I am a frequent contributor to various newspapers and websites, such as The Critic, New Statesman, Telegraph, Times, National Post (Canada), et cetera, et cetera. I write about British, Canadian, and Chinese politics, modern history, law. I also review books on these topics, and I am told authors don’t like it when I take an interest in what they’ve written. Send me an email or a DM on Twitter if you want to commission me.
My 2022 article on Canada’s euthanasia regime was The Spectator‘s most-read piece of that year and sparked an international debate on the subject. It has been cited in, I think, something like six different legislatures. I was initially accused of spreading disinformation for writing it; but I have noticed that the angry rebuttals have turned into apologias or, more often, an awkward silence. as the truth about the horror which is still happening in Canada has become better known.
Here are some other pieces I am proud of having written (not necessarily popular ones). On J G A Pocock, the historian’s historian. On a German divorce that never was. On Canada’s celebrity judges. On a progressive history book that ended up praising slavery. On how we don’t know much about what goes on inside China. On accidentally spreading disinformation.
Book reviews (listed by author’s surname)
Contrary to the accusations of a certain barrister whose badly written book I reviewed, I do read every book I review, and I do not write bad reviews for fun. However, there are many bad books being published, and the book-buyer is entitled to know what he will get before parting with his hard-earned money. I am at present a regular reviewer for The Times (yes, of course the London one; is there another?)
Review copies of new books are gratefully received under my name at Instituut Politieke Wetenschap, Wijnhaven, Turfmarkt 99, 2511 DP The Hague, The Netherlands. I cannot promise a good or a bad review, but I can promise a fair review.
Tania Branigan, Red Memory: Living, Remembering and Forgetting China’s Cultural Revolution (Faber, 2023). Reviewed for The Times.
Timothy Cheek, Klaus Mühlhahn & Hans van de Ven (eds.), The Chinese Communist Party: A Century in Ten Lives (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Reviewed for The Mekong Review.
Hein de Haas, How Migration Really Works: A Factful Guide to the Most Divisive Issue in Politics (Viking, 2023). Reviewed for The Times, which selected it as its Book of the Week.
Bill Hayton, The Invention of China (Yale University Press, 2020). Reviewed for The Mekong Review.
Lawrence James, The Lion and the Dragon: Britain and China, a History of Conflict (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2023). Reviewed for The Times.
Alan Lester (ed.), The Truth About Empire: Real Stories of British Colonialism (Hurst, 2024). Reviewed for The Washington Examiner Magazine. Professor Lester launched a two-week campaign of bullying against me for writing this review, culminating in a lies-filled and spiteful blog post which he deleted once he realised how bad it made him look. He then pretended he deleted it for my sake so as not to harm my career. His behaviour is the most pathetic and despicable I have encountered so far in an author whose book I have reviewed.
Peter Martin, China’s Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy (Oxford University Press, 2021). Reviewed for The Mekong Review.
Jolyon Maugham KC, Bringing Down Goliath: How Good Law Can Topple the Powerful (WH Allen, 2023). Reviewed for The Times. Mr Maugham accused me of all sorts of dishonesty for writing this review and I wish I sued him for libel at the time. But J K Rowling mocked him over his reaction, so whatever. Other coverage of the scandal here, here, here, and here.
Graham Smith, Abolish the Monarchy: Why We Should and How We Will (Torva, 2023). Reviewed for The Times. Mr Smith also had a temper tantrum about the review, which I think rather neatly illustrates my argument in the review.
David Veevers, The Great Defiance: How the World Took On the British Empire (Ebury, 2023). Reviewed for The Critic.
Adam Wagner, Emergency State: How We Lost Our Freedoms in the Pandemic and Why it Matters (Bodley Head, 2022. Reviewed for The Critic. The review apparently “divided legal Twitter“.
Law
I am the legal columnist for The Critic, in succession to the great Joshua Rozenberg, whose shoes I cannot hope to fill. I also regularly write about legal issues for other publications. I like to think that the fact that I am not a lawyer is an advantage in this pursuit. Certainly I make less money.
“On international law“. The Critic, December-January 2024.
“Who rules: judges or parliament“. The Critic, November 2023.
“First lady of the law“. The Critic, October 2023.
“It’s official: toppling statues is illegal“. UnHerd, 29 September 2022.
“Judging the judges“. The Critic, August-September 2023.
“Royals on the witness stand“. The Critic, July 2023.
“Not justice, by a long stretch“. The Critic, June 2023.
(with Kerry Sun) “Why Canada can’t jail terrorists for life“. The Spectator, 19 June 2022.
“A real decolonisation dispute“. The Critic, May 2023.
“Posthumous courting“. The Critic, April 2023. One of the best pieces I have ever written.
“The myth of Winston’s legacy“. The Critic, March 2023.
“Small boats. Ministers are boisterous and their critics strident. But this Bill is in some ways curiously half-hearted“. ConservativeHome, 9 March 2023.
“British judges are right to cut ties with Hong Kong“. The Spectator, 30 March 2022.
“Bring back the traitors“. The Critic, February 2023.
“Missing the point on lockdown“. The Critic, December-January 2023.
“How the Charter of Rights let Canada down“. UnHerd, 18 February 2022.
(with Kerry Sun) “Ontario teachers should be required to know basic math—even if it takes the notwithstanding clause to do it“. The Hub, 4 January 2022. The decision has since been overturned by higher courts, though on a flawed basis.
“Even under Dominic Raab’s ‘British Bill of Rights’, Strasbourg reigns supreme“. The Daily Telegraph, 15 December 2021.
“Parliament can — and should — override judges“. UnHerd, 6 December 2021.
“Canada’s Celebrity Judges“. The Dorchester Review, Spring-Summer 2021. I am told several serving judges liked it; but then again, none of them are on the Supreme Court.
“Good riddance to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act“. ConservativeHome, 14 December 2020.
“The Supreme Court: Options for Change“. UK Constitutional Law Blog, 8 June 2020. The defenestration of (Sir) Robert Buckland rather ended these projects.
Britain
I regularly write about British politics, culture, history, and anything that involves wigs. I am told MPs have occasionally done things based on what I write, which seems really foolish.
“The controversial history of Boxing Day“. UnHerd, 26 December 2023.
“James Cleverly’s migrant proposal is not conservative“. UnHerd, 6 December 2023.
“The Rwanda plan was doomed to fail“. UnHerd, 15 November 2023.
“Europe is copying Britain’s Rwanda policy“. UnHerd, 3 November 2023.
“The Civil Service is thwarting the Government over Israel“. UnHerd, 20 October 2023.
“The Coronation is a wonderful contradiction in terms“. UnHerd, 6 May 2023.
“Labour destroyed Parliament’s great traditions. It’s time to bring them back“. The Telegraph, 19 January 2023.
“How Rishi Sunak unleashed the anti-maths philistines“. UnHerd, 6 January 2023. I received a surprising amount of abuse over this piece.
“Labour’s constitutional plans are dangerous“. UnHerd. 6 December 2022.
“The courts alone can’t save the Union“. UnHerd, 25 November 2022.
“At least Liz Truss realised she was useless“. UnHerd, 21 October 2022.
“Cuts to the BBC World Service are an act of penny-pinching self-harm“. The Telegraph, 14 October 2022. The Chairman of the BBC cited the piece in a speech (kindly crediting me as an “international relations expert”) but did not reverse the cuts.
“Slashing the BBC World Service is a disaster“. UnHerd, 30 September 2022.
“It’s official: toppling statues is illegal“. UnHerd, 29 September 2022.
“Queen Elizabeth II: a beautiful anachronism“. UnHerd, 9 September 2022.
“Forget her speech — Liz Truss is good at politics“. UnHerd, 7 September 2022. The title (not mine) has aged badly, but I stand by what I wrote.
“Britain’s Greens aren’t funny any more“. UnHerd, 2 September 2022.
“Matt Hancock is wrong about euthanasia“. UnHerd, 22 August 2022.
“Conservatives don’t know how to handle China“. UnHerd, 1 August 2022.
“Why Conservatives are blind to race“, UnHerd, 20 July 2022.
“Why Nadhim Zahawi said yes“. UnHerd, 6 July 2022.
“The mystical power of the monarchy“. UnHerd, 3 June 2022.
“The real-world victims of Partygate“. UnHerd, 13 April 2022.
“There’s nothing new about selling honours“. UnHerd, 8 November 2021.
China
Mirabile dictu, it is still possible to be taken seriously as a China pundit without speaking a word of Chinese. Enough said.
“If China has peaked, can the West breathe easy?” Weekend Essay, The Times, 29 September 2023.
“Emmanuel Macron sidesteps European division on China visit“. UnHerd, 6 April 2023.
“China is interfering in Canadian elections, but Trudeau seems angrier at those who leaked it“. ConservativeHome, 1 March 2023.
“The people sing“. The Critic, 30 November 2022.
“British judges are right to cut ties with Hong Kong“. The Spectator, 30 March 2022.
“The small matter of Britain’s interest in China“. The Critic, 11 June 2020.
“Hong Kongers’ Route to Britishness Winds Through the Ruins of Empire“. Foreign Policy, 3 June 2020.
Canada
Canada is far more interesting than most people imagine. By most people, I include Canadians, who amuse ourselves with following American politics when they could be debating whether Diefenbaker lost the 1962 Canadian election because John F. Kennedy sent in the CIA. I was once ConservativeHome‘s Canada columnist, but have since had to give up the appointment on account of time.
“British resentment of London pales to insignificance besides Canadians’ disdain for unlovely Ottawa“. ConservativeHome, 20 September 2023.
“Oh, Canada. Bowdlerising the national anthem would be the latest sign of decaying national unity“. ConservativeHome, 16 August 2023.
“Could the Canadian Conservatives be locked out of office indefinitely?“. ConservativeHome, 19 July 2023.
“Life lingering after the throne – what should Canada do with ex-governors general?“. ConservativeHome, 21 June 2023.
“How CBC ended up in a fight to the death with the Canadian Tories“. ConservativeHome, 24 May 2023.
“Trudeau’s changes to the King’s titles are central to his erasure of Canada’s past“. ConservativeHome, 26 April 2023.
“Meet the Laurentians – Canada’s enduring, overwhelmingly liberal ruling-class blob“. ConservativeHome, 29 March 2023.
“Justin Trudeau has let Beijing deep into Canadian politics“. The Telegraph, 28 March 2023.
“Canadian citizenship is embarrassingly cheap and online oath makes it cheaper“. National Post, 3 March 2023.
“China is interfering in Canadian elections, but Trudeau seems angrier at those who leaked it“. ConservativeHome, 1 March 2023.
“How modern Canadian governments trashed their nation’s proud martial tradition“. ConservativeHome, 1 February 2023.
“How the Canadian Conservatives became the party of choice for Millennials“. ConservativeHome, 4 January 2023.
“The assisted suicide doctors who freely admit their patients are driven by poverty“, National Post, 21 December 2022.
“Leaked slides reveal dark side of Canada’s euthanasia policy“. UnHerd, 20 December 2022.
“Canada has declared itself a genocidal state, but seems in no rush to do anything about it“. ConservativeHome, 23 November 2022.
“Canada’s harrowing euthanasia experiment should be a warning to the world“. The Telegraph, 14 November 2022.
“When it comes to protests, Canada’s Liberals make the Tories look like hippies“. ConservativeHome, 26 October 2022.
“Canada’s immature foreign policy — being ‘nice’ doesn’t cut it“, National Post, 17 October 2022.
“Take it from a Canadian, Brown’s plan to save the Union is a shot in the arm for separatism“. ConservativeHome, 29 September 2022.
“At last, the Canadian Conservatives may be about to select the next prime minister“. ConservativeHome, 19 August 2022.
(with Kerry Sun) “Why Canada can’t jail terrorists for life“. The Spectator, 19 June 2022. Our podcast on the subject. A panel on the topic in which I took part.
“Why is Canada euthanising the poor?” The Spectator, 30 April 2022. Its most-popular article of the year. The most important thing I have ever written and probably the most meaningful thing I will ever write.
“How the Charter of Rights let Canada down“. UnHerd, 18 February 2022.
“The squalid world of Justin Trudeau“. UnHerd, 20 September 2021.
“Canada’s Celebrity Judges“. The Dorchester Review, Spring-Summer 2021.
Other features
“J G A Pocock: the Antipodean’s view of Europe“. The Critic, 19 December 2023. My homage to the historian’s historian.
“Academia is driving away potential Nobel winners“. UnHerd, 5 October 2023.
“Against assisted suicide“. The Critic, 19 April 2023. Transcript of a speech I gave to the Cambridge Union. Our side lost the final vote but we managed one of the biggest swings ever recorded.
“On paying respects“. The Critic, 19 September 2022.
“What affirmative action advocates ignore“. The New Statesman, 8 July 2023.
“How the Commonwealth reacted to the Queen’s death“. The Spectator, 10 September 2022.
“I spread disinformation, and I’m very sorry“. The Critic, 6 June 2022.
“What is the point of kicking Russia out of the UN Security Council?“. The Telegraph, 4 March 2022.
Yuan Yi Zhu 