Posted by
Riklaa on July 9, 2010 at 10:47pm
Tiger V Dragon
This is the Asian century. It will be increasingly dominated by two countries that share nearly half of the world's population: India and China.
But the hype around the economic growth of these two Asian giants, sometimes lumped together as "Chindia," has obscured some much darker truths.
In this provocative series of programmes, Mukul Devichand travels across frontiers, from the controversial new ports China is building in the Indian Ocean to the poor interior villages of these continent-sized countries.
First broadcast 20100510 and 20100517, Radio 4.
128/44; 51 MB total; encoded from Listen Again
2010-05-10
Part 1: The Power of the Poor
In the churn and tumult of India and China's rapid economic growth, which country has done more to lift the lives of its hundreds of millions of very poor? In the first programme of the series, Mukul Devichand travels from Indian sweatshops to villages in rural western China to tell a tale of difficult lives, development and bloodshed which challenges the very idea of democracy.
While India gave the poorest a vote at the ballot box, Communist China delivered rural education and built roads and factories at breakneck speed.
Has Indian democracy failed to deliver where authoritarian China has succeeded?
India and China will dominate the 21st century.
Will the Asian giants co-operate or clash?
2010-05-17
Part 2: China's String of Pearls
India and China are newly rising powers but also old military rivals, ancient civilisations which have stared at each other across the bitterly disputed Tibetan plateau for millenia.
As the world's most populous nations now enter an era of rapid growth, they have renewed their diplomatic and trade ties.
But how will the old acrimony shape the new faultlines of power in Asia and the wider world?
In the second programme of the series, Mukul Devichand travels from India to China via the network of new ports China is building in countries around India.
In the chaotic port city of Chittagong in Bangladesh, he speaks to Naval officers and Chinese workers about the "String of Pearls" -- deep sea ports that China is now helping to build and which some accuse of having a dual military use.
On the other side, frustrated Chinese voices claim their generosity and their country's rise to world power status is being deliberately misunderstood.
The concluding episode of Tiger v. Dragon questions key Chinese, Indian and American figures about the way in which the new world order is being shaped in Asia, and asks what it means for us all.Tiger v Dragon 1 The Power of the Poor.mp3
Tiger v Dragon 2 China's String of Pearls.mp3
Replies
Thanks for sharing.