In The News

Hola! Asian Call Centers Lure Back Spanish

Margot Cohen April 16, 2010
The pursuit of independence by former colonies during the 20th century often included efforts to minimize reliance on the imposed language. In some, like the former Spanish colony of the Philippines, the colonial language fell out of general use even as another colonial language English was embraced as a language of business. Today, less than 1 percent of Filipinos speak Spanish. But the few...

Muslim Pop Culture on the Rise in Indonesia

Solenn Honorine April 8, 2010
Due to the economic crisis that hit Indonesia in the late 1990s, the government of longtime dictator Suharto fell and gave rise to democratic elections. Along with democracy came religious freedom, which for many Indonesians has meant becoming more devout Muslims. As a result, Muslim pop culture, whether manifested in books, television shows, movies, ringtones, or otherwise, has become a central...

China: Defending its Core Interest in the World – Part I

Orville Schell April 5, 2010
China has shown increasing intransigence towards the world in the defense of what it considers its core interest. This two-part series analyzes how China’s hard line policy may not have helped its best interest. Recent developments in the US-China relationship – both in politics, with the rocky start between presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao, and in business with Google’s partial retreat from...

Toyota’s Stumble is Not a Metaphor for Japan Inc.

Lam Peng Er March 26, 2010
Many equate Toyota’s current woes with a failure of Japan Inc, even Japan itself, according to East Asian specialist Lam Peng Er. But this would be a mistake. Toyota’s ills are really a congeries of missteps now caught up in conspiracy theories and political wrangling. For years, Toyota was synonymous with Japanese manufacturing excellence. But this search for constant improvement at an ever...

Silicon Sweatshops: An illness in Suzhou

Kathleen E. McLaughlin March 19, 2010
A large number of workers at a plant in China that makes components for Apple products have become sick from handling a chemical used to clean the glass screens for products like the iPod and iPhone. The company doesn't have the necessary permits to use the chemical, n-hexane, but continues to do so to shave a few seconds off its production time. Apple, meanwhile, refuses to answer questions...

China Uses Rules on Global Trade to Its Advantage

Keith Bradsher March 16, 2010
China seems to be pursuing a two-pronged strategy to exploit inconsistencies in global governance systems to benefit its economy at the expense of the rest of the world. On the one hand, China is filing an increasing number of cases with the WTO, despite the country's gigantic trade surplus. On the other hand, China is suppressing reports prepared by the IMF that charge it with keeping the...

Japan Objects to Proposed Bluefin Ban

Yuka Hayashi March 9, 2010
The global body that sets policy for endangered species is facing a challenge from Japan over a proposal to limit the number of bluefin tuna that can be traded. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) is alarmed by declining bluefin stocks and will consider a proposal to ban the export of the fish. But Japan consumes about three-quarters of the world's bluefin...