Yeonpyeong Island After North Korean Attack Previously, this blog has examined the complex dysfunctional relationship , known as Sino-North Korean relations. Here is a quick recap: China is the top investor and subsidizer of North Korea, but the relationship is indirectly reciprocal. The Kim family mafia, rulers of North Korea, with Kim Jong Il as […]
The Kim mafia has been in the news quite a bit lately, and every time Kim Jong-Il makes a headline, China gets uncomfortable. Great Leader Kim is somewhat akin to the the late U.S. mafia boss, John Gotti Jr., he makes far too many newspaper headlines, a spotlight that makes his friends uneasy. As […]
Nationalism is a beast the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) did not create, but has often tried harness to it’s benefit. Still, the use of this tool is tempered by the ever present Chinese fear of chaos (luàn:乱). A potential disaster scenario for the party is one in which it finds itself on the wrong side […]
By Jessica D’Itri There are approximately 16,000 unwed mothers raising children on their own in South Korea. Because of a strong social stigma, these women face tremendous economic and social hardships, and most are pressured to have abortions (abortion is an illegal but widely-available procedure in the country) or to give their children up for […]
India celebrates its 60th Republic Day today. It is to this day in 1950 that the Indian Constitution came into force after its independence from Britain in August 1947. The Republic Day celebrations are an opportunity to display the nation’s cultural diversity, military might and other achievements to its people and the world through a […]
Notwithstanding the paralysis of the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round and the current global economic recession, bilateral and regional trade deals have continued to progress in Southeast Asia. Over the last decade, ASEAN has negotiated free trade agreements (FTA) at breakneck speeds, signing deals with Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. It is also in the […]