The Divide

In early 2020, eight doctors were reprimanded by Chinese authorities for “spreading falsehoods” after raising early alarms about coronavirus infections in Wuhan. In the months that followed, millions around the world would die from the disease. By 2023, protests erupted across cities in China as ordinary citizens demanded an end to draconian pandemic restrictions—and called for a...

“Translation is never innocent.” This rings especially true in the realm of propaganda. Did you know that when China translates Xi Jinping’s speeches into other languages, it tailors the messaging to align with the cultural expectations of the target audience? In this episode, Beatrice Gallelli, reseacher at the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI) and assistant professor at Ca'...

When UK's warship HMS Spey sailed through the Taiwan Strait in June, China called it a provocation, disregarding the status quo which determines the waters as international area where everyone can pass through.  In this episode, UK's former Secretary of State for Defence Sir Gavin Williamson CBE MP speaks to the members of the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents' Club about UK’s strategic int...

Did you know that in China, there’s a quiet but determined group of people who, knowingly or not, record the events unfolding around them? In doing so, they’ve drawn the attention—and often the wrath—of a government determined to control how history is told. In this episode, award-winning journalist and researcher Ian Johnson shares how he has been gathering these fragments...

As the U.S. 90-day tariff pause draws near, tensions are again rising in global trade. On Tuesday, Taiwan Institute of Economic Research reported that Taiwan’s manufacturing sector fell into contraction territory in May and that Taiwan Dollor . Does this have anything to do with the United States' trade policy?  In this episode, political economist Greg Fuller unpacks US President Donal...

When we think of division, we often imagine differences in ideology, wealth, gender, or belief. These lines—whether drawn by politics, identity, religion, or even taste in food—can be hard to see, let alone measure. In this episode, researcher Alex Kunz discusses his work using data visualization and mapping to explore the unique social and geographic divides within Taiwan—and ho...

In Taiwan, nearly 5% of adolescents—roughly 54,000 students—experienced cyberbullying in the past year, with some facing such intense online abuse that it led to self-harm or suicide attempts. As internet use among teens grows more pervasive, so too does the emotional toll of life online, especially for young people from marginalized groups. In this episode, we explore the human cost o...

Did you know that Big Tech might know you better than you know yourself? Or that the AI tools designed to “serve” you may actually serve corporate interests instead? And that authoritarian regimes around the world are cutting off access to information through internet surveillance and digital censorship? In this episode, we meet two people fighting for your rights in the digital realm&...

On this 36th anniversary of the Tiananmen Massacre, the U.S. is moving to aggressively revoke Chinese student visas. What should a country do when its academic freedom is exploited by the Chinese Communist Party to advance its military capabilities? And 36 years after the bloody crackdown on students in Beijing, has the Chinese government successfully erased the memory and legacy of the June 4th p...

Last week, we heard from Michael Caster, head of the Global China Program at Article 19, who walked us through China’s legal architecture—from its Cybersecurity Law to the growing power of the Cyberspace Administration of China, or CAC—and how these institutions are being exported across the Indo-Pacific. We also discussed how Beijing’s approach is not just about contr...

China isn’t just censoring the internet within its borders — it’s exporting its model of digital control around the world. From data localization to surveillance mandates, Beijing’s cybersecurity laws are becoming a blueprint for authoritarian governance.  In this episode, Michael Caster of Article 19, an international organization that ropels the freedom of expression...

On Wednesday, May 14th, the United Nations Human Rights Office released a statement urging the Venezuelan government to immediately cease holding its opponents or those perceived as such in isolation and incommunicado detention, after the office conducted a fact-finding mission investigating the country's practice of enforced disappearances. In November of last year, eight international organizati...

As countries race to form new trade alliances in response to tariffs imposed by great powers, what roles do international organizations like the OECD-the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development-play in shaping the global economic order today?   In this episode, Dr. Yongsuk Jang, chair of the OECD’s Committee for Scientific and Technological Policy, speaks about the r...

Friends with Jimmy Lai for decades, Mark L. Clifford now finds himself bearing witness to Hong Kong's persecution of him, as prosecutors use their correspondence as evidence of “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.” In this episode, the author of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong's Greatest Dissident, and China's Most Feared Critic shares his reactio...

When Apple Daily first came out in 1995, it instantly became the most popular newspaper in Hong Kong. Before Jimmy Lai pivoted from retail to the media business, no one was printing newspapers in color, and Cantonese had never been used in the press. In this episode, the author of The Troublemaker: How Jimmy Lai Became a Billionaire, Hong Kong's Greatest Dissident, and China's Most Feared Critic,...

As European countries rallied behind Ukraine following a heated exchange between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House in early March, the world is left wondering how the Russo-Ukrainian war will unfold. In this episode, Head of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Lutz Güllner talks about European security, information manipula...

According to a 2024 survey conducted by the International Women's Media Foundation, more than 31 % of journalists have experienced online violence. The American Press Institute found that these statistics illustrate a troubling trend that many journalists grapple with every day, disproportionately affecting women journalists of color and LGBTQ plus journalists.  In this episode, Jonathan Roze...

In this episode, Taiwan Fellow and journalist Giang Nguyen shares his observation on the increasing trend of Vietnamese students studying in Taiwan, and what he thinks are the factors driving the change.                                              

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who was charged with conspiring to collude with foreign forces. Authorities in Hong Kong and Beijing appear determined to detain Lai indefinitely, while the European Parliament, the United States, and other nations have expressed support for the Apple Daily founder. In this episode, Mark Sabah from the Comm...

The Trans-Atlantic American think tank, the Atlantic Council, recently bestowed the Global Citizen Award on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a recognition intended to honor the "highest expression of global citizenship." However, questions arise: Is Meloni truly deserving of this prestigious award? In this episode, human rights attorney Barbora Bukovská, Senior Director for Law and Po...

On October 20, a U.S. 7th Fleet Destroyer and the Royal Canadian Navy conducted a bilateral transit through the Taiwan Strait. Just two days after this transit, China conducted live-fire drills from its territory closest to Taiwan. In this episode, Seth Cropsey discusses the escalating military tensions in the Taiwan Strait, particularly in light of recent Chinese military exercises.

Former President Tsai Ing-wen is visiting Europe for the first time since her presidency ended in May, choosing the Czech Republic, France, and Belgium as her destinations. Why has she selected these three countries, and what impact might her visit have on Taiwan-Europe relations? In this episode, Marcin Jerzewski, head of the Taiwan Office of the European Values Center for Security Policy, discus...

Thailand is grappling with significant economic challenges, such as high household debt and a downturn in tourism resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the country's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling due to hidden debts and the impact of Chinese dumping. This week, Shawn Crispin of Asia Times discusses the critical tasks Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra mu...

In 2020, Thailand was gripped by significant protests demanding monarchy reform, met with severe police crackdowns. Four years later, despite an electoral victory, the Move Forward Party was dissolved by a constitutional court order in August. Following this, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, daughter of former self-exiled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, became the youngest Prime Minister in Thailand's h...

When diplomats at the United Nations pressed China to address allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Chinese state-run media launched a fervent counter-attack, accusing the US and EU of "politicizing and applying double standards to human rights issues." In this episode, Mr. Orville Schell talks about China's historical relationship with nationalism, how Stanford University is findin...