In The News

Unravelling 'Enlightened Moderation'

Masooda Bano June 18, 2004
In a critical rejoinder to an article by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, Masooda Bano chastise Musharraf for calling on all Muslims to "bow unquestioningly to US demands." The "apologetic mindset" Musharraf evidences is an insult to Muslims worldwide and overlooks the achievements and strengths of many Muslims. He accepts that Muslim groups are responsible for...

Court Limits Sales on eBay

Kristina Merkner June 18, 2004
A Frankfurt court has decided that it will enforce a German law allowing publishers to fix the prices of their books. An entrepreneurial journalist who had sold about 40 review copies of a book on the online auction site, eBay, was in violation of the law, the court said. There was some legal debate over whether European Union free-trade regulation made the law invalid, but the German book...

Private Schools Asked to Revise Textbooks

Mohsen Rashid June 15, 2004
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), all private schools – regardless of the curricula they teach – might soon come under the strict control of Islamic social and religious codes. This article in the Khaleej Times reports that all private schools have been ordered by the Ministry of Education and Youth to revise their textbooks in order to disallow ideas and concepts contrary to Islamic teachings....

'Radical' A-Mei Cancels Show in China

Chiu Yu-tzu June 14, 2004
Do pop artists' politics matter? Some students in China apparently think so. As Taiwanese pop singer A-Mei prepared to take the stage in the Chinese city of Hangzhou last weekend, local university students – her natural fan base – unfurled banners protesting her presumed support of Taiwanese independence. A-Mei is not alone, however. Other Taiwanese pop singers, who generally enjoy...

Growing Anti-US Sentiments Roil Alliance With South Korea

Sook-Jong Lee June 8, 2004
Although South Korea’s legislature just approved the deployment of 3000 troops to Iraq, South Koreans’ anger about US military actions has reached a boiling point, argues Sook-Jong Lee, a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution. South Koreans have become increasingly critical of the US since the 1980s, with the presence of US forces in South Korea serving as a daily reminder of the country’s...

Indonesia's Shameful Export

Devi Asmarani June 8, 2004
Last month, Indonesia was forced to face the reality of a widespread child prostitution network when a woman was arrested for employing young schoolgirls as prostitutes from a food stall in a densely populated neighborhood in South Jakarta. This article in the Straits Times reports that the 1997 economic crisis has caused millions of children to take to the worst of forms of child labor,...

No Lack of Fake Luxuries

Jin Hyun-joo June 3, 2004
Cartier, Rolex, DKNY… Brand-name items are all the rage on the streets of South Korean cities. But buyer beware, says this article in the Korea Herald; a great deal of these 'luxury goods' are fakes. Counterfeit items generate billions of won a year in sales, though, because savvy buyers don't seem to care that they aren't getting the real thing. Two out of three university...