A number of major issues threaten to degrade, if not entirely disrupt, Myanmar’s elections scheduled for November. These issues include ongoing fighting between the military and various armed ethnic armies, violent social and religious tensions between Buddhists and Muslims, and the lethargic pace of constitutional reforms.
What does China’s rise as a major power mean for Australia? The answer depends on whom you ask.
In March 2015, the Sydney Morning Herald’s International Editor, Peter Hartcher, described China as a fascist state that bullies its own citizens and neighbouring countries alike. That about sums up the ‘China threat’ view.
Yet there is also no shortage of CEOs gushing with praise for Chinese government policies that are expected to deliver more than 850 million people into the ranks of the middle class by the end of next decade.
The 70th anniversary of the end of the World War II offers an opportunity for Northeast Asia to reflect on the lessons learnt from the past and to forge a vision for a peaceful and prosperous future.
The Northeast Asian countries should encourage domestic debate on the facts of history and their moral implications for today. Each nation has its own unique historical experiences that influence reflections on the past, and create heroes and villains in the present. Only free and open discussion of interpretations can give people a full and nuanced understanding of their history.
Savagely beaten by the left-wing Scottish Nationalist Party in Scotland and the right-wing Conservative Party in England, Labour now faces difficult choices about where the road ahead. As if that were not enough to worry about, the rise of the anti-immigrant, UKIP poses another threat.
Indonesia’s Papua, covering its two easternmost provinces, simmers with the highest levels of deadly violence — inter-ethnic, electoral, land-related and domestic — in the country. Home to a Melanesian and largely Christian indigenous population, it became part of Indonesia in 1969 after a highly contested referendum and has since been home to a low-level armed struggle for independence.
The Hong Kong government’s election reform proposal will theoretically allow for greater flexibility and competition for the 2017 race for Chief Executive. Pan-democratic lawmakers are vowing to veto the proposal, threatening the result and ultimately the 2017 ‘one person one vote’ election.
After last week’s elections, British politics is at a unique turning point and perhaps so is US policy, where in a tumultuous world; Great Britain has heretofore been a steadfast US ally. The final vote on Thursday, May 7, confounded many political observers on both sides of the pond.
Just a few days before the election, I predicted that Labour would win 270 seats and the Conservatives 275, and Labour would form a minority government. I begin with this confession as a warning that the wise should read what follows with scepticism (to say the least). I, along with many other “experts” got it wrong, very wrong.
Xi Jinping has recently published a book of maxims and instructions concerning ‘the comprehensive advancement of Socialist rule of law’. This is another strong political signal that the top leadership has committed itself to a process of legal reform. While it is tempting to dismiss the moves as mere ideological posturing, China’s intentions for rule of law are genuine.
Three developments drove the dollar last week. The Eurozone bond market sell-off exhausted itself with the help of softer than expected German industrial orders and an outright decline in industrial output. The US jobs data bolstered arguments that what now looks like a contraction in Q1 is not a representative of the state of the economy. The unexpected Tory victory in the UK lifted sterling to its best level since the end of February.
