Pressing Matters

On today's Pressing Matters, Philip See speaks to Jean Encinas-Franco, Professor in the Department of Political Science, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines as we get her perspective on the dynamics of politics in the Philippines and the ongoing feud taking place between President Marcos Bong Bong Junior and his predecessor Rodrigo Duterte. We ask her how is it that political families and dynasties are much more powerful than political parties

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In today's Pressing Matters, Philip See speaks to Ben Bland director of the Asia-Pacific programme at Chatham House as we get his take on the recently concluded Indonesian Presidential Election where Prabowo Subianto will succeed Joko Widodo. Ben shares with us his perspective on how exciting the election campaign was on the ground and whether he expects Prabowo to be Jokowi 2.0.

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On today's Pressing Matters, Philip See speaks to Michael Montesano, Associate Senior Fellow, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute as we have a discussion with him about Thailand’s political landscape and get his take on how Prime Minister Sreetha Thavisin has been doing after taking power last October. We ask Michael as well whether we will see the return of Thaksin Shinawatra as PM again

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Philip See speaks to Dr. James Gomez, Regional Director at Asia Centre as we dissect their latest report titled “ Online Content Regulations in Asia-Pacific” as James walks through with us how some regulations have been heavy handed in stifling discussions among civil society and NGOS that challenge the status quo.

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On today's Pressing Matters, Philip See speaks to Lucas Myers, Senior Associate for Southeast Asia at the Wilson Center's Asia Program about how a group of armed rebels is putting significant pressure on Myanmar’s military junta. We also take this opportunity to reflect this month on the 3-year anniversary of the military seizing power from Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government

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Hong Kong-based Reporter at The Wall Street Journal shares with us how Chinese automaker BYD overtook Tesla to become the world’s largest EV maker. She helps us understand how its CEO Wang Chuanfu built this business from scratch. Hopefully she will share with us what the acronym BYD stands for.

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We delve into the evolving landscape of philanthropy in Asia with Keeran Sivarajah, a Partner at The Bridgespan Group, discussing the nuances between Eastern and Western philanthropic approaches, and how philanthropy intersects with and complements business and governmental initiatives throughout the region.

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• In today's Pressing Matters, Philip See speaks to Brian Hioe, editor from New Bloom Magazine about the latest Taiwanese presidential election results and what the election of William Lai and third consecutive win for the Democratic Progressive Party will mean for Taiwan and the region.

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We speak to Greg Poling, Senior Fellow and Director, Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies to reflect on the extent of deterioration of US – Sino relations in 2023 and whether we expect the tensions between both superpowers to ramp up this year following the recently concluded Taiwanese presidential elections.

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In today's Pressing Matters, Philip speaks to Shannon Teoh, the Malaysia Bureau Chief of Straits Times as we do a quick reflection on the 2023 political developments that took place in Malaysia. From the state elections to a cabinet reshuffle, to cap 2023 we ask Shannon whether 2024 will be able to match the excitement of 2023, or would it be rather dull, but perhaps much welcomed, year?

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