Eastern Asia
Japan’s alarmist reaction to North Korean missile test
By John Chan, April 16, 2009
One aspect of North Korea’s missile launch has been the Japanese government’s reaction. With his popularity at record lows, Prime Minister Taro Aso exaggerated the threat to divert attention from ...
More assertive Chinese diplomacy at the G20 summit
By John Chan, April 8, 2009
A significant feature of the recent G20 summit in London was the more forceful role played by China. Well aware of the country’s growing economic weight, Beijing is insisting on a place among the ma...
UN Security Council convened over North Korean missile test
By Patrick Martin, April 6, 2009
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Sunday in response to the test launching of a long-range missile by North Korea earlier in the day.
Impending North Korean missile test raises regional tensions
By John Chan and Peter Symonds, April 3, 2009
North Korean plans to fire a long-range Taepodong-2 rocket are heightening tensions in North East Asia. While Pyongyang claims to be launching a satellite, the US and Japan insist it is carrying out a...
Poverty, unemployment and homelessness hit Japanese workers
By Carol Divjak, March 26, 2009
With the Japanese economy hit hard by plummeting exports and a deep recession, hundreds of thousands of people are facing unemployment and poverty.
Japanese opposition party in crisis
By John Chan, March 20, 2009
A fund-raising scandal has exposed the fragility of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), once thought to be marching unstoppably toward office.
Naval incidents highlight tense US-China relations
By John Chan, March 12, 2009
A series of naval scuffles over the past week involving US and Chinese vessels has provoked a sharp spike in tensions between the two countries. While the issue was played down in talks yesterday in W...
Chinese leaders face bleak economic prospects
By John Chan, March 10, 2009
Two national gatherings that began in Beijing last week—the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and the National People’s Congress—are another indication that China is facing a ...
ASEAN summit: amid talk of cooperation, economic rivalry on the rise
By John Chan, March 5, 2009
The annual summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok last weekend followed what is becoming a familiar pattern at top-level international gatherings. Amid a sharp downtu...
Rising unemployment in Taiwan as exports plunge
By John Chan, March 3, 2009
In the face of the rapidly deteriorating global recession, job losses in Taiwan are rising sharply. The official statistics released last Thursday showed that unemployment rose to 5.31 percent in Janu...
China’s stimulus package threatens more economic turmoil
By John Chan, February 27, 2009
When the Chinese government’s huge stimulus package was announced last November, it was hailed in international financial circles. However, far from reviving the economy, there are signs that the st...
Coal mine explosion in China kills 74
By John Chan, February 24, 2009
China’s notoriously dangerous coal industry recorded another tragedy last Sunday, when at least 74 miners died and 114 were injured in a gas explosion.
