Young China Watchers

Bill Birtles shares the story of his sudden departure from China in 2020, and discusses his book, "The Truth About China: Propaganda, Patriotism and the Search for Answers." — Bill Birtles is East Asia correspondent for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He was based in Beijing between 2015 and 2020, when he had to make a sudden departure as Australia-China relations soured. He is now based in Taiwan. — The YCW Podcast is a podcast series by Young China Watchers. We’re a global community of young professionals, providing a platform to discuss the most pressing issues emerging from China today. We organize events with China experts in our 10 chapters across Asia, Europe and the U.S., fostering the next generation of China thought leaders. Download and follow our podcast on Spotify, iTunes, Google Play Music or your usual podcasting platform. Produced by Joshua Cartwright and Sam Colombie. Music: ‘We Build With Rubber Bands’, ‘Dirty Wallpaper’ by Blue Dot Sessions. For any suggestions, recommendation

For this episode, we partnered with the Asia Global Institute at the University of Hong Kong, which focuses on presenting Asian perspectives on global issues. Alejandro Reyes is the institute’s director of Knowledge Dissemination and host of the Asia Global podcast. Ahead of the 20th Party Congress, he discussed the challenges China is facing with Ann Listerud and Jason Li. — Ann Listerud is co-director of Young China Watchers’ DC chapter and is an analyst at Strider Technologies. She specializes in China’s macroeconomic conditions and government policies, as well as East Asia more broadly.  Jason Li is a DC-based research associate at the Stimson Center’s East Asia program. His research focuses on U.S.-China relations, cross-Strait relations, grand strategy in the Indo-Pacific, and China’s approach to conflict issues in its periphery and the Middle East.  — The YCW Podcast is a podcast series by Young China Watchers. We’re a global community of young professionals, providing a platform to discuss t

On the 30th of June, 2020, Beijing implemented the Hong Kong National Security Law. Officials promised the law would not substantially alter Hong Kong’s way of life. But many greeted that rhetoric with skepticism, and some critics even declared the death of the “One Country, Two Systems” framework.  So, over a year later, what has been the actual impact of the National Security Law on Hong Kong and its people? To find out, YCW’s multimedia editor Joshua Cartwright spoke with Thomas Kellogg, an expert on law and governance in China. — Thomas Kellogg is a leading scholar of legal reform in China, Chinese constitutionalism, and civic society movements in China, who currently serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Asian Law at Georgetown University. — The YCW Podcast is a podcast series by Young China Watchers. We’re a global community of young professionals, providing a platform to discuss the most pressing issues emerging from China today. We organize events with China experts in our 10 chapt

As our London chapter kicks off their annual Climate Series with a Q&A with Isabel Hilton of China Dialogue, we invited climate reporter Karoline Kan to share her thoughts on recent developments in China-U.S. climate cooperation and China's climate policy. Sam and Karoline talk about the Leaders Summit on Climate, cooperation versus competition, and China's 14th Five-Year-Plan and carbon market. Karoline's reading recommendations: Bloomberg Green China Dialogue Meltdown in Tibet, by Michael Buckley — Karoline Kan is a longtime climate journalist and author of Under Red Skies, a memoir of China's changing society through the eyes of her family. Kan is the 2019 winner of our Young China Watcher of the Year Award.  — The YCW Podcast is a podcast series by Young China Watchers. We’re a global community of young professionals, providing a platform to discuss the most pressing issues emerging from China today. We organize events with China experts in our 10 chapters across Asia, Europe and the U.S.,

As our European chapters continue a deep dive into the relations between China and the Visegrád Four countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), we invited Czech analyst Filip Šebok to discuss China's role in Czech domestic politics and the future of the 17+1 initiative. Our host for this interview is Mirela Petkova, a former Junior Researcher at the EU & Global Affairs Unit at Clingendael, and a writer for the Young China Watchers editorial team.  If you'd like to find out more about developments in Central Europe regarding China, be sure to check out our recent webinar, in which a panel debated the benefits and pitfalls of the Visegrád Four’s cooperation with China, Beijing’s economic and political presence in the region, the region’s role in EU-China relations, and the significance of the 17+1 Initiative. And subscribe to our newsletter to find out about upcoming events. — Filip Šebok is a Project Manager and China Research Fellow at the Association for International Affairs in

In this episode, Sam speaks with Lt. General H.R. McMaster about his new book, "Battlegrounds," in which McMaster lays out his vision for some of the key foreign policy challenges facing the current and next U.S. administration. McMaster discusses what he believes to be the flawed assumption embedded in previous U.S. administrations' China policy — namely, that the PRC would liberalize. McMaster puts it bluntly: "Engagement with the Party has not worked," and has in his view emboldened the Party. They also discuss China's overseas investment and the difficulty of imposing international standards of accountability as well as China's aims to export its model, what McMaster says has been called a "new type of colonialism." McMaster makes the case for characterizing Trump's trade war within the appropriate bounds of competition rather than confrontation with China. "This is not a U.S. and China problem; it's a free world and China problem." — Lt. General H.R. McMaster is a former National Security Advis

Excerpted from an event hosted by YCW London, this month's episode features Tim Clissold, a Sino-U.S./U.K. business dispute resolution expert and the author of Mr. China, a book centered on the mishaps and lessons Tim encountered when first entering the Chinese business world. Interviewed by YCW London Head Michael Yip, Tim tells his personal story of becoming interested in China alongside the broader narrative of China's growth and dominance in the globalized world. Tim points out the imbalance of knowledge between Chinese expertise on the West and Western expertise on China and emphasizes that the root of Western ignorance toward the society driving the world's second largest economy is rooted in school curricula that persist in Eurocentrism, despite his and others' efforts to shift them toward the Sinosphere. He also speaks about his personal relationships with individuals in China and how they continue to shape and complicate his outlook on the nation's political system. Tim also discusses his upcomi

On May 30, we invited Dr Victor Shih, UC San Diego professor and expert on China’s political economy, to discuss the outcome of the Two Sessions of the 2020 National People's Congress (NPC). Dr Shih shared three takeaways. Part 2 of this double episode captures a lively debate with YCW members on the controversial National Security Legislation (NSL) that was introduced for Hong Kong. Dr Shih started by explaining why the most concerning aspect of the NSL is the unrestricted operation of Mainland Chinese offices in the territory. He described the potential impact on civil society and the investment climate in the city, in particular the lack of recourse and the legal repercussions of shorting state-owned enterprises.  On potential further sanctions by the U.S., Dr Shih analyzed several options, from visa restrictions and sanctions on individuals, to a ceiling on the borrow

On May 30, we invited Dr Victor Shih, UC San Diego professor and expert on China’s political economy, to discuss the outcome of the Two Sessions of the 2020 National People's Congress (NPC). Dr Shih shared three takeaways. In part I of this double episode, Dr Shih covers the decision by the Central Government to focus on supply-side stimulus and subsidies targeted at new economy and technology sectors, as opposed to demand-side stimulus seen in the U.S. and some European countries. With a drop-off in global consumption due to locked-down economies, many Chinese factories will struggle to find markets for their goods — even with increased production capacity. Additionally, the collapse of fiscal revenues at the local level result in inadequate government action. With potential blind spots in current government measures, some kind of demand-side relief is inevitable if the reces

Host Sam Colombie speaks with the current YCW London Mentorship team, Dr. Shengke Zhi and Samuel Wejchert, to expand upon their YCW blog post on China's leadership in global carbon innovation. They touch on cooperation between China and the European Union on carbon, as well as China's commitment to innovation in low carbon emissions technologies. They also talk about the market distinctions between the U.K. and China and how those differences affect carbon partnerships between the two nations, presenting both opportunities and challenges. Samuel and Shengke discuss changes in China's climate policy in recent years and how the concept of "ecological civilization" impacts business. In the wake of COVID-19, they talk about China's plans to rebuild its economy and how recovery plans might expedite or derail low-carbon energy developments. As Samuel concludes, "We're facing a short-term crisis in the form of the coronavirus pandemic, but we shouldn't forget that we're in the midst of another, arguably, l

It’s April and what can we talk about but the Coronavirus? For this episode, host Sam Colombie invited three fellow Young China Watchers on the show to talk about their experiences living in China during this crisis: Dev Lewis, Yenching Scholar, currently in Shanghai; Julia Chen, Public Policy Researcher at a tech company in Beijing; and Thena Lee, Political Economy Consultant, also in Beijing. The focus of their discussion is China’s slow but certain recovery from the worst peaks of the infection curve and how China’s current situation might inform other countries about what’s to come. Julia and Sam kick off the episode by sharing their experiences under quarantine in Beijing and Hong Kong respectively. Dev, Thena and Julia then compare their experiences in Beijing and Shanghai. They discuss the hesitant return of social gatherings, the measures local authorities are taking to prevent a second wave of infections, and the prevalence of xenophobia in times of crisis.  They continue the episode talking

This month, Sam sits down with Julia Voo, former head of YCW Beijing and current Research Director of the China Cyber Policy Initiative. The two discuss Julia’s recent paper, which explains how the U.S. Development Finance Corporation (USDFC) can help America compete with China in telecommunications investment in African and other developing markets. Sam and Julia discuss the scope of China's digital silk road and the battle between the U.S. and China over internet infrastructure and influence throughout the Global South. Julia touched on the USDFC’s potential to "balance Chinese influence in developing markets" as well as areas of potential cooperation between U.S. and Chinese telecommunications companies operating in Africa. Julia also speaks about the global security implications for wavering Sino-U.S. cooperation. "You can't talk about global cyberspace governance without the U.S. and China at the table,” she said. She talked about the potential progress the two powers can make, including working together

For the final episode of the year, Sam presents a few highlights from the 2019 Young China Watchers Conference, held in partnership with the Lau China Institute at King’s College London. The podcast begins with opening remarks from James Tunningley of YCW and Dr. Igor Rogelja of Lau China Institute. Tunningley provides an overview of a range of important events which took place over the past year, and introduces the theme of the conference, ‘PRC at 70: Behind the Headlines.’ Rogelja elaborates on the importance of transcending simplistic narratives, especially at a time when the debate over containment versus engagement is reaching new heights in China-watching circles. Next we listen to an excerpt from the keynote speech by renowned author Jonathan Fenby. Fenby describes the mix of confidence and concern which the current Chinese leadership applies to some of the challenges arising from the country’s leap to global prominence. Frederick Ladbury of YCW introduces the first panel on science and technology, fo

This month, Sam speaks with researcher, consultant, and former Yenching Scholar Danit Gal about the relationship between national culture and AI governance in China. She describes her current work on characterizing the Chinese approach to AI ethics. Danit also touches on her theory about the tool-partner spectrum of AI technologies, ranging from Google maps to Japan's virtual wife. China, she argues, is in the middle of the spectrum; the government is skeptical of true partnerships, while, for example, Buddhist monks are embracing AI use in monasteries. Danit synthesizes the various theoretical frameworks towards AI from the perspective of South Korea, Japan, and China, and sheds light on the disparate perspectives on this issue on the part of various Chinese experts and researchers. Danit also talks about her Yenching thesis, which explored the challenges of incorporating AI in a Chinese nursing home. She also talks about the danger of anthropomorphizing AI, specifically as it  applies to

This month, Sam speaks with Hong Kong Free Press writer and Editorial Director Kris Cheng. Kris has been closely covering local Hong Kong political news, including the ongoing pro-democracy protests. When asked what made this summer’s protests different from others in Hong Kong’s history, Kris puts it simply: “People were willing to risk it.” He describes the protestors storming the Legislative Council as evidence of the people’s commitment, identifying June 9, 2019 as a turning point in the movement. During their August 20 conversation, Sam and Kris discuss the future of the protests and what factors have allowed them to persist for three months and counting. They compare the 2014 and 2019 protests, pointing out the intensifying use of tear gas and force by police as well as the protestors’ resolve. They also cover the Hong Kong government’s relationship with Beijing and the possibility of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) becoming involved in curbing protestors. Kris highlights crucial components of an

In August’s episode of the YCW Podcast, Sam speaks with Oriana Skylar Mastro, Assistant Professor of Security Studies at Georgetown University and an officer in the U.S. Air Force Reserve. Oriana’s new book “The Costs of Conversation: Obstacles to Peace Talks in Wartime” explores case studies of conflicts in Asia, laying out a framework to explain why states do not engage diplomatically with their adversaries. People sometimes assume that states are in frequent contact while in conflict. Oriana argues that this is not the case. She points out that in the majority of conflicts since the Second World War, at least one of the states refused to talk to the other throughout the entire conflict.“The point of the book is to delve into this and lay out the reasons that influence the decision to not talk to the enemy,” she tells YCW. Throughout this episode, Oriana and Sam talk about these reasons and their application—including escalation, inducements to negotiation, and the danger of perceived weaknes

For this month’s episode, Sam sat down with Kyle Jaros, Associate Professor in the Political Economy of China at the University of Oxford.  They discussed Kyle’s new book, “China’s Urban Champions: The Politics of Spatial Development”, which took four provincial case studies in Shaanxi, Jiangsu, Hunan, Jiangxi and analyzed the relationships between local leaders, provincial leaders, and Beijing, as well as the roles occupied by other regional stakeholders. Kyle talked about his research methods, decisions, and challenges, highlighting his goal to cover issues unique to each province as well as identity their points of overlap.  Xi Jinping, Kyle points out, made analysis of China’s central power in Beijing the focal point for research and commentary into Chinese policy-making. While in the 1990s, researchers were more interested in addressing questions about China ability to achieve national coherence, now that China has established itself as a united state and global powerhouse, researchers tend to

In the first episode of the YCW Podcast, host Sam Colombie interviews Jude Blanchette, Senior Advisor and China Practice Lead at Crumpton Group. They discuss neo-Maoists, the subject of Jude’s new book, “China’s New Red Guards,” which tracks the evolution of neo-Maoists from the early 2000s to today. Sam and Jude discuss the group’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and President Xi Jinping, as well as the wider backdrop of China’s increasing radicalization and political orthodoxy under Xi. The conversation also covers the CCP’s arduous task of addressing the tension between the Maoist tenets that advance Xi’s goals and the active revolutionary elements that challenge current policies. As Jude explains, foreign observers tend to ignore voices in China that don’t conform to the Western consensus of advancement—namely, economic liberalization and moves towards democratization. But as an effective, and increasingly evident, harbinger of China’s political climate, neo-Maoism is a relevant moveme