TOM PLATE WRITES — The agony in Afghanistan makes for many sorrows. Beyond the scenes of chaos at Kabul airport is the unseen anguish of all those US veterans back home who are dealing with various psychological and physical traumas and are now especially unproud of their country; of families…
Full Article AFGHANISTAN AND BEYOND: CHINA MUST LEARN FROM US HUBRIS AND BLUNDERS
KIANA KARIMI WRITES – “Who lives, who dies, who tells your stories?” The refrain from the American Musical Hamilton encapsulates the fears of Afghans as the Taliban once again usurped power. A crescendo of terror stupefied all as the Taliban quickly bludgeoned their way to Kabul following the withdrawal of…
Full Article AFGHANISTAN: THE WITHDRAWAL WAS A MESS. BUT BIDEN’S SUDDEN MOVE IS MORE RIGHT THAN WRONG
AIDAN SMITH-FAGAN WRITES — President Joe Biden hosted South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the White House last Friday. After a day that included a medal of honor ceremony and a long, private discussion between the two heads of state, Biden and Moon held a joint press conference at which…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: PRESIDENTS BIDEN AND MOON ASK, “CAN’T WE ALL GET ALONG?”
VALERIA GURROLA WRITES — April 30th, 2021, marks US President Biden’s first one hundred days since taking office in January at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic in the United States. He has wasted no time setting the tone for the future of North Korean relations. North Korea must denuclearize—or…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: WHAT’S NEXT UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION?
TOM PLATE WRITES — Perhaps no gloomier assessment of the China-US relationship can be made than to note that, were it to sink yet another notch or two, there would be no relationship at all. Like a Japanese garden so minimalist that removing one stone might vitiate its existence, the…
Full Article US-CHINA RELATIONS: GROWING PERIL OF WAR OVER TAIWAN WOULD BE FOOLISH AND COSTLY
MANAGING EDITOR ZHI JIAO DANIELLE GOH WRITES — Anyone who still had a tiny bit of hope for a positive change in the approach towards U.S. – China relations under the Biden administration would lose faith after watching the U.S./China talks in Alaska. The meeting this week in Anchorage was…
Full Article CHINA: A LOT OF HEAT BUT LITTLE WARMTH AT THE U.S./CHINA ALASKA SUMMIT
MOON CHUNG-IN WRITES — While it doesn’t appear that the Joe Biden administration has completed its review of North Korea policy yet, the outlines of that policy seem to be slowly taking shape. Ned Price, a spokesperson for the US State Department, said on Feb. 12 that the North Korean…
Full Article KOREAN PENINSULA: HOPES AND FEARS ABOUT BIDEN’S NORTH KOREAN POLICY
CLAIRE GUTE WRITES — While our country rings in a new era with the election of President Biden, he has yet to travel abroad on any diplomatic trips, and it is unlikely that such a trip will occur in the coming months due to COVID-19. In 2019, the United States and…
Full Article SINO-U.S. RELATIONS: REMEMBERING U.S. PRESIDENTS’ DIPLOMATIC TRIPS TO CHINA
TOM PLATE WRITES — The late George Kennan became a diplomatic legend for advocating, while stationed in Moscow, a singular foreign policy idea that famously worked. It was called “containment”. Its steadfast observance by the US and its allies undoubtedly helped lead to the welcome collapse of the Soviet Union.…
Full Article US-CHINA RELATIONS: POINTILLISM IS THE WAY TO GO
ELLA KELLEHER WRITES — It was announced on January 5th that the popular singer from Kazakhstan, Dimash Kudaibergen, will perform at the celebration of US President-Elect Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration. Kudaibergen is best known for his show-stopping performances in China and on The World’s Best, a talent show from the…
Full Article KAZAKHSTAN: KAZAKH POP STAR TO PERFORM AT BIDEN’S 2021 INAUGURATION
DANICA CREAHAN WRITES — On Wednesday, Dec. 2, New Zealand’s government symbolically declared climate change an emergency through a motion tabled in parliament which recognized “the devastating impact that volatile and extreme weather will have on New Zealand and the wellbeing of New Zealanders, on our primary industries, water availability,…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: GOVERNMENT DECLARES CLIMATE CHANGE EMERGENCY, PLEDGES TO GO CARBON NEUTRAL BY 2025
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
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
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