Harvard's Kennedy School of Government
Fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government; former China correspondent for the Washington Post
PROFILE
Keith Richburg
Guest
FROM Keith Richburg
To the Point
China and Cyberwarfare: Public and Private China's daily assault on US computers has resulted in "the greatest transfer of wealth in history." Not to mention military secrets and systems controlling gas pipelines. That's according to General Keith Alexander, who heads the US Cyber Command and the National Security Agency. China's widespread computer hacking includes corporate espionage, but the government denies the charge. In response, it brings up reports that the US disabled Iran's nuclear program with the infamous Stuxnet virus. Still, it has agreed to ease tensions with a regular schedule of bilateral meetings. The subject is also on the agenda for Friday's summit in Rancho Mirage, California, between President Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping.
To the Point
A Blind Man, International Diplomacy and China's Political Struggles As we begin this program, there are more questions than answers about the blind Chinese dissident who escaped house arrest in Shandong Province and was smuggled into the US Embassy in Beijing. Chen Guangcheng says he's grateful to the US, but that China reneged on agreements that led him to leave the embassy after six days. Is he being treated well at a Chinese hospital? Will he, his wife, two children and relatives back home be subject to retaliation? Will Chen be allowed to come to the US, where he has reportedly been offered a fellowship? As she wrapped up two days of high-level trade and security talks, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was cautiously optimistic. But likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney called reports of the embassy's mishandling of the case, a "day of shame" for the Obama Administration. We hear from a reporter who's talked to Chen and get the latest on the Obama Administration's handling of the affair.
To the Point
A Glimpse at North Korea: The Hermit Kingdom North Korea is the world's most militarized nation and one of the poorest; the government does whatever it can to prevent information from seeping across the borders. In the 1990's, famine killed between one and two million people, and the economy continues to struggle under US and UN sanctions due to the country's pursuit of nuclear weapons. So there's a bit of a change. A tiny crack has been opened to tourists in the hope that investors might see opportunity, but it's tourism of a very limited kind. We hear about the first visit, how defectors describe what life is really like and what the current prospects might be for reunification with South Korea.
Recommended
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.