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China's cashless revolution is likely to spread afar
News, Adam Minter, Published on 20/07/2017
» On a recent trip to Shenzhen, in southern China, I came across a subway busker with two tip jars. The first was a cardboard box filled with coins and bills; the second was a small QR code taped to the box that allowed passersby to leave a tip by smartphone. On one level, this was simply smart business: Chinese made around $5.5 trillion in e-payment transactions last year. But it also offered a glimpse of the future.
Why China muzzled an internet sensation
News, Adam Minter, Published on 26/04/2016
» Last autumn, Papi Jiang, a 29-year-old graduate student in Beijing, began posting short, satirical and occasionally profane monologues about daily life in urban China to social media. Within a couple of months, she'd racked up tens of millions of views, earned nearly US$2 million (70 million baht) in private funding and raised hopes that online celebrities might offer a new revenue stream for China's internet companies. Then, last week, it all ended: Papi Jiang's videos abruptly disappeared.
How to fight Asian slavery, one supplier at a time
News, Adam Minter, Published on 23/12/2015
» As you dig into your shrimp cocktail this holiday season, spare a thought for the men and women who peeled those tiny crustaceans. According to a six-month Associated Press investigation, there's a chance the workers were modern-day slaves in Thailand, exploited by shadowy suppliers who have been linked to some of the biggest US supermarket and restaurant chains, from Wal-Mart to the Capital Grille.