The BBC's Chris Hogg reports from Japan's east coast, where fears of radiation have entered the local psyche. He talks to residents who depend on fish and seaweed to eat and asks what they will do if radiation poisons their food. "What can we do?" they respond.

Inspired by the protests in Tunisia and Egypt, Chinese demonstrators put out a call for protests over Chinese social media. Small gatherings popped up in Shanghai and Beijing. However, police shut down the protests quickly, and rounded up dissidents in the days prior to the scheduled protests. Some say these roundups show how worried the Chinese government is. Chris Hogg, reporter for the BBC, is in Shanghai.

Over the past two years, China's banks have loaned more money to developing countries than the World Bank, making China the world's number one investor in emerging economies. The two state-controlled banks, China Development Bank and China Export-Import Bank are "policy banks"; they are mandated to make investments that further China's interests. To this goal, they have offered loans to producers of raw materials.

As South Korea staged live artillery drills on an island near its disputed boarder with the North, New Mexico's Governor Bill Richardson was pressing the reclusive neighboring country not to retaliate. Richardson was in the country on a diplomatic mission to convince North Korean officials to allow nuclear arms inspectors allowed back into the country. Richardson was scheduled to make a statement from China today, but bad weather has delayed his flight out of North Korea. Chris Hogg, reporting for our partners the BBC from China, joins us for more on the story. 

One of the eye-opening revelations coming out of the latest Wikileaks document release is what some countries think of one another. Do Chinese officials think of North Korea as a "spoiled child"? Well, that's the characterization in one of the leaked cables. What else does China think of it's neighbor? 

Events over the weekend may turn out to be game-changers for America's relationship with North Korea. The U.S. and South Korea engaged in quickly-assembled military exercises to show their ability to respond to aggression from Pyonyang. Meanwhile, cables from the latest WikiLeaks release describe a disturbing chumminess between North Korea and Iran.  

Since 1949, when Chaing Kai-shek and his followers in the Republic of China government fled Nanjing for Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War, the tiny island nation and mainland China have been at odds, if not downright hostile in their relations. Six decades later, China's communist government and the democratic descendant of the ROC in Taiwan have taken a major step toward normalizing relations.

China and Taiwan signed a wide-ranging trade pact today, potentially easing the troubled relationship between the two nations after sixty years. The deal includes a reduction tariffs on textiles and petrochemicals and allow more open investment across the Taiwan Strait. About 40,000 Taiwanese companies operate in mainland China, with about $83 million in Taiwanese money invested there.

Ten workers at Foxconn, a Taiwanese-owned iPad factory referred to by some as a "sweatshop" have recently committed suicide, prompting tech journalists and industry watchers to ask: is it time for a Fair Trade Tech company? (Apple CEO Steve Jobs says Foxconn is "not a sweatshop," and that the suicides are troubling, but Apple is "trying to understand right now, before we go in and say we know the solution.")

The authorities in Thailand say they've received a new offer of a ceasefire from anti-government protesters, who've been engaged in a violent stand-off with the army in Bangkok.

 

Here's a preview of the coming week with Marcus Mabry, international business editor for The New York Times, and Chris Hogg, BBC correspondent in Shanghai. This week: a look at how the Army moves forward after the Fort Hood shootings, President Obama's upcoming trip to Asia on Thursday, and what's next for health care reform now that House Demorats' House bill has passed.

Contaminated milk, poisonous pet food, toys containing dangerous levels of lead: Some products made in China have been found to be hazardous to your health. The latest is drywall. During the housing boom, construction companies used drywall from wherever they could get it, and now certain types, made in China, have been found to be releasing chemicals and fumes that cause medical problems. Adding insult to injury, many of the people affected are stuck with their infected walls because they can't afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to remove the drywall.

We talk with the BBC's Shanghai correspondent, Chris Hogg, who has details of an emerging partnership between the U.S. and China to crack down on tainted drywall. We also speak with Luis Gonzalez, a Miami-Dade police officer forced to leave his home, which was built using drywall from China. 

Today, Beijing calls for talks with Washington over tire tariffs, after President Obama announced on Friday that he will tack on a 35 percent tariff to imports of Chinese tires for cars and light trucks. The U.S. tire industry has lost thousands of jobs due to a surge in tire exports from China. China hit back by saying that the U.S. was violating international trade laws and announced that it would restrict U.S. imports of chicken and auto parts. For the implications of all this, we talk to BBC Correspondent Chris Hogg, who is in Shanghai, with the latest.

The World Trade Organization has upheld a complaint by the U.S. that could help open the massive Chinese market to American movies, music, and books. Right now that market is subject to restrictions by China's government on what foreign media can be imported and distributed there. The BBC's correspondent in Shanghai, Chris Hogg, joins us with more of the story.

Two days of high-level talks between the U.S. and China start today in Washington, D.C. President Obama is expected to make opening remarks. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will lead the strategic side of the talks, while Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner takes on the economic side. But what are Beijing's priorities at these talks? Joining The Takeaway to discuss China's agenda is BBC Correspondent Chris Hogg in Shanghai, China.

South Korean newspapers have reported that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il appointed his youngest son Kim Jong Un as successor. The reports say that the North Korean leader instructed the country's diplomats to pledge allegiance to his son, who is reported to be in his 20's. To find out what this means for the future of U.S. relations with Korea The Takeaway talks to BBC’s Chris Hogg who is following this closely from Seoul, South Korea.

China's economy continues to take hits as reports are in that their imports and exports fell for a third straight month. As China's population buys less, a recession looms and it is leaving over 20 million rural workers in China unemployed. For more, we are joined by the BBC's Chris Hogg who is in Shanghai.

China, the world's third-largest economy, has recorded its lowest rate of growth for seven years. The figure fell to nine percent in 2008. Growth slowed even more in the final quarter, falling to less than seven percent. Does this mean that the boom years in China are truly over? Chris Hogg, the BBC correspondent, joins us from Shanghai, China to discuss.

Somali pirates have been grabbing headlines for months for hijacking tanker after tanker. The Somali government is in shambles and its president is resigning and they are in no position to stop the insanity. But the international community has had enough and the snatch-and-get-paid schemes of Somali pirates may be coming to an end. Last week German fighter ships thwarted an attempted hijacking and now China has sent two destroyers to escort and protect its merchant ships. Chris Hogg, a reporter for the BBC, is in Beijing covering this aspect of the story.