In The News

China's "Peaceful Ascendancy"

Yoichi Funabashi December 19, 2003
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, some international observers have predicted that China would be the next major counter-balance to US power and the only country with the potential to challenge American hegemony on a global scale. But, Chinese officials are now at pains to deny that they have any ambition to reign supreme again in Asia or destabilize the world economically, politically, or...

Australia Tips in with Bt250m to Help with People Trafficking in ASEAN

Jim Pollard December 18, 2003
Trafficking in humans brings thousands of people against their will from Southeast Asia to Australia each year to serve as sex workers or virtual slaves. To help prevent such gross human rights abuses at the source, Australia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Thailand and other countries in the region and promised to devote 8.5 million Australian dollars to an anti-trafficking...

Anti-Separatist Taiwan Parties Changing Tune

Ching Cheong December 18, 2003
The 'pan-blue' political camp in Taiwan has traditionally been Beijing's best line of defense against those who want full separation from China, as pan-blue members aim for maintaining the status quo separation of Taiwan and China with an eye to eventual unification. The 'pan-green' camp, which is committed to an eventual Taiwanese independence, has traditionally been...

Tailored Study Abroad Programs Boom

Choe Yong-shik December 17, 2003
With thousands of South Koreans studying abroad each year at all levels of education, the market to arrange such overseas ventures is formidable and competitive. Some Korean agencies provide guardian-like services for younger children studying in countries like New Zealand and Australia, or even combination English and golf instruction for aspiring professional athletes. More attractive,...

Foreign Adoptions Tricky, Tough

Ashley Fantz December 17, 2003
American and European childless couples often make the choice to adopt from another country, assuming that the process will be quicker and easier. Instead, couples often find difficult hurdles to overcome, such as domestic and foreign laws, illegal kidnapping, greedy middlemen, visa trouble, and agencies that do not properly determine if the child was legitimately taken from the birth mother....

2003: France to Ban Pupils' Religious Dress

Jon Henley December 12, 2003
Muslim girls are the center of a debate that has been raging for 14 years in France; since 1989 (when "l'Affair de Foulard" occurred), the French government has tried to find a way to reconcile the Muslim headscarf with their conception of secularism, particularly within schools. Now, the Stasi Commission, after six months of deliberation and hearings, has ruled that all "...

Japan's Mating Culture Extends Baby Drought

David Turner December 9, 2003
The world population will rise to slightly over 9 billion people within the next century. Yet Japan and many European countries face possibly catastrophic population declines. Strikingly low birthrates don’t only threaten economic growth and domestic familial dynamics, but could provoke "shifts in the political weights of countries in the international arena." Concern is so great...