Advancing Human Rights and Democracy in China/China and the World Economy
Segment 1: Advancing Human Rights and Democracy in China
Falun Gong and the China Democratic Party emerged almost simultaneously ten years ago. In 1999, ten thousand practitioners of Falun Gong appeared silently and respectfully at the Chinese government leadership compound in Beijing to protest the beatings of forty fellow members in a nearby city. At the same time, the China Democratic Party registered as an opposition party to advance prospects for political pluralism in China. Both groups were met with a tidal wave of repression generated by former president Jiang Zemin which left a sea of human suffering in its shocking wake. One of the victimized groups is a spiritual apolitical movement and the other group is extremely political, so what are the prospects for Falun Gong and the CDP helping advance human rights and democracy in China?
Shen Yun Performing Arts Bringing Chinese Culture to the World
Segment 1: Shen Yun Performing Arts: Bringing Chinese Culture to the World
Shen Yun Performing Arts, formerly known as Divine Performing Arts, will return to Washington, DC, August 26-30th with its breathtaking classical Chinese dance and orchestral music after a successful run in February. The six shows at the Kennedy Center Opera House from February 11-15th were so well-received that the company is returning for a Summer encore. Consisting of three dancing companies, two orchestras, and a host of choreographers, composers, costume designers, backdrop artists, and artistic staff Shen Yun has just completed its tour of over 80 cities on five continents attracting over 800,000 audience members. Show-goers have witnessed an unparalleled and unprecedented tour-de-force of the best of 5000 years of Chinese culture.
Twentieth Anniversary of Tiananmen Pro-Democracy Protests/U.S. Economic Recovery
Segment 1: Twentieth Anniversary of Tiananmen Pro-Democracy Protests
June 4th marks the twentieth anniversary of the brutal crackdown on China’s 1989 pro-democracy demonstrations. The student-led protests, which started in April, grew throughout May until early June when troops were sent in killing hundreds of protesters. Every year the Tiananmen Mothers send China’s top leaders a letter demanding to know what happened to their children on June 4, 1989, and every year they have been ignored. Officials in China don’t acknowledge their existence-or consider that they are owed an explanation, an apology, or a factual account of what happened to their sons and daughters 20 years ago. How does China’s next generation remember this atrocity?
Guest: Grace Wang, Duke University Student
U.S. in Afghanistan/Obama’s First 100 Days
Segment 1: U.S. in Afghanistan
Afghanistan isn’t called the graveyard of empires for nothing.
Alexander the Great was struck by an Afghan archer’s arrow. Genghis
Khan established a powerful empire only after reaching painful
accommodations with the Afghans. While exercising their influence on
surrounding lands, the Greeks, Arabs, Iranians, and Buddhists each
sought to bring their culture’s influence into Afghanistan and all
failed to remain there in the end. To make the list longer, we can add
would-be rulers from India, Britain, and Russia, as well as from the
Soviet Union. And now, at this point in history, while the U.S. would
assert that it is not seeking to conquer, we have a world superpower
striving to once again exert influence upon the graveyard of empires.
Will the United States see Afghanistan become a stable, democratic
country and U.S. ally, or will the U.S. superpower suffer the same fate
as these empires?
Guest: Dr. Ved Pratap Vaidik, Chairman, Council for Indian Foreign Policy
Segment 2: Obama’s First 100 Days
In January, the month President Barack Obama took office, the U.S.
lost 741,000 jobs while almost 275,000 homes went into foreclosure.
From the time of the 2008 election until President Obama was sworn in,
the stock market lost 14% of its value. Against that backdrop, the
first 100 days of the Obama presidency have brought forth a set of
giant initiatives. Obama has overseen the passage of a $787 billion
economic stimulus bill and the dispersal of another $350 billion in
financial-sector rescue funds. His real budget calls for, among other
things, a $630 billion down payment on a new health system and a plan
to dramatically curb greenhouse gases. So far, president Obama remains
popular with the public, enjoying a more than 60% approval rating. We
will offer you a unique perspective of his first 100 days.
Guest: Dr. Sasha Gong, Republican candidate for the 46th District, Virginia House of Delegates
South China Sea Incident/China’s Purchase of U.S. Treasuries
Segment 1: South China Sea Incident
On Sunday, March 7, the Navy surveillance ship Impeccable was harassed by a group of Chinese naval vessels. Both sides questioned the other’s motives, with Beijing accusing the U.S. of conducting “activities in China’s special economic zone in the South China Sea without China’s permission”. In other words, the U.S. was engaged in surveillance activities in and around Chinese waters. The U.S., on the other hand, said it was operating in international waters, thus casting China’s behavior as aggressive in nature. You may recall in April 2001, a U.S. Navy surveillance plane operating in international airspace over the South China Sea had a midair collision with a Chinese fighter jet that was stalking it. The incident resulted in the death of the Chinese pilot and led to the detention of 24 U.S. service personnel for 11 days when the plane made an emergency landing in China. It was speculated at the time that the Chinese were testing the resolve of the new Bush administration. If so, this new incident, not long after the inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama, could have set a pattern for Beijing’s “warm welcome” of new U.S. presidents.
Guest: Admiral James “Ace” Lyons, former Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
U.S.-China Clash Near Hainan Island/Success of Divine Performing Arts
Segment 1: U.S.-China Clash Near Hainan Island
On Sunday, March 7, the Navy surveillance ship Impeccable was harassed by a group of Chinese naval vessels. One of the vessels tried to snag the sonar device and came within 25 feet of the American ship. The Chinese government has asserted that the U.S. maneuver was an illegal activity within Beijing’s 200-mile economic exclusive zone, a charge American officials insist is based on an inaccurate reading of international law. Legal experts attribute the apparently conflicting accounts to ambiguities in international conventions and different views about what types of activities are permitted in economic exclusive zones.
Guest: Rear Admiral Eric McVadon, former U.S. Defense and Naval Attaché in Beijing
Obama’s China Resume/FDA’s Beijing Office
Segment 1: Obama’s China Resume
President-elect Obama has a thin resume. This is particularly true regarding his record on U.S.-China relations. At the April 2007 debate among Democratic candidates, Obama said China is “neither our enemy nor our friend. They’re our competitors.” Senator Obama has noted the problems with China’s revaluation of the Yuan, and he considered to co-sponsor a bill with Senator Clinton to impose high duties on Chinese goods. In March 2008, he condemned China’s crackdown on Tibetan Buddhist monks. Senator Obama has expressed support for the one China policy.
China’s Economic Stimulus Plan/U.S.-China Policy
Segment 1: China’s Economic Stimulus Plan
Beijing has unveiled an economic stimulus program totaling $586 billion. It aims to bolster domestic demand and help avert global recession. The size of the stimulus plan was clearly designed to revive the fading confidence of Chinese businesses and consumers and impress foreign governments. The announced sum of four trillion yuan represents 16% of China’s output last year and is roughly equal to the total of all central and local government spending in 2006. The plan includes spending in housing, infrastructure, agriculture, health care, and social welfare. But the million dollar question is will it work?
Guest: Robert Sherretta, President of International Investor Corporation
Segment 2: U.S.-China Policy, Is Obama’s Change for Real?
Given American concerns over China’s international behavior, its dissatisfaction with bilateral economic relations, and its dissatisfaction with the domestic, political, and economic situation in China, should the United States fundamentally alter its policy toward Beijing? If so, in what direction? And if not, can present policy be implemented more effectively? Is Obama’s change for real?
Guest: John Kusumi, Director Emeritus of China Support Network
China’s Tainted Milk Products/U.S.-India Nuclear Pact
Segment 1: China’s Tainted Milk Products
Fifty-four thousand infants were sick in China, six thousand hospitalized, four died. The tainted milk scandal has sparked global concern about Chinese food products, with more than 30 countries restricting Chinese dairy products, and in some cases, all imports of Chinese made food. EU has a Europe-wide ban on all food for children coming from China. The U.S. hasn’t implemented any restriction on dairy products from China yet. Why?
Guest: Tony Corbo, legislative representative of Food and Water Watch
Segment 2: U.S.-India Nuclear Pact
On October 1, 2008, the U.S. Congress gave final approval to an agreement facilitating nuclear cooperation between the United States and India. The deal is seen as a watershed in U.S.-India relations and introduces a new aspect to international nonproliferation efforts. The deal lifts a three-decade U.S. moratorium on nuclear trade with India. It provides U.S. assistance to India’s civilian nuclear energy program, and expands U.S.-India cooperation in energy and satellite technology. But critics in the United States say the deal fundamentally reverses half a century of U.S. nonproliferation efforts, undermines attempts to prevent states like Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons, and potentially contributes to a nuclear arms race in Asia.
Guest: Michael O’Hanlon, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institute
Wall Street in Crisis/Asian American Voters Keeping Virginia Red?
Segment 1: Wall Street in Crisis
Wall Street is in crisis. It drove Lehman Brothers into bankruptcy and forced American International Group into the hands of the U.S. government. Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America. Goldman and Morgan Stanley are to become commercial banks. China has resisted years of pressure from U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to open its financial system more quickly and add new products. Those barriers helped the nation limit its losses and write-downs from the credit-market crisis to less than 1 percent of the $516 billion global total. Chinese officials warned that the U.S. had set off a financial tsunami by allowing Wall Street lenders to trade in subprime debts and unstable financial derivatives.
Guest: Robert Sherretta, President of International Investor, Inc.
Segment 2: Asian American Voters Keeping Virginia Red?
The growing electoral clout of Asian Americans could play an important role in the upcoming presidential election. For the first time in more than four decades, Virginia is a battleground in the presidential race. A recent survey found that a significant number of Asian Americans voted for the first time in 2006. The survey also pointed out that a growing number of Asians, particularly Chinese Americans, call themselves “independent voters” and do not affiliate themselves with any party. The most important issues to be addressed by the 2008 presidential candidates include the economy, jobs, and health care.
Guest: Ken Feng, Community Activist with Chinese American Republicans of Vir
