Asia Rising

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.

Speaker:

Recorded at La Trobe University (City Campus) on 21st March 2018, in an event co-hosted by the John Richards Centre for Rural Ageing Research.

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:

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 changes and challenges Japan has set out to change its foreign and defence policy and is seeking a greater regional and global influence. It is taking on a greater role in regional security matters including increasing security co-operation with Australia.

What role is Japan seeking to play? How will it carve out space for itself in a region dominated by giant powers? And how will the region respond to a Japan that plays a greater role?

Nobuhiro Aizawa is an expert in Japanese international relations and southeast Asian politics. He is an Associate Professor at the Center for Asia-Pacific Future Studies at Kyushu University.

Nick Bisley is the Executive Director of La Trobe Asia and Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University.

Introduced by Yoshimitsu Kawata, Deputy Consul-General of Japan in Melbourne. The event was held at the State Library of Victoria on 28th February, 2018.

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:

Follow Robert Winstanley-Chesters on Twitter: @rwinstanleyc

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 pushing forward with industrial projects, and does India's environment have the time to be neglected?

GUEST:

Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter: @LaTrobeAsia

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 wider world.

But what does China want from its region? How much change would this represent? What options exist for Australia to influence how the People's Republic comports itself on the wider global stage?

GUEST:

Follow Kevin Rudd on Twitter: @krudd

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 History of Dissent in Hong Kong)

Follow Antony Daparin on Twitter: @antd

SPEAKERS:

Recorded on October 26, 2017 at The Sofitel, Melbourne.

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:

Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter: @LaTrobeAsia