Taiwan’s New Direction

The Asia Society Podcast

By Eric Fish on March 15, 2016

In January, Taiwan’s voters handed the traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) a landslide victory, giving it control of both the parliament and presidency for the first time ever. The victory came at the expense of the long-ruling Kuomintang Party, which had opened unprecedented business and tourism exchanges with mainland China over the past eight years. Many Taiwanese people say these exchanges have failed to deliver the promised economic benefits and are making the island vulnerable to increasingly aggressive leaders in Beijing.

What’s Driving the Current Storm of Chinese Censorship?

A ChinaFile Conversation

By David Schlesinger, Anne Henochowicz & more on March 15, 2016

The latest lightning flashes on China’s shifting media horizon this month took the form of the banishment from social media of a real estate tycoon who voiced support for constructive criticism, the firing of an editor at a newspaper that appeared to have published a cryptic anti-Party message in two adjacent front-page headlines, and an out-and-out fight between the news magazine Caixin and the censors themselves, who deleted

Africa’s Role in China’s One Belt, One Road Global Trade Strategy

A China in Africa Podcast

By Eric Olander, Cobus van Staden & more on March 14, 2016

China’s lofty ambition to revive its ancient silk road trading routes is now becoming a reality. When complete, One Belt, One Road (OBOR), or the Maritime Silk Road as it is more commonly known, will connect China via rail and shipping links with major markets in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa.

Leonardo DiCaprio Wins Oscar and Green Chinese Hearts

By Michael Zhao on March 14, 2016

The Oscars are a big deal among Chinese movie fans. So it was an especially big deal last month when Leonardo DiCaprio, whose fame in China is as big as the name of the film which held the box office crown there from 1997-2009—Titanic—became what locals call “The King of Film” by winning the Best Actor award for his role in The Revenant.