In The News

WHO Warns of Mutating Bird Flu

January 22, 2004
A bird flu virus has the World Health Organization concerned. The extent to which the virus has spread across Asia has officials worried that if the virus mutates another major epidemic could be at hand. Already, one human case of the disease has been reported in Thailand. Given the impact of SARS last year, the worries of an influenza pandemic spreading quickly are well-founded. China has not...

An Ancient Model for China's New Power

Eric Teo Chu Cheow January 21, 2004
Asia is changing politically and culturally as a result of China's rise, says this article in the International Herald Tribune. Harkening back to the days of the Ming and Qing dynasties, China's recent approach to its neighbors in the Asia-Pacific region emphasizes securing its immediate borders, placing itself as the 'heart' of the region, and giving more 'favors'...

Headscarf Ban and Multi-Secularisms

Muhamad Ali January 20, 2004
In Jakarta, Muslim women protested France's headscarf ban at state schools in front of the French Embassy. To these Indonesian women, France's prohibition of religious symbols, including large crosses and Jewish skullcaps, violates the rights of French citizens. Headscarves, they maintain, are a religious obligation, not a cultural expression, and outlawing them interferes with a...

Asia's Security Depends on Opportunities for All

Surin Pitsuwan January 15, 2004
Since 1997's economic crisis in East Asia, many countries in the region have struggled to cope not only with economic problems but also pressing security issues. Surin Pitsuwan, former foreign minister of Thailand, writes here that Asia's security problems are deeply intertwined with its economic and political woes. Education, nutrition, healthcare, and basic social services are all...

Chinese Chess in Space

Joan Johnson-Freese January 13, 2004
As the White House prepares plans for a new US manned space initiative, President Bush might want to invite China to the drawing board. Joan Johnson-Freese, an expert in Chinese space technology at the US Naval War College, believes that China's recent successful manned space flight signifies that Beijing is committed to exploring space. Rather than ignore China's achievements and...

Falling Behind in the FTA Race

January 12, 2004
With only one free trade agreement signed, Japan may lose out to its more aggressive competitors, including China and the United States. Although Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi claims, "Japan cannot continue a policy of agricultural isolation," says this editorial in the Japan Times, action has yet to follow his words. At present, Japan has an agreement inked with Singapore...

N. Korea Displays 'Nuclear Deterrent'

Glenn Kessler January 11, 2004
A group of American observers visiting North Korean nuclear facilities are expected to report that Pyongyang does indeed have the plutonium it needs to produce nuclear weapons. The group is due to testify to the US Congress next week, but Pyongyang is already saying that it showed the unofficial delegation North Korea's 'nuclear deterrent'. Meanwhile, China is said to be trying...