As of July 2024, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in over 11,100 civilian deaths and at least 21,860 injuries. In a stark warning, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not ruled out the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine, a state without its own nuclear arsenal. But did you know Ukraine once held the world's third-largest nuclear arsenal? In this episode, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center's Dr. Mariana Budjeryn discusses Ukraine's commitment to the global nuclear non-proliferatio...
Jul 26, 2024•Season 1Ep. 20
As athletes from around the world prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics with their nations' backing, Taiwan's athletes face challenges in competing and qualifying for the national team due to opaque selection processes managed by their sports associations. In this episode of "The Divide," retired swimmer Mitzi Ting and host Iris explore the Chinese Taipei Swimming Association's alleged manipulation of rankings and interference in the Olympic selection process. They discuss how the lack of transpar...
Jul 19, 2024•Season 1Ep. 19
American voters are becoming less enthusiastic about their choices after the first US presidential debate ended with President Joe Biden facing growing pressure to drop out of the race, while former President Trump is being criticized for false claims he made during the debate. Meanwhile, people in Taiwan are closely monitoring the race, anxiously waiting to see if the future US president will bring changes to US-Taiwan relations. In this episode, American journalist Chris Horton explores the po...
Jul 12, 2024•Season 1Ep. 18
As AI continues to weave itself into the fabric of technological advancement, it brings with it a host of opportunities and challenges. Taiwan, home to the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer TSMC, is also navigating the delicate balance between fostering innovation and implementing regulations to ensure safety and public trust. In this episode, Gareth Tan of the Coalition for Digital Prosperity for Asia talks about why small- and medium-sized businesses are easily marginalized in the AI ...
Jul 05, 2024•Season 1Ep. 17
More than half of the world's population, 4.2 billion people, live in countries where freedom of expression is in crisis. Each year, Article 19, a British international human rights organization that works to defend and promote freedom of expression and freedom of information worldwide, publishes the "Global Expression Report" to track the changes in the right to free expression and information worldwide. This year, the organization found that freedom of expression is stagnant at a global level....
Jun 24, 2024•Season 1Ep. 16
On June 4 each year, Hong Kongers mourn the the victims of the Tiananmen Massacre who died on that day in 1989 together at the city's Victoria Park. But this year, the heavy police presence and subsequent arrests signaled a message to the citizens: "If you try to commemorate, you are breaking the law, and we will arrest you." Sophie Richardson, who served as the China Director at Human Rights Watch from 2006-2023 and is currently a visiting scholar at the Center for Democracy, Development, and t...
Jun 17, 2024•Season 1Ep. 15
On June 4, India concluded its 6-week election with a surprising outcome that leaves Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with no choice but to form a coalition government. This week, Indian journalist and representative of the Committee to Protect Journalists Kunal Majumder comes back to The Divide to talk about the implications of the election results, and why he feels hopeful about India's political and economic future.
Jun 10, 2024•Season 1Ep. 14
Last week, a court in Hong Kong convicted 14 people of conspiracy to commit subversion in the largest national security case, involving 47 pro-democracy advocates who organized an unofficial primary election for legislative council seats. Hong Kong officials, including Chief Executive John Lee, welcomed the convictions, emphasizing 'the scale and the seriousness of the criminal scheme.' In this episode, Carmen Lau, a former district councillor now living in exile, and Yaqiu Wang, Freedom House's...
Jun 03, 2024•Season 1Ep. 13
On Tuesday, May 21, tens of thousands of people gathered outside the Legislature in Taipei to call for more transparency regarding controversial legislative reform bills. Inside the Legislature, lawmakers from the opposition parties Kuomintang (KMT) and the Taiwan People's Party (TPP) passed the second reading of parts of the bills with their majority votes. In today's episode, Vincent Chao, a Taipei City Councilor and former Director of International Affairs of the ruling Democratic Progressive...
May 27, 2024•Season 1Ep. 12
As death tolls rise in Gaza, student protests have swept through US campuses in response to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Students are urging their schools and universities to divest from weapons manufacturers and companies profiting from Israeli military actions against Palestinians. But why do so many colleges and universities invest in companies involved in weapons manufacturing or connected to foreign states? Are these investments ethical? And what would happen to these education instit...
May 20, 2024•Season 1Ep. 11
The Constitutional Court convened a debate on abolishing the death penalty on April 23. Long-term polls consistently show that approximately 80% of the Taiwanese public supports maintaining the death penalty. Against this backdrop, the question arises whether the Judiciary has the authority to override public opinion. In this episode, we are hearing from Professor Jimmy Chia-Shin Hsu (許家馨), a constitutional law scholar invited to the Constitutional Court on April 23 to provide an expert opinion,...
May 13, 2024•Season 1Ep. 10
On April 23, the Constitutional Court of Taiwan convened a hearing to assess the constitutionality of the death penalty. This came after 37 individuals on death row submitted a petition, contending that capital punishment violates their constitutional right to life. In this edition of The Divide, we sit down with Lin Hsin-yi (林欣怡), the executive director of the Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, who has been a staunch advocate for abolition since the early 2000s. Lin sheds light on the pr...
May 06, 2024•Season 1Ep. 9
In 2017, shocking reports emerged from East Turkistan, or Xinjiang, revealing the harrowing reality faced by thousands of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities. They were forcibly detained in "re-education camps'' by Chinese authorities. There they endured unimaginable horrors such as forced disappearance, torture, and extra-judicial detention. The world grappled with the crisis while the number of victims climbed to a maximum estimate of 2 million. I speak with Mr. Ilshat H. Kokbore , a courageou...
Apr 29, 2024•Season 1Ep. 8
Join us for an insightful interview with Kunāl Majumder, the representative for India at the press freedom organization Committee to Protect Journalists; and political journalist Amrita Madhukalya, who is covering the ongoing general election in India. In this episode of the Divide, Kunal and Amrita dive deep into the issues affecting journalists covering India's ongoing elections, including press freedom hurdles, safety concerns and the polarizing landscape.
Apr 22, 2024•Season 1Ep. 7
India kicks off what's essentially the world’s biggest election on April 19. It's a huge deal — possibly the most important one in decades — and it could really shape the country's future. Almost a billion people will get to decide if they want Prime Minister Narendra Modi back for a rare third term, which would extend his party, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), beyond their current 10 years in power. But what's at stake, and what do we need to know about this general election? On this week's T...
Apr 15, 2024•Season 1Ep. 6
Motherhood is a complex and nuanced topic that is often discussed in a limited manner. However, for many women, it is not a simple either/or decision. In this episode, we will hear from four women who are navigating their life choices with diverse mindsets and considerations.
Apr 08, 2024•Season 1Ep. 5
This week, The Divide delves into the impact of Jimmy Lai's trial on the people of Hong Kong and the broader implications of China's crackdown on democracy. We hear from former Hong Kong journalist Steve Vines, close associate Mark Simon, and former Asia coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists Steven Butler about Lai's fearless character and unwavering commitment to democracy, even at the risk of life imprisonment.
Apr 01, 2024•Season 1Ep. 4
A devout Catholic and media mogul, Jimmy Lai voluntarily gave up his freedom to stand trial in a case he could never win. Steve Vines, a veteran Hong Kong journalist who witnessed the downfall of Lai’s newspaper Apple Daily; Steve Butler, former Asia coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists who spoke to Lai about the deterioration of press freedom in the city; and Mark Simon, Lai’s friend and 'right-hand man,' share their thoughts with Iris Hsu on the ongoing trial and its irreversib...
Mar 25, 2024•Season 1Ep. 3
At the age of 12, Jimmy Lai escaped Communism from mainland China, finding refuge in Hong Kong aboard a fishing boat. In 1981, he laid the foundations of his fortune with the retail chain Giordano and later established Apple Daily, the most popular Chinese-language newspaper, through his Next Media empire. A staunch critic of authoritarianism and the Chinese Communist Party, Lai and his publication boldly challenged Beijing's oppressive regime. Now, 64 years after his escape, 76-year-old Lai fin...
Mar 18, 2024•Season 1Ep. 2
When a group of analysts and researchers at the National Endowment for Democracy were tasked with identifying threats to democratic development and security, they found an unexpected enemy that's been brazenly violating the democratic institutions: disinformation campaigns. In this episode, Christopher Walker, Vice President for Studies and Analysis at the National Endowment for Democracy, and I talk about the detrimental effects of inaccurate and purposefully misleading information that can be ...
Jul 04, 2023•Season 1Ep. 1
