In The News

Ilm by Rote

Sanjay Suri August 10, 2005
When Muslim students are released from British public schools in the afternoon, they quickly head home and change into their religious garb in preparation for their second school – the madrassa. With close to a thousand madrassas across the country, an overwhelming number of Muslim children in Britain are receiving a strong Islamic education in their evening schools. The children are required...

Beijing Clamps Down on Foreign Television

Chris Buckley August 4, 2005
The Chinese government recently announced that it would deny approval for more foreign satellite broadcasters entering the Chinese market, as well as increase restrictions on already existing foreign media. Certain US entertainment companies will still have the right to broadcast to certain Chinese audiences, and to foreigners in hotels and similar multi-cultural spaces. The initiative, however...

China's Cautious Pride in an Ancient Mariner

Wang Gungwu August 4, 2005
Six centuries ago, Chinese Admiral Zheng He embarked on the first voyage of a career that encompassed destinations as far as India, Persia, Arabia, and Africa. Though his achievements were forgotten for centuries, a re-emergence of interest in his story coincides with China's dramatic rise. As historian Wang Gungwu notes, it also coincides with the publication of a controversial theory:...

China’s Lust for Business Learning

Della Bradshaw August 1, 2005
The Cultural Revolution in the 1960s and 1970s deprived China’s prospective leaders of thorough training in business and management. Today, many CEOs or board members of major corporations head back to business school. While MBA programs in the US see a decline in application numbers, demand for similar programs in China is surging. As the government seeks to prevent the proliferation of third...

Citizens Fight Back with Cellphones and Blogs

Mark Glaser July 28, 2005
In the past decade, advances in technology and communications have changed the way people live, connecting the world as never before. One currently-unfolding change is the way viewers experience the news: According to journalist Mark Glaser, modern tools - weblogs, cellphone cameras (both still and video) - are facilitating a new brand of citizen journalism. In the aftermath of the July 7 and...

A Changed World for Korea’s Returnees

Kim Sun-jung July 27, 2005
It is common that people often leave their native country in search of opportunities elsewhere. Several decades ago, many young Koreans left their country and its dictatorial rule hoping to find better things in the U.S. Now, however, despite having found success in the U.S., a certain segment of these Korean ex-pats are returning to Korea, taking on a unique type of “Korean” identity as a...

Chinese Businessmen Learn Western Table Etiquette

Wieland Wagner July 26, 2005
As their economy grows and international trade increases, Chinese businessmen are facing a new challenge in an unlikely setting: dinner meetings. Western etiquette is a mystery to many of these rising business elites, accustomed to using cellphones during dinner and loudly slurping their noodles. Their rescuer is Andy Mannhart, a Swiss businessman who realized the demand for etiquette classes...