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Defector

Patrick Redford

Silver medalist Gu Ailing of China poses for photos after the awarding ceremony of the freestyle skiing women's freeski big air event at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Livigno, Italy, Feb. 16, 2026. (Photo by Wang Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Olympics

Eileen Gu Will Never Be The Traitor JD Vance Wants Her To Be

Kathryn Xu

Interior Of Empty Subway Train, Photo Taken In Shanghai, China

Transit

All The Trains I Rode In China

Shoppers walk past an MLB store during the National Day Golden Week holiday at Raffles City Chongqing on October 5, 2024, in Chongqing, China.

In Search Of A Phillies Hat In Chinese MLB Stores

Heather Chen is a former Defector intern and the managing editor at the Columbia Daily Spectator. She loves hockey, photography, and the good ol’ state of Michigan.

Heather Wei-Xi Chen

NANTERRE, FRANCE - JULY 31: Zhanle Pan of Team People's Republic of China celebrates after winning gold in a world record time in the Men's 100m Freestyle Final on day five of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Paris La Defense Arena on July 31, 2024 in Nanterre, France.

I Am Aging Rapidly While Watching Pan Zhanle Swim

Giri Nathan

Samer Kalaf

The Namedropping podcast logo, a coffee cup with a scratched-out name

Podcasts

The Geography Of A Name, With Thomas Dai

LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND - APRIL 06: Wang Shuang of China (C) and teammates thanks supporters for standing during the International Womens Friendly match between Switzerland and China at Swissporarena on April 6, 2023 in Lucerne, Switzerland. (Photo by Marcio Machado/Eurasia Sport Images/Getty Images)

Soccer

China Has A Hard Path Back To World Cup Glory

Laura Wagner

BEIJING, CHINA - FEBRUARY 15 : Ailing Eileen Gu of Team China wins the silver medal during the Olympic Games 2022, women's Freeski Slopestyle on February 15, 2022 in Zhangjiakou China.

Eileen Gu Is An American

This combination of file photos shows tennis player Peng Shuai of China (L) during her women's singles first round match at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 16, 2017; and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli (R) during a visit to Russia at the Saint Petersburg International Investment Forum in Saint Petersburg on June 18, 2015. - Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai said she was safe and well during a video call with the International Olympic Committee chief on November 21, 2021, the organisation said, amid international concern about her well-being after being seen attending a Beijing tennis tournament, marking her first public appearance since she made her accusations against former vice premier Zhang Gaoli. (Photo by Paul CROCK and Alexander ZEMLIANICHENKO / AFP) (

Tennis

Peng Shuai Says Again Her Allegations Were Misunderstood, Retires From Tennis

Albert Burneko

Media Meltdowns

NYT: China Really Screwed Itself By Protecting Its People From Dying Of COVID

Chamath speaks onstage during the Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on October 19, 2016 in San Francisco, California.

Capital

Chamath Palihapitiya’s Whole Game Is Being A Loudmouth

Peng Shuai Now Says She Did Not Accuse Chinese Official Of Sexual Assault

WTA Suspends All Tennis In China Out Of Concern For Peng Shuai

Where Will Enes Kanter Freedom’s Political Journey Take Him Next?

Women’s Tennis Is Prepared To Leave China If It Doesn’t Hear From Peng Shuai

Peng Shuai hits a shot at the 2020 Australian Open.

Tennis Player Peng Shuai Accuses Former High-Ranking Chinese Official Of Sexual Assault

David Roth

Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, seen here in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

Tom Cotton Demands That U.S. Olympians Safeguard Their Sacred Purity Of Essence Against Communist Perfidy

Staff Writer
Find me on Signal @DefectorChris.19

Chris Thompson

Science

Terrifying New Record Achieved In Humanity’s Quest To Manufacture A Literal Star

This photo taken on May 22, 2021 shows rescuers assisting people who were competing in a 100-kilometre cross-country mountain race when extreme weather hit the area, leaving at least 20 dead, near the city of Baiyin in China's northwestern Gansu province. - China OUT (Photo by STR / AFP) / China OUT (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)