Great Decisions #4: The Philippines and the U.S.

Join the World Affairs Council of Maine as we explore the Foreign Policy Association’s 2020 Great Decisions. 

Session #4: The Philippines has had a special relationship with the United States since the islands were ceded by Spain to the United States after the Spanish-American War at the end of the 19th century.  However, since the election of Rodrigo Duterte, the country has pivoted more toward China, and away from the U.S. Duterte has also launched a largescale war on drugs that many criticize for its brutality. What does the future hold for U.S. relations with the Philippines?

Suggested readings and videos:

• The Will of the People: Duterte's Philippines, Foreign Policy Association, YouTube;
• Duterte's Shutdown of TV Network Leaves Void Among Coronavirus Crisis, New York Times;
• The Future of Journalism: A Journalist Under Attack, Princeton Alumni Weekly;
• Philippine Dissenters May Face Terrorist Designation, New York Times;
• UN High Commission on Human Rights Report on Philippines, UNHCHR (June 2020).

What is Great Decisions? Foreign Policy Association’s Great Decisions is this country’s largest discussion program on world affairs. For over twenty years, our Council has brought these Great Decisions to the state of Maine. We’ve provided hundreds of hours of discussion to members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Southern Maine and hosted numerous dinner discussion groups across southern Maine. Click here for more information on our Great Decisions program.

What will each session look like? Prior to each session, participants will receive suggested readings and a link to the 25-min. Great Decisions television series episode on the session topic. Participants are encouraged to review the materials, however, pre-work is not required in order to enjoy the virtual conversation.  

Each virtual session will last 75 minutes. Your facilitator will begin the session with a brief presentation on the topic. Participants will then be split into virtual breakout rooms of 12 or fewer participants. Each breakout room will have a facilitator to help move the conversation along and ensure that everyone who is interested is able to participate in the discussion. Discussion questions will be provided to all registered attendees. 

I’ve never used Zoom. How will I know what to do? Virtual programming is new to most of us. We’re all learning together! We will send instructions on how to download Zoom to your device, as well as suggested settings to improve your Zoom experience. We will review Zoom functions at the start of each session and help members to troubleshoot. We can’t promise a flawless experience, but let’s not let perfect be the enemy of good! 

We recommend you review our WACM Zoom user document before your first session. 

What does this cost? In this time of economic uncertainty we have adopted a “pay what you can” structure for our virtual programming. Please register at a level that is right for you ($0-$15). 

Become a Great Decisions Series Sponsor! The lengthy suspension of our in-person programs greatly impacts the revenue that supports our work. For those able and interested, we created a $50 Great Decisions series sponsor ticket. This one-time gift will support our full 6-session series. Sponsorship can be made in your name(s) or in honor/memory of someone. All sponsors will be recognized at the start of each of the six sessions. Please purchase your series sponsor $50 ticket for the first session you are interested in attending. You can then sign up for any subsequent sessions by choosing the "Pay what you can $0" ticket. 

IMPORTANT: Please register for each device being used to attend the webinar. For example, if you and a family member will be attending on one computer, only one registration is necessary. Alternatively, if you each will be using your own devices to attend, please register separately. This will ensure that each attendee is placed in a breakout room for the discussion portion of the webinar. 

About this week's facilitator:

Bill Hall is retired from the U.S. Air Force and a subsequent career at Martin’s Point Health Care in Portland. He grew up in Virginia and received a bachelor’s degree in politics from Princeton University and a master’s degree in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. He was an intelligence officer for the US Air Force, serving on active duty from 1969 until 1999. He spent almost 18 years of that time overseas in both Asia and Europe. Assignments in the U.S. included the National Security Agency in Maryland. Bill served as the Interim Executive Director of the Council from 2017-18 and currently serves as president of the board of directors. Moving to Maine in late 1999, Bill lives on Peaks Island with his wife, Nancy. His international experience continues to be further refined and kept up to date by having a daughter-in-law from Kyrgyzstan and a son-in-law from Japan.