CHINA
Tilting backwards The Economist – OVER the past couple of months, officials around the country have been summoned to briefings about a Communist Party circular known as “Document Number Nine”. Its full contents have not been made public, but by all accounts it paints a grim picture of what the party sees as the threat posed by liberal ways of thinking. The message conveyed at these meetings has been a chilling one: stick to the party line and denounce any dissent.
China Falling? Not So Fast CFR – Joshua Kurlantzick assesses China’s economy.
Beijing’s Brand Ambassador CFR – China’s new ambassador to the United States (and a rising star in Beijing) sets out his vision for U.S.-Chinese relations, discusses whether China is a revisionist power, and how it plans to deal with cyber security — and Japan.
Riots in China’s Xinjiang province kill dozens The Guardian – At least 27 people have been killed in clashes across ethnically divided Lukqun township in Turpan prefecture. At least 27 people have been killed and three injured in riots in Xinjiang province, western China, state media have reported. Men carrying knives attacked police stations, a local government building and a construction site on Wednesday morning in a remote town in the Turkic-speaking region, according to Xinhua news agency.
At home abroad Banyan – The Economist IN TAIPEI’S dusty suburban outskirts there stands an old prison, an ugly grey building decorated with snarls of barbed wire, where the Kuomintang (KMT) used to keep dissidents, during its brutal authoritarian rule over Taiwan. That period began when the party fled from mainland China to Taiwan in 1949 and ended only decades later, in 1987.
Chinese wind-turbine firm charged with stealing US trade secrets The Guardian – Sinovel Wind Group accused of illegally downloading software from former supplier American Superconductor. China’s largest wind-turbine company has been charged with stealing trade secrets from its American former software supplier, the US justice department has announced.
US factory boss freed by Chinese workers in Beijing – video The Guardian – Chinese factory workers announce they have set their American boss free after a deal on compensation for job losses was reached
China’s Shenzhou 10 spacecraft returns to Earth – video The Guardian – Three Chinese astronauts touch down in Inner Mongolia, bringing to an end their 15-day trip to the Tiangong 1 experimental space station
REGION
Southeast Asia’s Purple Haze CFR – Even before several of my CFR colleagues and I arrived in Indonesia earlier this week for discussions on regional security and governance, headlines in the region’s media were dominated by the haze that was blanketing Singapore and Malaysia—not to mention parts of Indonesia—as a result of the slash-and-burn practices in Sumatra. In an effort to clear land to plant new crops, farmers there burn crop residue, timber, and peat. The result is hundreds of “hotspots,” or fires that contribute to a thick, toxic haze that travels throughout the region. This is despite a government effort to promote “zero burning” and a moratorium on all deforestation in much of the country.
ASEAN’s Haze Shows the Organization’s Futility CFR – Haze continues to spread across Southeast Asia, the result primarily of burn-offs from farming by individuals and agribusinesses in Indonesia, combined with the dry summer weather and urban pollution in the region’s largest cities. As Yanzhong Huang notes, air pollution levels in some parts of penisular Southeast Asia have reached record highs this past week; the more proactive governments in the region, like Singapore, have taken health precautions like pushing nearly all residents to wear masks while outdoors and setting up centers across the city-state for low-income and elderly residents to get free face masks they can use. As Yanzhong notes, Singapore also is vowing to pursue companies that use polluting practices and cause this haze. Overall, countries in the region, like Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia, appear to be pointing fingers at each other and engaging in diplomatic recriminations rather than collaborating to address the haze crisis and its causes.
Haze Crisis in Southeast Asia (and China) CFR – Having just arrived in Jakarta for a joint CSIS-CFR workshop on emerging Indonesia and rising regionalism, I was greeted by hot and humid weather conditions and horrible traffic. However, this is nothing compared to the severe haze that has blanketed Indonesia’s Sumatra Island, Malaysia, and Singapore, sending air pollution there to record high levels.
Hazed and confused Banyan – The Economist A DENSE, acrid cloud of white smoke has enveloped Singapore, bringing much of the city-state to a standstill. This is “haze”, blowing in from hundreds of fires raging on the nearby Indonesian island of Sumatra. Something like it comes almost every year, at about this time, as farmers and landowners slash-and-burn to clear their fields. Normally the effect is not too bad—this week, however, has been the all-time worst. The “Red Dot”, as Singaporeans like to call their tiny, prosperous country, has become a greyish white dot.
Farewell, new friend The Economist – EDWARD SNOWDEN has proved a divisive figure in America, where everyone has been debating whether he is more hero or traitor, or something else entirely. But by the time he lifted off from Chek Lap Kok airport on June 23rd, he had succeeded in doing something that few had done before him: uniting the fractious body politic of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong (HKSAR). Mr Snowden looks like a hero to nearly everyone who lives in this odd place, perched half way between mainland China and the rest of the world.
The Diplomat: An Asian Power Web Emerges CFR – “To capitalize on the twin desires of Asian countries for closer ties with each other and for greater American presence, the United States must double down on its commitment to rebalance attention and resources to Asia.”
Profiles in Peacemaking Project Syndicate – Fifty years ago, at the height of the Cold War, John F. Kennedy did the seemingly impossible: he moved the US and the Soviet Union toward peace. This achievement – and the courage, vision, and political skill that it required – should serve as an example for the US and other countries today.
Back to the future Sea Globe Editorial – Harald Link of B.Grimm Group will lean on his company’s rich history in Thailand as the conglomerate goes regional. Few foreign companies can boast a heritage spanning more than a century in Southeast Asia, but this year Thailand-based B.Grimm Group celebrates its 135th anniversary of doing business in the Kingdom.
CAMBODIA
Cambodian tailorbird: new species discovered in Phnom Penh The Guardian – Bird found in Cambodian capital during checks for avian flu in 2009 is identified as new species by scientists. A previously unknown species of bird has been found hiding in plain sight after scientists photographed what was thought to be more abundant species at a construction site on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capitol and largest city. Subsequent analysis revealed the species to be distinct.
LAOS
Second Lao dam on Mekong under way, environmental group says The Nation – Preparatory work on the Don Sahong Dam on the Mekong River in Laos is under way, despite a lack of approval from Laos’ neighbours, an environmental group said Wednesday.
Dengue death toll hits 44 in Laos The Nation – Vientiane – Dengue fever has claimed 44 lives so far this year in Laos, which is expecting one of its worst outbreaks of the mosquito-borne virus, news reports said Tuesday.
MALAYSIA
Literature needs freedom – and freedom needs literature – The Guardian At this weekend’s session of the Edinburgh World Writers’ conference in Kuala Lumpur, the eminent Burmese writer – imprisoned under censorship laws for more than five years – used her own experience to reflect on censorship and imagination. This is an edited version of her keynote speech, which can be read in full here
MYANMAR/BURMA
Monk threatens politicians over proposed interfaith marriage ban DVB – A prominent monk and outspoken advocate of Burma’s growing anti-Muslim movement has warned politicians to back a proposed ban on interfaith marriages or risk losing votes in the 2015 general election. The threat was issued at a convention of over 1,500 senior monks in Rangoon on Thursday, where a new draft of the controversial legislation, which would require Buddhist women to obtain official permission before marrying a Muslim, was formally approved.
Defence minister vows to return land confiscated by military DVB – Burma’s Defence Minister Brigadier General Wai Lwin has informed the parliament-backed Land Grab Investigation Commission that the military was planning to return land appropriated by their forces, with the exception of property that is set to house construction projects.
THAILAND
Thailand CFR – In this chapter preview from Pathways to Freedom: Political and Economic Lessons From Democratic Transitions, Joshua Kurlantzick chronicles the winding path of Thailand, which appeared poised for democratic consolidation in the 1990s but has since degenerated into instability and uncertainty.
Trafficking in Thailand: what the Tip doesn’t say The Guardian – The Trafficking in Persons report helps place modern-day slavery high on the policy agenda, but a more accurate assessment of the Thai context is needed. Thailand is well known as a destination country for migrant children and adults in search for better economic conditions. Human trafficking in the “land of smiles” is often underestimated by the government and overestimated by some NGOs. Until today, an unknown number of migrants and Thai find themselves in conditions of exploitation, more specifically forced labour and sexual exploitation, often related to debt bondage. The low protection and the collusion of some local authorities with perpetrators, as well as the slow response of the criminal justice system, makes the slavery business highly attractive for criminal networks.
Eight soldiers were killed in Yala Saturday morning – The Nation
VIETNAM
British writer and producer Joseph Lang dies in Vietnam The Guardian – Thomas Clay, director of 2008 film Soi Cowboy, pays tribute to 33-year-old as ‘my closest colleague and best friend’ Members of the British film industry have paid tribute to Joseph Lang, who has died in Vietnam at the age of 33. The writer and producer was found dead on Monday outside a medical centre in Ho Chi Minh City. The cause of death is not yet known and Lang’s Sussex-based family are awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination. Lang’s credits include the 2008 film Soi Cowboy, directed by Thomas Clay, described by the Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw as “a thoughtful and disquieting poetic meditation on the Thai experience of globalisation and its complex relationship with foreigners”.
Obama: US will not engage in ‘wheeling and dealing’ over Edward Snowden The Guardian
Regional Roundup for the Week of 5.24.13
