TOM PLATE WRITES — The filling of key policy positions in the incoming Biden administration proceeds apace. But so far, none of the announced or expected top-level appointees proffer particular savvy or expertise about Beijing. The designated Biden secretary of state is Antony Blinken, whose dedicated career competence and sensible style…
Full Article US-CHINA RELATIONS: BIDEN’S AMERICA & XI’S CHINA MUST EVOLVE BEYOND MUTUAL DEMONISATION
NAWAF AL-SABAH WRITES- Although Colombia is the world’s top source of illicit drugs, traffickers have now made Asia a hub for both transportation and consumption. Interestingly, a few years ago, South Asian countries such as Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka became vulnerable regions for human trafficking due…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: IS THIS THE WAY TO RUN A DRUG WAR?
MATEO VALLES QUINTANA WRITES — Since the early 2000’s South Korean female professional golfers have been a dominant force on the LPGA tour and are repeatedly found at the top of the money list. In 2017, South Korean nationals Sung Hyun Park and So Yeon Ryu were first and second…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: WHY KOREAN WOMEN DOMINATE THE LPGA — PART I
GABY RUSLI WRITES — The sweet, milky, smooth, light brown tea. The dark brown, chewy, little bubble-like goodness at the bottom of the plastic cup. The excitement you feel when you’ve stuck your straw into the cup, ready to enjoy this drink that will satisfy your thirst and craving for…
Full Article INDONESIA: BOBA TEA DRINKS MAKE MY HEART BUBBLE WITH JOY
CADY-BREE ABE WRITES — The new Netflix live action “Avatar the Last Airbender” TV series was set for release in 2020, but due to COVID-19, production has been delayed until 2021. Skeptical fans are not optimistic about the outcome. Here’s why. Many fans agree that the introduction to every episode…
Full Article ASIAN FUSION: WILL NETFLIX’S NEXT “AVATAR” SERIES WHITEWASH THE ASIAN-INSPIRED ORIGINAL?
TIA CARR WRITES – Over 90% of Chinese citizens say they are willing to take a vaccine for Covid-19. Russians come in at less than 55%. Why? Surveys show that only around 70% of the global population would be “very or somewhat likely to take a COVID-19 vaccine.” They say…
Full Article CHINA: IS PUBLIC READINESS FOR A COVID-19 VACCINE SCIENCE-BASED, OR A SHOT IN THE DARK?
KATHLEEN STEPHENS WRITES — It was only a couple of Saturdays ago that I was walking, masked of course, on a gorgeous autumn day along a Washington street lined with gingko trees aflame in gold, four days after the Nov. 3 general election, when I heard the news that Joe…
Full Article US-SOUTH KOREA RELATIONS: BUILD BACK BETTER
KISHORE MAHBUBANI SAYS — The following is an excerpt from an Interview published by Project Syndicate on November 24th, 2020, with the distinguished famed Professor Mahbubani: Project Syndicate: You’ve warned that “the international order has lagged dangerously behind shifting global power dynamics.” Will US President-elect Joe Biden’s administration improve prospects…
Full Article US-CHINA RELATIONS: EIGHT ‘SUGGESTIONS’ FOR THE BIDEN PEOPLE
TOM PLATE WRITES — The truth about the swelling importance of the People’s Republic of China in the Asia-Pacific is that without America’s corresponding help, unintended as it was of course, the reversal of position would not have happened as quickly. Perhaps it all began in 1997, with the collapse…
Full Article US-CHINA RELATIONS: BEIJING CAN BE A CONTRIBUTOR TO PEACE AND PROSPERITY
SOPHIA JARAMILLO WRITES — As newly elected Vice President Kamala Harris will be endlessly discussed for her diplomatic relations and duties, her fashion will also be discussed, as it should be. It is necessary to bring light to the impact of all areas of her identity. Being of South Asian…
Full Article SOUTH ASIA: VICE-PRESIDENT ELECT KAMALA HARRIS CUTS A STRIKING FIGURE ON THE WORLD STAGE
DANICA CREAHAN WRITES — Though the elections occurred just a few weeks apart, New Zealanders and Americans are living in seemingly different worlds. With New Zealand at just under 2000 Covid-19 cases as a whole and the U.S. at more than 92,000 on election day alone, the one thing they…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: A BLUE WAVE WASHES ASHORE WHILE AMERICA IS LEFT HIGH AND DRY
SIANY GUNAWAN WRITES –Even though I don’t share some of her beliefs, as an Asian American I respect Kamala Harris’s assertive nature, and I am proud of her achievement in smashing through the largest glass ceiling for people of color. Harris, a senator from California, is of Indian and Jamaican…
Full Article INDONESIA: AS VICE-PRESIDENT, KAMALA HARRIS MAY HELP RAISE THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN MY HOME COUNTRY
ELLA KELLEHER WRITES — Grave of the Fireflies, one of those works of art that will never die, nonetheless is a film that lacks concrete resolution – there is no main lesson to be learned at the end. The audience is instead left with the understanding of the ephemerality of…
Full Article CLASSIC FILM IN RE-REVIEW: IN LIGHT OF THE FIREFLY
ALI AL-SABAH WRITES – The previous waves of mobile communication were driven by European and American countries. The race has shifted – now dominated by China and American. Many might ask why it is even a race — why is the gaining of faster speeds such a whirlwind that seems…
Full Article THE 5G GRAND PRIX: A SIMPLE EXPLANATION
MARY SANDRINE BERNOS WRITES — The Thailand protests are caused by three things: resignation of the prime minister, rewriting of the military-drafter constitution, and reform of the monarchy’s absolute power. Citizens of Thailand are angered at the fact that their current prime minister was still appointed despite causing a military…
Full Article THAILAND: PROTESTS IN A CONTINUING BATTLE TOWARDS DEMOCRACY