Asia Rising

China's economy has long been a story of success and growth, and being the second largest in the world has given it a position of power in the global economy. But could there be signs of an economic slowdown ahead of China? What steps would they have to take to safely navigate it? Guest: Professor Michael Pettis (Finance, Peking University) Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter: www.twitter.com/latrobea...

India’s fast-growing population, and aspirations to join the throwaway prosperity of the developed world, generate vast quantities of waste, sewage and pollution. In attempting to mitigate these problems, India displays strengths and weaknesses, and the Clean India campaign has found successful techniques as well as discovering strategies that do not work. Some of India’s experiments hold lessons...

Asia’s elderly population is on track to reach a billion by 2050, and there are few governments prepared to meet this change, which will have wide social and economic consequences. Guest: Professor Thomas Klassen (Political Science at York University in Ontario, Canada). Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter: www.twitter.com/latrobeasia Theme music: Asian Wonders by Butterfly Tea

The future of the Indo-Pacific region is being buffeted by an array of complex forces including the return of great power rivalry, rising illiberalism, and growing nationalism. Speakers: The Hon Julie Bishop MP (Minister for Foreign Affairs and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party) Professor Nick Bisley (Head of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University) Tony Walker (Vice-Cha...

Any visitor to China will be acutely aware of the amount of security, and nowhere is this more visible than the nation’s capital, Beijing. Guards are frequent, Cameras are plentiful, and the electronic data mining is extensive. Guest: Bill Birtles (China Correspondent, Australian Broadcasting Corporation) Follow Bill Birtles on Twitter: www.twitter.com/billbirtles Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter:...

The Chinese education system has had its criticisms, but many argue that it delivers, at least in the larger cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong. Students are pushed to study, with many students attending after-school tutoring, and qualities such as respect and dedication are held to a higher standard than that of western education systems. Guest: Lenora Chu (American journalist, author of 'Litt...

Indonesia is a sprawling nation of islands across south-east Asia, and two environmental concerns are significant – deforestation and rising sea levels. The deforestation rate is one of the highest in the world, and rising sea levels threaten much of their territory, including the capital, Jakarta. GUEST: Dr Dirk Tomsa (Senior Lecturer, Politics and Philosophy, La Trobe University). Follow La Trob...

The population of Asia is ageing rapidly. People are living longer than in the past, and coping with this problem requires thoughtful social security and balancing the interests of different generations. Although nations in the region each have unique characteristics, there are overall trends associated with population ageing, which raise implications that extend across most nations in Asia. Speak...

China operates on a scale that outclasses every other country, and are taking climate change seriously. As the world’s biggest polluter many would say that this is the way it should be. But does this give China an advantage and a global platform in green leadership? And are they making the most of it? GUEST: Dr Benjamin Habib (Senior Lecturer, Politics and International Relations, La Trobe Univers...

Japan faces a rapidly changing international environment. Asia is shifting from an era of peace and prosperity to one of contestation and great power rivalry. North Korea's nuclear ambitions are unsettling the region. Xi Jinping's China is more confident, assertive and nationalistic than ever and uncertainty lingers of the role of Japan's security partner, the United States. In response to these c...

North Korea is a country that can little afford a close examination of ecological impact. The environment exists and is protected as long as it is useful as a resource to the authoritative state. Despite this it holds an important place in the mythology of the country, and retaining elements of it is useful, as long as they can be exploited. GUEST: Dr Robert Winstanley-Chesters (Research Fellow, C...

India struggles with environmental imperatives. Its cities have the worst air pollution in the world, its iconic rivers are, in some places, literally dead and human development pressures will often override concerns of the natural environment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made commitments to clean up India, but can he follow through with his promises? Are there more invested interests in push...

With China's emergence as a power of the first rank it has changed the Asian region and indeed the world. It has reordered established patterns of trade and investment, unsettled a longstanding balance of power in Asia, and brought old historical antagonisms to the surface. As President Xi Jinping consolidates his power, China increasingly presents a confident and at times assertive face to the wi...

From the turbulent 1960s until today, Hong Kong has been a city shaped by civil disobedience. The latest wave of protests in Hong Kong’s long history of public dissent culminated in the Occupy Central movement of 2014. What emerges from these grassroots movements is a unique Hong Kong identity, one shaped neither by Britain nor China. Guest: Antony Dapiran (author of City of Protest: A Recent Hist...

The 19th Chinese Communist Party Congress has been and gone, and in its wake we’re left with a more powerful Xi Jinping with an far-reaching vision for the future of the country. But what could it mean in the long-term, and is Xi making a power play that could see future change in both the party and the political balance of China? GUEST: Rowan Callick (China correspondent for The Australian, autho...

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been called many names: The Trump of the East, a dictator-in-waiting, the bastard child of Philippines’ democracy. Beyond these colourful labels, however, are critical social transformations occurring in the Philippine society that accompany Duterte’s rise to presidency. How exactly does a populist firebrand govern? What political project does he offer to o...

China and Australia have relationship anchored by strong trade bonds, and there is a respectful prime-ministerial level dialogue between the two countries.   Yet it is a relationship with underlying tension. China and Australia sometimes find themselves on different sides of the table in some bilateral issues, and disagreements over foreign investment in Australia, influence, and the interests of...

Australia has a vital set of relationships with its Asian neighbours, built on the foundation of shared geography, security interests and mutually beneficial trade. Over recent decades Japan and China have become global powerhouses and India may yet join them. Having strong, beneficial relations with these countries will only become more important. One of the most important figures in building the...

Western countries are impressed by the performance of China's schools in international tests and search for the secrets of their success, but are we overlooking the punishing nature of elite schooling in China and its role in increasing inequality? Guest: Professor Edward Vickers (Comparative Education, Kyushu University), co-author of Education and Society in Post-Mao China (Routledge 2017). Foll...

India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, is a man with strong views on economics. He came into office in 2014 with a vision for India to be a global manufacturing power, and promises that his leadership will usher in economic revival. Has Modi's economic leadership paid off, or is India still waiting for the cheque to clear? Guest: Adam Roberts (former South Asia correspondent for the Economist, cur...

China’s Communist Party Congress has begun in Beijing and opened with an address from General Secretary Xi Jinping. The country’s most powerful leader in decades, Xi game himself a glowing report card and set an ambitious agenda for his second term, keeping a captive audience of delegates entranced 205 minutes. What did the address have to say about the successes of China, the new era it approache...

‘History is the best textbook’ is one of the favourite phrases of China’s President Xi Jinping, yet only one version of history is acceptable in today's China. Since 2012, the ruling Communist party has made radical efforts to tighten its control over history, even bringing lawsuits against those seen guilty of ‘historical nihilism’. The streets around Tiananmen Square were not the only place that...

For the past 15 years western democracies have appeared to reach a crisis point. Cynicism towards political institutions is widespread, with results in the UK and the United States the most visible manifestation of this trend. In contrast, the Chinese Communist Party has overseen the greatest advancement in human development history, and maintained social stability and cohesion at the same time. I...

China's influence in Australia has become controversial. For years there have been reports connecting Chinese money to the funding of political parties, think-tanks, and research institutes. There is investment in business and buildings, and the Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece China Daily struck a deal to be distributed in the Fairfax Media’s newspapers. Less recognised is China’s exercise of s...

Modern India stands on the threshold of becoming a global power. As it seeks to revitalise its economy and improve the health and education prospects of its citizens, improve its fractious relations with China and Pakistan and make its mark on the global stage, the key to understanding its future lies in understanding its leader. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is a controversial figure in his own c...