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2731. "Linsanity," Social Media and US-Asia Relations

Author:
Elina Noor
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Jeremy Lin, the New York Knicks' former benchwarmer and now worldwide basketball sensation, is the new Cinderella Man or “Linderella” of basketball, and maybe even more. As the National Basketball Association's (NBA) first American-born player of Chinese-Taiwanese descent, Lin has notched impressive game statistics, sparked new “Lin-go” around his name, and enraptured fans from Queens to the Bay Area, Zhejiang to Taipei, and Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur.
Topic:
Mass Media and Youth Culture
Political Geography:
United States, China, New York, East Asia, Asia, Australia/Pacific, and Kuala Lumpur

2732. Syria: What China Has Learned From its Libya Experience

Author:
Yun Sun
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
China's joint veto along with Russia of the UN Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) on Syria has provoked fierce international criticism. Labeled as “responsible for Syria's genocide,” Beijing's international image has struck a new low. China's decision to cast the unpopular vote was apparently well thought-out, as evidenced by its consistent diplomatic rhetoric and actions, both before and after the veto. However, in analyzing China's motivation, many analysts seemed to have missed an important point. That is, China's experience concerning Libya in 2011 had a direct impact on its actions regarding Syria this time around.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Insurgency, and Popular Revolt
Political Geography:
China, Middle East, Arabia, United Nations, and Syria

2733. India, Thailand and the Burma Connection

Author:
Sasiwan Chingchit
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Burma's ongoing democratic and economic transition has created an unprecedented opportunity for India and Thailand to cooperate and strengthen economic links between South and Southeast Asia. It was therefore no coincidence that the Indian government invited Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister, to be the chief guest at the country's annual Republic Day parade on January 26. Even more symbolic was that the Thai premier's visit to New Delhi overlapped with that of Burma's foreign minister, Mr. Wanna Maung Lwin, who came to discuss progress on economic and security relations and extended an invitation to India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to visit his country.
Topic:
Democratization, Economics, Government, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, New Delhi, Burma, Thailand, and Southeast Asia

2734. Russia in the Asia-Pacific: Between Integration and Geopolitics

Author:
Paul Richardson
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
For the first time in its history, Russia this year assumed the leadership of a major Asia- Pacific forum—APEC. In September the organization's annual summit will be held in Vladivostok and through this congress Russia hopes to demonstrate to the world, and its own citizens, that the country is once again a power in both Europe and Asia. It is a bold vision, which is bound to Russia's national development strategy and Great Power aspirations. As one Russian diplomat told this author, if Russia really becomes involved in Asia it could change the country and also the world.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Development, International Affairs, and Power Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Asia, and Australia/Pacific

2735. The Foundation of China's Future Stability

Author:
Peter Mattis
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
The recently ended standoff between the villagers of Wukan in Guangdong province and local government officials has refocused attention on China's future stability. The more than 100,000 officially reported incidents of unrest each year gives observers the false impression that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Beijing barely holds the country together. Pressure may be building, but China's stability is like a champagne bottle. Until the cork pops, the bottle and its contents are stable. The question is how much pressure is building and how much wine is spilt when the cork flies out.
Topic:
Communism, Democratization, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:
China

2736. Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone and the Nuclear-Weapon States

Author:
Peter Crail and Xiaodon Liang
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Following a decade-long impasse, the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) is finally on a path to being endorsed by the world's five recognized nuclear-weapon states—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Agreement by these nuclear powers to respect the prohibition of nuclear weapons in Southeast Asia and to provide legal assurances that they will not use such weapons against zone members helps to strengthen the commitment by regional states not to pursue nuclear weapons, and contributes more broadly to global nonproliferation and disarmament efforts,
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, China, United Kingdom, France, and Southeast Asia

2737. U.S.-China Competition in Asia: Legacies Help America

Author:
Robert Sutter
Publication Date:
02-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
As Sino-American competition for influence enters a new stage with the Obama administration's re-engagement with Asia, each power's legacies in the region add to economic, military and diplomatic factors determining which power will be more successful in the competition. How the United States and China deal with their respective histories in regional affairs and the role of their non-government relations with the Asia- Pacific represent important legacies that on balance favor the United States.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Diplomacy, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
United States, China, America, and Asia

2738. Indonesia's Blasphemy Law: Bleak Outlook for Minority Religions

Author:
Melissa Crouch
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
One of the major challenges for any government is how to manage religious diversity, and how to provide for religious minorities in particular. In Indonesia there are six officially recognized religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism. In addition, a wide range of other indigenous religions and beliefs exist outside of these groups. Melissa Crouch, Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School writes that "While Indonesia's transition to democracy in 1998 brought about greater freedoms for all religious groups, there has also been a dramatic increase in convictions of 'deviant' groups for blasphemy."
Topic:
Democratization, Government, Islam, and Sectarianism
Political Geography:
Indonesia

2739. Taiwan: Crisis Deferred, But Maybe Not For Long

Author:
Denny Roy
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Taiwan's elections on January 14, which for the first time combined polls for the presidency and the legislature, displayed further positive evolution in Taiwan's now well-established democracy. The results also precluded an immediate disruption in relations between Taiwan and the PRC, which is good news in Washington. In Beijing's view, however, the goal is not stability across the Taiwan Strait, but unification. Chinese impatience might weigh more heavily on President Ma Ying-jeou, and by extension on the United States, during Ma's second term.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Democratization, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, China, Washington, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia

2740. The Emerging Strategic Dynamic in Southeast Asia

Author:
Marvin C. Ott
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
East-West Center
Abstract:
Southeast Asia, long quiescent in a turbulent international environment, has suddenly become the focal point of what promises to be the signature strategic contest of the 21st century—between the United States and China. But the evolving dynamic is far more complex than a simple binary face-off between an established superpower and an emerging rival. The overarching backdrop is the profound and ongoing economic transformation of Asia. Three centuries of global economic, political and military domination by the industrialized West has given way to a fundamentally new configuration. Economic modernization that began with Japan has spread to the Sinicized populations of the region and beyond, including Southeast Asia. The global center of economic gravity has shifted westward across the Pacific—and economics is the foundation of power. The world has entered the oft-touted “Asia-Pacific Century.”
Topic:
Cold War, Communism, and Power Politics
Political Geography:
United States, China, America, and Southeast Asia