Emily Fang
Appearances
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-25-2024 6PM EST
At Christmas Mass, in the Catholic section of Bethlehem's Church of the Nativity, worshippers and visitors alike crowded into the pews. Nearby, nuns and pilgrims chanted prayers and sang songs in an underground grotto in the church's Greek Orthodox section. This grotto was believed to be the cave where Jesus Christ was born. But the church and manger square in front of it was relatively empty.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-25-2024 6PM EST
Celebrations have been muted to mourn the more than 45,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza. Emily Fang, NPR News, Bethlehem, the West Bank.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-09-2025 9AM EDT
China has showed no signs of backing down after President Trump's most recent round of tariffs on Chinese goods, which now total north of 100 percent. China's new levies of 50 percent on U.S. imports go into effect starting Thursday. China's government has also filed two complaints with the World Trade Organization, saying the U.S. levies break international law.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-09-2025 9AM EDT
Earlier, Beijing signaled it was trying to negotiate with the Trump administration, but it switched this week, calling Trump's latest tariffs a, quote, mistake on top of a mistake, exposing what it says is a, quote, blackmailing nature. Emily Fang, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-24-2024 1AM EST
The Palestinian security authorities have been trying to firmly police the West Bank and demonstrate their capabilities. This month, they've mounted raids against other Palestinians, most decisively against armed groups in the Janine refugee camp, long known as a hub for militants. In the fighting, Palestinian authorities said a second security officer had been killed by Islamist militants.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-24-2024 1AM EST
This crackdown on militants has been unpopular among Junid residents in the West Bank, but the U.S.-trained Palestinian security forces are trying to show they have a functional police force and could be trusted to govern Gaza after the war against Israel ends. Emily Fang, NPR News, Tel Aviv, Israel.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-24-2024 1AM EST
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NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-15-2025 2PM EDT
The drills come as China and the Philippines trade rhetorical barbs this week. They have accused each other of dangerous maneuvers near disputed islands in the South China Sea. That's where the Philippines has big territorial claims upheld by an international tribunal, but where China has nonetheless established and expanded military outposts.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-04-2025 5PM EST
C.K. Hutchinson Holdings Limited is one of Hong Kong's biggest family-run conglomerates, founded by the non-engineering billionaire Li Ka-shing. And it's their majority ownership in two port terminals in the Panama Canal that came under heavy criticism from President Trump, who cited the Hong Kong company's ownership as a sign of mainland Chinese government influence over the canal. C.K.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-04-2025 5PM EST
Hutchinson owns stakes in logistics and transport businesses around the world and has no demonstrated ties to the mainland Chinese government. This week, C.K. Hutchinson said it sold its stakes in the canal for $22.8 billion to a consortium led by American group BlackRock in a, quote, rapid, discreet, but competitive bidding process. Emily Fang, NPR News, Washington.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-12-2025 7PM EST
auto-sears allow a weapon to fire continuously as long as the trigger is compressed. They are now illegal in Maryland. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown argues that Glock pistols are particularly easy to turn into automatic weapons with the help of that device.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-12-2025 7PM EST
Baltimore City Police say they recovered over 100 illegally modified Glock's in 2024. Half of the people arrested for the modification were under 21, including a 13-year-old. Glock did not immediately respond to WIPR's request for comment. There are similar lawsuits against Glock in Chicago, New Jersey, and Minnesota. For NPR News, I'm Emily Hofstetter.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-09-2025 6PM EST
A celebratory band played as Lebanon's Speaker of Parliament declared Joseph Aoun Lebanon's next president. The parliament had failed 12 previous times to agree on a president, but this time opposition to Aoun, primarily from the fighting group Hezbollah, largely vanished.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-09-2025 6PM EST
Aoun is also the commander of Lebanon's military, which by convention, like the president's office, should be held by a Maronite Christian. And he had to bypass constitutional restrictions that forbid him from running for president while holding another office.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-09-2025 6PM EST
But he commands support from a coalition of Lebanon's diverse sectarian groups, and he will be crucial to implementing a ceasefire with Israel. Emily Fang, NPR News, Beirut.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 7PM EDT
President Trump said he was stopping what is called the de minimis exemption to combat the alleged influx of fentanyl in these packages.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 7PM EDT
Earlier, he had toyed with closing off the loophole because it's been criticized for allowing Chinese companies to essentially sell clothes and other low-cost goods through fast fashion platforms like Shein or Temu and also through Amazon and China's AliExpress to American consumers without paying import taxes, as long as the packages are worth less than $800.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-03-2025 7PM EDT
The rise of fast fashion has led the volume of these de minimis packages from China to skyrocket from just over $5 billion worth of goods in 2018 to $66 billion of goods in 2023. Emily Fang, NPR News, Washington.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-20-2025 4PM EDT
But Cook says all the plaintiffs were following the terms of their visas, had not been convicted of any deportable offenses, and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not provide explanations as to why the visas were revoked or changed. For NPR News, I'm Emily Wu Pearson in Atlanta.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-20-2025 4PM EDT
In federal court, immigration attorney Charles Cook said about one-third of the students had their visas revoked. Others received notices that they failed to maintain student status. The suit says the administration has removed the students from the system used by the Department of Homeland Security to maintain information mainly regarding international students and their status in the country.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-04-2025 3AM EDT
Since 1996, Radio Free Asia, or RFA, has broadcast in languages like Burmese and Chinese to a weekly audience of around 60 million listeners, many of whom live in repressive or authoritarian societies. In March, President Trump ordered the federal agency that distributes RFA's funds to wind down operations.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-04-2025 3AM EDT
and cut off its congressionally appropriated funds, a move a federal judge overturned last month, ordering their funds reinstated. But another appeals court put an administrative stay freezing that order this week. And now Radio Free Asia has laid off many of its staff who are already on unpaid leave, leaving only a skeleton crew to update RFA's pared-back programming.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-31-2025 7PM EDT
The announcement sent more waves of anxiety through China, where Tomur Rothschild, who runs a consulting company that helps Chinese students apply for American universities, says many families are besides themselves.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-31-2025 7PM EDT
There is intense competition and veneration for an American education in China. China is the second biggest source of foreign students to the U.S. Most study in science and technology fields when they get to the U.S. And data from the U.S. National Science Foundation finds more than 80 percent of these students then stay and work in the U.S. after graduation. Emily Fang, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-29-2025 6PM EDT
There will be very real consequences to real people in Colorado, and we are not going to be able to pick up all of the pieces. And so it's frightening.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-23-2025 8PM EDT
If you saw that letter issued by the Department of Homeland Security, it said that, you know, it's effective immediately. So students would have to find other schools to or transfer somewhere else or leave the country.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 01-11-2025 6PM EST
FEMA teams are on the ground providing in-person support, helping Angelenos apply for disaster relief at the Westwood Recreation Center and Ritchie Valens Park. The Small Business Administration is now offering home disaster loans, business disaster loans, and economic injury disaster loans.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-10-2025 3AM EDT
China has its own state-run Catholic Association, which appoints its own bishops, who until 2018 were not considered by the Vatican as legitimate. Instead, most Catholics in China are loyal to the Vatican, and many of them secretly worship in underground churches or private homes.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-10-2025 3AM EDT
But after a Chinese state deal with the Vatican, the Vatican recognized the Chinese bishops in 2018, who are appointed in part with input from state religious regulators. A deal condemned by a leading Hong Kong cardinal as, quote, an incredible betrayal. The Italian cardinal, Pietro Parolin, who shepherded the deal, was a leading contender for pope during this last conclave. Emily Fang, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-31-2025 4PM EDT
The idea is to one day create an interface between the human mind and electronic systems by implanting a chip directly into people's heads. Chinese company NuCyber is aiming to implant its chips in 13 people by the end of the year. Right now, U.S. company Synchron, whose investors include billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, is running a trial with 10 patients.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 03-31-2025 4PM EDT
Billionaire Elon Musk's company Neuralink currently has three people with its implants. China's NuCyber and U.S. companies hope that in implanting these chips in people's brains, they can help patients with paralysis improve physical mobility. Emily Fang, NPR News.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-29-2024 9PM EST
At 75 years old, Netanyahu is among the more senior end of world leaders. He was fitted with a pacemaker last year and earlier this spring had surgery for a hernia. Emily Fang, NPR News, Tel Aviv, Israel.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-29-2024 9PM EST
This is not the first time the prime minister has had health problems while Israel is fighting on multiple fronts. In Gaza, against Houthi militants in Yemen and in Syria, where Israeli troops have occupied more territory. Netanyahu also is in the middle of testifying in his own corruption trial. A Jerusalem court agreed he could postpone several days of testimony this coming week due to surgery.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-29-2024 8PM EST
Al Wafa Clinic specialized in physical therapy services in Gaza City, but Israel's military said the clinic was a Hamas command center and accused Hamas fighters of embedding in civilian buildings. Meanwhile, northern Gaza's last functioning hospital was shut down by Israeli soldiers over the weekend and 240 people there arrested.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 12-29-2024 8PM EST
North Gaza has been essentially cut off since October, when Israel launched an ongoing and punishing military campaign in the area. That displaced more than 100,000 people. The World Health Organization said it was, quote, appalled by Israel's systemic dismantling of the health system there. Emily Fang, NPR News, Tel Aviv, Israel.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-14-2025 2PM EDT
Under the Biden administration, some NVIDIA products used in artificial intelligence computing have come under U.S. controls that banned their sale to China. It's a move to prevent China from acquiring dominance in AI. NPR reported last week the U.S.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-14-2025 2PM EDT
had been mulling more controls on one of NVIDIA's most advanced chips, but paused them after NVIDIA's founder and CEO attended a $1 million-a-person dinner at Mar-a-Lago with Trump this month. This week, NVIDIA said it'll build two new supercomputer factories in Texas, their first such facilities in the United States. Most of their manufacturing is currently in Taiwan.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 04-14-2025 2PM EDT
Chinese companies have been buying up NVIDIA products in case of a U.S. ban, and China is one of NVIDIA's biggest markets. Emily Fang, NPR News, Washington.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-12-2025 5AM EDT
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Dave Mattingly. The Trump administration says the U.S. and China have agreed to temporarily reduce the high tariffs imposed on each other's products. NPR's Emily Fang says the announcement follows weekend talks in Geneva, Switzerland.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-12-2025 5AM EDT
Hamas says it's releasing American-Israeli hostage Eden Alexander this hour. The militant group is describing the release as a goodwill gesture to the Trump administration. A Hamas official speaking to NPR on condition of anonymity says Hamas is to receive unspecified things from the U.S.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-12-2025 5AM EDT
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put out a statement saying Alexander is being released without receiving anything. President Trump is scheduled to leave Washington today to travel to the Middle East. He'll be visiting Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates on the first foreign trip of his second term in the White House.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-12-2025 5AM EDT
On social media last night, the president confirmed his administration is preparing to accept a Boeing 747 luxury jet from the royal family of Qatar. This is NPR News from Washington. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says the Trump administration will work to reduce the number of flights in and out of Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey for the next several weeks.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-12-2025 5AM EDT
Total U.S. taxes on Chinese goods will go from at least 145% down to 30% for an initial period of 90 days, and Chinese taxes on U.S. goods will initially go down to 10% from around 125% earlier. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson and U.S. Trade Representative Jameson Greer helped negotiate the deal over the weekend.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-12-2025 5AM EDT
The move follows numerous flight delays and cancellations in recent weeks amid a shortage of air traffic controllers and repeated radar outages. Speaking to NBC's Meet the Press, Duffy says he'll be meeting with airline executives to help determine the flight reductions. United Airlines recently eliminated more than 30 daily round-trip flights at the airport, citing safety reasons.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-12-2025 5AM EDT
A new study finds the land in many cities across the U.S. is sinking, mostly because of groundwater extraction. As NPR's Rebecca Herscher reports, tens of millions of people are being affected.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-12-2025 5AM EDT
They did not explain what else China had offered in terms of opening up their economy and addressing trade imbalances, besides lowering their own import taxes. The U.S. and China are still negotiating, however, and they say they've set up a trade consultation negotiation going forward to avoid what Besson called, quote, unfortunate escalations in the last few weeks in tariffs on each other.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 05-12-2025 5AM EDT
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says he plans to travel to Turkey later this week for direct talks proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin. But Zelensky says he'll only do so if Putin first agrees to a 30-day ceasefire. NPR's Joannika Kisis has more from Kyiv. I will be in Kyiv on Thursday.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-21-2025 6PM EST
NPR's Emily Fang has more. Jimmy Lai founded the now-shuttered news outlet Apple Daily that often criticized the Chinese government. He has remained in jail for nearly four years as a trial date for his national security case was set. Last November, he started giving his first oral testimony.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-21-2025 6PM EST
This week, the court grilled him on two editorials he wrote criticizing Beijing and whether they, quote, incited public hatred towards the government.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 02-21-2025 6PM EST
This week, one of Hong Kong's biggest and last remaining opposition political parties also announced they were moving to shut themselves down after years of pressure from Beijing's national security law curtailed nearly all of their political activities. Emily Fang and Pure News, Washington.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 06-06-2025 1PM EDT
The 28-year-old Joshua Wong has been imprisoned since November 2020 on charges of unauthorized assembly and other protest-related charges. Now he's been charged with colluding with foreign forces during a period more than five years ago and faces a potential life sentence if he is found guilty.
NPR News Now
NPR News: 06-06-2025 1PM EDT
Hong Kong has convicted dozens of other pro-democracy activists as well, but the most prominent activists like Wong and publisher Jimmy Lai, face much lengthier stays behind bars. NPR's Emily Fang reporting.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Well, part of the reason given by Musk and other people close to Trump is that the agencies that fund these groups you're talking about are wasteful. Musk has accused specifically the aid agency USAID of being behind a, quote, hoax about Russian influence in the Trump administration without giving evidence. The U.S.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
has also paused human rights and civil society related grants at the State Department. And the latest funding phrase I've been tracking is that the National Endowment for Democracy or N.E.D., Interesting, some Republicans, like Marco Rubio, who is now U.S. Secretary of State, had previously seen groups they funded as essential to U.S.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
national security because they build soft power by promoting U.S. democratic ideals abroad. But since Rubio's joined the Trump administration, he's defended these massive cuts.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
They have not said much publicly, but this is a huge windfall for China because these are all organizations Beijing found a nuisance. And I found signs that China is trying to co-opt some of these groups now. At least two human rights organizations that are China-focused but based here in the U.S.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
tell me they've actually been approached by people within the Chinese government, offering to introduce them to new China-based funders. And this has specifically happened in just the last few days since they've faced losing funding from the U.S.,
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
I also talked directly with a Chinese state representative who answers to the government there, who requested anonymity because they're not authorized to speak publicly. They reached out to at least one China-focused civil society group that is at risk of losing their funding and proposed to them.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Instead of criticizing people and organizations in China publicly, perhaps they could facilitate private conversations with China to achieve social change. And one of the groups he was in contact with said, you know, this feels like a tactic to buy their silence, though the Chinese state representative argued to me it would be a more effective way for organizations to work.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
They're exactly kind of the groups that China and other authoritarian governments criticize. These are women's rights groups, human rights research groups, legal aid nonprofits. One of them is New York-based China Labor Watch. It was started by a researcher named Li Qiang, and his group investigates labor rights abuses.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
He says here he's chosen to go on the record with me because he left China when he felt he could not speak freely there. So he says now, if he stays silent on the funding cuts, what was the point of coming to the U.S.?
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
Well, for better or worse, the U.S. is competing with China on social influence and soft power. And some human rights workers say they're worried about this convergence between how Trump administration officials talk about democracy and how governments like China describe it. Francisco Ben-Kosme is USAID's former China policy lead.
Up First from NPR
Measles Outbreak, Foreign Aid Cuts, Bolsonaro Charges
For example, Musk called NED a scam and then cited a story on X, a takedown of the U.S. Foundation from the Foreign Ministry of China.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
The biggest roadblock is disagreement over how long this ceasefire could be. Hamas wants a permanent one. Israel has been insisting on a temporary truce first. And a Hamas official familiar with the negotiations told NPR late last week they just didn't see this as a real ceasefire proposal. There's also disagreement over even how many Israeli hostages, dead or alive, Hamas would release.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
And then again, which Palestinian prisoners and detainees Israel would release. And also exactly where Israeli troops would withdraw from after that. The concern among Hamas is once they hand over Israeli hostages, Israel would just go back to war. And so this lack of trust on both sides is further hamstringing negotiations. I spoke with Jamal Zahaka.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
He's a former member of Israel's parliament, and he used to work really closely with Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. And Zahaka told me he thinks the prime minister is now in no rush for a ceasefire, especially before a new U.S. administration takes over.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
Or put pressure on him to make a deal. And Zahaka says Netanyahu believes he can get more concessions if he waits for Trump to become president again because he sees Trump as a closer political ally than Biden.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
Right. Israel's stated goal in Gaza was to topple Hamas. And Hamas has been greatly crippled, but not totally destroyed. And now the big question is, who takes Hamas's place? Israel has never stated a plan for the day after war. The United Nations just said last month that 95% of schools in Gaza have been destroyed. The economy is gone. It's going to be a huge job to rebuild Gaza.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
So there's another Palestinian group, the Palestinian Authority, or PA. It's a rival to Hamas. They want to govern Gaza. They already govern parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and they actually used to govern Gaza until they lost out to Hamas. So there's that. And then within Israel, there's another debate going on on whether maybe Israel should physically occupy and rule Gaza again.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
Is that something Israel is considering? This is not yet the official position of Israel, and polls show there are lots more Israelis who also tell us they want to cease fire of any sort right now just to free the Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
But there is another extreme proposal that's coming from what's called the settler movement, these right-wing Jewish activists who want to take land from Gaza and settle Jewish communities there. One of the founding members of this movement is Daniela Weiss, and I spoke to her earlier this month right outside the Gaza Strip.
Up First from NPR
Gaza War 2024, Gaza Hospital Shutdown, Biden's Complicated Legacy
as in punishment for the October 7th Hamas attack, she told me. And Weiss's idea is to kick out 2 million Palestinians from Gaza and end the war that way, though this is illegal by international law. So when I look back at the year, it's been a roller coaster. There's been tons of political maneuvering. And in the end, as we end the year, the death toll in Gaza keeps ticking higher.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
Well, they're essentially being sentenced today for subversion for trying to win an election. They wanted to pick the most popular candidates, and so they held this poll that you just mentioned, and 600,000-plus people took part. That poll was supposed to pick the most competitive candidates, and it was a watershed moment.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
It was a moment when this pro-democracy coalition really felt like they had a chance of actually winning a legislative seat in Hong Kong, and they were well-organized, and they enjoyed popular backing. But that's what is being called subversion now under Beijing's national security law because this coalition could actually have won a legislative seat. Ultimately, we know what happened.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
Half a year later, nearly everyone who helped organize that poll or was a candidate in that poll has been arrested.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
It tells us that what was once this lively, often rambunctious civil society in Hong Kong is now entirely leaderless because almost all of the most influential activists there are now facing years more behind bars. Among those sentenced today was Joshua Wong. You may recognize him when he was just a teenager.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
He was leading big protests demanding direct democratic elections back in 2014 and what's now called the Umbrella Movement. Well, he's facing multiple charges, but today he just got another four-year, eight-month sentence. And another person who got sentenced today is Benny Tai.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
He's a former professor who really conceptualized the umbrella movement, veteran protest organizer, and he got the longest sentence today for organizing that 2020 primary. He is facing a decade behind bars.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
So today's sentencing really shows how worn down these activists are as well because among the 45 sentenced, about three-fourths of them pled guilty because they wanted to reduce their sentence times. They've been waiting almost four years behind bars already.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
Has the Chinese government responded in some way to this? They've stayed quiet today, but their line has been unequivocal from the start. In Beijing's view, the people arrested under this national security law are troublemakers. They are criminals who incited violent protests that diminished Hong Kong as a global financial center.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
And so they've applauded the security law that's nabbed these 45 people and said it is a much needed measure to return Hong Kong to order.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
There will likely not be protests. We've seen what happened to people who have continued to protest. They are mostly now in prison. So likely no public defiance, but perhaps some private defiance. Gwyneth Ho, who rose to prominence as a journalist and then became an activist, she was one of the people sentenced today with a seven-year prison sentence.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
Supporters of hers released a statement on Facebook in which she actually expressed pride at what she'd achieved. And she said, for these values, it was worth to dare to act. And that's why she, quote, dared to suffer.
Up First from NPR
Russia-Ukraine 1000 Days, Hong Kong Activists Sentenced, Trump And Your Money
Thank you.
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
Rachel Carlson, thank you for giving us a toolkit for moving forward in these divisive times. Of course. Thanks for having me, Emily.
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
You know, they say singing like syncopates your heartbeats. So maybe that worked out in bringing them together.
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
These conversations aren't always possible because there isn't that baseline of respect or even safety. But presuming both, presuming the person you're talking to has those qualities towards you and you towards them, how do you have a conversation?
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
Okay, Rachel, you have ventured into the world of disagreement, like the neuroscience of, and retrieved some info to help us have better conversations. Let's start with what happens in our bodies when we disagree. What goes down?
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
Exactly. Activity there increases. So if we're disagreeing and our amygdala is going off, what else is happening in our brain?
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
So in Joy's study, she just had people sitting around having a conversation like one might at family dinner, except her research participants are wearing these swim cap things.
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
No, they're just people out here living their lives. Yeah. And she's looking at their brain activity.
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
So clearly disagreement sets off a waterfall of reactions and behaviors that lights up all these parts of the brain. When that is happening to us, which seems fairly inevitable... How can we approach disagreement better? What does the science say on that?
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
This absolutely reminds me of Jeannie and Richard. They are not trying to change each other's minds. They're trying to create space for each other to talk about what they feel. Yeah. And they're ultimately putting the good of their relationship first.
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
Okay, so arguing to learn helps us keep an open mind about the topic at hand. But you mentioned earlier, Rachel, how we're often making judgments about other people, not just their opinions. So how do you navigate those feelings that can kind of obscure your ability to fully listen to someone?
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
I think this is why things devolve on social media so much, because people are not asking questions of each other. They're just like leaving these pronouncements in the comments, you know?
Up First from NPR
The Science of Disagreeing Well
Yeah, humility seems like an important way forward.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Right. I feel like we've been here before, but the stakes this time are much higher. The rates, as you just laid out, are much higher. And what's interesting is China has taken a much more defiant position this time around regarding trade. Neither country seemed willing to make the first move this time around. The Levies in the last couple of weeks kept climbing.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
China reached a point where its foreign ministry said it would, quote, fight to the end. And going into the talks just now, its commerce ministry said it was not going to accept any, quote, coercion or blackmail.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
No. And Scott Besant, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, who is going to these talks, said as much this week. But it could be a chance for both countries to de-escalate and cool off. China, for example, says it wants to see, quote, sincerity as in having the U.S. drop its tariffs ahead of the meeting, which is something that the White House has outright said is not going to happen.
Up First from NPR
Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Another big challenge is these two countries have very different negotiating styles, and it's not clear to the Chinese what the U.S. want, you know, what the end goals of these tariffs are. Trump has said they're to punish China for not doing enough to stop fentanyl trafficking, but he's also said he wants to use these tariffs to make China buy more from the U.S.,
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Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
As for what China might ask for this weekend, I asked Mary Lovely, who monitors trade policy at the nonpartisan economics think tank, the Peterson Institute in Washington. She told me their number one ask is rollback on U.S. export controls on semiconductor chips.
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Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
But this is not something the U.S. is likely going to want to do.
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Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
they feel pretty confident. But tariffs are also hurting China. You know, it's been only a few weeks. At the same time, though, Beijing has been preparing for just such an economic standoff with the U.S. for years. They've been shoring up their supply chains. This week, they just announced monetary changes to cushion themselves economically a bit from, among other things, tariffs.
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Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
Denny McMahon is head of research at Trivium, which is a group that advises businesses on China's he's been monitoring China's diplomacy, you know, their efforts to strike trade deals of their own, basically, without the U.S. by saying China is the stronger proponent of a global free trade regime.
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Scene From Vatican City, Life Of Pope Leo XIV, China Trade Talks
This used to be the U.S. 's calling card, but now China is using the same rhetoric.