China Insider

It’s election day! If you haven’t already, go do your civic duty and vote. With that settled, we open this week with Miles on just what makes American democracy so unique and influential around the globe. Everyone worldwide has a vested interest in the outcomes of our elections, and China is no exception. Miles reviews the Chinese Communist Party’s outlook on our elections and highlights their past (and current) attempts to interfere in our democratic system. We then close with a quick glance again at the North Korean troops in Ukraine, but use this topic as a catalyst to take on the prevailing narratives about China’s thinking inside the evolving axis between China, Russia, and North Korea.

Hudson expert Miles Yu opens with his assessment of the BRICS summit held last week in Kazan, Russia, and whether it accomplished anything other than a moral victory for Vladimir Putin’s legitimatization campaign. Second, he analyzes the conveniently timed agreement between China and India over their longstanding border dispute in the Himalayas and argues that the solution is more a circumstantial strategy shift than a true settlement. Finally, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te visited the Island of Quemoy to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou, which Miles likens to both the Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Midway in terms of significance in shaping Taiwan’s history.

South Korean intelligence services have revealed credible evidence that North Korea has deployed upwards of 12,000 troops for training and ultimately combat alongside Russia in the war against Ukraine. Miles Yu analyzes the significance of this escalation what this signals for the anti-western axis of Russia, China and North Korea.  Second, with the US presidential election reaching its apex, the economy, and tariffs, are in the spotlight. Miles retraces what lead to the tariffs on Chinese imports started during Trump's first term, and why they  have had such strong bipartisan support. Finally, Miles details why China has so few Nobel laureates, and why the four winners they have had don't receive the heroes treatment you might expect. 

We start with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s “Double Ten” speech last week, which commemorated Taiwan’s National Day on October 10. President Lai laid out his government’s agenda and called for cooperation to bring political unity to Taiwan. Next, we detail the dramatic rise and fall of China’s stock market in the last two weeks and why the Chinese Communist Party’s planned economy is losing trust both domestically and internationally. And last, we cover the detention of four Taiwanese business executives working at Foxconn in mainland China.

On October 1st the Chinese Communist Party commemorated 75 years of CCP rule over mainland China. Meanwhile October 10th serves as Taiwan's national day. For two countries, so geographically close, and so historically tied, to share national days so close and historically tied, creates an obvious political rivalry. Miles Yu lays out for us how this national day rivalry manifests itself. Next, we analyze President Lai's recent refusal of a "peace agreement" with China, deciding instead to publicly push a desire for "peace through strength and self-defense." And last, with the 1-year anniversary of the October 7th terror attacks in Israel upon us, Miles reflects on China's role and goals in the Middle East. 

Human rights sat decidedly at the core of the bi-lateral relationship between the Soviet Union and the United States during the cold war. International awareness, dissident support and tangible accountability measures made human rights a powerful tool in the US arsenal to combat communist influence. Yet, today we don't see the same clarity in policy and action applied to the actions of the Chinese Communist Party. Whether it's the Uyghurs, or any other group from the laundry list of oppressed minorities, the CCP has made it a policy to subjugate, kill, silence or "re-educate" anyone who does not center their beliefs around those of the party. Senior Fellow, Olivia Enos, joins the show this week to paint a scary picture of just how widespread CCP repression is, and how the US can step up to the plate to hold the communist regime to account for its human rights violations. 

For the first time ever a Japanese destroyer sailed through the Taiwan Strait, and on the same day naval vessels from Australia and New Zealand also sailed together through the disputed waterway. Miles Yu gives us the background behind the strait's importance for setting the tone with regard to international partnership against Chinese aggression. Second, in light of Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's trip to the U.S., we ask Miles what the state of the Ukraine war is, but specifically through the lens of how China see's and fuel's the conflict. Lastly, we profile the newly elected Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba.

With President Joe Biden's final Quad meeting taking place last weekend, Miles Yu gives us some background on the multilateral group of nations, and it's importance in defining, and bringing order to, the Indo-Pacific. Next, we cover the continued rise of violent xenophobia inside China in light of another stabbing and death of a 10-year old Japanese schoolboy. This time the Japanese government, along with Japanese companies in China, is making it clear that they're fed up with the Chines Communist Party's culture of fear.  Finally, the U.S. Commerce Department officially proposed a new ban on Chinese-made car parts, citing not economics as the reason, but rather national security. 

The Chinese Communist Party announced that it will no longer allow international adoptions of Chinese children. Hudson expert Miles Yu analyzes whether the cause is demographics, politics, or something else. Then we move to the recent detention of Chinese investment bankers to evaluate why the CCP is going after them now, and how the move could spook the larger economy. Finally, Miles describes why nationalist Chinese sports fans are furious after the Chinese men's soccer team lost to Japan 7-0, and demonstrates why centralized and grandiose political ambitions can't force you to be good at soccer.