Thomas Batchelor
@tobbinatorscw.bsky.social
Linguistics PhD, Sydney > Köln > 台北
Linguistics (Creoles, Australia, Asia-Pacific, morphosyntax, policy, endangerment), politics (Syria, Taiwan, Australia in particular ig), history and other ramblings
Anarchist at heart
@tobbinatorscw in most places
Linguistics (Creoles, Australia, Asia-Pacific, morphosyntax, policy, endangerment), politics (Syria, Taiwan, Australia in particular ig), history and other ramblings
Anarchist at heart
@tobbinatorscw in most places
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
Some really great local history here showing how 'wild west' Han settlement of Taiwan was.
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
Don’t mess with the Wu Sha clan - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
www.taipeitimes.com
January 28, 2026 at 1:52 AM
Some really great local history here showing how 'wild west' Han settlement of Taiwan was.
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
I still don't understand why pro-CCP folks in the West insist on the most tortured and convoluted analogies for Taiwan. But I suppose we must reiterate *taking a deep breathe* Taiwan is not Israel. It is not the Confederacy. Taiwan is Taiwan, why not learn what actually happened there.
Taiwan Is Not Israel: The Morning Star & the CPB’s Weaponisation of Anti-Colonial Language
The argument arrived, as these arguments do, in a WhatsApp group at half past eleven on a Friday night.
redmole.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 3:03 PM
I still don't understand why pro-CCP folks in the West insist on the most tortured and convoluted analogies for Taiwan. But I suppose we must reiterate *taking a deep breathe* Taiwan is not Israel. It is not the Confederacy. Taiwan is Taiwan, why not learn what actually happened there.
The only GenAI I care about is Genly Ai
January 28, 2026 at 9:39 AM
The only GenAI I care about is Genly Ai
Do you ever feel like you're being watched
January 28, 2026 at 6:57 AM
Do you ever feel like you're being watched
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
Last December, China amended its common language law for the first time in 25 years, incorporating CCP's latest ethnic policy formulations, reflecting narrowing scope of bilingual education in ethnic schools, and mandating Mandarin use in additional settings. npcobserver.com/2026/01/27/c...
China Amends Common Language Law to Expand Mandarin Use
The law's initial overhaul incorporates the Communist Party's latest ethnic policy formulations, reflects the narrowing scope of bilingual education in ethnic schools, and mandates Mandarin
npcobserver.com
January 27, 2026 at 3:55 PM
Last December, China amended its common language law for the first time in 25 years, incorporating CCP's latest ethnic policy formulations, reflecting narrowing scope of bilingual education in ethnic schools, and mandating Mandarin use in additional settings. npcobserver.com/2026/01/27/c...
Yet another sign that ICE has become the regime's primary paramilitary force
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
US to send ICE agents to Winter Olympics, prompting Italian anger
The US federal agency says it will not play an immigration role at February's event in Milan-Cortina.
www.bbc.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:59 PM
Yet another sign that ICE has become the regime's primary paramilitary force
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
Feels like China has definitively moved past the "fun" part of capitalist imperialism where it gets to hand out a bunch of free stuff and now gets to move into the "everybody hates me" phase
"[M]any low- and middle-income countries — particularly in Africa — are now transferring more funds to China in debt payments than they receive in fresh financing from the world's second-largest economy."
Multilateral financing now the biggest net inflow. Incredible.
Multilateral financing now the biggest net inflow. Incredible.
African nations now send more money to China than they receive in new loans
China's role as a leading financier to developing nations has shifted over the past decade, with new loans to poorer countries falling sharply while debt repayments continue to rise, according to ana...
www.reuters.com
January 27, 2026 at 2:41 PM
Feels like China has definitively moved past the "fun" part of capitalist imperialism where it gets to hand out a bunch of free stuff and now gets to move into the "everybody hates me" phase
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
African nations now send more money to China than they receive in new loans reut.rs/4bQV6kn
African nations now send more money to China than they receive in new loans
China's role as a leading financier to developing nations has shifted over the past decade, with new loans to poorer countries falling sharply while debt repayments continue to rise, according to analysis released by ONE Data.
reut.rs
January 27, 2026 at 8:25 AM
African nations now send more money to China than they receive in new loans reut.rs/4bQV6kn
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
People tend not to realise that, for much of the world, systematic border control is a pretty recent development.
What Trump is forgetting: American nations have a long history of open borders | Daniel Mendiola
The US cites the ‘wisdom’ of historical immigration policy. But nation states in the Americas have spent more time with open borders than closed
www.theguardian.com
January 26, 2026 at 7:12 PM
People tend not to realise that, for much of the world, systematic border control is a pretty recent development.
we're up to the stage of submitting visa application documents, it's happening
January 26, 2026 at 6:48 PM
we're up to the stage of submitting visa application documents, it's happening
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
Interesting case study to be made of how honest and open some American commentators are about what they consider to be "the good Arab regime" versus "the bad Arab regime".
Doesn't matter how oppressive you are to your people, but how friendly you are to one particular state.
Doesn't matter how oppressive you are to your people, but how friendly you are to one particular state.
January 26, 2026 at 5:10 PM
Interesting case study to be made of how honest and open some American commentators are about what they consider to be "the good Arab regime" versus "the bad Arab regime".
Doesn't matter how oppressive you are to your people, but how friendly you are to one particular state.
Doesn't matter how oppressive you are to your people, but how friendly you are to one particular state.
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
TikTok was never a safe app. You couldn’t write the word ‘die’ without an asterisk for fear of them throttling it. You couldn’t write Israel. You couldn’t write so much stuff. That or people got in the habit of talking that way.
I will die with no asterisk on this hill.
I will die with no asterisk on this hill.
January 26, 2026 at 10:07 AM
TikTok was never a safe app. You couldn’t write the word ‘die’ without an asterisk for fear of them throttling it. You couldn’t write Israel. You couldn’t write so much stuff. That or people got in the habit of talking that way.
I will die with no asterisk on this hill.
I will die with no asterisk on this hill.
They've already neutered the legislature and crushed all opposition to create a system less efficient and effective than ever, how much more executive-led can it get
At a Beijing seminar, Xia Baolong said Hong Kong needs to "uphold and improve" an executive-led system 行政主導 to boost governing efficiency and better manage risks.
John Lee added it is req'd by Basic Law and central to 1C2S; it safeguards constitutional order, autonomy and long-term stability
John Lee added it is req'd by Basic Law and central to 1C2S; it safeguards constitutional order, autonomy and long-term stability
李家超：行政主導是一國兩制實踐必然要求更是實現高效治理關鍵 - RTHK
全國港澳研究會在北京舉辦專題研討會，中央港澳辦、國務院港澳辦主任夏寶龍表示，實行行政主導是實現特區高效治理的必然要求，有利提升政權機關功能和效率，應對風險挑戰。行政長官李家超參與研討會的香港分場，他表示有深刻體會，包括行政主導不僅是「一國兩...
news.rthk.hk
January 26, 2026 at 2:35 PM
They've already neutered the legislature and crushed all opposition to create a system less efficient and effective than ever, how much more executive-led can it get
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
An executive led system sounds horribly like the unitary executive theory championed by American groups like the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025
At a Beijing seminar, Xia Baolong said Hong Kong needs to "uphold and improve" an executive-led system 行政主導 to boost governing efficiency and better manage risks.
John Lee added it is req'd by Basic Law and central to 1C2S; it safeguards constitutional order, autonomy and long-term stability
John Lee added it is req'd by Basic Law and central to 1C2S; it safeguards constitutional order, autonomy and long-term stability
李家超：行政主導是一國兩制實踐必然要求更是實現高效治理關鍵 - RTHK
全國港澳研究會在北京舉辦專題研討會，中央港澳辦、國務院港澳辦主任夏寶龍表示，實行行政主導是實現特區高效治理的必然要求，有利提升政權機關功能和效率，應對風險挑戰。行政長官李家超參與研討會的香港分場，他表示有深刻體會，包括行政主導不僅是「一國兩...
news.rthk.hk
January 26, 2026 at 9:25 AM
An executive led system sounds horribly like the unitary executive theory championed by American groups like the Heritage Foundation and Project 2025
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
Important corrective, from Michael Turton, about that article which claimed that wind turbines are destroying Taiwan's oyster industry.
Notes from Central Taiwan: Are the wind machines destroying Taiwan’s oyster industry? - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
www.taipeitimes.com
January 26, 2026 at 3:11 AM
Important corrective, from Michael Turton, about that article which claimed that wind turbines are destroying Taiwan's oyster industry.
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
To the West, Kurdish self-rule in Syria is a beacon of democracy. For the locals, it has meant a police state administered by the Syrian Democratic Forces. Faris Zwirahn reports on how Kurdish rule in eastern Syria imploded.
How the Kurds Lost Eastern Syria
The autonomous administration in the country’s northeast replicated the authoritarian tactics of the regimes it fought, driving the Arab majority to revolt
newlinesmag.com
January 25, 2026 at 7:02 PM
To the West, Kurdish self-rule in Syria is a beacon of democracy. For the locals, it has meant a police state administered by the Syrian Democratic Forces. Faris Zwirahn reports on how Kurdish rule in eastern Syria imploded.
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
UN experts alarmed by reports of forced labour of Uyghur, Tibetan and other minorities across China.
22 January 2026
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
22 January 2026
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
UN experts alarmed by reports of forced labour of Uyghur, Tibetan and other minorities across China
GENEVA – UN experts* today expressed deep concern regarding persistent allegations of forced labour affecting Uyghur, Kazakh and Kyrgyz minority groups as well as Tibetans within the Xinjiang Uyghur A...
www.ohchr.org
January 25, 2026 at 12:45 AM
UN experts alarmed by reports of forced labour of Uyghur, Tibetan and other minorities across China.
22 January 2026
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
22 January 2026
www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...
It's been slowly happening for a few years now but China's official multiculturalism is functionally dead, living on only on banknotes and some shells of ethnic state offices dominated and now mostly staffed by Han madeinchinajournal.com/2026/01/20/r...
Rectifying Names, Erasing Mongols: The Unmaking of Mongolian Education in China
On a clear October morning in 2025, two massive cranes rolled up to a middle school in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Workers prised off the large Chinese and Mongolian signs running along the ...
madeinchinajournal.com
January 25, 2026 at 6:17 PM
It's been slowly happening for a few years now but China's official multiculturalism is functionally dead, living on only on banknotes and some shells of ethnic state offices dominated and now mostly staffed by Han madeinchinajournal.com/2026/01/20/r...
Why does every Taiwanese driver seem to think the middle of an intersection is the perfect place to park. Even better if there are pedestrians and buses around to block
January 25, 2026 at 2:15 PM
Why does every Taiwanese driver seem to think the middle of an intersection is the perfect place to park. Even better if there are pedestrians and buses around to block
Indigenous language reclamation is happening from the grassroots in Taiwan too
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
Taiwan in Time: Echoes of Kipatauw: Piecing together a lost language - Taipei Times
Bringing Taiwan to the World and the World to Taiwan
www.taipeitimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Indigenous language reclamation is happening from the grassroots in Taiwan too
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
www.taipeitimes.com/News/feat/ar...
It's only a matter of time until ICE actually *do* start encountering armed people, right, and not in the terms they imagine?
January 24, 2026 at 7:44 PM
It's only a matter of time until ICE actually *do* start encountering armed people, right, and not in the terms they imagine?
Fixed terms and presidential systems aren't nearly as rare as Americans seem to think, but the point still stands that their constitutional setup is held together by tape at this point
It just now strikes me that the United States, unlike every other democracy in the world, has never ever ever had an early presidential election. This seems like a problem? Like you need to have an institutionalized path for designating an entire administration illegitimate and voting for a new one?
January 24, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Fixed terms and presidential systems aren't nearly as rare as Americans seem to think, but the point still stands that their constitutional setup is held together by tape at this point
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
I watched the video and pretty much everyone is representing it pretty much accurately and I don't think you need to watch it if your takeaway is that a bunch of ICE guys were on top of a dude who they were beating and then one of them decided to shoot him at point blank range for no obvious reason
January 24, 2026 at 4:06 PM
I watched the video and pretty much everyone is representing it pretty much accurately and I don't think you need to watch it if your takeaway is that a bunch of ICE guys were on top of a dude who they were beating and then one of them decided to shoot him at point blank range for no obvious reason
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
I counted 12 rounds put into that unarmed man already on the ground with 4 ICE on top of him & actively pistol-whipping his head. From a least 2, possibly 3 Agents.
Just another daylight, streetside public execution from the Federal Government.
Just another daylight, streetside public execution from the Federal Government.
There’s a video of another ICE murder, either make sure your media settings are right, get off for a while, or be ready.
January 24, 2026 at 3:57 PM
I counted 12 rounds put into that unarmed man already on the ground with 4 ICE on top of him & actively pistol-whipping his head. From a least 2, possibly 3 Agents.
Just another daylight, streetside public execution from the Federal Government.
Just another daylight, streetside public execution from the Federal Government.
Reposted by Thomas Batchelor
Israeli intelligence police stormed the Yabous Cultural Centre and prevented the screening of the film, which the venue said was "part of a systematic policy to suppress Palestinian cultural presence in Jerusalem"
January 23, 2026 at 2:45 PM
Israeli intelligence police stormed the Yabous Cultural Centre and prevented the screening of the film, which the venue said was "part of a systematic policy to suppress Palestinian cultural presence in Jerusalem"