Associate Professor of Political Science at University of British Columbia. Researching China, social movements, labor, authoritarianism. Author of "Workers and Change in China." He/him. Website: https://manfredelfstrom.comhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.socialhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mrw2w62ub22xThe government better not intervene in ANOTHER labor dispute to force people back to work. https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7291760t31 Jul 2026 03:59 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrw2w62ub22xhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mrfyptzecc2tTaiwan: Stop union busting at TaiDoc https://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=5843&src=lsmm24 Jul 2026 18:37 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mrfyptzecc2thttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mqsffxsp3c2iThis is a real predicament. In the long-term, China faces a demographic crunch with fewer and fewer young workers. Xi is prioritizing higher-end manufacturing and pursuing a German rather than U.S. model. At the same time... there are workers who need jobs NOW. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/world/asia/china-workers-robots-factories.html16 Jul 2026 23:31 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqsffxsp3c2ihttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mqcz7fla6k2gJust visited the Vermont History Museum in Montpelier. Highly recommended.10 Jul 2026 20:43 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mqcz7fla6k2ghttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3movkodnjys2hAnita Chan and I on the causes of poor working conditions for Chinese workers on BRI project sites. #China #BRI #Labor https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00472336.2026.268620122 Jun 2026 18:53 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3movkodnjys2hhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mog5owkxbk2oAbigail Ververda and my paper on coal and collective action in Appalachia is finally out and open access. In the paper, we use a new dataset of 1,525 strikes, protests, petitions, and lawsuits in WV to test several arguments about what tactics "work" in coal-related disputes. #contentiousky [contains quote post or other embedded content]16 Jun 2026 15:51 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mog5owkxbk2ohttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3moe4t3z3es2zReally cool to see people start moving into these apartments now. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/opinion/vancouver-housing-crisis-development.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share15 Jun 2026 20:30 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3moe4t3z3es2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mnxk22ihr22uMy oldster take on #Chinamaxxing and what meaningful progressive engagement with China looks like. https://foreignpolicy.com/2026/06/10/progressives-china-beijing-labor-protests-chinamaxxing/?tpcc=recirc_latest062921#cookie_message_anchor10 Jun 2026 20:22 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnxk22ihr22uhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mngxmbcwqk2fSign this petition to save Kelowna's rail trail. c.org/xq76YwKttX https://c.org/xq76YwKttX04 Jun 2026 06:09 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mngxmbcwqk2fhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mmk4evgx5k2cAbsolutely horrible news. China has improved its mine safety a lot over the last couple decades. Still, this mine reportedly had been cited already for problems. https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gas-explosion-china-9.720989923 May 2026 18:48 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mmk4evgx5k2chttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mlypx3zrgk2kThe biologist under fire seems like an exceptionally principled person. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-01590-w16 May 2026 20:50 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mlypx3zrgk2khttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3ml7lwctg7c2sEncouraging development. Of course, it remains to be seen whether other courts in China follow suit and what creative workarounds companies invent. The attitudes of local governments will also be important. https://www.caixinglobal.com/2026-04-30/chinese-courts-rule-companies-cannot-fire-workers-simply-to-replace-them-with-ai-102439602.html06 May 2026 21:01 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3ml7lwctg7c2shttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mk4u6o4iq22jExactly. This echoes the dynamic that Victor Shih describes in the context of Chinese politics: autocrats have good reasons to surround themselves with incompetent underlings. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/coalitions-of-the-weak/6E99B6DB73F934166175D872B51DACD0 [contains quote post or other embedded content]23 Apr 2026 01:26 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mk4u6o4iq22jhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mjpay2dyjk2bAn absolutely masterful take-down of a couple clumsy apologists for China’s repression in Xinjiang. This is how you do it! https://tempestmag.org/2026/04/dismissing-chinas-repression-in-xinjiang/17 Apr 2026 15:38 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mjpay2dyjk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mj6fyx3kgs2x@joshtpm.bsky.social's trenchant take on DoD budget: "It is a huge reorientation of the entire federal government from being a modern government, focused primarily on supporting and protecting its citizens, to one focused on, and built for, force and violence." https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/the-new-defense-budget10 Apr 2026 22:52 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mj6fyx3kgs2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3miopc6x7qk2bWe are already at the 50th anniversary of the 1976 Tiananmen incident, a protest that was suppressed, then legitimated by the Party.04 Apr 2026 16:56 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3miopc6x7qk2bhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mi7npulhnk2nI think this is the best outcome? Definitely better to have someone who sparks excitement as a leader than someone you just imagine others will be OK with. I hope Lewis recognizes the urgency of repairing ties to western party activists, though. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ndp-leader-elected-avi-lewis/29 Mar 2026 17:18 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mi7npulhnk2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mhofcoxffs2rJust saw Josh Ritter play a solo set in my little corner of Canada. Still remember him as the fourth-year folk singer heartthrob when I was a freshman in college.22 Mar 2026 20:32 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mhofcoxffs2rhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mgwfp4hqys25Check out our AAS panel: "Class and Contentious Politics in China" cdmcd.co/mR5ZGn #AAS2026 https://cdmcd.co/mR5ZGn13 Mar 2026 07:35 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgwfp4hqys25https://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mgskqhpsfs22Our third annual labour lecture co-hosted with the North Okanagan Labour Council is tomorrow (Thursday). Dr. Anelyse Weiler will be discussing farm workers' struggles. https://events.ok.ubc.ca/event/annual-labour-lecture-dr-anelyse-weiler/. Join us if you are in Kelowna!11 Mar 2026 18:55 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgskqhpsfs22https://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mgjor42shc24Discussion is starting on the bill this week. https://www.cjpme.org/no_more_loopholes_act08 Mar 2026 06:13 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mgjor42shc24https://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3mfwtvdbu5k2nWhat’s with Carney signing off on every American intervention overseas? Venezuela, Iran… I can’t tell if it is an attempt to win favor or a reflection of his actual convictions about the world.28 Feb 2026 18:24 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3mfwtvdbu5k2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3meqtszrbvs2x“Equipment operator Angel Gomez felt the power shift after the vote. A supervisor came up to ask him what he’d be able to do now. ‘The way you’re touching the machines now, you ain’t going to be able to do that,’ he told him.” https://labornotes.org/2026/02/major-breakthrough-volkswagen-auto-workers-reach-tentative-deal13 Feb 2026 15:41 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3meqtszrbvs2xhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3me7ezigdp22fBlack Flag is coming to Kelowna. Hive mind: do I go see this reboot? https://exclaim.ca/music/article/black-flag-book-canadian-tour06 Feb 2026 17:01 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3me7ezigdp22fhttps://bsky.app/profile/manfrede.bsky.social/post/3me5n7xr6c22kJust got my copy of Mujun Zhou’s new book, which provides a really compelling argument about why China’s various grassroots social reform movements embraced and then became disaffected with Chinese liberals’ grand “civil society” project (I provide an appreciative blurb on the back).06 Feb 2026 00:23 +0000at://did:plc:3mimedzoi6sbsvp2fxrr5ms4/app.bsky.feed.post/3me5n7xr6c22k