And cross a proverbial Rubicon.

ASTORIA, NYC- I made another appearance on Kazakh TV a couple of weeks ago for a segment called “Is Kazakhstan China’s new territorial dispute? What are prospects of the Kazakh-Chinese relations?” It was a 16 minute feature by Lyazzat Shatayeva that had me corresponding from my office in Astoria in front of a background that consisted of a computer screen with camel and a thoughtfully placed … Buffalo Bills hat.
The topic of the segment was the uproar in Kazakhstan that was caused when it was discovered that nationalistic bloggers in China were making (rather dubious) claims on Kazakh territory. I covered the story in a series of articles on my (currently paused) On the New Silk Road newsletter:
Kazakhstan: China’s New Territorial Dispute?
China, Kazakhstan, And The Territorial Dispute That Isn’t
This was the second time that I was on Kazakh TV and the third time I was interviewed by Lyazzat. Whenever I pass through Astana Nur Sultan we meet up and do a story, but it had been a few years since I’ve been there. In the meantime it seems as if Lyazzat has moved up the ladder a little, as she now has her own show on the channel.
Watch the segment:
This was the first time I was on Kazakh TV:
I crossed a Rubicon of sorts by talking about Xinjiang and the 1.8 million ethnic minorities who are interned in camps there. Fuck it — I’m banned from China anyway.
About the Author: VBJ
I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 90 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. VBJ has written 3687 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.
VBJ is currently in: Papa Bay, Hawaii
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June 19, 2020, 1:36 pm
I love you Wade. I’ve self censored myself in the past on this blog because I know that what commenters say can affect the blog writer himself. I’m glad you talked about that. You know I lived in Xinjiang for two years. I’m still tore up because I know former students of mine have been put in camps.
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June 19, 2020, 6:14 pm
How does one get banned from China?
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June 20, 2020, 4:33 pm
Can’t beat the introduction they gave you on that first appearance: “the famous writer and journalist Wade Shepard…” You’re big in Kazakhstan Wade, right up there with Kerouac and Hemingway. But seriously you came across as articulate and engaging.
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