Cindy Yu is an assistant editor of The Spectator and presenter of our Chinese Whispers podcast. She was brought up in Nanjing. She tweets at @CindyXiaodanYu
Only three New Yorkers had died when Han, a 22-year-old masters student at NYU, caught a plane back to China. It was mid-March, and the WHO had just declared a global pandemic. Han spent an uneventful fortnight quarantined at home in Harbin, the northeastern Chinese city where her parents lived. She passed a series of
As the lockdown in China lifts across its cities, the authorities are turning their attention to a potential second wave. As of this month, Beijing is starting to release its daily data on asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus. The British Medical Journal crunched the data: the first day, it said, showed that of 166 new infections across the
A little over a month ago, the Foreign Office was airlifting Brits out of quarantined Wuhan. But now with Europe and America grappling with the virus on home turf, the tables have turned. Planes leaving Heathrow and ultimately bound to China are packed full of anxious Chinese. Disappointed with the West’s coronavirus strategy, they believe
When a new virus is discovered, conspiracy theories often spread faster than the disease. I’ve been following the debate in China and the latest theory doing the rounds on social media is: what if the coronavirus didn’t come from China, but originated in the US instead? It would be classic CIA, wouldn’t it? The outbreak
When I worked at Lidl, there were a few products that we took extra care with. Some of these were high-value goods at risk of being stolen (like the £100 laptop we once sold, causing biblical scenes of chaos in the middle aisle). Others were to comply with laws on selling dangerous goods. Knives were
My hometown of Nanjing is more than 300 miles away from Wuhan but my family there, like Chinese families everywhere, have been gripped by the coronavirus story. We use WeChat (a Chinese version of WhatsApp) to share medical tips, the latest intel and even a spattering of dry jokes. A snippet of information from an
Ever since he entered the White House, Donald Trump has been trying to isolate Iran diplomatically. But in the week since the killing of Qassem Soleimani, it seems that the opposite has happened. John R Bradley argues in this week’s cover piece that Trump’s move has united the Sunni Arab states, from Saudi Arabia to
In the last few years, climate change has risen to the top of the agenda for consumers, voters, politicians, and journalists alike. But as well as cutting down emissions and using less plastic, could we also be rethinking the way we use energy at home? Here’s where smart meters come in – a smart meter
This week, politics becomes a little less volatile as Boris Johnson achieves the biggest Tory majority since Margaret Thatcher. So what happened in this election, and what next (00:50)? Katy Balls talks to Fraser Nelson and writer and broadcaster Steve Richards. Plus, China has interned over a million Uyghur Muslims in so-called ‘re-education’ camps –
In Friday night’s final TV debate between Jeremy Corbyn and Boris Johnson, neither leader landed a sucker punch on the other. Your verdict, as James Forsyth says in our Coffee House Shots podcast, will depend on what you believe the polls to be saying. If you already believe that the polls suggest a Tory majority,
Though the Tories are consistently and comfortably leading in the polls, nothing can be taken for granted in politics, if recent years are anything to go by. So what would happen if Corbyn really does get into No. 10? In this week’s cover piece, economist and Telegraph columnist Liam Halligan breaks down the consequences of
When James Forsyth and Katy Balls interviewed the Prime Minister for the magazine this week, the Boris they found was optimistic, humorous, and above all, on message. So can anything still trip him up in the final fortnight of this election campaign? Katy speaks to James and Paul Goodman, editor of the Conservative Home website.
Sponsored by Vattenfall Britain looks set on its 2050 Net Zero target (or if Labour gets in, 2030), but to achieve that, it’ll take more than just a beef ban and paper straws. The Climate Change Committee writes that British heavy industry – for example the cement-makers and the steel-makers – will have to ‘largely
This week, as the Tories continue to lead in the polls, Lara Prendergast speaks to Alastair Campbell about what Remainers can do to turn things around. James Forsyth writes in this issue’s cover article that the Remain side’s inability to unite may well cost them this election and, if Boris Johnson wins, put the last
The Conservatives like to say that their road to electoral victory is steep and narrow, but has Nigel Farage broadened out that path this week? Plus, is it time to grant amnesty to illegal immigrants? And last, should baby boomers apologise for crimes against young people? Lara Prendergast and Katy Balls talk to James Forsyth,
In this volatile election, not much is certain about what will happen. But what you can be sure of is that the Spectator will be releasing one – if not more – Coffee House Shots podcast every day. Last night, the Coffee House Shots team took the podcast on the road – not very far,
If you’re a regular podcast listener, you might have noticed a slight rebranding – we’ve rolled out a fresh look across our podcasts, plus, what was known as The Spectator Podcast is now The Edition. But fear not: underneath the fresh lick of paint, they’re the same podcasts that you know and love. So can
This week, an election has officially been called – so what do the major parties need to do to win? Katy Balls speaks to Stephen Bush and Will Tanner about ‘Workington Man’ and Labour’s electoral strategy. Plus, after America’s much-publicised withdrawal from Syria, it looks like Trump is back in, this time to protect valuable oilfields
This week, the government looks close to the finishing line – now all Boris wants for Christmas is an early general election, James Forsyth and Katy Balls write in this week’s cover. But will Corbyn let it happen? On the podcast, Katy and James talk to James Mills, former advisor to John McDonnell and Jeremy
Boris Johnson wants an election this side of Christmas – the Conservative party is doing well in the polls, he has secured a deal with the EU, and Labour’s Brexit message is simply not cutting through, if the polls are anything to go by. But an election is not within his gift. On Monday, MPs
