Tiffany Sia

[Joint Statement] Indonesia: Protecting the Right to Protest: International Solidarity with Indonesia #StopPoliceBrutality! - FORUM-ASIA International Solidarity Protecting the Right to Protest: International Solidarity with Indonesia #StopPoliceBrutality! On 28th and 29th August 2025, tens of thousands of Indonesian workers protested ...

New Bloom is among the signatories on this important statement regarding the developing situation in Indonesia

the real honor is to make it to the omissions

Dramatic light over Taipei tonight.

Because the thing is, this is real but also, it's not real. This image reflects the reality that Trump *wants* a total state in which he is the unquestioned leader, but we do not actually live in that state, at least not yet.

i find this image so fascinating. it is both a literal example of authoritarianism but also a second-hand reproduction of the aesthetics of other authoritarian states. it's like a simulacra of authoritarianism whose purpose is to attempt to make the simulacra real.

the failure of the fool

tricking myself into writing again and again

uses of enchantment

a leaky relation, not diametric or ideologically opposite as Cold War tales and clichés might purport

Tyranny as Tragedy: On King Lear, Maoist China and the Unpredictable Nature of Power I had a remarkable freshman student who intuitively understood the modality of totalitarianism, and how it might be represented in literary form. In class she made the offhand comment that in King …

Nan Z. Da explores King Lear, Maoist China, and the unpredictable nature of power.

And if again she responds

the residual heart of dissent

Every road and highway ever built was a subsidy to the automotive industry.

"There definitely wasn't any censorship and if there was it's just because there wasn't market demand"

Succinct account of China's capitalism + authoritarian ideology

China says Thai art show 'distorts' its policies on Tibet, Xinjiang, Hong Kong China on Monday accused organisers of an exhibition in Thailand of distorting Chinese policies on Tibet, Xinjiang and Hong Kong after the show's co-curator said artworks were removed or altered at Beijing's request.

"The fact that the relevant country took timely measures precisely shows that the promotion of the fallacies of 'Tibetan independence', 'East Turkestan Islamic Movement' and 'Hong Kong independence' has no market internationally and is unpopular"

-PRC Foreign Ministry

!?!!

caught up in the accidents of taxonomy

I will be giving a talk in an abandoned Uniqlo in Fanueil Hall, Boston, on Oct 4th. Details TK.

next time a school asks me to teach adjunct I will propose teaching a course that is all about when to not make art. something to aspire to

had a dream about wag the dog

China to restrict Tibetan language in region’s college entrance exam Exclusion of core subject exam stokes fears Beijing is furthering campaign to ‘Sinicise’ region

Not great.

on.ft.com/45oZ92y

“Writing makes states”

Socialism with Chinese characteristics has delivered nationwide high speed rail, cutting edge AI and EVs, and sent people to space but cannot devise a system to make sure construction workers get paid for their labor

‘Like Dogs in Here’ — Videos Expose ICE Lock-up Inside 26 Federal Plaza An analysis of ICE data by THE CITY shows that dozens of people have packed into locked rooms and increasingly held for days inside a Manhattan building the feds say isn’t a detention site.

‘Like Dogs in Here’ — Videos Expose ICE Lock-up Inside 26 Federal Plaza www.thecity.nyc/2025/07/22/v...

"Sometimes I go on the Internet to view CNN or BBC news, and this reminds me very much to the American film "Wag the Dog" with Robert de Niro and Dustin Hoffman. Have you seen it? I would like to be optimistic and to believe it is going to end soon, but...?" www.independentliving.org/docs6/rajkov...

Authoritarians Want You To Quit Don't withdraw entirely, but it's OK to partially disengage. The future will be tough, and you're in better position to fight if you stay sane. Here's how I'm adjusting.

If anyone tells you US Constitutional democracy is fine, nothing to worry about, then they’re wrong.

But if anyone tells you it’s all over, as if the US is a consolidated authoritarian state, they’re also wrong.

That defeatism, with its preemptive surrender, is what the fascists want you to think.

The US features democratic backsliding, as elected officials dismantle checks & balances and rule of law from within. It’s a process. 21st century versions seen in Turkey, Hungary, India, Venezuela, and more.

Political science now classifies the US as a mixed regime / anocracy / partial democracy.