The Milk Tea Alliance

“The historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom, celebrated for drawing connections across time and genre, brilliantly succeeds here in capturing the travel of moral energy, how one uprising informs another. In tracing the currents linking youth movements across Asia, he gives us a story of resilient defiance against not just local oppression but the expanding shadow of Xi Jinping’s China—a defining battle of the twenty-first century.” —Evan Osnos, National Book Award winner, author of Age of Ambition “By tracing the links between young activists across Asia, The Milk Tea Alliance presents an exciting new way of seeing the region and Jeff Wasserstrom is uniquely placed to contextualize these stories of persistence and resilience. The resulting web of connections forged across social, cultural and geographical boundaries is a template for hope in dark times.” —Emma Larkin, author of Finding George Orwell in Burma “The future of democracy in several Asian countries looked promising with the rise of youth movements in the 2010s and 2020s. Authoritarian regimes responded by trying to crush their attempts at change, but we hope the world will care more about them and the future they fought for, starting with Wasserstrom’s excellent stories of these young activists.” —Thongchai Winichakul, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison