Ongoing Tension with the Philippines; Xi Welcomes Assad; Ambassador Emanuel Continues His Posting; Qin Gang's Fling; Panda Diplomacy and the National Zoo

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Show notes:

On today’s show Andrew and Bill begin with a correction to last week’s episode and the latest bizarre twist in the Qin Gang saga. Then: A closer look at the recent clashes between the PLA and the Philippines in the South China Sea, this week’s news at the Scarborough Shoal, the Filipino media strategy under President Marcos, and possible PRC responses as international attention intensifies. From there: Xi welcomes Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to Hangzhou, Syria praises the “counter-terrorism” efforts in Xinjiang, and new information indicates that Uyghur history scholar Rahile Dawut has been sentenced to life in prison. At the end: The rumors of Rahm’s Twitter demise were greatly exaggerated, exploring “Back to Bali” as momentum builds for increased US-China engagement, and the Panda farewell at the National Zoo yields a great Foreign Policy article, memories of a film set in 1994, and uncertainty about the future of Panda Diplomacy in the United States.