The Korea Herald

[Kor Kian Beng] China’s Xi shows common touch

Jan 2, 2014

It was not hunger or a craving for ordinary food that drove Chinese President Xi Jinping to a Beijing eatery for a 21 yuan ($3.46) meal of pork buns, pig liver and vegetables, which he paid for out of his own pocket.No, it was politics, said analysts of his visit last Saturday to a downtown branch of the popular Qingfeng Steamed Dumpling restaurant chain.First, his jaunt ― which has sparked a craze for Qingfeng buns in China, especially Beijing ― is part of a public relations campaign aimed at p
Fake: A perfect word to describe Taiwan in ’13

Jan 2, 2014

Based on Facebook selfies, food safety issues and political battles within and between the political parties, people chose a perfect word to describe Taiwan in 2013: fake. It was a confusing year for the people of Taiwan. We cannot trust the labels on packages of food, and we cannot trust politicians when they say they are always thinking about the people. The award-winning documentary “Beyond Beauty,” released toward the end of 2013, shows the audience the beauty of Taiwan, and also the hidden
Positive changes in 2014

Jan 2, 2014

For most of us, waking up on New Year’s morning is probably just like getting up any other morning. For many, the revelry of last night’s countdown still lingers. And for others, being out in the streets to protest against the rising cost of living will mark yet another milestone in their lives.The calendar year is useful only because it puts some organization and predictability into our lives.For Malaysians, the new year will mean, among other things, the revised electricity tariff, higher toll
Thailand’s New Year resolution: Get healthy for AEC

Jan 2, 2014

New Year is a good time to start anew, but the arrival of 2014 is a reminder that Thailand and our neighbors have just one year left before the ASEAN Economic Community hits the launch pad. For Thailand, the ongoing political crisis makes the need for preparations more urgent. There has been a lot of talk, but now it’s time for actions that embrace the AEC. The final countdown is approaching and any country with a good head-start will benefit from the regional pact.Economic integration is expect
[Sinan Ulgen] Turkey’s strategy toward Iran

Jan 1, 2014

ISTANBUL ― Following Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif’s recent visit to the Gulf states, the Islamic Republic’s charm offensive is set to continue with President Hassan Rouhani’s trip to Turkey early this month. Unlike the majority of Iran’s Arab neighbors, Turkey unequivocally welcomed the interim nuclear deal concluded in November between Iran and the P5+1 (the United Nations Security Council’s five permanent members and Germany). But Turkish policymakers are keenly aware that the agreemen
Wrong choices for crucial diplomatic posts

Jan 1, 2014

President Barack Obama had obvious political reasons for appointing Sen. Max Baucus, D-Montana, as the next U.S. ambassador to China. His diplomatic reasons, however, are harder to discern.Obama’s move enables Montana’s Democratic governor to appoint a successor to Baucus, who was slated to retire when his current term expires. That will give a Democratic appointee the benefit of incumbency as national Dems go all-out to retain a vulnerable Senate seat in 2014.Baucus, an agriculture and federal
[Martin Schram] Press conferences: An institution of democracy

Jan 1, 2014

On one side of the podium stood the leader of the Free World. On the other side, the presumably elite representatives of the world’s freest press, with a world of facts at their fingertips.And between them, as always, a host of crises, controversies, misstatements and mistakes were demanding their rightful place in democracy’s spotlight ― right now! This was, after all, the latest exercise of that infrequent and imperfect democratic institution known as the presidential press conference. ’Twas t
For women, it’s not a glass ceiling but a plugged pipeline

Jan 1, 2014

Recent headlines bemoan the fact that, in the city of Los Angeles, only one woman ― recently elected to a City Council with 14 men ― holds elected office in City Hall. As for L.A. County, with 9.9 million residents, a lone woman sits on its five-member Board of Supervisors.California is not alone. Across the United States, only 73 women hold statewide elected offices ― less than a quarter of available positions. That percentage has been declining for 12 years, according to the Center for America
Unilateralist approach to international law

Jan 1, 2014

NEW DELHI ― On the face of it, China’s recent declaration of an air defense identification zone extending to territories that it does not control has nothing in common with America’s arrest and strip-search of a New York-based Indian diplomat for allegedly underpaying a housekeeper she had brought with her from India. In fact, these episodes epitomize both powers’ unilateralist approach to international law.A just, rules-based global order has long been touted by powerful states as essential for
[Kishore Mahbubani] How to prevent China-Japan war

Dec 30, 2013

China and Japan, Asia’s two most powerful nations, are increasingly jousting in the skies and in the seas near a set of disputed islands. Although their economies remain deeply intertwined, relations between the two governments seem locked in an irreversible, dangerous downward spiral.Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe further embittered feelings last week by visiting the controversial Yasukuni shrine, which honors the souls of Japan’s war dead, including 14 World War II leaders convicted as Cla
Do-Nothing Congress II: It’s not a compliment

Dec 30, 2013

It’s official: The Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate agreed on so few issues this year, Congress is on pace to pass the fewest bills in a two-year term since World War II. Pundits have compared the current occupants of Capitol Hill unfavorably to the infamous “Do-Nothing Congress” of 1947-48, which was a dynamo in comparison. Lawmakers passed 1,729 bills in that two-year term, compared to 58 in the first year of this one. Unless something changes dramatically in the
[Kim Seong-kon] Korea in 2014: galloping like a graceful horse

Dec 30, 2013

Last year, South Korea had issues with China. In December the Korean Peninsula was covered with smog coming from China day after day. Due to the thick ultrafine dust contaminated with hazardous toxins, Koreans had to endure extremely harmful air pollution and poor visibility. Many wore masks all day long and the Namsan Tower was so densely shrouded by smog that it was rarely visible last month. Even the friendship between Korea and China became nebulous, as China declared a new air defense zone
Thailand’s silent coup

Dec 30, 2013

BANGKOK ― Thailand is once again being convulsed by extreme partisan politics, with the country’s polarization playing out on Bangkok’s streets. Several people have been killed, and many more have been injured. The sense that Thailand has been through all of this before would be mildly reassuring were it not for a nagging fear that this decent and prosperous society may be set to destroy its democracy.Much of the violence has been led by Suthep Thaugsuban, a former deputy prime minister. He has
Free, online course on sustainable development

Dec 30, 2013

NEW YORK ― A half-century ago, John F. Kennedy observed that, “man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.” Those words speak to us today with special urgency.Our generation can indeed end the ancient scourge of extreme poverty. Yet it can also destroy the earth’s life-support system through human-induced environmental devastation.By necessity, then, we have entered The Age of Sustainable Development. So I am enormously excited to be
[Cass R. Sunstein] How to test charity effectiveness

Dec 29, 2013

Americans are a generous people, contributing about $300 billion to charity each year. But when we make out a check to a charity, how do we know that the recipients are actually getting help? How do we know that our dollars are doing what we want them to do?Remarkably, we often lack good answers. Fortunately, we are starting to get them. Before long, the answers are likely to make our contributions a lot more effective. They might well end up revolutionizing the charitable sector.In “Moneyball,”