In The News

China Shows the Way in a Quota-Free Market

Linda Lim February 21, 2005
The recent end of the textile quota regime introduced freer trade to the global market. Predictably, nations who stood to lose market share - mostly to China - have cried out in anguish. According to Linda Lim, restricting Chinese exports is a short-sighted and ineffective strategy: "One would do better to learn from Chinese example of smart investment and management to thrive in a...

Japan to Join U.S. Policy on Taiwan

Anthony Faiola February 18, 2005
American officials have long paid close attention to Chinese threats to use military force against Taiwan should the island move towards independence. Japan, on the other hand, has traditionally avoided taking a stance on the issue, prioritizing the maintenance of close economic ties over confrontation. However, with China rapidly modernizing its military and drawing business away from Japan,...

Foreign Hoopsters Get a Crucial Assist

Chanel White February 17, 2005
In recent decades, sport has become a globalized and globalizing force. Sport provides the financial impetus for seemingly unlikely migrations. Nigerian soccer players ply their trade in snow-swept Donetsk in Ukraine, Brazilians play in Japan, and even Iraqis find themselves mired in the muddy soccer fields of Calcutta. Sport brings disparate parts of the world into touch. Though soccer continues...

Asia-Pacific Travel Set for Strong Growth in 2005

Ven Sreenivasan February 16, 2005
High fuel prices, the avian flu, and Indian Ocean tsunami disasters don't seem to have negatively affected Asia's tourist industry, says a report issued by a major ticketing and distribution company. In fact, "the trials of the past few years had taught the industry to better manage crises." The 40 percent growth rate in Asia's tourism is the fastest of any region in the...

Questions of Timing…

William C. Triplett II February 14, 2005
North Korea's recent announcement left many observers questioning its timing. One factor may have been the recent visit to China by members of President Bush's National Security Council. During their visit, US officials told their counterparts in Beijing that Libyan nuclear materials had been scientifically tested. These tests showed that certain materials had come from North Korea,...

Beijing Counts Cost of Supporting an Embarrassing Old Friend

Hamish McDonald February 14, 2005
During the Korean War, hundreds of thousands of Chinese soldiers came to the aid of North Korea in battling US forces. Over fifty years later, it is clear that history will not repeat itself: China is not prepared to make sacrifices for a regime that has become a political embarrassment and a possible threat to China's own economic development. Observers of Chinese policy now say that...

The Rise of a New Axis?

Leonard S. Spector February 11, 2005
North Korea is at it again. On the eve of a new round of diplomatic talks on its troubling nuclear program, Pyongyang has upped the ante: Announcing that it has already manufactured 'nukes,' the government suddenly suspended its participation in negotiations. This revelation comes in the wake of US reports that North Korea secretly shipped nuclear material to Libya, a shipment which...