Podcast appearances and mentions of joanna chiu

This week, NüVoices co-founder and host Joanna Chiu spoke to returning guest Emily Feng about her new book, Let Only Red Flowers Bloom: Identity and Belonging in Xi Jinping's China. In this episode, Emily and Joanna discuss her recent reporting trip to Syria, how her waiting at the Beijing Airport inspired her to write a book about identity in China, and how important the idea of being Chinese is to non-Chinese people and government policies. Emily also talks about her approach to journalism and why she insists on revealing the soft sides of Chinese people who went through some most challenging and difficult events in the wake of censorship and government control.

Happy holiday season to all! This month, we are re-sharing a 2022 episode in honor of Sheila Wiecke, one of the episode's interviewees, who passed away in October 2023 in Vancouver, Canada. Please also check out our free bonus episode where Sheila shares more details about her immigration journey during the Chinese Civil War. In this encore episode of the NüVoices podcast, historians Arlene Chan and Melanie Ng chat with us about the first Chinese migrants who made their way to Canada in the 19th century. From there, Arlene and Melanie retrace the throughline of Chinese Canadian migration, from exclusionary anti-Chinese immigration laws to present-day Sinophobia found in many Western countries today.We also learn about Arlene's trailblazing mother, Jean Lumb, who played a major role in changing Canada's racist immigration laws.Throughout the episode, we hear from Sheila, a Chinese immigrant who came to Canada following the turmoil of WWII and the Chinese Civil War. Many thanks to Solarina Ho, who hosted this episode and Joanna Chiu, who recorded Sheila's riveting first-hand account of her immigration journey.

Can a newspaper commit treason? The NSICOP report singles out China as the biggest foreign influence on Canadian media (and it's more than just advertorial inserts.) Joanna Chiu joins us to unpack the scale and scope of foreign propaganda campaigns in Canada.Is the daily coverage of campus protest encampments a form of bias, and what sorts of stories are getting missed as a result? Jesse responds to some tough questions about bias in the coverage of the war in Gaza.Host: Jesse BrownCredits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Max Collins (Production Manager), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)Guest: Joanna Chiu Further reading: Marc Edge: If the NSICOP report on foreign interference won't name Canadian media outlets, I will - The HubA website spread disinformation about Canada. Why did major Indian outlets treat it as news? - Toronto Star Toronto 'Walk with Israel' event held amid high security, faceoffs with protesters | Ontario News | thecanadianpressnews.caYouth's death shows more mental health supports needed in Winnipeg, Muslim community members say | CBC News Grade 3 students ‘terrorized' after Ontario man walks into gym class, goes on tirade | Globalnews.caHow a student petition on Israel sent a law school's progressive ideals crashing into Bay Street's hard realities - The Globe and MailRCMP arrest Quebec man with 3D-printed gun, charge him with anti-Jewish hate speech - Montreal GazetteHow we're tracking AI Incidents around global elections - Rest of World Sponsors: Squarespace, oxio, AG1 If you value this podcast, Support us! You'll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, China reporter at Axios, joins host Joanna Chiu to dive deep into her latest book, Beijing Rules. In its pages, Bethany details China's sophisticated strategy of leveraging its economic prowess, manipulating both access and denial, to shape the behavior of individuals, governments, and companies globally.Bethany illustrates how entities are compelled not just to avoid crossing Beijing's red lines, but also to actively support the CCP's interests. Joanna and Bethany discuss the exclusive reporting covered in the book, including China's interference in a Zoom memorial for the Tiananmen massacre and the misuse of the Sister City programs. The latter reveals how an initiative meant to foster exchanges between local governments has been exploited by Beijing to undermine US interactions with Taiwan.Yet, as Bethany emphasizes, this situation isn't set in stone. With the right policies, democracies can safeguard their values while still fostering economic relations with China. She critiques the prevailing assumption that economic freedom and democratic freedom are one and the same. One suggestion is to put sanctions on Chinese companies that execute Beijing's authoritarian censorship.Don't miss this compelling episode where challenging questions are posed about democracy's relationship with commerce in an increasingly interconnected world.

This week, NüVoices host and co-founder Joanna Chiu speaks to Canadian journalist and author Jan Wong. Jan was one of very few foreigners able to travel to China during the Cultural Revolution where she talked herself into studying at Peking University before working as a news assistant in the New York Times' first Beijing bureau. Back then, the “office” consisted of two rooms in the Peking Hotel, one for the journalist and one that Jan shared with the driver and an interpreter. Jan Wong details how she then went on to hone her journalism skills at Columbia's School of Journalism, eventually working as a business reporter for the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail. When an opportunity came up to work as a foreign correspondent at The Globe and Mail's Beijing Bureau, Jan made it her mission to get the role. After landing the job, Jan describes what it was like reporting from China during the 1980s, a bubbling tension that eventually culminated in the Tiananmen Massacre which Jan not only reported on but witnessed from a hotel overlooking the square. Joanna speaks to Jan about life as a student during the Cultural Revolution and her journey into journalism, as well as the advantages of being a Chinese-Canadian when reporting from China. They also delve into the current relations between China and Canada, and the alleged secret police stations that the CCP has been setting across Canada and the United States.May is Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month in Canada and the United States! This month, we're partnering with House of Anansi, Canada's leading indie publisher. Throughout the month of May, 10% of book sales on HouseofAnansi.com will be donated to NüVoices. Check out their online shop to support independent publishing and our work too! Thank you so much to House of Anansi for partnering with us. 

U.S. President Joe Biden wrapped up his visit to Ottawa with a strong pitch for creating even closer ties between Canada and the United States. ‘The West Block' host Mercedes Stephenson speaks to David Cohen, U.S. Ambassador to Canada, to find out what that future looks like in real terms. As allegations of Chinese election interference continue to dominate headlines, many in the Chinese Canadian community say this has been a problem they have warned about for years. ‘The West Block' host Mercedes Stephenson speaks with Cheuk Kwan, co-chair of the Toronto Association for Democracy in China, and Joanna Chiu, reporter for The Toronto Star and author of ‘China Unbound' about just how pervasive China's meddling is in Canada.

This episode, we cover the implications of China meddling in our democracy, and the future of electric vehicles in Canada. But we begin the show with tragic breaking news: the murders of two Edmonton Police officers, killed while responding to a domestic call at an apartment block west of downtown.  0:55 | Edmonton Police constables Travis Jordan and Brett Ryan were shot and killed in the line of duty early Thursday morning. Ryan begins the show reflecting on our inability as civilians to truly understand the inherent risks of this profession, and the rise of domestic violence calls in Alberta and across the country.  WATCH OUR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ROUND TABLE FROM MARCH 8: https://www.youtube.com/live/ImTTTk_tYoI?feature=share&t=100 12:07 | The Government of Canada closes comments on its proposed zero-emission vehicles regulations on the day we're recording this episode. The Pembina Institute's transportation director Adam Thorn explains why the regulations matter, and what the EV landscape might look like two, five, and ten years down the road.  OF NOTE: Edmonton experienced a minor earthquake during this interview! Check out Ryan's camera shaking around 12:12.  CHECK OUT THE PEMBINA INSTITUTE: https://www.pembina.org/ 29:40 | Did you see Ryan's camera shaking around the 12:12 mark? While we didn't feel much in the studio, astute Real Talkers like "Arty Miss" in the YouTube live chat let us know we'd experienced a minor earthquake. We take a look at the evidence from Environment Canada. Fascinating stuff!  35:57 | Do you have confidence in Canada's democracy? Do you trust recent election results? Joanna Chiu is a B.C.-based journalist covering national and international news for the Star. A former correspondent in Hong Kong and Beijing, and a graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism, she is the author of "China Unbound," which examines the global political impacts of China's rise. We guarantee you'll better understand the bigger picture around Beijing's end game after catching this interview. Fascinating stuff.  FOLLOW JOANNA ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/joannachiu READ HER WORK IN THE STAR: https://www.thestar.com/authors.chiu_joanna.html ORDER HER BOOK: https://houseofanansi.com/products/china-unbound 1:14:40 | Are you following Real Talk on TikTok? Recent posts have been going off, including hundreds of comments from Real Talkers just like you! When we say this is Canada's most engaged talk audience, we've got the receipts!  Calling all golfers: registration is officially open for the second-annual Real Talk Golf Classic! Join us Thursday, June 22 at 2pm at The Ranch Golf & Country Club in support of the Real Talk Julie Rohr Scholarship. It's easily the most fun golf tournament in Edmonton, and it's guaranteed to sell out. Secure your foursome today!  SIGN UP: https://ryanjespersen.com/real-talk-g... SPONSORSHIP INQUIRIES: golf@ryanjespersen.com   WEBSITE: https://ryanjespersen.com/ TWITTER: https://twitter.com/RealTalkRJ INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/RealTalkRJ/ TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@realtalkrj PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/ryanjespersen THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR SPONSORS! https://ryanjespersen.com/sponsors The views and opinions expressed in this show are those of the host and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Relay Communications Group Inc. or any affiliates.

Today's guests: Joanna Chiu, Reporter - Toronto Star / Author - "China Unbound" Lisa Raitt, co-chair - Coalition for a Better Future / former Cabinet Minister and Member of Parliament  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our national affairs panel discusses allegations of Chinese government interference in Canadian elections. Matt Galloway talks to Catherine Cullen, host of CBC Radio's The House; Emilie Nicolas, a columnist with Le Devoir; and Joanna Chiu, a reporter with the Toronto Star and author of China Unbound: A New World Disorder.

A Ming Dynasty courtesan who transforms into a zombie. A family of ghosts wreaking havoc on a local hot spring. Elite Hong Kong bankers who are secretly serial killers.  Welcome to the world of Lindsay Wong's new short story collection Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality, a pleasantly grotesque series of "immigrant horror stories." Lindsay joins Joanna Chiu and Megan Cattel to discuss  all things writing, publishing, and why the horror genre attracted Lindsay while writing about Chinese women. She also shares details about why her memoir The Woo-Woo  was deemed "unmarketable" by industry gatekeepers and how Lindsay's stories stray from the model minority myth, which still dominates narratives about Chinese immigrants today. * This episode is the free version publicly available on all our social media platforms. For an extended conversation with Lindsay, sign up to become a Patreon member at www.patreon.com/nuvoices. Membership is just $1 a month! Become a member today to get all of our previous and future bonus episodes. Help us continue publishing independent and ad-free content by subscribing! * 

This episode was originally released May 29, 2021 * Stay tuned for our new season starting on January 25, 2023! *Learn more about Yilin's new upcoming book, The Lantern and the Nightmoths Yilin Wang (she/they) is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, Chinese-English translator, educator, and cultural consultant who was longlisted for the 2020 CBC Poetry Prize and a finalist for the Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction. Her work engages with topics such as Chinese folklore, martial arts literature (wuxia), diaspora identities, gender expectations, migration, and cultural reclamation. Some of Yilin's work translating the Chinese revolutionary feminist Qiū Jǐn's 秋瑾 poetry was recently featured on NüVoices' website.In 2018, Yilin spent months travelling around China for research, leading to the launch of the #LiteraryJianghu Project to promote engagement with wuxia and related Chinese literary traditions.Yilin chats with NüVoices chair Joanna Chiu about the fascinating themes and genres of their work, and about the day-to-day realities and power politics of being a creative writing and translation professional in North America. For further reading from Yilin on racism in Canadian literature, see her Carte Blanche essay here.  Recommendations:  Yilin: The wuxia series Legend of Condor Heroes, translated by Anna Holmwood and Gigi Chang and Grace Lau's debut poetry collection The Language We Were Never Taught to Speak.  Joanna: China: The Novel, by Edward Rutterfurd for an immersive narrative approach to learning about 19th century Chinese history, and Yilin's website!

As 2022 draws to a close, so must this season of the NüVoices podcast. But fear not! Before we sign off for a winter hiatus, we wanted to bring together our team to reflect on the past year. Joanna Chiu, Rui Zhong, Solarina Ho, Megan Cattel, and Saga Ringmar come together to discuss our podcast's highlights, our favorite episodes, and what we hope to achieve next year. We also delve into the anti-COVID lockdown protests that swept China late last month in response to the apartment fire in Urumqi that claimed the lives of ten people. Lastly, co-host Sophia Yan gives a recap of 2022's major events: from the Beijing Olympics, China's aggression toward Taiwan, and the National Party Congress which solidified Xi Jinping's third term. Sophia also gives a glimpse into her latest project, How to Become a Dictator, a podcast series for The Telegraph. Please do check it out wherever you get your podcasts! Thanks for listening and supporting us this year. See you in 2023! 

Guest: Joanna Chiu, staff reporter China saw its largest protests in a generation this week. In more than 20 cities across the country, protesters demanded an end to Beijing's draconian zero-COVID policy, which expanded to dissent against President Xi Jinping's repressive regime. As of this recording, at least six cities across China have since eased COVID restrictions. Some say an end to zero-COVID may be in sight. Did the protests spark change? Has this exposed faultlines in Xi Jinping's previously iron-clad control over China's citizens? Audio sources: CNN, Reuters This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Paulo Marques, Joanna Chiu and Alexis Green.

Chinese president Xi Jinping met with Australia's prime minister Anthony Albanese last week.  It was a first step in a bid to mend relations between the two countries.  China blocked Australian imports of wine, barley, live seafood and beef - among others - in 2020 in response to Australia's criticism of China in the wake of the pandemic.     We're joined by Joanna Chiu - a Vancouver-based journalist for the Toronto Star and the author of 'China Unbound - a new world disorder' to discover why China has taken Australia out of the diplomatic deep freeze.   So what's behind China's bid to welcome us back into the fold?  Is it simply a change of government? Or is China playing a long game?   Headlines: - NSW town evacuated as Lachlan River floods - Seven dead in Walmart shooting in US - Teenager killed in Jerusalem terror attack - Scotland blocked from holding second independence vote - Japan stuns Germany in World Cup upset Follow The Briefing: Instagram: @thebriefingpodcast Facebook: TheBriefingNewsAUTwitter: @TheBriefingAUSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly unveiled Canada's new approach to China last week. For more on what Canada's relationship with China should look like, we hear from Joanna Chiu, a reporter with the Toronto Star and author of China Unbound: A New World Disorder; and David Fung, vice-chair of the Canada China Business Council.

Why is the world's second largest economy struggling? And what are the prospects for an economic turnaround in the coming months? And if it doesn't come to pass, what will a slowing economy spell for the Community Party's longer-term ambitions? For insight, we welcome Joanna Chiu, a Toronto Star senior reporter and author of "China Unbound: A New World Disorder;" and Mary Lovely, economist and Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

JOANNA CHIU, a senior journalist for the Toronto Star, served for years as a foreign correspondent for top European news agencies and the Associated Press. She's written for The Guardian, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic,  Newsweek, and contributes to CBC, BBC World, Al Jazeera, and NPR. Her story on refugees in Hong Kong won a Human Rights Press Award in 2012. CHINA UNBOUND: A New World Disorder is her first book.

Recent headlines: Taiwan Politicians Dismiss Musk's ‘ill-Informed and Belittling' China Comments. In Global Slowdown, China Holds Sway Over Countries' Fates. A Dilemma of US-Trained Chinese Scientists: Stay or Leave? US Tries to Hobble China Chip Industry with New Rules. How did we get here?  How do we navigate our relationship moving forward? I talk with JOANNA CHIU, a senior journalist for the Toronto Star, who served for years on the ground in China as a correspondent for European news agencies and the Associated Press, about her first book, CHINA UNBOUND: A New World Disorder. You can learn more at joannachiu.com

Guest: Enoch Wu, founder of Forward Alliance, a Taiwanese NGO focusing on national security. Last month Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu, a reporter covering national and international news, visited Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy at the centre of growing global tensions. China views Taiwan as a breakaway province that must be reunified, by force if necessary. It's a growing source of conflict that some observers worry could tip into full blown war. Today, Chiu brings us a special conversation with Enoch Wu, the founder of Forward Alliance, on the biggest challenges facing Taiwan. Enoch's interview is part of a larger multimedia package highlighting Taiwanese voices. You can read and watch the entirety of Chiu's series, “View from Taiwan,” on thestar.com. Audio source: NBC This episode was produced by Joanna Chiu, Alexis Green and Paulo Marques.

In this episode of the NüVoices podcast, historians Arlene Chan and Melanie Ng chat with us about the first Chinese migrants who made their way to Canada in the 19th century. From there, Arlene and Melanie retrace the throughline of Chinese Canadian migration, from exclusionary anti-Chinese immigration laws to present-day sinophobia found in many Western countries today. We also learn about Arlene's trailblazing mother, Jean Lumb, who played a major role in changing Canada's racist immigration laws. Throughout the episode, we hear from Sheila, a Chinese immigrant in her 80's who came to Canada following the turmoil of WWII and the Chinese Civil War. Many thanks to Solarina Ho, who hosted this episode and Joanna Chiu, who recorded Sheila's riveting first-hand account of her immigration journey. 

Joanna Chiu is the author of the book, China Unbound. The Toronto Star reporter spent about a decade living in Hong Kong. Her family is of Chinese descent. We explore the rise of this super power, and where that came from since the past 'Century of Humiliation'  for the country.  Joanna also sheds light on underground churches, and the overt way the Republic watches over its people, including in Canada.

We're kicking off our fall 2022 season with a special conversation between Emily Feng of NPR and Joanna Chiu, NüVoices chair and co-founder.  In this episode, Emily walks us through her hard-hitting reporting from the frontlines in Ukraine to a viral controversy surrounding her radio report on 螺螄粉 luósīfěn, snail noodles.  Emily also discusses the beginning of her journalism career in China—from freelancing, landing a job at the Financial Times, and eventually becoming NPR's Beijing correspondent in 2019, where she is still based today. We also get a behind-the-scenes look at how Emily reported her Rough Translation episode on  丧文化, the sang subculture, which took the Chinese internet by storm last year. (Check out your podcast feed where we crossposted this episode on August 24th, 2022. A special thank you NPR and Rough Translation!) 

Guest: Joanna Chiu, staff reporter U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking American official to visit Taiwan in 25 years earlier this week. The visit lasted only 19 hours but was long enough to infuriate the Chinese government. Hours after Pelosi landed, Beijing announced unprecedented military drills off the coast of Taiwan. The standoff continued on Friday, with China suspending dialogue with the U.S. on a range of issues from climate change to military relations to cross border crime. Star reporter Joanna Chiu, Toronto Star staff reporter and author of author of the book “China Unbound,” explains the significance of this week's visit, why there are worries about war and what an ensuing conflict could mean for Canada. This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Alexis Green and Matthew Hearn Clip sources: CNN, The Sun, Yahoo News, Bloomberg, The Print

Joanna Chiu, Toronto Star Journalist discusses what Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, means for US & Canadian-Chinese relations moving forward, after the U.S. House Speaker defied Chinese orders to not visit the nation

A look into the shortage of 911 operators at ECOMM  Don Grant, Emergency Communication Professional of BC President discusses the amount of staff ECOMM would need to operate with no wait times for those calling 911 Legendary baseball broadcaster Vin Scully dies at 94 Rob Fai, Broadcaster and Radio Host and former Play-by-play voice for the Vancouver Canadians discusses the legacy of the late great Los Angeles Dodgers broadcast Vin Scully who passed away at the age of 94. Inaugural Valley West Stampede set to get underway in Langley, B.C.  Shelia Hicks, president of the Valley West Stampede discusses what to expect from the inaugural Valley West Stampeded set to hit Langley this labour day weekend BC makes changes to electric vehicle rebates  Jeremy Cato, Vancouver correspondent for Automotive News Canada, three time Automotive Journalist of the Year and you can find him online at www.CatoCarGuy.com discusses the latest changes to EV rebates in BC Lululemon founder Chip Wilson donates $380,000 to support right-leaning candidates in upcoming B.C. municipal elections  Dan Fumano, City Columnist for the Vancouver Sun gives us the details on Lululemon founder Chip Wilson's latest political donations. Do Not Feed the Bear!  Caeley Thacker, Wildlife Veterinarian discusses the dangers of feeding wildlife, as it may lead to the animal having to be put down. China responds after Nancy Pelosi visits Taiwan, defying Chinese warnings  Joanna Chiu, Toronto Star Journalist discusses what Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan, means for US & Canadian-Chinese relations moving forward, after the U.S. House Speaker defied Chinese orders to not visit the nation

Professor Lynette Ong joins us on the podcast this week to discuss her new book Outsourcing Repression: Everyday State Power in Contemporary China. While in conversation with Joanna Chiu, Lynette discusses China's use of nonstate actors who minimize resistance during government land grabs, housing demolitions, and (perhaps most notably) tracking foreign journalists while conducting sensitive reporting in China. Who are these nonstate actors? How are they recruited and why are they hired? Lynette's research fills in the gaps, gathered as the window narrowed and closed for China's civil society in recent years.This episode concludes this season of the NüVoices podcast! Subscribe for exciting feed drops with affiliated podcasts this summer. Catch us in September for new episodes. Thank you for listening.  About Outsourcing Repression:  "How do states coerce citizens into compliance while simultaneously minimizing backlash? In Outsourcing Repression, Lynette H. Ong examines how the Chinese state engages nonstate actors, from violent street gangsters to nonviolent grassroots brokers, to coerce and mobilize the masses for state pursuits, while reducing costs and minimizing resistance. She draws on ethnographic research conducted annually from 2011 to 2019--the years from Hu Jintao to Xi Jinping, a unique and original event dataset, and a collection of government regulations in a study of everyday land grabs and housing demolition in China. Theorizing a counterintuitive form of repression that reduces resistance and backlash, Ong invites the reader to reimagine the new ground state power credibly occupies. Everyday state power is quotidian power acquired through society by penetrating nonstate territories and mobilizing the masses within. Ong uses China's urbanization scheme as a window of observation to explain how the arguments can be generalized to other country contexts."

Nancy Wu, a masterful voice actress and audiobook narrator, joins the NüVoices podcast this week to talk about her storied career. She has narrated the “Avatar the Last Airbender” prequels by F.C. Yee and Michael Dante Di Martino, the "X-Men Mutant Empire" series for Marvel, and books by Amy Tan, Cixin Liu, Ken Liu and Sayaka Murata. You may also recognize Nancy's voice in the audiobook for China Unbound, written by NüVoices board member Joanna Chiu!In this episode, Joanna and Nancy discuss the importance of diversity in the audiobook industry, preparing for a studio session, navigating accents, pronunciation (especially nailing those Mando/Canto tones), cultural sensitivity, and more. Nancy also discusses the challenges of being pigeonholed as a "Chinese audiobook narrator" and how BIPOC voice actors should be given stories that encompass more than just their ethnicities. 

This week, journalist and former foreign correspondent Katie Stallard joins the NüVoices podcast in a special, live stream recording to celebrate the launch of her new book Dancing on Bones: History and Power in China, Russia and North Korea. Katie discusses her writing and research process, the significance and perspectives of WWII within these three authoritarian countries, and her analysis of Russia's current invasion of Ukraine. Joanna Chiu, NüVoices founder and board member, moderates this conversation. ABOUT DANCING ON BONES: "History didn't end. Democracy didn't triumph. America's leading role in the world is no longer assured. Instead, autocrats and populist strongmen are on the rise, and the global order established after 1945 is under attack. This is the phenomenon Katie Stallard tackles in Dancing on Bones, as she examines how the leaders of China, Russia, and North Korea manipulate the past to serve the present and secure the future of authoritarian rule...These three states consistently top lists of threats to US and European security, and yet the leaders of all three insist that it is their country that is threatened, rewriting history and exploiting the memory of the wars of the last century to justify their actions and shore up popular support. Since coming to power, Xi Jinping has almost doubled the length of China's World War II, Vladimir Putin has elevated the memory of the Great Patriotic War to the status of a national religion, and Kim Jong Un has invested vast sums in rebuilding war museums in his impoverished state, while those who try to challenge the official version of history are silenced and jailed. But this didn't start with Putin, Xi, and Kim, and it won't end with them. Drawing on first-hand, on-the-ground reporting, Dancing on Bones argues that if we want to understand where these three nuclear powers are heading, we must understand the stories they are telling their citizens about the past." 

The Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu discusses her book, China Unbound: A New World Disorder, which argues that we need to go beyond the typical over-simplifications of democratic West versus autocratic China if we hope to engage China in a way that seriously addresses issues such as human rights, climate change, and economic development.

Joanna Chiu has spent a decade tracking China's propulsive rise, from the political aspects of its multi-billion-dollar “New Silk Road” global investment project to its growing sway over foreign countries and multilateral institutions through “United Front” efforts. For too long, Western societies have mishandled or simply ignored Beijing's actions, out of narrow self-interest. Over time, Chiu argues, decades of willful misinterpretation have become harmful complicity in the toxic diplomacy, human rights abuses and foreign interference seen from China today. https://twitter.com/joannachiu  https://www.joannachiu.com/  https://www.arts.ubc.ca/alumni-profile/joanna-chiu/  HELP ME CROWDFUND MY GAMESTOP BOOK. Go to https://wen-moon.com to join the crowdfunding campaign and pre-order To The Moon: The GameStop Saga! If you haven't already and you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to this podcast and our mailing list, and don't forget, my book, Brexit: The Establishment Civil War, is now out, you'll find the links in the description below. You can listen to the show on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/5AYWZh12d92D4PDASG4McB?si=5835f2cf172d47cd&nd=1  Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chatter/id1273192590  Google Podcasts - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5wb2RpYW50LmNvL2NoYXR0ZXIvcnNzLnhtbA  And all major podcast platforms.  Watch Us On Odysee.com - https://odysee.com/$/invite/@TheJist:4   Sign up and watch videos to earn crypto-currency!  Buy Brexit: The Establishment Civil War - https://amzn.to/39XXVjq  Mailing List - https://www.getrevue.co/profile/thejist  Twitter - https://twitter.com/Give_Me_TheJist  Website - https://thejist.co.uk/  Music from Just Jim – https://soundcloud.com/justjim 

In this week's episode of Horns of a Dilemma, we hear from Joanna Chiu, author of China Unbound: A New World Disorder. Informed by over a decade reporting on human rights in China, Chiu brings a nuanced view of the way in which Western leaders, both those who had faith in the ability of capitalism to bring democratic reform, and those who adopted a hard-nosed realpolitik view, have been complicit in China's rise and have enabled widespread suppression of free expression and human rights abuses by the Chinese Communist Party.  Chiu illuminates the role of economics, power politics, and the narrow pursuit of Western self-interest in helping to give rise to a Chinese state that stands opposed to Western values. This talk was given at the University of Texas, Austin as part of the Asia Policy Program, sponsored jointly by the Clements Center for National Security and the Strauss Center for International Security and Law. Chiu is introduced by Professor Sheena Greitens, founding director of the Asia Policy Program.

Fergus Ryan speaks to China expert Joanna Chiu about her new book ‘China Unbound: A new world disorder'. They discuss the changing attitudes towards China in Western countries and the importance of developing China expertise. Critical and emerging technologies are quickly becoming a key focus area of geopolitical competition. Karly Winkler speaks to Bonnie Glick about the newly established Center for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue and the links between technology advances and national interests. Anastasia Kapetas speaks to Gidon Bromberg about climate and security in the Middle East. They discuss the ‘green blue deal' concept and climate progress in the region. Guests (in order of appearance): Fergus Ryan: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/fergus-ryan Joanna Chiu: https://www.joannachiu.com/about Karly Winkler: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/karly-winkler The Hon. Bonnie Glick: https://techdiplomacy.org/member/the-hon-bonnie-glick/ Anastasia Kapetas: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/anastasia-kapetas Gidon Bromberg: https://twitter.com/gidonb

Happy Year of the Tiger to our listeners! Our first podcast of the year is with journalist and business trends researcher Crystal Tai. She talks about her work across East Asia, the challenges of working as a non-visible "foreign correspondent" in South Korea, and how culture can reveal geopolitical tensions between countries around the world.  The conversation is hosted by Joanna Chiu, our intrepid founder who has returned from book leave!  Crystal has been based in South Korea and Hong Kong as a journalist since 2010. Just a few of her memorable stories include ones where she infiltrated a K-pop training academy to report on the behind-the-scenes of the industry; navigating the -30 C streets of Ulaanbaatar to report on Mongolia's street style scene; and speaking to students and frontline workers during the 2019-2020 Hong Kong Protests. Crystal's book, Honjok, co-written with an American sociologist, is a work of nonfiction that takes a look at South Korea's fascinating new solo-lifestyle movement. 

In Episode 102 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg interviews Joanna Chiu, author of China Unbound: A New World Disorder, on the precipitous rise of the People's Republic as a world power, and the dilemmas this poses for human rights and democracy around the planet. How can we reconcile the imperative to resist the globalization of China's police state and to oppose the ugly Sinophobia which is rising in the West, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? Some Chinese dissidents living in exile in the US have even been co-opted by Trumpism. Chiu argues that stigmatization and misinterpretation of diaspora ethnic Chinese plays into the hands of Beijing's propaganda. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon. https://www.patreon.com/countervortex Production by Chris Rywalt We ask listeners to donate just per weekly episode via Patreon. We now have 23 subscribers. If you appreciate our work, please become Number 24!

In early December, the administration of US President Joe Biden convened a mostly virtual democracy summit, in which some of the world's largest economies were invited to participate and provide a clear framing of the agenda - and a clear poke in the eye of China and Russia. In response, Chinese state media trolled Biden with Harry Potter jokes about the fallibility of democracy as a system, and then went back to their regular efforts to redefine international norms and present its top-down authoritarian system as not just legitimate but ideologically superior to liberal multiparty democracies. This week we're very excited to have Toronto Star reporter Joanna Chiu join the podcast to discuss her book, "China Unbound: A New World Disorder," which presents eight different case studies of recent tensions and conflicts Western countries have had with China's rise which help illustrate this fundamental question of how Beijing is reacting to a series of challenges. Chiu's book examines Canada's infamously naive experience with China and the arrest of the "two Michaels," but also looks at the encroachment on Hong Kong, the persecution of underground churches, Australia's economic dependence, and the vast expansion of China's surveillance police state. Taken altogether, we can see China's drive toward authoritarianism as being shaped from the distrust of past colonial experiences, but the new world order they are creating - with little effective resistance - leaves many questions open.

The Women's Tennis Association has suspended all events in China over concerns for the Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai. Her safety has become a matter of international concern after she posted sexual assault allegations against former Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli and then disappeared from public view. She has since reappeared and has said she is safe and well but there are still concerns for her wellbeing. Last week China's foreign ministry said it was not a diplomatic matter and the issue had been maliciously hyped up. In a timely new book, 'China Unbound: A New World Disorder', the journalist Joanna Chiu says that for far too long western societies have mishandled or ignored Beijing's actions, out of narrow self-interest. She believes decades of wilful misinterpretations have, over time, become complicit in the toxic diplomacy, human rights abuses, and foreign interference China engages in today. Joanna speaks to Krupa Padhy about Peng Shuai, the #metoo movement in China and her work as founder and chair of NuVoices, which highlights and supports women working on the subject of China. Back in the summer a parliamentary report came out about women in the armed forces. It was put together by the Defence Sub-Committee on Women in the Armed Forces which gathered evidence from four thousand women involved in the army now and in the past. It made for very bad reading. Stories of bullying, harassment, discrimination came to light, as well as sexual assault and rape. That report duly went to the Government, which today makes public whether or not it's upheld the Committee's recommendations. Pregnant women say they are worried about catching Covid at work and not is enough is being done to keep them safe, that's according to a recent survey by the UK maternity rights charity Maternity Action. It recently surveyed just over 400 women who worked in different settings from offices to factories and chemical plants. Ros Bragg is the director at Maternity Action A new podcast "You're Not My Mum: The Stepmum's Side" was launched last week on BBC Sounds. Katie Harrison is the host and she's passionate about raising awareness of the complexities and realities of being a modern stepmother. She joins Krupa Padhy to talk about some of the challenges along with Suzie Hayman who is a counsellor and spokesperson for the parenting charity Family Lives and author of "Be A Great Step-Parent." Today Angela Merkel receives her official farewell as Germany's chancellor, it's a position she has held for the last 16 years. A special ceremony will take place in Berlin this evening where music of the Chancellor's choice will be performed by a military band. More than a few eyebrows have been raised after the Chancellor picked a track by Nina Hagen also known as the Grandmother of Punk Rock. BBC Berlin Correspondent Jenny Hill and historian Katja Hoyer join Krupa Padhy to discuss Angela Merkel's legacy, her musical choices and Nina Hagen.

I wanted to let you know that Sinocism has launched a podcast. It is free and my initial plan is to produce 2-3 new episodes per month. The first three episodes are conversations with Chris Johnson on Xi and the 6th Plenum, Joanna Chiu on her new book “China Unbound” and Chen Long on the economy and the 6th Plenum.

Episode Notes:Today's guest is Joanna Chiu, a long-time journalist covering China from both inside and outside the country, co-founder and chair of the editorial collective 'NüVoices 女性之音', and the author of the new book "China Unbound." She now covers Canada-China issues for the Toronto Star. Joanna, welcome to the podcast.4:20 on Huawei, Meng Wanzhou and the two Michaels - when the whole Huawei, Meng Wanzhou saga was unfolding, I got so many questions from not just Canadian journalists, but media around the world about what was going on. I think it's surprising to us because we've been in the China-watching bubble, but more broadly, what happened was very shocking for a lot of people all over the world23:20 people like me and my family aren't fully accepted as Canadians or as Australians or as Americans, it's always like a hyphen, like Chinese-Canadian, Chinese-American. That just plays into what Beijing wants. When people of Chinese descent are taken as political prisoners or get calls from Chinese police saying, "Stop supporting Hong Kong on social media or stop doing this," these people get less attention. They're not taken seriously when they try to report what's happening because unfortunately a lot of people in the West have accepted the CCP's myth that we're still essentially Chinese36:20 on Canada-China relations - in Canada, the mood after the Michaels returned and the Meng case was resolved is that they really want to go back to business as usual. To not have any kind of plan in place on how to prevent Canadian hostages from being taken in the future. The Prime Ministers office really steering this even though other parts of government was like, "We need some sort of plan, we need some sort of update to foreign policy in general." There's very little political will.Links: China Unbound on Amazon. Joanna Chiu’s websiteNüVoices 女性之音Transcript:Bill:Hi everyone, today's guest is Joanna Chiu, a long-time journalist covering China from both inside and outside the country, co-founder and chair of the editorial collective 'NüVoices', and the author of the new book "China Unbound." She now covers Canada-China issues for the Toronto Star. Joanna, welcome to the podcast.Joanna:Thank you Bill, thanks for having me on your new podcast, very exciting.Bill:Thanks, yeah you are the second guest, and so I'm really happy to have this opportunity to speak with you. Before we dig into your book, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you ended up where you are and doing what you do?Joanna:Okay. I guess my bio is that my family is one of the many who left Hong Kong after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests because my parents were worried about what would happen going forward. So growing up in Canada, I felt that China was actually part of my whole family story because what happened led to my family uprooting themselves. So I was always really interested in China and studied Chinese history and wanted to return to be a reporter to chronicle what was happening in the country, which I was so fascinated by.Joanna:So I started reporting on the ground in Hong Kong in 2012, covering all the things that happened there including the Occupy to pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong. I moved to Beijing in 2014 and that's where I started covering basically everything in the whole country for European media outlets, including German, Deutsche Presse-Agentur, and AFP (Agence France-Presse). And I guess my career was a bit unique in that I also free-lanced for several stints. So I got to kind of get a sense of what many different jurisdictions and countries wanted to know about China in my time there writing for all sorts of outlets.Bill:Interesting and so I was there until 2015 and I think we overlapped for just about a year. When did you actually leave China to go back to Canada?Joanna:Yeah, I left China in late 2018. I wanted to stay for longer because even seven years on the ground I felt I barely got to scratch the surface of all the things that I could write about in China. Especially because I had such a broad remit where I was a front-line reporter for all of these major events but also could do basically any feature story I wanted. So it was just totally open and I could have stayed there for decades, but I had to go back to Canada. I got asthma from the smog and I think my Canadian lungs just couldn't handle air. I was just like really allergic to Beijing as soon as I landed and I stuck it out for four years. But back in Canada, I felt I would have to move on from my passion and interest in China, but a couple of months after I returned, Meng Wanzhou, a Huawei executive was detained in the Vancouver International Airport. And just over a week later, two Michaels were detained. So definitely I think that was the biggest China story at the time, and it continued to be very impactful around the world.Joanna:So I started covering that and it just led to basically being a reporter for the Toronto Star, focusing on China. And that's what I've been doing since then. I have also been working on my book since early 2019. So not my plan, but definitely the past decade has been very China focused, including my last few years.Bill:It's great, I've always been a fan of your work, and I will say, it's very interesting how many foreign correspondents used to live in China have left the country. Some willingly, some not willingly, but how it turns out how most of them have found jobs covering how China's impacting the world wherever they're now based.Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative).Bill:I think that's a good segue into talking about your book because it really is true that the China story is everywhere now. And that's something, I think, you try and capture in "China Unbound." So tell us who you wrote it for, why you wrote it, and what do you hope that the readers take away from it?Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative). So when the whole Huawei, Meng Wanzhou saga was unfolding, I got so many questions from not just Canadian journalists, but media around the world about what was going on. I think it's surprising to us because we've been in the China-watching bubble, but more broadly, what happened was very shocking for a lot of people all over the world. They didn't know the context of Beijing's political system and its increasing ... how its authoritarianism translates also into its foreign policy and its stances towards different countries and diaspora groups all over the world. But these things were not just stories I covered, but stories that were close to my life. Because growing up, my father worked for a Chinese-Canadian radio station and people were talking already then about pressure to self-censor, pressure from the Chinese embassy on Canadian media outlets. This was happening in the 90s and people of Chinese descent around the world were trying to have discussions about this, but basically not really getting much traction or broader public attention.Joanna:It did seem ... I will ask you if this is what you felt, but it took two white men from Canada being taken hostage over this high-profile executive's arrest in Canada for a lot of people in the world to be like, "Wait, what's going on? How will Beijing's political system and authoritarianism possibly impact me and my family or my country or my business?" So I wrote this book for basically everyone, targeting the general reader because I really try to be as immediate as possible in my writing. Most of the reporting is eyewitness reporting from myself in collaboration with journalists around the world and looking at how we got to this point. Western countries and China, how we got to this point where it seems like a lot of obstacles that seem insurmountable. All of these tensions, all of these worries.Joanna:I wanted for people to start with this book and then I provided this long reading list at the end so they can continue to be engaging with these issues. Because I feel that we might not have really noticed, but a lot of the narratives around China in the mainstream public have been very very simplified. And that is a disservice to all countries. And especially to the people who end up being targets and whose lives end up being affected by some of these big conflicts going on.Bill:What you said earlier about it really taking two white men, Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig to get people's attention. It's interesting because these pressures have existed, as you said talking about your father and his experience, but these pressures on the diaspora have existed for decades. They've certainly intensified, and you have multiple instances of ethnic Chinese who are jailed in China, American, Australian, where it didn't seem to kind of capture the national attention the way that the detention of the two Michaels did. And that's unfortunate, but it does feel like the conversation and awareness now has shifted and so there's a lot more awareness that these kind of pressures are existing across all sorts of communities. You can tell me I'm wrong, but the Chinese government has also shifted its approach, hasn't it? Sort of widened its net in terms of how they pressure?Joanna:Yeah, so in the past, you know the united front, a lot of that work of foreign influence in both intimidation and providing carrots and sticks. Flattering global politicians and global members of the elite among the diaspora have been going on, but the most harsh efforts of influence in the past I think were mostly directed at people of Asian descent. It was only in more recent years where the really harsh tactic, the detentions, have been applied to foreign nationals who are not of Asian descent. It seems like that is a deliberate shift in tactics, would you agree?Bill:No, I would. And I think it's interesting when you look at sort of who they've targeted, especially around the Meng Wanzhou case. Two Canadians were very quickly arrested, a third Canadian who had been convicted of dealing drugs had a re-sentence to death. There's still no word about Schellenberg's fate in the wake of the Meng Wanzhou deal. But I think that one thing that's interesting is they've yet to target Caucasian Americans. And so far, certainly what I was fearing in the Meng Wanzhou incident was that ... someone had told me that they had put together lists who they might target but they held back because part of the messaging is they're at least today not quite ready to go toe-to-toe with the U.S.. But willing to penalize countries and the citizens of the countries that are seen as effectively being U.S. allies or lackeys depending on who you're speaking with. Does that make sense?Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yeah, that makes sense. And my book, people have said that because I'm Canadian and I spotlight countries and experiences like Australia, Italy, Greece, Turkey. So so-called middle powers, that middle-power perspective, whereas many books out of the U.S. and China have it from the U.S. perspective.Bill:Right, right.Joanna:And I think that's important context for Americans to understand because in America, it seems like a lot of it is about this almost glorious competition with China where the U.S. has to win. I have been kind of mortified that people commenting on my book have said things like, "We need to read this so that we can win and not let China win." Things like that. But if they had actually read it, they would have probably seen that that's not right. I criticize the Western nations' handling and attitudes towards China as much as I criticize Beijing's actions. So I would also point out that Australian journalists who are white were affecting. Bill Birtles and Michael Smith spent days holed up in their Australian embassies in China. Basically fleeing because they got tipped off that otherwise they might get detained. Related to Australia's more aggressive critical stance towards China as of late.Bill:And also-Joanna:It does seem-Bill:Sorry, was it also related to the detention of Australian Chinese ... Australian journalist Cheng Lei who was originally Chinese then naturalized into Australian citizenship. And she's disappeared into the system in China, right?Joanna:Yeah, so Cheng Lei ... Again, while she's not a global household name like the two Michaels, she is actually detained. Her case ... we know very little about it, but it seems very clear it's related to the political situation between the two countries. And also Bloomberg journal Haze Fan ... and I think actually Haze's case might be as close as China has gotten so far to targeting Americans because even though a Chinese national, she worked for Bloomberg. She was a prominent journalist for Bloomberg. So it's interesting because writing this book, I'm trying to provide this nuance and context for the public but under so much pressure because of global contexts. Things are so tense that it could get worse at any moment and you don't know. You're hearing from your sources about a list that they were preparing of Americans they could possibly target. The stakes are so high.Joanna:Both of us, these are people we know. I don't know if you knew Kovrig, but it's a relief that he's back.Bill:Not well, but I did know a little bit.Joanna:For the more than 1,000 days he was in detention, I was writing this book and that was always on my mind. It's so immediate and it's so urgent for more people to understand what's going on rather than I think fanning the flames or making things worse or not using the opportunities there are to engage more productively with China. But we see the dialogue on China becoming so toxic right now, where it's almost as if there's two camps. The more extreme on both sides seem to get more airtime and interest. And people want those nuggets of talking points on China that really signify this is how we fight back. Rather than the people who are trying to provide a lot more context. It's not as easy as doing this or that to resolve everything or get what you want.Bill:Well with what you said earlier about sort of "we have to win," I have yet to see a clear definition of the theory of victory and what it is. The other thing I'd say, and this will lead into my next question is, we talk about in many ways how toxic the discourse has gotten in the West. It's also incredibly toxic inside China in very worrisome ways. And in many ways, sort of state-supported and state-encouraged ways. One of the questions I want to ask you is how we ... So first question is as you talk about in the book and you've talked about in other places, this whole discussion around Chinese Communist Party influence or interference in other countries ... Whether it's through the United Front or other means or vectors ... How do we differentiate what we should actually, "we" being the countries that are targeted ... How should you differentiate what actually matters that people should be concerned with versus that's the normal thing that a foreign government would do to try and improve other countries' perceptions of that country and advance their interests in those countries.Bill:And related, as this discourse does get more toxic, how do we talk about these things without tipping into racism? In the U.S. certainly, we have a really long and nasty history of anti-Asian and specifically anti-Chinese racism. And there are a lot of reasons to be very worried about going too far where we're back in a very dark place in terms of how people of Asian and Chinese descent are treated in this country. But at the same time, there are real issues and potential threats coming from some of these PRC activities. So how do we talk about that in a way that effectively deals with the problems but also makes sure that people are safe and able to enjoy the rights that they deserve and have?Joanna:Yeah and that's why I try to provide a lot of that history concisely within each chapter of the book because we need to know what happened before to know to be a lot more careful with our language and our actions now. Because definitely it just seems like history is repeating itself during the McCarthy era. Chinese-Americans' loyalties are constantly questioned, they lost their jobs. And now former President Trump has said that he thinks basically all students are possibly Chinese spies. We've seen these prosecutions of certain Chinese national scientist professors in America that were basically pretty embarrassing.Bill:Yes.Joanna:It seemed a lot of the suspicions were unfounded and it was almost like a witch-hunt which is really difficult. When things seemed politicized and politically motivated and you put a blanket suspicion on all these people, it's exactly what happened in the past.Bill:Mm-hmm (affirmative)Joanna:And it's not just America. It was in Canada, Australia, Europe. In Canada, we had internment of Japanese Canadians during World War II. And people know that this is in the background. And even before things got more tense when a lot of the approach among Western countries towards China was that the goal was to expand trade ties and economic ties as much as possible, there was still a lot of racism. Walking down the street, I got called slurs like the c-word in downtown Vancouver multiple times.Bill:Recently?Joanna:Throughout my life living in Canada. In Vancouver, particularly, there was a long-standing stereotype of the crazy rich Asian that was ruining the city with our Maseratis and condo buying.Bill:Wasn't there a reality show that was based on rich Chinese in Vancouver, I think?Joanna:Yeah, there was that and there's a lot of scapegoating against East Asians for lots of problems with COVID-19 and all this with the two Michaels in Huawei. This just really spiked particularly in countries like Canada, U.S., Australia with the large Chinese diaspora in many places. People who weren't even Chinese, like an indigenous woman in Canada, she was punched in the face. Things like that. And its not like we can throw up our hands and be like, "People are just going to be racist, this is just going to happen." I think a lot of people in positions of influence and politicians need to take responsibility for what they've done to stoke this behavior and not condone it. So talking to certain politicians in Canada in the conservative party, they tell me that there's been a shift in strategy to talk about China as the Chinese Communist Party, the communist regime, to deliberately stir up a red scare. In the U.S. definitely, the FBI in an announcement about one of its investigations into a Chinese American scientist said the words "Chinese Communist regime" or "Chinese Communist government" five times.Bill:That was the announcement about the MIT professor, was it Chen Gang, I think?Joanna:Yeah, I think so.Bill:The prosecutor or the FBI folks up in Boston, I believe.Joanna:Right. Yeah, that was the one. And it's just not necessary. You don't need to ... My argument is that the facts about what Beijing is doing are urgent and sobering enough. You don't really need to embellish it with this language of trying to get people scared of this Communist entity. But perhaps it's more to do with domestic politics in each place. Someone explained it to me in the U.S. where pretty much everyone is critical of China. You don't get more attention by just being moderately critical, you have to be really more extreme. It's as if it's like a competition to be as hawkish as possible to get that acclaim and public support.Bill:And as you said, it's unnecessary because as you just said, the facts can speak for themselves in many areas. And it again, it goes back to how do we have rational discussion about what the problems and challenges are without tipping over into something that's really nasty and scary. It's something I struggle with, obviously in my newsletter, I have ... It's funny when you write about China, I have people who think I'm a CCP apologist and people who think I'm way too hawkish. You sort of can't win, it's such a fraught topic that it is something I struggle with. Because you certainly don't want to be in a position where you're stirring things up, but at the same time you can't just throw up your hands and say, "Well we're not going to deal with this because it's too dangerous." I mean, it's too dangerous the other way too, right? But it's really difficult, and the question I have is, do you think the powers in Beijing understand this? Is this something they try to use or leverage?Joanna:Oh yeah, I think so. I think it plays right into what Beijing wants. Because the myth it has been promoting for years is that China is the center of Chinese civilization even if your family has been away from China for generations, you're still Chinese. And since you're still Chinese, your de-facto leader is still the CCP. It's a legitimate power for all Chinese people. Because people like me and my family aren't fully accepted as Canadians or as Australians or as Americans, it's always like a hyphen, like Chinese-Canadian, Chinese-American. That just plays into what Beijing wants. When people of Chinese descent are taken as political prisoners or get calls from Chinese police saying, "Stop supporting Hong Kong on social media or stop doing this," these people get less attention. They're not taken seriously when they try to report what's happening because unfortunately a lot of people in the West have accepted the CCP's myth that we're still essentially Chinese. It's in the law, if there's dual-nationality, they don't accept the second nationality.Joanna:But even more than that, I still worry that ... it's happened to people like me. I actually gave up my Hong Kong citizenship, I'm only Canadian. But just because of my Chinese blood, I'm at greater risk of whatever repercussions. I've definitely been singled out when I was a foreign correspondent in Beijing for writing too much about human rights. And they did not say the same things about other people in my office. So by not listening to people in the diaspora and still treating them as they're still outsiders, we're with this connection to China whether we agree or not, that's really playing into it. And also when there's this racism, Chinese media, Chinese embassies, they've been really up front about condemning this and using it as a way to shore up loyalty among overseas Chinese, especially people who are more recent immigrants to get that support. There's so many of these China Friendship associations around the world. It's tough to understand their impact because it's all basically legal. They are these groups that openly support Beijing's policies all around the world. And they have, in my reporting, taken part in basically trying to make friends with politicians around the world and using those interviews, events, photographs to turn into propaganda to say, "We got support from this politician." There were groups that have offered money for people to vote for certain candidates in other countries' elections.Joanna:So it's complicated because when these groups are alienated, when they still feel that ... On a pragmatic level, it makes better sense for them to have good relations with Beijing. These groups are going to increase and proliferate and it's hard to understand what they're doing because you don't want to villainize it. In a way it's very natural for people, say, with business ties in China to try to hob-nob with Chinese embassies and try to support them. When I do report on some of these activities like the potential vote buying and interfering in elections, people use it as an excuse to say, "Oh, everyone's like that. All recent immigrants are working for the CCP." And that just puts a lot of reporters and researchers in these really tricky situations where you want to report on what's going on, but because discourse just fails to be nuanced enough, people just kind of take it as a reason to be more hostile and to not really open up their minds that there's a diversity of opinions among Chinese people and the Chinese diaspora.Bill:And it's also hard I think because so much of it happens in Mandarin or other Chinese dialects, so most people who don't speak the language have no idea what's going on.Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative). But it's been such a rich field of potential reporting for me, going back to Canada. It's really, really resitting. I have been able to read all of these reports. I've been able to translate these posts into English for audiences who found it really interesting. But I would argue that it's not actually that hard because there are so many Chinese speakers all over the world. It's not like it's a niche population, like a small population. In these stories where Steve Bannon and Miles Kwok's like cultish group was protesting outside a Canadian journalist's house accusing him of being a Chinese spy, when he was actually critical of Beijing. There were death threats.Bill:They did that to a bunch of people in America too. They had a whole program of targeting people.Joanna:Yeah, New Jersey.Bill:Yeah.Joanna:Yeah, so in that case. In Texas, with Pastor Bob Fu, he was one of the targets. And the FBI came in, the bomb squad, they put him and his family in a safe house. But in Canada, police monitored it, checked in once in a while. I actually sent them videos, like this looks like a death threat. And I actually ... Me and my colleagues, we translated some of this information and we posted it on YouTube to explain what was going on. But then it took three months later, this going on in Canada ... Two of these protestors just savagely beat one of the target's friends. And the police were responding to questions of why didn't you step in earlier, there were death threats? They admitted that they were slow with the investigation because they didn't have Chinese language resources. And that doesn't make sense really, in Vancouver, when there are so many people of Chinese descent. It's not hard to find someone to look at something and translate it to understand it.Joanna:In the conclusion of my book, one of the points I make is that information in Chinese language is treated like a secret code that can't be cracked. Instead, people like Newt Gingrich and other kind of just make things up. In his book, Newt Gingrich ... I don't quite remember but he just provided nonsensical translations of Chinese words and then extrapolated a whole bunch of theories about China based on that. Which is insulting to all of the people, not just of Chinese descent, but people like you who have taken the time to learn Mandarin and to understand China.Bill:There's a lot of that here in the U.S., I don't know how much it exists in other countries. But certainly the taking stuff out of context or just crappy language skills. And then, like you said, extrapolating something much bigger and darker and nefarious than in many cases it actually is, for sure.Joanna:Yeah. In the U.S. people tell me that they do have Chinese speakers, but lower down in the chain who provide reports and information. But going up the chain, the politicians and the pundits, they pick and choose information to support what they believe already. So these researchers feel like they're not even being heard because politicians are just grabbing what they want anyways. In many cases, people of Chinese descent are worried about even going to China or talking about their family in China because they're not going to get promoted to more influential positions. They're not going to get security clearance because the assumption is that if you have any sort of China ties that you might be compromised. And that's a very prejudicious trend in D.C.Bill:When I moved back to D.C. after ten years, I had no interest in working for the government, but I had a funny conversation with someone who does have security clearance. He says, "Don't even bother to apply, you'll never get a security clearance because you lived in China for too long."Joanna:That's crazy.Bill:That's fine, but there are reasons for governments to be concerned with ties to other foreign governments, but certainly for folks of Chinese descent it's much more pernicious. And it does seem like in many places the assumption is that you're potentially at risk of compromise. One of the problems is how people's families are being leveraged back in China. You see it in the way the persecutions of the Uyghurs and Tibetans. But you see it also in Han Chinese, people who are doing things that are considered controversial or anti-China outside of China. It's a very common tactic, right, to harass, hassle, otherwise make difficult for family members back in China, right?Joanna:Yeah, and that is a major ... There's no solution to that. I tried to spotlight a lot of these voices in the book. I spoke with people like Vicky Xu, the campaign against her has just been ridiculous. People made fake porn of her, thousands of accounts were basically attacking her, doxxing her.Bill:I feel like that story didn't get as much attention as maybe it should have. She was just so brutally targeted by very obviously state-backed campaigns.Joanna:Yeah. Very personal and they started with her family. She's been open about that, how her family and parents have been pressured. But she didn't stop her work, so they went further. They sent thousands of accounts and they made fake pornography about her so that when people search in Chinese, that's what comes up. And trying to completely smear her character. But that story did not get that much attention.Bill:This is because of her work at the ASPI down in Australia, right? Specifically around XinjiangJoanna:Xinjiang, yeah. I think she's one of the main researchers in Australia that focused on Xinjiang. The bigger issues looking at supply chains, looking at forced labor, and where internment camps are. Recently she found a trove of police documents about the repression. And because of her fluent Chinese and her networks, she was able to find this and provide this information. So people like her, I think, Beijing wants the most to silence and has the means and leverage to try to do so. I think she's unique in that she continues to do this work. We're not sure for how long because you have to wonder how long someone can take this.Bill:Right.Joanna:More people that I know of are either operating anonymously, they're really providing subtle advising roles to governments in a very very anonymous manner. Because they're worried about their families. Or they're writing under pseudonyms and they don't get a lot of attention because no one knows who they are. They're worried about ... not even access. I think a lot of researchers worry about being able to go back to China. At different levels, people who are worried about the safety of themselves and their family members.Bill:So just given the trajectory of China under Xi Jinping, is there any reason to think this is going to get better? Or are we sort of more close to the beginning of where this trajectory goes?Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative) I think we're kind of at a pivotal point. A lot of it isn't waiting for what Beijing does, but there's a responsibly on Western countries to at least be smarter about China and to have proper expertise in places of governments to try to even have some well thought out policy on these issues. In the U.S. Cabinet, very little China experience. And like we talked about, the people with experience ... They have trouble having influence. And in Canada, the mood after the Michaels returned and the Meng case was resolved is that they really want to go back to business as usual. To not have any kind of plan in place on how to prevent Canadian hostages from being taken in the future. The Prime Ministers office really steering this even though other parts of government was like, "We need some sort of plan, we need some sort of update to foreign policy in general." There's very little political will. I think the amount of criticism in different countries' media doesn't reflect the lack of political will of governments to even put the basic structures in place to understand China better. To be able to translate basic things from Chinese into English to be aware of.Bill:And in Canada, why do you thing that is? Especially given the diversity of Canada and the number of people of Chinese descent in the country. But also what just happened over the last close to three years. Why wouldn't the government have had a bit more of a shift in views of how the relationship in China should go?Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative) I think it's related partly to what we were talking about before where politicians are worried about stoking racism, losing support from Canadians of Chinese descent. Partly an election issue, and I think traditionally in Canada, the main government advisors on China have been people in the business world who do have a vested interest in making sure that tensions are as low as possible to facilitate smoother business interactions. But that's also not even the case where if you ... I think the idea in the West has been reformed through trade. Through interactions, economically, China will naturally liberalize, become more democratic. But in recent years, we've seen political tensions move over to economic coercion, economic retaliation. Not just from China but back and forth, with America, Australia, other countries have also did tit-for-tat trade tariffs. Different ways where the political situation can impact the economic relationships. So it's not even necessarily the case that just by focusing on business, everything will be all good. I think a lot of politicians are trying to put their head in the sands about that and not trying to understand the really complex situation unfolding. And Canadians on the whole, surveys show, pretty frustrated about the situation in action and just passiveness that they see from Ottawa.Bill:I guess the Huawei decision will be interesting, whether or not Huawei is allowed into the Canadian 5G network construction. Certainly here in D.C., there's all the factors you talked about and there's a lot of opportunity for lobbyists from various industries and companies to sort of shift Biden administration and Capitol thinking to policies that are more likely to make money dealing with China. And that certainly has an impact on the policies. So just shifting gears quickly because we're almost out of time and this has been a really great conversation. One of the things we were talking about was lifting up and getting more diversity of voices. Can you tell the listeners about NüVoices and what you helped create there? I found that to be a really wonderful and useful project that's been up for a couple years now? Or has it been three years? Time just sort of blended away with the pandemic, right?Joanna:So actually we were founded in 2017.Bill:Oh my gosh, okay.Joanna:In Beijing, so it's almost under five years. It's been like a daily kind of passion project in the community for me. We kind of wanted to create a more open and accepting China space, both in person with events and chapters around the world and also virtually. And it started in reaction with panels and book deals. The people who get platformed on China are often white male experts. No offense to yourself.Bill:People like me. No, no, I get it. I get it.Joanna:You're one of our longtime supporters and our patrons and we've spoken about how this helps to create a better world for your kids, for your daughters. Because we want to remove any excuses that people have for not even having one woman on their panel. Five years ago, people just kept saying to us and our co-founders, "We tried to find a female expert, but we couldn't find one." Or "We couldn't find a woman on this topic." Which is ridiculous because looking around, actually people we know, I see more women than men entering these fields. Definitely being a journalist in China, there's more women than men. And women who can speak Chinese and doing great work. So we created this open-source directory. Now it has more than 600 people all around the world who are women or non-binary on all sorts of topics. And speaking all sorts of languages in all sorts of time zones. I think just that project alone helped to remove those excuses. Any time someone makes an excuse that they couldn't find a woman, someone just has to send that person the link to this directory. No more excuses.Joanna:And on top of that we have a twice monthly podcast which I co-host sometimes and events all around the world. And basically social groups and networks and it's a platform so that people can benefit from this supportive atmosphere. We really try and celebrate diverse voices on China, experts on China. I find that women tend to ... because they're facing so much discrimination, women experts often have to fight harder to provide unique insights and reporting. So the kind of good quality you get just reaching out to any female expert in China, its a pretty good bet on fresh and interesting perspectives. And definitely I found that the case with my book. Because you know I tried to practice what I preach and most of my sources are coming from diverse backgrounds, women and minorities ... I shouldn't even use the word "minorities", people who aren't white basically.Bill:Mm-hmm (affirmative) right.Joanna:In each country, and I think that provides a different layer than people who enjoy positions of more power in those countries, who might not see some of the more uglier sides or the more complicated sides because that's not their experience. They're not getting the five star treatment when they go to China that a lot people in power do.Bill:It's definitely one of the things I enjoy about your book, it does have these different perspectives that are so important as we are all sort of trying to figure out what's going on and start thinking about what we can do. Specifically, NüVoices, I was looking at the directory last week. I think it's like 620 entries or something, I'm certainly planning to mine it for guests for the podcast because it's a really tremendous resource. And I will put a link to it in the show notes when we publish the podcast. Well thank you so much, is there anything else you'd like to add or say to the audience? Other than buy your book, "China Unbound", it's a great book. Please go ahead and go buy it and read it. It's a great book.Joanna:Just asking yourself, being based in the U.S., what are the best avenues for a more productive conversations on China? Instead of going to people who are more simplistic, what are some more resources you'd recommend? Including, of course your newsletter and that community. But who's doing the work to make up more well-informed approaches?Bill:That's a great question, and I'm not actually sure I have a good answer. I'm struggling with that and part of it is maybe that I'm based in D.C. where it is quite ... It's difficult to be in D.C. and to be not hawkish about China if you want to get ahead in certain parts of the government here. And so, I'm not actually sure. I know that there's China Twitter ... I mean Twitter in general is just kind of a cesspool and China Twitter is not a productive or constructive place for discourse about anything. I don't know, I wish I had a better answer for you, I need to think about it more.Joanna:Mm-hmm (affirmative)Bill:Do you have any guesses or any suggestions?Joanna:I was expecting a more simplified reaction to my book, but actually all the events I've been doing so far are conversations with academics and fellow reporters have been really nuanced. And it seems like there's a hunger for people who want to admit there are no simple solutions and to talk about that. But it doesn't' seem like here's a particular space or a think tank that has that approach. It seems-Bill:The think tanks probably are the place. I mean there are other ... The folks at SupChina are trying to do that. I don't know if you've talked to them. Kaiser's got his podcast and they do their conference. I think their conference ... We're recording on the 1st of November so they're I think next week. But in general, I don't know, it's also ... Like anything, it's hard to have a more textured or kind of deeper discussion in these 30 minute chunks or when you're sitting on a panel. It's just putting in the time and having ... Like you're doing, talking to me and you're talking to lots of people for your book. And this is a topic that has probably come up in most of your conversations and it's just something we're going to have to keep talking about. I know over the next few months there are at least two more books that are coming out about China's influence in the world. And so it'll be interesting to see where those goes in terms of how they impact or move the discourse and how those get played. And again, I think it's like I said, me struggling with how do you address these issues that are very real and influence interference without going overboard and over-exaggerating and destroying innocent people's lives. Which I think has already happened and continues to be a big risk.Joanna:I do think simple answers that people need to pay better attention and not just to get a shallow understanding, but to really understand the nitty-gritty and try to untangle complexities. And support the people who are trying to do this work. A lot of their names are in my book. If you don't want to buy it, flip to the back of the notes and you'll get their names and look up those articles. People like Yangyang Cheng, Helen Gao. People who are straddling both worlds, Chinese and Western. Because of those real lived experiences, their perspectives are just naturally very nuanced and insightful, I think. So people are doing this work, its just they're not the ones on CNN and getting book deals because of structures power. So support NüVoices.Bill:Absolutely. Like you said, I'm a supporter of NüVoices, I'm very happy to put a link to that as well. Support you through Patreon, right? We should move you over to Substack, but that's a different discussion. That's my bias. Well look, thank you so much. It's really been a pleasure to speak with you and I hope that many of you listeners will go out and buy the book. It's really a worthwhile read and Joanna really has great reporting, great perspectives. And this book is really important contribution to the conversation we all need to be having about China and the future and China's role in the world. So thank you and hope to talk to you again soon.Joanna:Thank you so much for all of your work, really platforming those more quality, well-informed sources on China. You've run the newsletter for a long time, so I think that makes a big difference as well because you use your expertise to point people to credible, good sources. So I'll also subscribe to your newsletter.Bill:Thank you. Get full access to Sinocism at sinocism.com/subscribe

[PLEASE NOTE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME THERE IS SOME AUDIO STATIC THAT APPEARS INTERMITTENTLY DURING SOME OF JOANNA'S ANSWERS. IT DOESN'T LAST LONG AND WE TRIED TO MINIMIZE IT AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. OUR APOLOGIES FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.]Public perceptions of China vary markedly depending on where you live in the world. In wealthy advanced economies in the Global North, negative sentiment towards China is now at all-time highs and getting worse. But it's a very different story in many developing countries in the Global South, particularly in Africa, where public opinion surveys continually report more favorable views towards the Chinese.Of course, this is a complex issue where China provokes a diversity of opinions, making it nearly impossible to get a definitive sense of what people feel about Beijing's growing influence in their countries.Veteran journalist Joanna Chiu set out on a trans-continental odyssey to try and find out more about how people in Western countries perceive China for her new book "China Unbound: A New World Disorder." Joanna joins Eric & Cobus to share some of her findings and to discuss why she feels there's such a huge discrepancy between how people in the Global North view China compared to sentiments in the Global South.SHOW NOTES:Amazon.com: Purchase a copy of China Unbound: A New World DisorderSupChina: China Unbound: The implications of China's expanding influence by Mike CormackNüVoices: The international editorial collective of writers, journalists, translators and artists that showcases the diverse creative work of women, non-binary people, and minorities working on the subject of China.JOIN THE DISCUSSION:CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProjectTwitter: @eolander | @stadenesque | @joannachiuJOIN US ON PATREON!Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug!www.patreon.com/chinaafricaprojectSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Listen now | Episode Notes: Links: China Unbound on Amazon. Joanna Chiu’s website NüVoices 女性之音 Transcript: Bill: Hi everyone, today's guest is Joanna Chiu; a long-time journalist covering China from both inside and outside the country, co-founder and chair of the editorial collective 'New Voices', and the author of the new book "China Unbound." She now covers Canada-China issues for the Toronto Star. Joanna, welcome to the podcast.

Following ten years of reporting around the world, Chinese-Canadian journalist Joanna Chiu tracks China's staggering rise, and its influence its population and institutions, Western nations, and even people of Chinese ancestry living abroad. Steve Paikin talks to Chiu about her new book, "China Unbound: A New World Disorder." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of “Keen On”, Andrew is joined by Joanna Chiu, the author of “China Unbound: A New World Disorder”, to discuss the backdrop of toxic diplomacy, human rights abuses and foreign interference seen in a "booming" China today. Joanna Chiu is senior journalist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest newspaper. As a globally-recognized authority on China, Chiu is a commentator for international broadcast media and was previously based for seven years in Beijing and in Hong Kong as a foreign correspondent. Visit our website: https://lithub.com/story-type/keen-on/ Email Andrew: a.keen@me.com Watch the show live on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajkeen Watch the show live on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankeen/ Watch the show live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lithub Watch the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LiteraryHub/videos Subscribe to Andrew's newsletter: https://andrew2ec.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We spoke with journalist and author Joanna Chiu about her new book, "China Unbound: A New World Disorder" See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For decades, we've heard about the rise of China. A major historical and contemporary power, the country shapes domestic and global politics -- as Canada knows quite well. And yet, coverage of China, its affairs, and its international relations is often hyperbolic, skewed, and incomplete. A new book from a veteran reporter on China-Canada relations adds depth, rigour, and new perspectives to that coverage. So, how should we think about China's place in the world?On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Joanna Chiu, senior reporter with the Toronto Star and author of China Unbound: A New World Disorder.

For decades, we've heard about the rise of China. A major historical and contemporary power, the country shapes domestic and global politics -- as Canada knows quite well. And yet, coverage of China, its affairs, and its international relations is often hyperbolic, skewed, and incomplete. A new book from a veteran reporter on China-Canada relations adds depth, rigour, and new perspectives to that coverage. So, how should we think about China's place in the world?On this episode of Open to Debate, David Moscrop talks with Joanna Chiu, senior reporter with the Toronto Star and author of China Unbound: A New World Disorder.

As the world's second-largest economy, China is extending its influence across the globe with the complicity of democratic nations. Internationally recognized reporter Joanna Chiu has spent a decade tracking China's propulsive rise, from the political aspects of the multi-billion-dollar “New Silk Road” global investment project to a growing sway on foreign countries and multilateral institutions through “United Front” efforts. As the United States stumbles, Chiu's anticipated work, China Unbound: A New World Disorder exposes Beijing's high-tech surveillance and aggressive measures that result in human rights violations against those who challenge its power. She speaks to Globe and Mail journalist Doug Saunders about why the new world order she sees has disturbing implications for global stability, prosperity, and civil rights everywhere.

Joanna Chiu's new book, China Unbound, details China's rapid international rise, and the ways Western nations have contributed to a state of global disorder. The book weaves historical and political context with Chiu's reporting across four continents. Guest host Madeleine O'Dea, award-winning author of The Phoenix Years, speaks with Chiu, who chairs NüVoices, about how Western governments have failed to adjust to the reality that China doesn't simply want to join the existing global order but instead re-shape it. The two also share advice on book-writing, and the characteristics of China-related storytelling from diaspora perspectives. 

Trudeau drops the first apology of his third term and has us wondering how reconciliation can go beyond symbolic actions. And as the Two Michaels make it home, what have we learned from this whole saga?This week's contributors: Joanna Chiu, Stuart Thomson, Riley YesnoLinks:Riley's piece on the spring federal budgetMore on what Land Back & Cash Back are aboutHow to order Joanna's book, "China Unbound"This episode is supported by Dispatch Coffee. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

China Unbound: A New World Disorder, journalist Joanna Chiu takes her experience of over a decade examining China's expansion and puts pen to paper to give the reader a view of it's economic power, it's sway over foreign countries, and how China's growth has been handled by Western Nations. Peter and Joanna go under the hood of leader Xi Jinping's policies and understand how China's actions in Honk Kong should be closely observed by all nations as it could be closer to home in the future, how China has retaliated to moves against it's citizens on foreign soil and they discuss the policy of Wolf Warrior diplomacy. You can find China Unbound: A New World Disorder in all good shops and online, and find out further information about Joanna's work at her website - www.joannachiu.com Further thoughts, work and projects from Peter can be found via - www.peterfrankopan.com * NOTE - this episode was recorded and produced before the release of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou and Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig. Produced, edited and mixed by @producerneil

This week on The Sunday Magazine with host Piya Chattopadhyay: • Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu talks about the release of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and what it means for Canada-China relations • Guy Vanderhaege on his latest historical fiction novel August into Winter • Alberta mayors Naheed Nenshi and Tara Veer dissect provincial politics and the pandemic crisis • An essay from Indigenous writer Clayton Thomas-Müller in the run-up to Canada's first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation • Former MPs Megan Leslie, Jane Philpott and Lisa Raitt reflect on life after politics and women in Parliament Discover more at https://www.cbc.ca/sunday

A $600 million election for Canada to wind up pretty well where we started: A Liberal minority. For those of us who lamented the lack of discussion on foreign policy in the campaign, there is one huge issue facing this country and that is the Chinese government.  Will Relations be different this time around?  There has been a dark cloud hanging over Canada-China relations for 3- years now. Before the pandemic, it was “the two Michaels “ who have been incarcerated and convicted on trumped up charges in the wake of the arrest of Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver. Factor in the Sabre rattling about Taiwan and China's expansion into the South China Sea and it appears China is not concerned with others.  Our Unpublished.vote question asks:  Do you expect Canada-China relations to improve with our new government?  Yes No Unsure You can log on and vote right now at Unpublished.vote and have your voice heard.  The Canada - China relationship got a free pass during the campaign, but it's been more than one thousand days since the “two Michaels “ knew freedom, Taiwan continues to be intimidated, Canadians in Hong Kong feel trapped. All eyes are watching what happens next.  Coming up on the Unpublished Cafe, we'll take a look at the response from the world including a new partnership to tackle China. Later in the show, we'll talk to author, Joanna Chiu whose new book, China Unbound, will soon be on shelves. Joanna also covers China for the Toronto Star in Vancouver. First, I'm pleased to be joined by Bijan Ahmadi, Executive Director of the Institute of Peace and Democracy. Guests: Bijan Ahmadi, Executive Director of the Institute of Peace and DemocracyElliot Tepper, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton UniversityJoanna Chiu, Toronto Star journalist and author

In his newly released book “The Age of Unpeace: How Connectivity causes Conflict” ECFR director Mark Leonard explains how many of the forces that we thought would bring us together have ended up driving us apart. Trade, technology, the internet, and travel were once promised to create a global village but have instead created an era of “unpeace”, where the distinctions between war and peace are breaking down. In this week's episode, Mark Leonard becomes the guest of his own podcast to talk with ECFR's Asia programme director Janka Oertel about the main themes of his book and particularly how China's growing role in this interconnected world poses threats for Europe. Further reading: Age of Unpeace by Mark Leonard “The Afghan tragedy and the age of unpeace” by Mark Leonard Bookshelf: “Doom” by Neil Ferguson “Shutdown. How Covid Shook the World's Economy” by Adam Tooze Move by Parag Khanna “Renewal: From crisis to transformation in our lives, work, and politics” by Anne Marie Slaughter “China unbound: a new world disorder” by Joanna Chiu

Guest: Joanna Chiu, Toronto Star reporter covering Canada-China relations and author of “China Unbound” It's been almost three years since former diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor (collectively known as the “two Michaels”) were arrested by the Chinese Communist Party. The move was seen as retaliation against Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, who is currently standing trial for possible extradition to the United States. Now, just this month, Michael Spavor was found guilty of espionage charges and sentenced to 11 years in a Chinese prison, while another Chinese court rejected Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg's appeal against a death sentence for drug trafficking. It all seems so shocking, but as Star reporter Joanna Chiu reports, this form of hostage taking diplomacy and death threat diplomacy is not new. Why is no one talking about other Canadians that have been taken as political prisoners by China?

Canadian Michael Spavor, who's been detained in China since 2018, has been given an 11-year prison sentence by a Chinese court. Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau called the verdict “completely unjustified.” Today, Toronto Star reporter Joanna Chiu on what this means for Canada-China relations.

Sophia Yan is the China correspondent for the Telegraph, has covered the region for a decade, and is based in Beijing. Previously, she reported for CNBC, CNN, and Bloomberg, while based in Hong Kong and Washington, D.C., and has had stints in Tokyo and Honolulu. She received the 2020 Marie Colvin Award for her coverage of China, with judges noting Sophia's determination to "get to the truth, exposing cruelty, injustice, and the abuse of human rights despite all attempts to stop her.” When Sophia isn't reporting, she's tickling a different set of keys — on the piano! Sophia chats with NüVoices chair Joanna Chiu about why there are so few foreign correspondents on the ground in mainland China, and whether we risk losing nuanced and immediate coverage of China. They also discuss what Sophia learned from her recent reporting trip in Xinjiang about the "new phase" of persecution against Uyghurs, forced factory labor, and how a Hilton hotel is rising in the wreckage of a bulldozed mosque. For their efforts, Sophia and her colleague faced violent obstruction from police and plainclothes thugs. Read her personal account about obstacles on the ground. Watch her Xinjiang documentary series here, and look for her new podcast series, Hong Kong Silenced, about the city's shrinking freedoms under the national security law that will launch on June 30. Recommendations: Sophia: The book The War on the Uyghurs, by Sean Roberts; Anna Fifield's portrait of Kim Jong-un, The Great Successor; a documentary on the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, The Dissident; and a book about meditation as self-care, Wherever You Go, There You Are, by Jon Kabat-Zinn.Joanna: Megha Rajagopalan's Pulitzer-winning reporting on Xinjiang and the new report "No Space Left to Run: China's Transnational Repression of Uyghurs" from the Uyghur Human Rights Project and the Oxus Society for Central Asian Affairs.Privacy Policy and California Privacy Notice.

Yilin Wang (she/they) is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, Chinese-English translator, educator, and cultural consultant who was longlisted for the 2020 CBC Poetry Prize and a finalist for the Far Horizons Award for Short Fiction. Her work engages with topics such as Chinese folklore, martial arts literature (wuxia), diaspora identities, gender expectations, migration, and cultural reclamation. Some of Yilin’s work translating the Chinese revolutionary feminist Qiū Jǐn’s 秋瑾 poetry was recently featured on NüVoices' website.In 2018, Yilin spent months travelling around China for research, leading to the launch of the #LiteraryJianghu Project to promote engagement with wuxia and related Chinese literary traditions.Yilin chats with NüVoices chair Joanna Chiu about the fascinating themes and genres of their work, and about the day-to-day realities and power politics of being a creative writing and translation professional in North America. For further reading from Yilin on racism in Canadian literature, see her Carte Blanche essay here. Recommendations: Yilin: The wuxia series Legend of Condor Heroes, translated by Anna Holmwood and Gigi Chang and Grace Lau's debut poetry collection The Language We Were Never Taught to Speak. Joanna: China: The Novel, by Edward Rutterfurd for an immersive narrative approach to learning about 19th century Chinese history, and Yilin's website!

“China is angry. If you make China the enemy, China will be the enemy," a Chinese Embassy official told Australian reporter Jonathan Kearsley at a meeting in late 2020. Kearsley wrote that the comment seemed like the strongest public indication from the embassy of how “toxic” the relationship had become between China and Australia. In the last year, the Chinese government has suspended beef and cotton imports from Australia, slapped an 80% tariff on Australian barley, and instructed Chinese students and tourists not to travel to Australia. But Australia used to be one of the strongest supporters of forging closer ties with China. NüVoices chair Joanna Chiu, author of the new book China Unbound on Beijing's deteriorating global relations with Western countries, chats with former Australian diplomat Natasha Kassam on how Australia-China relations has hit such a low point and why diplomatic tensions seem to have impacted Australians of Chinese heritage the most. Kassam is the director of the Lowy Institute’s Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program, researching Australia’s Indo-Pacific strategy, China’s domestic politics, Taiwan, and Australia-China relations. Before joining the Lowy Institute, Kassam was responsible for government policy on human rights and legal issues in China, and drafted the Australian government’s 2017 Foreign Policy White Paper. Recommendations: Natasha: The new book The Beijing Bureau; also, the Lowy Institute's interactive survey feature on experiences of Chinese-Australian communities where one in five said they were physically threatened or attacked because of their Chinese background in the previous year. Joanna: An essay by Bobo Lo, Global Order in the Shadow of the Coronavirus.

Throughout the 10 stories in Land of Big Numbers, Te-Ping Chen — a founding member of NüVoices — sketches the interior lives of her protagonists, who live in (or are connected to) China: a man determined to strike it rich in the stock market, a migrant worker employed at a flower shop who is infatuated with a customer, and a government employee being stalked by her ex-boyfriend. Inspired by her years living in Beijing and Hong Kong as a foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, Chen drew upon her travels and the remarkable lives of people she met to construct a world that didn't fit neatly into news reports. The debut author speaks with NüVoices chair Joanna Chiu and New York chapter member Megan Cattel on her observations of modern China, the transferable skills of journalism to fiction, and advice on navigating the publishing industry. Recommendations: Te-Ping: Do Not Say We Have Nothing, by Madeleine Thien, and Both Ways Is the Only Way I Want It, by Maile Meloy.Joanna: Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke, Invisible, by Paul Auster, and The Woo-Woo, by Lindsay Wong. Megan: Notes of a Crocodile, by Qiu Miaojin (English translation by Bonnie Huie), I Was Their American Dream, by Malaka Gharib, and The Wedding Banquet, directed by Ang Lee.

A new voice chat-based social media app called Clubhouse has become the talk of tech town. Clubhouse offers something different in the social media space in that it’s focused on audio. Data shows downloads just crossed 10 million in the Apple app store. The majority of those were just in the month of February alone. For an app that was little more than a blip on the radar until recently, it has also caused a fair share of controversy. On February 8, China blocked access to the app across the country, adding it to a list of thousands of websites and apps the ruling party doesn’t want the people to see or use. The Star’s Vancouver-based reporter Joanna Chiu joins “This Matters” host Saba Eitizaz to talk about the good, the bad and the ugly of Clubhouse.

Millions of Canadians say their lives are noisier than they were before the pandemic. Today, Brian Bradley, digital producer for the Star, tells us about the impact of the symphony of noise in downtown Toronto, especially for those whose professional livelihoods depend on peace and quiet, like musicians and performers. Later on, Vancouver-based reporter Joanna Chiu helps cut through the noise and talks about what kind of sounds are driving us batty and how they can affect our health. If you would like to support the journalism of the Toronto Star, you can subscribe at thestar.com/subscribingmatters.

On January 9, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo announced that the United States would eliminate self-imposed restrictions on exchanges between American and Taiwanese officials. Reactions have been mixed, with some saying a change in policy on Taiwan was overdue, while others warning that the timing of the announcement in the last days of the Trump administration means Taiwan will bear the brunt of Beijing's fury. Experts Margaret Lewis and Jessica Drun — both currently in Taipei — join NüVoices podcast host Joanna Chiu to explore this historic moment. Recommendations: Why Taiwan Matters: Small Island, Global Powerhouse, by Shelley Rigger.The Legislative Intent of the Taiwan Relations Act: A Dilemma Wrapped in an Enigma, by Lester L. Wolff.Toward a stronger U.S.-Taiwan relationship, by Bonnie S. Glaser.Pompeo’s 11th hour change in Taiwan policy does Taipei no favors, by Michael J. Green, Bonnie S. Glaser, and Richard Bush.Frozen Garlic, a blog by Nathan Batto. Ghost Island Media, a Taiwan-based podcast network.

Joanna Chiu is the world famous, Vancouver-based National Correspondent for the Toronto Star focused on Canada-China relations and current affairs. She was the Beijing-based correspondent for Agence France Presse (AFP), the world's oldest news agency and the China and Mongolia correspondent for the top German news agency, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). In Hong Kong, she reported for the South China Morning Post, The Economist, and The Associated Press. Her work has also appeared in The Guardian, BBC World, The Atlantic, Newsweek, and Al Jazeera. She was featured in a This is VANCOLOUR, “Colourful Call” segment on May 7.

Joanna Chiu is the world famous, Vancouver-based National Correspondent for the Toronto Star focused on Canada-China relations and current affairs. She was the Beijing-based correspondent for Agence France Presse (AFP), the world’s oldest news agency and the China and Mongolia correspondent for the top German news agency, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA). In Hong Kong, she reported for the South China Morning Post, The Economist, and The Associated Press. Her work has also appeared in The Guardian, BBC World, The Atlantic, Newsweek, and Al Jazeera. She was featured in a This is VANCOLOUR, “Colourful Call” segment on May 7.

Tensions between the U.S. and China have ratcheted upward in the last four years of the Trump administration. Groundbreaking research from independent Washington, D.C.–based researcher Ashley Feng have shown that acts of "economic coercion" go both ways. Policymakers on both sides of the Pacific have increasingly used measures such as tariffs and investment restrictions against one another. After Joe Biden's election win, a decrease in tensions isn't certain. In this episode, NüVoices chair Joanna Chiu chats with Ashley about what all this means for ordinary people like students, scientists, and immigrants.Ashley is a former research associate for the Energy, Economics, and Security program at the Center for a New American Security. Her research interests include U.S.-China trade relations, China’s economic policies, and China’s global economic footprint. She has previously worked at the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Defense University, the Congressional Research Service, the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, and the China Affairs office in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. Recommendations:A report co-authored by Ashley for the Center for a New American Security, A new arsenal for competition; China’s use of coercive economic measures, by Peter Harrell, Elizabeth Rosenberg, and Edoardo Saravalle; Economic statecraft and the revenge of the state, by Darren J. Lim; and Chinese perspectives on economic diplomacy, by Audrye Wong.

‘This Matters’ breaks down the second wave of the coronavirus on two fronts — with Ed Tubb, Toronto Star editor, on the meaning of the latest numbers and Joanna Chiu, Toronto Star reporter, on what mental stress we are about to face and how we can beat the blues.

For years, Hollywood has been trying to reach Chinese audiences, but has yet to find a winning formula. The remake of Mulan, which cost $200 million, is projected to make only $41 million over the entirety of its monthlong China box-office run. As U.S.-China tensions ratchet up, is there a future for movies that try to cross cultural divides and bring ordinary people together? Does politics play a role when Chinese viewers reject art from America? NüVoices chair Joanna Chiu turns to Rebecca Davis, a reporter covering China's entertainment industry, to provide much-needed context and insights. Guest: Rebecca Davis is Variety’s China bureau chief, establishing the magazine’s first permanent outpost in the country in 2018. Davis covers all aspects of China’s entertainment industry, and has a special interest in the intersection between culture and politics in authoritarian systems. Fluent in Mandarin and French, she has a decade of experience in China, including stints at Agence France-Presse, the New York Times, and Le Monde.Recommended reading:Chinese audience reviews of Mulan on Douban SupChina: Why Chinese viewers hate Disney’s ‘Mulan’ Variety: China box office: ‘Mulan’ is no hero with $23 million debutThis podcast was edited and produced by Jason MacRonald.Support NüVoices and read its first newsletter on Patreon.

Toronto Star reporter Joanna Chiu looks into the relationship between the Chinese government, state-run media and politicians in B.C.'s Cariboo.

Joanna Chiu, who covers China-Canada relations for the Star, joins This Matters to discuss the state of relations between the two nations, and the issues that are causing friction between them. With a number of issues that seemed to stem from the Canadian arrest of Meng Wanzhou and the subsequent detaining and imprisonment of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, that spat has coloured all interactions between the countries since. Add to that, global geopolitical and business tensions have now been exacerbated by recent developments like the new security law in Hong Kong and U.S. President Donald Trump two recent executive orders to ban WeChat and TikTok, and it’s clear that these issues show little sign of subsiding.

The fourth installment of the Edgerton Series on Responding to a Rising China, featuring Dr. Jeffrey Wasserstrom of UC Irvine and Joanna Chiu of the Toronto Star on the future of Hong Kong. July 1, 2020, marks the 23rd anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong. In that time, a lot has changed for the territory. In 1997, about one in five Hong Kong residents identified as Chinese as opposed to “Hongkonger.” That number eventually grew to one in three identifying as Chinese, but as Beijing has begun to erase the lines between Hong Kong and the mainland, local attitudes are beginning to shift. As of 2019, nine in 10 primarily identified as Hongkongers. Over the past few years, we've seen protesters take the streets of Hong Kong to push back against the erosion of their freedoms. Join us as we discuss the current state of Hong Kong, what its future might look like, and what the United States can do to best support the people of Hong Kong going forward. The Edgerton Series on Responding to a Rising China aims to provide proactive and forward-looking solutions to some of the most complex local, regional, and global issues facing the United States and China today, through regular engagement in debates and discussions with the foremost experts in Chinese affairs. The Edgerton Series is made possible by generous support from the Edgerton Foundation. We thank Dr. Bradford and Ms. Louise Edgerton for their continued support of and dedication to the Pacific Council. Featuring: Dr. Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Chancellor's Professor of History, School of Humanities, UC Irvine Jeffrey Wasserstrom is the Chancellor's Professor of History and historical writing mentor of literary journalism in the School of Humanities and professor (by courtesy) in the School of Law at UC Irvine. He is also the co-founder of the Forum for the Academy and the Public. Joanna Chiu, Journalist, Vancouver Bureau, The Toronto Star Joanna Chiu a Vancouver-based journalist for the Toronto Star, Canada’s largest newspaper, after previously serving as bureau chief of StarMetro Vancouver. Her specialty is China-Canada relations, and she has been tracking global support and solidarity actions in support of Hong Kong's democracy movement. Moderator: Dr. Ira Kasoff, Senior Counselor, International Advisory Council, APCO Worldwide Ira Kasoff is a Pacific Council member and a recognized expert on Asia. He has lived and worked extensively in the region–10 years in mainland China, eight years in Japan, eight in Hong Kong, and two in Taiwan.

We chat with Joanna Chiu with some unprecedented news. Joanna is a Vancouver-based journalist for the Toronto Star

Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement chair Mabel Tung and Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu discuss the 31st anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. Tech and life columnist Alexandra Samuel talks about TV and streaming shows.

Journalism is a tough industry to break into, but expanding your multimedia and broadcast skills is a great way to enhance your versatility and job prospects. For Chinese journalist Yuan Ren, who has worked as a Time Out magazine editor and a columnist for U.K. newspapers The Telegraph and The Prospect, transitioning into broadcast media helped her fire up her creativity and experiment with creative storytelling. In this episode, she shares her best tips and tricks for making the switch from print to digital journalism with NüVoices chair Joanna Chiu. The two also discuss what it is like to build a career in Western mainstream media as younger women of Chinese descent. Yuan is a fully bilingual journalist who has written about science, technology, Chinese culture, and current affairs. Originally from Beijing, she began as the Around Town editor at Time Out Beijing. Yuan was a regular contributor to The Telegraph's Wonder Woman column on Chinese women and gender, and a monthly columnist for Prospect magazine. She is now based in London and works as a producer and reporter for Bloomberg TV and the technology show Click at BBC World — see Yuan's post on Twitter for a video of the latter. She also loves to make video blogs about traditional Chinese food and restaurants. Follow Yuan for the latest in Chinese culture and food via YouTube and Instagram.Recommendations: Yuan: Get enough sleep and put your phone in a different room before bed. I like to track my sleep on my Garmin sports watch, which I have for running. Headspace, Calm, and Insight Timer are all great apps for sleep and meditation (have it on your iPad, not phone), but many centers like the London Buddhist Centre offer live, guided meditations online. Staying active is so important, and I'm part of a running club — it's cheap and sociable, and you'll improve so fast you'll wish you joined earlier. There are lots of virtual races for runners, cyclists, and swimmers during lockdown, which you do solo but post results online. Strava is the social network for athletes worldwide. I'm catching up on Chinese TV dramas at the moment. Check out Douban (豆瓣) for ratings on documentaries, movies, TV, and books. When I miss Chinese TV, I get on Beiijng TV's website and watch live there. I also listen to Beijing Transport News radio via TuneIn when I go to bed! Joanna: Have no shame about indulging in guilty pleasures like Netflix reality TV dating shows, and solo YouTube karaoke sing-alongs is a great way to boost your mood while in isolation. Join different journalist groups on social media to reach a supportive community. Poynter has collected a list of such groups, and don't forget to join the NüVoices Network on Facebook and follow our Twitter account @NuVoices.Like the podcasts at SupChina? Help us out by taking this brief survey.

Violent attacks on racialized people are on the rise in Canada — especially against those who look East Asian. We’re joined by reporter Joanna Chiu to discuss what happens when we conflate the actions of a government with individual people. Get in touch at oppo@canadalandshow.com or on Twitter @OPPOcast. This episode of OPPO is brought to you by WealthBar. While OPPO is not made using Patreon funds, CANADALAND’s other shows rely on listener support. Please consider becoming a monthly supporter.

Mo calls Joanna Chiu to talk about COVID-19 dreams. Joanna Chiu is a Vancouver-based journalist covering both Canada-China relations and current affairs on the West Coast for the Toronto Star.

Mo calls Joanna Chiu to talk about COVID-19 dreams. Joanna Chiu is a Vancouver-based journalist covering both Canada-China relations and current affairs on the West Coast for the Toronto Star.

That's right. They've been in custody for 500 days. What's their status?  We chat with Joanna Chiu, Vancouver-based journalist for the Toronto Star, and friend of Michael Kovrig

As racism and the COVID-19 virus spread simultaneously, Asian people around the world are finding themselves terrified to step outside — and not just because they're worried about getting sick. In this episode, NüVoices chair Joanna Chiu interviews NüVoices co-founder Sophie Lu and journalist and author Jessie Tu, who both live in Sydney. All three have experienced the harmful effects of people conflating the actions of the Chinese government with Chinese citizens, and even with the East Asian diaspora as a whole. They discuss how Asians and allies can respond to a spike in harassment and hate crimes while coping with a health crisis at the same time. Resources:Hate crime documentation for Australian AsiansHate crime documentation for American Asians Recommended reading:Stabbing of Asian-American 2-year-old and her family was a virus-fueled hate crime: feds ‘I am not a virus.’ How this artist is illustrating coronavirus-fueled racism Exclusive: COVID19 racism banners sparking outrage among multicultural leaders Asian American feminist antibodies: care in the time of coronavirus Chinese-Americans, facing abuse, unite to aid hospitals in coronavirus battle

Joanna Chiu is a senior journalist for the Toronto Star based out of Vancouver......and says there is very little diversity in the leadership of Canadian newsroom, with most decision-makers being white men.Joanna kicked off her reporting career with a newspaper in Hong Kong, before heading into mainland China and working for a couple of major publications from Beijing, where it was important to exercise caution.Now back in Canada and working for the Toronto Star, Joanna believes Canadians are starting to realize the issues around diversity, racism and xenophobia here at home.On this episode of Run It Like a Girl, Joanna talks about her career, including an article she wrote last year that resulted in the firing of Canada’s ambassador to China over comments on the Mung Wan zhou case.It should be noted that when this interview was conducted, Joanna was the Vancouver Bureau Chief for the Toronto Star. Shortly after the taping, the newspaper reorganized, dropping the Bureau Chief structure for its regional newsrooms. To learn more about Joanna check out her website: https://joannachiu.com/Joanna on Twitter: @joannachiu

Jessie Lau is a writer, editor, and researcher from Hong Kong who explores identity, human rights, and politics. Her writing has been published by The Economist, Foreign Policy, The Diplomat, and Quartz, among others. In this episode, Lau speaks with Hong Kong-Canadian journalist and NüVoices chair Joanna Chiu about the generational divides and diverging opinions on the Hong Kong protests that have torn apart families. The episode also explores how the protests have made people reconsider what it means to be a Hongkonger and a member of the Hong Kong diaspora. Lau is also the manager of the NüVoices London chapter and the editor-in-chief of the digital magazine NüStories, which aims to amplify minority voices. Previously, she was a Hong Kong and China reporter with the South China Morning Post. She divides her time between London and Hong Kong.RecommendationsFor self-care, Lau recommends reaching out to support networks regardless of their political expertise, and to learn more about the ongoing situation in Hong Kong, she recommends Lausan. Joanna recommends the Hong Kong Free Press and this list of journalists who cover the protests in Hong Kong, which was put together by Laurel Chor. 26:06: Transnational solidarity31:04: Mainlanders and Hongkongers36:17: What’s to come in 2020?

Hosted by Stirling Faux. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We kick off Series 2 of Call the Question with Joanna Chiu, bureau chief of the Star Vancouver newsroom of the Toronto Star. We've been fans of Star Vancouver's sassy newsroom personality from the get-go, from the reporters' hilarious tweets, to the massive scoops, to the smart analysis on major issues, like Tessa Vikander's LGBTQ2+ and trans rights reporting, Melanie Green's reporting on Islamophobia, and much more (listen to the pod for more newsroom star name-dropping). We talk with Joanna about diversity in newsrooms, how her team hustles for the story, and the intentional approach they all take to doing things differently. We also talk about one the hottest stories of the year (still going): the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, where Joanna reported from earlier this summer. In WTF, Maria drops the hammer on the recent surge in Downtown Eastside trash talking and poverty shaming, and slams the resurgence of the discredited "broken windows theory" of how to "clean up" a neighbourhood.

In episode 17 of the NüVoices Podcast, host Joanna Chiu sits down with Siodhbhra Parkin, the director of the new, nonprofit arm of SupChina, to discuss her work in the field of legal advocacy against domestic violence when she was based at an international non-governmental organization (NGO) in Beijing. The two discuss the inspiring efforts of anti-domestic-violence activists in China both before and after the passage of a new law that has made collaboration between Chinese and foreign NGOs considerably more difficult. Siodhbhra also reflects on her experiences studying law in China, and the ongoing importance of finding ways to support beleaguered Chinese rule of law advocates and activists. Siodhbhra is a graduate of Harvard University and the Renmin University of China Law School  and is now based in New York. This week, Joanna joins her from Vancouver, where she works as the bureau chief of The Star Vancouver.

Vancouver-based journalist Joanna Chiu says her heart sank we she learned that her friend former Canadian diplomat Michael Kovrig was arrested in China in an apparent retaliation for Canada's arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou.

Welcome to the 8th podcast episode of this side series, the Podcast Spotlight. In this episode, we talk with Bill Poorman and Nikolaj Groeneweg, co-hosts of the Singapore-based podcast We don't mean to dwell but...as they introduce the following 2 podcasts: Podcast 1: The Sinica Podcast The Sinica Podcast is part of the SupChina network, a platform for on-the-ground perspectives on politics, economics, technology, and culture. It is hosted by the enigmatic Kaiser Kuo, a freelance writer and musician, formerly of various rock outfits such as Tang Dynasty and Spring and Autumn.  Generally, episodes are presented in a discussion format, and feature guests from media and academia to talk on all sorts of topics including US-China relations, Chinese foreign policy, Hacking, and much more. In the first episode of the wonderfully-titled Nu Voices podcast, hosts Joanna Chiu and Alice Xin Lui lament on how the narrative on China is always presented with a western tinge. The Sinica Podcast, in this vein, can be seen as a defiant response. Stories and perspectives told by native Chinese, or by individuals who have studied and lived in China. In this sense, if your media diet is dominated by western outlets - your New York Times, your Wall Street Journals - then this podcast might a little jarring. But, if you are the kind of person who appreciates authenticity and is genuinely curious about China, then this is definitely a podcast for you. Podcast 2: Mindscape by Sean Carroll By day, Sean Carroll is a Research Professor of theoretical physics at the California Institute of Technology. By night, he is host of Mindscape, a straightforward conversation-style podcast with intellectuals in fields spanning science, society, philosophy, culture, and so on. Aside from this, Carroll is also the author of various titles such as The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself, The Particle at the End of the Universe: How the Hunt for the Higgs Boson Leads Us to the Edge of a New World, From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time, and Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity. Fair warning here, albeit the informal style of the show, the topics discussed are not for the casual listener. Unless you were steeped in these topics as well, you might be better off finding other podcasts to fill your gym workout or your commute to work. However, if you take these topics seriously, and are patient enough to invest your attention well, then this podcast can be richly rewarding. Where traditional conversational podcasts engage listeners in personal stories and relatable anecdotes, Carroll's Mindscape tries to break down incredibly technical subjects in an almost nonchalant manner. It's still not an easy listen, but there is incredible insight and perspective that can be learned through each episode. Music by Pandrezz: Takin' you for a ride Once again special thanks to Bill Poorman and Nikolaj Groeneweg for being such amazing guests on this episode. Special thanks to Bill for graciously inviting me to his home and allowing me to record with his equipment, it truly was an absolute pleasure, and I am incredibly grateful for the gesture. Also, on a personal note, I would never have thought that out of all places, podcasting would be where I could meet people who share my concerns on moving and living abroad. Just goes to show you how powerful the medium really is. If you liked this episode, please do a big favor by sharing it amongst your friends or by subscribing to the Economical Rice Podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud, or Spotify. All the links and details to the shows discussed in this episode will be available in the show notes on the website www.economicalricepodcast.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/economicalricepodcast/message

In this episode of the NüVoices Podcast, Alice Xin Liu and Joanna Chiu are live from New York! Following a heady and successful launch of NüVoices' first North American chapter, they reunite at the SupChina offices in Brooklyn and interview one of their idols: Jiayang Fan, staff writer and de facto China correspondent at The New Yorker magazine. Alice and Joanna interview Jiayang about her immigrant background, long-form magazine writing (especially her piece on Yan Lianke, "Forbidden Satires of China"), the impact of her male, white predecessors, and the field of Asian-American writing. For recommendations and self-care, Alice recommends UC Berkeley's Greater Good Science Center (which also produces this excellent podcast), Joanna recommends "How to Rock Your Broadcast Appearance" by Sophia Yan, published on NüVoices, and Jiayang recommends that women writers — and all writers — keep a nightly journal, or that we spend 15 minutes on the voice audio app on our phones “talking to ourselves.” Jiayang also recommends the Netflix show Kim’s Convenience.

In the seventh episode of the NüVoices podcast, co-hosts Sophie Lu and Joanna Chiu interview author, journalist, activist, and NüVoices Collective editorial board member Lijia Zhang. But first, a reminder that the New York launch of the NüVoices Collective is happening this Thursday, November 1, at an event in Brooklyn, featuring Leta Hong Fincher, Rebecca Karl, and Lu Pin. Also, a important reminder that the deadline for submissions for the NüVoices Collective print anthology is coming up, December 1. See our website for more submission details! Lijia Zhang was a factory worker who made parts for rockets before she sought freedom through literature. She taught herself English, became a leader of factory workers during the 1989 protests in Nanjing, and eventually became an award-winning journalist and author. Her works include the memoir Socialism Is Great! and a collection of oral histories called China Remembers. Her most recent novel, Lotus, tells the story of a young migrant who turned to prostitution; the story was inspired by Lijia's grandmother’s deathbed revelation of being sold to a brothel. As Lijia describes it, Lotus is “not a Chinese pretty woman.” Writing in English, Lijia has found creative freedom and uses her strong literary voice to tell stories of China’s “little people” (小人物 xiǎorénwù) — those of the disadvantaged class who live on the margins of society. She seeks to bring to light many social inequalities while also telling the stories of Chinese people with humanity. You can learn more about her work in an upcoming episode of the BBC World Book Club podcast. She is currently researching a new book about China’s left-behind children. For books and self-care recommendations, Lijia loves Sketches From a Hunter’s Album, by Russian author Ivan Turgenev, and living a well-balanced life. Joanna suggests another great book about political activism in China, The Phoenix Years: Art, Resistance, and the Making of Modern China, by Madeleine O’Dea, and sleeping more. Finally, Sophie recommends CIRCE, a retelling of Homer’s Odyssey from the perspective of the witch Circe, and going to a great drag bingo.

In the fifth episode of the NüVoices podcast, Alice Xin Liu and Sophie Lu are joined by screenwriter Joan Xu. But first, Joanna Chiu announces the launch of the revamped NüVoices website, as well as online magazine NüStories, and the New York launch of the NüVoices Collective, in an event featuring Leta Hong Fincher, Rebecca Karl, and Lü Pin, moderated by Joanna, on November 1. Joan Xu is a budding screenwriter based in Beijing, working most recently on a forthcoming web series The Circle 御姐的星途. She frequently works in the action-adventure genre on China-Hollywood co-productions. Joan holds a BA in government and economics from Harvard College and an MA in cultural anthropology from the University of Chicago, and will be hosting events for the Harvard alumni community in Beijing. For recommendations and self-care, Alice recommends Why We Love by Helen Fisher, and leaving the house; Joan recommends Daring Greatly by Brené Brown, as well as “KinderCoach”; and Sophie recommends getting friends together for a brunch whilst rallying your best and worst qualities. The book Joan references in the podcast is A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini.

In this third episode of the NüVoices Podcast, Alice Xin Liu is joined by Sophie Lu, a board member of NüVoices who works in the cleantech and environment space. Sophie will be a rotating co-host with Alice and Joanna Chiu for future episodes! Our guest this week is fantasy writer Mima, known in China as Qima 七马 (she says she picked that name for her Chinese readers because “it looks like a man’s name…Of course, I don’t like that”). Her fantasy novel The Legend of Strangers 蝼蚁转 is a road adventure told in a style that melds Quentin Tarantino’s quirky violence with Miyazaki whimsy. Although untranslated (for now), The Legends of Strangers is the first in a series of six novels. Right now, Mima is working with Youku, one of China's biggest video-streaming services, scripting the novels into a hotly anticipated Web series. We expect her to be the next George R. R. Martin. NüVoices has just launched an official WeChat account, which you can follow by searching "NüVoices女音" on the social media platform, and a new website will be launched in September, so watch this space! This podcast is wholly coordinated by the NüVoices board, with production by SupChina. All opinions of guests and presenters belong to the individuals alone and do not reflect the views of NüVoices. Follow them on Twitter at @nvvoices. On a final note, we’re co-presenting, with the local arts collective Spittoon, an event in Beijing on Tuesday, August 28, called Spittunes, in which musicians and poets collaborate to create special musical pieces inspired by the poet’s words. Check it out if you’re in town! Three pairs of poets/musicians will be taking part, including SupChina’s very own Anthony Tao.

In this second episode of the NüVoices podcast, hosts Alice Xin Liu and Joanna Chiu interview Yuan Yang, the Beijing-based technology correspondent for the Financial Times, on how #MeToo has gained momentum in mainland China despite online censorship and university officials reportedly putting pressure on students to stay silent. Since Luo Xixi wrote on social media in January about how her former professor tried to rape her, many others have shared their stories and the movement has spread beyond campuses in recent weeks to the NGO, the media, and the art world. Even a high-ranked Buddhist monk has been accused of sexual misconduct. Joanna and Yuan share insights from their on-the-ground reporting, and the trio discuss ways the #MeToo conversation has been different in China compared with in Western countries and to what extent the Chinese leadership might see the popular movement as a threat. In the future of this biweekly podcast, Alice and Joanna will continue to explore the work of women in media and the arts in Greater China, the impact of abuses of power, international and domestic politics, and their own personal stories. Their guests will also, occasionally, be male. NüVoices is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone. This code of conduct applies to all NüVoices events and spaces, including the website, podcast, and communities both online and off. Read the charter here: https://nuvoices.com/our-charter/. This podcast is wholly coordinated by the NüVoices board, with production by SupChina. All opinions of guests and presenters belong to the individuals alone and do not reflect the views of NüVoices. Follow them on Twitter at @nvvoices. The Chinese #MeToo cases discussed in this episode have also been covered on SupChina: Zhu Jun, VM Xuecheng, Lei Chuang and others.

Today, we’re very proud to present a new podcast in the Sinica network on SupChina. It’s called NüVoices, and it’s a show all about women in China, with a focus on women in media and the arts. It’s hosted by Alice Xin Liu, a translator originally from Beijing, who grew up in the U.K. before coming back to Beijing, and by Joanna Chiu, a Hong Kong Canadian journalist whom you’ve heard on Sinica a couple of times in the last year. Today's show is all about #MeToo and sexual harassment cases in China, and features Yuan Yang, a correspondent for the Financial Times in Beijing. We hope you like it, that it makes you think – and that you’ll subscribe (iTunes, Overcast, Stitcher, RSS feed). And keep an ear out in the coming weeks as we introduce more great podcasts about various facets of China.

Alice Xin Liu and Joanna Chiu interview two Chinese women who work as news assistants for foreign media in China. News assistants are sometimes dubbed "researchers," though they really are journalists who rarely get the glory of a top-of-the-page byline like foreign correspondents, despite doing much of the journalistic legwork.

This week’s Sinica Podcast features Andrew Chubb, a fellow at the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program. Andrew writes extensively on Chinese foreign policy, especially on topics related to maritime disputes in the South and East China seas, Chinese nationalism, and Chinese public opinion. Kaiser and Jeremy chat with Andrew the question of how popular nationalism in China shapes the country’s maritime behavior, and why its impact on policy is not as large as you may think. The discussion on China’s maritime activity involves disputes with Japan, the Philippines, and Vietnam, showing the increasingly sophisticated methods China must take to influence public opinion as it gains international recognition. Recommendations: Andrew: NüVoices, a website that celebrates and supports China-related work done by women. It has a directory of nearly 500 female China experts, making it a great resource for event organizers and China enthusiasts alike. In addition to checking out the website, you can also listen to a Sinica podcast featuring the founder of Nüvoices, Joanna Chiu. Jeremy: Plantnet, an app that uses AI to identify plant species from photographs. After you have successfully identified your plant, you can then upload your photo to help improve the service’s recognition abilities. Kaiser: The People vs. Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It, a book by Yascha Mounk on the recent surge of populist uprisings. It examines the contradiction between democratic liberalism and illiberal democracy, and describes the action needed to save democracy in an age of political distrust.

Big news: The Sinica Podcast network is expanding! Today, we introduce a new podcast: TechBuzz China by Pandaily, a weekly show about technology, innovation, and startups in China, created by Pandaily, a China-focused tech news site. The show is co-hosted by Rui Ma and Ying-Ying Lu, seasoned China-watchers with years of experience working in tech in China. They discuss the most important tech news from China every week, and include commentary from investors, industry experts, and entrepreneurs. Subscribe to TechBuzz China on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, or Stitcher, or click here for the RSS feed. Right after the TechBuzz preview episode (the third of the series; subscribe to listen to previous episodes), Joanna Chiu of Agence France-Presse joins Kaiser to discuss the illicit wildlife trade in Hong Kong and Guangzhou. Joanna went undercover in the two cities to search for stores that would illegally sell her two items in particular: scales of the endangered pangolin — the most heavily poached mammal in the world — and rare totoaba swim bladders. Click on the links to read her AFP reports on her investigations. Recommendations: Joanna: Crime and the Chinese Dream, by a leading criminologist of China, Børge Bakken, who discusses different examples of how Chinese people are sometimes pushed into a life of crime, as they feel the “Chinese Dream” is unattainable for them by normal means. Kaiser: “Homo Orbánicus,” by Jan-Werner Müller in the New York Review of Books, an analysis of how the strongman Viktor Orbán came to power and maintains power in Hungary. Also, “The Right to Kill,” an essay by Cleuci de Oliveira in Foreign Policy, which asks the question, “Should Brazil keep its Amazon tribes from taking the lives of their children?”

Have you or someone you know been affected by sleep disorders, depression, or even drug or alcohol addiction. Believe it or not this may be linked to how and when you sleep...which is actually controlled by when you eat. Dr. Joanna Chiu, Professor of Entomology at UC Davis, studies the animal circadian clock and its control on organismal physiology. Besides being indispensable for the control of daily activities, defects in circadian rhythms and clock genes have also been implicated in a wide range of human disorders. The Chiu lab's goal is to dissect the molecular network and cellular mechanisms that control the circadian oscillator in animals, and investigate how this clock interacts with the environment and metabolism to drive rhythms of physiology and behavior.

From business to literature to politics, there is a huge pool of female expertise on China. But you wouldn’t know it if you examined the names of people who are quoted in the media and invited to China-themed panel discussions: They are mostly men. This is a problem that two Beijing-based journalists aim to solve. Joanna Chiu of AFP and Lucy Hornby of the Financial Times created and maintain an open, user-contributed list called “Female Experts on Hong Kong, Macau, Mainland China and Taiwan.” They began by providing their own contacts, then promoted the document to various email groups and to Twitter. The list “blew up” early this year and now contains nearly 200 names and contact details of female China experts on every major subject area, based all around the world. With such a roster willing to be called up, the list eliminates many common excuses for the underrepresentation of women in the field. In this episode, Joanna and Lucy speak with Jeremy and Kaiser about the realities and biases in the field, the excuses and corresponding solutions for gender underrepresentation, and how the “women’s list” came about. Longtime listeners will remember Lucy from a previous Sinica episode discussing her story on China’s last surviving “comfort women,” enslaved by the Japanese military in World War II. You can follow Lucy on Twitter at @hornbylucy, and find Joanna on Twitter at @joannachiu. Recommendations: Jeremy: Witness to Revolution, a film by Lucy Ostrander about author and labor activist Anna Louise Strong (1885–1970), who spent decades in China and the Soviet Union, getting to know Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and Joseph Stalin, and writing about their pursuit of communism. Lucy: All the President’s Men, the first-person account of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they reported on the Nixon administration’s Watergate scandal. Joanna: The Supreme People’s Court Monitor, a project of Susan Finder, for those who follow Chinese law, and the work of Jessica Valenti, a feminist book author and columnist for the Guardian. Kaiser: The Sympathizer, by Viet Thanh Nguyen, a story about a sleeper agent from Vietnam who moves to the U.S.