Chinese Whispers 2.0
Dusk in Shenzhen, January 2025
I was born in China and raised in the UK. Landing in Heathrow or in Shanghai Pudong, I’m often struck by the feeling of walking into a different world. Not only are the two countries so completely different physically, the concerns of their peoples, their respective understandings of the world, and the collective memories that inform them are also worlds apart. My Chinese family and friends cannot understand why the West loathes and fears their country; similarly, Brits often ask me questions that many Chinese would find laughable, for example: ‘Do the Chinese want to take revenge for the opium wars?’
The Chinese Whispers podcast series was born out of this gap. From the beginning, its mission has been to bring a more colourful and complex picture of China to the non-expert but intelligent and interested English-speaking audience. I resolved to tackle the biggest political and economic stories of the day, but also to go beyond these subjects and into the cultural and historical issues that matter for Chinese society more widely. Perhaps this gap can be narrowed a little if only English-speakers can understand more about how the Chinese see the world.
As the podcast comes to a close along with my time at The Spectator magazine, this newsletter will be a way to keep that mission alive. At The Times and Sunday Times, I will be writing a regular column on China, but also interviewing China watchers, reviewing the latest books, presenting YouTube explainers. By subscribing to this Substack, you can keep abreast with all my latest work, but I also endeavour to send regular updates on what articles and books (in English and Chinese) I’ve been reading and finding interesting, as well as observations from frequent visits to China. Who knows – one day, I may pop back up on your podcast providers.
The newsletter is a work in progress, so please feel free to suggest other interesting things and formats you’d like to see/find helpful.
Hello Cindy. I too, enjoyed the Chinese Whispers podcast very much. It was interesting, educational, entertaining, and sometimes essential in making sense of our world today. Though your portrait of arriving in Heathrow and Shanghai Pudong depicts contrast, Chinese Whispers painted instead how, fundamentally, the people of China and the UK differ little. Both wish for a sense of security, peace, family, friendship, fun, prosperity, opportunity for meaning and creativity, and a faith that life will, somehow, some way, and sometimes against the odds, get better, improve. I appreciated both the contrasts and the concordances, and thank you for exploring them. May your susurrations again carry into a podcast app of my choice before too long. Best wishes, Padmakumāra
Hi Cindy. Like you, I was born in China. But I spent my entire childhood and most of my school years there. I am currently doing a PhD in the US. I am an avid listener to Chinese Whispers and it's really sad to realize it has ended. To be honest, I don't always agree with all of your interpretations or viewpoints, but your conversations with guests have been consistently insightful and thought-provoking for me.
China is such a vast and complex place, and its internal differences are as great as those between Finland and Malta. Yet it also carries a kind of continuity that makes many - not without reason - see it as a "single entity." Although I am Chinese and China is my regional interest, I still wouldn't dare say I "understand" China. Therefore, I've learned a great deal from you - at the very least, you provide an interesting perspective. Wishing you all the best, sincerely.