In The News

Talks for Peace Deal

August 4, 2003
North Korea should count its friends carefully, says this editorial in Seoul's Korea Herald. During the upcoming talks with the US, China, Russia, South Korea, and Japan, Pyongyang may not be able to lean so heavily on China and Russia to support its demands for aid, economic assistance, and security guarantees from Washington. Realistically, the paper says, the North must come to the...

North Korea Agrees to Multilateral Talks

Don Kirk August 1, 2003
After months of diplomatic posturing and much bravado, North Korea and the US have agreed to sit down together to find a way to deal with Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions, its security fears, and its urgent need for fuel and food aid. Representatives of China, Russia, South Korea, and Japan will be joining the US and North Korea in multi-lateral talks, a format Washington has insisted upon as...

All's Fair in Love, Trade and FTAs

Honigmann Hong July 31, 2003
Since China's accession into the World Trade Organization, it has indicated that it will not have economic interactions with Taiwan until the 'One China' problem is settled. However, recent statements by a Chinese official seem to suggest Beijing's willingness to engage Taiwan in a free-trade agreement. Although the intentions may not be friendly, the author observes, this may...

Labor Flexibility to Be Boosted

Kim Sung-mi July 31, 2003
Business groups in South Korea have complained that their current labor laws are grossly obsolete, especially in a competitive international environment. The laws stipulate that employers who "illegally" lay off workers would face criminal charges including prison sentences of up to five years. An expert committee charged with revamping the current laws wishes to discontinue the use of...

Chinese are Taking to the Card

Goh Sui Noi July 31, 2003
The rise of a young, urban middle class and the increasing numbers of credit card shoppers is taking China's financial world by storm. China's fast-emerging middle class is generally composed of young, educated, city dwellers with good jobs and fast paced lifestyles. Ten years ago, when the market economy was still new, paying on credit was unheard of. Today, however, more and more...

Superpower in the South Pacific

C. Raja Mohan July 30, 2003
Australia has long been the premier power in the South Pacific. According to this opinion in an Indian daily, however, Australia is increasingly matching its economic and military capabilities with the political will to exercise its power. The author says that national security concerns are behind Canberra's new policies of intervention and preemption in failing microstates where terrorist...

Vendors Ready for Enactment of Copyright Law

M. Taufiqurrahman July 29, 2003
The word on Indonesia's streets is that police raids on vendors of pirated goods will begin this week. These raids are meant to show the country – and the United States – that the Indonesian government is committed to enforcing a newly passed law protecting copyrights. The law was created in order to avoid economic sanctions from the United States for gross violations of intellectual...