Tsai Ing-wen Victory in Taiwan Poll a Fresh Rebuke to China
Published on Jan 14, 2016 by Luke Hunt
As both Beijing and Washington watch anxiously, Taiwan’s voters go to the polls Saturday and are widely expected to oust the ruling Kuomintang (KMT) after eight years in power and elect pro-independence opposition leader Tsai Ing-wen on her second try to become the island’s first female president.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Washington Times..
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Is Australia Really Prepared for the Asian Century?
Published on Nov 29, 2015 by Luke Hunt
In July the non-partisan think tank the Lowy Institute held a panel event in Melbourne to discuss the findings of its recent poll ‘What Australians really think about the world’. Some findings were obvious enough: Australians are more concerned about terrorism than about war with China and welcome China’s input to the country’s economic growth even as they worry about investment in real estate.Read more from Helen Clark in Blue Notes.
Blame Game Continues, Malaysia’s Deadly Plane Crash
Published on Oct 24, 2015 by Luke Hunt
Dutch investigators have confirmed what much of the world already believed: That a Russian-made missile was used from rebel territory controlled by pro-Moscow forces in Ukraine to shoot down Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, killing all 298 people on board.Equally predictable was the Kremlin’s reaction to the tragedy and ensuing investigations which found a Russian-made Buk rocket system was deployed on July 17, 2014, even though it is impossible to say who did it.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..
Is Modern History Biggest Resource Heist in Myanmar?
Global Witness has staked its reputation on significant investigations and reports into corruption by corporates and governments on a grand scale, particularly in Southeast Asia where objectivity and honest appraisals about the state of the environment are in short supply.Its work in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak – where long serving chief minister Taib Mahmud retired with a family fortune worth an estimated at US$20 billion – was widely applauded, as were investigations into land grabbing across Cambodia by Vietnamese rubber companies.Now the London-based environmental watchdog has set its sights on Myanmar, where it has revised the value of the illegal gem trade substantially higher, at US$31 billion in 2014 alone, almost half of the country’s entire GDP and....
Malaysians Escalate Push For Najib’s Resignation
Published on Oct 10, 2015 by Luke Hunt
Fed up with years of alleged corruption, Malaysian activists escalated their protests, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Najib Razak and the overhaul of a political system its critics argue is racist and favors the few who are political connected.Police estimated that 25,000 people took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur for the weekend Bersih 4.0 rally, which unlike previous demonstrations passed off peacefully. Organizers said the numbers were much higher, at around 200,000.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..
North Korean Leader Wins Indonesian Peace Award
Published on Aug 24, 2015 by Luke Hunt
Judged on performance, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has probably lived up to expectations handed down by his father and his father’s father.He has dealt with his dislikes with a ruthless abandonment. That included the execution of Uncle Jang Song Thaek, who he reportedly once liked and then went on to describe as “despicable human scum.”Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..
Toil and Trouble off China's Southern Coast
Published on Aug 2, 2015 by Luke Hunt
Naval brinkmanship in the South China Sea is taking a backseat to diplomacy, trade and the international courts. For the time being at least, regional governments are holding back and carefully weighing the ramifications of a conflict in the disputed waters.The softly-softly approach was adopted by ASEAN countries in the wake of last year’s nasty military standoff and despite a decision by Beijing to up-the-ante over the winter with a massive land fill exercise on selective reefs, creating an international outcry.Read more from Luke Hunt in Warscapes..
Praying for a Pope and a Dose of Common Sense
Published on Jan 11, 2015 by Luke Hunt
When Pope Francis makes his first trip to the very Catholic Philippines later this month, long-term observers will be hoping the head of the Holy See will move away from the harsh, more traditional doctrine of the past, with a liberal dose of realism in his sermons.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..
Aung San Suu Kyi Concedes she will not be Myanmar's next President
Myanmar’s opposition leader and democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi has acknowledged she will be unable to become her country’s next president after elections later this year, a decision that will disappoint millions of her supporters.Read more from Lindsay Murdoch in The Age..
Perhaps Its Time to Call It ‘Burma,’ Again
Published on Nov 23, 2014 by Luke Hunt
Myanmar, or Burma as some people prefer to call it, has been cut much slack in recent years with its supporters urging patience and understanding as it attempts to reform itself. This was highlighted by the recent visit of U.S. President Barack Obama, who had hoped to coax further reforms out of Naypyidaw and President Thein Sein during the recent East Asia summit.Read more from Luke Hunt in The Diplomat..
