Chinese Whispers

By: The Spectator
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  • Summary

  • A fortnightly podcast from the Spectator on the latest in Chinese politics, society, and more. From Huawei to Hong Kong, Cindy Yu talks to experts, journalists, and long time China-watchers on what you need to know about China.
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Political Science Social Sciences
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Episodes
  • What’s in a name? Peter Hessler on what English names can reveal about China

    What’s in a name? Peter Hessler on what English names can reveal about China
    Dec 23 2024
    Why do so many Chinese people choose such curious English names? You must have come across this phenomenon – whether they are names from a past century, or surnames, nouns or even adjectives used as first names, or words that aren’t real at all. I have a particular interest in this because my English name – Cindy – isn’t exactly in vogue these days.

    You might think this is a bit of a trivial question, but I think the question of English names goes deeper than just some odd words. I think these names reveal something about the China that gave rise to them. So I was pleased to come across another China watcher recently who is also obsessed by the question. Peter Hessler is an award winning journalist whose 2001 book River Town was highly influential for its depiction of life in a changing China. I spoke to him recently upon the publication of his latest book, Other Rivers. Tune in to hear where I also reveal the origins of my English name.
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    34 mins
  • Xi Jinping's PLA purges

    Xi Jinping's PLA purges
    Dec 9 2024
    More than a year after Xi Jinping purged two senior generals in the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force unit, China’s investigation into its military seems to be ongoing, with more scalps taken. In recent weeks, Miao Hua, another senior general who had been a member of the Central Military Commission, has been suspended; while reports abound that the country’s current defence minister, Dong Jun, is under investigation too. If suspended, Dong would be the third consecutive defence minister that Xi has removed. To paraphrase Oscar Wilde, to lose one defence minister may be regarded a misfortune; to lose three looks like carelessness.

    So what is happening at the top of the PLA? Is all of this movement a sign of Xi failing to get on top of corruption within the military or, in fact, a sign that he is gearing up for serious military action, perhaps over Taiwan? Just how effective have the military reforms that Xi instigated in 2015 been?

    Joining the podcast today are Oriana Skylar Mastro, an expert on the Chinese military at Stanford University and author of Upstart: How China Became a Great Power, and Demetri Sevastopulo, US-China correspondent for the Financial Times.
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    35 mins
  • What's behind the Chinese migrant surge at the Darien Gap?

    What's behind the Chinese migrant surge at the Darien Gap?
    Nov 25 2024
    The Darien Gap is a 60 mile stretch of jungle that hundreds of thousands of migrants from all over South America trek through in order to reach the US-Mexico border. From there, they enter America in search of better lives.

    These are usually migrants from Venezuela, or Colombia or Panama. But in recent years, a new group of people have appeared at the border, having paid people smugglers and hacked through the jungle. They often bring young children, clutch on to smartphones with which they check their routes, and watch social media videos that set out, step by step, the journey they are embarking on.

    These are the Chinese, which in the last two years have been the fastest growing group of migrants being encountered at America’s southern border – over 37,000 last year, up from under 4,000 the year before. This year, there have already been over 21,000.

    What brings them, and how unusual is this method of emigration when it comes to people from China?

    On this podcast are Professor Meredith Oyen, an expert on US-China migration, and Amy Hawkins, senior China correspondent at the Guardian, who has come across a similar phenomenon on Europe’s borders.
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    23 mins

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Profile Image for MS F

Really interesting

A wide variety of really interesting and thoughtful topics with some great guests every week

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Profile Image for Mike Williams

Best there is

if you're interested in China, you need to listen to this podcast. All there is to say

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Profile Image for David Plummer

Brilliant podcast...

... I'd like to see more podcasts like this from the Spectator. It would be fantastic if the Spectator created a podcast about India.

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