China
THE ECONOMIC FALLOUT & THE RESPONSE
Join Nobel prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, ex Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling and award winning financial columnist Stephanie Flanders to discuss the how the world comes back from the stupendous coronavirus pandemic public debt, how the world order will change and who the winners and losers are likely to be.
The Great Fall Of China?
China’s usually bullish economy shrank 6.8% in the first quarter of 2020, a clear indication of the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Depressed demand from abroad is likely to impact the economy further. With Covid-19 resulting in less global trade and a reduced appetite for international collaboration what might be the impacts be on China?
The World in 2020: Hong Kong to Iran and Beyond
To mark the start of a new decade, Frontline brings together a panel of experts to discuss the future of Hong Kong, recent dramatic events involving Iran, the continuing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, and other unfolding stories around the world. What are the common threads which tie them together? Are we headed for more unrest in 2020 and the decade ahead?
Sea of Shadows
Richard Ladkani’s riveting documentary ventures into the front line of efforts to save the planet’s most endangered sea mammal. When Mexican drug cartels and Chinese traffickers join forces to poach the rare totoaba fish – the “cocaine of the sea” – in the Sea of Cortez, their deadly methods threaten to destroy virtually all marine life in the region, including the most elusive and endangered whale species on earth, the vaquita porpoise.
One Child Nation + Q&A
China’s “one-child” policy lasted from 1979 to 2015. In her latest film, screening at Frontline ahead of its broadcast on BBC Storyville, first-time mother and filmmaker Nanfu Wang uncovers the untold history of the policy and the generations of parents and children forever shaped by this social experiment.
The Great Firewall of China
James Griffiths’ new book The Great Firewall of China exposes the world’s biggest and most sophisticated system of internet censorship – and what it means for freedoms all around the world.
Watch the video stream of The Great Firewall of China
China’s Inner Turmoil
China’s fraught relationship with its minorities is, unfortunately, nothing new – but in the 21st century, the storm clouds have been gathering apace.
Watch the video stream of China’s Inner Turmoil
Disappearing Acts. Meet The Families at the Forefront of China’s Human Rights Violations.
Since President Xi Jin Ping came to power 4 years ago, hundreds of Chinese citizens have vanished on the orders of the Communist government, under the guise of anti-corruption leads. These are frequently followed by public confessions from high-profile figures. The Frontline Club, in partnership with Christian Solidarity Worldwide will be hosting Grace Gao, and Angela Gui as part of a panel discussion to share their personal experiences of the mysterious disappearances of both of their activist fathers.
Tusk Traffickers – inside the illegal ivory trade
Our panel discuss with unique insight the dark world of the ivory trade. In 2016, Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) embarked on a yearlong undercover investigation into the murky world of ivory trafficking in Mozambique in Africa. These investigations revealed a Chinese-led criminal syndicate which for over two decades has been trafficking ivory from Africa to Shuidong, their hometown in southern China. The traffickers claimed that up to 80 per cent of all African elephant tusks were destined for Shuidong town.
Unreported World Preview: North Korea’s Reality TV Stars + Panel Discussion
Correspondent Seyi Rhodes and Director Kate Hardie-Buckley report from the set of the hit South Korean TV show that’s made defectors from North Korea into TV stars. More than 400 defectors have been interviewed on the show, and their stories chart the very latest about life under Kim Jong-un. For many South Koreans, it’s become a key source of information about their northern neighbour.
One Child: A Portrait of Modern China
We will be discussing how the one child policy has come to shape the fabric of modern China, as well as the repercussions it has had. From the significant gender imbalance to the dramatically raging population, what can we learn from this social experiment and what does it mean for China’s future?
Sun Mu: From North Korean Propagandist to Pop Art Defector
By Heenali Patel On Friday 20 November, the Frontline Club hosted a premiere screening of the documentary I Am Sun Mu, a remarkable insight into the life and work of North Korean defector and political pop artist Sun Mu. The film follows Sun Mu as he prepares for his first solo exhibition in Beijing in […]
Screening: I Am Sun Mu + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Adam Sjöberg. I Am Sun Mu documents the life and work of North Korean defector and pop artist ‘Sun Mu’. In North Korea, Sun Mu was a prolific propaganda artist for Kim Jong-un’s regime. After swimming to safety and beginning a new life in South Korea, Sun Mu turned his skills against North Korean leadership, satirising those who he once worshipped.
Al Jazeera Preview Screening: Chinese Dreamland + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director David Borenstein.
The “Exotic Flavour Talent Agency” can turn a rural Chinese ghost town into a booming world-class city for the afternoon. Company CEO Suky and his assistant Yana organise attention-grabbing performances and talent shows in cooperation with property developers and local government officials to make real estate more appealing to potential buyers. In Chinese Dreamland, the success of Suky and Yana’s foreigner-focused talent agency is tied to questions concerning racial diversity and globalisation, as well as the sustainability of China’s rapid urban development.
Insight with North Korean Defector Hyeonseo Lee
By Olivia Acland On Thursday 2 July, Hyeonseo Lee joined an audience at the Frontline Club for a discussion on her experiences as a North Korean defector. Lee, an international campaigner for North Korean human rights and refugee issues, was joined in conversation by author Paul French. One day after dinner, seventeen-year-old Lee told her parents that she was going to […]
Screening: The Defector – Escape from North Korea + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Ann Shin.
As the leadership in North Korea changes and Kim Jong-un takes the helm, a man who goes by the name of ‘Dragon’ smuggles North Korean defectors across borders. His latest trip with two women, Sook-Ja and Yong-hee, takes an unexpected turn when they are left stranded in China. This is only the beginning of an extraordinary 5,000 km journey. Their story reflects the reality of tens of thousands of North Koreans currently in hiding in China.
Screening: Nowhere to Call Home + Q&A
This screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Jocelyn Ford.
Nowhere To Call Home tells the powerful story of Zanta, a Tibetan woman who moves to Beijing against the wishes of her in-laws so that her young son can receive an education. Widowed at 28, Tibetan farmer Zanta defies her tyrannical father-in-law and after her husband’s death refuses to marry the family’s only surviving son. When Zanta’s in-laws won’t let her seven-year-old child go to school, she flees her village and heads to Beijing where she becomes a street vendor.
Tiananmen revisited: A collective amnesia
By Alex Glynn Although they took place 25 years ago, the horrific events that occurred in Tiananmen Square still remain a contentious subject in China and a point of obsession around the world. On Tuesday 29 July, a panel of experts at the Frontline Club revisited one of China’s most contested historical events, and considered questions of legacy, impact […]
Tiananmen Revisited
In the early hours of 4 June 1989, soldiers from the People’s Liberation Army opened fire on a pro-democracy protest killing untold hundreds of people. Twenty five years on the event has been commemorated around the world, but how does China remembers this defining moment in the country’s history?
Dissent in China
On 28 October in China’s iconic and politically sensitive Tiananmen Square, a car crashed through crowds and exploded, killing two tourists and three suspects. Just over a week later, on 6 November, one person died and eight were injured following a series of small blasts outside a Communist Party office in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province.
In a year that marks the 25th anniversary of the massacre in Tiananmen Square, we will be joined by a panel of experts to explore the significance of these two fatal incidents, looking at the levels of dissent in China and how it is being suppressed. We will also be asking who are those behind these attacks and what are their motivations.
Shorts at the Frontline Club: The Different Faces of Documentary Filmmaking
By Daniel Alan Kennedy While many people often have a conception of what a documentary “should be” in terms of length, style, content or subject, the Frontline Club’s July 19 screening of four short documentary films demonstrated the breath of different choices available to filmmakers. Ranging from 8 to 25 minutes, the films covered subjects […]
Netanyahu in China, London conference on Somalia, US-South Korean talks, and Pakistan elections – the world next week
By Jasper Wenban-Smith, International Editor, Foresight News A round up of world news in the week ahead from journalist resource ForesightNews. Monday 6 May The high-profile trial in Germany of Beate Zschäpe, an alleged member of a group called the National Socialist Underground (NSU), is due to open on Monday in Munich. Zschäpe and four […]
Kony and Uganda – Peace vs. Justice? Or a different conversation altogether?
By Jim Treadway On Monday 15th April, the Dutch Embassy and Time magazine partnered to co-organise a screening at the Frontline Club of Peace vs Justice: a documentary about the violence of Joseph Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), particularly against children, in northern Uganda. An expert panel discussion followed.
North Korea tensions, China GDP, Thatcher funeral, Italian presidential politics, and Friends of Syria – the world next week
By Jasper Wenban-Smith, international editor of ForesightNews. A round up of world news in the week ahead from journalist resource ForesightNews. Monday 15 April North Korea marks the anniversary of the birth of the country’s founder (and grandfather of its current leader) Kim Il-sung. There has been much speculation that the current regime may be […]
North Korea: Sabre-rattling or imminent threat?
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has announced that it has entered into a ‘state of war’ with the US and the Republic of Korea (ROK). The US defence secretary, Chuck Hagel, has declared that DPRK poses “a real and clear danger”. Is this a war of words or could talk of war precipitate a full-blown military conflict?
Dissident blogger documentary brings Forbidden Voices to London
By Alexandra Glynn A week after International Women’s Day, women were still very much in the spotlight for the screening of Forbidden Voices, a documentary about three female dissident bloggers at the Frontline Club on Friday 15 March. Director Barbara Miller’s powerful film follows three women – from Cuba, China and Iran – who defy the […]
Documenting the world through short films
By Joëlle Pouliot On March 14, the audience at the Frontline Club travelled around the globe through five short films. All documentaries were related to current affairs, but the styles of storytelling ranged from comedy and animation, to the more classical approach.
Syria’s bloody conflict, fallout from North Korea’s nuclear test, and Italian elections set the scene for another whirlwind week in world news
By Jasper Wenban-Smith, international editor of ForesightNews. A round up of world news in the week ahead from journalist resource ForesightNews. Monday 18 February UN investigators looking into atrocities committed in the Syrian conflict will release their latest report on Monday. The commission chair Paulo Pinheiro and member Carla Del Ponte will discuss the report’s […]
Sneak Preview Screening: Forbidden Voices + Q&A
Followed by a Q&A with Barbara Miller and Iranian blogger Farnaz Seifi
On the Internet, their voices are skillfully shielded, but the famous bloggers Yoani Sánchez, Zeng Jinyan and Farnaz Seifi aren’t afraid of the dictatorial regimes in their respective home countries of Cuba, China and Iran. Director Barbara Miller follows these brave young rebels on their dangerous journey. She traces their use of social media like Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to denounce and combat human rights and freedom of speech violations in their countries.
Screening: Shorts at the Frontline Club
Shorts at the Frontline Club will showcase moving, striking and also funny stories in an evening filled with short documentaries from different parts of the world covering a wide range of topics.