NGOs Awash with cash

Published on Nov 10, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Yeh Ci-xing wasn’t expecting a tectonic shift in her core values or the genesis of major lifestyle changes after picking up an in-flight magazine. They aren’t intended for that. What they did contain, particularly in 1988, were pithy distractions from the boredom, bad food, and secondhand smoke-filled cabins that were the hallmarks of long-haul flights. “I was so moved by an article about Tzu Chi that I signed up within a few days of touching down in Taipei. And I’ve been with them ever since,” says the full-time volunteer for Taiwan-based NGO Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation. “I’ve learned to expect the unexpected.” And so have millions of others. Read more from Cain Nunns in....

PNG eyes ASEAN

Published on Nov 9, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Papua New Guinea has long harbored ambitions of becoming the 11th member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Theoretically it’s closer, culturally and geographically, to the Pacific islands to its east and, historically and financially, tied to Australia in the south. But the benefits of being part of a trading bloc that accommodates 500 million people whose economies have enjoyed unprecedented growth and live on its back door are all too obvious. ASEAN knows this, and approaches by Port Moresby have been met with a polite ’no thanks, not yet.’ Read more in The Diplomat. .

Philippine Talks Stumble

Published on Nov 7, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Peace talks have finally resumed between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the government of the Philippines, but negotiations appear shaky amid escalating tensions after the latest round of deadly fighting forced thousands to flee their homes. Angering the military is a decision by the MILF not to hand over fugitive commander Dan Laksaw Asnawi, accused of beheading at least 10 Filipino Marines in 2007 and sparking last month’s clash in Basilan that left 19 soldiers dead. Read more in The Diplomat. .

Oakes on Tony Abbott

Published on Nov 5, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — A recommended Weekend read. Columnist Laurie Oakes takes Australian opposition leader to task on several key issues ranging from traditional bi-partisan support for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to industrial relations. Read more from Sydney in The Telegraph. .

Asia’s Flood Costs

Published on Nov 2, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — As Thailand battles to save Bangkok from perhaps the worst natural calamity to ever strike the city, neighbors Cambodia, Burma, Vietnam and Laos are tallying up flood bills that are expected to reach billions of dollars. The cost in human life, more than 1,000 including flooding in the Philippines, was enormous, but perhaps the biggest tragedy has been the number of children who drowned – more than 200, simply because they were never taught how to swim. Such tragedies take on another dimension when considerations like the predictability of floods are taken into account. Indeed, the subject dominated a recent three-day Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Brunei on meteorology, along with the need to....