Podcasts about Hong Kong

Spring break is just a hop, skip, and an international flight to a full breakup! If you've seen Season 7 Episode 24 "Spring Breakdown" you know what we mean. Jennie and Tori talk about Tracy's "pickme" persona, and question why Brandon is being so brash?! Plus, we explore the uncomfortable plane ride home after breaking up on vacation, and the universal truth that parents can tell when it's true love.Meanwhile, the Barenaked truth about the musical cameo AND baby bump watch is in full swing!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Matt shares a positive message or girls and fellow girl-dads, Tino talks the declining marriage rate, Serina reveals a way Hong Kong is battling postpartum depression, and Are You Smarter Than Nicasio... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Vicky Chow is a celebrated Hong Kong-Canadian-American pianist. She plays contemporary classical music, which is quite different from traditional classical. She is the pianist for the Bang On A Can All Stars, a terrific ensemble. The New York Times has described her playing as “brilliant”. She has collaborated and worked with artists like Meredith Monk, Philip Glass, John Zorn, Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane Dance Company, BBC Orchestra and LA Philharmonic. She has toured in over 40 countries and performed at venues like Carnegie Hall, Disney Concert Hall and the Hong Kong Arts Centre. She has released over 25 solo and chamber music albums. My featured song is “Studio One”, from the album Play by my band Project Grand Slam. Spotify link.------------------------------------------The Follow Your Dream Podcast:Top 1% of all podcasts with Listeners in 200 countries!Click here for All Episodes Click here for Guest List Click here for Guest Groupings Click here for Guest TestimonialsClick here to Subscribe Click here to receive our Email UpdatesClick here to Rate and Review the podcast—----------------------------------------CONNECT WITH VICKY:www.vickychow.com____________________ROBERT'S NEWEST ALBUM:“WHAT'S UP!” is Robert's new compilation album. Featuring 10 of his recent singles including all the ones listed below. Instrumentals and vocals. Jazz, Rock, Pop and Fusion. “My best work so far. (Robert)”CLICK HERE FOR THE OFFICIAL VIDEOCLICK HERE FOR ALL LINKS—----------------------------------------Audio production:Jimmy RavenscroftKymera Films Connect with the Follow Your Dream Podcast:Website - www.followyourdreampodcast.comEmail Robert - robert@followyourdreampodcast.com Follow Robert's band, Project Grand Slam, and his music:Website - www.projectgrandslam.comYouTubeSpotify MusicApple MusicEmail - pgs@projectgrandslam.com 

Our conversation with poet, writer, and translator James Shea, whose extraordinary new collection of poems Last Day of My Face (University of Iowa Press, 2025), was recently published as a winner of the prestigious Iowa Poetry Prize.  James Shea's work delights in word play and unexpected images with a voice set at and considering the edges of meaning. As you'll hear in our conversation, Shea draws from the traditions of haiku and The New York School, giving us humorous and elegiac meditations on our shared predicament as minds trying to make sense of emergency. Or, as Shea puts it at the start of the long poem, “Failed Self-Portrait,” which ends his new collection—and our conversation, “I've made a sort of makeshift / sense of ourselves…” What makes this conversation especially meaningful is that our recording was also a reunion; my colleague, Adult Services Librarian Stevie Noguchi, and I each had James Shea as a poetry professor when he taught in Chicago over a decade ago. Stevie joins me as co-host for this special episode. You'll also hear Shea's reflections on the art of translation, poetic lineage, and readings from the treasure trove of recent publications Shea has put out, as translator and editor, including:  Applause for a Cloud (Black Ocean, 2025), Shea's translations of haiku by Japanese poet Sayumi Kamakura, The Routledge Global Haiku Reader (Routledge, 2023), an introduction to current issues within haiku studies, which Shea co-edited with Grant Caldwell, and, Moving a Stone: Selected Poems of Yam Gong (Zephyr Press, 2022), co-translated with novelist Dorothy Tse and introducing Hong Kong poet Yam Gong to English-language readers James Shea is associate professor and director of the creative and professional writing program at Hong Kong Baptist University. His previous poetry collections The Lost Novel (2014) and Star in the Eye (2008) were both published by Fence Books.  You can check out titles by James Shea here at the Library as part of our Podcast Collection, featuring books and other materials by past guests of the show.   

Welcome true believers to X-Men Horoscopes where each week our host Lodro Rinzler is in conversation with a special guest to discuss the X-Men issue that aligns with a significant month and year from their life and what that issue reveals about their future. This week on the pod we have Kitty Pryde (or at least the iconic voice actor thereof): Maggie Blue O'Hara. Fans of X-Men Evolution know her but you're about to get to know her REALLY well. In this episode: Lodro and Maggie's meet-cute at The Uncanny Experience Maggie tells you why you should be meditating Buckle up - it's time to go to VanCougar The bizarre anonymity of being a voice actor Smoking salvia Angel is bad at using phones There will be no place for weaklings in the kingdom of Magneto Cyclops gets lucky And what the real-world difference is between a hero and a villain. What does any of this mean for Maggie's future? Oh boy. This is a wild episode, friends. Tune in to find out! Maggie Blue O'Hara is a professional actress, singer, dancer/choreographer and writer/director. Originally from Victoria BC, Maggie moved to Vancouver, when she was 9 to pursue professional acting and has worked successfully ever since, with lead roles in  Northwood, X-Files, L Word and she is also well known for her cartoon voices as Bulma on DragonballZ and Kitty Pryde in X-Men Evolution. In 2005 she moved in Hong Kong to live with a Chinese theatre director. Together they got married and created a multimedia theatre company and her daughter Bella Star came along in 2010. In 2015, Maggie separated from her husband and moved back to Vancouver to live closer to nature with her beautiful daughter where she continues to teach acting and serve as a vocal coach. She is currently writing a book about her life's journey discovering self love and the healing powers of sensuality as well as working on her own original music. Follow Maggie on Instagram here. More of Lodro Rinzler's work can be found here and here and you can follow the podcast on Instagram at xmenpanelsdaily where we post X-Men comic panels...daily. Have a question or comment for a future episode? Reach out at xmenhoroscopes.com

In this episode of our Cross-Border Catch-Up podcast series, Skye Hao (Atlanta) and Lina Fernandez (Boston) explore the significant changes in Hong Kong's employment regulations, specifically the transition from the 418 rule to the new 468 rule. The speakers discuss how this change, which will take effect in January 2026, aims to improve protections for part-time and casual workers by redefining the qualifications for continuous contracts. They also examine the implications of these changes for both employees and employers in Hong Kong's dynamic labor market.

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews:   How API's are the Key to Agentic AI, Q&A (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) Surviving the Chaos of Digital Transformation (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) How to Start an AI Tech Company   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show.  

The new Rumps & Bumps jersey just dropped! Check out afterpartyinc.com. Its a brand new episode of the After Party and on this one we bring on Baby Mama Bree! As she comes on spills some much need tea. She tells about her first time on the mean streets of Cinci, she gives us some tips and tricks on rizzing her up plus we catch up with the roll taco queen Tori. Follow us on social media @AaronScenesAfterParty

From identity to purpose: In this episode, we hear from an Indian-born and Vietnam-bred sustainability professional Shruthe Kirupakaran. Having spent most of her life in Ho Chi Minh City, she reflects on what it was like to grow up Indian in Vietnam, the ways her upbringing shaped her worldview, and how she eventually pursued a career in sustainability in Hong Kong. Along the way, she shares why her ultimate life goal is simple yet profound: To live as wholesomely as possible.Proudly Asian Playlist: ⁠https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1hmol1gJIFlnJVn6zyeJTm?si=Ah0hCCorRYi1Ylo6TrsHNQSegments: 03:22 Growing up experience13:37 Asian beauty standards29:35 Sustainability career & ESG 10151:38 Wholesome living01:01:15 Rapid Bias01:12:22 Music pick & closing----------------------------------------Stay Connected with Proudly Asian:Website - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠proudly-asian.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠instagram.com/proudly.asian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Youtube - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/@proudlyasianpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Support us - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ko-fi.com/proudlyasian⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Email us - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠proudlyasianpodcast@gmail.com⁠

With a large domestic market for wine, US producers often don't focus a lot on exports. Honore Comfort, VP of International Marketing for Wine Institute, lays out the benefits and challenges of exporting wines globally. She covers the top markets for US wine globally, the role Wine Institute plays in helping US exports, and the potential impacts of the current trade war. Detailed Show Notes: Wine Institute overviewMembers are CA wineries (>1,000)Public policy organization focused on legislation (e.g., DTC shipping)Member dues are a sliding scale (based on prior year revenue & volume), baseline is a few hundred dollarsCA is the 4th largest wine region in the world after France, Italy, and SpainLargest market in the USThe US market is 75% domestic (80% from CA), 25% importsExport is 4% (by value), 95% is CATraditionally lower-priced wines, now a barbell (both low and high, but not mid-priced wines)Other countries have high taxes, duties, and tariffs on imported wines (int'l pricing often 2-3x US retail, 10x for India)Cost to produce is high in CA (heavily regulated - environmental & labor force protections; land costs high)Goal to showcase the diversity of CA wine globally, but only a sliver is available Key int'l markets - Canada (#1 until Feb 2025; ~30% of US exports - premiers took all wine off shelves as part of trade war); Europe #2 (Germany is hard w/ strong domestic, low priced market; Scandinavia big); UK #3 (punches above its weight as oldest wine market, lots of wine writers, critics, traders; one of the broadest selections of CA wine); China, Japan, Korea, MexicoWine Institute has active programs in >30 countries for CA winesBenefits of exporting wine: importers sell wine for you (no 3-tier system like the US), build brand visibility, position wines next to other great wines of the worldChallenges of exporting wine - takes investment, needs face-to-face storytellingSmall Napa producer (

Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab, and previously a fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. Before that, he was an analyst focused on China's technology capabilities at Gavekal Dragonomics, based across Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Dan is perhaps best known for a series of annual letters, published between 2017-2023, which encapsulate his reflections on Chinese society; his writing has also appeared in other outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and beyond. In this New Books Network Episode, Dan discusses his debut book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (Norton, 2025). Styled as an aggregation of seven of his famed annual letters, Breakneck presents a dichotomy of China and the US as an “engineering state” and "lawyerly society” respectively, and traces how China's “engineering state” has shaped Chinese society over the last decade.  Breakneck is now available for purchase online and in physical bookstores. Show notes: Dan's website Dan's annual letters: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Dan's blogpost about Breakneck, which we reference several times in the episode China-related English books that Dan mentions: The Halls of Uselessness (Simon Leys), Other Rivers (Peter Hessler), Invitation to a Banquet (Fuchsia Dunlop) Chinese-language movies from 2017+ that Anthony recommends for illustrating a diverse spectrum of sociopolitical noteworthiness: Wolf Warrior 2 (for China's nationalistic/geopolitical narrative), Upstream (for China's tech industry/labor market), Detention (for Taiwanese popular memory on authoritarianism); plus two additional movies not mentioned in the episode — Ne Zha 2 (for China's soft power potential) and Limbo (for a dark taste of Hong Kong's contemporary malaise).  Chinese-language movies that Dan recommendations: Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke), One Second (Zhang Yimou) Anthony Kao is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. 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

This week has two films that take using footage from other films to a whole other level. First up is CROCODILE (1980) a Thai film about one men's quest for revenge on the crocodile that killed their families. Directed by Sampote Sands. Then we lose our minds over CROCODILE FURY (1988) a Hong Kong film about a witch and her army of jiāngshī (also known as Chinese hopping vampires) joining forces with the master of the seas and his man-eating shape-shifting crocodiles to rule the world.

Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab, and previously a fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. Before that, he was an analyst focused on China's technology capabilities at Gavekal Dragonomics, based across Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Dan is perhaps best known for a series of annual letters, published between 2017-2023, which encapsulate his reflections on Chinese society; his writing has also appeared in other outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and beyond. In this New Books Network Episode, Dan discusses his debut book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (Norton, 2025). Styled as an aggregation of seven of his famed annual letters, Breakneck presents a dichotomy of China and the US as an “engineering state” and "lawyerly society” respectively, and traces how China's “engineering state” has shaped Chinese society over the last decade.  Breakneck is now available for purchase online and in physical bookstores. Show notes: Dan's website Dan's annual letters: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Dan's blogpost about Breakneck, which we reference several times in the episode China-related English books that Dan mentions: The Halls of Uselessness (Simon Leys), Other Rivers (Peter Hessler), Invitation to a Banquet (Fuchsia Dunlop) Chinese-language movies from 2017+ that Anthony recommends for illustrating a diverse spectrum of sociopolitical noteworthiness: Wolf Warrior 2 (for China's nationalistic/geopolitical narrative), Upstream (for China's tech industry/labor market), Detention (for Taiwanese popular memory on authoritarianism); plus two additional movies not mentioned in the episode — Ne Zha 2 (for China's soft power potential) and Limbo (for a dark taste of Hong Kong's contemporary malaise).  Chinese-language movies that Dan recommendations: Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke), One Second (Zhang Yimou) Anthony Kao is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/east-asian-studies

Antoine Devolz is an AI Marketing & Brand Growth Strategist, Luxury Real Estate Innovator, and author of Future Proof Agent: Real Estate Alchemy in the Age of AI. With nearly two decades of global experience in markets like Hong Kong and Switzerland, Antoine helps real estate professionals and businesses transform complexity into consistent growth through data-driven, AI-powered strategies. Fluent in French, English, and Czech, Antoine is dedicated to elevating brands and future-proofing real estate careers in a rapidly evolving, tech-driven world.In our podcast, Antoine Devolz breaks down what it truly takes to win in sales today, sharing his expert insights on leveraging AI as a real estate agent to stand out and deliver superior client experiences. We explore the essential skills agents need to master to not just survive but thrive in an increasingly tech-based world, from adopting cutting-edge tools to building trust and communicating value with clarity.You Can Find Antoine @:Website:https://devolz.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_devolz/Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adevolz/?originalSubdomain=hkYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@adevolz

節目：勁歌金曲大雀局 主持：十五aka高人、Hugo 嘉賓：Sonic Zepplin 齊柏林熱狗十週年呈獻：Zep Fest音樂會 ！！！反應熱烈，8月31的單日飛，及兩日飛已經售罄，8月30單日尚餘少量！！！ 一連兩晚，樂團六隊，百味雜陳。 暗黑民謠、瞪鞋自賞 、龐克叛逆、器樂後搖。伴隨生命裡所有的起承轉合，照顧你所有的情緒。 環境再劣，內卷再烈，狂歡才是唯一出路。 名稱：Zep Fest 日期：Aug30、31, 2025(星期六、日） 時間：1930 open 場地：私人場地（IG DM for detail） 演出單位： Aug30 Gwenji、浮森、Wantamnam Aug31 小明的假日週末、Wellsaid、Arches 演出單位介紹 Gwenji（@gwenjibillie） Gwenji是來自香港的獨立民謠唱作歌手，擅長以真摯的旋律與流麗的結他演奏，描繪細膩的情感風景。首張EP《The Mole in My Eye》完整展現她將生活感悟轉化為動人歌曲的獨特視角。 這次演出，她將與完整樂隊合作，在原有的民謠基底上，加入更豐富的層次，為作品帶來全新的聆聽維度。 浮森（@fusenofficial） 純器樂(instrumental) , 後搖滾(Post-rock) 我們一直追求用聲音製造畫面，觀眾用想像力替我們譜寫故事，聆聽與被聆聽之間，舞台到底 在哪? “人與人之間難以完全理解，即使我們注定是孤獨的，但當音符與節奏響起的一刻，我想我們 會短暫的連結在一起。” Wantamnam 我地希望（@wantamnam） 成員深受Soul, Blues, Motown, Psychedelic Rock, Reggae, Jazz, Trip Hop, Post-rock 等音樂影響的港島青年，致力從創作中探索香港城市文化及生活的各種面向。 於2024年3月發布首張EP《木馬 Mukma》、9月發布第二張EP《想是南 Want Am Nam》、12月發布Live Session《牛頭角現場》。時而靜默、偶爾瘋狂的編曲極具張力，詩意的歌詞與配樂般的器樂環環相扣，其現場演出的感染力及氛圍深受樂迷所讚揚。 小明的假日週末（@ericsweekend） "小明的假日週末，五個人，音樂風格視乎心情，有混亂的，也有沒那麼混亂的。五個人平日在屎水打摔角，假日在音符與音符互相堆疊的世界裡，交換平常不會拿出來的血和肉。" Wellsaid（@wellsaidhk） Wellsaid is trying their best, whatever that means. Since releasing their debut EP in 2017, Wellsaid has performed around Asia, making friends and bridging the gap between their hometown Hong Kong and emerging scenes nearby. With the release of their 3rd album “REGRETOPIA” in 2024, the band has shed their midwest-emo roots, drawing more from punk and post-hardcore to embrace the power of simplicity. Arches（@___arches___） 成立於2020年秋季的香港，Arches是一支六人組成的另類搖滾和瞪鞋音樂樂隊，成員包括主唱/吉他手/詞曲創作人Jack Ip、鼓手Takuro Cheung、吉他手Hugo Fu、貝斯手Eququs Lee、吉他手/製作人Edward Chiu以及伴唱Wayne Ip。樂隊在2023年Clockenflap音樂節上表演，與Black Country, New Road等樂隊同台，並被納入Spotify Asia的Radar 2023計劃，標誌著他們在區域音樂界的崛起。 Poster design：Michael（@inknimitta）

There's been a rare IPO filing on NASDAQ as LB Pharma looks to test the market during a year that has seen little activity among U.S. biotechs even as green shoots continue to appear on the Hong Kong stock exchange. On the latest BioCentury This Week podcast, BioCentury's analysts discuss the market for biotech IPOs on NASDAQ and in Hong Kong.The analysts then assess FDA's about-face on Stealth BioTherapeutics' Barth syndrome therapy, putting the decision in the context of a changing regulatory agency; and a BioCentury Guest Commentary that argues that the university-industry engine that drives U.S. innovation is under attack. Also mentioned on this week's podcast: BioCentury's 33rd Back to School package, which reimagines FDA; the upcoming 12th China Healthcare Summit in Shanghai; the evolution of dealmaking in China; and Annalisa Jenkins' take on MHRA and the U.K. biotech ecosystem on The BioCentury Show.View full story: https://www.biocentury.com/article/656849#Biotech #IPO #Pharma #FDA #RareDisease #Biopharma #DrugDevelopment #HealthcareInnovation #HongKongIPO00:00 - Introduction 02:48 – LB Pharma Tests IPO Market07:01 – Hong Kong IPO Momentum09:53 – China Summit Preview13:40 – FDA Reversal on Stealth Bio18:15 – Bayh-Dole Clash & Innovation ThreatsTo submit a question to BioCentury's editors, email the BioCentury This Week team at podcasts@biocentury.com.Reach us by sending a text

To continue the Gangster themed week, author Corey Danna, blogger Fred Andersson & HK movie fanatic Mark Shaver all enter the recording studio!   Why was Jackie Chan's STUNTMASTER the ultimate experimental PS1 videogame for both gamers and his established fanbase?   Why was Jet Li's RISE TO HONOR the ultimate send-up of both his HK and U.S. movies while mixing in some MATRIX and John Woo tropes?   Did either game have some neat button combos or did they mainly benefit from word-of-mouth recommends by fans?   OTHER SHOW NOTES: *Mark better details the fighting mechanics, motion capture graphics & what a collector's item the Jackie Chan videogame is *Mark also shares trivia on how Rise to Honor's Cantonese dialogue was overdubbed and the background on the game's setting *Mark brings up some other obscure Jackie Chan games (as well as an infamous Bruce Lee game) that showed how licenses for these Action hero icons evolved overtime in the industry and the continual mix of rap music with Kung Fu scenarios in the videogames *And Corey also brings up other cool Hong Kong trivia & other John Woo/Chou-Yun Fat stories including how he was at the premiere of The Replacement Killers!     MUSIC USED:  "Rise to Honor" OST by Raymond Wong and Michael Reagan   "Ossuary 2- Turn" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/   "Crowd Hammer" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

In May of 1996, Victor Li - son of Hong Kong business tycoon Li Ka-Shing - was on his way home when several armed men suddenly appeared on the road ahead. Within moments, they fired into Victor's car, shattering the windows and forcing a stop, before pulling him and his driver out into the night. It was one of the most brazen acts of kidnapping ever seen, made all the more heinous by the fact that the kidnapper, Cheung Tze Keung, was only just beginning. Part 1 - We look into the background of "Big Spender" Cheung Tze Keung, and trace his journey from gangster to billionaire kidnapper. Part 2 - We follow Cheung as he sets his sights on his next big heist - property billionaire Walter Kwok - further cementing himself in infamy. Join your fellow Heinous fans and interact with the team at our website or through our socials (IG, TikTok) @heinous_1upmedia. - Love Heinous? But feel its getting too dark for you? Check out:

This Magical Moments is Opposites Attract(ions). See what we did there? Scott will be talking about some of the major rides that are at both the Disneyland Resort and at Walt Disney World and what makes them different from each other. Each Disney park, whether in Anaheim, Orlando, Paris, Hong Kong, Shanghai, or Tokyo, has a distinct identity and theme, and all of these influence the selection and adaptation of rides.The size and layout of each park can also impact the design and placement of rides. For example - Disneyland in California, being smaller, has different versions of rides compared to the larger Walt Disney World to fit within the park's footprint. There's also technology. As it evolves, Imagineers can incorporate new features and effects into rides when recreating them for another park. And then there's Guest feedback to identify popular rides and make improvements or adaptations to enhance the overall attraction experience. So…with all of that in mind…jump in and enjoy this episode!Email: TheMouseAndMePodcast@gmail.comSupport: www.patreon.com/themouseandmeFB and Instagram: “The Mouse and Me”Music by Kevin MacLeod from https://incompetech.filmmusic.io

Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab, and previously a fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. Before that, he was an analyst focused on China's technology capabilities at Gavekal Dragonomics, based across Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Dan is perhaps best known for a series of annual letters, published between 2017-2023, which encapsulate his reflections on Chinese society; his writing has also appeared in other outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and beyond. In this New Books Network Episode, Dan discusses his debut book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (Norton, 2025). Styled as an aggregation of seven of his famed annual letters, Breakneck presents a dichotomy of China and the US as an “engineering state” and "lawyerly society” respectively, and traces how China's “engineering state” has shaped Chinese society over the last decade.  Breakneck is now available for purchase online and in physical bookstores. Show notes: Dan's website Dan's annual letters: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Dan's blogpost about Breakneck, which we reference several times in the episode China-related English books that Dan mentions: The Halls of Uselessness (Simon Leys), Other Rivers (Peter Hessler), Invitation to a Banquet (Fuchsia Dunlop) Chinese-language movies from 2017+ that Anthony recommends for illustrating a diverse spectrum of sociopolitical noteworthiness: Wolf Warrior 2 (for China's nationalistic/geopolitical narrative), Upstream (for China's tech industry/labor market), Detention (for Taiwanese popular memory on authoritarianism); plus two additional movies not mentioned in the episode — Ne Zha 2 (for China's soft power potential) and Limbo (for a dark taste of Hong Kong's contemporary malaise).  Chinese-language movies that Dan recommendations: Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke), One Second (Zhang Yimou) Anthony Kao is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Dan Wang is a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover History Lab, and previously a fellow at Yale Law School's Paul Tsai China Center. Before that, he was an analyst focused on China's technology capabilities at Gavekal Dragonomics, based across Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai. Dan is perhaps best known for a series of annual letters, published between 2017-2023, which encapsulate his reflections on Chinese society; his writing has also appeared in other outlets including Foreign Affairs, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and beyond. In this New Books Network Episode, Dan discusses his debut book Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future (Norton, 2025). Styled as an aggregation of seven of his famed annual letters, Breakneck presents a dichotomy of China and the US as an “engineering state” and "lawyerly society” respectively, and traces how China's “engineering state” has shaped Chinese society over the last decade.  Breakneck is now available for purchase online and in physical bookstores. Show notes: Dan's website Dan's annual letters: 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 Dan's blogpost about Breakneck, which we reference several times in the episode China-related English books that Dan mentions: The Halls of Uselessness (Simon Leys), Other Rivers (Peter Hessler), Invitation to a Banquet (Fuchsia Dunlop) Chinese-language movies from 2017+ that Anthony recommends for illustrating a diverse spectrum of sociopolitical noteworthiness: Wolf Warrior 2 (for China's nationalistic/geopolitical narrative), Upstream (for China's tech industry/labor market), Detention (for Taiwanese popular memory on authoritarianism); plus two additional movies not mentioned in the episode — Ne Zha 2 (for China's soft power potential) and Limbo (for a dark taste of Hong Kong's contemporary malaise).  Chinese-language movies that Dan recommendations: Caught by the Tides (Jia Zhangke), One Second (Zhang Yimou) Anthony Kao is a writer who intersects international affairs and cultural criticism. He founded/edits Cinema Escapist—a publication exploring the sociopolitical context behind global film and television—and also writes for outlets like The Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Diplomat, and Eater. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/chinese-studies

Across the globe postal services are pausing deliveries to the US as Washington prepares to end its long‑held tariff exemption on low‑value parcels.Evergrande, once China's biggest property giant has now been kicked off the Hong Kong stock market, we bring you the latest twist in its collapse.Plus in Ghana, part of our Africa series, we see the true cost of fast fashion as piles of unwanted clothes end up on the beaches.You can contact us on WhatsApp or send us a voicenote: +44 330 678 3033.

In this episode of "Run a Profitable Gym," Chris Cooper reveals the monthly leaderboard for net owner benefit—what gym owners actually pocket from their businesses.The top-earning fitness entrepreneur takes home over $45,000 a month!So what are our elite gym owners doing that others aren't?The Top 10 includes gyms from Belgium, Norway, Canada and Hong Kong, proving location doesn't limit earning potential.The leaders also proved small gyms can dominate: One top earner has only 90 members, and another operates in just 1,400 square feet of space.Chris breaks down the two key factors behind high net owner benefit for gym owners: consistency in delivery and total business excellence.You'll also find out which business models are driving these impressive income stats. Some gym owners focus strictly on one-on-one coaching, while others use semi-private training or a combination of high-value services to increase revenue.Listen to learn about the marketing, sales, retention and staff-development systems that separate top-earning gym owners from those who are barely breaking even.LinksGym Owners UnitedBook a Call  1:58 - Top-earning gym owners revealed4:43 - Keys to high net owner benefit8:45 - Staff systems support growth10:53 - Models with the highest NOB15:56 - What all 10 have in common

Agradece a este podcast tantas horas de entretenimiento y disfruta de episodios exclusivos como éste. ¡Apóyale en iVoox! En esta ocasión os presentamos un documental monográfico sobre cine de Hong Kong, en especial, sobre esas películas de disparos, policías y ladrones: El Heroic Bloodshed. Un género de cine inaugurado por el célebre director John Woo, cuyo actor más representativo fue, es y será Chow Yun Fat. Además, entregaremos nuestros Premios LODE, os ofreceremos nuestra breve opinión sobre los Oscars 2010-2011 y tendremos tiempo para meternos en la cabina del camión de Jack Burton. Todo ello, con nuestro particular estilo. Escucha el episodio completo en la app de iVoox, o descubre todo el catálogo de iVoox Originals

China's former real estate giant Evergrande has seen its shares delisted from the Hong Kong stock exchange this Monday. Once the most valuable property company in the country, the firm fell on hard times when the government cracked down on its debt-fuelled development model in 2020. Also in this edition: one Chinese copper company has managed to fly under the radar of Trump's tariffs by building plants in the US, making it an interesting test case in the US-China trade war.

We learned yesterday that business activity in the U.S. picked up in August, led by a big advance in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing had been in a slump, but recorded its strongest growth in orders in 18 months. Is it the start of a bigger trend or just a blip? Then, Evergrande — once one of China's biggest property developers — is having its shares delisted from Hong Kong's stock exchange. Its ruinous downfall has threatened to weigh down the world's second-largest economy.

We learned yesterday that business activity in the U.S. picked up in August, led by a big advance in the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing had been in a slump, but recorded its strongest growth in orders in 18 months. Is it the start of a bigger trend or just a blip? Then, Evergrande — once one of China's biggest property developers — is having its shares delisted from Hong Kong's stock exchange. Its ruinous downfall has threatened to weigh down the world's second-largest economy.

In Berlin with my best Euro friend. Jürgen! He's "Schmürgen," in the US, or "Jürg with two dots over you" when I haven't seen him in a while. Anyway, he's from Nuremberg, Germany.We discuss all the migration in Germany. Jürgen shares his perspective on the need for balancing compassion, cultural adaptation, and the tax burden on German citizens. He says attitudes have shifted since the 2015 refugee crisis. Then we get into what democracy is and free expression in Germany.Jürgen also shares his personal philosophy on happiness & relationships. From his 13-year relationship to the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, he emphasizes the importance of focus and learning to appreciate the simple joys in life.Jürg with two dots shares thoughts on friendship, travel, and what are non-negotiable values in relationships. Which sounds a lot like lessons for living a BIGGER LIFE.Finally, professionally (remember I told you Euros never ask 'What do you do? It's an afterthought, if it's thought at all), Jürgen is a Senior Financial Analyst at Siemens AG. He studied International Business in Germany, Spain and Hong Kong, and enjoys travel, soccer, American football, animals, golf, chess and readingAlways enjoy a chat with Jürgen—he's also my smartest Euro friend. Not because he's super educated or speaks 5 languages (a lot of Euros can do that), but because he's deep like the end of the pool with the high diving board.

Sebastien Lai discusses closing arguments that have begun in his father's trial in Hong Kong, as well as Mr. Lai's declining health. John Rossomando on what comes next for Russia-Ukraine peace talks following President Trump's meetings with both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 

From a life of hard labor in the Gobi Desert to becoming a prominent Hong Kong investor, Weijian Shan's story is one of incredible contrasts. In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg's Mishal Husain, the Chinese economist and author opens up about his childhood during the Cultural Revolution, his thoughts on Hong Kong’s National Security law and President Trump’s trade war with China.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

China is considering launching a yuan-backed stablecoin, a surprising pivot after years of cracking down on crypto and pushing the digital yuan. What's driving this move, and what does it mean for global markets and US dollar dominance?In this episode of Byte-Sized Insight, host Savannah Fortis speaks with Martin Chorzempa (Peterson Institute for International Economics) and Patrick Tan (ChainArgos) to unpack the policy ambitions, market realities and trust challenges facing a Chinese stablecoin. From Hong Kong to Belt and Road nations, could Beijing's latest experiment reshape the future of money, or is it destined to remain a symbolic play?(01:40) – Intro: China's stablecoin push(03:04) – The digital yuan's (CBDC) struggles(04:54) – Stablecoin potential in cross-border payments(07:33) – China's offshore vs onshore yuan(08:45) – Can the yuan challenge dollar stablecoins?(10:55) – Why the dollar still dominates(12:29) – The trust problem for China's stablecoin(17:33) – Stablecoins as geopolitical instruments in 2025This episode was hosted and produced by Savannah Fortis, @savannah_fortis.Follow Cointelegraph on X @Cointelegraph.Check out Cointelegraph at cointelegraph.com.If you like what you heard, rate us and leave a review!The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this podcast are its participants alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph. This podcast (and any related content) is for entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, nor should it be taken as such. Everyone must do their own research and make their own decisions. The podcast's participants may or may not own any of the assets mentioned.

From China's rapid electric vehicle adoption to the rise of robotaxis, humanoids, and flying vehicles, our analysts Adam Jonas and Tim Hsiao discuss how AI is revolutionizing the global auto industry.Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Adam Jonas: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Adam Jonas. I lead Morgan Stanley's Research Department's efforts on embodied AI and humanoid robots. Tim Hsiao: And I'm Tim Hsiao, Greater China Auto Analyst. Adam Jonas: Today – how the global auto industry is evolving from horsepower to brainpower with the help of AI. It's Thursday, August 21st at 9am in New York. Tim Hsiao: And 9pm in Hong Kong. Adam Jonas: From Detroit to Stuttgart to Shanghai, automakers are making big investments in AI. In fact, AI is the engine behind what we think will be a $200 billion self-driving vehicle market by 2030. Tim, you believe that nearly 30 percent of vehicles sold globally by 2030 will be equipped with Level 2+ smart driving features that can control steering, acceleration, braking, and even some hands-off driving. We expect China to account for 60 percent of these vehicles by 2030. What's driving this rapid adoption in China and how does it compare to the rest of the world? Tim Hsiao: China has the largest EV market globally, and the country's EV sales are not only making up over 50 percent of the new car sales locally in China but also accounting for over 50 percent of the global EV sales. As a result, the market is experiencing intense competition. And the car makers are keen to differentiate with the technological innovation, to which smart driving serve[s] as the most effective means. This together with the AI breakthrough enables China to aggressively roll out Level 2+ urban navigation on autopilot. In the meantime, Chinese government support, and cost competitive supply chains also helps. So, we are looking for China's the adoption of Level 2+ smart driving on passenger vehicle to reach 25 percent by end of this year, and 60 percent by 2030 versus 6 percent and 17 percent for the rest of the world during the same period. Adam Jonas: How is China balancing an aggressive rollout with safety and compliance, especially as it moves towards even greater vehicle automation going forward? Tim Hsiao: Right. That's a great and a relevant question because over the years, China has made significant strides in developing a comprehensive regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles. For example, China was already implementing its strategies for innovation and the development of autonomous vehicles in 2022 and had proved several auto OEM to roll out Level 3 pilot programs in 2023. Although China has been implementing stricter requirements since early this year; for example, banning terms like autonomous driving in advertisement and requiring stricter testing, we still believe more detailed industry standard and regulatory measures will facilitate development and adoption of Level 2+ Smart driving. And this is important to prevent, you know, the bad money from driving out goods. Adam Jonas: One way people might encounter this technology is through robotaxis. Now, robotaxis are gaining traction in China's major cities, as you've been reporting. What's the outlook for Level 4 adoption and how would this reshape urban mobility? Tim Hsiao: The size of Level 4+ robotaxi fleet stays small at the moment in China, with less than 1 percent penetration rate. But we've started seeing accelerating roll out of robotaxi operation in major cities since early this year. So, by 2030, we are looking for Level 4+ robotaxis to account for 8 percent of China's total taxi and ride sharing fleet size by 2030. So, this adoption is facilitated by robust regulatory frameworks, including designated test zones and the clear safety guidance. We believe the proliferation of a Level 4 robotaxi will eventually reshape the urban mobility by meaningfully reducing transportation costs, alleviating traffic congestion through optimized routing and potentially reducing accidents. So, Adam, that's the outlook for China. But looking at the global trends beyond China, what are the biggest global revenue opportunities in your view? Is that going to be hardware, software, or something else? Adam Jonas: We are entering a new scientific era where the AI world, the software world is coming into far greater mental contact, and physical contact, with the hardware world and the physical world of manufacturing. And it's being driven by corporate rivalry amongst not just the terra cap, you know, super large cap companies, but also between public and private companies and competition. And then it's being also fueled by geopolitical rivalry and social issues as well, on a global scale. So, we're actually creating an entirely new species. This robotic species that yes, is expressed in many ways on our roads in China and globally – but it's just the beginning. In terms of whether it's hardware, software, or something else – it's all the above. What we've done with a across 40 sectors at Morgan Stanley is to divide the robot, whether it flies, drives, walks, crawls, whatever – we divide it into the brain and the body. And the brain can be divided into sensors and memory and compute and foundational models and simulation. The body can be broken up into actuators, the kind of motor neuron capability, the connective tissue, the batteries. And then there's integrators, that kind of do it all – the hardware, the software, the integration, the training, the data, the compute, the energy, the infrastructure. And so, what's so exciting about this opportunity for our clients is there's no one way to do it. There's no one region to do it. So, stick with us folks. There's a lot of – not just revenue opportunities – but alpha-generating opportunities as well. Tim Hsiao: We are seeing OEMs pivot from cars to humanoids and the electric vertical takeoff in the landing vehicles or EVOTL. Our listeners may have seen videos of these vehicles, which are like helicopters and are designed for urban air mobility. How realistic is this transition and what's the timeline for commercialization in your view? Adam Jonas: Anything that can be electrified will be electrified. Anything that can be automated will be automated. And the advancement of the state of the art in robotaxis and Level 2, Level 3, Level 4+ autonomy is directly transferrable to aviation. There's obviously different regulatory and safety aspects of aviation, the air traffic control and the FAA and the equivalent regulatory bodies in Europe and in China that we will have to navigate, pun intended. But we will get there. We will get there ultimately because taking these technologies of automation and electronic and software defined technology into the low altitude economy will be a superior experience and a vastly cheaper experience. Point to point, on a per person, per passenger, per ton, per mile basis. So the Wright brothers can finally get excited that their invention from 1903, quite a long time ago, could finally, really change how humans live and move around the surface of the earth; even beyond, few tens of thousands of commercial and private aircraft that exist today. Tim Hsiao: The other key questions or key focus for investors is about the business model. So, until now, the auto industry has centered on the car ownership model. But with this new technology, we've been hearing a new model, as you just mentioned, the shared mobility and the autonomous driving fleet. Experts say it could be major disruptor in this sector. So, what's your take on how this will evolve in developed and emerging markets? Adam Jonas: Well, we think when you take autonomous and shared and electric mobility all the way – that transportation starts to resemble a utility like electricity or water or telecom; where the incremental mile traveled is maybe not quite free, but very, very, very low cost. Maybe only; the marginal cost of the mile traveled may only just be the energy required to deliver that mile, whether it's a renewable or non-renewable energy source. And the relationship with a car will change a lot. Individual vehicle ownership may go the way of horse ownership. There will be some, but it'll be seen as a nostalgic privilege, if you will, to own our own car. Others would say, I don't want to own my own car. This is crazy. Why would anyone want to do that? So, it's going to really transform the business model. It will, I think, change the structure of the industry in terms of the number of participants and what they do. Not everybody will win. Some of the existing players can win. But they might have to make some uncomfortable trade-offs for survival. And for others, the car – let's say terrestrial vehicle modality may just be a small part of a broader robotics and then physical embodiment of AI that they're propagating; where auto will just be a really, really just one tendril of many, many dozens of different tendrils. So again, it's beginning now. This process will take decades to play out. But investors with even, you know, two-to-three or three-to-five-year view can take steps today to adjust their portfolios and position themselves. Tim Hsiao: The other key focus of the investor over the market would definitely be the geopolitical dynamics. So, Morgan Stanley expects to see a lot of what you call coopetition between global OEMs and the Chinese suppliers. What do you mean by coopetition and how do you see this dynamic playing out, especially in terms of the tech deflation? Adam Jonas: In order to reduce the United States dependency on China, we need to work with China. So, there's the irony here. Look, in my former life of being an auto analyst, every auto CEO I speak to does not believe that tariffs will limit Chinese involvement in the global auto industry, including onshore in the United States. Many are actively seeking to work with the Chinese through various structures to give them an on-ramp to move onshore to produce their, in many cases, superior products, but in U.S. factories on U.S. shores with American workers. That might lead to some, again, trade-offs. But our view within Morgan Stanley and working with you is we do think that there are on-ramps for Chinese hardware, Chinese knowhow, and Chinese electrical vehicle architecture, but while still being sensitive to the dual-purpose AI sensitivities around software and the AI networks that, for national security reasons, nations want to have more control over. And I actually am hopeful and seeing some signs already that that's going to happen and play out over the next six to 12 months. Tim Hsiao: I would say it's clear that the road ahead isn't just smarter; it's faster, more connected, and increasingly autonomous. Adam Jonas: That's correct, Tim. I could not agree more. Thanks for joining me on the show today. Tim Hsiao: Thanks, Adam. Always a pleasure. Adam Jonas: And to our listeners, thanks for listening. Until next time, stay human and keep driving forward. If you enjoy Thoughts on the Market, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share the podcast with a friend or colleague today.

Dr. Nick Holton's work focuses on helping individuals, teams, businesses and organizations become better versions of themselves through the application of the cutting-edge science of human flourishing – a synergistic development of both peak performance and overall well-being and fulfillment. Nick currently serves as a private coach and consultant, working with individuals and groups ranging from professional athletes, NCAA programs, educational institutions, and Fortune 500 businesses. He also runs a podcast alongside the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard. The show – FlourishFM – focuses on research to help individuals better understand how to live well. Nick has also directed multiple large scale implementation projects oriented toward human flourishing for schools and organizations around the globe, and has delivered talks and trainings across the US, Europe, India, Hong Kong, Australia, Uganda, Singapore, Mexico, and South America. Dr Adam Wright is a high-performance and executive coach, consultant, and educator who supports a broad range of elite performers whose craft demands their absolute best in volatile, high-stakes environments. Adam's clients range from elite high school, collegiate, and professional athletes to Fortune 100 corporate leaders, professionals in military and law enforcement, and creatives from the entertainment world. He consults with clients in such disparate performance arenas as the front office of the NFL, MLB, the European PGA, MLS, Hollywood, and Wall Street. As a practitioner-scientist, Adam draws from decades of practical experience as a coach and athlete, as well as lessons learned as a researcher and professor. Adam currently serves as Major League Mental Performance Consultant for the Washington Nationals and as an advisor and educational board member for several institutions. Connect with Nick and Adam at www.TheAntifragileAcademy.com BOOK A SPEAKER: Interested in having John or one of our speaking team come to your school, club or coaching event? We are booking November and December 2025 and Winter/Spring 2026 events, please email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com to set up an introductory call. PUT IN YOUR BULK BOOK ORDERS FOR OUR BESTSELLING BOOKS, AND JOIN 2025 CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS FROM SYRACUSE MENS LAX, UNC AND NAVY WOMENS LAX, AND MCLAREN F1! These are just the most recent championship teams using THE CHAMPION TEAMMATE book with their athletes and support teams. Many of these coaches are also getting THE CHAMPION SPORTS PARENT so their team parents can be part of a successful culture. Schools and clubs are using EVERY MOMENT MATTERS for staff development and book clubs. Are you?  We have been fulfilling numerous bulk orders for some of the top high school and collegiate sports programs in the country, will your team be next? Click here to visit John's author page on Amazon Click here to visit Jerry's author page on Amazon Please email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com if you want discounted pricing on 10 or more books on any of our books. Thanks everyone. This week's podcast is brought to you by our friends at Sprocket Sports.  Sprocket Sports is a new software platform for youth sports clubs.  Yeah, there are a lot of these systems out there, but Sprocket provides the full enchilada. They give you all the cool front-end stuff to make your club look good– like websites and marketing tools – AND all the back-end transactions and services to run your business better so you can focus on what really matters – your players and your teams. Sprocket is built for those clubs looking to thrive, not just survive, in the competitive world of youth sports clubs.  So if you've been looking for a true business partner – not just another app – check them out today at https://sprocketsports.me/CTG. BECOME A PREMIUM MEMBER OF CHANGING THE GAME PROJECT TO SUPPORT THE PODCAST If you or your club/school is looking for all of our best content, from online courses to blog posts to interviews organized for coaches, parents and athletes, then become a premium member of Changing the Game Project today. For over a decade we have been creating materials to help change the game. and it has become a bit overwhelming to find old podcasts, blog posts and more. Now, we have organized it all for you, with areas for coaches, parents and even athletes to find materials to help compete better, and put some more play back in playing ball. Clubs please email John@ChangingTheGameProject.com for pricing.  Become a Podcast Champion! This weeks podcast is also sponsored by our Patreon Podcast Champions. Help Support the Podcast and get FREE access to our Premium Membership, with well over $1000 of courses and materials. If you love the podcast, we would love for you to become a Podcast Champion, (https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions) for as little as a cup of coffee per month (OK, its a Venti Mocha), to help us up the ante and provide even better interviews, better sound, and an overall enhanced experience. Plus, as a $10 per month Podcast Super-Champion, you will be granted a Premium Changing the Game Project Membership, where you will have access to every course, interview and blog post we have created organized by topic from coaches to parents to athletes. Thank you for all your support these past eight years, and a special big thank you to all of you who become part of our inner circle, our patrons, who will enable us to take our podcast to the next level. https://www.patreon.com/wayofchampions

In this episode of Bitcoin Magazine X Spaces, host Isaiah Austin sits down with btcviv , producer for Bitcoin Asia and host of the Life with Bitcoin podcast, and Hunter Albright, Chief Revenue Officer at SALT Lending, to explore how Asia is adopting Bitcoin and what it means to live on a Bitcoin standard.They discuss:SALT Lending's journey as one of the first Bitcoin-backed lenders and how tools like Stabilization and SALT Shield protect usersWhy borrowing against Bitcoin instead of selling it is critical for individuals, families, and businesses across AsiaThe cultural and financial dynamics driving Bitcoin adoption in Asia, from remittances and digital payments to entrepreneurship and corporate treasuriesHow Bitcoin Asia 2025 in Hong Kong is shaping up to be the region's biggest and most unique Bitcoin gatheringWhether you're curious about practical Bitcoin use cases, global adoption trends, or building financial freedom through Bitcoin, this conversation offers fresh insights from leaders on the ground.Follow SALT Lending on X: https://x.com/SALTLendingFollow Hunter Albright on X: https://x.com/HunterAlbrightFollow btcviv on X: https://x.com/btcvivFollow Isaiah Austin on X: https://x.com/isaiahdaustin

Briana Birkholz and Joe Lynch discuss blind spots & bottlenecks: unmasking the hidden enemies of supply chain. Briana is the Vice President of Product Management for the 3PL market segment at SPS Commerce, the world's leading retail network, connecting trading partners around the globe to optimize supply chain operations for all retail partners. About Briana Birkholz Briana Birkholz is the Vice President of Product Management for the 3PL market segment at SPS Commerce. With a passion for overcoming supply chain and logistics challenges, Briana is committed to addressing the distinct needs of customers through comprehensive, full-service solutions. Briana's extensive experience in driving innovation, strategic development and execution consistently delivers outstanding results for third-party logistics companies. About SPS Commerce SPS Commerce is the world's leading retail network, connecting trading partners across the globe to optimize supply chain operations for all stakeholders in the retail ecosystem. The company enables data-driven partnerships through innovative cloud-based technology, customer-centric service, and a team of accessible industry experts—allowing clients to focus on their core business. With over 45,000 recurring revenue customers spanning retail, grocery, distribution, supply, manufacturing, and logistics, SPS Commerce powers a vast and growing global retail network. Key Takeaways: Blind Spots & Bottlenecks: Unmasking the Hidden Enemies of Supply Chain Briana Birkholz and Joe Lynch discuss blind spots & bottlenecks: unmasking the hidden enemies of supply chain. The hidden enemies include the following: Inconsistent Time to Revenue: The Silent Growth Killer - Lengthy onboarding processes erode cash flow and strain customer relationships, highlighting evolving customer expectations. SPS Commerce's "plug-and-play" solutions drastically reduce onboarding time from months to days. The Cost of Chaos: Inconsistent Order Intake - Managing orders through disparate channels (phone, email, portals, PDFs) breeds errors and jeopardizes SLAs due to human error. SPS Commerce standardizes order formats for improved efficiency and control. Decoding Retailer Complexity: Unravel the challenges of adhering to intricate retailer requirements (packing slips, labels, routing guides, ASN timing) and the costly consequences of non-compliance (chargebacks, damaged relationships, lost shelf space). SPS Commerce automates document generation and validation to ensure first-time compliance. SPS Commerce is the world's leading retail network, connecting trading partners around the globe to optimize supply chain operations for all retail partners. SPS Commerce brings the following advantages: Industry Leader in Cloud-Based EDI Solutions: SPS Commerce specializes in cloud-based supply chain management, helping retailers, suppliers, and logistics providers automate and streamline their operations through advanced EDI and data analytics tools. Demonstrated Consistent Growth as a High-Performing Public Company: SPS Commerce has a long and consistent track record of growth, primarily organic, underscoring its position as a strong performer on NASDAQ (ticker: SPSC). Global Presence with Local Support: Headquartered in Minneapolis, SPS has expanded internationally with offices in major cities like Toronto, Melbourne, Amsterdam, and Hong Kong, supporting a worldwide customer base with localized service. Growth via Smart Acquisitions: Strategic buys like Data Masons, InterTrade, and SupplyPike have allowed SPS to broaden its tech stack and deepen its value across the retail supply chain ecosystem. Recognized for Culture and Innovation: Known for its positive workplace environment, SPS was ranked the best large workplace in Minnesota in 2015 and continues to invest in talent and innovation to drive forward-thinking supply chain solutions. Learn More About Blind Spots & Bottlenecks: Unmasking the Hidden Enemies of Supply Chain Briana Birkholz | Linkedin SPS Commerce | Linkedin SPS Commerce Woods Distribution Case Study Arcadia Cold Storage & Logistics Case Study The Logistics of Logistics Podcast If you enjoy the podcast, please leave a positive review, subscribe, and share it with your friends and colleagues. The Logistics of Logistics Podcast: Google, Apple, Castbox, Spotify, Stitcher, PlayerFM, Tunein, Podbean, Owltail, Libsyn, Overcast Check out The Logistics of Logistics on Youtube

Andrew Walworth, Tom Bevan and Carl Cannon discuss the redistricting wars, including the latest developments in California and Texas. And, they discuss how the Latino vote figures into both parties' redistricting plans and how Hispanic voters may be up for grabs in 2026 and beyond. Then, they discuss the Federal Reserve's annual summer meeting which starts today in Jackson Hole, and what's at stake for Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and the U.S. economy. Plus, why President Trump wants the government to take a ten percent stake in Intel. Next, Carl Cannon talks to Cato Institute Vice President for International Studies Ian Vazquez about the trial of Hong Kong newspaper owner Jimmy Lai, who has been imprisoned by the Chinese government since 2020 on charges of sedition and collusion. Final arguments in his case are being heard today, and a guilty verdict could result in life imprisonment. And lastly, Andrew Walworth talks to RCP White House correspondent Phil Wegmann about Tulsi Gabbard's plan to reorganize the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, including major cuts to the agency's staff.

Get ready for a high-kicking deep dive with Cynthia Rothrock — the Queen of Martial Arts Movies and one of the most iconic action stars of the 1980s and 1990s. In this exclusive interview, Cynthia shares her incredible journey from world champion martial artist to international action film legend.We talk about her early days in karate and kung fu tournaments, breaking barriers as a woman in the martial arts world, and how her skills led to starring roles in Hong Kong action cinema alongside legends like Michelle Yeoh, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao. Cynthia opens up about filming intense fight scenes in classics like Yes, Madam!, China O'Brien, and Martial Law, plus the challenges and triumphs of being a female action hero in a male-dominated industry.Whether you're a fan of 80s and 90s action movies, martial arts film history, or just love behind-the-scenes Hollywood and Hong Kong stories, this episode packs a punch with fight choreography secrets, stunt stories, and career advice for aspiring martial artists and actors.

On Washington Wednesday, Trump's tech push and mail-in ballot fights; on World Tour, news from Washington D.C., Qatar, Hong Kong, India, and Hungry; and church services during youth baseball. Plus, the world's oldest chicken, Janie B. Cheaney on glorifying God when strength fails, and the Wednesday morning newsSupport The World and Everything in It today at wng.org/donateAdditional support comes from iWitness. Powerful audio dramas bringing faith, courage, and history to life in unforgettable ways. iwitnesspod.comFrom Ambassadors Impact Network. Inviting entrepreneurs to access faith-friendly financing options at ambassadorsimpact.comAnd from Cedarville University—a Christ-centered, academically rigorous university located in southwest Ohio, equipping students for Gospel impact across every career and calling. Cedarville integrates a biblical worldview into every course in the more than 175 undergraduate and graduate programs students choose from. New online undergraduate degrees through Cedarville Online offer flexible and affordable education grounded in a strong Christian community that fosters both faith and learning. Learn more at cedarville.edu, and explore online programs at cedarville.edu/online

Net profits of Labubu maker, Pop Mart, have soared by nearly 400%, and the company's Hong Kong-listed shares are up more than 570%, and it's now worth more than twice as much as Mattel – which makes Barbie. We will look at why these elf-like dolls, made by the Chinese, are trending. After a five-year pause, China and India are going to restart direct flights between the two countries. And today, in our Africa series, we're in Kenya, where a tech company in Nairobi is encouraging the use of Bitcoin in one of Africa's largest slums.

The Transformation Ground Control podcast covers a number of topics important to digital and business transformation. This episode covers the following topics and interviews:   Intro to SI's, Q&A (Darian Chwialkowski, Third Stage Consulting) Everything You Need to Know about Selecting the Best Integrator (Bonnie Tinder, CEO & Founder of Raven Intel) How to Select and Implement the Right Systems Integrator   We also cover a number of other relevant topics related to digital and business transformation throughout the show.  

This is Frank Gaffney with the Secure Freedom Minute.  Jimmy Lai is one of the most heroic men in the world today. As a penniless youth in 1961, he fled Communist China to the British colony of Hong Kong, where he became a wildly successful entrepreneur and billionaire.  Jimmy courageously used his media empire and personal resources to support opposition to China's Communist Party and persisted in doing so even after Great Britain surrendered the city and the CCP inexorably crushed freedom there.  Today, after five years in prison, most of it spent in solitary confinement, Jimmy Lai is standing trial for alleged national security crimes. His conviction is inevitable.  There must be real costs to Communist China for its mistreatment of this extraordinary hero – and all those in Hong Kong and the mainland for whose freedom he has fought for so long and at such immense personal expense.  This is Frank Gaffney.

Hong Kong: POTUS understands Jimmy Lai's risk. Mark Simon. @GordonGChang, Gatestone, Newsweek, The Hill

Today on the Talent Development Hot Seat Podcast, hosts Andy Storch and Jig Ramji dive deep into a critical and timely topic for HR and talent development professionals: how to leverage data analytics and evidence-based practices to drive business impact. Jig Ramji, a seasoned HR and talent executive with leadership roles at organizations like Bloomberg, LSEG, and Aviva, shares his journey and expertise on using people data to transform talent strategies and demonstrate HR's vital role in organizational success.Subscribe to our weekly updates and monthly talent development newsletter here. Order Own Your Career Own Your Life on AmazonApply to Join us in the Talent Development Think Tank Community!This episode is sponsored by LearnIt, which is offering a FREE trial of their TeamPass membership for you and up to 20 team members of your team. Check it out here.Connect with Andy here: Website | LinkedInConnect with Jig Ramji here: LinkedInIn this insightful conversation, Jig reveals how his background in occupational psychology and years spent across both consulting and in-house HR set the stage for his passion for evidence-based HR. He explains the power of moving beyond “soft” or “fluffy” HR approaches by applying the same data-driven discipline used in finance and other business functions—and how this shift brings HR to the heart of strategic decision-making.Key highlights from this episode include:How to get started with evidence-based HR—even without a big data science team—by identifying business pain points and consistently collecting, storing, and analyzing people data.Real-world examples from Jig's experience leading talent at Bloomberg and the London Stock Exchange Group, including how longitudinal data on leadership success factors led to targeted development programs, improved hiring, and strong succession pipelines.Practical advice on building buy-in for data-driven HR, especially in environments where people may be new to using analytics or hesitant to change established practices.An honest look at the pros and cons of consulting vs. in-house HR roles, and how global experiences in places like Singapore, Hong Kong, and Australia shaped Jig's approach to leadership and cross-cultural talent strategies.How artificial intelligence is accelerating the pace of analysis and decision-making in HR, and why clean, consistent data collection is more important than ever for organizations looking to reap the benefits of AI tools and talent marketplaces.Tips and tools for leveraging data to drive everything from leadership development and succession planning to more dynamic, skills-based career development and internal mobility—helping employees identify new opportunities and organizations close talent gaps more strategically.The mindset shift HR and talent pros need to embrace evidence-based work and why adopting a growth-oriented perspective on data, analytics, and AI is vital for future-ready HR.Whether you're early in your evidence-based HR journey or looking to deepen your...

Preview: Jimmy Lai. Colleague Mark Simon, a director of the censored and closed Apple Daily in HK, comments on the fate of Jimmy Lai at the hands of Beijing. More later. 1925 HONG KONG

Our analysts Tim Chan and Mayank Maheshwari discuss how nuclear power and natural gas are reshaping Asia's evolving energy mix, and what these trends mean for sustainability and the future of energy. Read more insights from Morgan Stanley.----- Transcript -----Tim Chan: Welcome to Thoughts on the Market. I'm Tim Chan, Morgan Stanley's Head of Asia Sustainability Research.Mayank Maheshwari: And I am Mayank Maheshwari, the Energy Analyst for India and Southeast Asia.Tim Chan: Today – a major shift in global energy. We are talking about nuclear power, gas adoption, and what the future holds.It's Monday, August 18th at 8am in Hong Kong.Mayank Maheshwari: And it's 8am in Singapore.Tim Chan: Nuclear power is no longer niche; it's a megatrend. It was once seen as controversial and capital intensive. But now nuclear power is stepping into the spotlight—not just for decarbonization, but for energy security. Global investment projections in this sector are now topping more than $2 trillion by 2050. This is fueled by a growing appetite from major tech companies for clean, reliable 24/7 energy. More specifically, Asia is emerging as the epicenter of capacity growth, and that's where your coverage comes in, Mayank.With the rising consumption of electricity, how does nuclear energy adoption stack up in your universe?Mayank Maheshwari: Tim, it's a fascinating world on power right now that we are seeing. Now the tight global power markets perspective is key on why there is so much investor and policymaker attention to nuclear power.Nuclear fuels accounted for about a tenth of the power units produced globally. However, they are almost a fifth of the global clean power generation. Now, power consumption is at another tripping point, and this is after tripling since 1980s. To give you a perspective, Tim, 25 trillion units of power were consumed worldwide last year, and we see this growing rapidly at a 25 percent pace in the next five years or so. And if you look at consumption growth outside of China, it's even faster at 2.5x for the rest of the decade when compared to the last decade.Now policy makers need energy security and hence, nuclear is getting a lot more attention. In Asia, while China, Korea, and Japan have been using nuclear energy to power the economy, the rest of Asia, it has been more an ambition – with India being the only country making progress last decade. Southeast Asia still has a lot more coal, and nuclear remains an ambition as technology acceptance by public and regulatory framework remains a key handicap. We do, however, see policy makers in Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia looking at nuclear fuels more seriously now, with SMRs also being discussed.Tim Chan: That is a really interesting perspective, Mayank. So, you have been bullish on the Asia gas adoption story. So, how do you think gas and nuclear will intersect in this region?Mayank Maheshwari: I think nuclear and natural gas, like all of the fuel stem, will complement each other. However, the long gestation to put nuclear capacity makes gas a viable alternative for energy security. As I was telling you earlier, policy makers are definitely focusing on it. As you know, the last big increase in focus in nuclear fuels also happened in the 1970s oil shock, again when energy security came into play.Global natural gas consumption has more than doubled in the last three decades, and it's set to surprise again with AsiaPac's consumption pretty much set to rise at twice the pace versus what right now expectations are by the street. In this age of electrification and AI adoption, natural gas is definitely emerging as a dependable and an affordable fuel of the future to power everything from automobiles to humanoids, biogenetics, to AI data centers, and even semiconductor production, which is getting so much focus nowadays.We expect global consumption to rise again after not growing this decade for natural gas. As Asia's natural gas adoption rises and grows at 5 percent CAGR 2024-2030; with consumption for gas surprising in China, India, and Japan. So, all the large economies are seeing this big increases, especially versus expectations.The region will consume 70 percent of the globally traded natural gas by 2030. So that's how important Asia will be for the world. And while global gas glut is well flagged, especially coming out of the U.S., Asia's ability to absorb this glut is not very well appreciated.Tim, having said that, nuclear energy is clearly getting more interest globally and is often debated in sustainability circles. How do you see its role evolving in sustainability frameworks as well as green taxonomies?Tim Chan: On sustainability, one thing to talk about is exclusion. That is really important for many sustainable sustainability investors. And when it comes to exclusion for nuclear power, only 2.3 percent of global AUM now exclude nuclear power. And then, that percentage is lower than alcohol, military contracting and gambling. And the exclusion rate is also different dependent on the region. Right now, European investors have the highest exclusion rate but have reduced the nuclear exclusion from 10.9 percent to 8.4 percent as of December last year. And North American and Asian exclusion rates are very, very low. Just 0.3 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.So, this exclusion in North America and Asia are minimal. The World Bank has also lifted, its decades long ban on financing nuclear project, which is important because World Bank can provide capital to fund the early stage of nuclear plant project or construction.And finally, on green finance. The EU, China and Japan have incorporated the nuclear power into their green taxonomies. So that means in some circumstances, nuclear project can be considered as green.Mayank Maheshwari: Now we have talked about AI and its need for power on this show. Nuclear power has a significant role to play in that equation, with hyperscalers paying premium for nuclear power. How does this support the investment case for nuclear utilities?Tim Chan: Yeah, so that depends on the region; and then different region we have different dilemmas. So, let's talk about U.S. first. In the U.S. we are seeing nuclear power is commanding a premium of approximately around $30-$50 per megawatt hour – above the market rate. So, when it comes to this price premium, we do think that will support the nuclear utilities in the U.S. And then in the report we highlighted a few names that we believe the current stock price haven't really priced in this premium in the market.And then for other regions, it depends on the region as well. So, Mayank, you have talked about Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia right now, given the lack of nuclear pipeline and then also the favorable economies of gas, we are not seeing that sort of premium yet in the Southeast Asia. We are also not seeing that premium in the Europe and in China as well, given that right now this sort of premium is mainly a U.S. exclusive situation. So dependent on the region, we are seeing different opportunities for nuclear utilities when it comes to the price premium.Mayank Maheshwari: Definitely Tim, I think the price premiums are dependent on how tight these power markets in each of the geographies are. But like, how does nuclear fit into broader energy mix alongside renewables and natural gas for you?Tim Chan: So, all these are really important. For nuclear power, investors really appreciate the clean and reliable, and for the 24x7 nature of the energy supply to support their operations and sustainability goals. And then nuclear is also important to bring the power additionality, which means nuclear is bringing truly new energy generation rather than simply utilizing a system or already planned capacity. We are seeing that sort of additionality in the new nuclear project and also the SMR in future as well.So, for natural gas, that is also important. As Mayank you have mentioned, natural gas money adds as a bridge field to provide flexibility to the grid. And then in the U.S., it is currently the primary near-term solution for powering AI and data center to increase the electricity supply due to its speed to the market and reliability. And natural gas is suspected to meet immediate demand, while longer term solutions like nuclear projects and also SMR are developed.And finally, renewable energy is also important. It represents the fastest growing and increasingly cost competitive energy source. They also dominate the new capacity additions as well. But for renewable energy, it also requires complimentary technology such as battery ESS to adjust intermittency issues.So, Mayank we have talked so much about nuclear, and back to you on natural gas. You are really bullish on natural gas. So how and where do you think are the best way to play it?Mayank Maheshwari: As you were kind of talking about the intersection and diffusion between nuclear, natural gas and the renewable markets, what you're seeing is that our bullishness on consumption of natural gas is basically all about how this diffusion plays out. Consumption on natural gas will rise much quicker than most fuels for the rest of the decade, if you think about numbers – making it more than just a transition fuel.Hence, Morgan Stanley research has a list of 75 equities globally to play the thematic of this diffusion, and it is happening in the power markets. These equities are part of the natural gas adoption and the powering AI thematic as well. So, these include the equipment producers on power, the gas pipeline players who are basically supporting the supply of natural gas to some of these pipelines. Hybrid power generation companies which have a good mix of renewables, natural gas, a bit of nuclear sometimes. And infrastructure providers for energy security.So, all these 75 stocks are effective playing at the intersection of all these three thematics that we are talking about as Morgan Stanley research. It is clear that nuclear renaissance, Tim, isn't just about reactors. It's about rethinking energy systems, sustainability, and geopolitics.Tim Chan: Yes, and the last decade will be defined by how we balance ambition with execution. Nuclear together with gas and renewables will be central to Asia's energy future. Mayank, thanks for taking the time to talk,Mayank Maheshwari: Great speaking to you, Tim.Tim Chan: And thanks for listening. If you enjoy Thoughts on the Market, please leave us a review wherever you listen and share the podcast with a friend or colleague today.

Episode 272 - In another episode from the floor of PAPA - Nik sits down with Ash, an international pilot currently flying the Airbus A320 for a major carrier based in Hong Kong. Ash shares a global aviation journey — from flight training in New Zealand to flying single-engine caravans in the mountainous terrain of Indonesia, and eventually landing a career with a world-class Asian airline. We dig into what it's like flying internationally out of Hong Kong, how airline structures differ between Asia and the West, and the often-overlooked challenges of adapting to expat life in one of the world's densest cities. Ash also opens up about transitioning to the U.S. aviation system and earning his FAA ATP certificate, and offers his thoughts on CRM culture and cockpit dynamics across borders. What You'll Learn: How Ash built an international flying career starting with training in New Zealand What it's like flying single-engine aircraft in the challenging terrain of Indonesia The unique structure and expectations of working for an airline based in Hong Kong How cockpit resource management (CRM) and cockpit culture differ between Asia and the West What to expect when transitioning from an ICAO license to an FAA ATP The lifestyle realities of expat pilots living and working in Hong Kong Why global flying experience can give pilots a unique edge—if they're willing to adapt CONNECT WITH US Are you ready to take your preparation to the next level? Don't wait until it's too late. Use the promo code “R4P2025” and save 10% on all our services. Check us out at www.spitfireelite.com! If you want to recommend someone to guest on the show, email Nik at podcast@spitfireelite.com, and if you need a professional pilot resume, go to www.spitfireelite.com/podcast/ for FREE templates! SPONSOR Are you a pilot just coming out of the military and looking for the perfect second home for your family? Look no further! Reach out to Marty and his team by visiting www.tridenthomeloans.com to get the best VA loans available anywhere in the US. Be ready for takeoff anytime with 3D-stretch, stain-repellent, and wrinkle-free aviation uniforms by Flight Uniforms. Just go to www.flightuniform.com and type the code SPITFIREPOD20 to get a special 20% discount on your first order. #Aviation #AviationCareers #aviationcrew #AviationJobs #AviationLeadership #AviationEducation #AviationOpportunities #AviationPodcast #AirlinePilot #AirlineJobs #AirlineInterviewPrep #flying #flyingtips #PilotDevelopment #PilotFinance #pilotcareer #pilottips #pilotcareertips #PilotExperience #pilotcaptain #PilotTraining #PilotSuccess #pilotpodcast #PilotPreparation #Pilotrecruitment #flightschool #aviationschool #pilotcareer #pilotlife #pilot

Last time we spoke about the fall of Shanghai. In October 1937 a small battalion led by Colonel Xie Jinyuan transformed the Sihang Warehouse into a fortress against the advancing Japanese army. These men, known as the "800 Heroes," became symbols of hope, rallying local citizens who provided vital support. Despite heavy casualties, they held out against overwhelming odds until a strategic retreat was ordered on November 1. As Japanese forces intensified their assaults, they breached the Chinese defenses and captured strategic positions along Suzhou Creek. The fighting was fierce, marked by desperate counterattacks from the besieged Chinese soldiers, who faced an unyielding enemy. By November 9, the Chinese faced a full retreat, their organized defenses collapsing into chaos as they fled the city. Desperate civilians sought refuge in the International Settlement but were met with hostility, exacerbating the terror of the moment. Amidst the turmoil, remaining forces continued to resist in pockets, holding out as long as possible. By November 11, Japanese troops raised their flag in the last stronghold, marking a grim victory.   #163 Crossing Nanjing's Rubicon Welcome to the Fall and Rise of China Podcast, I am your dutiful host Craig Watson. But, before we start I want to also remind you this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Perhaps you want to learn more about the history of Asia? Kings and Generals have an assortment of episodes on history of asia and much more  so go give them a look over on Youtube. So please subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry for some more history related content, over on my channel, the Pacific War Channel where I cover the history of China and Japan from the 19th century until the end of the Pacific War. As the Japanese were mopping up Shanghai, Chiang Kai-Shek wrote in his diary on November 11th “I fear that they could threaten Nanjing”. Over In Shanghai, General Matsui Iwane was dealing with foreign correspondents, eager to learn what Japan's next move would be and to this he simply stated “For future developments, you had better ask Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek”. The correspondents were surprised by this response and pressed him further. He replied . “Chiang Kai-shek was reported to have predicted a five-year war, well, it might be that long. We don't know whether we will go to Nanjing or not. It all depends on Chiang.” At this point Shanghai was falling under Japanese control and now Matsui and his fellow field commanders were thinking, what's next? Nanjing was certainly the next objective. It was a common understanding amongst the Japanese leadership, that if the four main eastern cities of Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Nanjing were lost, Chiang Kai-Shek's government would collapse. Three of these cities had been taken, Nanjing was dangling like fresh fruit. Matsui's staff believed the Chinese units departing Shanghai would mount a stand immediately west of the city, probably a defensive line running from Jiading to Huangduzhen. On the night of November 11th, Matsui issued a command to all units in the Shanghai area to advance west along the railway towards Nanjing. Their first objective would be a line extending from Taicang to Kunshan. Chiang Kai-Shek was not only reeling from military defeats, but also the gradual loss of his German allies. The Germans were increasingly aligning with the Japanese. Chiang Kai-Shek was looking for new external help, so he turned to the Soviets. It was a marriage of convenience, Chiang Kai-Shek signed a non-aggression pact with the USSR that year and wasted no time pleading for aircraft and pilots. Moscow began sending them before the ink touched the paper. 200 aircraft and pilots in return for some essential minerals, wolfram and tungsten. The Sino-Soviet friendship even drew in an unlikely source of support, Sir Winston Churchill. The Soviet envoy to the UK described how during a meeting with Churchill “he greatly praised our tactics in the Far East: maintenance of neutrality and simultaneous aid to China in weaponry.” Soviet pilots found themselves dispatched to Nanjing where they were briefed by Yakov Vladimirovich Smushkevich, the deputy commander of the Soviet Air Force. “The Japanese armed forces are technically superior to the Chinese. The Chinese Air Force is a particular concern. Soviet pilots who have rushed to China's aid are currently in Nanjing. They are fighting valiantly.” Meanwhile back at Shanghai discipline and order that had characterized previous Chinese withdrawal had collapsed. Simply put, there were hundreds of thousands of men trying to retreat across the lower Yangtze region, it was a shitstorm. Many units had to disengage during combat with the enemy and scramble to pull out. Huang Qixiang, the deputy commander of the Chinese right flank in Shanghai, executed a strategic withdrawal moments before his command post succumbed to the advancing enemy forces. Just fifteen minutes after his departure, the area was overrun by Japanese troops. In a desperate bid to avoid capture, another general had to cross a creek, nearly drowning in the process. Rescued while barely clinging to life and drenched in icy water, he was welcomed by a peasant family who aided in his recovery before he resumed his arduous journey westward. The scale of this withdrawal, occurring both day and night, could hardly escape the enemy's notice, and its complexity made the operation increasingly difficult. The execution of the withdrawal exacerbated the situation significantly. Orders to abandon their positions started to trickle down immediately after the upper command made the decision. However, these orders reached the units in a disorganized manner. Many telephone lines had been sabotaged, and when soldiers were sent to relay the orders in person, they faced severe disruptions in the transportation network. Consequently, many units only became aware of the withdrawal when they witnessed the mass movements of their comrades heading westward. Upon realizing what was happening, many soldiers fled in a state of panic. There were no comprehensive plans outlining the retreat, no designated routes for the various units, nor any established timetables. The outcome was a chaotic scramble for survival. Soldiers who had fought side by side for three months suddenly found themselves competing against one another in a desperate race to escape. At bridges and other chokepoints, weary soldiers exhausted their last reserves of strength, brawling with their fellow troops to be the first to cross. Meanwhile, officers traveling in chauffeur-driven cars attempted to assert their rank to gain priority access to the roads, adding to the growing disorder that ensued. The massive army was hindered by its sheer size, resulting in miles of congested roads filled with men unable to move in any direction. This made them easy targets for Japanese aircraft, leading to a bloody cycle of repeated attacks. Planes adorned with the red Rising Sun insignia would emerge from the horizon, swooping down to strike at these vulnerable formations. As commander Chen Yiding recalled “The lack of organization and the gridlocked roads resulted in far more casualties than could have been avoided,”.  On November 12th, the newspaper Zhaongyang Ribao, published an editorial addressing the citizens of Nanjing, to remind them that tough times lay ahead now that Shanghai had fallen. The article stipulated they needed to prepare the city for the upcoming battle,  “Now, all the citizenry of the capital must fulfill their duty in a way that can serve as a model for the entire nation.” Nanjing in 1937 was a city touched by the war, but not enough to change the social fabric just yet. Cinema's remained open, the shopping arcade was crowded as usual, traffic was heavy along Zhongshan Road, order remained. Telephones remained on, except during air raids. Connections to the outside world functioned as they should, given this was the capital. The region had seen a good harvest in 1937, no one was going hungry. However as the front 200 miles away drew closer, bombing raids more frequent, fear of the enemy increased. Contact with the outside world gradually declined. By mid November the train link from Nanjing to Shanghai was severed.  While the fear amongst the populace increased, so did a newfound sense of common purpose against a common enemy. Poster calling for the Chinese to unite against the Japanese invaders were found throughout Nanjing. Residents were conscripted for various fortification efforts, with some receiving basic military training to help defend the city. Those who refused to cooperate faced severe penalties as “traitors,” while the majority willingly participated. Both military and civilian police were deployed throughout the city, diligently checking identities in an ongoing effort to root out spies and traitors. The authorities enforced a strict prohibition against discussing military matters in restaurants and other public venues. Then all the high ranking military officials and politicians families gradually began departing the city in secrecy. This was followed by said politicians and military officials. Twas not a good look. Nanjing soon saw its population decline from 1 million to half a million. Those who stayed behind were mainly the poor, or those anchored, like shopkeepers. Every day saw a steady stream of Nanjing citizens leaving the city over her main roads, fleeing into the countryside with carts full of belongings. On November 12th at 10am orders were issued for the Japanese to advance west. What had been a war of attrition, where inches of land were claimed with blood, suddenly it was a war of movement. As one Japanese soldier recalled “In the course of 50 days, I had moved only two miles. Now suddenly we were experiencing rapid advance”. As the Japanese came across small towns, they found large posters plastered on all the walls. These were all anti-japanese with some nationalist propaganda. The Japanese soldiers would tear them down and paint up their own messages “down with Chiang Kai-Shek!”.  Towns and cities west of Shanghai fell rapidly one after another, each succumbing to a grim pattern: swift conquest followed by widespread devastation. Jiading, a county seat with a population of approximately 30,000, succumbed to a prolonged siege. When the 10st division captured Jiading on November 13, after relentless shelling had leveled a third of the city, they began a massacre, indiscriminately killing nearly everyone in their path, men, women, and children alike. The battle and its aftermath resulted in over 8,000 casualties among the city's residents and surrounding countryside. One Japanese soldier referred to Jiading as “A city of death, in a mysteriously silent world in which the only sound was the tap of our own footsteps”.  On November 14, soldiers from the 9th Division reached Taicang, an ancient walled city designed to withstand lengthy sieges. As they crossed the 70-foot moat amid heavy fire, the Japanese troops confronted the formidable 20-foot-high city wall. After breaching the wall, their infantry swiftly entered the city and seized control. The destruction persisted long after the fighting ceased, with half of the city being devastated, including significant cultural institutions like the library, and salt and grain reserves were looted. It was as if the Japanese aimed to obliterate not just the material existence of the people but their spiritual foundation as well.  Casual cruelty marked the nature of warfare along the entire front, with few prisoners being taken. Ishii Seitaro, a soldier in the 13th Division's 26th Brigade, encountered a mass execution while marching alongside the Yangtze River. Several headless corpses floated nearby, yet three Chinese prisoners remained alive. A Japanese officer, personally overseeing the execution, wore a simple uniform, but the two ornate swords at his belt indicated his wealthy background. Approaching one prisoner, the officer dramatically drew one of the swords and brandished it through the air with exaggerated flair. In an almost theatrical display, he held it aloft, the blade trembling as if he were nervous. The prisoner, in stark contrast, exhibited an unnerving calmness as he knelt, awaiting his inevitable fate. The officer swung the sword down but failed to deliver a clean strike. Although he inflicted a deep gash to the prisoner's skull, it was not fatal. The prisoner collapsed, thrashing and emitting a prolonged scream that sent chills through those present. The officer, seemingly exhilarated by the anguish he caused, began wildly slashing at the figure until the screams subsided. Ishii turned away in horror, his mind swirling with confusion. Why were the Chinese being executed? Had they not surrendered?  Three months into the war's expansion to the Yangtze region, air raids had become an all too frequent menace in Nanjing. The first major raid came on August 15th and increased each week. On the night of August 27, approximately 30 bombs were dropped on Purple Mountain, specifically targeting the Memorial Park for Sun Yat-sen, aiming to hurt the morale of Nanjing's residents. As days melted into weeks and weeks stretched into months, the landscape of Nanjing transformed under the weight of war. Residents began constructing dugouts in courtyards, gardens, public squares, and even on streets. Foreigners painted their national flags on top of buildings and vehicles, attempting to avoid the risk of being machine-gunned by strafing aircraft. Each raid followed a predictable routine: sirens wailed loudly 20 to 30 minutes before the attack, signaling pedestrians to seek shelter and drivers to stop their engines. By the time a shorter warning sounded, the streets had to be cleared, leaving nothing to do but await the arrival of Japanese planes. Initially, the part-US-trained Chinese Air Force posed a considerable threat to Japanese bombers. The 4th and 5th Chinese Squadrons, stationed near Nanjing to defend the capital, achieved early success, reportedly downing six bombers during the first air raid on Nanjing. Much of the credit for these aerial victories belonged to Claire Chennault, a retired American Army Air Corps captain who had become an advisor to the Chinese Air Force, overseeing Nanjing's air defense. Chennault taught his pilots tactics he had developed in the US but had never fully implemented. His strategy was straightforward: three fighters would focus on one enemy bomber at a time. One would attack from above, another from below, while a third would hover in reserve to deliver the final blow if necessary. He instructed the Chinese pilots to target the engines rather than the fuselage, reasoning that any missed shots could hit the gas tanks located in the wing roots. This approach proved successful, leading to the loss of 54 Japanese planes within three days. For Chennault, it validated his belief that air superiority required a diverse range of aircraft, not just bombers. Nighttime raids, however, posed a greater challenge. Chennault, along with other commanders, sought solutions. Chinese General C.C. Wong, a German-trained artillery officer overseeing the country's anti-aircraft defenses, ensured that dozens of large Sperry searchlights were positioned throughout Nanjing in a grid pattern. This setup had a dual purpose: it would dazzle the Japanese bomber crews and highlight their planes in silhouette for Chinese fighters above to target. The bravery of the most skilled Chinese pilots occasionally gained media attention, making them local celebrities amidst an otherwise grim war environment. However, this bright moment faded quickly when the Japanese command decided to provide escorts for their bombers. Consequently, the elite of China's air force, its finest pilots and aircraft, were lost within weeks that fall. All air raids were brutal, but the worst assaults occurred at the end of September. As a radio broadcaster reported on September 25th “Gallons of civilian blood flowed today as Nanking endured three ferocious air raids”. In total, 96 Japanese sorties were launched on that day. Witnesses observed around a dozen Chinese aircraft retreating north across the Yangtze, initially believing they were fleeing, but some returned to confront the enemy. When Chinese fighters managed to down a Japanese bomber, the streets erupted in cheers as civilians momentarily forgot their fear. The primary aim of the September 25 attack appeared to be spreading terror among the civilian population. Chiang Kai-Shek wrote in his diary that day  “The repeated Japanese air raids over the past several days have had no impact on our military installations. Instead, civilian property has sustained significant damage.” Around 20 bombs struck the Central Hospital, one of Nanjing's largest medical facilities, causing extensive destruction and prompting the evacuation of its staff. Two 1,000-pound bombs exploded nearby, leaving large craters. Had these bombs landed slightly closer, they could have resulted in mass casualties among the hospital's 100 patients, including a Japanese pilot who had been shot down earlier that month. The air raids at the end of September prompted protests from the Americans, British, and French governments to Japan. In response, Tokyo issued a statement on September 30, asserting that while they were not intentionally targeting non-combatants, it was “unavoidable” for achieving military objectives that military airfields and installations in and around Nanjing be bombed.   The battle for Jiashan was among the fiercest in the southern Yangtze delta campaign in November 1937. Although Jiashan was a moderately sized town straddling a crucial railway connecting Shanghai to Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province. For the Japanese, seizing Jiashan was imperative for their westward advance; without it, their military progress would be severely hampered. Jiashan had endured three days of relentless bombing by the Japanese Air Force, driving most residents to flee into the surrounding countryside. Only about 100 remained, those who were too old or too sick to escape, abandoned by family or friends who lacked the means to assist them. The Japanese troops brutally bayoneted nearly all of these individuals and buried them in a mass grave just outside the town's northern gate. Jiashan was captured by the 10th Army, a division fresh from victories and eager to engage in combat, unlike the weary forces of the Shanghai Expeditionary Force further north. With less than a week of combat experience, the 10th Army's soldiers were hungry for a fight. The martial spirit of the 10th Army was exemplified by its commander, Yanagawa Heisuke. Born near Nagasaki in 1879, he was among a group of retired officers called back to active service as the war in China escalated unexpectedly. Having served in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and taught at the Beijing Army College in 1918, Yanagawa had considerable experience in military affairs. However, his past exposure to China did not cultivate any empathy for the enemy. He was determined to push all the way to Nanjing, and once there, he intended to blanket the city in mustard gas and incendiaries until it capitulated. While Japanese commanders debated the value of capturing Nanjing, the Chinese were equally preoccupied with whether it was worth defending. Most military professionals viewed the situation as a lost cause from the start. After the fall of Shanghai, Chiang Kai-shek summoned one of his top commanders, Chen Cheng, to Nanjing for discussions. “How can Nanjing be held?” Chen Cheng shot back “Are you ordering me to hold Nanjing?” Chiang replied “I am not”. Chen Cheng stated frankly, “I believe Nanjing should not be held at all.” By mid-November, Bai Chongxi, one of China's most respected generals, advocated for declaring Nanjing an open city. He argued that defending it was not only unnecessary but also impossible. All available forces had been deployed to Shanghai and were now exhausted. Furthermore, no reinforcements would be forthcoming if they made a stand in Nanjing. Instead of stubbornly clinging to fixed positions, he preferred a more flexible defensive strategy. Zhang Qun, Chiang's secretary, supported Bai's stance, believing that while Nanjing should ultimately be abandoned, political considerations were paramount. If the Chinese simply withdrew and allowed the Japanese to occupy the city, it would undermine China's position in any future negotiations. The Japanese would not be able to present themselves as victors who had triumphed in battle. Similarly, Chiang's chief military advisor, General Alexander von Falkenhausen, was against attempting to hold Nanjing. He deemed it “useless from a military perspective, suggesting it would be madness.” He warned that if Chiang forced his army into a decisive battle with their backs to the Yangtze River, “a disaster would probably be unavoidable.” Chiang's head of the operations bureau Liu Fei argued Nanjing could not be abandoned without a fight as it would crush the NRA's morale. He believed that defending the city could be managed with as few as 12 regiments, although 18 would be feasible. Most at the meeting agreed and Chiang understood Nanjing's international recognition necessitated some form of defense, doomed or not. A second meeting was formed whereupon, Tang Shengzhi, a general staff officer whose loyalties were, lets be honest very flip floppy. During the warlord era, he routinely switched sides, especially against Chiang Kai-Shek. At the meeting Tang stated in regards to Nanjing's international prominence and being the final resting place of Dr Sun Yat-Sen “How can we face the spirit of the former president in heaven? We have no choice but to defend the capital to the death.” Chiang's commanders were all well aware of his intentions. The generalissimo was eager for a dramatic last stand in Nanjing to serve propaganda purposes, aiming to rally the nation and convey to the world that China was resolute in its fight against Japan. His commanders also recognized the rationale behind fighting for Nanjing; however, very few were inclined to embark on what seemed a likely suicide mission. The third meeting occurred the day after the second. Chiang opened by asking, as many anticipated, “Who is willing to shoulder the burden of defending Nanjing?” An awkward silence followed. Then Tang Shengzhi stepped forward. “Chairman, if no one else is willing, I will. I'm prepared to defend Nanjing and to hold it to the death.” Without hesitation, Chiang accepted his offer. “Good, the responsibility is yours.”A little refresher on Tang, he had played a role in Chiang Kai-shek's efforts to unify China by force in the 1920s, when the nation was a patchwork of fiefdoms. However, their relationship had soured on two occasions, forcing Tang into temporary exile, first to Japan and then to Hong Kong. The Japanese invasion of northeastern China in 1931 prompted a loose reconciliation, and since then, Tang had held several important positions, notably organizing war games simulating a Japanese assault on Nanjing. However Tang had often suffered from illness, and crucially, he had not led troops in the field against the Japanese since the onset of full-scale war that summer. Hailing from Hunan province, he was a typical provincial soldier and would likely face challenges commanding respect among elite divisions loyal solely to the central government in Nanjing. He was definitely not the first choice for such a significant task.  Amazingly, while tens of thousands of Chinese and Japanese were killing each other, while Japanese planes relentlessly bombarded Chinese cities including the capital, and while Japanese soldiers committed heinous atrocities against Chinese civilians, the two nations maintained diplomatic relations. China had a fully operational embassy in Tokyo, led by Xu Shiying, a 65-year-old diplomat. This surreal arrangement persisted because neither side was willing to officially declare war. In the fall of 1937, as Japanese armies were heavily engaged on two fronts within mainland China, Xu met with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirota Koki to propose a non-aggression treaty. The proposal was swiftly rejected in Nanjing. By November 1937, Xu was no longer at the forefront of events, and foreign observers shifted their focus from the capitals of the warring nations to Belgium. While large-scale battles raged along the lower Yangtze, representatives from 19 countries convened in Brussels to search for a way to end hostilities. Although China participated in the conference, Japan did not. Japan had received two invitations to join the talks, with its response to the second arriving in Brussels on November 12: a firm rejection. Japan asserted that it preferred direct bilateral negotiations with China, dismissing the Brussels conference held under the auspices of the Nine-Power Treaty, a pact signed in 1922 aimed at ensuring China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. Japan argued that intervention by a collective body like the conference “would merely stir national sentiments in both countries and complicate efforts to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution.” The League of Nations had called for a Nine-Power conference a month earlier, which ultimately became a 19-power conference as other nations with interests in East Asia joined. From the outset, Japan opposed the assembly and was absent when the first plenary meeting commenced in Brussels on November 3. Japanese leaders feared that China might attempt to leverage the conference against Western powers, recalling how, in 1895, Japan had been denied its spoils following its first modern war with China due to the intervention of Russia, France, and Germany, who blocked Japan from claiming the strategic Liaodong Peninsula adjacent to Korea. China also exhibited a lukewarm attitude toward the conference. While Japan feared the potential outcomes, China was concerned about the lack of significant results. The proposal to transition discussions from the League of Nations, perceived as ineffective, to the even less authoritative Nine Powers, which lacked formal organization. Nonetheless, the Chinese chose to participate in Brussels, maintaining the pretense that something meaningful could be accomplished. Shortly after Japan's second rejection of the invitation, Wellington Koo made an impassioned plea in Brussels, stating, “Now that the door to conciliation and mediation has been slammed in your face by the latest reply of the Japanese Government, will you not decide to withhold supplies of war materials and credit to Japan and extend aid to China?” In reality, Koo understood that significant Western aid to China was highly unlikely, aside from token gestures. Previous international discussions had momentarily halted Japanese advances in the past; for instance, in 1932, Japanese troops had paused their movements in the Shanghai area just hours before the League of Nations General Assembly commenced. However, that was nearly six years earlier, and circumstances had changed dramatically since then. Rogue states had grown bolder, while democracies seemed increasingly timid. Thus, the Chinese agenda in Brussels was not primarily driven by hopes for substantial Western concessions. Instead, the delegates had been tasked by Nanjing to anticipate the post-conference landscape and to actively seek ways to encourage Europe and America to support Soviet military action against Japan.   China, long reliant on Germany as a diplomatic partner, increasingly felt betrayed, not just by Germany, but also by its fascist ally, Italy. Consequently, it began looking more favorably upon the Soviet Union, Japan's archrival in Northeast Asia, as its main source of international support. The Soviet Union exhibited a firmer stance than the Western democracies at the Brussels conference, joining China in advocating for collective security in Europe and Asia. On November 15th, a small group of officers from the 10th Army gathered for late-night discussions in an abandoned building north of Hangzhou Bay, where they would effectively decide the fate of China. Yanagawa Heisuke, the commander of the 10th Army, presided over the discussions. Fresh from the battlefield since the beginning of the month, he was eager to escalate the fight, a sentiment echoed among the others. It was an unusual meeting, where officers as low in rank as major were making decisions typically reserved for the highest echelons of political power. The agenda included a pivotal question: Should they adhere to Order No. 600 received from Tokyo a week prior, which instructed them to halt their advance along a line from Suzhou to Jiaxing? Or, should they disregard these explicit orders and push forward to seize Nanjing? While the Japanese Army had failed to completely annihilate the Chinese forces around Shanghai, there was a consensus that their adversary was now reeling from recent setbacks, presenting an opportune moment to strike decisively and secure a swift victory. The only remaining question was how aggressively to pursue this goal. Colonel Terada Masao, a senior staff officer within the 10th Army, spoke first. “The Chinese Army is currently retreating toward the capital. We should cross that line and pursue the enemy straight to Nanjing.” Major Iketani Hanjiro, a staff officer recently attached to the fast-moving 6th Division, then offered his input “From a tactical perspective, I completely agree with Terada that we should cross the line, but the decision to attack Nanjing should be considered not just tactically, but also politically. It's not that field commanders can't create a fait accompli to pressure our superiors in Tokyo. However, we must proceed with great caution”. A staff officer raised this question  “What if Tokyo orders us to pull back those smaller units?” Iketani responded “In that case, we will, of course, withdraw them to this side of the line”. Ultimately, Iketani's cautions were set aside, and Terada's aggressive approach prevailed. The majority agreed that the tactical circumstances presented a rare opportunity. Japanese troops in the Shanghai area were poised to advance west, not through small, individual skirmishes but with a substantial deployment of their forces. Officers estimated that if a decisive push was made immediately, Nanjing could fall into Japanese hands within 20 days. However Colonel Kawabe Torashiro, the newly appointed chief of the Army General Staff's Operations Section suddenly arrived at the theater. He was sent on a mission to assess whether the Central China Area Army should be granted greater operational freedom. It was well known in Tokyo that field officers were eager to capitalize on the momentum created by the collapse of Chinese defenses around Shanghai. Kawabe's task was to explore the possibility of allowing forces to cross the line from Suzhou to Jiaxing and move westward in pursuit of the retreating enemy. However, Kawabe was staunchly opposed to further military adventures in China. Kawabe was part of the dwindling faction of "China doves" within the Japanese military. As early as the summer of 1937, he had become alarmed by a letter from a civilian Japanese visitor to the Chinese mainland, warning that Japanese officers were attempting to engineer an “incident” with China to provoke open conflict. This would provide Japan with a pretext to expand its influence in northern China. Kawabe had attempted to alert his superiors, but his warnings fell on deaf ears. They had been lulled into a false sense of security by reports from China that dismissed all talk of war-mongering as baseless and alarmist. When he arrived to the front he stated “I am here to inspect conditions on the ground so that a final decision can be made on where to establish the operational restriction line”. Alongside him came General Akira Muto, recently appointed the commander of the Central China Area Army. He also happened to be one of the architects of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. Muto responded promptly: “The line currently stretches from Suzhou to Jiaxing, but we should consider crossing it. This will help us achieve our overall objectives in the theater.” Muto continued, arguing that the 10th Army should be permitted to advance to Huzhou, south of Lake Tai, effectively cutting off communications between Nanjing and the strategic city of Hangzhou. He further claimed that the Shanghai Expeditionary Force should be allowed to capture the vital city of Jiangyin, suggesting, perhaps overly optimistically, that its loss could lead to the fall of Chiang Kai-shek. Ultimately, Muto insisted, Nanjing should also be seized, which he asserted would bring an end to the war. Kawabe listened patiently, a practice he would repeat in the following days as other field officers echoed similar sentiments, eagerly expressing their desire to advance all the way to Nanjing. Yanagawa and his 10th Army exemplified this aggressive mindset. Nevertheless, just as the hawks within the Japanese military and the nation's political leadership appeared to be prevailing in the struggle over China policy, they faced unexpected challenges from a different direction. Germany, a power with ambiguous sympathies in East Asia, was quietly engaged in negotiations aimed at bringing peace. Oskar Trautmann, Germany's ambassador to China, had maintained an objective and neutral stance when he met with Chiang Kai-shek in early November to relay Japan's conditions for initiating peace talks. These conditions included extensive concessions in northern China, such as the withdrawal of all Chinese troops to a line south of Beijing and the establishment of a pro-Japanese regime in Inner Mongolia, bordering the Soviet-controlled Mongolian People's Republic. Chiang dismissed these demands outright, but Trautmann and his superiors in Beijing continued their top-secret efforts. Germany's motivation for seeking an end to the Sino-Japanese War was not rooted in a genuine love for peace, but rather in their embarrassment over witnessing their old Asian ally, China, fighting against their new partner, Japan. Herman Göring, president of the Reichstag and a leading figure in the Nazi party, told a Chinese visitor, “China and Japan are both friends of Germany. The Sino-Japanese War has put Germany between Scylla and Charybdis. That's why Germany is ready to seize the chance to become a mediator.” Germany also feared that a prolonged conflict in China could jeopardize its commercial interests in East Asia and weaken Japan's capacity to confront the Soviet Union, potentially freeing Moscow to allocate more resources to a fight in Europe. In essence, continued hostilities could significantly harm Germany. Japanese field commanders were frustrated by Germany's mediation efforts.  When news of Trautmann's mission leaked, the German diplomat faced severe criticism in the Chinese media, which deemed any negotiation with the "Japanese devils" unacceptable. Additionally, there was the matter of China's ties with the Soviet Union; employing a German mediator raised the possibility of cooperation among China, Japan, and Germany, potentially expanding the anti-Soviet bloc, which would, in turn, pressure Moscow to increase its support for China. By mid-November, however, the complexities of this diplomatic game started unraveling and then Japan took action. At 7:00 am on November 19, Yanagawa issued instructions to his troops in the field. “The enemy's command system is in disarray, and a mood of defeat has descended over their entire army. They have lost the will to fight. The main Chinese forces were retreating west of the line stretching from Suzhou to Jiaxing, and this withdrawal was soon likely to spiral into a full-scale retreat. We must not miss the opportunity to pursue the enemy to Nanjing.” I would like to take this time to remind you all that this podcast is only made possible through the efforts of Kings and Generals over at Youtube. Please go subscribe to Kings and Generals over at Youtube and to continue helping us produce this content please check out www.patreon.com/kingsandgenerals. If you are still hungry after that, give my personal channel a look over at The Pacific War Channel at Youtube, it would mean a lot to me. Shanghai had fallen, and the Japanese forces pursued their fleeing enemy further west. However they had orders to halt, but would they? Officers from top down deliberating on the issue, with the vast majority pushing for a drive to Nanjing. They thought it represented the end objective of the conflict. They would all be very wrong. 

After a brief intro, I jump into the four (very random) China stories of the week (1:25), followed by a deep dive into how the Babylon Bee recently (no joke) promoted Falun Gong, a Chinese Buddhist cult (23:31). For the final five or so minutes, I go through all of the Pray for China cities to "remember" this week. (52:12). Welcome to China Compass on the Fight Laugh Feast Network! I'm your China travel guide, Missionary Ben. Follow me (@chinaadventures) on Twitter/X where I post new/unique Chinese city prayer profiles every single day. Also, you can email me any questions or comments (bfwesten at gmail dot com) and find everything else, including my books, at PrayGiveGo.us! Pray for China places of the week (Follow @chinaadventures to see which city daily) https://chinacall.substack.com/p/pray-for-china-aug-17-23-2025 Robot Antelopes in Tibet https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/china-deploys-robot-antelope-in-tibet-to-surveil-real-herds China's Strategic Rare Earth Move (50 Years Ago!) https://indiandefencereview.com/in-1978-chinese-engineers-visited-two-major-american-companies-on-their-return-they-founded-an-empire-rare-earths/ All the Peanut Butter in China? https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/charted-peanut-butter-consumption-per-capita-by-country/ Hong Kong to be China's Crypto Hub https://cointelegraph.com/news/china-crypto-liquidation-plans-reveal-its-grand-strategy The Bee: 10 Undeniable Reasons Communist China Is Way Better Than America https://babylonbee.com/news/10-undeniable-reasons-communist-china-is-way-better-than-america Not ‘da Bee: Here’s the Falun Gong Streaming Platform That Sponsored the Bee Article https://www.ganjingworld.com/tag/Falun%20Dafa/1699198512775 More About Falun Gong https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Gong https://www.ucanews.com/news/falun-gongs-secrets-for-surviving-in-china/85660 Final Thoughts on Falun Gong: Not a typical cult, but close (ie, mysterious god-like leader, etc) Not Christian at all, but has some political/practical overlap (right wing, anti-big gov) Better organized than Christians (calls, vpns, hackers, promotions) Follow or subscribe to China Compass and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform. And don’t forget: Follow @chinaadventures on X, and find everything else @ PrayGiveGo.us. Luke 10, verse 2, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Talk to you again soon!