The People’s Republic of China (PRC), now viewed in the western world as an autocratic economic powerhouse, owes a large part of its reputation today to Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997), otherwise known as the “Architect of Modern China.” Entering the world stage as a PRC leader in 1978, Deng’s rise to power signaled a new change for China’s economic state. Throughout his career, Deng more than doubled China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in his tenure, quickly rising from $149.54 billion in 1979 to $347.77 billion by 1989.1 As a result, China experienced an explosion in economic growth, living standards, and connection to the world economy.
Chun Hei Chan
April 18, 2025
After hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022, Saudi Arabia generated $2.3-4.1 billion in revenue, attracted over 5 billion viewers, and 1 million tourists who visited Qatar during the tournament (Bibolov et al., 2024). Due to its lucrative success, Saudi Arabia is set to once more host the legendary sports tournament again in 2034 (Dunbar, 2024).
Chloe Chan
April 18, 2025
Abstract - This essay explores the ethics of animal experimentation through Martin Seligman’s work on Learned Helplessness, analyzing the principles of rationality, utilitarianism, and emotion. Seligman and proponents of animal experimentation justify such practices based on the principle of rationality, positing that animals lack cognitive capacities comparable to humans. Supporters of utilitarianism emphasize maximizing overall utility, often unfairly prioritizing human interests. However, these views are critiqued in light of modern research on animal cognition and emotions, revealing their capacity for self-awareness, empathy, and suffering. This essay argues that rationality alone is insufficient to determine moral status, as the theory itself is paradoxical when it comes to the shared traits of disabled humans and animals. It further critiques utilitarianism for neglecting moral emotions like compassion. Advocating for the principle of emotion, the essay underscores the ethical obligation to respect animals' intrinsic value and calls for a balanced framework that harmonizes rationality with empathy and care.
Yifeng Cao
April 18, 2025
Your neck twists against the cotton of your pillow. You lie in silence so dark you hear feathers sigh. The air is still and reeks of decay. You’ve been lying here a while, as you have many nights before; the odour has curled through your veins and burned itself into your skin. You’re not wanted elsewhere. Shadows melt your walls, spill across piles of clothing, smother the moon’s glare. They twist in the folds of your curtain, drag them by their skirts; swallow the glimmer of your medals, the shine from your teddy bear’s eyes. They distort the faces in your family portrait, darken the stare of a younger you, who bares her teeth in scorn at the brittle husk of you now. With each whisper of faraway wind, shadows creep closer to your toes.
Annie Zhao
March 06, 2025
It is 2024 and Sudan is embroiled in another civil war. The deteriorating situation marks deliberate army attacks on civilians and farming infrastructure, resulting in people losing their homes and being unable to feed themselves. Amid the violence, people eat clumps of dirt and tattered leaves, subsisting off meager drops of oil to survive the famine as whole villages are being razed to the ground. Moreover, over 25 million civilians are on the brink of starvation in a country that has been historically the region’s breadbasket. As tensions escalated, foreign players in the conflict, especially the United Arab Emirates (UAE), took control of Sudanese land. In fact, the UAE’s mission to ensure its future food security through land grabs, a common issue in Africa, has been disastrous, causing a massive famine at the expense of Sudanese people. To address this plight, local resistance committees have made collective efforts to alleviate the famine by offering aid and protesting land grabs via grassroot networks, in lieu of governmental and UN inaction.
Zihao Guo
March 06, 2025
In 2022, the price of natural gas in the UK increased by 500 percent, a prominent example of a global energy price surge due to a significant energy crisis. The shortage can be partially attributed to geopolitical conflicts between Ukraine and Russia as well as between Israel and Iran, the two largest suppliers of traditional energy sources, and has posed serious questions to the development of sustainable transportation. While the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced people’s willingness to ride public transport, the accessibility of electric vehicles (EVs) has made more people shift to private transportation. With an average price advantage of US$10,164 per vehicle, the EV market took off during this era along with their perceived sustainable edge. However, even though EVs are considered more environmentally friendly than traditional cars, their hybrid nature still means that they require fossil fuels in operation. In order to address the primary energy problem, several car companies have pivoted towards utilizing hydrogen fuel as a selling point for their new product, claiming that it is an almost entirely sustainable resource with some manufacturers already investing in research on it. For example, the Toyota Mirai has been of interest, with a horsepower of 182HP, as well as the BMW iX5 Hydrogen, with a horsepower of 401HP. Effectively addressing the global energy crisis requires collective effort from governments, international car corporations, and individual drivers. Hydrogen, as a promising alternative energy source, offers significant opportunities to reduce dependence on fossil fuels but also introduces challenges in terms of infrastructure, cost, and resilience in the face of climate change.
Zili Zhou
March 06, 2025
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