2022/07/13 |
Can Egg Freezing Crack Singapore’s Demographic Decline?
Singaporean women and demographic observers may have cause for celebration, but medical technology does not present the ideal solution to what is, at heart, a social problem.
2022/01/26 |
Myanmar Tumbles Into the Abyss
The Myanmar army’s capacity to consolidate its rule appears more fragile than ever, with so many new armed groups now taking up to the fight to the military regime and its representatives.
2022/03/02 |
Why Xi Jinping Is Still Willing To Wear the Costs of Zero-Covid
Surging cases, faltering health infrastructure, and a wave of self-isolation in China could produce more acute labor shortages and supply chain disruptions than zero-Covid.
2022/12/06 |
European Institutional Complexities and EU-Taiwan Relations
The European Union and its member states are enhancing their political relations with Taiwan, but it comes more expressly from the action of their legislative branches rather than their executive actors.
2022/11/08 |
Developing Asia Adapts to the Dollar’s Strength
A strong U.S. dollar will likely continue for the near future. Asian economies need to prepare for a rough 2023.
2022/12/09 |
Dwindling Economic Opportunities for China’s Youth Fuels Discontent
Without addressing high levels of youth unemployment, China will see a generation of lost youth who may look for disruptive ways to voice their despair.
2022/10/28 |
Judicial Repression Becomes the Norm in Hong Kong
As of 2022, more than 100 civil society organizations and trade unions have been dissolved or closed in Hong Kong under the threat of the National Security Law.
2022/01/17 |
South Korea’s Transgender Community Pushes for Recognition and Acceptance
The issue of transgender discrimination was once again brought into the spotlight earlier in 2021, following the suicide of a soldier who was forcibly discharged from the military after a gender reassignment surgery.
2022/05/17 |
Japan’s Reluctant Realism on Taiwan
As a key U.S. ally in East Asia, Japan is debating the introduction of legislation to ready itself to deal with a contingency scenario in Taiwan, a defensive response rather than a proactive military strategy.
2022/02/17 |
Presidential Politics Heats up in Indonesia
Jokowi and his coalition partners have been preoccupied not just with the remaining two years of this presidential term, but also with the remainder of the decade. They have been prepared to countenance options that are contrary to democratic principles.
2022/03/18 |
Can Seoul Court Beijing’s Perception Problem?
While it might be unrealistic for Seoul to completely sever itself from Washington’s global geostrategy, Beijing and Seoul could still reach a modus vivendi on South Korea’s contribution to the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Strategy and its future relationship with the Quad.
2022/09/19 |
Yoon Scrambles To Restore Domestic Confidence
With approval ratings bottoming out at 24%, President Yoon Suk-yeol carried out the first reshuffle of his office, but it's too early to tell whether the move will restore domestic confidence in his presidency.
2022/09/08 |
Malaysia’s Institutional Uncertainty
Despite graft conviction, Najib Razak’s return to power could be imaginable given the power dynamics in UMNO. As a first step, he is now seeking a pardon from the king.
2022/11/02 |
Japan Warily Welcomes Back International Travelers
In his parliamentary speech in October, Kishida presented his plan to revive the Japanese economy, including a pledge to increase international tourist spending beyond the pre-pandemic high in 2019.
2022/05/04 |
Unraveling the Controversies of Chinese Foreign Aid
China’s new aid and security pact with the Solomon Islands is the latest case to raise the question of whether Chinese aid is developmental or a political.
2022/02/22 |
A No-fly Zone Won’t Fly in Myanmar
As long as Myanmar’s junta enjoys the support of Russia and China, there is little chance that the UN would support the idea of a no-fly zone.
2022/09/01 |
Japan’s Women Lawmakers Remain Seated
Japan’s celebration of record high number of women who won seats in the upper house may not stand up to close scrutiny.
2022/01/05 |
Challenges Abound for Japan’s Kishida in 2022
Kishida’s new initiative called the “new form of capitalism” has been disappointing so far.