The leading writer, and columnist in The Irish Times, Fintan O'Toole will be based in China for the next six months.
China's emergence as a major economic power with a growing self-confidence on the world stage is likely to be the biggest global development of the early 21st century. What happens there is no less important in Donegal or Dublin than Shanghai or Shenyang.
Fintan O'Toole will look behind the daily news stories at both the small details of life and bigger picture of momentous change. His first report on the hopes and fears that define the lives of almost a quarter of the world's population will appear in tomorrow's editions.