The West must address the degradation of democracy domestically, and worldwide. It’s on the right side in the war in Ukraine. And in China. But what doesn’t ring true is President Biden’s flaunting the democratic cause as a foreign policy stick.
Tag: asean
Western countries want to isolate Russia on the world stage. But for many Asian countries, the war in Ukraine is distant geographically and economically, and represents an existential debate between dictatorships and democracies.
East Asia is home to 30% of the world’s population but has recorded only 2.4% of the COVID-19 global death toll. Scientists are looking at possible immunity from past epidemics or even genetics.
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Another Wall For The Road
“UK government has just gone full Trump.” The British announcement yesterday that the construction of the “Great Wall of Calais” is about to begin was bound to arrive at the feet of Donald Trump. Of course, the New York businessman is far from being the first, or the last, to have the idea of setting […]
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Duterte, Not Lost In Translation
Foreign correspondents, and their editors, have long wrestled with translations of newsworthy words from one language to another — both those quotable quotes from colorful personalities, and the jargony langue de bois of international bureaucrats and businessmen. We like to think of ourselves at Worldcrunch as experts in the field, and watched with some amusement […]
JOHN KERRY CONCERNED BY CHINA LAND CLAIMS Photo: Then Chih Wey/Xinhua/ZUMA China should end provocative land reclamation projects in the South China Sea and work with its neighbors to resolve the region’s territorial disputes, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry told Wednesday’s summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. China has repeatedly rejected U.S. […]
GREEK STOCKS KEEP SINKING Greek stocks have continued their descent on Tuesday, on the second day of heavy losses after a five-week shutdown of Greece’s stock exchange amidst the debt crisis. All four major Greek banking stocks were down around 30% in early trading. KOSOVO WAR CRIMES COURT Kosovo’s parliament voted late Monday night to […]
BEIJING — What is holding back trade expansion with Southeast Asian countries? And why are they always turning to the U.S. whenever something happens? These two questions capture Chinese central concerns as voiced at the recent “China-ASEAN-East Asia: Cooperations and Challenges” forum, an event held by the think tank on China’s public policy Anbound Consulting. […]
Last week’s anti-Chinese protests led to vandalism of Chinese and Taiwanese factories, causing casualties and property damage. But Vietnam could wind up the worst victim in the long run.
Following fast on the heels of President Xi Jinping’s recent trip to Indonesia and Malaysia, China’s Premier Li Keqiang also showed up in Southeast Asia, attending the East Asia leaders’ meeting before bilateral visits to Brunei, Thailand and Vietnam. It is rare in China’s diplomatic history that its president and premier visit the same region […]
NHK, ASAHI SHIMBUN (Japan), XINHUA (China) Worldcrunch The Japanese government accused China of violating its airspace Thursday morning, after Chinese maritime surveillance planes flew near the islands disputed by the two powers. China’s Xinhua news agency confirms that Chinese planes were sent to patrol the territorial waters surrounding the disputed Diaoyu Islands (Senkaku in Japanese) […]
In November, both the U.S. presidential election and China’s change of leadership took place. They were the two most watched events of the year. China’s transfer of power within the party has become increasingly institutionalized. Meanwhile, America’s history of democratic election is deep-rooted and continues to play a fundamental role in its national and social […]
BEIJING – From the Huangyan Island, known also as the Scarborough Shoal, to the Diaoyu Islands, the Chinese territorial waters have been anything but calm. And inevitably, the shadow of the United States has been present behind all this. These so-called island disputes are actually a game between two great powers. After a period of […]