Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Melissa Chan

@melissakchan.bsky.social

7.8K followers 330 following 1K posts

Emmy-nominated reporter. Russia Today called me “notorious,” China kicked me out. Formerly Asia, Doha, California, more 🌏. Author of graphic novel YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION out now!

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · Apr 4

📺 A clip from our MSNBC segment. @badiucao.bsky.social and I are honored that our graphic novel YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION joined Ali Velshi's Banned Book Club! Thank you again to @velshi.bsky.social for the invitation! 🔗 GRAB YOUR COPY: www.melissachan.com/revolution

7 41

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 8h

Look ya'll have seen me hustling to sell my graphic novel YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION. I too, would hold a rock show of tens of thousands if I could pull it off. My publisher would love that. So I respect Milei's hustle. But buy my book, not his. 😆➡️ melissachan.com/revolution

Crazy Ass Moments in LatAm Politics @asslatam.bsky.social · 1d

President Javier Milei of Argentina had a rock show to celebrate his new book, called "La Construcción del Milagro" (The Construction of the Miracle).

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 9h

... Ukrainian novelist Sofia Andrukhovych, Czechia's Radka Denemarková, Booker winner Paul Lynch, Iranian filmmaker Ayat Najafi, Spanish artist Miquel Barceló and his breathtaking exhibition opening, and performances including from Panzetti & Ticconi, and so much more! 📸 Snaps by Jan Slavík. (2/2)

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 10h

What a weekend in Prague presenting YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION with @badiucao.bsky.social. DOX Centre for Contemporary Art's festival line-up was incredible: there was Daniel Kehlmann author of THE DIRECTOR, the inimitable Palestinian writer Adania Shibli... (1/2)

1 1 7

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 1d

I am so grateful to contribute a guest post on Taiwan to @barrymalone.bsky.social's fantastic newsletter, Proximities, which aims to highlight non-Western news stories. I've been a reader from day one and I highly recommend you hit subscribe:

What you're not hearing about Taiwan

A guest post from Melissa Chan

www.proximities.news

4 15

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 1d

"In a world where China and the United States are moving fast and hitting hard, the EU has been too slow, too timid, and too wedded to a rulebook the others have torn up," writes @noahbarkin.bsky.social:

Watching China in Europe—October 2025

www.gmfus.org

4 8

Reposted by Melissa Chan

Barry Malone @barrymalone.bsky.social · 4d

Delighted to have a guest post from @melissakchan.bsky.social in Proximities today. She has written an explainer about Taiwan with a level of depth and insight you rarely see elsewhere. Please give it your time.

www.proximities.news/p/what-youre...

What you're not hearing about Taiwan

A guest post from Melissa Chan

www.proximities.news

2 5 21

Reposted by Melissa Chan

PEN America @penamerica.bsky.social · 7d

Restrictions on books in public schools have become “rampant and common,” according to a new report by the free speech organization PEN America, so frequent in some states that they are now considered “routine and expected part of school operations"... Read free: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/01/b...

‘Rampant’ Book Bans Are Being Taken for Granted, Free Speech Group Warns

www.nytimes.com

10 17

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 6d

Arrived in Prague and thinking of Václav Havel's great line: "Each person is capable, to a greater or lesser degree, of coming to terms with living within the lie."

4 15

Reposted by Melissa Chan

Marcel Dirsus @marceldirsus.com · 6d

Is it because there are no organisations that could get Americans out into the streets? In France (or Germany, or Italy...) trade unions would be key. Churches would probably call for protests or strikes, too

5 3 17

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 6d

ICYMI: Am late to this but appreciate @dhpierson.bsky.social, Berry Wang, and Billy H.C. Kwok's coverage of Hong Kong's vanishing dim sum carts. I've always resented restaurants' moves away from cart service as the petty bourgeois decided it wasn't genteel enough:

Hong Kong’s Dim Sum Cart ‘Aunties’ Make Their Final Rounds

www.nytimes.com

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 6d

I have news for Bill Burr: There is also stand-up comedy in Russia and China. And it’s soma for the masses — entertainment — until you accidentally cross some liminal line and get f***ed. When has comedy ever been good when you can’t 🖕 the people in power.

2 21

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 6d

“They are setting the stage for the institution of the military to undergo the same processes of moral collapse and moral deregulation as are now unfolding in the civilian sphere,” writes @ruthbenghiat.bsky.social:

A Holistic Plan for an Authoritarian Military

Trump and Hegseth unveil a plan to make the military an authoritarian institution and adapt the notion of the battlefield and the enemy for domestic use.

open.substack.com

7 21

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 6d

“It’s not like air traffic controllers will stop working... Saying these are government shutdowns teaches Americans the government isn’t necessary, since stuff seems to mostly work.” From @matthewstoller.bsky.social:

Wall Street Gets to Keep Its Government Open

The Antitrust Division and FTC have suspended merger challenges, but not merger approvals. It's weird how 'government shutdowns' don't close the parts of government Wall Street wants.

open.substack.com

3 8

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 6d

Bill Burr’s gobsmackingly idiotic insight the Saudis are “just like us” because he didn’t see an execution highlights the danger of autocracy / fascism: normal people perpetrate it. Italians and Germans were pretty normie. It’s called the banality of evil, Bill.

Bill Burr Defends Riyadh Comedy Festival Performance: “They Got A F***ing Chili’s Over Here”

As many of his peers condemn the Riyadh Comedy Festival and its participants, Bill Burr appears to have found a new following.

deadline.com

1 18 86

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 7d

🇲🇽 One president people are happy with: Mexico's Claudia Sheinbaum with 70-80% approval ratings! One year into her leadership, I spoke to Zirahuén Villamar and Alex González Ormerod of The Mexico Political Economist (www.mxpe.org) to learn more: bit.ly/dw-newsdesk-mexico

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 7d

"Bittersweet Symphony” almost stole the Oasis show given it’s one of the greatest stadium anthems out there. What a hell of an “opener” with Richard Ashcroft. Just had to share this.

3 16

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 7d

These stories of state-led law enforcement cruelty with no respect for process, inflicted on ordinary citizens with tiny infractions, remind me of my time reporting from authoritarian China.

Family of Orange County man who died in ICE custody planning to take legal action

The family of a 39-year-old Orange County man who died earlier this month while in the custody of ICE is planning on taking legal action.

abc7.com

40 130

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 8d

I'm very excited about meeting authors Adania Shibli, Paul Lynch, artist Miquel Barceló, and more at Prague's Festival of Arts, Literature & Learning — and am feeling massive imposter syndrome and can't believe I'm part of the program! 💥 October 5th @ 12 PM. Details here: bit.ly/dox-revolution

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 8d

Great piece in Le Monde on the amped up rhetoric from Italy's Meloni after the killing of Charlie Kirk:

Italy's Meloni hardens rhetoric after killing of Charlie Kirk

Since the assassination of Trump ally Chalie Kirk, the Italian prime miniser has embraced darker, more polarized themes, invoking conspiracies and casting herself as a target of political violence.

www.lemonde.fr

4 20

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 8d

✊ "In recent years, anime and manga have played a prominent role in protest movements across the world." Nice piece in @newlinesmag.bsky.social:

How Japanese Anime Became a Global Protest Language

From Jakarta’s burning barricades to Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement, animations and manga have become potent symbols of rebellion — and a way to outwit censors

newlinesmag.com

7 13

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 8d

Some might say.

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 8d

OASIS x WEMBLEY, after having done OASIS x CDMX. My Eras Tour.

1 7

Reposted by Melissa Chan

The A.V. Club @avclub.com · 11d

Okatsuka posted the censorship rules for the controversial comedy festival, noting how many "You can’t say anything anymore!" comedians have signed on.
www.avclub.com/riyadh-comed...

Comedian Atsuko Okatsuka posts contract after turning down Riyadh Comedy Festival

www.avclub.com

120 2.8K 9.3K

Reposted by Melissa Chan

The Associated Press @apnews.com · 9d

Moldova’s pro-Western ruling party decisively wins a tense parliamentary election fraught with Russian interference claims.

Moldova’s pro-EU party wins parliamentary election fraught with Russian interference claims

Moldova’s pro-Western ruling party decisively won a parliamentary election fraught with Russian interference claims that was widely viewed as a stark choice between East and West.

bit.ly

18 290 1.2K

Melissa Chan @melissakchan.bsky.social · 12d

Sharing a page from our graphic novel, YOU MUST TAKE PART IN REVOLUTION. Feeling nostalgic about neon Hong Kong at night. Have a good weekend.

2 14