China Digest #86

In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Research Fellow Jennifer Hsu speaks with Jessica Teets about policy experimentation and diffusion at the local level in China, and the consequences for civil society. Jennifer and Jessica discuss local-level policy innovations that have taken place in the past five years, and also where space for experimentation has shrunk. They talk about what the Communist Party’s upcoming National Congress might mean for understanding long-term trends in policymaking in China.
 
Jessica Teets is a Professor at Middlebury College, and Associate Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Chinese Political Science. Her research focuses on governance in authoritarian regimes, especially the role of civic participation. She is the author of Civil Society Under Authoritarianism: The China Model (Cambridge University Press, 2014). Jessica is currently co-authoring a new book manuscript on changing governance under Xi Jinping. She has a forthcoming co-edited volume developing a theory of how to lobby dictators.

Conversations: Think local, act central - innovation in local level policymaking in China

On 21 July 2022, the Lowy Institute hosted the launch of 'The Consul', written by Nonresident Fellow Ian Kemish. The book was launched by Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon Tim Watts MP, with a conversation afterwards between Ian Kemish and Natasha Kassam, Director of the Institute's Public Opinion and Foreign Policy program.

How have world events shaped the way we travel now and what does future travel look like? What should we expect of our government when we are overseas? Where does personal responsibility begin and end? Is Australia’s consular service adequately resourced?

Since 2000, there has been extraordinary growth in the demands on the Australian consular service — the men and women who step forward to support their fellow Australians when they experience serious difficulty overseas. Australia’s consular officers are often on the frontline of major international crises — from natural disasters to terrorist attacks, evacuations from war zones, to a global pandemic.

Ian Kemish AM served as Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Ambassador to Germany, led the Prime Minister’s International Division, and headed Australia’s consular service in a diplomatic career that spanned 25 years. He was awarded membership of the Order of Australia for his leadership of Australia’s response to the 2002 Bali bombings. He is a Nonresident Fellow with the Lowy Institute, an Adjunct Professor in history at the University of Queensland, a Director of the Australia–Indonesia Centre and an Honorary Fellow of Deakin University.

Hon Tim Watts MP, Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs is the Federal Member for Gellibrand in Melbourne’s west. Before entering Parliament, he worked in the technology sector, as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Minister for Communications and a Senior Adviser to the Victorian Premier. Since being elected in 2013, Tim has served in a range of roles including as the Shadow Assistant Minister for Cyber Security and Communications. During his time in Parliament, he has been an active participant in a range of youth and track 1.5 dialogues including with Indonesia, China, India and the United States.

EVENT: Launch of 'The Consul' - Critical reflections on international crisis response

There has been increasing concern that Russia and China are using state-owned media companies, social media campaigns and proxy actors to manipulate public discourse in the global south. 

In this episode, Sasha Fegan discusses the influence of disinformation in the media landscape in Africa. 

Her guests will talk about how Russia and China calibrate their messaging to different nation states, and how Chinese state-owned media in Africa is replicating and reinforcing Russian narratives around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Idayat Hassan, is a lawyer, development expert and director of the Center for Democracy and Development in Abuja, Nigeria. 

Dani Madrid-Morales, is a lecturer in the Department of Journalism Studies at The University of Sheffield. He is an expert on Africa-China mediated relations, particularly in Kenya and South Africa. His latest book is Disinformation in the Global South.

Rules Based Audio: The scramble for information control over Africa

Lowy Institute researchers unpacked the findings of the 2022 Lowy Institute Poll in Canberra. How has Russia’s invasion of Ukraine changed Australian attitudes? What do the public think about China and the new Australian government? How are Australians responding to the contested nature of our region?

The annual Lowy Institute Poll has tracked Australian attitudes to the world for 18 years and uncovered fascinating shifts in public opinion on Australia’s place in the world. Australians have diverse attitudes to a range of key foreign policy issues, including Australia’s alliance with the United States, immigration in the time of a pandemic, and the rise of authoritarianism.

Canberra Launch of the 2022 Lowy Institute Poll: Australian attitudes to the world

Half of all Australians were born overseas or have a parent who was born overseas, and Australia is home to more than 250 ancestries and 350 languages. The new Labor government has invoked Australia’s multiculturalism as a part of our national identity in its recent engagement with the region. But what is the role of Australia’s multiculturalism in foreign policy? Are diversity and diasporas a source of soft power and engagement? Our panel examined how Australia’s multiculturalism can inform foreign policymaking chaired by Dr Jennifer Hsu, Research Fellow in the Lowy Institute’s Public Opinion and Foreign Policy Program.

Panel guests include:

Dr Melissa Phillips is a Lecturer in Humanitarian and Development Studies in the School of Social Sciences at Western Sydney University. She has previously worked for the United Nations and international NGOs in South Sudan, North Africa, and the Middle East, and recently co-edited Understanding Diaspora Development: Lessons from Australia and the Pacific. 

Jason Chai is the Director of Market Access and Government Affairs for Cochlear Asia-Pacific. He is a former Australian diplomat and has worked for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as at senior government levels, including as a Chief of Staff to a Victorian Minister of Trade and Investment. 

Alfred Deakin Professor Fethi Mansouri holds a research chair in Migration and Intercultural Studies and the UNESCO Chair for comparative research on cultural diversity and social justice. He is the founding Director of the Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation at Deakin University. He is the editor of the Journal of Intercultural Studies and since 2010 has served as an expert adviser to the United Nations on cultural diversity and intercultural relations.

Recorded on 10 Aug 2022

EVENT: Migration nation: Australia's foreign policy from a multicultural perspective

Xi Jinping is one of the world’s most powerful leaders and will remain so for many more years if, as expected, he secures a third term as Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) at the forthcoming 20th National Congress of the CCP. Despite being in power for close to a decade, he is also a man that remains a mystery to much of the world. Dr Joseph Torigian, one of the premier scholars of the Chinese leader and elite politics, discusses Xi’s early years and rise to power and what that reveals about the Chinese leader’s worldview and agenda. The event was moderated by Richard McGregor, the Lowy Institute's Senior Fellow for East Asia.

Recorded on 26 July 2022

EVENT: The rise and rise of Xi Jinping

In this episode of Conversations, Susannah Patton talks to Greg Poling, Director of the Southeast Asia Program and Director of the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) about his new book, On Dangerous Ground: America’s Century in the South China Sea. The United States has strong interests in the South China Sea, including maintaining the freedom of the seas and supporting its regional allies and partners, especially the Philippines. How can the United States protect these interests and prevent China from making further gains in the South China Sea? And how would the situation in the South China Sea be affected by a further escalation in US-China tensions over Taiwan?

Conversations: The South China Sea - Has the United States lost to China?

In this episode of Lowy Institute Conversations, Research Fellow Jennifer Hsu talks with Zhiqun Zhu to explore and assess some of China’s major foreign policy initiatives and priorities over the last five years. They discuss the driving forces behind these initiatives, including President Xi Jinping himself, and the major institutions that shape China’s foreign policy, namely the Chinese state, the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people.
 
Zhiqun Zhu is Professor of Political Science and International Relations at Bucknell University, USA. He is currently a US Fulbright Scholar at Griffith University, Australia. He is the author and editor of more than a dozen books, including A Critical Decade: China’s Foreign Policy 2008­­­­–2018 (World Scientific, 2019). He is a member of the National Committee on United States–China Relations and is frequently quoted by international media on Chinese and East Asian affairs.

Conversations: Zhiqun Zhu on Chinese foreign policy ahead of the 20th National Congress of the CCP

Ben Scott talks to Maria Rost Rublee, an Associate Professor of Politics & International Relations at Monash University, and Alan Kuperman, an Associate Professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas at Austin, about Australia's plan to acquire nuclear powered submarines, and what that means for nuclear non-proliferation.

Rules Based Audio: AUKUS – Are Australian nuclear submarines a dangerous precedent?

The covid-19 pandemic sweeping across Asia and the world has highlighted the strengths and limitations in the delivery of public health services within different states. While some states like Vietnam and South Korea are praised for their successful responses to the global crisis, the public health systems in other countries have seemingly struggled to manage surges in cases.

A well-developed and effective public health system is one that meets the needs of communities through the achievement of primary health care objectives. This requires recognising and accounting for the complex relationships between the delivery of health services and other national priorities in politics, economics, the environment, culture and education. What lessons can Asian states draw from Covid-19 and other pandemics in strengthening their public health systems? Which states have been successful in dealing with pandemics and why? And how are pandemics linked with other global challenges?

In this La Trobe Asia webinar a panel of experts will discuss these questions.

Panel:
Professor Vivian Lin (Public Health Practice, University of Hong Kong)
Professor George Liu (School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University)
Dr Susan Mercado (Special Envoy of the President for Global Health Initiatives, Philippines)
Chair: Dr Bec Strating (La Trobe Asia, La Trobe University) 

Recorded live via zoom on 2 September, 2020.

Asia Rising

Pandemics and Public Health Systems in Asia

Во втором эпизоде "Скажи что-нибудь по-китайски" мы снова говорили о Гражданском кодексе КНР. Во время подготовки первой части с Яной Вайвадс мы поняли, что нам хочется поговорить и о социальной стороне вопроса.
Напомним, ранее в Китае существовали только разрозненные нормативные акт, а сам кодекс заменит собой 9 основных законов. Мы с Настей сосредоточились на интересных деталях, многие из которых характерны только для КНР.

Если вы, хотите принять участие в записи подкаста, оставить отзыв или задать вопрос, пишите в Facebook @muravyevaa и @anastaseeyah, либо в Telegram-бот t.me/speak_chinese_bot

P.S. Учли комментарии про то, что одну Настю (Муравьёву) слышно хуже, нежели другую (Цык). Мы постараемся исправить это в следующем выпуске! Муравьёва просто слишком тихо говорит.

02. Анастасия Муравьёва и Анастасия Цык, Гражданский кодекс КНР, часть вторая

The party’s Fifth Plenum sets out a five-year vision; we mine the plan for clues about how China views itself in the world—and how long Xi Jinping intends to lead. The pandemic has the rich world thinking and talking about death in a way not seen since the second world war. And an uncertain future for Singapore’s famed street-food hawkers. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here <a href="http://www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer</a> &#10;&nbsp; <hr>See <a style='color: grey; ' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for privacy and opt-out information.

What Xi said: China’s five-year plan

As part of the Lowy Institute's Lowy Lecture broadcast, we put together a short ‘year in review’ that marks a turbulent year in world politics and describes how the Institute has found new ways of delivering its content despite COVID-19 restrictions.

This 'year in review' is followed by the 2020 Lowy Lecture delivered by Fareed Zakaria, one of the world’s most interesting and influential observers of international affairs. Dr Zakaria spoke about US-China relations and, in the Q&A with Dr Michael Fullilove, the implications of the superpower rivalry for Australia.

The annual Lowy Lecture is the Lowy Institute’s flagship event, at which a prominent speaker reflects on Australia and the world. Past Lecturers have included German Chancellor Angela Merkel, UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, former CIA Director David Petraeus, News Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Lowy Institute Chairman Sir Frank Lowy and Prime Minister John Howard, who delivered the inaugural Lowy Lecture in 2005. Dr Zakaria delivered this year's lecture via webcast from the Council on Foreign Relations in New York City.

The Lowy Institute is grateful for the support of the sponsors of the 2020 Lowy Lecture: BHP and Capital Group.

Fareed Zakaria on US-China relations and the year in world politics | 2020 Lowy Lecture Broadcast

The Lowy Institute is an independent, nonpartisan international policy think tank located in Sydney, Australia. The Institute provides high-quality research and distinctive perspectives on foreign policy trends shaping Australia and the world. We host podcasts with high-level guest speakers as well as our own experts. Essential listening for anyone seeking to better understand foreign policy challenges!

Fareed Zakaria on US-China relations and the year in world politics | 2020 Lowy Lecture Broadcast

Lowy Institute

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