The BBC’s World Service Business Matters invited RIWI founder Neil Seeman and RIWI partner David Woo to discuss a variety of topics regarding the China and Taiwan conflict, big data, and Elon Musk’s Twitter deal with host Ed Butler.
China’s military action surrounding Taiwan has been disruptive, especially given the sanctions placed on Taiwan following Nancy Pelosi’s visit. In the show, David Woo explained that the consequences to date are likely “just the beginning.” RIWI’s Military Conflict Risk Index developed in partnership with David Woo has been tracking public opinion data throughout the aforementioned events. Neil Seeman, founder of RIWI, explained some of the insights collected by the Index from Chinese and Taiwanese citizens amidst the rising conflict. Seeman shared that “since July 28th there has been quite a dramatic uptick in concern in both countries regarding future military tensions among the countries – and that is quite a divergence from the past.”
Data from the Index can also be used to understand the perceptions of Taiwanese citizens regarding Pelosi’s visit. BBC host Ed Butler asked Seeman whether the Taiwanese would have rather not seen Pelosi visit the island, to which he replied “within Taiwan, there is a clear concern, about 33%, of those expressing some or a great deal of concern about the government’s handling of the situation.”
The episode goes on to discuss the importance of clean data and the lawsuit between Twitter and Elon Musk regarding Musk’s deal to purchase the company and what it means for data quality. The episode, titled “Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort ‘raided by FBI'” is available on BBC Sounds, Apple Podcasts, or Player FM here.
