In The News

Don't Confuse Schooling With Learning: Rappler

Juan Miguel Luz May 29, 2020
Leaders in the Philippines consider postponing all public and private school classes until a Covid-19 vaccine is available. Experts warn that a vaccine may not be ready until next year, and perhaps never. Educators maintain that putting a pause on learning would create another crisis. “Children must continue learning and if not in traditional schooling, then in some other way,” writes Juan Miguel...

Moment of Truth for Hong Kong and China: The Hill

Joseph Bosco May 27, 2020
China violates international norms on a number of fronts, from failure to protect intellectual property to ongoing support for North Korea, writes Joseph Bosco for the Hill. Many democracies, eager to protect business interests with the world’s second largest economy, remain silent about steady erosion in rights. In the midst of the pandemic, China moves to take more control over Hong Kong,...

National Security Legislation for Hong Kong: SCMP

Gary Cheung May 22, 2020
China is moving on a national security resolution for Hong Kong, relying on the National People’s Congress rather than waiting for the territory’s Legislative Council to shape its own rules. The resolution would “ban all seditious activities aimed at toppling the central government and external interference in Hong Kong’s affairs” and “target terrorist acts in Hong Kong,” reports Gary Cheung for...

World Health Assembly Excludes Taiwan: Taipei Times

Lee I-chia May 19, 2020
Taiwan demonstrated skill in tackling and controlling the spread of Covid-19 among its population of 23 million. Even so, the World Health Assembly, hesitant to antagonize China, excluded Taiwan from its virtual meeting. Taiwan sent a letter of protest to the World Health Organization Secretariat. “While the focus of this year’s WHA should be on the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan’s performance in...

Covid-19 “Overreaction” a Success in Vietnam: BBC

Anna Jones May 15, 2020
After taking aggressive measures against Covid-19 in early January, Vietnam reported no new cases in more than a month. “Vietnam saw a small window to act early on and used it fully,” reports Anna Jones for BBC News. “But though cost-effective, its intrusive and labour intensive approach has its drawbacks and experts say it may be too late for most other countries to learn from its success.” The...

China Could Cut US Debt Holdings: SCMP

Karen Yeung May 7, 2020
As tensions between the United States and China rise, analysts point out that China could reduce its holdings of US treasury securities. The United States borrows heavily to pay for its Covid-19 response, and the administration blames China for the pandemic. News reports suggest that some US officials have questioned if the $1 trillion in debt owed to China could be cancelled. Such an extreme...

Asia States Add to Oil Stockpiles: WSJ

River Davis and Trefor Moss May 3, 2020
Asia’s oil-consuming countries, such as China, South Korea and India, take advantage of plunging oil price to add to their strategic petroleum reserves. Since these countries have millions of barrels of spare capacity. Analysts suggest that such purchases would help stabilize oil prices. Oil prices have recently recovered a little from the historical negative prices, but remain down by two thirds...