In The News

U.S. Steps Up Pressure on Burmese Junta

Seth Mydans June 13, 2003
In an effort to support the opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi, in the past the US imposed a five year economic ban against Myanmar's military Junta. But these tactics were inconsequential; Myanmar (Burma) continued to thrive through relations with its regional neighbors and $300 million in exports to US clothing and footwear companies. Following a recent attack on Suu Kyi and her entourage...

Time Running Out for Hub Strategy

Yoo Cheong-mo June 12, 2003
South Korean economists and government leaders hope to make the country a regional business hub for Northeast Asia, but such a lofty goal isn't easily achieved. A group meeting to explore ways to improve the country's prospects suggested the government should try to attract multinational companies by creating a more comfortable living environment for foreign executives and their...

Immigrant Horror Stories Leading Nation to Policy Change

Carlos Guerra June 12, 2003
Along the US-Mexico border, this year alone over 100 people have died while trying to illegally cross into the US. But the high death toll will not prevent yet more hopeful migrants from making this dangerous journey. Economic downturns like the current one often lead to calls for tougher immigration restrictions in the US, but, ironically, they also often coincide with an increase in flows of...

Push for Rights of Singapore Women's Foreign-born

Chuang Peck Ming June 12, 2003
The proactive, modern women of Singapore are still shackled by obsolete policies, says the government-supported 'Remaking Singapore Committee'. Women and their children are subject to a vast array of double-standards that, they say, are born in the delivery-room and go on to thrive in society. These policies perpetuate the perception that women from Singapore are lesser citizens than...

A Primer for Cross-Strait Relations

Chen Hurng-yu June 11, 2003
If Taiwan ever wants to improve cross-strait relations and free itself of interference from Beijing, it will need to depart from the 1971 framework and change its foreign policy, says Chen Hurng-yu, professor of history at Taiwan's National Chengchi University. The overlapping claims of Taipei and Beijing to sovereignty over China – a dispute that has continued since the UN denied Taiwan’s...

Crisis Puts Burma Back in the Spotlight

David I. Steinberg June 11, 2003
The current flurry of interest in Burma occasioned by the arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will likely wane, as it has so often in the past, before another episode thrusts it back to the world's attention. David Steinberg, a Burma scholar, says that such sporadic focus, accompanied by sanctions, has not made any change in the Burmese situation. He maintains that current policies...

Burmese Junta's Remedy: Crackdown

Seth Mydans June 10, 2003
Despite international condemnation led by the United States, the ruling generals of Myanmar are continuing to crack down on supporters of the democratic opposition. The crackdown began last week when the opposition leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was attacked and arrested, prompting US President Bush to back a bill in Congress to enforce sanctions on Myanmar and cut off imports. The US protest of...