Asia News Weekly Network Podcast -- News of the Region including the Sex Slave Talks between Japan and Korea

The protests in Hong Kong get violent, what does Taiwan’s election mean, and the sex slave talks come to an end. These stories and more are on the December 5th edition of Asia News Weekly.

What’s next for Hong Kong?

The landscape of the Hong Kong protests changed dramatically this past week. Authorities pushed to clear pro-democracy protesters out of the Mongkok district, where they’ve been encamped for more than two months. During that confrontation more than 100 were arrested, including Lester Shum, one the leaders of the Hong Kong Federation of Students and Joshua Wong of Scholarism.

Asia News Weekly host Steve Miller provides a full summary of the week's events and speaks with Bruce Lui, a Senior Lecturer at Hong Kong Baptist University’s School of Communication about the organizers' future plans.

Taiwan’s Election Results

Last week, Taiwan went to the polls, setting up a key confrontation between the Kuomintang (KMT) party and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). It was the island’s biggest election, which included over 11,000 offices up for grabs, and was viewed largely as an indicator where the winds were blowing: either towards the KMT and Beijing or shifting towards the DPP. With Taiwan’s President Ma’s approval rating hovering around 20% (or lower), the KMT expected some losses, but what it got was a beat down.

What does the DPP win mean for Taiwan’s relationship with mainland China? For that, Miller welcomes back to Asia News Weekly Scott Harold, political scientist with the RAND Corporation who shares his insights and analysis.

Will Thailand Ever Return to Democracy?

In May of this year, the Thai military under the leadership of Prayuth Chan-ocha led a bloodless coup, ousting the government of Yingluck Shinawatra. The junta promised the reforms so many had called for and new elections in 2015, once the changes had been implemented. This week, the junta announced it would not be possible to hold the elections as originally planned due to opposition.

It was an announcement many expected. Miller presents the latest updates on the junta's reforms and pending impeachment of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who according to Kyoto's University Pavin Chachavalpongpun, is being conducted to eliminate the Shinawatras and their allies from ever holding offices again.

Pointless Sex Slave Talks

South Korea and Japan met last week for the fifth round of talks to discuss the long outstanding issue of Japan’s use of women as sexual slaves during World War II and possible resolutions. The talks have proved fruitless since their resumption as evidenced by two recent developments. Miller highlights the latest issues and explains that as much as Seoul would like to take the high road in the talks, significant questions remain about its own past.

China Prepares for More Activity in the China Seas

Last weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a foreign policy speech. In it he said, "We should firmly uphold China's territorial sovereignty, maritime rights and interests and national unity.” It’s statements like this that give many pause as to how territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas will be handled. In the past year, we’ve seen an uptick in rhetoric and confrontations, although Xi states he’s opposed the "willful use or threat of force.”

The U.S. State Department's Jeff Rathke, East West Center's Denny Roy, and Australian National University's Defense Senior Fellow John Blaxland all commented on events and help paint a picture of what we may see in the coming years in the East and South China Seas.

The Weekly Brief

Reporter Michael Farrell closes out the podcast with updates on the Tatsuya Kato case in Seoul, where he's accused of defaming South Korean President Park Geun-hye. It also appears North Korean hackers have targeted Sony Pictures in advance of it releasing the Seth Rogan and James Franco film "The Interview." Ferrell also includes updates from an attack in Xinjiang, political detentions in the region, and how one Korean brought home an award for tinting windows.

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