Orville Schell

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Orville Schell Guest

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Asia Society

Orville Schell is director of the Center on US-China Relations at the Asia Society of New York. He is the author of many books on China and Tibet, including Tibet since 1950: Silence, Prison or Exile, Mandate of Heaven: In China, a New Generation of Entrepreneurs, Dissidents, Bohemians and Technocrats and Wealth and Power: China’s Long March to the Twenty-First Century. A former Dean at the University of California, Berkeley, he is also the author of Brown, a 1978 biography of Jerry Brown.

FROM Orville Schell

To the Point

Is US diplomacy under friendly fire? After six months of the Trump Administration, America's professional diplomats are reportedly "desperate" for a foreign policy — or even for something to do. They complain that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has walled himself off from the diplomatic corps and that he's being walled off from the White House. Ambassadorships and other important jobs are going unfilled, and budget cuts may add to the hollowing out of a veteran staff already depleted by resignations. What's at stake for America's interests — and American values — around the world?

32 MIN, 25 SEC Aug 01, 2017

To the Point

America's foreign policy: Now you see it…now you don't… The founder of Communist China, Mao Tse Tung, was famous for unpredictability -- keeping the world off balance with unexpected contradictions. In less than 100 days, President Trump has set a new standard for American leaders, flip-flopping on Syria, NATO, China — and Vladimir Putin's Russia. Inexperience requires reliance on his advisors, so White House office politics may be more important than ever. But what does the inconsistency mean for America's strengths and weaknesses in Europe, Asia and other parts of the world?

33 MIN, 7 SEC Apr 13, 2017

To the Point

Drones, tweets, and the new US-China rivalry China has returned the US naval drone it seized five days earlier in the open waters of the South China Sea -- and got a lashing by President-elect Trump on Twitter. Trump has already irked America's rival superpower by breaking protocol and speaking with Taiwan's President, challenging the "One China" rule, and talking about trade tariffs. Is the drone incident a test of an incoming administration bent on challenging China on trade, or a troubling sign of Chinese aggression in the South China Sea? Even some foreign policy experts skeptical of President Trump say it's high time Washington took a tougher stance with Beijing. So what does the incident tell us about the future of the US-China relationship with a Russia-friendly, unpredictable and confrontation-prone leader in the White House.

33 MIN, 37 SEC Dec 21, 2016

To the Point

Trump's China policy zigs and zags Last week, Donald Trump broke 40 years of protocol when he spoke directly to the President of Taiwan. China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province, was officially disturbed. Today, he named his Ambassador to China: Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, and China is said to be reacting "warmly." When Trump zigged, some called it a rookie mistake — until it turned out that Bob Dole helped set up the call with Taiwan. Will the zag mend fences with China? We get the latest on a President-elect unrestricted by diplomatic conventions.

32 MIN, 9 SEC Dec 07, 2016

Which Way, L.A.?

Governor Brown Goes to China Jerry Brown probably could've picked a better time to head across the Pacific for meetings in China , given the roiling political showdown underway on the Korean peninsula. Nevertheless he and a cohort of 90 business and policy leaders are in Beijing on a mission to increase trade ties between China and the Golden State. The California Governor will spend six days traveling across China in an effort to encourage investors there to put their renminbi, the Chinese currency, into California companies. He's pitching everything from Hollywood to Silicon Valley, green technology and even the state's controversial bullet train. We explore whether trade missions like these really make a difference, and ask how the Governor will know if the trip was a success.

Apr 09, 2013

To the Point

Is China's New 'Charm Offensive' Doomed to Fail? For the second time in 20 years, the leaders of China have just completed a peaceful transition of power. Xi Jinping has become the Communist Party Chairman, Commander in Chief of the Army and—yesterday--President of the Country. All that took place, as usual, behind closed doors. Xi will be running an economic powerhouse with an inferiority complex about its lack of cultural influence. He says, "Just as China needs to learn more about the world, so does the world need to learn more about China." But, can he develop China's "soft-power" in the face of political censorship, limits on foreign tourism and military saber rattling? We hear about the contradictions that make the world's second most powerful nation harder to understand — and more frightening — than it wants to be.

34 MIN, 14 SEC Mar 15, 2013

Which Way, L.A.?

It Was 20 Years Ago Today: The Fall of the Berlin Wall It seemed like a fact of geopolitical life that would never change: the Berlin Wall , part of the aftermath of World War II and an unyielding reality of the Cold War. But all that changed in the blink of an eye twenty years ago. In one of the most pivotal moments of the 20th century, the Wall came tumbling down. Communism crumbled, the Cold War ended, and a superpower faded. How has the world changed since the Iron Curtain was lifted? Has the triumph of democracy changed life for the better in East Germany? How has political power shifted within Europe? How are Third World countries, once courted as clients, been affected by the end of a two-superpower world? Above: A woman places flowers in the back wall (east side, looking west) of a preserved segment of the Berlin wall during a commemorative event to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the wall in Berlin today. Photo: John MacDougall/AFP/Getty Images

34 MIN, 5 SEC Nov 09, 2009

To the Point

It Was 20 Years Ago Today: The Fall of the Berlin Wall It seemed like a fact of geopolitical life that would never change: the Berlin Wall , part of the aftermath of World War II and an unyielding reality of the Cold War. But all that changed in the blink of an eye twenty years ago. In one of the most pivotal moments of the 20th century, the Wall came tumbling down. Communism crumbled, the Cold War ended, and a superpower faded. How has the world changed since the Iron Curtain was lifted? Has the triumph of democracy changed life for the better in East Germany? How has political power shifted within Europe? How are Third World countries, once courted as clients, been affected by the end of a two-superpower world? Above: The individually painted dominos fall in front of Brandenburg Gate along the former route of the wall in Berlin, as part of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Photo: Axel Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images

35 MIN, 16 SEC Nov 09, 2009

To the Point

Political Aftershocks of the Earthquake in China Three days of mourning are over and the Olympic torch relay has resumed, but the earthquake aftermath will trouble China for years to come. More than 51,000 have died and 29,000 are missing. Five million are homeless and 300,000 are injured. Officials in Beijing say hundreds of dams have been damaged, and that landslides have created 30 new lakes behind fragile mud flows. The UN has praised China for unprecedented openness since the quake struck a week and a half ago, but a return to restrictions on news coverage seems to be under way. We update the damage and the risks to come. Can an authoritarian government survive the free flow of information?

39 MIN, 19 SEC May 22, 2008

Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.

51 MIN, 19 SEC May 29, 2017

To the Point

Trump's 'America First' goes missing abroad In the Middle East, President Trump is changing some policies of the Obama Administration—and reversing his own campaign attacks on Islam as a religion that "hates us." We hear about his visit to Saudi Arabia and what's at stake for the rest of his foreign excursion.

51 MIN, 17 SEC May 22, 2017

To the Point

Will the Senate write a healthcare bill in secret? While Democrats and Republicans argue White House relations with Russia, another question is being decided behind closed doors: who gets help buying health insurance and who doesn't? We hear how the pros and cons are being shrouded in secrecy.

51 MIN, 12 SEC May 26, 2017

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FROM Orville Schell

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