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.
Continue reading »
Impact of Asian American Voters/On Patrol in the Virtual World
Segment 1: Impact of the Asian American Vote
The presidential campaign is in full swing. Ethnic minorities represent an increasingly powerful voting bloc that will help decide which presidential candidate, Sen. Barack Obama or Sen. John McCain, wins the 2008 general election. Feb. 5 Super Tuesday exit polls showed that 75% of Asian Americans voted for Hillary Clinton over Barack Obama, The results from the Hawai‘i Democratic caucuses indicated that Sen. Obama won with 76 percent. The Asian vote has became a hot topic of discussion. How much can the Asian American vote help to swing a close election?
Guest: Naomi Tacuyan, Deputy Director of APIAVote
Continue reading »
Congressman in China/Global Online Freedom Act
Segment 1: Congressmen Barred from Meeting with Chinese Dissidents
The Chinese security apparatus has tightened controls considerably, ahead of the Beijing Olympics. Chinese dissidents with grievances have been rounded up, or kept from entering Beijing by policed security cordons that ring the city. Congressmen Frank Wolf and Chris Smith, two outspoken critics of China’s human rights record, travelled to Beijing while there was still time before the Olympics for China to demonstrate its commitment to human rights. They had invited a number of dissident lawyers to meet with them their first night, however these lawyers were intercepted before they could make their appointment with the Congressmen. That afternoon police had taken two lawyers from their homes, blocked another lawyer from leaving his apartment, and warned off or barred at least six other invited lawyers.
Guest: Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA)
Continue reading »
Dalai Lama and Beijing’s 7th Round of Talks and China’s Stock Market Melt-down
Segment 1: Seventh Round of Talks between Dalai Lama and Beijing
Starting in March 2008, Buddhist monks and others took to the streets in Tibetan areas in repeated protest against their treatment by Chinese authorities. Large numbers of paramilitary police were mobilized to contain the unrest, and large scale arrests and continued surveillance have restored a tense calm. On July 1st, 2008, the Dalai Lama’s envoys began talks with Beijing. This is the seventh round in a series of on-and-off formal negotiations that began in 2002. In a prepared statement, the Tibetan envoys said they would press for tangible progress to alleviate the difficult situation for Tibetans in their homeland.
Guest: Karmar Zurkhang, former President of Capitol Area Tibetan Association.
Continue reading »
China’s Stock Market Tumbles and Post-Election Taiwan
Segment 1: China’s Stock Market Makes History
If you think you’ve got it bad because of the recent market decline in the U.S., you should take a look at Chinese stock investors. By the end of the first quarter, China’s main market, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, had tumbled about 43% since its peak in October of last year. That’s quadruple the decline over the same period for the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, which has lost 11%. Worse yet, China’s markets are relatively new, and investors are inexperienced. Many of those losing money got in just in the past year, buying near the peak and now suffering deep losses. What is going on?
Guest: Robert Sherretta, President, International Investors, Inc.
Beijing Olympics: China’s Coming-out Party in Danger?
The Beijing Olympics represent a kind of coming-out party for China, a
chance for the rising Asian power to showcase its economic and political
development. There is much for the world to admire and for the Chinese
people to be proud of.
But things are not turning out in favor of Beijing.
Freedoms of religion, speech and assembly do not exist in China, and
Beijing’s oppression of the Tibetan people has drawn waves of criticism.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown joined with German Chancellor Angela
Merkel in declining to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic games,
and French President Nicolas Sarkozy has indicated that he might do the same.
The Olympic games have no doubt become the high profile venue for implicit
and explicit political messages.
In the U.S., Thad McCotter, Congressman from Michigan, introduced a bill to
restrict President Bush from attending the opening ceremony.
Guest: Rep. Thad McCotter Chairman, House Republican Policy Committee
The Future of Tibet and China
With the Beijing Olympics only months away Tibetans world-wide are hoping to mobilize new support for their call for an end to what they say is China’s illegal occupation of their homeland. Their cause has been greatly boosted ever since Tibet became the site of the eruption of the biggest anti-China protests in 20 years.
Another Face of China / Religious Freedom, A Simple Idea?
The Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Silk Road, Buddhist and Taoist temples, painting, calligraphy, the Three Gorges, green tea and tasty food. China is filled with an abundance of natural wonders and a rich culture. But urban life today is something Westerners know little about.
In the mainland you can lose yourself in an old temple in the morning and find yourself in a shopping center in the afternoon. As far as nightlife goes, American jazz competes with Chinese opera. Bars and cafes sit side by side with traditional tea houses.
Cross-cultural Marriage
Can cross cultural marriage work? Well, yes, of course, cross cultural marriage can work, but there are both advantages and disadvantages to think about. It all depends on what you expect when marrying someone from another country, and whether that someone can give you what you expect — and whether you can meet their expectations, too, of course. It’s important to have an awareness of cross-cultural differences, perspectives and issues.
Guests: Cathy Cai, Eric Maxwell
Kitty Hawk port call denial, a misunderstanding?
The USS Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier group and its 8,000 airmen and sailors were
expected in Hong Kong on Wednesday, November 21, 2007. But it’s port call was refused by
China. Hundreds of relatives of U.S. crew members had flown to Hong Kong to celebrate
Thanksgiving on Thursday. Later in the day, China appeared to have relented,
announcing the carrier would be allowed to stop. But Kitty Hawk ships were not
heading back to Hong Kong and were on course towards their base in Japan. Top U.S.
Navy officials said the snub was troubling, but that even more worrying was
Beijing’s refusal earlier that Thanksgiving week to allow two U.S. Navy
minesweepers, USS Patriot and USS Guardian, to enter Hong Kong harbor to escape
approaching stormy weather and take on fuel. Chinese officials so far have not
offered any explanation why they denied U.S. warship entry to Hong Kong. We will
offer our explanation.
Guests:
Eric McVadon, Director of Asia-Pacific Studies, Institute for Foreign Policy
Gordon Chang, author “The Coming Collapse of China”
