every body
Beyond how vile many of these AI images are, NGOs and charities (particularly well-funded international ones) stepping back from paying for documentary photography is a real blow to the journalists who depend on those salaries or commissions to survive:
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
AI-generated ‘poverty porn’ fake images being used by aid agencies
Exclusive: Pictures depicting the most vulnerable and poorest people are being used in social media campaigns in the sector, driven by concerns over consent and cost
www.theguardian.com
October 21, 2025 at 3:11 AM
Beyond how vile many of these AI images are, NGOs and charities (particularly well-funded international ones) stepping back from paying for documentary photography is a real blow to the journalists who depend on those salaries or commissions to survive:
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
"Almost no one in the US and the UK pushing for age verification laws really understands how different the internet feels when someone can see what you're doing." www.garbageday.email/p/the-great-...
October 18, 2025 at 6:58 AM
"Almost no one in the US and the UK pushing for age verification laws really understands how different the internet feels when someone can see what you're doing." www.garbageday.email/p/the-great-...
"The writ also cited an incident where [Magistrate] Ho ordered Thapa to pay a HK$100 cash bail for arriving to court a minute late, and another where she called the two barristers 'good boy.' Ho made insulting remarks, hindering the two lawyers’ defence, they said." hongkongfp.com/2025/10/15/h...
Hong Kong barristers order judge, prosecution to pay HK$20m for dragging out 91-day jaywalking trial
Two barristers have accused a magistrate judge and the prosecution of dragging out proceedings for monetary gain in a jaywalking case that lasted 91 days before the defendant was acquitted.
hongkongfp.com
October 16, 2025 at 3:57 AM
"The writ also cited an incident where [Magistrate] Ho ordered Thapa to pay a HK$100 cash bail for arriving to court a minute late, and another where she called the two barristers 'good boy.' Ho made insulting remarks, hindering the two lawyers’ defence, they said." hongkongfp.com/2025/10/15/h...
"If you're ever in a financially secure position, with expertise in your field and the independence to speak out, then I urge you to contribute your wisdom to the public domain, it will enrich your life and you won't regret it"
End of an era as Webb-site goes offline: webb-site.com/articles/shu...
End of an era as Webb-site goes offline: webb-site.com/articles/shu...
Webb-site Reports
webb-site.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:29 AM
"If you're ever in a financially secure position, with expertise in your field and the independence to speak out, then I urge you to contribute your wisdom to the public domain, it will enrich your life and you won't regret it"
End of an era as Webb-site goes offline: webb-site.com/articles/shu...
End of an era as Webb-site goes offline: webb-site.com/articles/shu...
Reposted by James Griffiths
collar gate is the latest instance of a trumped-up non-issue blossoming into a large-scale psychosis event – and possibly the dumbest. it's also the modern internet doing exactly what it was engineered to do
October 15, 2025 at 1:03 AM
collar gate is the latest instance of a trumped-up non-issue blossoming into a large-scale psychosis event – and possibly the dumbest. it's also the modern internet doing exactly what it was engineered to do
Baselines don't always have to shift in one direction.
"there were more than 50,000 eastern Australian humpback whales in 2024.
That's around 20,000 more individuals than the estimated pre-whaling population of the early 1900s."
www.abc.net.au/news/science...
"there were more than 50,000 eastern Australian humpback whales in 2024.
That's around 20,000 more individuals than the estimated pre-whaling population of the early 1900s."
www.abc.net.au/news/science...
These whales were hunted to 150 individuals. Now there are 50,000 of them
Once hunted almost to extinction, the population of humpback whales currently migrating down Australia's east coast has bounced back and is now greater than before whaling.
www.abc.net.au
October 15, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Baselines don't always have to shift in one direction.
"there were more than 50,000 eastern Australian humpback whales in 2024.
That's around 20,000 more individuals than the estimated pre-whaling population of the early 1900s."
www.abc.net.au/news/science...
"there were more than 50,000 eastern Australian humpback whales in 2024.
That's around 20,000 more individuals than the estimated pre-whaling population of the early 1900s."
www.abc.net.au/news/science...
“We’ve sometimes grown accustomed to the heat that we gradually forget that the climate has undergone significant change. We must remind ourselves that the world’s climate is abnormal and is even becoming increasingly extreme.”
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
Hong Kong’s ‘cold dew’ days are not cool any more. Why?
Low-income residents will suffer first as temperatures rise, former Observatory chief says.
www.scmp.com
October 10, 2025 at 3:40 AM
“We’ve sometimes grown accustomed to the heat that we gradually forget that the climate has undergone significant change. We must remind ourselves that the world’s climate is abnormal and is even becoming increasingly extreme.”
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
www.scmp.com/news/hong-ko...
Australia Expands Sunscreen Recalls Over False SPF Claims: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/w...
October 3, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Australia Expands Sunscreen Recalls Over False SPF Claims: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/w...
"No real consequences of any sort have thus far come for OpenAI, and the company now seems completely disinterested in pretending that it did not train its tools on endless reams of copyrighted material." www.404media.co/openais-sora...
OpenAI’s Sora 2 Copyright Infringement Machine Features Nazi SpongeBobs and Criminal Pikachus
The main use of Sora appears to generate brainrot of major beloved copyrighted characters, to say nothing of the millions of articles, images, and videos OpenAI has scraped.
www.404media.co
October 2, 2025 at 3:29 AM
"No real consequences of any sort have thus far come for OpenAI, and the company now seems completely disinterested in pretending that it did not train its tools on endless reams of copyrighted material." www.404media.co/openais-sora...
Saw a post by Elon Musk, which reminded me I had not donated to Wikipedia in a while.
October 2, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Saw a post by Elon Musk, which reminded me I had not donated to Wikipedia in a while.
"We have so many tech journalists, but not that much tech journalism."
@edzitron.com is an oasis in the desert of AI boosterism.
www.ft.com/content/4c8d...
@edzitron.com is an oasis in the desert of AI boosterism.
www.ft.com/content/4c8d...
Ed Zitron is mad as hell
How a British-born hobbyist blogger became one of Big Tech’s punchiest critics
www.ft.com
September 25, 2025 at 5:12 AM
"We have so many tech journalists, but not that much tech journalism."
@edzitron.com is an oasis in the desert of AI boosterism.
www.ft.com/content/4c8d...
@edzitron.com is an oasis in the desert of AI boosterism.
www.ft.com/content/4c8d...
While many foreign journalists remain barred from mainland China, at least this guy is having a nice time.
September 25, 2025 at 2:35 AM
While many foreign journalists remain barred from mainland China, at least this guy is having a nice time.
Fantastic illustrated feature by Reuters on the ongoing horrors of Myanmar's slave call centres, which exist thanks to complicity of junta, allied militias and, Reuters reports, some corrupt Thai officials: www.reuters.com/graphics/SOU...
They traveled to Thailand. They wound up cyber scam slaves in Myanmar.
A multibillion-dollar fraud industry has taken root across Southeast Asia, fueled partly by trafficking victims. In lawless zones along the Myanmar-Thai border, Chinese-run compounds force thousands t...
www.reuters.com
September 23, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Fantastic illustrated feature by Reuters on the ongoing horrors of Myanmar's slave call centres, which exist thanks to complicity of junta, allied militias and, Reuters reports, some corrupt Thai officials: www.reuters.com/graphics/SOU...
I wrote about the Hong Kong Ghost Signs project and efforts to preserve and conserve our rapidly changing city's history: www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
September 22, 2025 at 7:09 AM
I wrote about the Hong Kong Ghost Signs project and efforts to preserve and conserve our rapidly changing city's history: www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...
"The now-defeated [same-sex partnerships] bill was the government’s attempt to meet the deadline, but only in an absolutely minimalist way." www.scmp.com/opinion/hong...
September 22, 2025 at 6:56 AM
"The now-defeated [same-sex partnerships] bill was the government’s attempt to meet the deadline, but only in an absolutely minimalist way." www.scmp.com/opinion/hong...
One feature The Globe’s app has that I wish others would replicate is this tab collating news alerts. Maybe I’m weird in instinctively clearing alerts on lock screen and then wishing I could have clicked them but it’d also be useful for record keeping to see what outlets alerted overnight etc.
September 18, 2025 at 11:57 PM
One feature The Globe’s app has that I wish others would replicate is this tab collating news alerts. Maybe I’m weird in instinctively clearing alerts on lock screen and then wishing I could have clicked them but it’d also be useful for record keeping to see what outlets alerted overnight etc.
“Labelling genetically engineered modern species as extinct ones brought back from the dead, if it takes off, it’s a huge moral hazard; a massive enabler for the activities that causes species to go extinct in the first place." www.theguardian.com/science/2025...
Scientists claim they’ve made ‘pivotal step’ in bringing back the dodo for first time in 300 years
Thousands of dodos could return within a decade according to Colossal Biosciences, a ‘de-extinction’ company – but experts warn of ‘moral hazard’
www.theguardian.com
September 18, 2025 at 6:22 AM
“Labelling genetically engineered modern species as extinct ones brought back from the dead, if it takes off, it’s a huge moral hazard; a massive enabler for the activities that causes species to go extinct in the first place." www.theguardian.com/science/2025...