Podcasts by Access Asia
Exclusive reports, features and analysis of political and social events from across the Asian continent. Monday at 5.45 pm Paris time.
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Hong Kong: China gets more hands-on as Omicron cases soar from 2022-02-22T11:36:12
Hong Kong is facing its toughest test yet in its "Dynamic Zero Covid" strategy. The number of cases this year is now higher than the number of infections seen in both 2020 and 2021. The city's...
Afghan humanitarian crisis: Hospitals face shortages of staff, medicine and funding from 2022-02-15T13:21:07
Six months after the Taliban took over Afghanistan, the health system is collapsing. Amid the deteriorating humanitarian situation, a raging measles outbreak has already killed more than 150 p...
Ski's the limit: China's plan to build a winter sport culture from 2022-02-09T10:37:51
In China, all eyes are on the ongoing Winter Olympics. Although the Games have come under scrutiny for a number of reasons beyond sport, they are also the culmination of an impressive campaign...
Beijing Winter Olympics: 2022 Games shrouded in controversy from 2022-02-01T15:52:41
While the International Olympic Committee has said that politics and sport do not mix, there are many examples to the contrary. Athletes have often been advocates for social change, while acti...
More than half of Afghanistan's population facing famine from 2022-01-25T11:46:36
In Afghanistan, men, women and children are increasingly in dire straits: turning to begging, offering up their young daughters in marriage and even selling a kidney in order to be able to put...
China's demographic crisis: Authorities try to reverse years of birth control policy from 2022-01-18T12:58:01
The birth rate in the world's most populous country, China, has fallen for a fifth consecutive year to hit a record low. The population is ageing and the workforce is shrinking. Despite ending...
Kazakhstan unrest: Former Soviet republic faces biggest crisis in decades from 2022-01-11T12:13:01
The new year began in Kazakhstan with the government lifting its price cap on fuel, virtually doubling the cost for people to fill up their cars. Protests spread across the nation of 19 millio...
China clamps down amid surge in Covid-19 cases from 2022-01-04T11:12:15
After China ended 2021 with its biggest one-week number of coronavirus cases in two years, the government countered with one of the strictest responses in the world. Total lockdowns have retur...
Myanmar under pressure: More than 10,000 people arrested since February coup from 2021-12-08T10:56:04
Myanmar's ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been sentenced to jail for inciting unrest and breaching Covid-19 rules, a verdict condemned by human rights groups and governments around the worl...
China's housing nightmare: The story behind Evergrande's near-bankruptcy from 2021-12-01T10:13:37
Chinese real estate giant Evergrande, saddled with around $300 billion in debt, has been struggling to meet interest payments on its loans. If it collapses, some of its partner firms could be ...
Afghans struggle under Taliban rule: Health system on the brink, millions face hunger from 2021-11-09T12:44:13
Since the Taliban returned to power in August, life in Afghanistan has become more and more difficult. The country, which was already beset by an economic crisis, is now confronted with a wors...
Life under the Taliban: FRANCE 24 follows security patrol in Afghan capital Kabul from 2021-10-26T11:17:10
Before the Taliban swept to power in Afghanistan, Kabul was a city with a vibrant nightlife and arts scene. But since then, there has been a radical transformation. Thousands of longtime Talib...
China-Taiwan tensions: Looking at the status of the self-ruled island from 2021-10-12T12:46:21
China and Taiwan have entered dangerous territory. Beijing regards the latter as a breakaway province and has vowed peaceful reunification. But Taiwan's leaders say it is a sovereign state. Th...
Farming in India: Anger continues a year after reforms from 2021-09-28T13:16
It's been one year since a series of agriculture bills were rushed through India's parliament. The reforms were meant to empower farmers but instead sparked protest. The government was accused...
Afghan women take to social media over Islamic dress code from 2021-09-14T13:13:26
Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, women's rights have been quashed. Women are being told what to wear, what to study and being segregated from men at universities. After a vi...
Taliban takeover in Afghanistan: What consequences for the wider region? from 2021-08-31T13:12:29
In this week's edition, we explore what the turmoil in Afghanistan could mean for the wider region, from emboldened extremist groups to political realignment. To understand what's at stake, we...
Indonesia Covid-19 outbreak: Volunteers step up as hospitals overwhelmed from 2021-07-21T15:12:06
The Covid-19 outbreak continues to worsen in Indonesia. Fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant, cases and deaths have been soaring across the country. Hospitals have become overwhel...
Forced Uighur labour: French magistrates open inquiry into four textile giants from 2021-07-09T16:48:31
French magistrates have begun investigating claims that four major fashion groups have benefited from forced labour in their supply chains. The multinational companies are accused of using cot...
Japan enters final countdown to Tokyo Olympics from 2021-06-22T15:49:04
Despite warnings from health bosses, thousands of Japanese spectators will be allowed to attend events at this summer's Olympic Games. Fans will not be permitted to shout or speak loudly, and ...
Covid-19 in India: Orphaned children at risk of trafficking from 2021-06-09T10:23:58
Sometimes lost in the cacophony of Covid-19 – the death toll, the case count and the economic damage – is how hard it is for bereaved survivors to carry on. Among those feeling the most acute ...
India: World's top Covid-19 vaccine producer faces shortages from 2021-05-26T12:33:44
Although Covid-19 vaccine rollouts are accelerating in many parts of the world, the effort is slowing down in India, one of the worst hit countries. Despite being the world's biggest producer ...
Vietnam War: One woman's battle over toxic chemical Agent Orange from 2021-05-11T13:52:06
A French court has dismissed a lawsuit against more than a dozen multinationals that produced and sold Agent Orange to US troops during the Vietnam War. The case was filed in 2014 by Tran To N...
Indian hospitals overwhelmed by sudden surge in Covid-19 cases from 2021-04-27T17:41:45
Two months ago, India declared it had defeated Covid-19, but now it has become the epicentre of the pandemic. Many accuse the government of indifference and incompetence, especially after enco...
China seeks to speed up its Covid-19 vaccination campaign from 2021-04-13T12:59:56
While Covid-19 appears to be under control in China, authorities want to keep it that way. But given low infection rates, motivation has been lacking for some people to get vaccinated. As a re...
'Broadcast Jockeys: In South Korea, streamers compete for celebrity online from 2021-03-30T12:04:11
In South Korea, a new breed of media star has recently emerged. Often worshipped by youngsters, these new kids on the block are known as Broadcast Jockeys. You'll need to open your laptop and ...
Myanmar-Thailand: Organising resistance on the other side of the border from 2021-03-16T10:19:31
For weeks now, hundreds of thousands of people in Myanmar have marched against the military junta to protest last month’s coup. The people’s demand for democracy has put them in the army's cro...
Fukushima fallout: A decade after Japan's nuclear disaster from 2021-03-02T12:28:56
On March 11, 2011, a nightmare scenario bore down on Japan. First, one of the biggest earthquakes ever recorded struck the north-eastern coast. An hour later, a tsunami slammed into the shore....
Covid-19: Is China's vaccine diplomacy working? from 2021-02-16T13:36:22
Wealthy countries were quick to snatch up Covid-19 vaccines from Western companies, leaving low-income ones to look elsewhere. Enter China and India. Both nations are racing to fill internatio...
Myanmar's military: The army's firm grip on power from 2021-02-02T11:59:55
On the same day that Myanmar's parliament was due to begin a new session, the military staged a coup and arrested Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Tensions had been rising in the country for w...
Covid-19: Vaccine drive underway in India amid transparency concerns from 2021-01-19T11:50:33
With India hoping to vaccinate 300 million people against Covid-19 by August, the challenges are more than just logistics. Many are worried about transparency. Critics say one of the vaccines ...
One year after devastating bushfires in Australia, have lessons been learned? from 2021-01-05T11:21:21
In this week's edition we focus on Australia, where catastrophic bushfires scorched more than 18 million hectares of land in 2020. The main causes were a drought, hot and windy weather, plus c...
Fighting New Delhi’s monkey influx with facial recognition from 2020-12-22T13:56:46
This week we begin by looking at South Korea's strategy against Covid-19. It has been widely praised as effective against the virus but is it corrosive to personal freedoms? Next we see how mo...
Why bear attacks are on the rise in Japan from 2020-12-08T11:38:32
In Japan, sightings of wild bears have soared to their highest level in five years, while many northern regions have reported the most in over a decade. This has led to a number of fatal attac...
Wuhan, one year on: Breaking down China's Covid-19 strategy from 2020-11-24T12:31:03
Almost a year after the Covid-19 pandemic began, China is celebrating the way it's cracked down on the virus. Overrun hospitals have been replaced with crowded bars, restaurants and markets. U...
Kamala Harris's ancestral village in India celebrates her US election success from 2020-11-10T17:03:20
US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has shattered the glass ceiling in America. Not only will she be the first woman to become VP, she'll also be the first person of colour. Harris was born ...
In Thailand, local businesses adapt to ongoing protests from 2020-10-26T18:12:27
This week, we head to the Thai capital Bangkok, which has been convulsed for weeks by anti-government protests. Social media has been vital to the protest movement – not just to organise demon...
Protesters in Bangladesh urge government to take action against sexual assault from 2020-10-12T18:37:10
In Bangladesh, a video showing yet another woman being attacked and sexually assaulted has sparked a huge wave of protests across the country. Sexual assaults have been on the rise in the Sout...
In India, Covid-19 pushes poorest children into work from 2020-09-29T11:39:55
In this week's edition, we focus on the world's second most populous nation: India. With the country soon expected to become the hardest hit by Covid-19, experts believe that the outbreak is d...
Disney film 'Mulan' faces backlash amid geopolitical issues from 2020-09-14T18:28:31
Disney's new remake of "Mulan" was tailored to appeal to audiences in China. It stars big-name Chinese-born actors like Jet Li, Gong Li and Donnie Yen, and the story itself is based on an old ...
The women fighting Covid-19 in rural India from 2020-08-31T18:44:25
This week we begin in India, which has registered a total of more than 3.6 million Covid-19 infections. We see how women volunteers, healthcare professionals and social workers are on the fron...
Speaking out: One woman's fight to protect China's Uighur community from 2020-07-28T09:48:15
As international pressure mounts on China over its treatment of the Muslim Uighur minority, we speak to one woman who says her activism resulted in her sister's detention in Xinjiang. Next, we...
Outrage in India: Police under fire over beatings and torture from 2020-07-13T19:02:43
In this week's show, we head to India, where law enforcement officers are trying to improve their image amid an outcry over police brutality. Next, we see how pro-democracy supporters in Hong ...
Locals to the rescue: Indonesians save stranded Rohingya refugees from 2020-06-29T18:15:32
In this week’s show, we look at Pakistan which has one of the fastest growing infection rates for Covid-19 in the world. The crisis is exposing shortcomings in the government's response and th...
Australia: Aboriginal rights in the spotlight from 2020-06-15T18:33:11
In this week's show we look at how calls for an end to racial discrimination have been growing louder across Australia, with aboriginal rights at the heart of many protests. Next, we see how I...
Hong Kong protests: Chinese dissident artist speaks out from 2020-05-28T18:56:56
This week we speak to Chinese dissident artist Badiucao, who lives in exile in Australia. We talk to him about the latest Hong Kong protests and the Chinese government's response to the Covid-...
Covid-19: China imposes restrictions on wildlife markets from 2020-05-14T19:39:16
The petri dish for the coronavirus outbreak is thought to be a wildlife market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. Experts are confident that human consumption of the livestock on sale was the cause...
Covid-19 in India: Coloured hotspots to control outbreak from 2020-05-04T20:13:16
The lifting of certain lockdown restrictions has now begun across India, a nation which has endured one of the biggest coronavirus lockdowns. Narendra Modi's government has colour-coded a map ...
Covid-19: Tracking apps boost state surveillance in China from 2020-04-20T20:31:17
In China, mobile data is becoming a key tool in the fight against Covid-19. Across the country, local authorities are increasingly working hand in hand with the technology provided by health t...
China's handling of coronavirus outbreak under scrutiny from 2020-03-11T15:36:32
In this special edition, we focus on the coronavirus outbreak in China. Beyond the tragic number of cases and deaths, we're asking about life under lockdown. What are the effects on millions o...
Coronavirus in China: Hubei province's residents treated as pariahs from 2020-02-26T11:21:40
Coronavirus in China has had, of course, a human toll, but it's also sewn a level of mistrust in the country. As the crisis worsened, Hubei province was effectively sealed off. Residents who w...
Coronavirus turns Chinese cities into ghost towns from 2020-02-11T13:10:27
Chinese authorities have put the Hubei province on lockdown, effectively quarantining millions of people, as the coronavirus spreads despite unprecedented measures. We take a look at life in t...