Japan’s excess liquidity worries neighbors
Editor’s note: Japan ushered in a new era of economic policy with new governor of the Bank of Japan Haruhiko Kuroda at the helm, while Asian neighbors looked on warily. Kuroda came up with plans to unleash a torrent of liquidity designed to wash away decades of Japan’s economic underperformance. Economists herald the moves as […]
N. Korea’s bluffing works again
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING North Korea has scored another brilliant diplomatic success. It has scared the world and created a sense of acute international crisis out of nothing. In the last two weeks, Seoul has been flooded with international journalists most of whom have come to report on the “growing tensions between the two Koreas”. […]
What N. Korea means to America and China
Editor’s note: In the wake of the recent crisis on the Korean Peninsula, shifting politics between U.S. and China has been a center of attention. Following article published on the April 13 issue of The Economist is one way to look at this issue. While neither America nor China wants a war for now, America worries […]
Taiwan’s middle-income trap
Editor’s note: Taiwan’s economy, built on an export-oriented manufacturing sector, was once a powerhouse of Asia’s emerging economies. But over the past decade or so, growth in personal income has slowed considerably and the Taiwanese economic miracle has begun to fade. The key to reviving the economy lies in promoting Taiwan’s long neglected services sector, […]
Grandson Kim: Who laughs last?
In the 1940s, the German leader Adolf Hitler was going on building his Greatest Germania; a target that was not accepted by his far enemies or by his competing neighbors. The survival of the better economically and scientifically Hitler, compared by Europe’s countries, meant that there will be a fierce power that does not forgive […]
Ending North Korea’s gamesmanship
Editor’s note: The crisis on the Korean peninsula has heightened to the bitter end. Here’s a view from Singapore’s The Strait Times to address the issue. It never is wise to discount renewed conflict on the Korean peninsula, despite the latest brinkmanship showing a familiar pattern. If the military moves had happened in Kim Jong […]
Can North Korea learn from Coca-Cola?
*Editor’s note: As North Korea’s ‘bellicose rhetoric’ against the U.S. and S. Korea became a daily ritual, a Beijing-based American columnist Evan Osnos pointed out that the discrepancy between North Korea’s threats and action has been caused by its failure in communication. For that reason, he argues, N. Korea is losing its audience. Following is Osnos’ […]
Bassem Youssef: Egypt’s iconic satirist
All around the world, there are many satirical programs, whether it’s political or not, with real or made-up events. But in the Arab world, it differs. Political satirical programs are rare. They almost don’t exist. In Tunisia, for example, there was a short program where they show puppets which look like notable politicians, and make […]
NK’s effort to block defectors pays off
Where have all the NK refugees gone? In late February, I was travelling in an area which should be frequently visited by any serious North Korean watcher – the parts of China in the vicinity of the North Korean border, the Yanbian autonomous region in particular. In the past many people, including myself, visited the […]
Chinese Non-action
Despite sanction, China remains staunch NK supporter On the 9th of March, the Chinese foreign minister, Yang Jiechi held a news conference in Beijing. Predictably, one of the questions was about North Korea – after all, China just recently supported another tough resolution of the UN Security Council which condemns the North Korean nuclear test. […]
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