Cindy Yu

Cindy Yu

Cindy Yu is a Times columnist, and formerly both an assistant editor of The Spectator and presenter of our Chinese Whispers podcast.

Monday

Cindy Yu

Coffee House Shots: Labour’s leadership election

From our UK edition

Labour’s leadership contest has finally been triggered as Angela Eagle made her bid for the position today. So how will this contest shape up? And will Jeremy Corbyn appear on the ballot paper? Isabel Hardman tells Fraser Nelson: ‘It’s going to be very bloody because Jeremy Corbyn wants to get back on that ballot paper, thinks he’s entitled to. If the NEC, the party’s ruling executive, says that he shouldn’t be back on that ballot paper unless he can get 51 nominations, the wrath from the membership will be enormous.’ If Corbyn prevails in this contest, might the moderates of the party then break away to form their own party? With their numbers and experience, perhaps they could become the new Opposition. James Forsyth thinks not.

Cindy Yu

Coffee House Shots: Leadsom drops out – what next for May?

From our UK edition

Over the course of the past weekend, Andrea Leadsom has come under fire for her comments on having children. Such media scrutiny has proved too much for Leadsom as she announced her withdrawal from the Tory leadership campaign. With this leaving Theresa May as the only candidate for Prime Minister and Conservative party leader, what will happen next? Joining Isabel Hardman for Coffee House shots today is Fraser Nelson and James Forsyth. On the podcast, James Forsyth describes how Andrea Leadsom lost her confidence in the contest: ‘Most of the people who’d voted for Michael Gove were moving over to the Theresa May camp, so she really would have been quite an isolated figure leading the party.

Thursday

Cindy Yu

The Chinese are willing participants in state censorship

From our UK edition

For three decades, Cui Yongyuan has been one of China’s national treasures. As a veteran television presenter for CCTV (China’s BBC), Cui’s career was made by this state-controlled broadcaster. So his recent talk in London - entitled ‘An Idealist’s commitment and compromise’ - caught my attention for its political undertone. Could he have been talking about the compromises he had to make as a Chinese journalist? To my delight, Cui spoke about this - and more. 'When the Chinese emigrate to democracies, to civilised nations, they enjoy the freedom of the system,' Cui told the Chinese audience. 'But they become patriotic to the point of dogma, such that no one can voice a single ill of China.

Saturday

Cindy Yu

Chinese state media praises Osborne’s “unwillingness to bring up human rights”

From our UK edition

The Global Times, a state-run Chinese tabloid newspaper, had high praise for George Osborne's visit. But the English translation of its article was heavily edited, cutting out much of the emotion found in the original. Unsurprisingly, the Chinese translation has a rather different tone and is about twice as long. It refers to the 'little' West, a derogatory phrase that doesn't quite translate into English (it means 'little' as in 'inferior'). The article draws a contrast between Western public opinion, reflected in the media, where there are (unwelcome) concerns about Chinese human rights, and Osborne's uncritical and polite approach.

Thursday

Cindy Yu

China’s battery-farm schools

From our UK edition

In the early morning light, the sleepy students of Hengshui Senior Secondary School are putting on their tracksuits in the dimly lit dormitories. It’s 5.30 a.m. By the time lessons begin at 7.45 they have already had morning exercise, an hour of self-study and a balanced breakfast. Under a strict regime that you might think belonged at a correctional centre, the youngsters are getting ready for another day in this high-achieving school in China. As one of the country’s ‘exam factories’, Hengshui has perfected the art of battery-farming children to produce exceptional results. A day in the life of the Hengshui student consists of a constant loop of work, rest, exercise, feed. In each day a student has ten 40-minute lessons.

Monday

Cindy Yu

Why is the BBC’s latest ‘documentary’ on China fronted by someone who doesn’t know anything about China?

From our UK edition

The BBC’s latest pretty young face is Billie JD Porter. The 23-year-old is entirely lovable. With her brown roots proudly showing, that unmistakably London accent, and a chirpy personality, Billie is the latest in a string of young presenters who the corporation hopes will win back the younger generation. The result? Secrets of China, a three-part documentary series that barely scratches the surface of the country, let alone uncovers its ‘secrets’. Of the Chinese language, she knows little – she can say ‘boyfriend’, ‘beer’, and ‘thank you’. Of the culture, she knows even less. Billie frequently treats the project as a gap yah – using her subjects as the butt of her jokes.