Podcasts about Far Eastern Economic Review

Four years ago, on Feb. 1 2021, the Burmese military overthrew the fledgling democratic government in the Southeast Asian country of Burma, officially known as Myanmar. That sparked a civil war that continues today–with neither the military junta nor the various rebel groups coming closer to victory. How did the country get here? Veteran Asia journalist Bertil Lintner tackles the country's history since independence, including the military's long involvement in the country's politics, in his book The Golden Land Ablaze: Coups, Insurgents and the State in Myanmar (Hurst: 2024). He joins today to talk about Burma's history, the role of the military, China's involvement in the country, and prospects for the civil war going forward. Bertil Lintner is an acclaimed journalist and expert on contemporary Southeast Asia, especially Myanmar. Formerly the Far Eastern Economic Review's Burma correspondent, he is now a full-time correspondent with the Asia Pacific Media Services and writes regularly for Asia Times, The Irrawaddy and other regional and international websites and publications. Lintner has written 25 books on Asian politics and history, including Outrage: Burma's Struggle for Democracy (Review Publishing: 1989); Great Game East: India, China and the Struggle for Asia's Most Volatile Frontier (Yale University Press: 2015); and The Costliest Pearl: China's Struggle for India's Ocean (Hurst: 2019). You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The Golden Land Ablaze. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Four years ago, on Feb. 1 2021, the Burmese military overthrew the fledgling democratic government in the Southeast Asian country of Burma, officially known as Myanmar. That sparked a civil war that continues today–with neither the military junta nor the various rebel groups coming closer to victory. How did the country get here? Veteran Asia journalist Bertil Lintner tackles the country's history since independence, including the military's long involvement in the country's politics, in his book The Golden Land Ablaze: Coups, Insurgents and the State in Myanmar (Hurst: 2024). He joins today to talk about Burma's history, the role of the military, China's involvement in the country, and prospects for the civil war going forward. Bertil Lintner is an acclaimed journalist and expert on contemporary Southeast Asia, especially Myanmar. Formerly the Far Eastern Economic Review's Burma correspondent, he is now a full-time correspondent with the Asia Pacific Media Services and writes regularly for Asia Times, The Irrawaddy and other regional and international websites and publications. Lintner has written 25 books on Asian politics and history, including Outrage: Burma's Struggle for Democracy (Review Publishing: 1989); Great Game East: India, China and the Struggle for Asia's Most Volatile Frontier (Yale University Press: 2015); and The Costliest Pearl: China's Struggle for India's Ocean (Hurst: 2019). You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The Golden Land Ablaze. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

Four years ago, on Feb. 1 2021, the Burmese military overthrew the fledgling democratic government in the Southeast Asian country of Burma, officially known as Myanmar. That sparked a civil war that continues today–with neither the military junta nor the various rebel groups coming closer to victory. How did the country get here? Veteran Asia journalist Bertil Lintner tackles the country's history since independence, including the military's long involvement in the country's politics, in his book The Golden Land Ablaze: Coups, Insurgents and the State in Myanmar (Hurst: 2024). He joins today to talk about Burma's history, the role of the military, China's involvement in the country, and prospects for the civil war going forward. Bertil Lintner is an acclaimed journalist and expert on contemporary Southeast Asia, especially Myanmar. Formerly the Far Eastern Economic Review's Burma correspondent, he is now a full-time correspondent with the Asia Pacific Media Services and writes regularly for Asia Times, The Irrawaddy and other regional and international websites and publications. Lintner has written 25 books on Asian politics and history, including Outrage: Burma's Struggle for Democracy (Review Publishing: 1989); Great Game East: India, China and the Struggle for Asia's Most Volatile Frontier (Yale University Press: 2015); and The Costliest Pearl: China's Struggle for India's Ocean (Hurst: 2019). You can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at The Asian Review of Books, including its review of The Golden Land Ablaze. Follow on Twitter at @BookReviewsAsia. Nicholas Gordon is an editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at @nickrigordon.

This week, Roger welcomes Mark L. Clifford, the president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and author of “The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong's Greatest Dissident, and China's Most Feared Critic,” which was released in December of 2024.They discuss the remarkable life story of Jimmy Lai, a Chinese refugee who built a successful business empire in Hong Kong before becoming an outspoken pro-democracy activist. They cover Lai's early hardships, his spiritual conversion to Catholicism, and his current imprisonment by the Chinese government under harsh conditions. Plus, how Clifford and the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation are actively advocating for Lai's release and the preservation of democratic freedoms in Hong Kong.Mark is a Walter Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, holds a PhD in history from the University of Hong Kong, and lived in Asia from 1987 until 2021. Prior to that, he was executive director of the Hong Kong-based Asia Business Council, the editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), publisher and editor-in-chief of The Standard (Hong Kong), held senior editorial positions at BusinessWeek and the Far Eastern Economic Review in Hong Kong and Seoul, and is the recipient of numerous academic, book, and journalism awards.The Liberty + Leadership Podcast is hosted by TFAS president Roger Ream and produced by Podville Media. If you have a comment or question for the show, please email us at podcast@TFAS.org. To support TFAS and its mission, please visit TFAS.org/support.Support the show

In this episode of NucleCast, Rick Fisher, senior fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, talks about the current state of North Korea's nuclear program. Fisher predicts that by the mid-2030s, North Korea will have the ability to conduct a catastrophic first strike against the United States. He credits the work of other experts in the field and discusses the development of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and multiple independently targetable warheads (MIRVs). Fisher also highlights the close relationship between China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran in their pursuit of global hegemony and the need for the United States to strengthen its nuclear deterrent capabilities and missile defense systems.Mr. Richard D. Fisher, Jr. is a Senior Fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center. In 2024 he joined the Advisory Board of the Free Press Foundation and in 2016 he joined the Advisory Board of the Global Taiwan Institute and is a columnist for the Taipei Times.He previously worked with the Center for Security Policy, Jamestown Foundation China Brief, U.S. House of Representatives Republican Policy Committee, and The Heritage Foundation. He is the author of China's Military Modernization, Building for Regional and Global Reach (Praeger, 2008, Stanford University Press, 2010, Taiwan Ministry of National Defense translation 2012) Since 1996 he has covered scores of international arms exhibits and his articles have been published in the Jane's Intelligence Review, Jane's Defence Weekly, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Armed Forces Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, Asian Wall Street Journal, Defense News, The Epoch Times and The Washington Times. He has studied at Georgetown University and received a B.A. (Honors) in 1981 from Eisenhower College.Chapters00:00 Introduction and Guest Introduction02:02 North Korea's Growing Nuclear Threat06:38 North Korea's Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles08:06 Possible Collaboration with Pakistan on MIRV Capabilities11:16 The Relationship Between North Korea and Russia18:55 The Dangerous Alliance of China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran25:56 The Need to Strengthen the United States' Nuclear Deterrent32:22 Wishes for the Future36:51 ConclusionSocials:Follow on Twitter at @NucleCastFollow on LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/nuclecastpodcastSubscribe RSS Feed: https://rss.com/podcasts/nuclecast-podcast/Rate: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nuclecast/id1644921278Email comments and topic/guest suggestions to NucleCast@anwadeter.org

Gordon Chang is the author of Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World, released by Random House in January 2006. Showdown focuses on nuclear proliferation in general and the North Korean crisis in particular. His first book is The Coming Collapse of China (Random House, August 2001). He is a columnist at The Daily Beast. Chang lived and worked in China and Hong Kong for almost two decades, most recently in Shanghai, as Counsel to the American law firm Paul Weiss and earlier in Hong Kong as Partner in the international law firm Baker & McKenzie. His writings on China and North Korea have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Far Eastern Economic Review, the International Herald Tribune, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, National Review, and Barron's.

Join Roger in this week's Liberty + Leadership Podcast as he speaks with Bill McGurn, who sits on The Wall Street Journal editorial board and writes the weekly "Main Street" column for the Journal. In this week's episode, they explore Bill's career at The Wall Street Journal, his deep connection with Hong Kong political prisoner Jimmy Lai, and the intertwined themes of faith and imprisonment. They also discuss ways in which ordinary people can help support press freedom and combat the rise of imprisoned journalists including Jimmy Lai, WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich and countless others who are wrongfully imprisoned worldwide.  Bill McGurn is an author and journalist. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and previously served as chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush. He was the chief editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal, and for more than a decade, Bill reported from overseas: in Brussels with The Wall Street Journal/Europe and in Hong Kong with both the Asian Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review. Bill is author of "Terrorist or Freedom Fighter" and a book on Hong Kong entitled "Perfidious Albion." He received a bachelor's degree in philosophy from Notre Dame and a master's degree in communications from Boston University. In 2022, TFAS honored Bill will the Thomas L. Phillips Career Achievement Award for producing work that is emblematic of the type of courageous journalism and dedication to the truth that we strive to teach at TFAS.  The Liberty + Leadership Podcast is hosted by TFAS president Roger Ream and produced by kglobal. If you have a comment or question for the show, please email us at podcast@TFAS.org. To support TFAS and its mission, please visit TFAS.org/support. Support the show

Ian Buruma is the author, co-author and editor of over a dozen books. He has been an editor at the Far Eastern Economic Review and The New York Review of Books. In this talk, he discusses Year Zero: A History of 1945 (Penguin, 2014). Year Zero is a landmark reckoning with the great drama that ensued after war came to an end in 1945. One world had ended and a new, uncertain one was beginning. Regime change had come on a global scale: across Asia (including China, Korea, Indochina, and the Philippines, and of course Japan) and all of continental Europe. Out of the often vicious power struggles that ensued emerged the modern world as we know it. In human terms, the scale of transformation is almost impossible to imagine. Great cities around the world lay in ruins, their populations decimated, displaced, starving. Harsh revenge was meted out on a wide scale, and the ground was laid for much horror to come. At the same time, in the wake of unspeakable loss, the euphoria of the liberated was extraordinary, and the revelry unprecedented. The postwar years gave rise to the European welfare state, the United Nations, decolonization, Japanese pacifism, and the European Union. Social, cultural, and political "reeducation" was imposed on vanquished by victors on a scale that also had no historical precedent. Much that was done was ill advised, but in hindsight, as Ian Buruma shows us, these efforts were in fact relatively enlightened, humane, and effective. A poignant grace note throughout this history is Buruma's own father's story. Seized by the Nazis during the occupation of Holland, he spent much of the war in Berlin as a laborer, and by war's end was literally hiding in the rubble of a flattened city, having barely managed to survive starvation rations, Allied bombing, and Soviet shock troops when the end came. His journey home and attempted reentry into "normalcy" stand in many ways for his generation's experience. A work of enormous range and stirring human drama, conjuring both the Asian and European theaters with equal fluency, Year Zero is a book that Ian Buruma is perhaps uniquely positioned to write. It is surely his masterpiece. Since 1977, the New York Institute for the Humanities has brought together distinguished scholars, writers, artists, and publishing professionals to foster crucial discussions around the public humanities. For more information and to support the NYIH, visit nyihumanities.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Ian Buruma is the author, co-author and editor of over a dozen books. He has been an editor at the Far Eastern Economic Review and The New York Review of Books. In this talk, he discusses Year Zero: A History of 1945 (Penguin, 2014). Year Zero is a landmark reckoning with the great drama that ensued after war came to an end in 1945. One world had ended and a new, uncertain one was beginning. Regime change had come on a global scale: across Asia (including China, Korea, Indochina, and the Philippines, and of course Japan) and all of continental Europe. Out of the often vicious power struggles that ensued emerged the modern world as we know it. In human terms, the scale of transformation is almost impossible to imagine. Great cities around the world lay in ruins, their populations decimated, displaced, starving. Harsh revenge was meted out on a wide scale, and the ground was laid for much horror to come. At the same time, in the wake of unspeakable loss, the euphoria of the liberated was extraordinary, and the revelry unprecedented. The postwar years gave rise to the European welfare state, the United Nations, decolonization, Japanese pacifism, and the European Union. Social, cultural, and political "reeducation" was imposed on vanquished by victors on a scale that also had no historical precedent. Much that was done was ill advised, but in hindsight, as Ian Buruma shows us, these efforts were in fact relatively enlightened, humane, and effective. A poignant grace note throughout this history is Buruma's own father's story. Seized by the Nazis during the occupation of Holland, he spent much of the war in Berlin as a laborer, and by war's end was literally hiding in the rubble of a flattened city, having barely managed to survive starvation rations, Allied bombing, and Soviet shock troops when the end came. His journey home and attempted reentry into "normalcy" stand in many ways for his generation's experience. A work of enormous range and stirring human drama, conjuring both the Asian and European theaters with equal fluency, Year Zero is a book that Ian Buruma is perhaps uniquely positioned to write. It is surely his masterpiece. Since 1977, the New York Institute for the Humanities has brought together distinguished scholars, writers, artists, and publishing professionals to foster crucial discussions around the public humanities. For more information and to support the NYIH, visit nyihumanities.org. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may have seen the headline yourself:  "Rouge executioner a born-again Christian."  The Reuters news story began, "The chief executioner of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge, who ordered thousands of people killed in the 1970's, is a born-again Christian ready to face justice, the Far Eastern Economic Review said."

In this episode we're joined by Jennifer Warren. We're discussing the oil markets and the impact of China's reopening. Warren's areas of expertise include energy trends —their economic and geopolitical implications—and resource sustainability issues. Her work has been published in various academic, policy and business publications such as Far Eastern Economic Review, Energy Trends Insider, and many others. Plus, Kim Khan brings this week's Catalyst Watch, the new poll for the week, and a preview of Micron Technology's (MU) earnings.

The King welcomes Alvino-Mario Fantini, Editor-in-Chief of The European Conservative, Europe’s premier conservative English-language quarterly journal of philosophy, politics, and the arts. His work has appeared in such publications as The American Spectator, Crisis, The New Criterion, Far Eastern Economic Review, Catholic World Report, The American Conservative, and The Wall Street Journal. Source

The King welcomes Alvino-Mario Fantini, Editor-in-Chief of The European Conservative, Europe's premier conservative English-language quarterly journal of philosophy, politics, and the arts. His work has appeared in such publications as The American Spectator, Crisis, The New Criterion, Far Eastern Economic Review, Catholic World Report, The American Conservative, and The Wall Street Journal. Source

The King welcomes Alvino-Mario Fantini, Editor-in-Chief of The European Conservative, Europe's premier conservative English-language quarterly journal of philosophy, politics, and the arts. His work has appeared in such publications as The American Spectator, Crisis, The New Criterion, Far Eastern Economic Review, Catholic World Report, The American Conservative, and The Wall Street Journal. Mario serves on […]

In this account of the rapid erosion of liberties, freedom of speech, freedom of the press and civil and political rights in Hong Kong, Mark L. Clifford's latest book provides an historically in-depth, vivid political analysis of the rapidly changing situation in Hong Kong. When the British ceased its period of colonial rule in 1997, and Hong Kong was returned to the governance of the People's Republic of China, then Chinese Communist Party Leader, Deng Xiaoping promised that Hong Kong would maintain its way of life for the next 50 years. This way of life, the rule of law, and independent judiciary, a democratically elected government, and the sorts of human rights which shape societies in liberal democracies worldwide, were also guaranteed in Hong Kong's mini-constitution - The Basic Law. However, less than halfway through this "One Country, Two Systems" experiment, Hong Kongers rights and freedoms, and its rule of law and the values which have come to form the basis of a unique Hong Konger identity have been crushed. Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World: What China's Crackdown Reveals about its plans to End Freedom Everywhere (St. Martin's Press, 2022) is hard to put down; It is not just the way that Clifford brings to life the characters and pivotal moments in the rising tide of oppression, but also the implications of the situation in Hong Kong for the rest of the world act as a profound warning. This book is unique for its on the ground analysis and the insight it provides in framing Hong Kong as the geopolitical nexus between libertarian values of the West and Communist China's political system.   Mark L. Clifford is the president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Hong Kong. A Walter Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, he lived in Asia from 1987 until 2021. Previously, Clifford was executive director of the Hong Kong-based Asia Business Council, the editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), and publisher and editor-in-chief of The Standard (Hong Kong). He held senior editorial positions at BusinessWeek and the Far Eastern Economic Review in Hong Kong and Seoul. He has won numerous academic, book, and journalism awards. He was also on the board of directors of Next Digital; the company that published the pro-democracy newspaper, Apple Daily, before it was forced to shutdown in June 2021.  Jane Richards is a doctoral student at the University of Hong Kong. You can find her on twitter where she follows all things related to human rights and Hong Kong politics @JaneRichardsHK Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This event is sponsored by the Asia Initiative Lecture Series at The Institute of World Politics. About the lecture: Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow The World is a gripping history of China's deteriorating relationship with Hong Kong, and its implications for the rest of the world. For 150 years as a British colony, Hong Kong was a beacon of prosperity where people, money, and technology flowed freely, and residents enjoyed many civil liberties. In preparation for handing the territory over to China in 1997, Deng Xiaoping promised that it would remain highly autonomous for fifty years. An international treaty established a Special Administrative Region (SAR) with a far freer political system than that of Communist China―one with its own currency and government administration, a common-law legal system, and freedoms of press, speech, and religion. But as the halfway mark of the SAR's lifespan approaches in 2022, it is clear that China has not kept its word. Universal suffrage and free elections have not been instituted, harassment and brutality have become normalized, and activists are being jailed en masse. To make matters worse, a national security law that further crimps Hong Kong's freedoms has recently been decreed in Beijing. This tragic backslide has dire worldwide implications―as China continues to expand its global influence, Hong Kong serves as a chilling preview of how dissenters could be treated in regions that fall under the emerging superpower's control. About the speaker: Mark L. Clifford is the author of Today Hong Kong, Tomorrow the World: What China's Crackdown Reveals About Its Plans to End Freedom Everywhere and the president of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Hong Kong and a BA from the University of California Berkeley. A Walter Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, he lived in Asia from 1987 until 2021. Previously, Clifford was executive director of the Hong Kong-based Asia Business Council, the editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), and publisher and editor-in-chief of The Standard (Hong Kong). He held senior editorial positions at BusinessWeek and the Far Eastern Economic Review in Hong Kong and Seoul. He has won numerous academic, book, and journalism awards. Follow him @MarkLClifford or see more information at www.markclifford.org.

This is a repost of my conversation with Michael Vatikiotis, a mediator at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and author of the excellent book ‘Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in modern Southeast Asia'. This episode was originally published on 22 Nov 2021. -- My guest today is Michael Vatikiotis who is a writer, journalist and private diplomat working in Southeast Asia (SEA) since 1987. He was formerly editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review as well as a journalist in Asia for more than three decades. He currently lives in Singapore and is the Asia Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based private foundation that facilitates dialogue to resolve armed conflicts. Michael has written two novels set in Indonesia and three books on the politics of SEA, including ‘Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in modern Southeast Asia', which we focused on today. Some of topics we covered include: ‘delusion' of democracy in SEA; power of the elites; question of SEA identity; Western misunderstanding of SEA; China's influence and role; reality of regional circumstances; US/China contestation; Australia and AUKUS; reality of adjustment and accommodation as well as issues plaguing traditional and social media.    --- Full show notes: My guest today is Michael Vatikiotis who is a writer, journalist and private diplomat working in Southeast Asia since 1987. He was formerly editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review as well as a journalist in Asia for more than three decades. He currently lives in Singapore and is the Asia Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based private foundation that facilitates dialogue to resolve armed conflicts. Michael has written two novels set in Indonesia and three books on the politics of Southeast Asia, including ‘Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in modern Southeast Asia', which we'll focus on a lot today, as well as ‘Political Change in Southeast Asia: Trimming the Banyan Tree'. His latest book ‘Lives Between The Lines: A Journey in Search of the Lost Levant' was published in August this year. In addition to his books, Michael regularly writes opinion pieces for international and regional newspapers and is a regular contributor to outlets such Al Jazeera and the BBC. Michael is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and gained his doctorate form the University of Oxford. He joins me today to discuss social, political and cultural dynamics of Southeast Asia and the role it plays, or is likely to play, in the complex world of modern geopolitics.  Some of the topics we covered include: Michael's background and journey to Southeast Asia Why Western idea of democracy remains a ‘delusion' in SEA Power and influence of elites in SEA Identity in SEA Western misunderstanding of SEA and what makes it ‘tick' Chinese influence and role in SEA Diversity and values Reality of ASEAN US/China contestation and resulting friction in SEA Peculiar reality of the region's position Sources of risks of conflict in SEA Australia's role and impact of AUKUS Reality of ‘Easternisation' Geopolitical struggle of adjustment and accommodation Role of journalism and social media Reasons behind Michael's hope

My guest today is Michael Vatikiotis who is a writer, journalist and private diplomat working in Southeast Asia (SEA) since 1987. He was formerly editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review as well as a journalist in Asia for more than three decades. He currently lives in Singapore and is the Asia Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based private foundation that facilitates dialogue to resolve armed conflicts. Michael has written two novels set in Indonesia and three books on the politics of SEA, including ‘Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in modern Southeast Asia', which we focused on today. Some of topics we covered include: ‘delusion' of democracy in SEA; power of the elites; question of SEA identity; Western misunderstanding of SEA; China's influence and role; reality of regional circumstances; US/China contestation; Australia and AUKUS; reality of adjustment and accommodation as well as issues plaguing traditional and social media.    --- Full show notes: My guest today is Michael Vatikiotis who is a writer, journalist and private diplomat working in Southeast Asia since 1987. He was formerly editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review as well as a journalist in Asia for more than three decades. He currently lives in Singapore and is the Asia Director of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, a Geneva-based private foundation that facilitates dialogue to resolve armed conflicts. Michael has written two novels set in Indonesia and three books on the politics of Southeast Asia, including ‘Blood and Silk: Power and Conflict in modern Southeast Asia', which we'll focus on a lot today, as well as ‘Political Change in Southeast Asia: Trimming the Banyan Tree'. His latest book ‘Lives Between The Lines: A Journey in Search of the Lost Levant' was published in August this year. In addition to his books, Michael regularly writes opinion pieces for international and regional newspapers and is a regular contributor to outlets such Al Jazeera and the BBC. Michael is a graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and gained his doctorate form the University of Oxford. He joins me today to discuss social, political and cultural dynamics of Southeast Asia and the role it plays, or is likely to play, in the complex world of modern geopolitics.  Some of the topics we covered include: Michael's background and journey to Southeast Asia Why Western idea of democracy remains a ‘delusion' in SEA Power and influence of elites in SEA Identity in SEA Western misunderstanding of SEA and what makes it ‘tick' Chinese influence and role in SEA Diversity and values Reality of ASEAN US/China contestation and resulting friction in SEA Peculiar reality of the region's position Sources of risks of conflict in SEA Australia's role and impact of AUKUS Reality of ‘Easternisation' Geopolitical struggle of adjustment and accommodation Role of journalism and social media Reasons behind Michael's hope  

Ep. 60: Baseball shaped this highly competitive and goal-oriented executive. Adi Ignatius is a leader who comes to play—whether the “play” involves slow-pitch softball or transforming the country's oldest and most influential academic business journal. His success includes writing for the Wall Street Journal, receiving a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize, writing for the Far Eastern Economic Review, Time Asia, and Time Magazine, where he became Executive Editor and Deputy Managing Editor before stepping down from Time to take the top job at HBR in 2009. At HBR he was challenged with leading the transformation of a venerable and beloved business journal into a leading-edge digital platform. That he achieved this and kept the Review's fiercely loyal readership engaged testifies to the inventiveness and flexibility of Adi's mind. In this episode, he shares stories and observations about the relationship between baseball and business. These include the batter whose appearance made him see business in a whole new light and the three key ingredients that keep winning teams winning together.   Visit https://donyaeger.com/corporate-competitor-podcast/episode-60/ for a free gift and today's show notes!

Ayaan speaks with William McGurn about President Biden’s disastrous policy in Afghanistan. They discuss Biden’s speech declaring the end of the war, who really made the decision to leave Afghanistan, and the consequences that the U.S. faces from a botched withdrawal. William McGurn is a writes the weekly “Main Street” column each Tuesday for The Wall Street Journal, is a member of the paper's editorial board, and is a FoxNews contributor. From 2005 to 2008, he served as chief speechwriter for President George W. Bush in the West Wing of the White House. Bill's career has been as a newspaperman. He was the chief editorial writer for The Wall Street Journal, and spent more than a decade overseas – in Europe and in Asia – for the Journal's overseas editions as well as for the Far Eastern Economic Review.  Before joining Dow Jones, he worked as assistant managing editor for The American Spectator, managing editor for This World magazine, and Washington bureau chief for National Review. He has written for a wide variety of publications, from the Washington Post and the New York Post to the Spectator (London) and First Things. Bill is author of Perfidious Albion: The Abandonment of Hong Kong 1997, as well as a monograph on terrorism.  He holds a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame, and has a master's in communications from Boston University. He has served on a number of voluntary organizations, including the Presidential Commission on White House Fellows. Bill is married to the former Julie Hoffman, and they have three daughters: Grace, Maisie, and Lucy. Follow him on Twitter @wjmcgurn. Follow Ayaan on Twitter @ayaan and subscribe to her website at ayaanhirsiali.com.

Pol Pot's death was lamented when he died—not because he was loved by fellow Cambodians.  To the contrary, his death was a disappointment to many because like Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin, he died without being held accountable for the millions of men and women he slaughtered without cause.  He died at the age of 73, forlorn, bedridden, lonely and defiant.  Yes, proudly defiant.  In November 1997, he broke an 18-year silence and did an interview that was carried by the Far Eastern Economic Review.  In the interview, he turned to the reporter and said, "…look at me, am I a savage person?"  The man who gave the world the killing fields and sent between 1.6 and 2 million people to their deaths still thought of himself as a good man.

Since the onset of the pandemic, the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pushed forward a whole host of reforms, including much-needed changes to India's farm laws. Farmer protests, however, have caused many to focus on the everything but the core components of these reforms and what they seek to achieve. In this episode, Uzair spoke to Sadanand Dhume about India's economic reforms and what he calls Modinomics 2.0. Sadanand is a South Asia columnist for the Wall Street Journal and covers South Asia's political economy and business affairs. He has worked as a foreign correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review in India and Indonesia and was a Bernard Schwartz Fellow at the Asia Society in Washington, D.C. Reading Recommendations: - Politics and the English Language by George Orwell -- https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/ - Tilak and Gokhale: Revolution and Reform in the Making of Modern India by Stanley Wolpert -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/0195623924/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_0Y00WHS55MR3GXGT56N8 - Pakistan: A Hard Country by Anatol Lieven -- https://www.amazon.com/dp/1610391454/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_E1Q9KHZ5HTJXA0W70N3J

This event is part of the China Lecture Series sponsored by The Institute of World Politics. About the lecture: In 2019 China began to apply noticeable military pressure on Taiwan, which has increased considerably in 2020. China now proclaims in its media almost weekly that it will invade and conquer democratic Taiwan. This mounting threat to Taiwan will be examined, in addition to why the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) must destroy this democracy in order to achieve hegemony first in Asia, and then the world. Yet, all is not lost, there is still time for the United States to help Taiwan deter a Chinese invasion and by doing so, prevent a dark age of CCP hegemony. About the speaker: Mr. Richard D. Fisher, Jr. is a Senior Fellow with the International Assessment and Strategy Center. In 2016 he joined the Advisory Board of the Global Taiwan Institute. He has previously worked with the Center for Security Policy, Jamestown Foundation China Brief, U.S. House of Representatives Republican Policy Committee, and The Heritage Foundation. He is the author of China's Military Modernization, Building for Regional and Global Reach (Praeger, 2008, Stanford University Press, 2010, Taiwan Ministry of National Defense translation 2012) Since 1996 he has covered scores of international arms exhibits and his articles have been published in the Jane's Intelligence Review, Jane's Defence Weekly, Aviation Week and Space Technology, Armed Forces Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, Asian Wall Street Journal, Defense News, The Epoch Times and the The Washington Times. He has studied at Georgetown University and received a B.A. (Honors) in 1981 from Eisenhower College.

“China is pushing a set of norms and trying to undermine democracies and rule of law around the world and interfering in their societies in ways that is causing a lot of worry.” On this episode, China policy expert Bonnie Glaser joins Daniel to discuss what is happening currently with US-China relations. Where is China building military bases around the world that might shock us? What should Americans think of TikTok, WeChat, and even Zoom? How do Chinese citizens view the surveillance state that is de rigeur in Chinese society? With US-China relations at a low point since at least 1979, the overarching question is: are we headed for an all-out cold war with China? The answer might surprise you. Bonnie S. Glaser is a senior adviser for Asia and the director of the China Power Project at Center for Strategic and International Studies, where she works on issues related to Asia-Pacific security with a focus on Chinese foreign and security policy. She is concomitantly a nonresident fellow with the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia, and a senior associate with the Pacific Forum. Ms. Glaser has worked for more than three decades at the intersection of Asia-Pacific geopolitics and U.S. policy. From 2008 to mid-2015, she was a senior adviser with the CSIS Freeman Chair in China Studies, and from 2003 to 2008, she was a senior associate in the CSIS International Security Program. Prior to joining CSIS, she served as a consultant for various U.S. government offices, including the Departments of Defense and State. Ms. Glaser has published widely in academic and policy journals, including the Washington Quarterly, China Quarterly, Asian Survey, International Security, Contemporary Southeast Asia, American Foreign Policy Interests, Far Eastern Economic Review, and Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, as well as in leading newspapers such as the New York Times and International Herald Tribune and in various edited volumes on Asian security. Ms. Glaser received her B.A. in political science from Boston University and her M.A. with concentrations in international economics and Chinese studies from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. --------------------------------- Help support Talking Beats with Daniel Lelchuk via our Patreon: patreon.com/talkingbeats In addition to early episode access, bonus episodes, and other benefits, you will contribute to us being able to present the highest quality substantive, long-form interviews with the world's most compelling people. We believe that providing a platform for individual expression, free thought, and a diverse array of views is more important now than ever.

I am very pleased to welcome writer and columnist Patrick Lawrence to Wider View.  Patrick is the author of 5 books, has taught at universities in the US and abroad, and has worked as a journalist and columnist for the Far Eastern Economic Review, the International Herald Tribune, the New Yorker and Consortium News.  His most recent book is “Time No Longer: Americans After the American Century”. We begin by discussing his recent article for Consortium News, COVID-19: The US National Emergency and move on from there.

James Clad is Senior Fellow for Asia at the American Foreign Policy Council in Washington DC. He is also a senior adviser for Asia at the CNA Corporation in Arlington, Virginia. During 2002-10, he served as U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia (including Australasia and the Pacific islands) and as Senior Counselor at the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. From 1995-2002, he was professor of Asian Studies at Georgetown University and Director/Asia-Pacific Energy at Cambridge Energy Research Associates. Trained as a New Zealand lawyer, James Clad’s career has focused on Asian diplomatic, energy and security issues – broadening after 2002 to include the Middle East. During the 1980s-90s, he held Far Eastern Economic Review staff positions in various Asian capitals, and held fellowships at Harvard University and St. Antony’s College/Oxford. In 1991, he joined the Carnegie Endowment in Washington DC as senior associate for Asia. In the early 1980s, Mr. Clad belonged to the New Zealand diplomatic service, serving in Delhi and more extensively in Jakarta. His books include Business, Money & Power in Southeast Asia (1991); After the Crusade — America in the Post-Superpower Era (1996), and Borderlands of Asia (2012), a volume of political geography. His recent articles deal with power politics in the western Pacific, with China/U.S. relations, and the U.S. shale revolution. In 2009, he received the US Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award and in 2012 became a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM), a royal honour.

Get the book - https://amzn.to/2Xka1dg  In this episode, Brendan Carr and Dinny McMahon discuss the Chinese economy in 2019. Dinny McMahon is the author of China's Great Wall of Debt. He spent ten years as a financial journalist in China, including six years in Beijing at The Wall Street Journal, and four years with Dow Jones Newswires in Shanghai, where he also contributed to the Far Eastern Economic Review. In 2015, he left China and The Wall Street Journal to take up a fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, a think tank in Washington DC, where he wrote China's Great Wall of Debt. Dinny is an Australian who currently lives in Chicago, where he works at MacroPolo, a think tank focused on Chinese economic issues. Dinny's newsletter - https://www.dinnymcmahon.com/

In this episode Joel Sandhu from the Global Public Policy Institute (GPPi) talks to David Bandurski about the media landscape, internet and state censorship in China. They discuss the growing digitisation of media and its influence, the (in)famous Chinese social credit system, the state of Chinese investigative journalism, and more. David Bandurski is adjunct lecturer and researcher at the Journalism Media Studies Center at the University of Hong Kong. He is also the co-director of China Media Project, an independent research program which fosters dialogue on key issues in Chinese media and communications, and monitors developments in the field. David has written for many publications, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Far Eastern Economic Review. He was the recipient of the Human Rights Press Award in 2007.

This episode our topic is the changing Hong Kong landscape. My guest is Mark Clifford, Executive Director of the Hong Kong-based Asia Business Council. Over the last twenty years Mark has served as lead editor for some of the region’s most prestigious news and business publications, including The South China Morning Post, The Standard, and the much admired, now defunct, Far Eastern Economic Review. Among other things we discuss the newly opened sea bridge linking Hong Kong to the mainland have started to bring about. On the one hand, the bridge is paving the way for a new Greater Bay Area – the brainchild of Chinese Communist Party planners who believe that linking Hong Kong with ten South China cities, they can incite a tech and development revolution. It’s a glittering 21st century set of mega-cities with a chrome plated infrastructure to match. It might look great, but Mark Clifford has reservations. He puts more stock in the free flow of information than mass transit. In many ways, China is simply doing what China does best – building stuff! What happens, asks Mark, when the country exhausts the three cheap inputs—labor, land, and capital—that til now have powered decades of double-digit growth rates? Change is in the wind. But how prepared is the South China workforce to toggle from export-led to import-driven? Is there enough slack in the domestic economy to get behind a new generation of software developers, robotics engineers, data scientists and entrepreneurs? It’s a fascinating discussion. As always, thanks for listening.

About the Lecture: In a gathering trend previously discounted by some analysts, China is building the means to achieve global military power projection. By the 2030s China's People's Liberation Army will have robust and growing capabilities in the areas of maritime and airmobile global power projection, and will be contesting control of the Earth-Moon system. The United States can continue to deter China into the 2030s by achieving early astro-strategic advantages, staying ahead in emerging 6th generation warfare paradigms and doubling down with allies to build robust deterrent networks. About the Speaker: Rick Fisher is a Senior Fellow on Asian Military Affairs at the International Assessment and Strategy Center. Fisher is a recognized authority on the PRC military and the Asian military balance and their implications for Asia and the United States. His most recent book is China's Military Modernization: Building for Regional and Global Reach. Fisher has worked on Asian security matters for over 20 years in a range of critical positions — as Asian Studies Director at the Heritage Foundation, Senior Analyst for Chairman Chris Cox's Policy Committee in support of the report of the Select Committee for US National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People's Republic of China, and a consultant on PLA issues for the Congressionally chartered US China Security & Economic Review Commission. The author of nearly 200 studies on challenges to American security, economic and foreign policy in Asia, Fisher is a frequent commentator on Asian issues for radio and television and has testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the House International Relations Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, and the U.S. China Security Commission, on the modernization of China's military. Fisher has been Editor of the Jamestown Foundation's China Brief, and a regular contributor to publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Far Eastern Economic Review, Jane's Intelligence Review, National Interest, Air Forces Monthly, and World Airpower Journal. He has served as an election observer in Cambodia, the Philippines, South Korea and Taiwan, and performed field research in China, Taiwan, Russia, India and Pakistan. Fisher studied at Georgetown University and at Eisenhower College where he received his BA with honors. He is currently President of Pacific Strategies, Inc.

There is a natural impulse in people to bring the rich and powerful down - to create equality and a better, more decent society. The impulse was drowned out for the latter part of the 20th century by knowledge in the West of how horribly wrong the Communist experiments had gone. However, new generations are growing up knowing little or nothing about what happened. They have no intellectual defence against the apparent idealism of Marxist thought and are increasingly tempted to accept it. James Bartholomew is columnist and former editorial writer for the Daily Telegraph in London. He also worked for the Financial Times and the Far Eastern Economic Review, in Hong Kong and Tokyo. He is author of The Welfare of Nations. He coined the term “virtue signalling” in The Spectator in 2015. ____________________ The Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) promotes free choice and individual liberty, and defends cultural freedom and the open exchange of ideas. CIS encourages debate among leading academics, politicians, media and the public. We aim to make sure good policy ideas are heard and seriously considered so that Australia can continue to prosper into the future. Check out the CIS at - https://www.cis.org.au/ Subscribe to CIS mailing list- https://www.cis.org.au/subscribe/ Support us with a tax-deductible donation at - https://www.cis.org.au/support/ Join the CIS as a member at - https://www.cis.org.au/join-cis/ Follow CIS on Socials Twitter - https://twitter.com/CISOZ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CentreIndependentStudies/ Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-centre-for-independent-studies/?viewAsMember=true

An intensifying technological arms race across air, sea, land, and space lies at the heart of the growing strategic contest between the United States and China. This rivalry straddles military and economic domains, and influencing it are the respective countries industrial policies, foreign direct investment, research and development programs, and threat assessments. It is taking place against a backdrop of a new age in global communication and the complexities of economic interdependence, as well as the blurring of military and civilian boundaries. What are the regional and global implications of technological defense competition between these two great powers? How can policymakers from both countries ensure its ends are peaceful? Thomas G. Mahnken is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. He is a Senior Research Professor at the Philip Merrill Center for Strategic Studies at The Johns Hopkins University’s Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and has served for over 20 years as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, including tours in Iraq and Kosovo. He currently serves as a member of the Congressionally-mandated National Defense Strategy Commission and as a member of the Board of Visitors of Marine Corps University. His previous government career includes service as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy Planning from 2006–2009, where he helped craft the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review and 2008 National Defense Strategy. He served on the staff of the 2014 National Defense Panel, 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel, and the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction. He served in the Defense Department’s Office of Net Assessment and as a member of the Gulf War Air Power Survey. In 2009 he was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service and in 2016 the Department of the Navy Superior Civilian Service Medal. Dr. Mahnken is the author of Strategy in Asia: The Past, Present and Future of Regional Security (Stanford University Press, 2014), Competitive Strategies for the 21st Century: Theory, History, and Practice (Stanford University Press, 2012), Technology and the American Way of War Since 1945 (Columbia University Press, 2008), and Uncovering Ways of War: U.S. Intelligence and Foreign Military Innovation, 1918–1941 (Cornell University Press, 2002), among other works. Tai Ming Cheung is an associate professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy and director of the UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) at University of California, San Diego. He is a longtime analyst and leading expert on Chinese and East Asian defense and national security affairs, especially related to economic, industrial, technology and innovation issues. Cheung worked as a journalist, and political and business risk consultant in Asia from the mid-1980s to 2002 covering political, economic, and strategic developments in greater China. His book Fortifying China: The Struggle to Build a Modern Defense Economy was published in 2009, followed by Forging China’s Military Might: A New Framework for Assessing Innovation, which he edited. He was previously a correspondent at the Far Eastern Economic Review. As IGCC director, Cheung leads the Institute’s Study of Technology and Innovation, examining the evolving relationship between technology and national security in China. He also manages the institute’s Northeast Asia Cooperation Dialogue, bringing together senior foreign ministry, defense officials and academics from around the globe. Tai Ming Cheung and Thomas Mahnken are co-editors of a newly released book, The Gathering Pacific Storm: Emerging US-China Strategic Competition in Defense Technological and Industrial Development. Filmed at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum on July 13, 2018.

In this episode, I'm pleased to welcome Rodney Hobson back to the show. Rodney is an experienced financial journalist who has held senior editorial positions in the UK and Asia, including Business News Editor for The Times, Business Editor of the Singapore Monitor, Deputy Business Editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review, Head of News at Citywire and Editor of Shares magazine. He has contributed to the Daily Mail, the Independent and Business Franchise Magazine and speaks at investment shows in London. His weekly email issued by financial newswire Hemscott/Morningstar is read by 15,000 subscribers. We're talking today about Rodney's popular book Shares Made Simple: A beginner's guide to the stock market, recently republished for a well deserved second edition. In Shares Made Simple, Rodney tears away the mystique and jargon that surrounds the stock market. He takes you step by step through the most basic concepts of stock market investing, carefully explaining issues such as what shares are and how they are bought and sold, why share prices go up and down, why some companies' shares look cheap while others appear to be expensive, and the hidden traps for the unwary. Rodney's book is all about creating a level playing field between the stock market professionals and the small investor. As rising living standards and inherited cash provide assets for investment, Rodney's message is no-one needs to suffer pitiful bank interest rates when there is real money to be made in sharing the nation's wealth. You can find the show notes for this episode, along with some useful links, at icradio.co.uk/351. Please take a moment to say thank you to Rodney on Twitter, where can you find him @rodneyhobson. Showing our guests some love on Twitter is a great way to support this podcast. Here’s my conversation with Rodney Hobson, a beginner's guide to the stock market, in episode 351 of Informed Choice Radio.

Welcome to the 42nd CONKERS’ CORNER recorded on 8th December 2016. In this interview I have the pleasure of speaking with Rodney Hobson @RodneyHobson, journalist, author investor, fiction crime writer, presenter and much more. Rodney was born in the village of Disley near Stockport in a humble background far removed from the world of finance and investing. He states “If I can get into finance and investment so can anyone else”. As a youngster Rodney always enjoyed writing and wanted to be a journalist. After completing his degree in politics and economics he joined his local newspaper group, the Ashton-under-Lyne Reporter. After two years he joined the Sheffield Morning Telegraph as a sub-editor and four years later joined The Times in London, also as a sub-editor. He then became deputy business editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review, which was a highly respected Asian weekly magazine and this was Rodney’s first foray into Financial journalism. Rodney also served as Business Editor of the Singapore Monitor before he returned to London and rejoined The Times as News Editor on Business News. He rejoined just before the Big Bang and the transformation of the London Stock Exchange, with modern technology suddenly opening up investing to everyone. Rodney has since been a freelancer, mainly working for The Times and the Daily Mail City desk, as well as Editor of Shares Magazine and two financial websites. At The Times and the Daily Mail he used to get phone calls from perplexed ordinary investors who bought shares in privatisations or received them as building societies converted to banks. Many of these “new investors” did not have a clue what shares were, let alone the basics of investing, so he wrote his first investing book “Shares Made Simple, a beginner’s guide to the stock market” followed by other investment books. Rodney enjoys helping people with regards to their investment queries. He does so via his weekly column for Morningstar, shows on Share Radio, Investment events, his investments columns and of course his numerous investing books. Please pay a visit to Rodney’s website where you will find his numerous insightful investing books and also his fiction crime books http://rodneyhobson.co.uk/ Rodney did not make his first significant investments in stocks and shares until 2009 as he had focused firstly on buying and owning his own home in London. Rodney describes his strategy as low risk, cautious and long-term. He only invests in UK listed stocks with 90% of his holdings being FTSE blue chip stocks. This discussion provides a useful insight into the journey that Rodney has taken, which so far has encompassed Journalism, Fleet Street, Financial journalism, Newspaper Columnist, Fiction Crime Writer, Presenter on Share Radio and Private Investor. The topics we discussed include: Financial crashes; Don’t panic; Lessons learnt; Icelandic banking collapse; Dividends are vitals; Dividend cover; Risks; Investing strategy; You can beat the computers and the safest investments. Having experienced several financial crashes, it is Rodney’s opinion that there will be more crashes in the future. He stresses, “Time is circular….it will happen again….” Listen now to gain insights into how Rodney Hobson selects, researches and filters blue chip and large cap stocks in order to find the best potential opportunities for his long-term investment portfolio. Learn from the lessons in his successful, insightful investing journey and condensed knowledge from his many investing books. Learn from the lessons in his successful, insightful investing journey.

Today's Flash Back Friday comes from Episode 101, from August 2012 Jason Hartman is joined by author, Gordon G. Chang, to discuss the looming proliferation of nuclear weapons, particularly in North Korea. Gordon talks about the skepticism surrounding North Korean intentions, noting that the KNO-8 missile was unveiled and was to be transported on TELs, Transporter Erector Launchers, of Chinese design. He says it's very likely the Chinese are arming the North Korean forces. The KNO-8 has the potential to reach Alaska and U.S. forces in the Pacific. It is considered a direct threat to our homeland and completely unacceptable. Gordon feels there needs to be some very candid conversations about this issue. He talks about the instability and belligerence of the North Korean regime that doesn't bode well for their relationships with South Korea and the U.S. With the hard-line, barbaric elements controlling the regime under young Kim Jong-un, it could take a half decade or more to establish a more stable North Korea. Jason and Gordon also discuss the fragile political and economic system in China. As the workforce shrinks, China is at risk of collapse due to low economic growth and very interesting developments happening, creating a volatile society. The “economy is stumbling, the Communist party is fracturing, the authority of the central government is eroding, the military is breaking free of civilian control, and while all of this is happening, the Chinese people are taking to the streets hundreds of thousands of times a year and often in violent protest,” says Gordon, based on the last figures available in 2010. In wrapping up, Gordon states that the change in nature of the regimes in both countries put everyone at risk. He suggests the U.S. stop looking at China as a solution for North Korea and instead create a new policy of working with its friends in the region. Gordon G. Chang is the author of Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes On the World, released by Random House in January 2006. Showdown focuses on nuclear proliferation in general and the North Korean crisis in particular. His first book is The Coming Collapse of China (Random House, August 2001). He is a columnist at Forbes.com and The Daily and blogs at World Affairs Journal. He lived and worked in China and Hong Kong for almost two decades, most recently in Shanghai, as Counsel to the American law firm Paul Weiss and earlier in Hong Kong as Partner in the international law firm Baker & McKenzie. His writings on China and North Korea have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Far Eastern Economic Review, the International Herald Tribune, Commentary, The Weekly Standard, National Review, and Barron's. Website: www.GordonChang.com

The Democracy Index published by the British magazine The Economist ranks South Korea as a “full democracy”, ahead even of countries such as France or Spain. The CIA World Factbook also lists South Korea as a “fully functioning modern democracy”. Yet many experts and activists denounce what they consider to be a rise in authoritarian tendencies within the current Park Geun-hye administration, including: attacks on free speech, crackdowns on dissent and a general stalling of the process towards more liberties as well as better public management and stronger government transparency and accountability. At the same time, South Korea is party to the Open Government Partnership (OGP), an international membership organization of more than 60 governments that have pledged to improve their democracy and transparency. Our guest for this episode, Geoffrey Cain heads the Korea research team of the OGP and kindly agreed to talk to us about the state of Korean democracy, improvements that should be made and Korea’s commitments within the framework of the OGP. In addition to his duties at the Open Government Partnership, Mr. Cain is an award-winning journalist focusing on Asian affairs and the two Koreas in particular. He is senior correspondent for GlobalPost and has written for various outlets including The Economist, The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, Far Eastern Economic Review, TIME and Foreign Policy. His reporting was a finalist for a 2015 Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award. A former Fulbright scholar, Mr. Cain holds an MA (Distinction) from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and a BA from The George Washington University, which he attended on a music scholarship.

An artist paints landscapes of faraway places that she cannot identify in order to find her place in the global economy. A migrant worker sorts recyclables and thinks deeply about the soul of his country, while a Taoist mystic struggles to keep his traditions alive. An entrepreneur capitalizes on a growing car culture by trying to convince people not to buy cars. And a 90-year-old woman remembers how the oldest neighborhoods of her city used to be. These are the exciting and saddening, humorous and confusing stories of utterly ordinary people who are living through China's extraordinary transformations. The immense variety in the lives of these Chinese characters hints at China's great diversity. Chinese Characters is a collection of portraits by some of the top people working on China today. Contributors include a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, a Macarthur Fellow, the China correspondent for a major Indian newspaper, and scholars. Their depth of understanding is matched only by the humanity with which they treat their subjects. Their stories together create a multi-faceted portrait of a country in motion. This volume contains some of the best writing on China today. Contributors include: Alec Ash, James Carter, Leslie T. Chang, Xujun Eberlein, Harriet Evans, Anna Greenspan, Peter Hessler, Ian Johnson, Ananth Krishnan, Christina Larson, Michelle Dammon Loyalka, James Millward, Evan Osnos, Jeffrey Prescott, Megan Shank, with cover photos by Howard French. -- Angilee Shah is a freelance journalist and editor in Los Angeles. She has reported from across Asia, including China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, and was a South Asian Journalists Association Reporting Fellow in 2007-8. She is a former editor of the online magazine AsiaMedia and a consulting editor to the Journal of Asian Studies. Her writing has appeared in the Far Eastern Economic Review, Mother Jones Online, Pacific Standard, the LA Weekly, TimeOut Singapore, and Global Voices. She is the co-editor of Chinese Characters: Profiles of Fast-Changing Lives in a Fast-Changing Land (UC Press, 2012). Jeffrey Wasserstrom is the author of four books on China and the editor or co-editor of several more, including most recently Chinese Characters: Profiles of Fast-Changing Lives in a Fast-Changing Land, which contains chapters by both fellow academics and such acclaimed journalists as Peter Hessler, Leslie T. Chang, Evan Osnos, and Ian Johnson. Wasserstrom is a Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine and the Editor of the Journal of Asian Studies. He is also the Asia editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books, an Associate Fellow of the Asia Society, and a co-founder of the "China Beat" blog. James Carter is Professor of History at Saint Joseph's University. He has lived and traveled widely in China, is the author of a history of Harbin and of Heart of China, Heart of Buddha: The Life of Tanxu, a Twentieth Century Monk (Oxford 2010), and is the editor of the journal Twentieth-Century China. He is a past president of the Historical Society for 20th-Century China and a Public Intellectuals Program fellow of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.

An artist paints landscapes of faraway places that she cannot identify in order to find her place in the global economy. A migrant worker sorts recyclables and thinks deeply about the soul of his country, while a Taoist mystic struggles to keep his traditions alive. An entrepreneur capitalizes on a growing car culture by trying to convince people not to buy cars. And a 90-year-old woman remembers how the oldest neighborhoods of her city used to be. These are the exciting and saddening, humorous and confusing stories of utterly ordinary people who are living through China's extraordinary transformations. The immense variety in the lives of these Chinese characters hints at China's great diversity. Chinese Characters is a collection of portraits by some of the top people working on China today. Contributors include a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, a Macarthur Fellow, the China correspondent for a major Indian newspaper, and scholars. Their depth of understanding is matched only by the humanity with which they treat their subjects. Their stories together create a multi-faceted portrait of a country in motion. This volume contains some of the best writing on China today. Contributors include: Alec Ash, James Carter, Leslie T. Chang, Xujun Eberlein, Harriet Evans, Anna Greenspan, Peter Hessler, Ian Johnson, Ananth Krishnan, Christina Larson, Michelle Dammon Loyalka, James Millward, Evan Osnos, Jeffrey Prescott, Megan Shank, with cover photos by Howard French. -- Angilee Shah is a freelance journalist and editor in Los Angeles. She has reported from across Asia, including China, Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka, and was a South Asian Journalists Association Reporting Fellow in 2007-8. She is a former editor of the online magazine AsiaMedia and a consulting editor to the Journal of Asian Studies. Her writing has appeared in the Far Eastern Economic Review, Mother Jones Online, Pacific Standard, the LA Weekly, TimeOut Singapore, and Global Voices. She is the co-editor of Chinese Characters: Profiles of Fast-Changing Lives in a Fast-Changing Land (UC Press, 2012). Jeffrey Wasserstrom is the author of four books on China and the editor or co-editor of several more, including most recently Chinese Characters: Profiles of Fast-Changing Lives in a Fast-Changing Land, which contains chapters by both fellow academics and such acclaimed journalists as Peter Hessler, Leslie T. Chang, Evan Osnos, and Ian Johnson. Wasserstrom is a Professor of History at the University of California, Irvine and the Editor of the Journal of Asian Studies. He is also the Asia editor of the Los Angeles Review of Books, an Associate Fellow of the Asia Society, and a co-founder of the "China Beat" blog. James Carter is Professor of History at Saint Joseph's University. He has lived and traveled widely in China, is the author of a history of Harbin and of Heart of China, Heart of Buddha: The Life of Tanxu, a Twentieth Century Monk (Oxford 2010), and is the editor of the journal Twentieth-Century China. He is a past president of the Historical Society for 20th-Century China and a Public Intellectuals Program fellow of the National Committee on United States-China Relations.

Daniel Lynch teaches in the USC School of International Relations and is a member of the USC U.S.-China Institute executive committee. He is the author of two books, Rising China and Asian Democratization: Socialization to Global Culture (2006) and After the Propaganda State: Media, Politics, and Thought Work (1999). He publishes extensively in academic journals and also in popular publications such as the Far Eastern Economic Review. Lynch is currently researching how Chinese political and intellectual elites expect China will, or should, change in the years leading up to about 2030. He is focusing on five interrelated issue-areas: domestic political processes and institutions; comprehensive national power and its implications for the country's role(s) in world politics; Party-state defense of cultural integrity and national identity under conditions of deepening globalization; development and diffusion of potentially transformative new technologies; and prospects for achieving sustainable development. Prof. Lynch discussed the presentations of Xu Xin, Jeff Wasserstrom, and Shen Dingli. He marked the distinction China's government makes between international and global realms, stressing that in electing to embrace the former and not the latter, China's authorities are denying the existence of truly universal values. Instead, they push for tolerance of differences among nations, arguing that harmonious interaction is still possible and desirable. Lynch also noted that it is extraordinarily difficult to use big events such as the Olympics to convey set images of a country. Once dispatched, images can be picked up and used by others in various ways.

Daniel Lynch teaches in the USC School of International Relations and is a member of the USC U.S.-China Institute executive committee. He is the author of two books, Rising China and Asian Democratization: Socialization to Global Culture (2006) and After the Propaganda State: Media, Politics, and Thought Work (1999). He publishes extensively in academic journals and also in popular publications such as the Far Eastern Economic Review. Lynch is currently researching how Chinese political and intellectual elites expect China will, or should, change in the years leading up to about 2030. He is focusing on five interrelated issue-areas: domestic political processes and institutions; comprehensive national power and its implications for the country's role(s) in world politics; Party-state defense of cultural integrity and national identity under conditions of deepening globalization; development and diffusion of potentially transformative new technologies; and prospects for achieving sustainable development. Prof. Lynch discussed the presentations of Xu Xin, Jeff Wasserstrom, and Shen Dingli. He marked the distinction China's government makes between international and global realms, stressing that in electing to embrace the former and not the latter, China's authorities are denying the existence of truly universal values. Instead, they push for tolerance of differences among nations, arguing that harmonious interaction is still possible and desirable. Lynch also noted that it is extraordinarily difficult to use big events such as the Olympics to convey set images of a country. Once dispatched, images can be picked up and used by others in various ways.

The growing instability and resurgence of Islamic extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan pose a great threat to U.S. interests and global security. In his new book, "Descent into Chaos", Ahmed Rashid examines the rising insurgency, booming opium trade, and weak governance in Afghanistan, concluding that U.S. strategy in the region has been a complete failure. Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore. He was the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review, for 22 years until the magazine was recently closed down. He presently writes for the Daily Telegraph, London, the International Herald Tribune, the New York Review of Books, BBC Online, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, and academic and foreign affairs journals. He appears regularly on international TV and radio such as CNN and BBC World Service. He is the author of three books, including the best sellers Taliban and most recently Jihad. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

The growing instability and resurgence of Islamic extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan pose a great threat to U.S. interests and global security. In his new book, "Descent into Chaos", Ahmed Rashid examines the rising insurgency, booming opium trade, and weak governance in Afghanistan, concluding that U.S. strategy in the region has been a complete failure. Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore. He was the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review, for 22 years until the magazine was recently closed down. He presently writes for the Daily Telegraph, London, the International Herald Tribune, the New York Review of Books, BBC Online, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, and academic and foreign affairs journals. He appears regularly on international TV and radio such as CNN and BBC World Service. He is the author of three books, including the best sellers Taliban and most recently Jihad. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.

The growing instability and resurgence of Islamic extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan pose a great threat to U.S. interests and global security. In his new book, "Descent into Chaos", Ahmed Rashid examines the rising insurgency, booming opium trade, and weak governance in Afghanistan, concluding that U.S. strategy in the region has been a complete failure. Ahmed Rashid is a Pakistani journalist based in Lahore. He was the Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review, for 22 years until the magazine was recently closed down. He presently writes for the Daily Telegraph, London, the International Herald Tribune, the New York Review of Books, BBC Online, The Wall Street Journal, The Nation, and academic and foreign affairs journals. He appears regularly on international TV and radio such as CNN and BBC World Service. He is the author of three books, including the best sellers Taliban and most recently Jihad. From the World Beyond the Headlines Series.