logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2022
37m 33s

Drum Tower: Control pique

The Economist
About this episode

Protests in cities across China show there is real anger over the zero-covid policy and the party's intrusion into every corner of people's lives. A neighbourhood surveillance system is mobilising people to police one another. Could public unrest threaten Xi Jinping’s plans for total control?


The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Alice Su, hear from somebody who has lived through street-level surveillance in China's most tightly policed region of Xinjiang. 


Sign up to our weekly newsletter here.


For full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/drumoffer.




Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
The Weekend Intelligence: The trial of Yevgenia Berkovich
In May 2024, Yevgenia Berkovich and Svetlana Petrichuk, the director and writer of an experimental play, became the first Russian artists since Soviet times to be put on trial for the content of their work. It was a show trial. Like all show trials its outcome was preordained. Bu ... Show More
43m 54s
Yesterday
Dune raider: Saudi is a video-game superpower
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, is a huge video-game fan. Now his hobby is becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry for the kingdom, which is acquiring some of the world’s biggest gaming firms. How Finnish icebreakers became a focus for polar power politics. And ... Show More
19m 57s
Oct 9
Finally, a deal: the fragile peace in Gaza
Donald Trump has brokered an agreement between Israel’s government and Hamas. It’s a momentous breakthrough. Our correspondent analyses what comes next. We launch “The Economist Insider”, our new TV show for subscribers, where senior editors debate the news. And, do red-light mas ... Show More
23m 25s
Recommended Episodes
Nov 2022
Drum Tower: Back to the future
As China re-shapes the existing world order, its officials argue that the values behind it are Western and not universal. Western leaders worry that China is merely trying to make the world safe for dictatorships. Do universal values exist? The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, D ... Show More
32m 17s
Feb 2023
Drum Tower: Up in the air
Sino-American relations have been blown off course after the downing of a Chinese balloon.  The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and our senior China correspondent, Alice Su, explore whether China and America are heading towards a stand-off and what needs to be don ... Show More
40m 45s
Jul 2023
Drum Tower: Neighbourhood watch
More than a decade ago, Japan saw that China was becoming a threat to regional security. It sounded the alarm, but it took the West years to catch up. In the second episode of a two-part series, The Economist’s senior China correspondent, Alice Su, and our Tokyo bureau chief, Noa ... Show More
24m 4s
Nov 2022
Introducing Drum Tower
Two of The Economist's China correspondents, Alice Su and David Rennie, analyse the stories at the heart of this vast country and examine its influence beyond its borders. They’ll be joined by our global network of correspondents and expert guests to examine how everything from p ... Show More
2m 18s
Sep 2023
Drum Tower: Inside Fortress China
Panzhihua used to be a state secret. The steel-making city, buried deep in the mountains of Sichuan, formed part of Mao Zedong’s Third Front, a covert plan to move core industries inland in case America or the Soviet Union attacked. David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau ch ... Show More
42m 1s
Nov 2022
Drum Tower: Better than a punch in the face
Xi Jinping and Joe Biden met face-to-face for their first time as national leaders. Both men spoke about feeling the eyes of the world on them. What does the world need from this relationship?  The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Al ... Show More
36m 10s
Dec 2022
Drum Tower: Zero no more
The zero-covid policy, a source of pride for Xi Jinping, has sparked protests across China. Public frustration is growing, covid cases are rising, and confusion reigns. How did zero-covid turn into a trap? How can China escape it?  The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Renn ... Show More
41m 10s
Sep 2023
Drum Tower: Nuclear reaction
Chinese social media is awash with disinformation about nuclear wastewater. Ever since August 24, when Japan began to release treated wastewater from the Fukushima plant, China’s state media has pumped out a flood of one-sided reports about the dangers. China’s nationalist netize ... Show More
36m 3s
Feb 2023
Drum Tower: Bricks and people
It is impossible to imagine Beijing without its hutongs. The ancient alleyways harbour the city’s character, culture and history inside their low, grey walls. But for decades the hutongs have been in peril.  The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie goes in search of the ... Show More
29m 26s
Jan 2024
The Intelligence: The city that never slipped
From Brexit to covid-19, nothing has yet stymied London’s successes. The city has its problems, but it remains a paragon of policymaking. In the last of our series on democracy around the world, we examine what is at stake in India’s coming election (9:16). And a tribute to Gao Y ... Show More
24m 49s