The Korea Herald

[Itamar Rabinovich] Forging Syria’s opposition as alternative to Assad

Mar 29, 2012

TEL AVIV ― Syria’s crisis is now a year old, with close to 10,000 people, mostly civilians, dead ― and no end in sight. The country is at a stalemate: the opposition is unable to topple President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and Assad’s forces are unable to quash the resistance.Both sides are adamant: the opposition is determined to bring down a regime that it views as illegitimate, sectarian, corrupt, tyrannical, and stained with blood, while the regime’s hard-line core believes that by perseverin
Forging Syria’s Opposition

Mar 29, 2012

Syria’s crisis is now a year old, with close to 10,000 people, mostly civilians, dead -- and no end in sight. The country is at a stalemate: the opposition is unable to topple President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, and Assad’s forces are unable to quash the resistance.Both sides are adamant: the opposition is determined to bring down a regime that it views as illegitimate, sectarian, corrupt, tyrannical, and stained with blood, while the regime’s hard-line core believes that by persevering it will
The G20 remains a process

Mar 29, 2012

The G20 is at a crossroads and the world is watching. A lack of continuity, legitimacy and credibility are shadowing the G20 in 2012. This year’s Los Cabos Summit takes place only seven months after the Cannes Summit, yet it has a very ambitious agenda: green growth. Last year’s agenda was hijacked by European crisis management. This time, green growth has been criticized as having a lack of clarity in terms of where it is leading to.On the topic of economics and finance, a financial inclusion,
Hong Kong election denies will of the governed

Mar 28, 2012

Leung Chun-ying, a former adviser of the Hong Kong government and property consultant, was declared winner of the election as the Chinese city’s next chief executive. He won 689 votes from a 1,200-member election committee composed mainly by pro-Beijing business leaders and other elites.Given the circumstances, Leung ran a clever race. He first worked hard to build up public support by announcing policy proposals popular among the general public such as increasing social housing, despite the alm
[Jeffrey Frankel] China economy making adjustment

Mar 28, 2012

BAHRAIN ― China watchers are waiting to see whether the country has engineered a soft landing, cooling down an overheating economy and achieving a more sustainable rate of growth, or whether Asia’s dragon will crash to earth, as others in the neighborhood have before it. But some, particularly American politicians in this presidential election year, focus on only one thing: China’s trade balance.True, not long ago the renminbi was substantially undervalued, and China’s trade surpluses were very
Fuming about gas prices

Mar 28, 2012

When the price of gasoline rises, the supply of hot air expands.Just look at the recent GOP attacks blaming President Obama for prices that exceed $4 a gallon in some parts of the country.Not only is Obama responsible, according to some Republicans, he’s downright pleased. As Mitt Romney put it last week to Fox News, “There’s no question that when he ran for office, he said he wanted to see gasoline prices go up.”But there are some problems with Romney’s statement. First, it’s false. Obama never
No pain no gain

Mar 28, 2012

The state-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council is drafting its funding plan for the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15) period and proposing to subsidize five energy companies and two power grid companies. It will not be the first time that the electrical power industry has received such a financial subsidy. But the question is: can such cash injections really contribute to the development of China’s power industry? The losses from the thermal power generation bu
[Brahma Chellaney] Cracks appear in BRICS countries

Mar 28, 2012

NEW DELHI ― As it is holding its latest annual summit in New Delhi on March 28-29, the BRICS grouping ― Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa ― remains a concept in search of a common identity and institutionalized cooperation. That is hardly surprising, given that these countries have very different political systems, economies, and national goals, and are located in very different parts of the world. Yet the five emerging economies pride themselves on forming the first important non-W
Musical chairs in the Chinese Communist Party

Mar 28, 2012

Call it musical chairs with Chinese characteristics. The number of seats remains the same, but a player gets eliminated instead.Bo Xilai’s ouster as leader of Chongqing two weeks ago, a result of his top aide’s asylum dash to a U.S. consulate, might have snuffed out his chances of a promotion in the Chinese Communist Party. But it has brightened the prospects of almost every single one of his rivals.“The removal of any major player releases pressure on others because there are just so few seats
Hong Kong pseudo-election denies will of the governed

Mar 28, 2012

Leung Chun-ying, a former adviser of the Hong Kong government and property consultant, was declared winner of the election as the Chinese city‘s next chief executive. He won 689 votes from a 1,200-member election committee composed mainly by pro-Beijing business leaders and other elites.Given the circumstances, Leung ran a clever race. He first worked hard to build up public support by announcing policy proposals popular among the general public such as increasing social housing, despite the alm
China Adjusts

Mar 28, 2012

China watchers are waiting to see whether the country has engineered a soft landing, cooling down an overheating economy and achieving a more sustainable rate of growth, or whether Asia’s dragon will crash to earth, as others in the neighborhood have before it. But some, particularly American politicians in this presidential election year, focus on only one thing: China’s trade balance.True, not long ago the renminbi was substantially undervalued, and China’s trade surpluses were very large. Tha
The cracks in the BRICS

Mar 28, 2012

As it prepares to hold its latest annual summit in New Delhi on March 28-29, the BRICS grouping -- Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa -- remains a concept in search of a common identity and institutionalized cooperation. That is hardly surprising, given that these countries have very different political systems, economies, and national goals, and are located in very different parts of the world. Yet the five emerging economies pride themselves on forming the first important non-Weste
Chinese coup rumors run wild online, disappear

Mar 27, 2012

These are strange days for China’s netizens. On March 15, the Chinese Communist Party relieved Bo Xilai, the Chongqing party secretary, of his duties after his police chief allegedly attempted to seek asylum in the United States. It was arguably the biggest political story to hit China in two decades, and Chinese microbloggers embraced it with gusto. In the hours following the concise, two-sentence official statement the state media carried about the firing, citizens posted millions of tweets to
[Daniel Fiedler] Integrity enters into Korean politics

Mar 27, 2012

It is election season in South Korea and politicians are in the news daily. Unfortunately the news often has more to do with violations of election laws and misuse of power than political arguments or issues. Members of the newly merged liberal parties have been accused of vote buying and of vote manipulation, members of the president’s office are under investigation for misuse of power and members of the National Assembly have been investigated and punished for offenses ranging from bribery to
Too old to get hired, too young to retire

Mar 27, 2012

A friend of mine had his name in the paper the other day. It was an article speculating about who might inherit a prestigious post in the literary world when the current grandee retires. The article said that my friend would have led the list 10 years ago. Ouch! The obvious though unstated implication is that now he’s too old. He just turned 60. He says he already has his dream job and didn’t mind the idea that, because he is 60, some career opportunities have moved beyond his reach. But I mind.