Im melissa chan welcome to news asia thank you for joining us most major countries in the region have congratulated joe biden as the next u. S. President of china has not saying it will wait its not clear until when but for the rest of asia governments face a new reality for the past 4 years donald trump has shaken the foundation of what u. S. Relations mean for the region with his tough talk and courting of traditional rivals so whats the outlook now for americas allies and competitors in the end of pacific. Joe biden has promised a new day for america but what does biden have in mind for asia the u. S. Has a powerful reach there over security trade and Climate Change but also a rival for economic and military dominance. A confident china which has managed so far to beat back its coronavirus epidemic and now looks to outmaneuver the u. S. As a global superpower. Meanwhile protest movements in thailand and hong kong look to the u. S. As a champion of democracy for the region. In nuclea
Off its good to have you with us there is positive news tonight in the fight against the pandemic and anti Coronavirus Vaccine developed jointly by the u. S. Farmers who tickle giant pfizer in germanys buying on tech is 90 percent effective in preventing covert 19 infections thats what the drug maker said today and this is the most successful trial so far of any vaccine and the Companies Say that they have found no serious safety concerns they hope to supply 50000000 doses this year and up to 1300000000 doses in 2021 and they plan to seek authorization this month for emergency use of the back seat in the United States several other possible vaccines are also being tested around the world. Well here in Germany Health officials or welcoming the news of a potential vaccine but theres debate over who should be vaccinated 1st. Germany is in Lockdown People and businesses a facing tough restrictions at the moment strict controls are the only measure to keep the pandemic at bank one way there
Ultimately i went up and down the border 2000 miles this way in 2000 miles that way. Then i went deep into mexico. They were very hospitable and wellconnected. It was really such fun and so illuminating and so anti trump. The prejudice against immigrants is so severe its a joke. Immigrants pissing on other immigrants. Two of them are immigrants. He is sort of say they are rubbish. All of those motivating factors. The anticipation of destroyed a stereotype. The spirit of americans. The first time it happened was in mexico city. I have to pay bribes. He said follow me i said whats the problem. Your license plate. Is there some way that we can solve this. I said no, how. He said dollars. 300, whats your name. Antonio know. Do you know what i can do to you. He have taken me into islam and the people going by and he was just screaming at me. That seems like a lot of money. He just took everything out of the wallet which was about 200. My total and bribes was probably 11 or 1,200 altogether.
Susan i wanted to put the cover of your new book, dignity, on the screen. Explain its essence to me. Chris it is a book about my five years driving around the United States, spending time in what i would call back road america, the part of america that is everywhere. It is not a red state or blue state thing, it is the towns and communities that have been ignored or left behind or forgotten. Places like selma, alabama, like the north side of milwaukee, places like the bronx in new york city. Places that are kind of stigmatized and defined in various ways as being places where there is high crime or poverty, but places that make up a large part of the united tates. Susan that is the back row, the front row is hris the front row is me. E and my colleagues. I used to work on wall treet. I was there for 20 years before i did this. I have a phd in physics. Those are what i call front row professions. People who have harvard degrees, yale degrees, who make up a large part of the political cl
Story, those of you who have not been here before its where the 20s in the 60s and 70s were the ukrainian socialist club. The owner actually dennis, in fact he was a defender and is now surrounded in a transition apparently. So were going to introduce someone who does not need an introduction but it fits. We have something really extravaganza, we have opera, discussions, bellydancing, down the bank if you notice a lady with a typewriter, you can go up and say anything and shall write one for you. Lets stop with the conversations and please welcome paul theroux as we celebrate his 51st book apparently,. There are 31 novels, 19 troubled books and one criticism. The wall street journal actually says 56. But anyway he just celebrated his new book on the plain of snakes. And in any case [inaudible] can you hear me. Can you hear me, did you hear the joke. [laughter] thank you very much for being here. I have never been here before to this particular place, it is delightful. I know tony so th