Eyes on Asia

Eyes on Asia looks at how the Taliban takeover could resonate beyond the borders of Afghanistan. National War College professor Zachary Abuza discusses how it might revitalize terror groups in Southeast Asia. And RFA Uyghur Service director Alim Seytoff speaks about how Uyghurs in Afghanistan are fearful of cooperation between China and a Taliban regime eager for its diplomatic recognition and investment. Featuring RFA journalists Mat Pennington and Paul Eckert. https://www.benarnews.org/english/commentaries/asean-security-watch/taliban-abuza-08162021185452.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/afghanistan-uyghurs-08242021175318.html

COVID misinformation has caused red faces in China and Vietnam this week. Eyes on Asia looks at how both nations were duped by fake news related to the pandemic that from the perspective of each government, proved too good to be true. Featuring RFA journalists Mat Pennington, Paul Eckert, Jane Tang and Son Nguyen. https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/virus-08112021102813.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/vietnam/khoa-08122021182805.html

The authoritarian Cambodian government is forming a commission to monitor a segment of the population that already have their backs against the wall -- journalists. Eyes on Asia speaks to Nop Vy, the executive director of CamboJA, a journalists' network. He will be a lone independent voice on this commission that is intended to scrutinize ethical standards in journalism but is stacked with government officials. And Rita Cheng of RFA's Mandarin Service speaks about the new Chinese ambassador to Washington. Could Qin Gang's appointment turn a new page in the fraught relationship between China and the United States? Featuring RFA journalists Paul Eckert and Mat Pennington.

It has been six months since the Myanmar military’s Feb. 1 coup that all but erased democracy and human rights progress made in the country since 2011. RFA Myanmar journalist Kyaw Min Htun brings us up to date on how things are looking for journalists living under junta rule. Then Simon Billenness, Executive Director of the International Campaign for the Rohingya, draws on his 25 years of experience working on Myanmar issues to compare the current situation with the earlier military regime that imprisoned the country’s leader in the 1990s. With RFA journalists Paul Eckert and Eugene Whong.

Hong Kong arrested the publishers of a "seditious sheep" children's book in the latest sign of stultifying repression in a once vibrant city. RFA Cantonese journalist Carmen Wu (3:23) tells Eyes on Asia about deepening censorship and about the trend of people trying to leave Hong Kong or get their kids out to avoid political indoctrination. Then RFA Vietnamese journalist Son Nguyen (14:50) discusses growing public frustration in Vietnam about over-zealous enforcement of anti-COVID measures and failures in the vaccination campaign. With RFA journalists Mat Pennington and Paul Eckert.

In the six months since outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a determination that China’s treatment of Uyghurs in Xinjiang met the definition of genocide, Washington has ramped up policies aimed at making China change course in the vast, troubled region -- restricting exports suspected of being made with Uyghur forced labor, blacklisting companies in the region, and pressing for UN and other international scrutiny on the Xinjing issue. What is the significance of this shift by the United States from symbolic statements of condemnation of China and support for Uyghurs to concrete actions? And what will come next? Eyes on Asia asks RFA Uyghur Service Director Alim Seytoff to explain the rapid succession of developments. We also look at a COVID situation in Myanmar that is spiraling out of control. The health system was already in chaos because of unrest against military rule, and the junta has made matters worse by restricting oxygen supplies as the coronavirus spreads. RFA’s Mat Pennington speaks with a Yangon-based journalist about the deteriorating situation in Myanmar’s largest city.

After a springtime of increasingly dire warnings of food shortages from UN officials and even leader Kim Jong Un himself, this month North Korea told work units and organizations at all levels in the country of 25 million to fend for themselves when it comes to food. Further reports have emerged of rising hunger in the North Korean countryside -- at least partly the result of the closure of North Korea’s border with China in January 2020 to combat the spread of coronavirus. Paul Eckert and Eugene Whong will discuss the evolving crisis in a country that lost several million people to famine a quarter century ago. And we look at the little-reported impact of the use of Agent Orange over Laos during the Vietnam War. RFA's Mat Pennington speaks with Susan Hammond of the War Legacies Project which has conducted pathfinding research that points to a high incidence of birth defects in villages that were sprayed with the toxic herbicide five decades ago.

Eyes on Asia interviews Nathan Maung, the editor-in-chief of Kamayut Media, who was detained for three months by Myanmar's junta. He recounts the brutal interrogation he faced, life inside prison and what the future holds for Myanmar, five months after the military coup. And we dissect the Chinese President Xi Jinping's bombastic speech at the Chinese Communist Party's centennial, where he railed against international critics. Featuring RFA journalists Paul Eckert, Mat Pennington and Rita Cheng.

Hong Kong's feisty Apple Daily newspaper printed its last copy on June 24. The 26-year-old pro-democracy tabloid is the latest victim to an ever-broadening crackdown on public criticism of the government under a draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the ruling Chinese Communist Party a year ago. And we examine growing criticism of Vietnam as the government struggles to vaccinate its 95 million citizens. After receiving praise for its handling of the pandemic, the country's pace of vaccination has fallen behind even poorer nations in the region.

Eyes on Asia speaks with Jack Davies, principal author of a new RFA investigation into Chinese tycoon who was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison in China for running a huge, illicit gambling ring, and has relocated to Cambodia. The tycoon, Xu Aimin, has not only eluded arrest but he’s built a new business empire in Cambodia, including a casino in Sihanoukville that caters to a Chinese clientele. And RFA Mandarin's Jane Tang analyzes the outcomes of President Joe Biden's recent visit to the UK and Europe, where the G-7 group of industrialized nations and NATO took a strongly critical stance toward China. Presented by RFA journalists Paul Eckert and Mat Pennington. For more on these topics: http://bit.ly/G7Taiwan

A top Uyghur advocate assesses a people's tribunal held in London in early June that has exposed mounting evidence that a genocide is underway in the Chinese region of Xinjiang. Eyes on Asia interviews Nury Turkel, a lawyer and commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. And RFA Burmese senior editor Kyaw Min Htun discusses the mounting humanitarian crisis in Myanmar as fighting between anti-coup and junta forces spreads. Presented by RFA journalists Mat Pennington and Paul Eckert.

Deposed Hong Kong lawmaker Sixtus "Baggio" Leung Chung-hang talks to Eyes on Asia about why he had to flee to America as the plight of pro-democrats worsens under China's grip. And Cambodia is coming clean, kind of, about inviting China to build a naval base on its soil. RFA Khmer reporter Keo Sovannarith discusses his recent interview with Cambodia's defense minister and a high-level U.S. diplomatic visit to Phnom Penh. Presented by RFA journalists Mat Pennington and Paul Eckert. For more on these topics: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/hongkong-tiananmen-06042021142631.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/china/hongkong-tiananmen-06042021091730.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/usa-sherman-06012021064117.html https://www.rfa.org/english/news/cambodia/diplomat-06022021185123.html

Eyes on Asia looks at whether pesticide use to cultivate bananas for export to China led to the death of two farm laborers in Laos. And in Washington, Biden met Moon to talk about Kim. We ask if President Joe Biden, who recently met with his South Korean counterpart, has a hope in dealing with North Korea’s nukes. Featuring RFA journalists Paul Eckert, Mat Pennington, Max Avary and Soyoung Kim. For more on these topics: http://bit.ly/laoplantationdeath http://bit.ly/bidenmoon

COVID-19 has reared its ugly head in Taiwan, the latest front in the global pandemic. Taiwan beat the virus back in 2020 but faces a sterner test in 2021 with a worrying spike in infections. Eyes on Asia interviews RFA's Min Mitchell from quarantine in Taipei about how the island is responding to the health crisis. And in Yangon, there are bomb attacks and queues for cash. We speak to local journalists about how daily life has changed in Myanmar's biggest city since the military coup. Presented by RFA's Mat Pennington and Paul Eckert. For more on these topics: http://bit.ly/TWCOVIDalert http://bit.ly/MYCoup100Days

Jane Tang of RFA’s Mandarin Service tells Eyes on Asia how fake news with anti-U.S. themes is circulated by China’s troll army and Chinese Communist Party-linked accounts on social media to overseas Chinese communities in countries such as Thailand, while China’s state media spread Beijing-friendly content across Asia. And Giang Nguyen of RFA Vietnamese discusses the perils of standing as a truly independent candidate in the elections for Vietnam’s rubber stamp parliament that take place May 23. Presented by RFA’s Mat Pennington and Paul Eckert.

Cambodia is locking up environmentalists. Eyes on Asia interviews Alex Gonzalez-Davidson, the leader of Mother Nature, a green group under judicial assault for peaceful activism after five of its campaigners were convicted of "incitement to cause social chaos" and sentenced to prison terms. And as China tightens its vise on Hong Kong and restricts basic freedoms, we discuss the impact on the territory's news media. Featuring RFA journalists Paul Eckert, Mat Pennington and Carmen Wu.

Are officers in Myanmar's military breaking ranks? Eyes on Asia looks at the men who defected from the military to protest the Feb. 1 coup and its violent aftermath. And we discuss the impact of North Korea's closure of its border with China to contain COVID-19. Now there are signs it is reopening. With RFA journalists Paul Eckert, Mat Pennington, Kyaw Min Htun and Eugene Whong.

China is acquiring foreign technology, including from U.S. companies, that could help it assert its sweeping claims in the disputed South China Sea. Eyes on Asia interviews the RFA reporter who broke the story. And we review the recent Tibetan elections for the chief of its government-in-exile. Featuring RFA journalists Mat Pennington, Paul Eckert, Zachary Haver and Kalden Lodoe.

In Beijing's latest propaganda offensive against exiled Uyghurs, China's foreign ministry smeared an RFA journalist who has reported on mass detentions and whose family has been caught in the dragnet. RFA vice president of communications and external relations, Rohit Mahajan, speaks to Eyes on Asia about the targeting of RFA journalists. We also examine the worsening COVID-19 situation in Cambodia, and Hun Sen's repressive efforts to contain the virus. Featuring RFA journalists Mat Pennington, Paul Eckert and Vuthy Huot.

After a relatively quiet year under quarantine, North Korea has lashed out with new missile tests. We discuss the North's predictable provocation to greet the Biden administration and its recent decision to skip the Tokyo Olympics, closing off a possible avenue for renewed diplomacy. And we examine the growing nepotism of the ruling elite in Laos, where two top families have just bagged seven Cabinet seats. With RFA journalists Mat Pennington, Paul Eckert, Soyoung Kim and Ounkeo Souksavanh.