The Divide

U.S.-China relations have cooled significantly in recent years, defying the expectations of U.S. foreign policy strategists since the 1970s, when there was a prevailing belief that engagement and trade would gradually bring the two countries closer and encourage China to become more open and less authoritarian. That didn't happen.  In this episode, historian Orville Schell, the Arthur Ro...

In February 2021, when Myanmar's military junta staged a coup, they opened fire on civilians and arrested and killed journalists who sought to inform the world about the unfolding events. Fast forward to today, the regime’s brutal treatment of its own people persists, but so does the reporting by Myanmar's media outlets. Journalists continue to operate under extremely dangerous conditions, d...

In February 2021, Myanmar's military junta staged a coup d'état, dissolving the reformist parliament and imprisoning State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. Since then, the country has plunged into a bloody civil war and the Rohingya community's plight continues.  In this episode, Adam Bemma, a media development consultant for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), discusses Myanmar...

Although the United States and the European Union have implemented extensive sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia continues to find its ways to finance its military efforts. Why has it not depleted its funds for weapons acquisition, and who is sustaining the Russian economy? In this episode, Dr. Benjamin L. Schmitt, an astrophysicist and energy security expert fr...

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has served as a wake-up call for Europe. Countries are now recognizing the risks of depending heavily on Russia's energy exports, finding themselves constrained by Russia's dominance in their energy markets. In this episode, Dr. Benjamin L. Schmitt from the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Kleinman Center for Energy Po...

The deployment of the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile defense system in South Korea in 2016 triggered a series of sanctions from China. Since then, Seoul has been cautiously avoiding a repeat of such incidents, even going so far as to arrest its own citizens on the charge of threatening national security. In this episode, Bethany Allen, author of 'Beijing Rules: How C...

When China imposed sanctions on Australian wine, meat, and lobster following Australia's inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus in 2020, countries worldwide realized in horror that they had been held hostage by Beijing's use of economic coercion, a term popularized by China’s strategic application of economic measures to achieve its political goals. This week, journalist and author Beth...

When scholars, security experts, politicians, and activists all warn that "democracy is under threat," it's clear this is no longer merely a hyperbolic slogan. The situations such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conflict in Gaza, and coercion threats in the Taiwan Strait illustrate the challenges states face in managing security risks and deterring hostile adversaries. Today, weapons of mass dest...

As of July 2024, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in over 11,100 civilian deaths and at least 21,860 injuries. In a stark warning, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine, a state without its own nuclear arsenal. But did you know Ukraine once held the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal? In this episode, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer...

As athletes from around the world prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics with their nations' backing, Taiwan's athletes face challenges in competing and qualifying for the national team due to opaque selection processes managed by their sports associations.   In this episode of "The Divide," retired swimmer Mitzi Ting and host Iris explore the Chinese Taipei Swimming Association's alleged m...

American voters are becoming less enthusiastic about their choices after the first US presidential debate ended with President Joe Biden facing growing pressure to drop out of the race, while former President Trump is being criticized for false claims he made during the debate. Meanwhile, people in Taiwan are closely monitoring the race, anxiously waiting to see if the future US pre...

As AI continues to weave itself into the fabric of technological advancement, it brings with it a host of opportunities and challenges. Taiwan, home to the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer TSMC, is also navigating the delicate balance between fostering innovation and implementing regulations to ensure safety and public trust.  In this episode, Gareth Tan of the Coalition f...

More than half of the world's population, 4.2 billion people, live in countries where freedom of expression is in crisis. Each year, Article 19, a British international human rights organization that works to defend and promote freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide, publishes the "Global Expression Report" to track the changes in the right to free expression and information wo...

On June 4 each year, Hong Kongers mourn the the victims of the Tiananmen Massacre who died on that day in 1989 together at the city's Victoria Park. But this year, the heavy police presence and subsequent arrests signaled a message to the citizens: "If you try to commemorate, you are breaking the law, and we will arrest you." Sophie Richardson, who served as the China Director at Human Rights Watc...

On June 4, India concluded its 6-week election with a surprising outcome that leaves Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with no choice but to form a coalition government. This week, Indian journalist and representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists Kunal Majumder comes back to The Divide to talk about the implications of the election results,...

Last week, a court in Hong Kong convicted 14 people of conspiracy to commit subversion in the largest national security case, involving 47 pro-democracy advocates who organized an unofficial primary election for legislative council seats. Hong Kong officials, including Chief Executive John Lee, welcomed the convictions, emphasizing 'the scale and the seriousness of the criminal scheme.' In this ep...

On Tuesday, May 21, tens of thousands of people gathered outside the Legislature in Taipei to call for more transparency regarding controversial legislative reform bills. Inside the Legislature, lawmakers from the opposition parties Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) passed the second reading of parts of the bills with their majority votes. In today's episode, Vincent Chao,...

As death tolls rise in Gaza, student protests have swept through US campuses in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Students are urging their schools and universities to divest from weapons manufacturers and companies profiting from Israeli military actions against Palestinians. But why do so many colleges and universities invest in companies involved in weapons manufacturing or connect...

The Constitutional Court convened a debate on abolishing the death penalty on April 23. Long-term polls consistently show that approximately 80% of the Taiwanese public supports maintaining the death penalty. Against this backdrop, the question arises whether the Judiciary has the authority to override public opinion. In this episode, we are hearing from Professor Jimmy Chia-Shin Hsu (許家馨)...

On April 23, the Constitutional Court of Taiwan convened a hearing to assess the constitutionality of the death penalty. This came after 37 individuals on death row submitted a petition, contending that capital punishment violates their constitutional right to life. In this edition of The Divide, we sit down with Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡), the executive director of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death...

In 2017, shocking reports emerged from East Turkistan, or Xinjiang, revealing the harrowing reality faced by thousands of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. They were forcibly detained in "re-education camps'' by Chinese authorities. There they endured unimaginable horrors such as forced disappearance, torture, and extra-judicial detention. The world grappled with the crisis while the number of...

Join us for an insightful interview with Kunāl Majumder, the representative for India at the press freedom organization Committee to Protect Journalists; and political journalist Amrita Madhukalya, who is covering the ongoing general election in India. In this episode of the Divide, Kunal and Amrita dive deep into the issues affecting journalists covering India's ongoing elections, including...

India kicks off what's essentially the world’s biggest election on April 19. It's a huge deal — possibly the most important one in decades — and it could really shape the country's future. Almost a billion people will get to decide if they want Prime Minister Narendra Modi back for a rare third term, which would extend his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), beyond their cur...

Motherhood is a complex and nuanced topic that is often discussed in a limited manner. However, for many women, it is not a simple either/or decision. In this episode, we will hear from four women who are navigating their life choices with diverse mindsets and considerations.

This week, The Divide delves into the impact of Jimmy Lai's trial on the people of Hong Kong and the broader implications of China's crackdown on democracy. We hear from former Hong Kong journalist Steve Vines, close associate Mark Simon, and former Asia coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists Steven Butler about Lai's fearless character and unwavering commitment t...