Covid-19 government inquiry, China’s Taiwan strategy, Hong Kong national security law impacts

In May 2020, the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade adopted an inquiry into the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for Australia’s foreign affairs, defence and trade. Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, Senator David Fawcett, joins Brendan Nicholson to discuss the report from the inquiry including some of the key findings and recommendations for government. Michael Shoebridge speaks to Dr Oriana Skylar Mastro, Center Fellow at Stanford University’s Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Non-Resident Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute, about China’s thinking around Taiwan and China’s growing confidence when it comes to foreign policy. Human Rights Watch China senior researcher Maya Wang joins ASPI’s Dr Nathan Attrill to discuss the controversial Hong Kong national security law, the latest arrests under the law and the wider impacts on pro-democracy Hong Kongers. Mentioned in this episode: https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Foreign_Affairs_Defence_and_Trade/FADTandglobalpandemic/Report Guests: Brendan Nicholson: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/brendan-nicholson Senator the Hon David Fawcett: https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=DYU Michael Shoebridge: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/michael-shoebridge Dr Oriana Skylar Mastro: http://www.orianaskylarmastro.com/ Dr Nathan Attrill: https://www.aspi.org.au/bio/nathan-attrill Maya Wang: https://www.hrw.org/about/people/maya-wang Background Music: "Docking" by Bio Unit - via the Free Music Archive. https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Bio_Unit/aerostat/docking