Steven Schwankert

Steven Schwankert is an award-winning writer and editor with 17 years of experience in Greater China, focusing on exploration, technology, media and culture. His book, Poseidon: China's Secret Salvage of Britain's Lost Submarine was published in 2013 by Hong Kong University Press. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, his work has been published in The Asian Wall Street Journal, The South China Morning Post, Billboard, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. It has also appeared on the web sites of The New York Times, The Washington Post, PCWorld and MacWorld. He is a former deputy Asia editor for The Hollywood Reporter, former editor of Computerworld Hong Kong and former managing editor of asia.internet.com.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands following a joint news conference in the Rose Garden at the White House Sept. 25 in Washington. (CNS photo/Gary Cameron, Reuters)

Signs Of the Times

What Xi Jinping owes Pope Francis

by Steven Schwankert October 7, 2015

Mr. Xi’s visit came as his leadership of China’s economy is increasingly being questioned.

Dispatches

Pope Francis Offers China a Master Class in Soft Power

by Steven Schwankert September 29, 2015

Pope Francis enraptured both big and small crowds, leaving them both laughing and crying, be they the U.S. Congress or the tens of thousands that saw him in Philadelphia. Through it all, the pope seemed to just be himself, at least the self that we have become accustomed to seeing.

Dispatches

Fifty Years Later, Tibet is Still the Hottest of Political Potatoes

by Steven Schwankert September 12, 2015

Region’s autonomy remains the most sensitive of issues for China’s government

A person lights a candle for explosion victims at the Chaoyin Temple Aug. 14. The Aug. 12 blast engulfed an industrial area where toxic chemicals and gas were stored in the northeast Chinese port city. (CNS photo/Wu Hong, EPA)

Dispatches

China Commemorates World War II’s End, but Don’t Call It a Celebration

by Steven Schwankert September 4, 2015

A large military parade was seen as a continuation of China’s campaign to maintain public hatred of Japan.

Signs Of the Times

Another Olympic Run

by Steven Schwankert August 19, 2015

The period following the Beijing Olympics has not been particularly bright.

Screen capture of the explosion from video embedded below.

Dispatches

Powerful blast devastates port city in China

by Steven Schwankert August 13, 2015

At least two explosions in one of northern China’s most important ports has killed 44 people, including 12 firefighters, while injuring hundreds and causing millions of dollars in property damage.