Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: Kimkong Heng, Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace
The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the global economy, affecting the lives of millions, and increasing uncertainty of a new Cold War between the United States and China. Cambodia, like a few other countries in Southeast Asia, appears to have been fortunate in succeeding to contain the spread of the virus. But its economy is faltering, if not failing. Read more…
Author: Rosemary Foot, University of Oxford
Chinese President Xi Jinping is urging China to ‘lead the reform of the global governance system’ and to ‘actively participate in the formulation of international rules’. Such statements suggest that we now should be able to gain better insight into Beijing’s vision for the world order. What can we learn from its efforts to reshape how the United Nations operates? Read more…
Author: Danilo Araña Arao, UP Diliman
On 6 July the House of Representatives of the Philippines (HOR) ended its 12th and final public hearing on the renewal of the franchise of ABS-CBN, a leading broadcast network in the Philippines which was ordered closed by the government. The HOR’s decision of non-renewal reflects growing media repression in the Philippines. Read more…
Author: Harris Zainul, Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia
The Rohingya in Malaysia have become the target of increasing xenophobia and hate speech. Disinformation — the intentional creation of false information — is fuelling the fire of outrage against this marginalised community.
Authors: Anisha Maulida, CSIS Indonesia and Bayu Arif Ramadhan, Brawijaya University
In May, a viral video allegedly showed a Chinese fishing crewman dumping the dead body of an Indonesian seafarer in waters near New Zealand. There have been four Indonesian deaths in six months linked to the same Chinese ship, the Long Xin 629. According to the ship’s captain, every crewman who dies from an infectious disease is buried at sea, despite contractual obligations to return the bodies to their home countries. Read more…
Author: Luke Lischin, National War College
Awaiting the signature of Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) of 2020, the result of longstanding congressional debate and controversy surrounding the Human Security Act (HSA) implemented in 2007. The latter has been accused of eroding critical protections against government overreach in the fight against terrorism.
Authors: Alistair DB Cook and Christopher Chen, RSIS
COVID-19 is severely impacting the humanitarian system. It has forced countries to focus on containing the pandemic with national lockdown measures — hindering humanitarian action and denying aid to many affected communities in the Asia Pacific. But countries in the region have begun negotiations to normalise international travel, with Australia and New Zealand being the first to initiate bilateral discussions over the establishment of a ‘Trans-Tasman bubble’ and a ‘humanitarian corridor’ to the Pacific during the pandemic. Read more…
Author: Shivkrit Rai, Delhi High Court
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, two incidents highlighted the fault lines in India’s healthcare system. In 2017, over 60 children died due to lack of oxygen cylinders amid an encephalitis outbreak in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. In 2019, a similar incident occurred in Muzaffarpur. Reports suggested that the outbreak could have been prevented if Uttar Pradesh state authorities had taken adequate measures. Read more…
Author: Scott Snyder, Council on Foreign Relations
On the eve of the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, the two Koreas face a dramatic breakdown in relations. Tensions rocketed on 16 June when North Korea demolished a liaison office that had stood as a symbol of hope for improved communications. For the South Korean Moon administration, the re-establishment of inter-Korean summitry in 2018 represented an historic step toward establishing a permanent peace, coexistence and economic integration on the Korean Peninsula. Read more…
Author: Shyam Tekwani, APCSS
The voyage from Serendib to Sri Lanka through Ceylon continues to be an uninterrupted tale of opportunities lost, scorned and spurned. The brutal end to the quarter-century war with the Tamil Tiger separatists in 2009 brought an unprecedented opportunity for the government to heal the Sinhala–Tamil ethnic divide. But now a new front is opening, one against Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority. Events since the Easter attacks of 2019 are reinforcing the belief that tolerance and inclusive governance are a chimeric dream. Read more…
Author: Andreas Fulda, University of Nottingham
On 28 May 2020, with a vote of 2878 to 1, China’s rubber stamp National People’s Congress passed and enacted its new controversial Hong Kong national security legislation. It sent a clear message to the international community: Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ model is history. But the process of hollowing out Hong Kong’s autonomy started much earlier.
Author: Duy Dinh, IHEID
On 14 January 2008, two female postal workers were found murdered inside a small post office where they also resided in Vietnam’s Long An province. Ho Duy Hai was detained two months later by the police and it was reported that he admitted to committing the crime. He inexplicably declined lawyers contracted by his family and only accepted the lawyer appointed by the investigative agency. No one was allowed to visit him until the trial day. Read more…
Author: Naoto Kan, Tokyo
COVID-19 quickly spread worldwide from the end of 2019. While some countries are seeing a decline in transmission and are relaxing restrictions after almost six months of disruption and uncertainty, there are still no signs of an end to the emergency in many countries. Meanwhile, the global economic impact of the virus is worsening, and there is concern that the number of suicides linked to economic collapse will increase. Read more…
Authors: Elizabeth Hill and Marian Baird, Sydney University
The global research evidence is clear: economic crises exacerbate pre-existing inequalities, damaging the employment opportunities and economic security of women more than men. The 1980s debt crisis, the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008 Global Financial Crisis all provide stark warnings to governments and businesses that recent efforts to promote gender equality and economic empowerment will be undone unless women are prioritised in COVID-19 recovery planning and policymaking. Read more…
Authors: Joseph H Walline, CUHK and Priscilla P Song, HKU
Hong Kong has faced a series of infectious disease threats over the past two decades, including H5N1 avian influenza (1997), SARS (2003), H1N1 swine influenza (2009) and MERS (2015). In response, the Hong Kong government developed a series of ‘preparedness and response’ plans to address infectious diseases of public health concern. This system was activated to the highest level on 25 January 2020 when a train passenger from Wuhan became the first confirmed COVID-19 patient in Hong Kong. Read more…
