TOM PLATE WRITES — Frustrations come with any occupation, and writing columns about Asia and America, as I have without stop for 25 years, is no exception. Asia is powerful and dynamic, and one size does not fit all. But, for me, no one subject has proven more elusive and…
Full Article NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE: ONLY KOREANS THEMSELVES CAN FIND A WAY OUT OF THE IMPASSE
LIAM ROGERS WRITES — With the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, the former Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Myanmar-she who had also supported the genocidal actions of the Myanmar armed forces against the Rohingya in 2017-the Myanmar military has usurped…
Full Article MYANMAR: THE DEATH, AND RECYCLING, OF DEMOCRACY
SARAH ALTUWAIJRI WRITES — This past Saturday, October 20, hundreds took to the streets in Santa Clarita, marching to bring awareness to the plight of Armenians and to raise funds for military purchases, infrastructure and humanitarian aid. One of the protesters, Anna Sarvkian, a 19-year-old student stated, “Armenia is on…
Full Article ARMENIA VERSUS AZERBAIJAN: WHY, SUDDENLY, THE SOUND OF SILENCE INSTEAD OF A TWEET FROM PRESIDENT TRUMP?
KATRINA CROSBY WRITES – With so much tragedy occurring in the world, it is always refreshing to see some good news, especially if it involves the recognition of a political visionary who has gone above and beyond to share knowledge and on international development. This year, the Asia Foundation invited…
Full Article SAN FRANCISCO: BAN KI-MOON – ‘LEADER ON THE FRONTLINES’
COURTESY OF THE NEW YORK TIMES…WRITES SOMINI SENGUPTAAUG: The United Nations HAS named Alison Smale, a veteran correspondent and editor at The New York Times, as its most senior official in charge of shaping the 193-member organization’s global public image. As the next under secretary general for global communications, Ms.…
Full Article UNITED NATIONS: VETERAN WOMAN JOURNALIST GIVEN TOP GLOBAL INFORMATION POSTING
STELLA CHENG WRITES – When news broke that Taiwan had not been invited to a United Nations meeting on civil aviation last month, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen expressed strong dissatisfaction and regret. Since Tsai was inaugurated in May, relations with mainland China have grown more ambiguous, affecting the smaller country…
Full Article CHINA: MISS PRESIDENT, IT IS TIME TO GIVE THE WORLD AN ANSWER
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Certainly a country with the title “The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” is all about freedom and equality…right? Earlier this year, the United Nations published a report on the state of human rights in North Korea. It found that the country has one of the worst human…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: Human Rights Capital of the World?TOM PLATE WRITES – Like each of his seven predecessors, the current occupant of the Office of Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, gets to pick his own impossible dream to imagine solved, and he certainly has his. However, the SG disagrees that he’s tilting at windmills, as…
Full Article PACIFIC PERSPECTIVES: Getting Hot Over Global WarmingRYAN LIPPERT WRITES – It’s now even safer to assume that North Korea is not the utopia its leaders would like the rest of the world to believe. Recently, the United Nations published the findings of an inquiry on the state of human rights in the country. The report contains…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: U.N. Releases Report on Human Rights in North KoreaCHINA DAILY, the official English language daily newspaper of the world’s most populated country, is careful about what is published, whether in the actual newspaper or online as the official e-paper. So it is probably significant that it recently ran an op-ed with the headline: “It Pays to Be Caution…
Full Article BEIJING: Daily Agrees — More Cautious Than BoldTOM PLATE WRITES IN HIS SYNDICATED NEWSPAPER COLUMN: I used to find flying on a Chinese carrier a dreadful experience. No more. A recent nonstop from Los Angeles to Guangzhou on China Eastern was as smooth as silk; and the return to Los Angeles from Beijing on Air China was…
Full Article CHINA: More Cautious Than BoldTOM PLATE WRITES – You have to admit that the timing of the Russian ploy to trip up (or at least drag President Obama’s feet on) any U.S. bombing of Moscow ally Syria was exquisite. I for one would now not only want to avoid playing Russian roulette with Vladimir…
Full Article THE SYRIAN ANGLE THE WORLD MEDIA MISSEDLEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Many Chinese Buddhists are up in arms over the planned destruction of buildings in a well-known ancient temple in the city of Xi’an. Last month, these Buddhists urged an investigation into the matter and various media sources reported that several buildings in Xingjiao Temple were to…
Full Article CHINA: Heritage of DestructionKIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – One of Bangladesh’s leading newspapers, The Daily Star, has reported that poverty levels are decreasing. The United Nations’ latest development report stated that there are 40 poor countries that are helping to reduce poverty levels and that “Never in history have the living conditions and prospects…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Poverty Decrease Gets ‘Daily Star’Those with a guilty conscience often attempt to go unnoticed on judgment day. Unfortunately for Thailand however, the United Nations is not waiting that long and is pointing a reprimanding finger right now. Every year, the UN Secretary-General – currently Ban Ki-Moon — publishes a report with individual countries’ records…
Full Article THAILAND: UN Gets Applause – and Help from Media and Rights Workers