Heritage Events Podcast

As the United Kingdom prepares to leave the European Union on October 31, the UK’s International Trade Secretary, the Right Honourable Liz Truss MP, discusses the opportunities this presents for a renewed trade and economic relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States.

Japan and South Korea have recently imposed rulings that impact each other’s financial interests and risk triggering a strategic trade war. During previous spikes in tensions, bilateral economic and security sectors were not involved and instead served as moderating influences. That changed for the worse last year. Strained bilateral economic relations undermine U.S. allied diplomatic and security coordination to deal with the North Korean threat. What role should Washington play in resolving disputes between two critically important Asian allies? Join us as a distinguished panel of experts discusses the Japanese – South Korean trade dispute and its economic, security, and strategic ramifications. Read more: The U.S. Must Limit Damage from the Japan–South Korea Trade Dispute

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s foreign policy and engagement with the world has acquired new energy and dynamism. Following India’s historic elections this spring, Modi’s second term will continue to focus on creating an enabling environment for India’s growth and development, while pursuing security and growth for all in India’s neighborhood and beyond. To discuss the Modi government’s foreign policy imperatives, and particularly India’s priorities in its regional engagements, India’s Ambassador to the U.S., His Excellency Harsh Vardhan Shringla will join Heritage Foundation South Asia scholar Jeff M. Smith for a wide-ranging conversation. Read more: https://www.heritage.org/asia/report/modi-20-navigating-differences-and-consolidating-gains-india-us-relations

Americans are concerned about their health care and the “Medicare for All” movement sounds like an easy solution. Yet, the more Americans understand the real-life costs of government-run health care – loss of private coverage, fewer health care providers, and long waiting lines – the less appeal it has. Please join us for a discussion on “Medicare for All” and the potential effects of such a policy on patients and those who care for them.

In recent years, the news has been awash in headlines about how e-commerce, data localization, and fifth generation wireless technology (5G) will reshape the digital landscape of the 21st century. In the U.S., the emergence of 5G has sparked a national conversation about the intersection between technology, economics, and national security. Already the U.S. government has taken steps to restrict access to America’s 5G networks for controversial Chinese tech giant Huawei. Numerous Indo-Pacific capitals, including many U.S. partners and allies, are now embroiled in their own contentious debates about the risks posed by Huawei and the appropriate measures to secure their digital futures. While it isn’t forcing countries to choose, the Trump administration has made clear that intelligence cooperation with U.S. partners could be impacted if it believes their digital infrastructure is compromised by foreign actors. Meanwhile, other regional partners, including India, are considering new data localization policies that could force technology firms to store their data in-country. The Trump administration argues such policies are protectionist in nature and would threaten the free flow of information, raise costs, and disrupt services, potentially resulting in new trade battles and barriers to commerce. Join us for an examination of the Trump administration’s approach to these issues and its vision for Asia’s Digital Future.

Some people think social justice is a twentieth century invention of left-leaning thinkers, but this starts the history of social justice midstream. To understand its true meaning, we must look farther back to its real historical origins. The first known use of the phrase “social justice” was by a Jesuit Thomist, Luigi Taparelli, in his multivolume work A Theoretical Treatise on Natural Law Resting on Fact published between 1840 and 1843. This lecture emphasizes two arguments that Taparelli highlighted by coining the new phrase “social justice”: first, human beings are social by nature and belong to many societies and, second, they have natural duties to others in justice.

The Heritage Foundation is hosting a half-day symposium to highlight the importance of promoting good federalism. Bringing together the leading voices in our government and key thought leaders, we will discuss what more can be done by the Administration, what opportunities we might have in Congress to advance principles of federalism, and how outside groups and state officials might best help advance the cause of freedom. Join us for a half-day symposium, with leading government officials at the federal and state level, as we examine policies to promote cooperative federalism on an array of fronts.

Freedom of thought, conscience and religion is not only an unalienable, fundamental right; it is essential to the protection of all human rights. The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) cites man’s endowment with both conscience and reason as evidence of human dignity, the basis of universal human rights. However, in the seven decades since the United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the UDHR, the human rights movement has come unmoored from its foundation in natural law. This has led to two dangerous trends: 1) the proliferation and devaluation of human rights and 2) conflicts between fundamental rights like religious freedom and newly asserted rights based on membership in special identity groups. For civil society leaders, government officials and victims who seek to strengthen protection of all human rights; restoring the natural law foundation of the right to thought, conscience and religion is essential. Please join us for this important conversation.

Justice on Trial: The Kavanaugh Confirmation and the Future of the Supreme Court reveals what really happened during last year's confirmation, including never-before-released details of every aspect of the process. Exciting new stories include: Justice Kennedy's retirement, how Kavanaugh was chosen, how his explosive opening statement to the committee was composed, what Melania Trump really thought of Christine Blasey Ford, the coordination between Democrats and the anti-Kavanaugh forces on the Left, and the behind-the-scenes chaos between Senators Flake and Coons as they hammered out the FBI investigation. They also weave in the stories of major confirmation battles of recent decades, illustrating what we have learned from fights over nominees like Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas to help get nominees like Brett Kavanaugh across the finish line. Mollie and Carrie are two insiders with unparalleled access to the major players in this national drama. They have conducted over one hundred interviews, spanning hundreds of hours, and speaking with President Trump, several Supreme Court justices, dozens of senators, and all the key figures in this battle. Join us for a discussion of their highly-anticipated book, which promises to be the definitive account of this historic event.

The political ideology of Islamism may not have its origins in the West, but in recent decades it has proven attractive to many individuals living there. Not only have Westerners joined terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda or the Islamic State, but political Islamist organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Jamaat-e-Islami have also used the West as a base from which to recruit, fundraise and proselytize. Thankfully, many eloquent and important critics have emerged among those who were once immersed in Islamism but now reject its teachings. This event features personal testimonies from two such individuals: one from the U.K. and one based in the U.S. Maajid Nawaz was a leading member of the revolutionary Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir and former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience while detained in Egypt. He has since repudiated the ideology of Islamism, works to counter extremism in all forms, and encourages reform within Islam. Nawaz is an acclaimed author, columnist and broadcaster, and stood for the British Parliament in 2015. Mohammed Khalid was just fifteen when, in 2011, he became the youngest person ever prosecuted for terrorism offenses in the U.S. Turning away from Islamism while in jail, since his release he has dedicated himself to countering the ideology that led to his imprisonment.

The Supreme Court’s 2018-2019 term will soon be over, but the need for serious analysis has just begun. Did the High Court get the big cases right? What will the Court’s ruling in The American Legion v. American Humanist Association mean for the future of religion in the public square? How will Rucho v. Common Cause and Benisek v. Lamone, the partisan gerrymandering cases, impact the next election cycle? Will the ruling in Kisor v. Wilkie rein in administrative agencies? How have Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh changed the balance of the Court, and have any broader themes of the Roberts Court emerged this term? Please join us as our distinguished panels of practitioners and journalists discuss these cases and more from the 2018-2019 term.

America has hit the proverbial fork in the road. We can continue to go down the road of social strife and despair, or we can choose the road that leads us back to the founding principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, which our nation’s founding fathers spoke of so eloquently in the Declaration of Independence. In American Restoration, Tim Goeglein and Craig Osten examine every aspect of American culture and offer a map of the road to national and spiritual renewal. The objective is to provoke a national dialogue on each of these topics while winsomely convincing hearts and minds that the best days for America are still to come. Timothy S. Goeglein is Vice President of External Relations for Focus on the Family. Formerly, he served as a special assistant to President George W. Bush and as a deputy director of the White House Office of Public Liaison. In addition, Goeglein served as a communications director for Gary Bauer at the Campaign for Working Families, and also for U.S. Senator Dan Coats of Indiana. Craig Osten is a Vice President and Senior Director of Research and Grant Writing at Alliance Defending Freedom. Prior to joining ADF, Osten was the Assistant to the President of Focus on the Family.

Keynote Remarks Chen Ming-tong, Mainland Affairs Council Minister, Republic of China (Taiwan) Introduced by: Bridgett Wagner, Vice President, Policy Promotion, The Heritage Foundation Host: Walter Lohman, Director, Asian Studies Center, The Heritage Foundation Panel 1: Taiwan-US-China Relations and the Situation of the Taiwan Strait I-Chung Lai, President, The Prospect Foundation Bonnie Glaser, Senior Adviser for Asia, Center for Strategic and International Studies Richard Bush, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution Dean Cheng, Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage Foundation – Moderator Remarks by The Honorable Jonathan Moore Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Bureau of International Organization Affairs US Department of State Panel 2: China Sharp Power against Taiwan and U.S. Wen-Cheng Lin, President, Foundation on Asia-Pacific Peace Studies Puma Shen, Assistant Professor, Graduate of Criminology, National Taipei University Mark Stokes, Executive Director, Project 2049 Dan Aum, Director of the Washington, D.C. Office, The National Bureau of Asian Research - Moderator Panel 3: Chinese Domestic Politics and Its Impacts on Taiwan-U.S.-China Relations Ho-Fung Hung, Prof. in Political Economy, Department of Sociology, Johns Hopkins University Yun Sun, Director of the China Program, Stimson Center Cheng-Yi Lin, CEO, Institute for National Defense and Security Research I-Chung Lai, President, The Prospect Foundation – Moderator Panel 4: Cross-Strait Economic Relations and the US-China Trade War Ming-Fang Tsai, Professor, Department of Industrial Economics, Tamkang University Rupert Hammond-Chambers, President, US Taiwan Business Council Riley Walters, Policy Analyst, The Heritage Foundation Walter Lohman, The Heritage Foundation – Moderator

On June 1, the US Department of Defense released its “Indo-Pacific Strategy Report: Preparedness, Partnerships and Promoting a Networked Region.” Please join us for a discusson of its key findings with Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, Randall Schriver and Ambassadors to the U.S. from key American security partners in Southeast Asia, Singapore and treaty ally, the Philippines.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has been a leading advocate for improving the regulatory environment for entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital and for reasonable regulation of emerging financial technology. Please join us for an extended conversation with Commissioner Peirce on a wide range of topics, followed by audience questions and answers. Topics for discussion will include the proper role for regulators in financial markets, the impact of the securities law on entrepreneurs, financial innovation or FinTech, alternative currencies, private capital markets and Regulation D, Regulation A, crowdfunding, the decline in both the number of public companies and of initial public offerings, the role of self-regulatory organizations, the SEC regulatory agenda and reforms at the SEC.