This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with Margaret (Maggie) Lewis, a professor of law at Seton Hall University, about her work on the U.S. Department of Justice’s “China Initiative.” Launched under former attorney general Jeff Sessions in November 2018, the China Initiative sought to bring criminal cases against perpetrators of industrial espionage benefiting China, but as Maggie argues, it has in fact resulted in discriminatory ethnic profiling and the criminalization of what she calls “China-ness.” Listen to the end to hear Kaiser’s impression of Cookie Monster as a death metal vocalist.
8:24: Viewing China as an existential threat
17:44: Where the framing and implementation of the China Initiative falls short
28:11: Prosecuting “China-ness”
37:38: The impact on American competitiveness
Recommendations:
Maggie: What Do You Do With an Idea?, What Do You Do With a Problem?, and What Do You Do With a Chance?, by Kobi Yamada; also, Beautiful Oops!, by Barney Saltzberg.
Kaiser: The album Blackwater Park, by the Swedish progressive metal band Opeth.
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A conversation with Chinese adoptees in the U.S.
Alarm bells in the ivory tower: Jim Millward on the Cambridge University Press censorship fiasco
Richard McGregor on the complicated ties between China, Japan, and the U.S. since World War II
North Korea behind the scenes, with Evan Osnos
China in drag: Michael Bristow discusses his new book on China’s — and one man’s — incredible transformation
China’s tightening grip on cyberspace
China’s environmental challenges: Overfishing, toxic soil, and unbreathable air
U.S.-China relations after six months of Trump, with Susan Shirk and Stan Rosen
Of dirty words and Party-speak: Sinica Podcast live in D.C.
Gillian Wong and Josh Chin on journalism careers in China
China’s great spiritual revival
Joan Kaufman on foreign nonprofits and academia in China
Straight talk on North Korea and China, with Lyle Goldstein
China’s Asian power play: Tom Miller on the future of Belt and Road
Jerome A. Cohen on human rights and law in China
Guo Wengui: The extraordinary tale of a Chinese billionaire turned dissident, told by Mike Forsythe and Alexandra Stevenson
David Rank, top U.S. diplomat, on why he resigned to protest Trump
Islamophobia in China, explained by Alice Su and Ma Tianjie
How does investigative reporting happen in China? A conversation with Li Xin of Caixin
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