China Unscripted

China has been warning for years that it will take control of Taiwan, an independent, democratically-ruled island off of China's eastern coast. China has been using a number of grayzone warfare tactics to try to get it to surrender voluntarily, but so far it hasn't worked. A recent incident in Taiwan's waters has made the possibility of a war very real, and China has been stepping up its encroachment into Taiwan's territory ever since. In this just us episode of China Unscripted, we discuss China's latest provocative moves, McDonald's plans to expand in China, and how Chinese-made shipping cranes might be spying on us.

India is the only country to have shed blood in a skirmish with Chinese soldiers in recent history, and they're ready to shed more blood to defend their country, according to Professor M.D. Nalalapat, the director of the department of geopolitics and international relations at India’s Manipal University. He joins us in this episode to discuss Taiwan's election, how the Ukraine war is affecting Taiwan, and India's relations with Russia.

The Chinese Communist Party may not seem all that good at propaganda, but that doesn't mean it's stupid when it comes to pushing the West's buttons. In this episode of China Unscripted, we look at China's information warfare, what it's doing in space and why the South China Sea matters when it comes to understanding China's ambitions. 

China's rocket-fueled economic rise has not only slowed significantly in the past few years, but if you strip away all the government propaganda that makes the economy look better than it is, China's economy could even be shrinking. This has investors short-selling or bailing faster than the passengers on the Titanic. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss the effect that the Hong Kong national security law had on Hong Kong, how that's affecting the economy, and what the Hong Kong security law 2.0 might look like. Joining us in this episode is Benjamin Qiu, an attorney at Elliott Kwok Levine & Jaroslaw, a New York based law firm that, among other things, advises corporations on how to handle the risks of investing in Hong Kong and Mainland China.

Besides calling Taiwan a country, there are fewer easier ways to anger China than to watch a Chinese cultural dance performance based in the US. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss the Chinese Communist Party's ongoing attacks on Shen Yun, why it's such a target and the insidious ways China's propaganda is getting into the media and college campuses.

China framed Taiwan's 2024 presidential election as a decision between war and peace. And according to China, Taiwan voted for war. That's because DPP candidate William Lai, who won in a landslide, has been very open about his opposition to moving closer to China. Joining us in this episode of China Unscripted is Colonel Grant Newsham, a former Marine intelligence officer who has lived in Taiwan as part of a Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs fellowship. He’s also the author of the book When China Attacks: A Warning to America.

China trying to meddle in US elections may not be front page news anymore because it's been going on for so many years. But that doesn't mean it's no longer a threat. In fact, China's attempts to interfere in US democracy are more alarming than ever, and China's doing it in more ways than you might think. In this episode of China Unscripted, we talk about how China is trying to meddle in American democracy, what the US should do about China's militarized islands in the South China Sea, and why the US response to conflicts in the Middle East and Europe have an effect on China's plan to invade Taiwan. Joining us in this episode is John Teichert, a retired US Air Force brigadier general who wrote “Boom!: Leadership that Breaks Barriers, Challenges Convention, and Ignites Innovation.” He’s currently running for the US Senate representing Maryland.

China is one of Israel's biggest trading partners, and a big investor in Israel's tech industry. However, after Oct. 7, it turned out that that relationship was only skin deep. China never condemned Hamas's attack on innocent Israeli civilians and has shown support for Hamas in other not-so-subtle ways. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss the China-Hamas relationship, Israel's relationship with China, and how China is perceived in the Middle East. Joining us in this episode is Jonathan Cristol, a professor of international affairs at Yeshiva University in New York City and author of "The United States and the Taliban before and after 9/11".

Europeans are gradually wising up to the threat of the Chinese Communist Party. So why is the EU so completely inept at China policy? Joining us on this podcast for the second time is Theresa Fallon. She’s the founder and director of the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies, based in Brussels. She’s also a member of the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.

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In this episode of China Unscripted, we look at China in 2023 and make predictions for 2024. We discuss China's economy, US-China relations, the fentanyl crisis, Temu and much, much more.

China is the biggest emitter of greenhouses gases on the planet, and while it's made some promises about cutting down its emissions, it could be too little too late. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss China's role in the COP28 climate summit, how to get China to reduce its emissions, and the real environmental cost of "made in China." Joining us in this episode is Andrew Eil, the head of climate risk for North America for Tata Consultancy Services.

Manufacturing has slowly been leaving China as companies re-evaluate the profitability of the country and weigh the risks of remaining in China versus the benefits. Some of that manufacturing is moving back to the US, but it's also moving to other countries like Vietnam, Mexico and India. In this episode of China Unscripted, we talk about all the reasons companies are moving out, what the US can do to speed up the trend and whether making everything in the US would cause massive and long-term inflation. Joining us in this episode is Harry Moser, the founder and President of Reshoring Initiative, which aims to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States from overseas.

Chinese hospitals are filling up, and the Chinese government is claiming these are just seasonal illnesses.But they seem a lot worse than usual, leading some to question the official narrative. In this just us episode of China Unscripted, we discuss whether what's spreading is just seasonal or if there's something more going on, the challenges of reshoring American manufacturing, and the scourge of China's pandas.

The Chinese Communist Party is on shaky ground already. And if the US and its allies would stop propping the regime up, it could collapse in short order. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss US policy on China, the latest in China's depraved organ transplant system, and China's intimidation tactics in the US. Joining us in this episode is Piero Tozzi, a lawyer and the Staff Director of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. Before that he was the Republican Staff Director for the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.

The Philippines has been on the front lines of fighting against China's political, economic and military warfare, and it's come up with some pretty clever tactics to fight back. One of its most brilliant strategies is called Angels of the Sea, which we discuss in this episode of China Unscripted, along with the history of China's claims to the Philippines' territory, the US role in the conflict and how things are changing in the region. Joining us in this episode is David Day, the chairman of the Global Risk Mitigation Foundation, and one of the leading international legal practitioners on the Indopacific region, including the Philippines.

The Chinese government is desperately trying to stop a recession, or at least slow it down so it doesn't result in societal collapse, but it's going about it in very shortsighted ways. In this just us episode of China Unscripted we discuss the economy, China's panda diplomacy, and the Biden-Xi meeting at APEC.

China has been preparing for war in the Americas by creating a network of authoritarian states and building infrastructure that could be used for civilian and military purposes. In this episode of China Unscripted, we talk about China's plan for Latin America, how the Chinese Communist Party is behind the drug trade that's fueling America's opioid epidemic, and how Chinese bankers are bankrolling the drug trade. Joining us in this episode is Joseph Humire, the executive director of the DC-based think tank Center for a Secure Free Society and a visiting fellow at the Heritage Foundation.

From the outside, Russia and China seem to be close allies, especially after Russia started its war in Ukraine. But behind the exchanges of friendship necklaces and promises of a "no limits" friendship between Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, there's a lot of bitterness between the two countries. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss China and Russia's border disputes, whether the US could forge an alliance with Russia against China, and how to keep China from taking over international institutions.

There's been a lot of talk about how big and modern China's military has become, and it's true that in terms of size and and technology, it's improved significantly over the last few decades. But there's a human factor that has to be taken into account when talking about China's ability to win a war, and that could be China's biggest weakness. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss one big weakness of Chinese soldiers, how we're already in Cold War 2.0, and how to combat the popularity of communism. Joining us in this episode is Professor Madhav Das Nalapat, the vice chair of the Manipal Advanced Research Group, and the author of the new book "Cold War 2.0: Illusion Versus Reality."

China has been playing a bigger and bigger role in the Middle East, which for the time being, has been a boost for its energy security. But there are fires on the horizon that China might not be able to be able to put out that could permanently sour the relationship. In this episode of China Unscripted, we discuss China's strategy in the Middle East, it's alliance with Iran in defiance of the US, and the trouble China's already facing in the region. Joining us in this episode is Jonathan Cristol, a professor of international affairs at Yeshiva University in New York City and author of "The United States and the Taliban before and after 9/11."