I teach Chinese politics and ancient philosophy at Williams College. Currently overseeing Williams-Exeter Programme at Oxford University.
Joined June 2011
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724 Photos and videos
Jun 11
Agree
Jun 10
I want to take up this challenge and offer a defense of scholar-activism that I hope, by stepping outside the confines of US domestic politics, will help opponents of scholar-activism recognize its value
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Jun 10
Sure. And Christian missionaries foresaw a grand Confucian-Christian synthesis. How’d that work out?
Jun 10
I spoke of it very briefly at my book promotion yesterday in Paris--I think it is an important if somewhat speculative point. The Sinification of Marxism may, for the first time in history, create a unified Euro-Asian ideology that would bring together ancient Greek and ancient Chinese influences. Plato & Confucius through Marx.
The ideological implications of China’s economic success
Sinified Marxism and its future
branko2f7.substack.com/p/the…
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Jun 1
Yes
Jun 1
I know Oxford is a silly place, but convocation killing Mandelson at the voting booth really makes the case for bringing back its seats in the House of Commons.
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Mar 11
They’re going to smuggle him in the back door of the Great Hall and then rush him back to the airport 😆
Mar 11
1/ Not long ago, there was discussion about a monumental Trump state visit to China, including a potential military parade, large business delegation, and multi-city stops. Now, three weeks out, the scale of the visit appears to be shrinking (🧵) nytimes.com/2026/03/11/world…
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23 Nov 2025
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27 Aug 2025
Coming back here to mark an ending, since Twitter had been an important channel for my old blog.
Typepad, the old blogging platform, just announced that they are closing down. That means the real end of the Useless Tree.
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uselesstree.typepad.com/usel…
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27 Aug 2025
It was a fun time, the old time of blogs but that's all gone now. I did make a book of some parts of it, so that remains.
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amazon.com/Blogging-Chi....
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27 Aug 2025
I'm exporting the content and might park it somewhere, but that's likely futile
Ah well, Dao is vast and flows where it will regardless of our expectations. The Useless Tree is gone from its old place but its formless integrity continues.
/fin
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8 Aug 2025
Not on here much, but if you're in London on October 27, stop by.
soas.ac.uk/about/event/polit…
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5 May 2025
Haven’t been here in a while but if you’re in Dublin on May 19th, come by Trinity College for my talk.
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20 Nov 2024
Thread on Jimmy Lai testimony
20 Nov 2024
The “never-s” #JimmyLai told the court this morning:
1. Apple Daily never gave orientation or training on editorial policy to its hires
2. He never discussed anything with @lukedepulford , “his only purpose to contact me was for me to publish his articles”
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Sam Crane retweeted
19 Nov 2024
My latest: Hong Kong’s High Court on Tuesday sentenced 45 pro-democracy activists to up to 10 years in jail under subversion charges, marking an end to the largest national security case in Hong Kong under a sweeping law imposed by Beijing.
voanews.com/a/hong-kong-impr…
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18 Nov 2024
Please consult the Zunghar Khanate…. Oh, right…
17 Nov 2024
This is simply brilliant!
George Yeo, former foreign minister of Singapore explains why China 🇨🇳 is different from the West and doesn’t have it in its DNA to become an imperial power like the colonial powers or the US.
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13 Nov 2024
Here's an injustice that strikes close to home.
13 Nov 2024
Price of a pint goes up in Oxford and expected to increase further
oxfordmail.co.uk/news/247214…
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Sam Crane retweeted
13 Nov 2024
Looking at Trump's national security picks, seems like he's going for people who lack the standing, authority, backbone, or wisdom to stand up to him, no matter what he decides to do. #TeamofLackeys
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