logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
25m 59s

Drum Tower: China’s LGBT crackdown

The Economist
About this episode

China’s gay communities are facing a campaign of repression. LGBT support groups are being closed down and pride events are being cancelled. 

The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China correspondent, Alice Su, examine what the crackdown reveals about President Xi Jinping’s China. Darius Longarino of Yale Law School recalls the first time a marriage equality case came up in Chinese courts. And Raymond Phang, co-founder of Shanghai Pride, discusses why marginalised groups are seen as a national security threat. 

Sign up to our weekly newsletter here and 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
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
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
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
Aug 2023
A Marriage, a Secret and a Crackdown in China
Over the past decade, China has placed more and more restrictions on the lives of its citizens — tightening its hold over what people can do, read and say.When Bei Zhenying’s husband was arrested and sentenced to seven years in prison for “smearing” the country’s political system ... Show More
40m 59s
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
Aug 2023
Drum Tower: Solo-motherland
A growing number of Chinese women are pushing for control over family-planning decisions. That can cause discomfort in a society where traditional households are still the norm and where there are many legal barriers to becoming a single parent. But, faced with a shrinking popula ... Show More
36m 32s
Oct 2021
Red Roulette: It Sucks to be a Chinese Billionaire
Red Roulette, Desmond Shum’s memoir of a fast life, deep in the bowels of Chinese politics, is the bombshell China book of 2021. It tells the story of his rise from an impoverished childhood in cultural revolution-era Shanghai and Hong Kong to his marriage to his social climbing ... Show More
45m 31s
Oct 2022
Xi Jinping Opens a New Chapter for China
Four years ago, Xi Jinping set himself up to become China’s leader indefinitely.At last week’s Communist Party congress in Beijing, he stepped into that role, making a notable sweep of the country’s other top leaders and placing even greater focus on national security.Guest: Chri ... Show More
25m 20s
Mar 2024
Britain’s China conundrum
The government is preparing a crackdown on Chinese entities operating in the UK, following malicious cyber campaigns linked to Beijing. But there are tensions among ministers over how to protect the UK’s national interests without heavily damaging trade with China. The FT’s Lucy ... Show More
34m 26s