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IHT COLUMNS BY PHILIP BOWRING

 

In October 2011 I wrote to the IHT:

"After nineteen years my role as a regular columnist for the IHT Opinion pages is not what it was. Since the almost total absorption of the paper by the NYT there is not much demand for the type of opinion and analysis I have been providing from Asia. I thus prefer the freedom of being able to write for competitive publications".

Since then my articles have been appearing in the Wall Street Journal/Asia in addition to the South China Morning Post, Asiasentinel, Yale Global, etc

Hongkong: The US government debt problem is symptom not cause. Underlying it are US trade imbalances for which China and the US are both to blame. For full story click here

Bangkok: Thais want democracy, but this election is a fight between unbelievers - a military backed Abhisit and a surrogate of populist authoritarian Thaksin. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's South China Sea push has spurred neighbors into response and the US to strengthen alliances. Soft words now are too late. For full story click here

Hongkong: Assertions that the 21st Century is the Asian Century may be premature as old rich, new middle- income and the populous poor face huge challenges. For full story click here

Hongkong: By rights of its reserves the IMF should have an Asian head. But divisions within Asia as well as a skewed voting system prevent it. For full story click here

Hongkong: The BRICS, now five, have little in common other than China trade. The broader emerging country G20 presence is more important. For full story click here

Hongkong: Post-Fukushima fears of nuclear power must be set against the actual enormous early death toll from coal pollution induced illnesses. For full story click here

Havana: In theory Cuba may be ripe for Arab-style revolt. But the Communist party is on the brink of change towards a post-Castros future. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Philippines and Indonesia are relevant to post-Mubarak Egypt as it seeks democracy and end to the crony economy. For full story click here

Hongkong: The float of Garuda show Indonesia's rise in esteem. But a weak president, corruption and doubts about the commodity boom are real worries. For full story click here

Hongkong: South Sudan's independence vote takes me back to Juba 1964 and my story of the start of a war to which a paper closed its eyes. For full story click here

Yangon: Drop Myanmar sanctions. The election was rigged but political and economic changes create opening up cracks in a failed system. For full story click here

Hongkong: South Korea should avoid being provoked by the North's attack. That's difficult but creating crises is Pyonganyang's favorite trick. For full story click here

Hongkong: Myanmar elections will be neither free nor fair but should not be boycotted as a civilianisation and privatization create opening for some change. For full story click here

Hongkong: For Obama, Indonesia's importance should lie more in its size, Malay identity and plural traditions than as the most populous Muslim majority state. For full story click here

Hongkong: The East Asian Summit has show how that there are many players, no just the US and China vying for regional interests and influence. For full story click here

Hongkong: A Philippine health bill shows weakening of church influence over the state on family planning. But the birth rate is falling anyway. For full story click here

Hongkong: Obama's meet with ASEAN leaders is another mark of reawakening to east Asia. South China Sea, Japan and Korea add to US friends. For full story click here

Hongkong: From the creditors' perspective global imbalances at the root of the financial crisis linger. Inflation and current account deficits resurface. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Australian election leaves key population issues hanging: immigration levels,mining tax to support aging costs, the environment. For full story click here

Seoul: Despite the Cheonan sinking, three factors give hope: the change of Kims, the embarrassment of China and North and South shared nationalism. For full story click here

Hongkong: Easing of the US ban on dealings with Kopassus is a belated recognition of a democratic Indonesia's importance to the US in SE Asia. For full story click here

Hongkong: To China's discomfort Vietnam has put South China Sea claims back onto the international agenda.It finds a strong ally in the US. For full story click here

Daejon: The IMF is back. Feared and derided for its Asian crisis role it finds east Asia cooperative and sees an Asian monetary fund as complementary. For full story click here

Hongkong: The BP mess should remind the US of a vastly greater disaster, Bhopal 1984, and how little either Union Carbide or India's government did to help. For full story click here

Hongkong: Euro-area debt problems will be much more difficult to resolve than Asia's earlier ones. To start with, there is no IMF lash to compel reform. For full story click here

Hongkong: Strikes by China's migrant workers reflect a demographic tipping point. The total workforce is peaking and young potential migrants falling fast. For full story click here

Hongkong: Can "Noynoy" Aquino translate his landslide victory into clean administration? Economic progress and ending of pork and elite politics are all linked. For full story click here

Hongkong: Is China in a huge boom and bust cycle? On balance it can probably slow gradually. But longer term cost of wasteful investment remains. For full story click here

Bangkok: Red Shirt demonstrations are not just rural versus urban, nor poor against rich. They stem from the rising expectations of those outside the elite. For full story click here

Hongkong: Similarities abound between Europe's crisis and Asia in 1997; excessive debt, inappropriate exchange rates, etc. But EU recovery will be harder. For full story click here

Hongkong: The jailing of Rio Tinto executives does nothing for the lure of China for foreign investors, nor for China's efforts to hold down iron ore prices. For full story click here

Hongkong: Australia's threats to Japan over whaling are ridiculous, particuarly given its wholesale slaughter by guns of kangaroos and camels. For full story click here

Hongkong: The US must ask of Beijing: who needs whom more? The US has given away a lot in futile pusuit of making China a liberal democracy. For full story click here

Hongkong: Legislator resignations may be a tactical mistake. But discontent over arrogant and unaccountable government is running strong. For full story click here

Hongkong: Malay fuss about use of Allah by Christians betrays an alarming level of racial prejudice and ignorance of Islam and language. For full story click here

Hongkong: Death of Abdurrahman Wahid, Gus Dur, reminds of his huge contribution to Indonesian liberalism, tolerance and democracy. For full story click here

Hongkong: The visit of Bangladesh's Hasina may herald better relations with an India awakening to challenges in its northeast, and from China. For full story click here

Sydney: Australia is example of why Copenhagen climate talks made scant progress. Developed countries must take a unilateral lead. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Dubai's problems cast a shadow over sukuk and other Islamic financial products. But Malaysia can still win from its leadership in this still growing field. For full story click here

Xianggang: Au-ba-ma or Ou-ba-ma?. Political correctness and confusion between English and various Romanizations create uneeded problems. For full story click here

Hongkong: Ten years after Glass Steagall's abolition is reminder of the warnings here about financial giantism and consequent conflicts of interest. For full story click here

Lisbon: China's surge in investment overseas is beginning to slow as surpluses contract, nationalist opposition increases and Chinese companies learn lessons. For full story click here

 

Hongkong: ASEAN's latest summit with partners achieves little but South Korean President's regional tour is welcomed as balancing the eight of China and Japan. For full story click here

Bangkok: Beyond immediate political problems, Thailand is beginning to think how it will over time matche up against a still muchpoorer but faster growing Vietnam. For full story click here

Hongkong: Chinese arrogant exceptionalism is keeping the Yuan rtificially pegged to a sickly dollar while most of the world faces currency appreciation. For full story click here

Hongkong: Taiwan is gradually moving from de facto independence , towards One Country Two Systems status, for economic gain bowing to Beijing demands. For full story click here

Hongkong: US policy towards Myanmar is shifting towards engagement. It is a realistic response to the failure of sanctions due to as and neighbors' greed. For full story click here

Hongkong: China is now expecting exceptional status. Currency controls and pegged exchange rate are privileged anomalies adding to global tensions. For full story click here

Surabaya: A train ride provides a slow but comfortable way of viewing new, ancient and timeless Java, its people, paddy fields, volcanoes and monuments. For full story click here

Hongkong: One Malaysia is the slogan of new prime minister Najib. But the nation and its ruling coalition have seldom been more divided by race and religion. For full story click here

Hongkong: Hounding of Rio Tinto iron ore executives in China after the rejection of its Chinalco deal seem to be officially approved xenophobia.For full story click here

Hongkong: Record low fertility in Shanghai highlights an especially east Asian problem. In the west raising the status of women has raised the birthrate. For full story click here

Hongkong: Southeast Asia welcomes a return of US interest but its own lack of focus and challenges elsewhere for the US limit the region's importance. For full story click here

Hongkong: Xinjiang could prove a bigger problem for China than Tibet. Turkic and Muslim links and Russia's central Asian colonial failure shadow Beijing. For full story click here

Hongkong: Events in Iran cause reflection in China over the need for unity at the top. But China's post-1989 example could help preserve the Islamic revolution. For full story click here

Hongkong: Obama on Muslims was eloquent. But he,and most Arabs, ignore Islam's diversity and practices in populous south and east Asia. For full story click here

Hanoi: North Korea's nuclear capability should be more a problem for China than the US. Meanwhile South China Sea rivalries are ultimately more dangerous. For full story click here

Hanoi: Europe's expressed desire to play a larger role in world affairs is undermined by a poor showing at the biennial Euro-Asia foreign minister's meeting. For full story click here

Jakarta: SBY looks a shoe-in and his choice of VP shows desire to be less dependent on dubious allies. But he will still need to be more decisive. For full story click here

Bali: The ADB is back in demand, with more money to plug looming fiscal deficits and a role to play as China/Japan/Korea money spurs a moribund ASEAN. For full story click here

Manila: The economy is, for once, outperforming most of Asia, thanks a lot to remittances and a little to Arroyo. But lack of investment means its roots are shallow. For full story click here

Manila: The Philippines is stable. Arroyo will complete her term and elections held without constitutional upsets. But where will the change the nation needs come from? For full story click here

Hongkong: As the world addresses the crisis, demography is being ignored. Growth potential is declining except in countries with little access to investment. For full story click here

Hongkong: The chaos of the ASEAN regional meeting shows how royalist and anti-Thaksin forces may have created more problems than they solved. For full story click here

Hongkong: The dinner seating plan at the G20 Summit in London says much about a new world order. But emerging countries merit much more clout at the IMF. For full story click here

Hongkong: Europe may not have become the trade fortress once feared buts head-in-the-sand approach to the global crisis is making it less and less relevant. For full story click here

Hongkong: The west ignores others' forex problems at its peril. A big SDR issue is needed to provide liquidity to developing economies and revive investment. For full story click here

Bangkok: ASEAN has waffled through another summit, doing little to address the economic crisis and refusing to place the Rohingya issue at Myanmar's racist door. For full story click here

Dhaka: So far Bangladesh has escaped the worst of the crisis but garments and remittances will be hit badly. Gas and India are holds the keys to new growth sources. For full story click here

Hongkong: Australia's dillemma over the Chinalco bid for 18% and board seat at Rio Tinto: deter investment and annoy China or have a customer influencing Rio. For full story click here

Dhaka: Corruption and bad governance are the main blots on democratic Bangladesh.There is qualified hope that Hasina's Awami League can deliver improvement. For full story click here

Dhaka: The new government has a chance to start a new era in with India after years of mutual suspicion. But India needs to be a generous not domineering. For full story click here

Hongkong: Contra Geithner, China's exchange rate is marginal to global imbalances.Crucial are China's domestic demand and global commodity prices. For full story click here

 

Hongkong: Trillion dollar stimulations in the OECD contrast with the IMF's need to a fraction of that to enable the developing world to boost global demand. For full story click here

Hongkong: By presenting itself as supporter of Malays everywhere Malaysia is opening a can of worms. China and India will take note of Najib's ethnocentricity. For full story click here

Hongkong: Japan's "lost decade" is seen in the west as a warning and excuse for bank bailouts.But it would do well to equal Japan's post-bubble performance. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's importance to world trade is now greater than its share of trade. Demand recovery is crucial to developed and developing nations growth and policies.For full story click here

Sydney: Australia has yet to appreciate how a decade of good luck has ended. A sudden collapse in terms of trade exposes its huge foreign and household debt. For full story click here

Hongkong: Thai monarchy's role in using a mob to thwart an elected government could be bad news for its longer term influence as the King's mortality looms. For full story click here

Hongkong: Beware of expecting China demand to rescue the world.It has its own problems of excess and imbalance and raising consumption easier said than done. For full story click here

Jakarta: Indonesia is a barometer. If a conservatively-run economy succumbs to financial disorder and commodity collapse, expect the worst for the world. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Obama election is well received but asks questions for Asia about minority racial rights, dynastic politics and democracy's power to change. For full story click here

Beijing: Reforming the world's financial architecture needs a consensus still sadly lacking, not least in an Asia failing to respond effectively to the crisis. For full story click here

Hongkong: Asian anger rises as their investnments in the west decline and western governments avoid the harsh, market-driven measures they forced on Asia a decade ago. For full story click here

Hongkong: The unpopularity of the US is waning. The financial mess reminds Asia of the problem of replacing its economic role and worries about China. For full story click here

Hongkong: Economic mayhem in the west is reminder to Asia of what was learned from its crisis and the importance of keeping trade open to help recovery. For full story click here

Hongkong: Rumours about Kim Jong Il's health have led toscary post- Kim scenarios being rolled out. Prediction is impossible, but the worst scenarios look unlikely. For full story cick here

Hongkong: Farcical politics in Malaysia and Thailand hide serious problems.Government systems face fundamental challenges reflecting economic change. For full story click here

Hongkong: Financial near-crisis in Vietnam and Korea underline how much damage short term and speculative capital flows can do to otherwise sound economies. For full story click here

Bangkok: Street action to topple Samak reflect Thai fissures over principles of government which will get worse as succession loooms and Thaksin remains a player. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's leads in Olympic golds but now must show that it can lead global growth by shifting from export to domestic demand driven expansion. For full story click here

Hongkong: Elections loom but lack of competition for many narrowly based "functional constituency" seats -- 50% of the total -- shows where power really lies. For full story click here

Hongkong: China and India must take much blame for the latest Doha trade failure. Freer farm trade is badly needed by the whole world, not just the US and EU. For full story click here

Singapore: East Asia's record low fertility rates expose the folly of investing in buildings not people. Learn from oft-despised Scandinavian welfarism . For full story click here

Hongkong: Cross-strait developments and Shenzhen ambitions mean Taiwan and Shenzhen may become bigger rivals for Hong kong than Singapore or Shanghai. For full story click here

Hongkong: ASEAN foreign ministers meet each other and partners in the Regional Forum. But while big countries focus on big issues ASEAN prefers platitudes. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian politics gets sleazier. Sodomy allegations against Anwar don't cover up worse allegations against Najib. But by default help fumbling Badawi. For full story click here

Hongkong: Neighbors may need to worry as much about Korean nationalism as about China. Revanchism and xenophobia are as Korean as electronics and Ban Ki Moon. For full story click here

Chita, Russia: On the Trans-Siberian near China and Mongolia history has served many surprises. What's next for this mineral rich land of Russians and Buryats? For full story click here

Hongkong: Developing Asia has mostly itself to blame for the soaring price of oil. It is the main source of new demand thanks in part to its consumption subsidies. For full story click here

Hongkong: Corn is soaring but sugar is dirt cheap. Subsidies and trade restrictions explain the panic over food supplies and the obstacles to efficient farming. For full story click here

Hongkong: Tsunami and earthquakes in Sumatra, cyclones in Bangladesh give insights into the human role in losses from natural disasters in Sichuan and Burma. For full story click here

Hongkong: Following the rice price surge, Asia is awash with un-neighbourly and counter-productive proposals. Badly needed is more rice trade, and fewer subsidies. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Olympic torch relay shows the Hongkong government excelling at bringing politics into sport, and bangs a drum of ethnic identity as well as nationalism. For full story click here

Hongkong: The rice price spike is more than a passing problem. Land, labour, water and environment are output restraints not shared by all other food staples. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: The struggle for UMNO leadership and the future role of Anwar Ibrahim make exhilarating post-election politics but with fears as well as hopes. For full story click here

Hongkong: Tibetans have a strong case but mixing it with the Olympics and Darfur threatens nationalist reaction and enhanced trade and international tensions. For full story click here

Hongkong: Ma Ying-jeou's election significance lies as much in economic and foreign policy issues and the end of legislative deadlock as in cross-straits ones. For full story click here

Ho Chi Minh: Vietnam is now paying the price in inflation and falling stocks for 2007over-exuberance. More financial stress lies ahead but the longer term is still positive. For full story click here

Hongkong: Troubles in Tibet, more probably in Xinjiang and perhaps with Koreans. Communist centralism, Han chauvinism and security issues impede compromise. For full story click here

Hongkong: Malaysia's election may decide if Abdullah Badawi's gets stronger or even weaker but wont solve the problem of a static, race-based political system. For full story click here

Hongkong: Western support for Kosovo independence worries an Asia with its own potential Kosovo's and like the Balkans still struggling with old imperial borders. For full story click here

Hongkong: Thailand again has an elected prime minister but the truce between pro- and anti-Thaksin forces is uneasy and dubious names cloud Samak's ministry. For full story click here

Hongkong: Media obituaries of Suharto are over the top, a focus on brutality and corruption being out of perspective and at odds with most local perceptions. For full story click here

Hongkong: Tax boosts and interest cuts in the US boost markets but delay global adjustment and increase the threat of protectionism which will hurt Asia. For full story click here

Hongkong: Thaksin's surrogate People Power Party victoryis a blow to the conservative camp but a Samak-led government may be little advance for democracy. For full story click here

Hongkong: The landslide KMT victory was a verdict on Chen Shui-bian. But Ma Ying-jeou cannot be sure that voters want a KMT president as well as parliament. For full story click here

Hongkong: Benazir's killing adds to the problem of Musharraf. But neither she nor Nawaz Sharif had political careers which inspired hope for improved government. For full story click here

Hongkong: The US and EU are opening the money supply spigots even further. But their Asian creditors need beware of inflation eroding paper assets. For full story click here

Sydney: Prime minister Rudd is quick to embrace Kyoto and brings new attitudes to foreign policy. But cutting carbon is tough and foreign policy options limited. For full story click here

Hongkong: A mass demonstration by Malaysia's Indians raises the domestic temperature and the likelihood of its racial policies becoming an international issue. For full story click here

Hongkong: ASEAN's charter and fortieth anniversary summit are a flop. The lowest common denominator (Burma) and empty declarations rule the meeting. For full story click here

Hongkong: Macau and Hongkong money machines are becoming the cockpit for a struggle for the soul of an increasingly corrupt Chinese party leadership. For full story click here

Hongkong: Malaysia's weak leadership by Abdullah Badawi is exposing deep problems arising from an outdated race-based political and privilege structure. For full story click here

Hongkong: US ability to influence its friends, let alone its enemies, has been seriously eroded by Iraq and other policies as rebuffs in India, Japan and Korea illustrate. For full story click here

Jakarta: Indonesia needs to play a larger role in regional and international affairs. It has much to teach others about diversity in Islam, pluralism and democracy. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Chief Executive's agenda for his new term suggests a push for patriotism and One Country rather than leveraging its Two Systems advantages. For full story click here

Hongkong: It should not be as dfficult as assumed to revive North Korea's once industrialized economy. But Kim Jong-il remains fearful of the neccessary steps. For full story click here

Hongkong: Western outrage over Burma's brutal regime is justified but change will only come with luck, many carrots and the leadership of Asian neighbors. For full story click here

London: The financial crisis in the west is a reminder of the Asian crisis. But the US resists the same nasty but necessary medicine it once prescribed for Asia. For full story click here

Hongkong: Philippine Ex-president Estrada has been found guilty. But do not imagine that this is the beginning of a general clean-up of political corruption For full story click here

Dalian: China is beginning to export inflation.The era of falling goods prices is over as food and energy plus a rising Yuan feed into wages and export prices For full story click here

Hongkong: The APEC summit in Sydney may be the last to attract so many heads of state. Bilateral meetings take precedence over the group's vapid agenda. For full story click here

Hongkong: Malaysia has much to celebrate after 50 years of independence. But it has a lot to do to create a real Malaysian identity transcending race and religion. For full story click here

Hongkong: Asia has sneezed violently following the US credit crisis. But that is partly because of its own liquidity. Expect a bad cold when the US gets pneumonia. For full story click here

Hongkong: Japan remains out of fashion but at a time of credit crisis it is wel to remember that low interest rate, low goal Japan is the safest rich country on earth. For full story click here

Hongkong: Obsessing about the Middle East while ignoring Asia and ASEAN, the US is disappointing its friends and neglecting its long-term interests. For full story click here

Hongkong: Sovreign Wealth Funds are in vogue. But rising nationalism and the sheer size of east Asian and oil-exporter reserves limit them as investment vehicles. For full story click here

Hongkong: With a new constitution to be put to voters, normalcy may be returning to Thailand. But do not count on it. Too many similarities to 1992 exist -- plus Thaksin. For full story click here

 

Hongkong: Ten years after the crisis, Asia has learned lessons but the west fails to see how similar are now its debt, asset bubble and currency mismatches. For full story click here

Taipei: Contrary to fears, Taiwan elections and the Beijing Olympics may combine to improve cross strait rerlations and boost Taiwan's economy, currency and stocks. For full story click here

Hongkong: Expectations then determine today's handover scorecard. No disaster and an OK economy. But missed opportunities, cronyism and erosion of autonomy. For full story click here

Hongkong: Arrests in Indonesia, arrests and releases in Singapore suggest success in the war on terror. But fog abounds while bigger local wars continue. For full story click here

Hongkong: A major but unspoken reason for China to avoid pricking the stock bubble is that IPOs are the easiest legal way for party insiders to get rich very quick. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Court decisions in Malaysia (on religion) and Thailand (on Thaksin) are blows by entrenched political interests against liberal and plural democracy. For full story click here

Hongkong: The US-China Strategic Economic Dialogue needs to focus more on what they can do to safeguard the global trading and financial systems. For full story click here

Kyoto: East Asia's abysmal birth rates suggest it may have something to learn from North European welfare systems, and even from women's sexual independence. For full story click here

 

Kyoto: The Philippine mid-term election has no chance of inducing change. The electoral system reinforces feudal structures and promotes celebrity status over policy. For full story click here

Hongkong: The focus of Shinzo Abe's Washington visit on the issues of 70 years ago shows his failure to use Japan's US links to raise its own global role. For full story click here

Hongkong: Wen Jiabao's Japan visit demonstrates China's finesse in hiding hard realism while using soft power and Wen's modest charm to good effect. For full story click here

Hongkong: Charges of lese majeste are again being wheeled out in Thailand as the junta endeavours to stifle criticism. In the longer run the monarchy could be the loser. For full story click here

Hanoi: Vietnam's investment attractions could be damaged by a flood of foreign money, driving up stock prices and perhaps endangering a half-reformed banking system. For full story click here

Hongkong: The US-Korea Free Trade Agreement may bring the two short term benefits but proliferation of FTAs are a danger to the world trading system. For full story click here

Hongkong: Chosen by a tiny electorate, Chief Executive Tsang will need to show that he is not entirely a creature of self-serving business and bureaucratic interests. For full story click here

Macao: The once sleepy enclave has lost its charm as it rivals Las Vegas. The gamblers are coming but hotel and shopping investments are an outsize gamble. For full story click here

Hongkong: Most of Asia has kept its eyes shut and hoped for the best rather than taking pre-emptive action to limit theimpact of an inevitable US recession. For full story click here

Hongkong: Steep falls in global markets started in Shanghai but China's role is exaggerated. The US and Japan are more to blame for global asset bubbles. For full story click here

Sydney: Australia's tradition of cutting "tall poppies" down to size is fast disappearing as money trumps mateship and egalitarianism gives way to inquality. For full story click here

Sydney: John Howard's criticism of Barack Obama over Iraq is hypocritical, focuses attention on Australia's policy failings and will help rising Labor star Kevin Rudd. For full story click here

Hongkong: A decade after the handover not too much has changed. Even on a 30 year scale it has developed rather than being transformed like many Asian cities. For full story click here

Hongkong:Optimism about India has boiled over. The economy and stocks are over-heated and hubris is behind buying big foreign names rather than investing at home. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Bank of Japan's failure to raise interest rates is prolonging the carry-trade and global financial bubbles and doing nothing to spur local consumption. For full story click here

Hongkong: Viewing Davos 2007 from afar suggests nothing has changed in its western, trend following focus. It is fun for participants but over-hype by the media. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's satellite destruction may signal the start of the overt militarisation of space. The US may respond by stepping up efforts to protect its space assets. For full story click here

Hongkong: The ASEAN and East Asia summits in Cebu underline the low profile in the regional of a Mid-east focused US. As a result, China scoresmany points. For full story click here

Hongkong: A dubious rape conviction of a US marine underlines the downside of the US miitary presence and the deep split in Philippine attitudes to the US. For full story click here

Hongkong: Thailand has made a mess of trying to rein in the baht with currency controls but Japanese and Chinese currency policies are the root cause of disorder. For full story click here

Hongkong: A new king for Malaysia and survival doubts for Nepal's king reminds that Asian monarchs rise and fall. And some wait in hope of restoration. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Paulson led delegation to Beijing suggests a US obsession with the China trade deficit to the exclusion of other issues and countries. For full story click here

Bangkok: The King's Birthday and Constitution Day remind of the instability of Thai institutions and the metropolis' uncertain commitment to democracy. For full story click here

Hongkong: Failure to tackle pollution threatens Hongkong and reveals a political system beholden to money. In Indonesia too money trumps the environment.For full story click here

Hongkong: The Delhi China-India summit says more about their views of themselves as global players than reflecting mutual commercial or political interests. For full story click here

Hongkong: The APEC summit's focus on a strategic issues -- North Korea -- not crucial trade and economic onesemphasises its lack of a real role. For full story click here

Hongkong: The US mid-term election results offers promise and problems for Asia -- a move away from unilateralist politics, but also towards protectionism. For full story click here

Hongkong: The summit of African leaders in Beijing reminds of Chou Enlai's 1964 drive for African friends. China is now more powerful -- but others are too. For full story click here

Hongkong: North Korea's goal? The bomb aims of Pyongyang and would-be national hero Kim Jong-il are psychological: face, glory and US recognition. For full story click here

Hongkong: The mania for Chinese bank shares not only looks a dubious investment but defines the excess global liquidity created by the US & China. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Malay elite is giving Islam and Malaysia a bad name, clinging on to racial privileges and silencing those who claim NEP goals have been reached. For full story click here

Hongkong: International alarm over the North Korean nuclear test is not reflected by financial markets, even in east Asia. The markets are most likely right. For full story click here

Hongkong: Asia will welcome Abe's desire for Japan to play a larger role. History and current interests explain why most do not share the fears of China. For full story click here

Hongkong: A stronger central government (and Communist Party) may be needed to address China's pollution, water, corruption and wealth distribution issues. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Thai coup is the result of the failure of three parties to follow democratic rules. One is Thaksin, another the Democrats and the third: a power hungry palace. For full story click here

Jakarta: President Yudhoyono's first two years have seen unity and stability achieved by balancing forces. But more decisive leadership is also needed. For full story click here

Jakarta: Sending 1,000 peacekeepers to Lebanon is evidence of Indonesia's desire to projectitself and Muslim moderation and pluralism in the Middle East. For full story click here

Hongkong: Malaysia's identification of Malays with Muslims looks increasingly at odds with Islam and national unity, particularly vis a vis Sabah and Sarawak For full story click here

Cebu: A dirty war between the government and NPA rebels is less noticed than Muslim insurgency but is more dangerous to democracy and the rle of law. For full story click here

Cebu: As Doha stumbles, APEC members needs to face trade reality not take refuge in the "noodle bowl" of competing so-called Free Trade Agreements. For full story click here

Hongkong: Australia's John Howard is to fight yet another election. But is he pushing his luck a little too far given the possibility of an early end to a golden decade? For full story click here

Hongkong: China needs bolder steps to slow investment.Forcing profitable state companies to pay dividends to fund social spending would help greatly. For full story click here

Hongkong: Near collapse of the Doha Round is very dangerous given trade imbalances, a plague of bilateral deals and the demands of global demographics. For full story click here

Hongkong: Japan and the US have got a verbal UN condemnation of Pyongyang's missile tests. But Japan's domestically hard-line irritates Seoul and Beijing. For full story click here

Tokyo: After years of no inflation, Japan is exceptionally competitive. It is only a matter of time before the Yen makes a desirable great leap forward of 25% or more. For full story click here

Tokyo: Japan's is looking to boost its birth rate. But economics as much as social policies may be to blame for low fertility in almost all industrialised countries. For full story click here

Taipei: President Chen will survive noisy politics but under the table deals and all-party corruption in the legislature sully Taiwan's economy and democracy. For full story click here

Hongkong: King Bhumipol's 60-years should be a reminder of the unresolved issues of the succession and the relationship between monarchy and democracy. For full story click here

Hongkong: China is channelling new religious fervour in ways which do not threaten the supposedly Marxist state.Buddhism is best but national Catholics are OK too. For full story click here

Hongkong: The vanishing toothfish tale is a reminder of the destruction of the stocks of the South China Sea and western Pacific by uncontrolled fishing. For full story click here

Manila: Economic optimism reigns despite coupe threat thanks to fiscal and current account gains. But feeble investment and social stress cloud the longer term. For full story click here

Hongkong: Singapore's PAP has won another sweeping election victory. But the voting suggests growing uncertainty of the regime future after Lee Kuan Yew. For full story click here

Manila: The Asian Development Bank is trying to play a more active role in regional trade and financial issues, including a warning against the plethora of FTAs. For full story click here

Hongkong: Friction between Japan, China and Korea over uninhabited islands reminds of the dangers of nationalism as US hemgemony in NE Asia recedes. For full story click here

Hongkong: Maoist chaos in Nepal has reminded prompted Manmohan Singh to focus on India's growing problems with Naxalites in backward north central provinces. For full story click here

Hongkong: Despite good intentions Abdullah has done little to reverse racial privilege and religious intolerance and make Malaysia competitive in a secular world. For full story click here

Sydney: Wen Jiabao's visit is a reminder of the increasing complexity of Australian policy as it tries to balance relations with the US, China, Japan, Indonesia. For full story click here

Hongkong: China and the US could ease economic frictions if they recognised that currency issues are global and avoided FTA competition which damages the WTO. For full story click here

Hongkong: The visit of Bangladesh prime minister to Delhi is an overdue sign that the subcontinent, especially India, can put economic interests before political squabbles. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Two years on, Abdullah has failed to capitalise on his election triumph. But the 9th Malaysia Plan provides an opportunity to match words with deeds.For full story click here

Hongkong: China's measures to reduce urban/rural income gaps is a palliative. The cure lies in freeing up movement of people, and allowing peasants to sell their land. For full story click here

Hongkong: Bush's visit to India and Pakistan shows how improving bilateral relations can be counterproductive for big issues -- nuclear proliferation and Kashmir. For full story click here

Hongkong: Fed chairman Bernanke's theory about excess Asian savings causing the US trade deficit will be exposed by Japan and rising Asian consumption. For full story click here

Hongkong: Manila, again in turmoil, has lessons for Thailand in what not to do to promote constitutional democracy and the rule of the ballot box and the law. For full story click here

Hongkong: Bi-partisan US opposition to Dubai's P&O ports purchase reveals much ignorance and prejudice and raises questions about US financial commitments. For full story click here

Hongkong: An Asian should be the next UN Secretary General. But no candidate so far is ideal and national rivalries could mean Asia misses out to an east European. For full story click here

Doha: East Asia and India have good reason to want to cool western hostility to Iran. Their dependence on gulf oil far exceeds the US and even Europe and is rising. For full story click here

Doha: Oil money is funding new ideas and buildings. But the Middle East lacks the cooperation, demographics and manufacturing links to create needed jobs. For full story click here

Davos: The World Economic Forum accurately reflects western perceptions of the world and the China/India surge but other perspectives are missing, For full story click here

Davos: Low interest rates are supposed to be beneficial for economic growth. But they are creating assetbubbles today and pension crises tomorrow. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Iran nuclear issue is exposing the weakness of the west as energy needs drive the clout of China and India who can live with a nuclear Iran. For full story click here

Hongkong: Australia is least noticed of the big Anglo-Saxon debtors. But its 6% of GDP current deficit despite huge terms of trade gains is shocking. For full story click here

Hongkong: Western views of economic freedom and competitiveness are often bizarre.indices putting HK and Singapore on top ignore basic domestic realities. For full story click here

Hongkong: Badawi's efforts to push a inclusive, modern Islam suitable for Malaysia's ethnic mix is in trouble from entrenched religious/political interests. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's GDP revise is no surprise and the boom will continue for now. But the Soviet Union and Brazil remind that stunning growth spurts do not all endure. For full story click here

Hongkong: The WTO ministerial made scant progress against EU intransigence but developing country unity and commitment to freer trade was a silver lining. For full story click here

Hongkong: The first East Asia Summit was a defeat for China. India and Australia inclusion and spats with Japan were reminders of why the US still matters. For full story click here

Bangkok: The King has lectured Thaksin on tolerance of criticism. But underlying this is a conflict between liberal and authoritarian populist democracy. For full story click here

Geneva: Economics, technology and demographics spur increasing migration. But few governments face up to hard issues of choice and cohesion. For full story click here

Hongkong: Remittances matter to hundreds of millions of the poor. But crude and ineffective anti-terror, anti-money laundering rules are a huge burden. For full story click here

Hongkong: 30-years on, another attempt is being made to develop a Non-Aligned News Network. News diversity is needed but not from state propaganda machines. For full story click here

Hongkong: Summits in Busan, Dhaka and KLshow up the weakness of regional groupings and emphasise why the WTO meeting is vital and needs higher level support. For full story click here

Hongkong: Singapore has a large underclass, mostly non-Chinese. At the bottom, foreign domestic helpers who may now be entitled to one day off a month! For full story click here

Hongkong: Media scares stories that bird flu will likely mutate and cause a pandemic killing millions are more alarmism than science. Fear is the bigger threat. For full story click here

Hongkong: The EU farm position is not just threatening Doha but shows it unable to negotiate as a single entity.Trade partners may need to re-think how to deal with it. For full story click here

Sydney: Australian plans for further "anti-terror" legislation are a major threat to liberties.With Labor silent, former Liberal PM Malcolm Fraser is unlikely lead critic For full story click here

Hongkong: Chief Executive Tsang should be closely quizzed by US and British hosts on trade, competition, environment, autonomy and constitutional issues. For full story click here

Hongkong: Treasury Secretary Snow has again missed the point. China is just part of global trade and currency imbalances which involve the whole of East Asia. For full story click here

Hongkong: The UN's migration report is mostly waffle -- a missed opportunity to get to grips with one of the world's biggest, most complex issues. For full story click here

Hongkong: Taiwan's failure to buy promised US arms is straining the relationship. It must overcome misgivings and show willingness to defend itself. For full story click here

Dandong, China: Korean reunification? Think Shenzhen not Germany.The economic cost to the South need not be as great as usually assumed. For full story click here

Hongkong: Mammon trumps ethics. Yahoo's kowtow to China threatens freedom of information and compounded by its push to have it own correspondents. For full story click here

Hongkong: Talk of another Asian economic crisis is nonsense. High oil prices hurt and subsidies should go but external positions are strong and stimulus needed. For full story click here

Hongkong: Long term global fall-out from US response to Katrina is likely. Will it end the housing/consumption boom, bring back thrift or spur protectionism? For full story click here

Yalu River: The 100th anniversary of the Russo-Japanese war end is reminder of power shifts in NE Asia and the dangers of frustrating new powers. For full story click here

Hongkong: Korean effort to raise fertility reminds that demographics in Confucian NE Asia are even worse than Europe. But SE Asia is different. For full story click here

Hongkong: Sino-Russian military excercises are not so much a sign of friendship but an opportunistic display which underscores US over-stretch. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's currency policy remains a puzzle. An announced basket suggests very slow appreciation. But the yuan is not following the basket. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Forty years after Singapore's expulsion from Malaysia the two are wider apart but still have enough common interests to stay friendly enough rivals. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Abdullah Badawi has been slow to make changes. But UMNO, Ringgit and Proton show that there is now momentum behind reform. For full story click here

Hongkong: How will a rising China use its power? For southeast Asia, the 600th anniversary of Zheng He's voyages reminds of Ming imperial tendencies. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's de-pegging is the belated start of Asian currency adjustment to reflect economic power. But timidity and mercantilism still impede change. For full story click here

Bangkok: Thaksin's extraordinary powers in the South deserve and get strong criticism. Corruption and autocratic methods are also under attack by a revived opposition. For full story click here

Hongkong: The EU may be in trouble but few doubt its relevance. ASEAN is a different story as Myanmar tests whether it is more than a geographical expression. For full story click here

Hongkong: Arroyo is badly wounded by the desertion of cabinet, Cory and business. But all is not lost thanks to Ramos. Constitutional change may be the silver lining. For full story click here

Hongkong: Claiming the Islamic world's is in particular denial of AIDS is bigoted and contradicted by realities in Asia where Burma, India and China score worst. For full story click here

Hongkong: Sharks and whales are an East-West dispute over what is proper to eat. Dogs, pangolins and horses are also issues of taste, emotion and conservation. For full story click here

Hongkong: Cardinal Sin played major roles in the removal of Marcos and Estrada. But this political priest was a major obstacle to badly needed family planning. For full story click here

Hongkong: CNOOC's bid for Unocal underscores both the contradictions in US/ China attitudes to each other and the dangers of their giant trade imbalance. For full story click here

Hongkong: The failure of the of the EU constitution is reminder that that Asia is several sub-continents, not one, and that regional pacts must have popular support. For full story click here

Hongkong: Arroyo is hoist on the same petard as her predecessor -- jueteng. The problem lies with the Philippine constitution as well as with the political class. For full story click here

Hongkong: The "election" of Donald Tsang by 800 voters is not just a foregone conclusion. It is showing up his authoritarian instincts and flexible principles.For full story click here

Hongkong: Australian popular reaction to the trial and conviction of a young women drug smuggler shows the country at its arrogant worst. For full story click here

Meanwhile Singapore: English usage in Asia may be peaking. But what can replace it? Chinese, maybe. But Malay and or even Tamil may thrive. For full story click here

Phuket: Insurgency not jihad. See southern Thai Muslim/Malay troubles as a product of history and Bangkok policies from Pibul to Thaksin. For full story click here

Hongkong: Chinese export tariffs are one of many current political assaults on the WTO and multilateralism in trade. The trend must be reversed. For full story click here

Hongkong: Taiwan's election suggests little change in the political balance despite the high profile visits of Lien Chan and James Soong to China. For full story click here

Dhaka: Bangladesh's economy is a paradox -- or the triumph of individual effort and group social initiative over nature and corrupt, incompetent government. For full story click here

Hongkong: KMT leader Lien Chan's visit is a propaganda coup for Beijing but do not expect a cross-straits breakthrough or big shift in Taiwan's stance. For full story click here

Hongkong: China and the US are on a collision course as hubris and over-expectations blind both to sustainable economic and trade policies.For full story click here

Hongkong: Australia's relations with Asia provide an insight into the jockeying for position as some countries seek to balance China's role in the region. For full story click here

 

Dhaka: Problems of political violence, fundamentalism and corruption have been growing. But overall Bangladesh remains a secular, open society. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's verbal onslaught on Japan contrasts with smooth words in South Asia. But India will also suffer from lack of Security Council expansion. For full story click here

Dhaka: Wen Jiabao's south Asian tour highlights dilemmas for India in dealing with its neigbors, particularly a Bangladesh feeling Delhi is a bully. For full story click here

Bangkok: Most of ASEAN at last is impatient with a Myanmar which is embarassing them. But the generals are stubborn and do not lack for friends. For full story click here

Hongkong: Condi Rice's tour of Asia underlines the conflicting elements of US foreign policy with too many agendas and a Mideast bias. For full story click here

Hongkong: Black is white in interpreting Hong Kong's Basic Law. The HK succession shows that for Beijing convenience matters more than words. For full story click here

Hongkong: Cricket and a bus service in Kashmir are hopeful signs. But the Indus waters may be the biggest barrier to Indo-Pak cooperation. For full story click here

Hongkong: The political system's faults are glaring. How to get a better leader than Tung Chee-hwa able to deal with Beijing and tycoons? For full story click here

Hongkong: The joint US/Japan reference to the Taiwan issue highlights the likely costs to Beijing of placing Taiwan too high on its agenda For full story click here

Bangkok: Pres. Yudhoyono's visit to KL underlines the scope, difficulties and opportunities of income and demography-driven migration within ASEAN. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Thai election is not about the result. Will Thaksin learn wisdom or further his tendencies to a money-centric populist authoritarianism.For full story click here

Hongkong: The Dhaka SAARC summit postponement says a lot about India's inability to put bright regional prospects above bilateral disputes . For full story click here

Davos: Western bias forgets there are more Muslims in the east than the Middle East and Asia has different priorities than Iran's nukes or Israel/Palestine. For full story click here

Davos: World Economic Forum is a misnomer. It is mainly a meeting of Europeans and North Americans. Asian giants are conspicuously absent. For full story click here

Hongkong: Zhao Ziyang's death is a reminder that the causes of Tiananmen are again evident. So current leaders will continue to fear liberalism. For full story click here

Hongkong: Debt relief is a bad way to help tsunami-hit nations But it opens the way for similar help for other countries hurt by natural calamities. For full story click here

New Delhi: The tsunami has been a reminder of India's neglect of its eastern seaboard and the role that twin coastlines should play for the nation. For full story click here

Sydney: Howard may be a very ordinary man but his near record stretch as PM says much about his understanding of a conservative, suburban electorate. For full story click here

Hanoi: Vietnam is doing well enough. But it must raise its game to keep up with neighbours and face the reforms associated with WTO membership. For full story click here

New Delhi: India is emerging from its Pakistan obsession, more confident and aware of its strategic need to build Asian links and economic power. For full story click here

Hongkong: The 2004 ASEAN summit has avoided awkward issues and ignored currency values. But it has been another win for Chinese diplomacy. For full story click here

Meanwhile Hochiminh: The scale of old Saigon is giving way to overpowering high rises. Better to follow other Asian cities by creating new districts For full story click here

Hongkong: Euro-Asia exchange rates are moving to centre stage. Europe is hurting but Asian currencies are beginning to reflect economic strength. For full story click here

Meanwhile: Hongkong's grand cultural vision to many looks like a massive apartment project with the terms rigged for favored developers. For full story click here

Meanwhile: The death of the Far Eastern Economic Review is cause for much lament and soul searching about originial regional journalism. For full story click here

Hongkong: The deaths of 84 Thai Muslims is not a local affair. Thaksin's attitudes invite extremism and threaten relations with Malaysia and ASEAN. For full story click here

Hongkong: Chinese are getting bigger but so is the rural-urban physique gap. Obesity and road deaths offset many advances in nutrition. For full story click here

London: Britain has woken up to its pensions gap. But like Europe and unlike Asia will not face the issue of how to raise the birth rate. For full story click here

Hongkong: Japan's more forward defense posture is under fire, especially by China. But it is a realistic response to China and a changing NE Asia. For full story click here

Hongkong: Shanghai's Grand Prix and the Party's latest platform point up the contradictions of Chinese "socialism" -- and its new ideology, patriotism. For full story click here

Seoul: Ideology and exhortation are no way to stop nuclear proliferation. Only self-interest can trump the inevitable growth of know-how. For full story click here

Hongkong: The winner will lose the Hongkong election.Victory is assured for narrow interest groups. The better democrats do the more difficult Beijing may be. For full story click here

Hongkong: Which Anwar has been released? Will he improve on his mixed record on human rights, religion , reform and money politics. For full story click here

Hongkong: Philippines needs a financial crisis to force it and and its lenders to face fiscal reality -- or will get a much bigger one later. For full story click here

Hongkong: Recent Asian history has been re-written by politicians.But Koreans may not be the only one to find that truth can catch up. For full story click here

Hongkong: Can Lee Hsien Loong lead Singapore into a freer, more entrepreneurial, innovative future or is he stuck with his father's system and institutions? For full story click here

Hongkong: Malaysia's reputation for modernity could be in danger from pro-Muslim laws and lack of free choice. Pro-Malay economic policies complicate the issue. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's steep grain price increase could be as important as oil, minerals and easy money in sparking a new inflation which will reach the west. For full story click here

Hongkong: Philippine nationalism and populism lie behind decision to succumb to threats and pull troops from Iraq despite the cost to US relations. For full story click here

Hongkong: The crown jewels of corporate Korea have mostly fallen into foreign hands. But a weak currency and local rules are the main culprit.For story click here

Hongkong: The Malay world is now largely democratic. Could populist Malay self-awareness revive Maphilindo and create new regional dynamics? For full story click here

Hongkong: The July 1 demonstration again surprised Beijing but local misgovernment lies at the root of the demand for democracy. For full story click here

Sydney: The coming election might have echoes of 1966 and 1972 landslides linked to foreign policy.More likely marginal differences on domestic issues will decide it. For full story click here

Hongkong: The EU's fixation with Burma and Suu Kyi is hypocritical and arrogant. It angers ASEAN while simultaneous silence over Zhao Ziyang and Singapore is deafening. For full story click here

Hongkong: The G8 summit is outdated, irrelevant and arrogant. The world today needs a G10 with China, India, Brazil and S.Africa, or G15 with Indonesia, Korea, Mexico etc. For full story click here

Hongkong: Currency revaluation not credit controls or interest rates hikes is the way for Asia, especially China to offset the high oil price and stimulate consumption. For full story click here

Manila: Arroyo's has a mandate and six years to tackle a tax averse elite, issues-averse politicians and family planning averse church. Can she reverse national decline? For full story click here

Manila: International migration is Asia-centric. Governments mostly ignore its evils, but demographics and economics ensure it will flourish and on balance be positive. For full story click here

Hongkong: India's election surprise is more a usual reaction against incumbents than a rural protest. Elsewhere in Asia rural voters matter but don't make the agenda. For full story click here

Hongkong: Belt-tightening by Beijing does not spell trouble for Asia. The new China myth ignores the region's diversity and underlying export and savings strengths. For full story click here

Hongkong: Indonesia's legislative election has gone smoothly.The results show good sense: Megawati is the loser, Golkar is stalled and clean government is in demand. For full story click here

Meanwhile: Hongkong: Hong Kong, Xianggang, etc are the tip of an iceberg of confusion over Romanisation and translation of state and city names and spellings. For full story click here

Hongkong: Britain says it is fighting for democracy in Iraq but does nothing to protect Hongkong's liberties and self-government promised in the Joint Declaration. For full story click here

Hongkong: Blaming el-Qaida for all revolts by oppressed Muslims is the Arab fanatics' best recruiting tool. It has few natural allies, but Bush is creating them. For full story click here

Hongkong: Electoral politics is getting messy (Taiwan and Korea) or may produce little benefit (Philippines, Indonesia). But it still beats China's system. For full story click here

Jakarta: Outsiders may be obsessed about Islamic extremism, but in democratic Muslim southeast Asia Islamic issues take a back seat to secular battles for power and spoils. For full story click here

Sydney: The Spanish election has shocked Howard's government. Iraq and a combative new Labor leader pose a threat to Bush's closest non-European ally. For full story click here

Hongkong: The NPC shows that leaders understand China's key problem but are making scant progress in addressing power and income imbalances. For full story click here

Hongkong: Their passport histories show the hypocrisy of leading businessmen now claiming to be Chinese patriots. They are a danger to Hongkong. For full story click here

Hongkong: Asians should be beginning to worry about the security of their gigantic holdings of US debt. History shows that obligations are subject to rules changes. For full story click here

Meanwhile: SARS, ebola etc are sparking out-of-proportion responses. So did plague in the 19th century. An earlier Bowring's views on useless but despotic quarantines. For full story click here

Hongkong: Beijing's resort to "patriotism" to fight Hongkong's demands for representative government shows Leninism runs deep in the Communist party. For full story click here

Hongkong: Abdullah Badawi's early days as PM show a quiet determination to clean house.. But elections will show if he can build a new consensus. For full story click here

Hongkong: Prime Minister Thaksin has many admirers in Asia countries with less dynamic leadership, but after three years success may be going to his head. For full story click here

Meanwhile in Hongkong: The maiden voyage of the QM2 is exactly 32 years after the death the Queen Elizabeth in a still mysterious fire while C.H. Tung was aboard. For full story click here

Taipei: Mr Bush's scolding is an embarassment, but President Chen's referendum issue has shifted the center of Taiwan politics. Beijing and the US must take note. For full story click here

Jakarta: Aceh presents a grim picture. But do not expect domestic or international pressures to have much impact on a democratic Indonesia set on unity above all else. For full story click here

Hongkong: World concern about China's exporting might is being matched by China's concern about its resources needs.Strategic and financial implications are huge. For full story click here

Hongkong: Resounding defeat for pro-government parties and a high voter turnout show that people want democracy, and a check on crony and bureaucratic power. For full story click here

London: Bush's visit is divisive, weakening strong trans-Atlantic bonds. He commands little respect and reminds Britons of their own subservience to his Iraq policy. For full story click here

Hongkong: Philippine democracy is in trouble. A move against the chief justice is the latest problem. The president is weak but it is the structure which is the root cause. For full story click here

Mahe, Seychelles: Former Marxist Albert Rene is still President 26 years after his coup. But a currency black market signals problems and maybe time for change. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Dr Mahathir is finally leaving. A look at the what drove his remarkable career, and why his successor Abdullah Badawi is so different. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia has focussed the OIC summit on business and modernisation,and given a reminder that most Muslims do not live in the Middle East. For full story click here

Hongkong: ASEAN is never lacking for long term free trade visions. But nationalism dominates current issues such as currencies. The APEC summit is unlikely to help. For full story click here

Hongkong: The failure at Cancun and Asian currency valuations put China in a key position to to end the WTO impasse and avoid currency driven a trade war. For full story click here

Hongkong: Foreign media assumptions of the guilt of alleged Islamic terror leader Abu Bakar Basyir ignore the evidence, anger Indonesians and help extremists. For full story click here

Beijing: Yuan revaluation will come before long but the US would do better to explain the benefits for China, and the need for the rest of east Asia to follow. For full story click here

Hongkong: The death of the governor of Sahkalin is a setback for efforts to revive the Russian far east. Oil and gas are the base but mining and tourism could come too. For full story click here

London: A "perfect storm" is brewing as the young are threatened by the excessive benefits, too-early retirement and underfunded pensions of the baby boomers. For full story click here

Hongkong: Hambali's capture is a bonus. But its significance is exaggerated and US unwillingness to hand him over for trial in Asia is counter-productive. For full story click here

Hongkong: Thailand's repayment of IMF loans signals of how far the wheel of fortune has turned since 1997. But Asia must not be smug about the West's excesses. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Yuan's value has become central to resolving huge US and global trade imbalances. Where China's undervalued currency goes, Asia will follow. For full story click here

Hongkong: Australia's foray into the Solomons is more than a police action.It reflects a US-centric shift which is undermining its efforts to link closer to Asian. For full story click here

Hongkong: The July 1 demonstration was a quiet revolution against unrepresentative as well as incompetent government. Beijing has kept cool but has real worries. For full story click here

Hongkong: Half a million people on the streets. Premier Wen Jiabao missed the demo but got the message of Tung's incompetence and the implications for the mainland. For full story click here

Hongkong: Closer Economic Partnership Arrangment (CEPA) with China is a feel-good deal which has minimal benefits and undermines Hongkong's trade autonomy. For full story click here

Geneva: Developing countries must unite against the EU. The Franco-German stitch-up of its Common Agricultural Policy threatens the whole Doha trade agenda. For full story click here

Hongkong: Detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is an affront to foreign efforts at conciliation. ASEAN must distance itself from Myanmar's junta and its bizarre economics. For full story click here

Manila: Mrs Arroyo's standing has been raised by her US visit and lack of attractive presidential may induce her to run in 2004. But governance problems in the Philippines run deep. For full story click here

Hongkong: Hysteria is rising as SARS and terror threats are blown out of proportion by media and officialdom. Lack of perspective on risk is a global danger. For full story click here

Flash backs: In response to a reader's accusation of being "wise after the event" of financial sector disasters, two 1999 IHT columns which were previously not posted on this site are now here. They concern investment bank/broker/auditor/media etc conflicts of interest in promoting the bull market. For November 1999 column click here and for March 1999 column click here

Manila: Mrs Arroyo's state visit to the US is reward for support for the Iraq and terrorism wars. But there are dangers for both sides, and she is lame duck. For full story click here

Hongkong: Asian undervaluation, now partly SARS-drive, has been exacerbated by the rise of the Euro etc. Appreciation of Yen, Yuan etc is unavoidable to shrink the US deficit.For full story click here

Hongkong: The biggest danger of SARS may be economic-- impact on the one previously robust region of growth, Asia.Foreign over-reaction is partly responsible. For full story click here

Hongkong: Reactions to SARS have shown varying characteristics of government and society in Asia. Will they learn from the drawbacks of secrecy or hysteria? For full story click here

Hongkong: The WHO is in the forefront of the SARS battle but it has another on its hands too -- a US food industry trying to sabotage its anti-obesity campaign. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Iraq war was unpopular throughout Asia, but its impact on strategic thinking in Asia will now depend more on US post-war policies and attitudes.For full story click here

Hongkong: Over-reaction to the SARS virus could be at least as dangerous as the virus itself. Fear of the unknown exceeds the virulence of the virus. For full story click here

Hongkong: Reponse to the pneumonia epidemic is just the latest example of failure by an incompetent, self-serving, mean and racist administration. For full story click here

Hongkong: Why are anglophones keen on war with Iraq? Could the dominance of English have led to imperialist assumptions on the part of Australia and Britain? For full story click here

Geneva: Europe has a crisis of demography, asylum seeking and immigration. But events post 9/11, and now the Iraq war, are holding up a realistic approach to it. For full story click here

Geneva: Forget el-Qaida, the big threat to rich and middle income nations is not terrorism or smoking. Poor diet is causing a pandemic of diabetes and circulatory diseases. For full story click here

Hongkong: US troops in Sulu may help Bush image at home but not aaborad. It will exacerbate bigger insurgency problems and underlines Arroyo's weakness. For full story click here

London: The Blair government's attitude from everything from hunting with dogs, to democracy, to truth to war on Iraq reflects Orwell's Animal Farm, 1984, Burmese days etc. For full story click here

London: East and West are drifting apart. Iraq, the UN, Davos, Porto Alegre are showing how interests differ and how Asia's economic self-confidence is influencing attitudes. For full story click here

Davos: North Korea's nuclear moves are serious but they could well be the prelude to major change, if other countries pay hefty bills to prop Kim's economic reform. For full story click here

Dhaka: Relations with India are strained as Hindu communalism, border problems and fallout from Afghanistan put pressure on a secular, moderate Muslim Bangladesh. For full story click here

Meanwhile: Dhaka: Things are looking up in Asia's poorest mega city. Pollution has been slashed and crime is down thanks to controversial draconian measures.For full story click here

Bangkok: Taksin's two years in office have seen economic progress and increased political stability. But one is a legacy and the other a source of unsettling intolerance. For full story click here

Hongkong: President Arroyo's decision not to run in 2004 is both a reminder of the problems created by the way she came to power, and an opportunity to try to make reforms work. For full story click here

Hongkong: Cautious regional unity shown by China, Japan, South Korea and Russia in response to North Korea has benefited the US and set an example over Iraq. For full story click here

Hongkong: A greater maturity in Asia has been shown by disperate events -- Korean election, possible peace in Aceh and other acceptance of outside mediation. For full story click here

Hongkong: Currency tensions are building as the dollar falls,Japan wants a weaker yen, China sticks to a dollar peg which squeeze the rest of Asia. Needed: a new Plaza accord.For full story click here

Sydney: Comfort and prosperity assumptions have been shaken by drought and Bali. Australia thinks about Muslims, multiculturalism and migration policy. For full story click here

Hongkong: Anti-subversion legislation is needed by the Basic Law but vague wording says more about Hongkong's crony-based political structure than about Beijing pressure. For full story click here

Hongkong: As the Korea demonstrates, deterrence and alliances, not pre-emption, are the best security against the unstoppable spread of weapons of mass destruction. For full story click here

Hongkong: Convincing prosecution of the real Bali culprits is needed to overcome local plot theories, western prejudices and regional use of the tragedy for political ends. For full story click here

Hongkong: EU horse trading on agriculture is a major blow to farm trade reform and hence to developing country acceptance of freer trade, and a blow to EU economies. For full story click here

Meanwhile: A victim of the Bali bombers, Ed Waller,26, was their antithesis:- friend to all, optimist, enthusiast, internationalist. Follow his spirit: keep going to Bali, to bars. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Asian belief in globalization is waning because of external events -- China, OECD, waning FDI -- rather than ideology. Do substitutes exist? For full story click here

Hongkong: There is almost no support in Asia for Bush's Iraq policies, and concern that the shift from deterrence to pre-emption will cause problems for Asian allies. For full story click here

Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky: The eastern tip of Eurasia, once a closed area, may get an boost from tourism and mining. But questions remain over Russia's long term hold. For full story click here

London: Tony Blair's zeal for following President Bush on Iraq keeps him on the world stage but could add to domestic failings and be his undoing. For full story click here

Hongkong: On the September 11 anniversay, Asians find their sympathy for the US eroded by time, by Iraq and other aspects of unilateralism. For full story click here

Seoul: Korea's stock market recovery could stall in the short term, but lower investment, emphasis on profits, and pension reform could give it a golden decade. For full story click here

Sydney: Australia offers much that Asians can admire and profit from. But over-eagerness to play a global role in tune with America limits its regional clout. For full story click here

Hongkong: Brazil underlines the fickle behaviour of international banks and US talk of Saudi asset freeze may frightens others, especially China, into selling US assets. For full story click here.

Hongkong: The "war on terror" looks ragged. Indonesian Islamic extremism is exaggerated while the NPA and MILF gain ground in the Philippines. The US should stay out. For full story click here

Seoul: Resumption of dialogue between North and South and major economic changes by Pyongyang are very significant, forcing the US to move beyond "axis of evil" talk. For full story click here

Hongkong: Wall Street's tumble has been mild by Asian standards. Cycles imply reversion to a mean. The Dow and Dollar were in orbit. Now they are re-entering reality. For full story click here

Hongkong: Washington has woken up to China's increasedability to threaten Taiwan.. But its post September 11 agenda is too diverse for a focussed, long term China policy. For full story click here

Hongkong: North Korea is nuisance for the South and useful "evil" for the US, but it is a bigger headache for friend and neighbour. Can China change anything there? For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Mahathir is committed to retire. But will be use his last months to build party unity or for a final push for modernisation of Malays by reducing their preferences.For full story click here

Hongkong: Brazil could be the latest emerging market casualty. Has nothing been learned since the Asian crisis? Its past time to address the failings of the system. For full story click here.

Hongkong: The World Cup has come the occasion for short sighted policies in defence of local vested interests: trying to criminalise rather than capitalise on internet betting. For full story click here

Hongkong: Big powers should avoid small wars. The India-Pakistan confrontation and the Abu Sayyaf illustrate the uses and abuses of overwhelming US power. For full story click here

Moscow: Fear of Islam has created a bond between Russia, China and the West with several immediate benefits.But economic advances must now have priority if Russia's relations with the west are to be cemented. For full story click here

Hongkong: East Asia has its difficulties but it looks to have fewer fundamental political problems than other regions and economies which are proving their worth. The World Cup will provide a focus for its repaired image. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Mahathir's visit to Washington has underlined the change in his political fortunes. But can he now reverse policy on sensitive Islamic and Malay education issues impeding economic progress and social cohesion. For full story click here

Hongkong: The release of Aung San Suu Kyi is gratifying .. but also a reminder of the durability of Burma's generals and the depth of its economic, social and minority problems. For full story click here

Hongkong: An "accountabilty" system for officials being introduced on the 5th anniversary of the handover increases dependence on unelected Chief Executive and reduces accountability to legislature, public and civil service codes. For for story click here

Hongkong: France's first round president election is more embarrasment than disaster but has messages not just for France -- the need to address demographic, migration, accountability and electoral system issues more closely. For full story click here

Geneva: Europe's contribution to neighbours stability, and to its own social and demographic needs must be to learn from Japan and NAFTA and draw the southern Mediterranean into its economic and institutional orbit. For full story click here

Hongkong: Oxfam claims to be in favour of free and fair trade.A report on globalisation and trade makes valid criticisms of OECD trade hypocrisy but its tone is often closer to western anti-globalisers than to developing countries. For full story click here

Hongkong: Asian economies are picking up, but too much faith is placed in the continuation of the US growth despite its enormous current account deficit and household and corporate debts. Asia must consume itself, or stagnate. For full story click here

Bangkok: Media is under fire in severalAsian countries. Some, but not Thailand and Taiwan, is linked to post Septmber 11 illiberalism which suits Malaysia, Singapore, and western editors avid for Muslim terror stories. For full story click here

Sydney: One decade of Australian economic outperformance and three of multiculturalism have made a nonsense of Lee Kuan Yew's White Trash jibe. But progress will get harder as most gains from liberalisation have been made. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Monterrey conference on development has 72 items in its consensus document. It should scrap them and concentrate on job creation, global liquidity and farm trade. For full story click here

Hongkong: Mugabe is no democrat but before creating new black/white divides the west should compare him with other leaders in Asia and Africa before imposing sanctions. For full story click here

Hongkong: Asia's economies are recovering but the city states, Hongkong and Singapore, are both facing structural problems related to globalization and high costs. For full story click here

Hongkong: President Bush's tour of east Asia was a modestlearning experience, and helped focus on longer term US interests, not just the war on terror. For full story click here

Washington: Respect is a product of admiration and fear. Recent events and the latest arms build-up suggest that the positive aspects of respect for America are giving way to fear. For full story click here

New York: The issue at the World Economic Forum ought to be the misallocation of capital, with capacity gluts in some countries and desperate shortages in others. For full story click here

Jakarta: The big problem here is not Islamic extremism, which is much exaggerated. It is inertia by Megawati and a cabinet which has ideas but does not act on them. For full story click here

Hongkong: Enron is symptom not disease. Vertical and horizontal integration in financial services has created huge conflicts of interest. The only solution: break up. For full story click here

Hongkong: Kashmir appears insoluble. But India should consider a Bangladesh solution -- independence. Dangers are small and Pakistan would be disadvantaged. For full story click here

Delhi: The Argentina and Enron disasters are a reminder that Indian reform, however slow and beset with obstacles, is secure. Politics and pragmatism rule over ideology. For full story click here

Delhi: The 2001 census, latest in a decade series dating to 1881, birth and death rates, literacy and gender balance reveals the persistence of Indian social diversity. For full story click here

Delhi: India has opportunity and need to show restraint towards Pakistan in the face of the bombing of parliament. US pressure and the Tamil Tigers are both relevant For full story click here

Delhi: Modern Afghanistan is not a natural construct. If its peoples cannot draw together, why not redraw its borders or break it up along its ethnic fault lines? For full story click here

Hongkong: The US is printing money with abandon but capital ouflows and forex volatility are causing liquidity shortages in developing countries and hurting global growth. For full story click here

Taipei: The DDP's success, despite recession,in legislative elections, is message for Beijing and will help the President push domestic economic reforms. But James Soong remains a threat. For full story click here.

Hongkong: Linking Uighurs to the Taliban may backfire on China. It has focussed attention on a a movement in Xinjiang which is more based on ethnic identity than on fundamentalism. For full story click here

Beijing: After WTO, China faces an even bigger reform challenge: free movement of labour. It may be risky but how else to reduce urban-rural disparities and promote growth? For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia's electronics export dependent economy has been hard hit. But strong external balance mean fiscal and monetary stimulus can work to avoid recession in 2002. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: September 11 has strengthened Dr Mahathir's position. But the longer term impact of on communal relations could be negative if Malays remain split by the Anwar factor.For full story click here

Hongkong: The city may be losing its way as it struggles to reconcile Chinese and international identity. A new museum illustrates how a view of history can add to confusion. For full story click here

Hongkong: The western alliance against terror has raised misgivings in non-Muslim Asia. There is no sympathy for the Taliban but many hear echoes of an earlier arrogance. For full story click here

Hongkong: The West is assuming that Islam and economic failure are linked. In fact performance of the major Muslim nations is average, ahead of Latin America and parts of east Asia. For full story click here

Hongkong: The APEC meeting in Shanghai is strong on anti-terror rhetoric, but members, especially China have their own agendas, and economic needs are being ignored For full story click here

Hongkong: The city may be losing its way as it struggles to reconcile Chinese and international identity. A new museum illustrates how a view of history can add to confusion. For full story click here

Oxford: Rooting out terrorists is overshadowing the bigger need to defeat the aims of terror: fear, confusion, suspicion, dispruption. So far they are succeeding in this as in killing. For full story click here

Hongkong: Southeast Asian countries are trying to forget old sores and cooperate among each other and address threats of separatism and religious extremism. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's competitiveness is being greatly overblown. Problems elsewhere in Asia have more to do with the tech collapse and domestic policy issues. For full story click here

Hongkong: Investment banks' conflicts of interest have become too painful to be ignored. But the problems go far beyond them to auditors, the media and the structure of the industry. For full story click here

Jakarta: The installation of Megawati as president in place of Gus Dur is a relief from a debilitating crisis. But given its longer term negative implications it is no cause for celebration. For full story click here

Manila: Mrs Arroyo has made an encouraging start despite the question marks that remain about her installation. Mrs Megawati would do well to follow her hard work and efforts to understand issues. For full story click here

Hongkong: Asia faces a sharp slowdown but prospects are nothing like as grim as most western commentators suggest. Trade surpluses and low interest rates provide a platform to offset export weakness and the electronics slump. For full story click here

Cheju: This Korean island, is now a focus of tourism, summit meetings and peace conferences. But it wasn't always thus. Koreans, and Americans, prefer to forget the massacres of 1947. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's WTO membership is welcome but will make it more difficult o reach consensus on further liberalisation. Developing countries like India and Brazil are quietly worried. For full story click here

Seoul: The US and North Korea need to talk soon if the North-South dialogue is not to stall, probably hurting US interests. Bush's placing conventional arms on the agenda is no help. For full story click here

Taipei: The export slump is increasing the attraction of the mainland pressure for direct links. But the benefits are exaggerated. Banking and service sector refroms are what Taiwan needs. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Memoirs of Said Zahari a once famous editor jailed by Lee Kuan Yew for 17 years are a reminder of yesterday's struggles for power as colonial rule ebbed. For full story click here

Taipei: Cross straits relations have survived US-China tension. Slow improvement is likely breakthrough is an outside possibility prior to China's 2002 party congress. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur: Dr Mahathir's regime may appear to be in disorder and allies in danger. But rather than signalling the end, events suggest the PM is moving to thwart enemies and aspirants. For full story click here

Kuala Lumpur:Currency peg and political uncertainty have left Malaysia little room to offset the export downturn. Low interest rates and capital outflow are holding back domestic demand. For full story click here

Hongkong: Sluggish performance by Asian markets compared with Nasdaq is explained by minimal money growth while the US is inflating money supply at an alamarming rate. For full story click here

Hongkong: Indonesia may have lessons to teach the Philippines. Going by the book matters for long term stability. Megawati's patience contrasts with Arroyo's power-grab mentality. For full story click here

Geneva: Developing countries should stop nursing grievances and push for a new trade round, from which they would be beneficiaries. Those like India not part of regional blocs should lead. For full story click here

Beijing: The US spy plane incident was an accident of little significance. And more immediately dangerous for relations with China than the stategic and Taiwan arms issue is trade, currency and the WTO. For full story click here

Tokyo: Japan's stagnation seems a peculiarly national problem, but may be precursor of the west. Young countries will have to rely on each other than on the old OECD as growth engine. For full story click here

Modern China: Companion to a Rising Power. Review of book by Graham Hutchings For full story click here

Manila: The negative impact of the IT downturn on Asia is being exaggerated. But value added is low so these products are a large part of gross exports but a much smaller one of net exports. For full story click here

Manila: Congressional elections on May 14 will help determine whether Mrs Arroyo can be a strong president or beholden to those who put her in office. The outlook is murky. For full story click here

Hongkong: The strength of the dollar is another "irrational exuberance" of out-of-control markets. It will make the US downturn worse and impede growth elsewhere. Given US monetary excess and external deficit it defies logic. For full story click here

Shanghai: Contradictions are the norm in China,especially when one looks at the prosperity of Shanghai, and the reasons for it, not all admirable. But despite the contrasts in opportunity, the contradictions are tolerable for now. For full story click here

Shanghai: The death of Kost, or Kostrometinoff, went unrecorded by the publications for whom he suffered 15 years in jail. But this China-born Russian was a fine representative of Shanghai in its earlier cosmopolitan incarnation. For full story click here

Hongkong: The visit of Putin to Hanoi and Seoul after Tokyo and Pyongyang indicates a Russian push for an Asian role. President Bush needs to be better aware of the growing complexity of relations between China, Russia, Japan and the Koreas. For full story click here

Hongkong: Allowing locals to buy B shares is one step towards a more rational structure for foreign investment in Chinese shares.But it is not clear whether the authorities have a blueprint for the future of A, B and H share relationships. For full story click here

Jakarta: President Wahid may be a poor leader and worse administtrator but the currently available alternatives are worse -- more divisive, more nationalistic and even less competent. Wahid is still an asset for a nation with so many troubles. For full story click here

Hongkong: Central bank independence has become an article of faith as an anti-inflation panacea. But Asian experience from suggests it is not ideal nor widely practiced. Despite Greenspan's faults, the US Fed is a practical model which balances interests. For full story click here

London: Sleaze is under attack in post-crisis Asia but seem to be gaining ground in the west. At least that seems the case with the Clinton pardon of Marc Rich and British scandals ranging from sales of passports to bans on foxhunting. For full story click here

Davos: Globalization is much discussed but on both sides of the debate confusion appears to rein. Promoters have become too ideological and many opponents fail to see that it would benefit the pro-developing country causes they purport to espouse. For full story click here

Davos: A US recession? Why not? Downturns are necessary to squeeze excesses out of the system. If the US domestic private debt and foreign trade deficits are not addressed soon, a huge crisis looms not far ahead. For full story click here

Hongkong: President Estrada may have been an incompetent leader with sleazy friends and Arroyo will be better. But the end does not justify the means by which an elected president and senate were overturned by metropolitan elite. For full story click here

Hongkong: Thaksin Shinawatra's runaway victory in the Thai election shows the continuing power of money in politics. But there are grounds to hope that the size of his majority and the collapse of smaller parties will be beneficial. For full story click here

Taipei: Direct links between offshore islands and the mainland do not presage early full cross strait commerce. But Beijing's "good cop" policy come at a time when Taiwan feels economically vulnerable and politically uncertain.For full story click here

Hongkong: China's share markets may have been booming but the size gaps between A, B and H shares and foreign and local valuations will retard development and hinder reform. For full story click here

Hongkong: No major changes in Asian policy are likely under the Bush administration but the future of missile defense is central to several relationships, not least that with Japan. For full story click here

Bangkok: The January 6 election may cause more short term political confusion. But the way the new constitution is implemented is the more important than the results. For full story click here

Hongkong: Whether or not the US economy has a hard landing, Asian governments should be preparing to do more to promote domestic demand and reduce dependence on the US market. For full story click here

Delhi: Ten years after liberalization began India may need a fiscal crisis to force more change. The balance sheet of the decade is positive but decentralization has not helped the political environment. For full story click here

Hongkong: The threat to impeach recently elected president Chen Shui-bian says more about the problems of a still evolving democratic constitution than about the magnitude of Chen's mistakes. For full story clicker here

Book review: The Chinese: by Jasper Becker Long time Beijing correspondent Becker provides insights from all corners of the country into life and power in contemporay China, noting in particular the situation of the poor peasant majority. For full story click here

Seoul: Mrs Albright's meeting with Kim Jong Il doesn't yet mean that Clinton can visit. But Pyongyang may be signalling a fundamental shift.Survivalism now requires US and Seoul cooperation. For full story click here

Tokyo: Zhu Rongji's visit to Japan has been a great success and underscored China's interest in improving relations with its neighbour despite long term fundamental differences. For full story click here

Hongkong: Estrada is facing a grave challenge to his presidency. But it is the standard of public life, and the financing of politicians, that is at least as much a problem as Estrada's choice of friends. For full story click here

Hongkong: China's attack on the Vatican's canonization of martyrs in China uses extreme language which betrays its fear of all ideas and organizations which do not accept Communist orthodoxy. For full story click here

Hongkong: Asian stock weightings are being adjusted downwards to reflect small ree floats and pyramid ownership structures. Hongkong in particular will suffer from likely MSCI changes. For full story click here

Hongkong: Kidnapping of foreigners makes sense when western governments demand surrender to extortionists posing as freedom fighters, as in the case of the Abu Sayyaf gang in the Philippines. For full story click here

Hongkong: High oil prices and a strong dollar are casuing nervousness in Asia. But strong current accounts, low inflation and external competitiveness give room for domestic demand growth to offset the impact of a global slowdown. For full story click here

Melbourne: Mob rule may have been the main feature of the World Economic Forum's meeting, but demonstrators had one things right: old economy industries are still the key to a better life for the poor -- and where the rich spend techno-savings. For full story click here

Hongkong: President Putin's visit to Japan has seen no progress on the Kurile islands. But beneath their historical antipathy lies a growing interest in economic cooperation between two defensive countries naturally feeling nervous of China. For full story click here

Hongkong: Indonesia's Megawati may be unhappy at President Wahid's cabinet choices, which have bypassed her party. But with her own new powers she now has a chance to show whether she is capable of being more than a mute figurehead. For full story click here

London: Anti-pedophile riots in Portsmouth, indirectly instigated by sections of the media have shown up the decay of British institutions, and behavioural standards. Nor do the British seem eager to compare themselves to other countries in Europe or elsewhere. For full story click here

Hongkong: Asia learned lessons about over-expansion, debt-driven asset values etc the hard way. Judging by takeover prices, borrowings to finance buy backs and acquisitions, and ludicrous Nasdaq valuations the west in now headed the same way. For full story click here

Taipei: The Taiwan economy, after a moderate boom, is set to slow, presenting the new government with a weak stockmarket and bigger fiscal problems. However, by most standards it remains a model of stable growth and technology-led productivity. For full story click here

Hongkong: The ASEAN meeting in Bangkok follows the G8 in Okinawa. The southeast Asians would do well to keep a close eye on what is happening in northeast Asia, how it affects them and how they can influence it. For full story click here.

Taipei: President Chen's honeymoon has proved very brief. Handling of the cross straits issues has been mostly astute, but ministerial inexperience, lack of a majority in the legislature, and huge fiscal problems make it difficult to move on domestic issues. For full story click here

Bangkok: The Thai economy faces the possibility that recovery will stall due to slowing exports, lower state stimulus and ongoing banking problems. The stock market is depressed. However growth of around 5% is still on the cards this year and next. For full story click here

Hongkong: Three years after the handover the question for locals is not "what has changed?" but what to do about problems which have cropped up, notably including the expansion of executive power at the expense of legislature and judiciary. For full story click here

Bangkok: The prevailing pessimism about Thailand is not justified. The situation is messy and the Chuan government may fall but there are more positives than negatives about politics and economics. For full story click here

Hongkong: The Fiji coup is a reminder that, the "international community" notwithstanding, Fiji like Malaysia may need special constitutional arrangments to keep the indigenous contented. For full story click here

Hongkong: The World Bank has taken an interesting look at the economic and other causes of civil conflict. Resource wealth is a ingredient but so too are diaspora communities in the west. For full story click here

Jakarta: The economy is recovering despite the lack of investment and appaling state of the banks. However, without more decisive action to sell assets and attract capital and cut government debt, the future is one of very modest growth. For full story click here

Jakarta: President Wahid's government is being widely written off as dithering and incompetent. Wahid has many failings but given the depth of the problems his balance sheet is still favourable. For full story click here

Hongkong: Euphoria in Korea over the meetings between the Kims is understandable but the shifting balance of power, and the role of China, have some potentially negative implications. For full story click here

Hongkong: The meeting of the two Kims sees the South, China and the US with different primary aims.. But they are united in hoping that the North will engage with the world. Has Kim Jong-il plan a U-turn? For full story click here

Hongkong: The idea of "rogue states" has political appeal. But it obscures the need for conventional arms."Rogues" are the world's longest lived regimes. Ruthless maybe, but suicidal they are not. For full story click here

Hongkong: US Congressional consent to China's joining WTO is a relief. But the main beneficiaries are likely to be in Asia, and WTO will do little to narrow the dangeorusly high US deficit with China. For full story click here

Hongkong: US interest rate increases are forcing Asia countries to think harder about their own optimium interest and exchange rate policies. For full story click here

Hongkong: The inauguration of Chen Shui-bian is a reminder of the long separation of Taiwan's history from that of the mainland.To resolve cross-straits issues Beijing must understand that history and identity. For full story click here

Hongkong: Aceh and Sulu present sharp contrasts in the way diplomacy is used to address seccessionist conflicts. The EU is unproductively in Mindanao while a little progress over Aceh comes from Geneva. For full story click here

Almaty: Hopes are rising of a major oil find in the Kazakh Caspian. But this is not the only reason for a revival of the fortunes of the economy. Russian recovery and local financial stability are important too. For full story click here

Almaty: Kazakhstan is finding more room for manoeuvre in its relations with its large neighbours and the west and may even benefit from a more focussed Russia. But regional cooperation is still sadly lacking. For full story click here

Seoul: Stockmarket volatility, the strength of economic recovery but persistent debt and unemployment problems present policy makers with dilemmas on exchange. interest rate and fiscal policies. For full story click here

Seoul: The opposition gains in the national Assembly election were neither surprising nor very damaging to President Kim.They may also point to a decline in regionalism and personality-based parties. For full story click here

Seoul: The North-South summit has shot term benefits for both sides. But it may show whether the North has a new strategy for its own survival or is thinking tactically. For full story click here

Hongkong: Differing Asian political systems have responded differently to the crisis, with a gap between presidential and parliamentary ones. But overall they have coped much better than expected. For full story click here

India: A History Review of book by John Keay. For full story click here

Hongkong: The chasm between Dow and Nasdaq valuations has become a dangerous global phenomenon. Much of the blame lies with money managers who are momentum players and day trading mentality. For full story click here

Meltdown Review of a book on the Asian crisis by Mark Clifford and Peter Engardio. For full story click here

Tehran: The new Iranian year sees the start of the Third Five Year Plan with a reform agenda of privatistion, unified exchange rate, and other market economy norms which could raise the growth rate to 7%. For full story click here

Hongkong: The election of Chen Shui-bian owes much to China's threats. But his surprise success was almost matched by that of James Soong. The net effect is a new balance within Taiwan and some prospect of Beijing seeing sense. For full story click here

Tehran: The US will reduce sanctions but Iranian reformists are in no rush to embrace Washington as they make friends in Europe ad with the neighbours. For full story click here

Tehran: The reformist success in the elections exceeded expectations but President Khatami needs all the support he can get for gradual but sweeping changes in the power structure and society. For full story click here

Hongkong: The policy paper from Beijing threatening Taiwan if it does not talk reunification is more to do with politics in Beijing, and the coincidence of the NPC with the Taiwan election than reality. For full story click here

Manila: The sacking of the Justice Minister is yet another example of President Estrada's inability to convince that he making decision in the public interest, not that of his businessman friends. For full story click here 

DaVOS, Switzerland - The great and the good of multinationalism and globalization assembled here were genuinely puzzled at the groundswell of apparent opposition to further reductions in trade barriers through another round of WTO negotiations. For full story click here

Hongkong; The AOL/Time Warner merger says much more about the financial logic of Wall Street's current mania than it does about the industrial logic or profit potential of the internet. For full story click here

 

Millennium: A broad-ranging look at the factors which will shape Asia, and particularly east Asia, in the early years of the new millennium. For full story click here 
 
Ho Chi Minh: The Vietnamese economy is still languishing, foreign investors complaining and the World bank issuing  warnings.But things are turning the corner. For full story click here   
  

The Revolutionary King  a  review of this bad, inaccurate  but still interesting book about King Bhumipol. For full story click here  

Tehran: A quiet counter-revolution is gaining momentum and reformists should gett the upper hand in Fenruary polls. But there is long struggle ahead as religious conservatives seek to keep power in their own hands. For full story click here   

Hongkong:  The GDP may seem to be growing again faster than expected. But behind the "real" numbers are dubious estimates of the deflator, and some prior year revisions. For full story click here 
 

Hanoi: China's WTO entry provides Vietnam with a new opportunity to speed up snail's pace reform and opening to  the world. But a collective leadership finds decisions difficult. For full story click here   

  Kuala Lumpur:  Malaysia's election ought to be a watershed. But the chances are that it will only be a pointer to real change which can only come when Mahathir has to step aside -- an unlikely electoral  outcome. 
For full story click here 

Hongkong: The US-China agreement  on terms for  WTO entry is a major political event and will contribute to world stability. But the benefits for China  will be in the long term and other countries, mostly Asian, will benefit more than the US. For full story click here 
 

Asian Values, Western Dreams Review of  Book by Greg Sheridan. Click here    Kuala Lumpur: The new Indonesian government is bringing with it a new interest in maritime affairs. With Malacca straits safety already an issue, this raises many questions as to how it will use its archipelago status and command of key straits. For full story click here    Singapore:  Election  of  Gus Dur as president raises real hopes that Indonesian instincts for compromise will triumph over the  many national divides. Political skills not economic ones are the  pre-requisite for addressing  regional and economic . For full story click here   
 

London: The Pakistan coup makers have overturned an unpopular and sleazy elected government. But if they are to do any long term good they must address the feudal and institutional  causes of  pakistan's malaise, not the symptoms. For full story click here.  
 

Hongkong: The Timor crisis has not only done immense damage to  ASEAN  and to  Australia, but differing Asian and western perceptions of human rights and sovreignty issues threaten further damage to international relationships. For full story click here  
 

Hongkong: The IMF hands-off view of Ecuador 's bond default is a welcome new approach to moral hazard. But Indonesia continues  to offer  a difficult balance between hazard and stabilisation.  For  full story click here 

London:  No one  doubts how vicious the Indonesian military has been in Timor but underlying some western human rights action is  a separatist agenda threatening to SE Asia's new states. For full story click here 
 

Hongkong:  Asian recovery poses a growing threat to the great US expansion. Prices as well as currencies  in Asia are rising again which is bad news for  the US high growth/low inflation  "goldilocks" economy and stock extravaganza. For full story click here 
 

Hongkong: Tragedies in  Timor and the Balkans are rooted in the conflicts between  western imperialism and encouragement of petty nationalism. Western  moralising sits ill with its own records of ethnic cleansing and terror tactics. August 30. For full  story click here 
  
Manila: The Philippines may have suffered less than most from the regional crisis and GDP growth has resumed. But prospects for getting out of a 30-year rut are poor due to neglect  of agriculture, mis-government and oligarchies.  August 11  For full story click here 
 

Hongkong: Aceh, Indonesia's troubled province, 
wasn't on the agenda  at ASEAN's Regional  Forum. But the surge of  separatism  threatens national integrity and regional  stability.  July 30. For full story click here 
 

Manila: President Estrada's  first  year in office has seen no major upsets. But there is  evidence for critics who maintain few lessons have been learned and cronyism is creeping back. July 21. For full story click here 
 
Hongkong: President Lee Teng-hui's reference "state to state" relations is provocative to Beijing but is only a small semantic advance and one which describes the  reality of  two Chinas. July 17. For full story click here 

Seoul: Is restructuring for real?  The picture  is  mixed.  Some chaebol continue to resist. But  enough is changing in Korean company structures, goals  and balance sheets to be optimistic. July  15.  For full story click here 

Hongkong: Genetic science may be frightening  But revelations about the genetic origins and diversity  of  Chinese people --  and Taiwan's Malay links -- are a  blow to blood based racism. July 12  For full story click here 
 

Hongkong:  Two years after the handover, Hongkong seems to have lost its bearings. Opportunism, cronyism and increasingly arbitrary "executive-led"  government are the problem, not  Beijing. July 3  For full story click here 
 

Taipei: Cross-straits relations are slowly thawing as a result of a combination of  factors, but ARATS head Wang Daohan will find that a modernised Taiwan is drifting further  from the mainland. June 29 For full story click here 
 

Book Review: We Were Burning  by Bob Johnstone. How daring, competition  and entrepreneurship -- not MITI -- took Japan to global consumer electronics dominance. June 29  For full story click here 

Seoul: Naval encounters do not bode well for  Kim Dae Jung's "sunshine" policy towards the North. But the tensions are part of  a wider play which suggests stasis not crisis. June 17 For full story click here 

Taipei: Contrary to assumptions of its congressional backers in Washington, Taiwan has mixed feelings about the deterioration of Sino-US relations. On balance it is a negative. IHT June 11   For  full story click here 

Hongkong: The Kashmir confrontation has origins both in Pakistani domestic politics and the post Kosovo international climate. The Indian election increases escalation risks. IHT June 1  For full story click here 
 

Dhaka: Bangladesh  faces a dilemma over whether exploitation of  its natural resources, gas and geography, would spur a sluggish economy or make it more than ever beholden to India. IHT May 28. For full story click here 
 

Hongkong: Asia doesn't need an ever expanding US trade deficit to recover. Its tentative revival is based on domestic demand which must continue to be stimulated by nonetary and fiscal policies to sustain momentum.IHT May 26  For full story click here 

Jakarta: The stockmarket has outperformed all others in Asia this year. The surprise is not so much that  the politics is not as scary as  most foreigners believed but that interest rates are still so high and banks still so bust.IHT May 25 For full story click here  
 

Jakarta: The 30th anniversary of the May 13 riots in Malaysia almost concides with the  Indonesian elections. There are lesson ...but many differences. 
For full story click here 
 

HOÎGKONG: THE SUPPOSED THREAT of 1.67 million mainlanders arriving in this territory of 6.7 million has been contrived by the government for political purposes. For full story click here 
 

Beijing: The  extent to which Zhu Rongji has gone in an effort to secure WTO membership is an indication of China's worries and economic weakness. But that is no reason to ignore it. The west must support reformers before it is too late. For full story click here 

JAKARTA: The mayhem in Timor and Ambon is the exception not the rule in Indonesia. In the heartland, the  compeition for votes is leading to compromise not extremism  as parties attempt to broaden their electoral bases.For full story  click here 

Dhaka:  The continuing power struggle between Hasina and Khaleda is not only undermining democracy but  obstructing portant decisions on gas and other  developments.With good government Bangladesh could be modestly prospering.  For full story click here 

Sydney:  The meeting between Howard and Habibie is mainly show on the part of  both. Neither is in a position to control events and Australian media views on  Timor harm wider interests. 
For full story click here 
 
 

Book Review

THE TROUBLE WITH TIGERS: - The Rise and Fall of South-East Asia. By Victor Mallet. 332 pages. £19.99. Harper Collins. Reviewed by Philip Bowring. 22/03/99      For full story click here 

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Signs of Life in Asian Prices 

HONG KONG - ECONOMIC SCENE - Asia led the world into deflation, but is it just beginning to lead the world out of it? That is a question worth asking at a time when the deflation threat in Asia and Europe and zero-inflation nirvana in the United States have become received wisdom. 20/03/99  For full story click here 

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When the Big Blocs Go Bananas 

HONG KONG - Whether it is phony war, a proxy war or the first skirmish in a wider conflict, the EU-U.S. conflict over bananas is being watched in Asia with incredulity, and worry. 16/03/99 
For full story click here 

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Book Review 

THE ERA OF JIANG ZEMIN By Willy Wo-Lap Lam. 452 pages. $25. Prentice Hall (United States and Europe). Simon & Schuster (Asia). Reviewed by Philip Bowring. 04/03/99 For full story click here  

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What Thailand Needs Is Reflation 

BANGKOK - The drubbing that Thailand has received in the past 18 months from the markets and the IMF has left it lacking confidence to move boldly to restart its economy. The Thai experience is important for the recovery of all of Asia, and has lessons for a Europe still fighting the last anti-inflation war. 02/03/99  
For full story click here  

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Britain and the Continent: Let's See Who Needs Whom 

LONDON - Hopes are receding that Britain might be able to bring its history of liberty and representative government to bear on the evolution of the European Union. Indeed, Britain may need Europe to save it from the erosion of these institutions. 16/02/99 
For full story click here  

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The West Is Smug, but It Badly Needs Revival in Asia 

LONDON - ''Western Economic Forum'' might have been a better title for this year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Asia was barely on the screen. The Asian crisis was assumed to be last year's story, and the next Asian challenge not yet on the horizon. 05/02/99   For full story click here  

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Assessing the Downside of Foreign Direct Investment 

DAVOS, Switzerland - What is wrong with globalization? It is a question that is even hinted at in the theme of this year's annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. Normally a globalization cheerleader, the forum is now looking at the problems of ''Managing the impact of globalization.'' 30/01/99  For full story click here   

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China Is Slowly Winning a Long Game for the Sea 

HONG KONG - It is hard not to admire China's ability to play a long game on the international stage even while domestic policies are twisting about and instability is in the air. 28/01/99 
For full story click here  

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The IMF Record in Asia Is Mixed 

HONG KONG - The Asian crisis has humbled presidents, bankers, tycoons, economists, journalists and millions of ordinary people. But not the IMF. 21/01/99  
For full story click here  

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Book Review 

THE POLYESTER PRINCE: The Rise of Dhirubhai Ambani. By Hamish McDonald. 274 pages. $20. Allen & Unwin. Reviewed by Philip Bowring. 16/01/99  For full story  click here  

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China's Progress: A Step Forward, a Step Sideways 

HONG KONG - China moves like a crab. Its steps can never take it along a path of linear progress. Each involves a degree of deviation, each forward step toward liberty is a sideways one toward disorder. 14/01/99 
For full story click here  

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The Euro as a Catalyst for Asia 

HONG KONG - For Asia, the birth of the euro is a catalyst for regional financial change. Already, the first days of the single currency have seen an unusually determined move by Japan to play up the yen's potential role. Japan does not wish to be left behind as the world diversifies out of dollars. 08/01/99 
For full story click here  

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This Is Cambodians' Business 

HONG KONG - Who doubts that Khieu Samphan, Nuon Chea and fellow butchers deserve to be hanged, shot, poisoned, gassed or electrocuted? 02/01/99 
For full story click here 

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