The way the Chinese government is behaving right now, you’d almost think it had converted to democracy. Half a dozen times in recent weeks, government officials have backed down in the face of angry citizen protests ― canceling unpopular industrial projects, freeing wrongly imprisoned citizens or arresting one of its own for his reprehensible behavior.That’s not how a communist dictatorship is supposed to behave.The most notorious example involves Tang Hui from Yongzhou City in southern China. T

BRUSSELS ― The recent death in Brussels of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi finally brings to light what lay behind his mysterious two-month disappearance from public life. Ethiopia’s government had strenuously denied rumors of serious ill health caused by liver cancer. Now that the worst has, indeed, proven true, Ethiopia and all of East Africa will need to learn to live without the stabilizing influence of its great dictator-diplomat.Meles was certainly both. Ethiopia has undergone a rema

If Justin Bieber or the Rolling Stones suddenly decided to stage an impromptu concert in a public place somewhere in America without a permit, would the authorities ignore it and shrug it off? Doubtful. Even buskers performing in the New York City subway system can’t play without formal authorization from the city.What about taking such a musical performance into a church? If Jennifer Lopez or Madonna just showed up in a place of worship, stripped down to their skivvies and started dancing aroun

During their first TV debate last week, four presidential hopefuls running in the primary race of the main opposition Democratic United Party tried to project themselves as its best possible standard bearer. They also exchanged barbed words, finding fault with one another’s qualifications. Moon Jae-in, the former chief of staff for late President Roh Moo-hyun, particularly came under fire from other contenders who wanted to drag him down from his frontrunner status.What was noticeably missing in

In the Cold War era, the summit of the Non-Aligned Movement used to be a stage for diplomatic rivalry between the two Koreas. South Korea, with observer status, often found itself at disadvantage with North Korea, a full member, in their competition to draw support from non-aligned states.The three-yearly summit has been largely out of interest for South Korea since Seoul began to establish ties with former communist bloc countries following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.But the event

The world’s tobacco merchants are down on Australia after the country’s highest court backed the toughest cigarette-labeling rules anywhere. So far, the focus has been on intellectual-property rights, possible lawsuits by British American Tobacco Plc, Japan Tobacco Inc. and their ilk, and the plight of investors. More attention should be on how many lives will be saved and how much economic output won’t be squandered as other nations follow Australia’s lead. There’s a reason Big Tobacco waged su

Look out, Singapore, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. A new chapter in maritime history is being written.Last week, the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long anchored in the Icelandic harbor of Skarfabakki after covering the 15,000km distance from Qingdao harbor in six weeks.The brick-colored Xue Long or Snow Dragon is the largest icebreaker in the world that does not run on nuclear power. Nearly 170m from tip to tail, it is 23m wide and can sail through 1.1m of ice at a steady speed of 1.5 knots.The journey, trav

How sad it is to have to read the story of a tagged sex offender having attacked and murdered a woman in her home in Seoul (The Korea Herald, “Ex-con wearing electronic tag arrested for attempted rape, murder”).Let me point out that the only ones to gain from tagging are private security companies who run these programs. The rest of us are left to defend ourselves against the likes of a man named Seo, who has been arrested for this latest crime.Several months ago I wrote in this paper (The Korea

A group of lawmakers affiliated with the main opposition Democratic United Party sponsored a special lecture by Buddhist Ven. Pomnyun on Wednesday, three days ahead of the first in a series of open presidential primaries. The lecture drew such big shots as Rep. Park Jie-won, floor leader of the party.The lecture spoke volumes about where the liberal opposition party was headed ahead of the December presidential election, with Ven. Pomnyun regarded as one of the key mentors to professor Ahn of Se

During the first seven months of this year, Korean exports marked a 0.8 percent drop on a year-on-year basis. Given the worldwide slump, the decline may look to be nothing to fuss about. But it is a matter of grave concern for a nation that generates much of its economic growth with exports. The problem is that few expect an early rebound. On the contrary, the decline in exports may accelerate in the months ahead. Hardest hit is the shipbuilding industry, whose seven-month exports stood at $38.1

Just last month I made my first visit to Myanmar, a place Rudyard Kipling referred to as “quite unlike any land you know about.”While decades of isolation have helped this century-old observation hold true, on arrival in July I was immediately struck by the vibrancy and a palpable sense of change in the air.The country’s immense potential is reflected in the Asian Development Bank’s most recent analysis, which shows that Myanmar has the potential to follow Asia’s fast-growing economies and expan