Barbarians at the Gate

In this week’s podcast, we are delighted and honored to talk to Melinda Liu, legendary journalist and long-time observer of post-Mao China. In addition to her long-time stint as Beijing Bureau Chief for Newsweek, Melinda has also covered the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the 1991 liberation of Kuwait, and the fall of Saddam Hussein. The conversation begins with updates on China’s “zero Covid” strategy against a backdrop of a new set of lockdowns in Beijing. Melinda then provides a journalist’s overview of the evolving censorship mechanism in China since Deng’s reforms, tracing the periods of relative openness and transparency and the increasing totalistic information control paradigm in the new era. Melinda also recounts the fascinating story of her father’s involvement during WWII as translator and go-between for the Doolittle Raiders, the small group of American pilots who conducted a bombing raid in Tokyo and were forced to land in an occupied area of China.

In this week’s episode, we catch up with our old friend Alec Ash, writer, journalist, and author of the Wish Lanterns, a portrait of six diverse members of China’s “post-80s” generation. Having resided in Beijing since 2008, Alec migrated to the mountain valley of Dali in Yunnan province in 2019, where he encountered other like-minded Chinese and ex-pats who had fled the big cities for the relative tranquility of the Chinese countryside. His experiences in Yunnan became his latest book project, which depicts the aspirations and lifestyles of this diverse group of migrants. The podcast conversation covers the results of the recent 20th Party Congress, the evolution of Beijing under Xi Jinping, and China’s ongoing Covid-19 policy (what else?). 

Post-Covid China border closings, the expulsion of western journalists, and suspensions of academic exchanges have resulted in a woeful lack of foreign “eyes on the ground” to provide updates and insights into the current situation in China. While the like-minded community of foreign journalists and China watchers often constitutes an insular community whose reportage devolves into group-think and fixed narratives, the presence of knowledgeable China-based reporters and researchers is essential for dispelling the Twitter-fed misinformation and hackneyed western media tropes. In addition to the podcast’s perennial topic of the “information asymmetry” between China and the US, Jeremiah and David also touch upon current Covid-19 restrictions on the eve of the 20th National Party Conference and the thorny question of whether or not foreigners should agree to appear as commentators on Chinese state media.

In this episode, David phones in from Taiwan to share some of his impressions of the current mood of the beleaguered island. The discussion touches on the recent visit of Nancy Pelosi, how the Taiwan people cope with their geopolitical plight, how the Taiwan health authorities have handled the COVID-19 crisis, the lack of Taiwanese voices in both Mainland and Western media, the influence of mainland China pop culture and media in Taiwan social life, Taiwan food culture, and the evolving ethnic self-identity of the younger generation of Taiwanese.

David and Jeremiah are on vacation this month, which means, like the days of summer TV (pre-Internet and pre-InfiniteStreamingNetflixVerse), we are replaying one of our favorite earlier episodes. We hope you enjoy this one from the vault, and we'll be back with fresh episodes later this month.This episode was originally posted on October 26, 2020. Yuanmingyuan, the "Garden of Perfect Brightness," commonly referred to as the Old Summer Palace, was a Qing Dynasty imperial residence comprised of hundreds of buildings, halls, gardens, temples, artificial lakes, and landscapes, covering a land area five times that of the Forbidden City, and eight times the size of Vatican City. This expansive compound, once referred to by Victor Hugo as "one of the wonders of the world," now exists only as a sprawl of scattered ruins on the northern outskirts of Beijing, having been thoroughly burned and looted by French and British over three days in October of 1860, in the aftermath of the Second Opium War.The razed remnants of the glorious gardens have been left in place by the Chinese government as an outdoor museum of China's "Century of Humiliation" at the hands of the foreign powers. On the 160th anniversary of the destruction of Yuanmingyuan, Jeremiah and David discuss the political and cultural clashes that led to the action, the significance of the incident for China's national self-image, and the government's attempts to repatriate the massive amounts of looted artifacts found scattered among the museums of Europe and the West. The conversation also explores the changing symbolic significance of the ruins in the context of a rejuvenated and economically powerful China.

Three years of Covid-19 chaos, political upheavals, climate change disasters, and economic downturns have triggered an increasing lack of faith in government institutions worldwide. The United States, in particular, has seen trust in government plummet, with a Pew report indicating that American confidence in government has fallen to a historic low of 20%. According to a report from the public relations firm Edelman, China might seem to be an exception to this trend. The Edelman report put Chinese citizens’ trust in their government at a record 91 percent, the highest rate in a decade. But recent outbursts of angry protests by Shanghai citizens suffering under extended Covid-19 lockdowns suggest a different story. How much faith do the Chinese people have in their government? Is Chinese nationalism still riding a wave of increasing economic prosperity, or is the Chinese model losing its luster among average citizens? How is the role of government viewed differently in the United States and China? In this episode, we welcome communications and content specialist Zhang Yajun, co-host of the WǑMEN podcast, to explore these issues of government accountability and public trust in the Chinese and US context.

This week we talk with Hatty Liu, Managing Editor of The World of Chinese. This bi-monthly magazine explores all aspects of Chinese culture and society, providing vivid storytelling accounts of the experiences of Chinese people from all walks of life. We discuss the publication’s editorial mission and target audience and the challenges of conveying complex Chinese social issues in an accessible way to foreign readers. Whether it be topics of consent culture, Chinese UFO hunters, or the plight of migrant workers under the Covid-19 restrictions, Hatty and her multicultural writing staff are bringing to light fascinating glimpses of Chinese life that are seldom featured in the mainstream press.

Contrary to the common stereotype that Chinese education is regimented and mired in tradition, the education system in China is actually one of the most dynamic sectors of Chinese society, with core aspects such as the gaokao college entrance exam constantly in flux. On the podcast this week to discuss the evolution of Chinese education is Jiang Xueqin, an educational consultant who has worked with schools throughout China to promote the ideas of creativity and critical thinking skills. Topics include the new emphasis on ideology in the curriculum since the ascent of Xi Jinping, the massive effort to turn elite Chinese universities into “world-class” institutions to compete with schools such as Harvard and Oxford, and the plight of cross-national educational projects and international schools in these years of Covid-19 shutdowns and US-China “decoupling.” Jiang Xueqin has published two books: Creative China, which recounts his experiences working in the Chinese public school system, and Schools for the Soul, which presents his approach to fostering creativity in secondary education. Jiang’s articles have appeared in publications such as The Wall Street Journal and Chronicle of Higher Education.

What do we know about Chinese nationalism? Do nationalistic sentiments manifest differently among different demographic groups, as is often the case in Western democratic countries? What kinds of global situations can provoke bouts of nationalism? And to what extent does grassroots nationalism influence China’s foreign policy? We explore these questions with this week’s guest, Peter Gries, Professor of Chinese Politics at the University of Manchester, and the Lee Kai Hung Chair of the Manchester China Institute.  “Nationalism, Social Influences, and Chinese Foreign Policy” in China and the World. Shambaugh, D. (ed.). Oxford University Press, 2021.China’s New Nationalism: Pride, Politics, and Diplomacy, University of California Press, 2004.Peter Hessler. "A Teacher in China Learns the Limits of Free Expression," The New Yorker, May 16, 2022

No sooner had Jeremiah’s lockdown experience come to an end when Shanghai announced plans to shut down the entire city as cases of the Omicron variant skyrocketed. Now entering its third week, Shanghai’s historic citywide lockdown has imposed unprecedented restrictions and sacrifices on its 25 million people.Among the hapless homebound residents was our longtime friend and colleague, Andrew Field, who – unfortunately for him -- had plenty of free time to talk with us about his experiences during these turbulent few weeks. Andrew reports from the nearby suburb of Kunshan on the mood of residents in and around Shanghai (spoiler: it’s foul), the administrative and policy fiascos of the city government, and his ways of coping during the shutdown (Andrew has left us a special musical treat at the end of the episode).Andrew Field is Associate Professor of Chinese History at Duke Kunshan University and the author of three books, including Shanghai’s Dancing World: Cabaret Culture and Urban Politics 1919-1954. Andy is also a documentary filmmaker, having produced several films exploring China’s underground rock scene and the world of Shanghai jazz. We’ve wanted to get Andrew on the podcast for some time and will definitely invite him back on soon to discuss other topics – hopefully maskless and in the same room. Andrew Field’s blog Shanghai Sojournshttp://shanghaisojourns.net/ Shanghai’s Dancing World: Cabaret Culture and Urban Politics 1919-1954http://cup.columbia.edu/book/shanghais-dancing-world/9789629964481 Shanghai Nightscapes: A Nocturnal Biography of a Global City (with James Farrer)https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo20298865.html Mu Shiying: China’s Lost Modernisthttps://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/M/bo37857676.html