Cindy Yu

Cindy Yu

Cindy Yu is a Times columnist, and formerly both an assistant editor of The Spectator and presenter of our Chinese Whispers podcast.

Saturday

Cindy Yu

Peng Shuai appears in sinister ‘proof of life’ video

From our UK edition

The Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai sits in a crowded restaurant surrounded by friends and her coach, who is going through next year’s training plan with her. ‘Tomorrow is November 20th’, he says, in a seeming non-sequitur. ‘No, tomorrow is the 21st’, one of her friends corrects him. ‘Oh yes, oh yes, the 21st’.  This bizarre scene takes place in a new video released by several state-sources in China this afternoon, with one source even tagging the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Wimbledon, Novak Djokovic, Marin Cillic and others on Twitter. https://twitter.com/li_ding1/status/1462083212402835459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw This is hysterical amateurism – but all the more sinister for it The message of the video is clear.

Friday

Cindy Yu

How can Priti Patel stop migrant crossings?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

Priti Patel has blamed the European Union's freedom of movement for the 'mass migration crisis' that Britain is facing. In a visit to Washington, the Home Secretary said: 'the real problem on illegal migration flows is the EU has no border protections whatsoever — Schengen open borders'. Tories MPs are reportedly frustrated at the government's failure to stop the flow of migrants getting boats across the channel, so what should Priti Patel do? Cindy Yu speaks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls.'I think this is a little bit like a sailor complaining about the sea. It is more diplomatic than blaming the French. So in some ways it's an improvement.

Wednesday

Cindy Yu

How long will the ‘Tory Sleaze’ scandal run?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

Now entering its second week, the foray around members of parliament holding second jobs shows no sign of dying down. And, unfortunately, it seems whatever Boris Johnson tries to do to get himself out of this situation, he appears to just be digging himself and his party a deeper and deeper hole. 'Boris Johnson hadn't thought these proposals through, which has really upset Conservative MPs on both sides of this divide.' - Isabel HardmanCindy Yu talks to Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth about just how long this political hurricane will blow.

Monday

Cindy Yu

Is ‘common prosperity’ the road to common poverty?

From our UK edition

31 min listen

Deng Xiaoping used to say, 'let some people get rich first'. Four decades on from the start of his economic experiment with marketisation, Xi Jinping is, these days, talking about 'common prosperity' instead - prosperity for the many, not the few. But what does this new economic direction mean in practice, and could it, in fact, stifle the very market forces that made so-called 'socialism with Chinese characteristics' so successful?Joining me to read between the tea leaves is George Magnus, economist and author of Red Flags: Why Xi's China is in Jeopardy. We discuss how unequal China really is, what we know about common prosperity so far (e.g. arm-twisted philanthropy from billionaires like Jack Ma) and what Chinese public opinion might make of it all.

Cindy Yu

Was COP a flop?

From our UK edition

15 min listen

COP26 is now over, but was it a flop? Even Alok Sharma, the President of COP26, apologised on the last day for 'the way this process has unfolded', as he teared up when announcing the final agreement to phase down, rather than phase out, coal. On this episode, Cindy Yu talks to Fraser Nelson and Isabel Hardman about the lasting legacy of COP26. For Fraser, the summit was a mixed bag: 'I don't think that anybody is going to talk, in future years, about the "Glasgow declaration". But there are... some moves forward'. And Isabel points out the disappointment to Boris Johnson, for his own personal legacy: 'He then got to the end of the summit saying, well we've made a start, which is not something you're going to have on your legacy.

Wednesday

Cindy Yu

Is Britain a corrupt country?

From our UK edition

13 min listen

Boris Johnson today has said that Britain is not a corrupt country, but what does it mean that he felt the need to say that? On today's Coffee House Shots, Fraser Nelson points out that there is no clear firebreak to the present string of sleaze stories; and James Forsyth estimates that around a quarter of MPs have some kind of external earnings. So what more will come out of the woodworks? Cindy Yu talks to Fraser, James and Katy Balls.

Friday

Cindy Yu

China’s great log forward

From our UK edition

Every year, China plants trees over an area the size of Ireland. The country may be the biggest polluter on Earth, but its reforestation efforts are enough to make Saint Greta look twice. In the last decade, the ‘Great Green Wall’ project has cost more than £73 billion, and the country aims to expand its forest cover to 24 per cent by the end of 2025 (the total area of the five largest European countries combined). So this week’s announcement that China has signed up to a deal to end deforestation by 2030 together with world-leading tree-cutters like Brazil and Indonesia is not, in fact, a huge surprise – or commitment – on Beijing’s side.

Wednesday

Cindy Yu

Has the government misstepped on the Paterson defence?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

The row over Owen Paterson has come to a head today as the amendment to lift his suspension - tabled by fellow Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom and backed by the government - has upset many sides. Labour and the SNP are going in hard on accusations of Tory sleaze, with a real possibility of this spreading further than the Westminster bubble; while some Tory MPs who were whipped to vote in favour of the amendment are disgruntled at the position the government put them in ('It's fair to say that it has caused deep unease within the Tory party', Katy says). So what will be the impact of today's vote? Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls. James concludes: 'I think the government made a very big mistake today'.

Monday

Cindy Yu

Healing the ‘cancer’ of the Cultural Revolution

From our UK edition

37 min listen

It's not easy to talk about the Cultural Revolution inside China - let alone teach it. In recent years, one of the last professors to have taught the period has been hounded out of her role at a top university. Sun Peidong has now taken a post at Cornell, after Chinese journals stopped publishing her work, the university party secretary banned her lectures, and even her students turned on her - denouncing Sun as if she were an 'anti-revolutionary' of the very period she taught.In this frank discussion, I interview Sun about academic freedom and diversity of thought on Chinese campuses; about what it was like to shed light on a taboo subject to younger generations; and why she left China.

Saturday

Friday

Cindy Yu

Should the NHS be prescribing e-cigarettes?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

The new year is fast approaching and if your resolution is to quit smoking, the taxpayer will now cover the cost for your new vape. Opinions differ on the podcast as to whether this is a good idea. Cindy Yu talks with Isabel Hardman and James Forsyth about this new scheme as well as looking at Labour's reaction to the Budget and our growing tensions with France.

Cindy Yu

Podcast special: turning the red wall green

From our UK edition

51 min listen

These days the Conservative party is not just associated with the colour blue - it’s also the winner of the red wall seats; the pursuer of a green agenda. But do these new identities, achieved under Boris Johnson, all fit together? In particular, critics often label tackling climate change as a middle class pursuit, not what ‘real people’ around the country are concerned with. And indeed, the Treasury and BEIS have put the costs of net zero at £70bn a year, so what does that mean for the less well off in society, especially those in the Tories’ new constituencies in the red wall?This discussion was recorded at Conservative Party Conference on October 5.

Wednesday

Cindy Yu

The rise and fall of Jack Ma

From our UK edition

Jack Ma used to give rock star performances for his employees at Alibaba, Asia’s biggest online commerce company. He once dressed as Michael Jackson. But those halcyon days are gone. Over the last year, China’s richest man has had his wings clipped by the Chinese Communist party. The flamboyant Ma has only made a handful of public appearances (prompting rumours of a ‘disappearance’ at the hands of the CCP). This week, it transpired that Alibaba has almost halved in value — losing a record $373 billion over just the last 12 months. Ma’s downfall can be traced back to a misjudged speech he made in Shanghai this time last year.

Friday

Cindy Yu

What will Sunak reveal in next week’s Budget?

From our UK edition

11 min listen

The Chancellor is making final preparations to his Budget, announced next Wednesday. On the podcast, Cindy Yu talks to James Forsyth and Katy Balls about the major themes coming up, and whether this is the moment when Rishi Sunak sees a turn in his popularity.

Thursday

Cindy Yu

Who’s to blame for the booster delay?

From our UK edition

14 min listen

Compared to our extremely strong vaccine rollout, the booster numbers are not doing so well. But what is causing the slow take-up? Cindy Yu is joined by James Forsyth and Katy Balls to discuss this as well as the ever-rising covid figures, partisan mask wars, and a potential new trade deal with New Zealand.

Wednesday

Monday

Cindy Yu

Will Xi invade Taiwan?

From our UK edition

31 min listen

Last week, the US and Canada each sent a warship through the Taiwan Strait and Taiwan has appealed to the US for faster delivery of fighter aircraft. It's been a tense month in the Strait, kicked off by China's celebration of its national day on October 1 through flying a record number of aircraft through Taiwan's air defense identification zone. Could war really happen? Could China really successfully take Taiwan?I speak to Oriana Skylar Mastro, fellow at Stanford and the American Enterprise Institute, whose detailed piece for Foreign Affairs took a close look at China's military options. On the episode, we talk about many interesting things - from the signals that D.C. is sending to Beijing, to the public opinion pressures that Xi is under.

Friday

Cindy Yu

Will the housing U-turn hurt the Tories?

From our UK edition

12 min listen

The former housing secretary, Robert Jenrick delivered a warning to his former colleagues in government yesterday that a failure to build new homes will cost the Conservatives down the line. Cindy Yu is joined by James Forsyth and Katy Balls to discuss this, as well as the update to Covid holiday restrictions and the sad passing of James Brokenshire.

Thursday

Cindy Yu

Is Boris back in business?

From our UK edition

10 min listen

Although Boris won over the audience during his conference speech, the opinion polls might say otherwise. Starmer's voice of reason could be starting to resonate with the public as the cost of living continues to rise. Underlying tensions with businesses are also still bubbling. Are they really to blame for labour shortages? And what now is the biggest threat facing the Tories?  Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and James Forsyth.

Monday

Cindy Yu

George Eustice hits back at farmers’ labour shortage claims

From our UK edition

Pig farmers are protesting, joining the ranks of climate activists and Remainiac Steve Bray outside Conservative Party Conference. The Prime Minister’s seeming dismissal of the imminent cull of 120,000 pigs as ‘just what happens’, has riled up farmers across the country who say that the cull is a result of the same sort of labour shortages we’ve seen in petrol delivery and hospitality. But today, the Secretary of State for Defra seemed to disagree with that analysis, blaming, instead, butchers who are importing cheaper pork from the continent.