• East Asia

    S. Korea blasts Japan for history distortion at UN debate

    South Korea blasted Japan’s distorted view of history at a U.N. Security Council open debate on “War, its lessons, and the search for a permanent peace,” on Jan 29. 2014. China and North Korea also voiced criticism over Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent visit to the Yasukuni Shrine. Below…

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  • East Asia

    [Asia Round-up] China’s shadow banking

    Editor’s note: Followings are summaries of editorials from major Asian media on current issues. China’s shadow banking The so-called “Fragile Five” have been scrambling to raise interest rates to curb inflation: Turkey, South Africa and India have all done so. This matters to Malaysia though its economy is fairly resilient.…

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  • South East Asia

    [Asia Round-up] British military dog captured by Taliban

    TOPICS of the month British military dog captured by Taliban Taliban said on Feb. 7, 2014 that they have captured a military dog belonging to NATO forces in Afghanistan, releasing a video of a sad-looking dog chained by a group of Taliban fighters. “Allah gave victory to the Mujahideen!” one…

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  • East Asia

    [Asia Round-up] Taiwan’s challenges over its sovereignty

    By the NUMBERS Taiwan’s challenges over its sovereignty The debate over Taiwan’s sovereignty, status as a nation-state or part of China is being rekindled with its recent loss of diplomatic ties with Gambia. Many speculate about Taiwan’s position and role in the international community. In light of this, Taiwan’s “soft…

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  • East Asia

    [Asia Round-up] Samuragochi’s shameful deception

    Editor’s note: Followings are summaries of editorials from major Asian media on current issues. Samuragochi’s shameful deception The deception by the supposedly deaf composer Mamoru Samuragochi is twofold. Takashi Niigaki, a lecturer at Toho Gakuen School of Music, disclosed he had ghostwritten 20 music scores credited to Samuragochi for the…

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  • South East Asia

    [Asia Round-up] Keeping people and tigers safe

    Editor’s note: Followings are summaries of editorials from major Asian media on current issues. Keeping people and tigers safe As conservation of wild species becomes more successful, higher levels of human-wildlife conflict are being reported. The “man-eating tiger” incident in the Nilgiris district, which ended in the gunning down of…

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  • Politics

    [Asia Round-up] Polls not likely to solve Thai crisis

    Cajoling wild jumbos The Island, Sri Lanka The last few months have seen several protests against the government’s failure to prevent wild elephant attacks on far-flung villages. Affected people demand electric fences. But they won’t help so long as villages sit on elephant migration paths and forests continue to shrink,…

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  • East Asia

    Confederation or instant unification

    Over the last few months we have seen a number of signals which indicate that Marshall Kim Jong Un, the young North Korean dictator, is really serious about changing his country. Most likely, he wants to turn his country into a mini-China, where cutthroat capitalism will be practiced under the…

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  • Nepal’s PM Koirala expands cabinet

    Sixteen days after he was elected to the top executive post, Nepal’s Prime Minister Sushil Koirala Tuesday expanded his cabinet by inducting two deputy prime ministers, 16 ministers and one state minister. Row between the two large parties–Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal Unified Marxist and Leninist (CPN-UML)–…

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  • South East Asia

    Aung San Suu Kyi for President?

    Recent signs point to Aung San Suu Kyi being able to vie for president in the 2015 elections. First, the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) has formally proposed amending a proviso in the constitution that bars her from being a candidate for the top leadership post. Clause 59(f)…

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