2018 Top Asian News

Many things happened during 2018: power shifts, wars, terrorist attacks, new laws and new scientific discoveries. Among all those news, we selected the most significant ones. Here go the top ten Asian news of the current year.

 Inter-Korean Dialogue and US-NK Talks – The international community opens the door to North Korea

The NK-US summit in Singapore on June 12 had all the winning features: surprise, drama and suspense, instant and universal appeal. It was enthralling and seemed fictional as the encounter between ‘Rocket Man’ Kim and ‘Mr. Dotard’ Trump – their name-calling in a tense exchange over the nuclear issue – offered no clue of the likely outcome. The North Korean test-firing of inter-continental ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads capable of hitting the US mainland had raised the mercurial US commander-in-chief’s hawkish instincts. Auspiciously, the two antagonists hit it off and their chemistry miraculously pulled the uncompromising foes from the brink.

The Kim-Trump Summit received saturation coverage by the Singapore media and held a global audience in thrall. Every moment of the two protagonists was watched ‘live’ on TV (Channel News Asia (CNA) in Singapore) from the moment their aircraft touched down at Changi International Airport, the progress of their motorcade through the streets lined with spectators, and climaxed by the sight of sprinting security men as Kim’s car approached the St Regis hotel. On the eve of the historic talks held at the Capella hotel on off-shore isle of Sentosa (Malay word for peace and tranquility) –Singapore’s equivalent of Jeju island – the world community was keeping fingers crossed. Then it happened. In front of the TV cameras and the world press corps, Kim and Trump walked to meet each other halfway, smiled and shook hands. Their homely image of a grandfather greeting his grandson with a pat on the shoulder, beamed across the globe leading to a collective cheer. The two leaders then exit left to do the hard bargaining out of the public eye, eventually emerging to tell the world they have reached a deal on bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula with North Korean committing to dismantling of its nuclear arsenal linked to US ending its economic sanctions against Pyongyang. It was the day that gave peace another chance. The achievements of Kim and Trump, against the odds, have been lauded as deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize. On that score, the two peace-makers have earned kudos to be conferred the accolade of Persons of the Year 2018.

US-China trade war

The trade war between the United States and China has been going on recent years; nevertheless, 2018 was the year where the US-China tensions escalated dramatically. To begin with, on January 22, Trump imposed tariffs on imported solar cells. In response, China investigated US exports of sorghum on February 5 and announced imposing preliminary tariffs on US sorghum on April 17. On May 18, U.S. and Chinese delegations held a round of trade talks; however, talks failed to end a trade war. On July 18, Trump administration said it will slap a 25 percent tariff on $50 billion in Chinese goods; Beijing announced tariffs on $50 billion in U.S. products. On September 17, Trump announced 10 percent tariffs on $200 billion in Chinese goods; In response, China said it will slap tariffs on $60 billion in U.S. products on the next day. On December 1, Trump and Xi Jinping agreed to withhold further tariffs on each other’s countries for 90 day. However, Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou’s arrest in Canada has caused further tensions in the strained relationship between China and the US.

 Saudi journalist Khashoggi’s assassination

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in a fight in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, as the Kingdom’s state TV reports, quoting an initial inquiry. Deputy intelligence chief Ahmad al-Assiri and Saud al-Qahtani, senior aide to Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, were sacked over the affair. While detaining more than a dozen, it seemed too ugly act to be believed; how could an intelligence authority be stupid enough to do so, while world cameras and wall ears could inspect and trace all dark actions? This is connected, somehow, to an earlier action almost a year ago, when the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman launched his bold campaign to raise money to fund the objectives of (his) Saudi Vision 2020; by forcing businessmen and princes to pay him.

 Malay regime change: The downfall of BN government

The 61-year-old Barisan Nasional (BN) government was ousted by the Pakistan Harapan (PH), the opposition coalition, on May 9, 2018. The downfall of BN government was related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal in which the former Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who was also the Finance Minister and the President of BN, was alleged to be “illegally” involved with a Malaysian billionaire Jho Low in the global multiple business transactions. The downfall of the BN government was also due to the unpopular six percent (6%) Goods and Sales Tax (GST) that was introduced in 2014. GST has made the people “across the board” very angry due to the rising cost of living. All the Malaysians, regardless poor or rich, are being taxed for 6% according to the items purchased.

 Pakistan regime change, a huge shift of power

Former cricketer and the leader of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Justice Movement) Imran Khan, was sworn in as the 22nd Prime Minister of country on August 18. He was elected after his party emerged as single largest party having clinched majority of seats in National Assembly, the Lower House of Parliament, during July 25 general elections amidst allegations of massive rigging. After the polls, Mr. Imran’s party openly involved in buying the loyalties of a large number of independent members as well as the members of smaller parties to form the coalition government in the Center. The opposition parties described this practice as worst kind of political horse-trading in the history of country.

 Legalization of Lebanese cannabis agriculture

On July18, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said, “Lebanon’s parliament is considering legalizing the cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes in an attempt to boost the struggling economy”. Although growing the plant is illegal in Lebanon, powerful landowners nevertheless have for decades openly grown fields of cannabis in the fertile Bekaa Valley, untouched by law enforcement and its attempts to crack down. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime ranked Lebanon in a 2018 report as the world’s third main source of cannabis resin seized by national authorities after Morocco and Afghanistan.

 India’s Supreme Court decriminalizes gay sex

Section 377 of the Indian Constitution was a colonial-era left over banning gay sex. In September 2018, the Supreme Court of India scrapped 377 and decriminalized homosexuality and joined the nations that ensure LGBT rights.

 Tunisia’s new constitution on gender equality

For more than 14 centuries, Islamic Sharia used to allow men to inherit double what a woman would receive. In Islam, Ijtihad (reviewing and reinterpretation) is not employed where authentic texts (Qur’an and Hadith) as inheritance laws are detailed in Quran in a clear way. However Essebsi, Tunisia’s president, proposed giving women equal inheritance rights in a clear challenge to Islamic law. The Tunisian cabinet- the first among Arab nations- has approved the law of gender equality in inheritance. The controversial law permits women and men to have an equal inheritance, contradicting the Qur’anic verse which states the share of women’s inheritance is half that of men’s. The law will also guarantee a freedom of choice between following the constitution or the Sharia Islamic law.

Boracay closure due to environmental issues

On April 26, Boracay was closed to tourists for six months. Before the closure of Boracay, the government issued warning notices to around 100 establishments located mostly on White Beach and other parts of Boracay Island.  The establishments are allegedly encroaching on environmentally critical areas such as wetlands and forest areas.

Thailand cave rescue

On July 2018, an international cave rescue successfully extracted members of a junior football team trapped in Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Twelve members of the team aged eleven to seventeen, and their 25-year-old assistant coach entered the cave on 23 June after football practice. Shortly afterwards, heavy rains partially flooded the cave, trapping the group inside. The rescue effort expanded into a massive operation amid intense worldwide public interest. On 2 July, after advancing through narrow passages and muddy waters, British divers John Volanthen and Richard Stanton found the group alive on an elevated rock about 4 kilometers (2.5 mi) from the cave mouth. Alongside volunteers, countries sent their own contingents to Thailand. Seventeen Australian police divers, 36 US military Pacific Command personnel, and six rescue specialists from Beijing joined the rescue efforts.