It is human nature to want leaders we can admire and emulate, and who can inspire us. With the recent death of Vaclav Havel and the passing of Nelson Mandela into a long twilight, there is only one global figure who nearly universally embodies aspirations for freedom and human dignity around the world. She is […]
If you want to know what Russia, China or Iran will do next, don’t read their newspapers or ask what our spies have dug up—consult a map. Geography can reveal as much about a government’s aims as its secret councils. More than ideology or domestic politics, what fundamentally defines a state is its place on […]
Countries with ageing populations can reap a “longevity dividend” with the right measures on healthcare, pensions and legal protection, according to a new UN report published on Monday. But while important progress has been made by many countries in adopting new policies and laws on ageing, more needs to be done to fulfill the potential of older […]
It is rare for the ideas people to be behind the curve but those who say the India–US relationship has been reduced to merely “feel good” meetings and junkets are exactly that — a little behind the curve. Critics in both Washington and New Delhi complain about the preponderance of grand rhetoric which remains unmatched […]
As nationalist war-mongering goes, the anti-Japanese demonstrations taking place across China have been relatively tame. Chinese authorities have maintained tight control over the protesters, some of whom call for an armed response against Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea: Plastic bottle-throwing is allowed, glass bottle-throwing discouraged. For all the jingoistic talk, the […]
“Brand Japan” has long benefited from the strength of Japanese companies in industries as diverse as automotives and music, or “J-pop.” The recent situation in China shows how that close association can also hurt businesses when nationalist sentiments go against them. As big businesses — fairly or unfairly — become the short-term targets of populist […]
China’s foreign exchange (‘forex’) reserves and its holdings of U.S. government debt are two of the most frequently misunderstood issues in relations between the two countries. Recent events have underscored this problem. On September 18th, a car carrying Gary Locke, the U.S. Ambassador to China, was surrounded and partially attacked in a sideshow to an […]
Korean pop culture may not (yet) turn heads in Los Angeles or London, but its impact — economic as well as cultural — across the developing world is startling. First taking off in China and Southeast Asia in the late 1990s, but really spiking after 2002, Korean TV dramas and pop music have since moved […]
“I UNDERSTAND that the end does not justify the means…I apologise to the victims hurt by my father’s dictatorial rule in this regard.” These were the words offered by a leading hopeful for the presidency, Park Geun-hye, on September 25th. She was taking the bull by the horns, addressing what her opponents and other critics […]
China’s 12th five-year Plan calls for a shift in the country’s economic model from export-led growth towards greater reliance on domestic demand, particularly household consumption. Since the Plan’s introduction, China’s current-account surplus as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) has indeed fallen. But does that mean that China’s adjustment is on track? According to […]
looking beyond borders 