Tom Leung

While mask-wearing has become a part of life in East Asia since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, it has remained rare in the United States and Europe. In some cases, mask wearers of Asian descent have been frowned upon or even assaulted. We look at the history of surgical mask use during disease outbreaks and how they have become shunned in the place where the practice originated: America.

China’s proposed bill on granting permanent residency to foreigners has unleashed a wave of xenophobia on the Chinese internet. Even though China has one of the lowest shares of foreign-born people in the entire world, many people worry that a potential rise in foreign immigrants will make their life harder. In response to the bill, people have posted hostile comments online, especially against black people and Muslims, demanding that the government toughen rules on immigration. We spoke with several fierce opponents of the permanent residency bill about why they do not want more immigrants in China.

It is the 2020 Lunar New Year holiday, and 11-year-old Xiaoxiao and her little brother are at home with their grandparents in a remote part of central China. They are anxiously waiting for the Spring Festival reunion dinner when their parents return from their jobs in southern Guangdong province. Like hundreds of millions of rural migrant workers in China, Chen and Liu travel home only once a year. The travel rush over the holiday period, which lasts up to 40 days, is considered the largest annual human migration in the world.

The 41-year-old mixed martial arts fighter Xu Xiaodong has been a controversial figure in China ever since he became famous for beating up what he called “fake” kung fu masters. Unafraid to talk about almost anything, his brash attitude has brought him stardom but also unexpected – and unwelcome – knocks on his door. In November, he set out to prove that he’s more than a tough guy who dared to challenge a cherished Chinese tradition. In the video above, Inkstone follows Xu, nicknamed “Mad Dog,” as he fights the biggest fights of his career, for fame and freedom.  Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more stories about life, culture and politics in China.

The pro-democracy camp has won by a landslide in Sunday’s district polls as voters show their support to the anti-government protests.  The district council election had been seen as a test of public opinion on the continuing protests that have disrupted traffic and caused violent clashes between protesters and police.  In 2015, pro-democracy politicians only held 126 elected seats on the district council. In 2019, they won 388 seats, making pro-Beijing politicians the minority. (Candidates are divided into two camps according to their party affiliation and remarks made in public. Some candidates are considered independent.) Experts say the stunning victory by democrats in the election shows

China has finally launched 5G networks around the country, offering breakneck internet speeds of up to 1GB per second to Chinese mobile phone users. 5G is set to transform digital life, and China is one of the places leading the charge with investments in 5G infrastructure and technology.  Although Chinese 5G plans are on sale for as little as $18 a month, many Chinese internet users aren’t rushing to sign up. Watch the video, above, to find out why.

Months of anti-government protests have roiled Hong Kong and exposed deep divisions in society. Politics has colored and changed seemingly everything, from where people eat and shop to weddings. Watch the video, above, for a look into the divide tearing the city apart.

A boom in the popularity of cannabis-derived cannabidiol (CBD) in the US and Europe has started a frenzy of interest in commercial hemp grown in China. CBD is believed to help cure a range of illnesses, even though there is little scientific evidence. But that hasn’t stopped the industry from growing. The global CBD market is expected to hit $16 billion by 2025, according to one estimate. Viola Zhou visited southwestern China’s Yunnan province, where it is legal to grow commercial cannabis, to see how this CBD boom is playing out in China.

Even though streetwear brand Supreme doesn't have a single store in China, you'll probably see it in almost every major Chinese city. While the brand selling "Supreme" in China might not be the original from New York, it is a testament to the immense popularity of streetwear in China. Last year, Chinese spending on luxury streetwear goods rose by 62%.  And as the industry grows, foreign brands are trying to capitalize, while Chinese streetwear labels aim to expand abroad. In the video above, we dive into the Chinese hypebeast scene and see how streetwear is growing among China's young, wealthy people.

Protests against a now-suspended extradition bill in Hong Kong have brought hundreds of thousands of people onto the streets over the past two weeks.  Inkstone has previously explained how the demonstrators rest, eat and pee. And we’ve described how the largely leaderless crowd communicates and organizes. Now, we’d like to translate for you the memes that have been going viral. 1. Bulletproof boys This meme plays off the name of BTS, a mega boy-band from South Korea. It’s short for “bulletproof youth group” in Korean and also in Chinese. The meme maker is saying that Hong Kong’s young demonstrators are the real “bulletproof youth.” In this photo, they’re seen with umbrellas, helmets and gas