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London and New York: Routledge, 2009. 225 pages. $150hb. ISBN: 978-0-415-47869-4 In writing this book, Lei Xie has brought together three subjects which in the early twenty-first century should be [...]

The #MeToo Movement, which originated in the USA against sexual harassment and violence, has caught on in Singapore. This article suggests that the recent debate on toxic masculinity in the country, brought to public attention in a speech by Corinna Lim, chief of the Association of Women for Action and Research (AWARE), is an extension of the #MeToo Movement. The debate on toxic masculinity has largely revolved around the issue of whether the mandatory National Service (NS), which all Singaporean men have to perform, is a site of toxic masculinity. This article is a preliminary attempt to connect the dots and examine the implications of the debate for civil society, NS, and women's activism in contemporary Singapore., Author(s): Ying-kit Chan [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.412434.4, 0000 0004 1937 1127, Visiting Scholar, Faculty of Liberal Arts, Department of History, Philosophy, and English Literature, Thammasat University, , Bangkok, Thailand [...]

The Asianization of East Asian security has been unfolding in the forms of the emergence of a genuinely regional security complex, the Asian initiative of security dialogue, and the assertion of an Asian way of diplomacy. Ironically, the uncertainties surrounding the United States' role are a key factor driving regionalization and, at the same time, a critical security issue in the emerging regional security complex. The essentiality of the U.S. role provides Washington with key leverage to ensure a role commensurate with its centrality in East Asian security. In light of the danger and opportunities regionalization presents for U.S. policy, it is vital to distinguish rhetoric from reality and to discern paradoxical developments in the Asianization movement. By its continued commitment to working with other regional powers, and its activism in promoting security multilateralism through ASEAN-Regional Forum (ARF), the U.S. can ensure that regionalization leads to an Asia-Pacific security complex that contains threats wherever they arise., A current buzzword in East Asia is 'Asianization.' Despite the diversity of the region and the contested nature of an 'Asian identity,' an Asian consciousness is apparently on the rise. [...]

This article explores how the USA and Japan have aimed to advance connectivity and infrastructure investment in the Indo-Pacific, implicitly or explicitly in response to China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Both actors' vision, strategies, and policies have been rolled out under the banner of the 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' (FOIP). The article first frames connectivity and the FOIP construct in the context of regional order and great-power relations in the Indo-Pacific. It then provides an in-depth assessment of the different initiatives by the USA and Japan, scrutinizing their progress on the ground, shortcomings, and relevant interlinkages. After an analysis of the logics that inform these connectivity initiatives, the article offers three key axioms and assesses implications for order more broadly. First, the West must fix the gap that often exists between rhetoric and capabilities in the sphere of infrastructure investments. Second, Western actors, including the USA and Japan, need to be clear about objectives. Namely, they must decide whether the aim of connectivity is to compete directly with China or to focus on complementarities and comparative advantages. Third, the USA and Japan need to prioritize connections and spheres of connectivity that are deemed strategically central, at the expense of others. More generally, given the connective logics that key actors currently harness, a fracturing of the region into one of the different orders comprising competing yet overlapping connections beckons., Author(s): Bart Gaens [sup.1] , Ville Sinkkonen [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.460544.7, 0000 0004 0620 5576, Finnish Institute of International Affairs, , Helsinki, Finland Introduction The recent 'turn' to connectivity [...]

The Japanese government led by Shinzo Abe passed the Security Bills in 2015. The passage of these bills drastically changed Japan's passive stance in the security arena. Utilizing the context surrounding the Security Bills in Japan, the present research examines Japanese citizens' attitudes and behavior toward security issues. In addressing this matter, this study focuses on the roles of war memories in Japanese society. Recognizing that war memories constitute an essential element of Japanese society in the post-World War II era, I present two hypotheses. First, one can expect that those who are deeply immersed in war memories tend to be opposed to the Security Bills. Second, it is possible to hypothesize that those who are extensively exposed to war memories tend to discuss security issues more actively. To test these hypotheses, I conduct an original survey in Japan that is specifically tailored for this study. A statistical analysis relying on the survey data verifies the second hypothesis although it fails to support the first one. By dissecting the processes through which war memories shape Japanese citizens' attitudes and behavior in the security arena, this study significantly advances our understanding of Japan's security culture. Findings from the statistical analysis generate critical implications that are essential in understanding the current discourse over security issues in Japan., Author(s): Satoshi Machida [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.266814.f, 0000 0004 0386 5405, University of Nebraska-Kearney, , Kearney, NE, USA Introduction The end of World War II in 1945 marked a [...]

China's burgeoning economic and security activities abroad have given rise to suspicions and criticisms of its intentions. As Buddhism is a shared faith and heritage among many Chinese; an integral part of national identities of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia; a proud legacy in India; and a major religion in Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan, winning over the trust and friendship of neighboring Buddhist countries has emerged as an important Chinese diplomatic initiative, especially under the current Xi Jinping leadership's enterprise to revive the Silk Road. Having over 245 million Buddhists, 28,000 Buddhist monasteries, 16,000 temples, and 240,000 Buddhist monks and nuns makes the promotion of Buddhism a rich source of soft-power, or 'soul power,' for China, generated from its heavy investments in building Buddhist institutions and engaging Buddhist groups in these countries. However, there are external and domestic challenges in using Buddhism as a Chinese foreign policy vehicle. The paper analyzes what the objectives of China's Buddhist diplomacy are; which personnel, organizations, or state bureaus in China make China's Buddhist diplomacy; how is it carried out; what the targeted institutions and personnel in the affected countries are; the reactions from these countries; and the extent to which a Communist regime is able to carry out its promotion of Buddhism in Asia despite its professed atheism. The analysis is conducted through the spectrum of two major perspectives in international relations literature: neo-realism and constructivism., Author(s): Chien-peng Chung [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.411382.d, 0000 0004 1770 0716, Department of Political Science, Lingnan University, , Tuen Mun, New Territories, Hong Kong Diplomacy and Chinese Buddhism > [...]

This study is to analyze how the fragmentation of the pro-democracy camp affected their council voting and policy stances before 2019. The quantitative measurements including the rice and unity indices are adopted to evaluate the cohesions of the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy camps in bill voting, in which the strategies employed by the pro-democracy camp are further analyzed. Before the 2010s, the moderate democrats deliberately separated from the administration and some of them also kept distance from the radical groups. However, since the radical ideologies gained supports from time to time, the moderate democrats had been forced to follow more pro-active lines against the administration. Although the political sphere of Hong Kong has drastically changed after the 2019 Anti-extradition Protests, the cohesion of the pro-democracy parties in the previous terms of the Legislative Council still facilitates to understand the legislative process in the city. In this article, 18 then members of the Legislative Council from different parties were interviewed in 2018, providing various insights on the analysis of pro-democracy cohesion and fragmented politics in Hong Kong., Author(s): Fung Chan [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.9654.e, 0000 0004 0372 3343, School of Social Sciences, The University of Auckland, , Auckland, New Zealand Introduction Both the pro-Beijing and pro-democracy [...]

In 2019, Trilateral Cooperation celebrated its 20th anniversary. As China, Japan and South Korea are close trade partners, economic cooperation is a focal point in Trilateral Cooperation. This paper endeavours to examine and explain China's approach towards the institutionalization of trilateral economic cooperation from 1999 to 2019. The findings indicate that China was supportive towards institutionalizing trilateral economic cooperation, but it was less proactive in recent years. This is explained by two factors, namely, (a) the declining economic interdependence between China and other member states and (b) the shift in China's regional strategy with the introduction of new regional initiatives by China, especially the Belt and Road Initiative. The findings of this study cast doubt on the critical juncture approach and the alternative explanation on balancing which perceives China's participation in Trilateral Cooperation primarily through the lens of Sino-US relations., Author(s): Wing Yan Yeung [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.16890.36, 0000 0004 1764 6123, College of Professional and Continuing Education, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, , Hong Kong, China Introduction On the [...]

China's first cohort of the sent-down youth during the Cultural Revolution has since its early years attracted considerable research interest and been analysed from a few different viewpoints. However, the gradual retreat from executing the sent-down policy, especially bingtui (return to urban centres of origin because of medical reasons) as the then widely used tactic, and its long-term impact on people's socio-political attitudes and behaviours have not been examined and evaluated adequately. This has resulted in a large discrepancy between the non-academic discourse of returning sent-down youth, including bingtui, and the academic literature on these aspects in both Chinese and English. As revealed by many non-academic publications, bingtui not only represented the emergence of a widespread popular resistance to the Maoist Cultural Revolution that involved mobilising those who were then sent to the countryside, but was also believed to be responsible for a surge in what has since become known as songli feng (a wave of gift-giving practice). Based on the information recorded in published personal memories of many sent-down youth and other published accounts, online and print, as well as the information collected from my own past observations and recent interviews, this article will go beyond both glowing and condemnatory documentations of the sent-down movement of the late 1960s and 1970s and seek to analyse how bingtui was started, how it was utilised by sent-down youth and their families and, importantly, how it had led more Chinese people to realise that certain aspects of their identity could be performed., Author(s): Jia Gao [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.1008.9, 0000 0001 2179 088X, The Asia Institute, The University of Melbourne, , 3010, Parkville, VIC, Australia Introduction The strategy of sending urban [...]

The heavy-metal pollution of the consumer-electronics industry has been a serious environmental problem in China. Since 2010, Chinese ENGOs have taken a few measures to address this challenge. Under the influence of other stakeholders, Chinese ENGOs have only played a limited role. To further explore the potential of domestic ENGOs, it would be necessary to understand how they have approached the heavy-metal challenge and why their contribution has been moderate. By using the method of 'process tracing,' this paper presents a preliminary attempt to trace and generate localized knowledge of Chinese ENGOs' approach and the influence of other stakeholders. Specifically, this paper divides the actions of Chinese ENGOs into the following three phases: initial participation, progressive involvement of MNCs, and collaborative tracking and online disclosure. Then, it traces the participation of Chinese mass media, domestic suppliers, local governments, and communities. It argues that the following six constraining factors have contributed to shaping the limited role of those Chinese ENGOs: (1) the complexity of the consumer-electronics supplier network; (2) Chinese ENGOs' lack of leverage on MNCs; (3) Chinese ENGOs' shortage of financial and human resources under a broad agenda; (4) domestic mass media's lack of long-term interest; (5) reluctant participation of Chinese suppliers and local governments; and (6) conflicting interests within local communities. Three policy options for further exploring the potential of Chinese ENGOs are discussed, including financial and technical support, further engagement of international ENGOs, and supportive policy-making and interregional coordination by local governments., Author(s): Yitian Huang [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.8547.e, 0000 0001 0125 2443, School of International Relations and Public Affairs, Fudan University, , Shanghai, People's Republic of China Introduction In the [...]

This study investigates the relationship between social capital, frequency of media exposure, and subject well-being while adequately controlling for other variables in China. This study was based on 2015 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) and the multilevel regression analyses analysis, empirically estimating the impact of social capital and frequency of media exposure on subject well-being (SWB) in China. The results are as follows: (1) Social capital has a significant positive impact on improving subject well-being of the residents, as the more social capital they have, the happier they become; (2) frequency of reading the newspapers and magazines is positively related to social capital; (3) both watching television and listening to the radio are positively associated with subject well-being although there are no positive relations between watching television and listening to the radio with social capital; and (4) the relationship between frequency of using the Internet, using mobile devices to receive information, and social capital with subject well-being shows no significant effect. Limitation and directions for future research are also discussed., Author(s): Fanbin Zeng [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.268180.5, 0000 0001 2179 1284, Department of Communication, Western Illinois University, , 1 University Circle, Memorial Hall 319, 61455, Macomb, IL, USA Introduction [...]

Macau is a window to understand the struggle between China and Taiwan in foreign territories. Located at the doorstep of a giant nation, the Portuguese administration in Macau was once successful in striking a balance between Taiwan which maintained diplomatic relations with Portugal until 1975 on the one hand, and China, a communist regime that Portugal opposed on the other. The overspill of Cultural Revolution to Macau in 1966 and 1967 destructed the delicate balance. The 1966 'December 3 incident' and the aftermath were celebrated by pro-Beijing social elites as a victory of patriotic movement against oppressive colonialism. This came at a cost of Macau's isolation from the major Chinese communities outside China, namely Taiwan and Hong Kong. The political radicalization was followed by expulsion of the pro-Taiwan elements, eviction of British and Hong Kong establishments and erosion of Portuguese sovereignty over Macau. The impact on Macau's political social development lingered for decades., Author(s): Bill Chou [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.10784.3a, 0000 0004 1937 0482, Chinese University of Hong Kong, , Shatin, Hong Kong Introduction Hong Kong was an outpost for the Western [...]

This article serves as an introduction of the Special Issue: Regional and International Dimensions of 1967 Riots. The introduction will first outline the existing research on the 1967 Riots, arguably one of the most critical events impacting colonial governance and Hong Kong society. After that, the introduction would outline major literature on the regional and international dimension of a social movement, before highlighting the papers involved in the special issue as the concluding section of this introduction., Author(s): Simon Shen [sup.1] , Wilson Chan [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.10784.3a, 0000 0004 1937 0482, Faculty of Social Science, , The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Hong [...]

This article compares the 1967 riots in Hong Kong and the 1959-1960 anti-security treaty movement in Japan in terms of six different dimensions-(1) the organization of the leftist groups that participated in the two movements, (2) the extent of support from external communist powers, especially China and the Soviet Union, (3) the leftists' focus and goals, (4) the tactics employed by the leftist forces, (5) the colonial and Japanese governments' response to the disturbances, and (6) the influence of several key events on public opinion. In so doing, it provides several unique findings and insights. Most importantly, several key events influenced public opinion in opposite directions-negatively in Hong Kong and more positively in Japan. This was probably the most important determinant of the differing degrees of the leftists' success in their respective revolutionary movements. The two cases therefore prove at least partially the important principle in any revolutionary movement that the attainment of legitimacy and the mobilization of popular support are the key to success. The people, after all, are the center of gravity in revolutionary warfare., Author(s): Toru Horiuchi [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.10784.3a, 0000 0004 1937 0482, BSSc Programme in Global Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, , Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong Introduction This [...]

Relying primarily on sources which reveal the mentality of the Britons and the rioters, this article aims at filling the vacuum by remapping how the Britons, both the London diplomats and the colonial bureaucrats in Hong Kong, interpreted the role of the Soviet Union before, during and after the riots. By covering three stages of evolution of the British assessment of the Soviets' possible role in Hong Kong, from feeling strongly suspicious before the 1967 riots to silent cooperation in the Cold War setting between 1967 and 1979, with the 1967 riots serving as the turning point, the paper concludes that the Soviet Card was reconstructed to serve its governance purpose., Author(s): Simon Shen [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.10784.3a, 0000 0004 1937 0482, Faculty of Social Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, , Shatin, NT, Hong Kong In 1967, at [...]

More than 70 years after the end of the Second World War, warring nations have not completely achieved true reconciliation. For decades, official state-sanctioned apologies have been considered a useful tool to help rebuild broken international bonds, but their effectiveness in fostering national reconciliation remains debatable. On the contrary, more and more studies seem confirming civil society's role in facilitating people's reflection upon the most rending aspects of their own past. With civil society involvement in the discussion of Second World War responsibilities still limited in Japan, this paper recalls the experiences of Germany and Italy and the difficulties they encountered in shaping a constructive discussion on war responsibilities and reconciliation to argue that the Obama-Abe exchange of official visits in Hiroshima and Pearl Harbour in 2016 represents a crucial step forward in relaunching the debate on the Japanese Second World War narrative. In particular, this article claims that the wording and the images used by Shinzo Abe and Barack Obama could become, if well framed by national media and the official debate, 'agitators of memory' pushing civil society to further and more deeply engage in this crucial discussion for the future of Japan., Author(s): Claudia Astarita [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.482734.e, 0000 0004 1806 159X, Sciences Po Lyon, , 2, Rue de Saint Simon, 75007, Paris, France [Displayed Quote]Primo Levi: 'We must be [...]

The article seeks to explain why Singapore-a high-income, developed economy that does not require massive external financing or technical assistance for domestic infrastructure building-has repeatedly endorsed Belt-and-Road Initiative (BRI) and cooperated in related projects. Given the city-state's exceptionally high degree of economic openness and hence dependence on international trade, it argues that Singapore's support for BRI is driven primarily by its quest for strategic relevance. Lacking natural resources and an economic hinterland, the small trading state has pursued state-guided development, establishing itself as a key regional and global trading hub. Singapore's economic goals thus correspond to BRI's objective of improving Eurasian connectivity and strengthening trade and investment ties. At the same time, however, the city-state is also pursuing a hedging strategy vis-à-vis China. Singapore seeks to ensure no one major power dictates the economic terms in the region. The city-state hence seeks to both socialize Beijing in the norms of the existing regional architecture through engagement, while also emphasizing economic relations with other countries, especially the USA. Unlike most of China's other BRI partners, Singapore is not a recipient of investments, but rather a case of 'reverse BRI flow': Singapore is investing in the development of China's western region, especially Chongqing. Singapore's support for BRI is likely to continue, even though the state may encounter obstacles along the way, such as the need to manage the effects of growing Sino-US rivalry., Author(s): Irene Chan [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) grid.59025.3b, 0000 0001 2224 0361, China Programme, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, , [...]

This article examines South Korea's response to BRI, focusing on former President Park Geun-hye's 'Eurasia Initiative' as well as current President Moon Jae-In's 'New Southern Policy.' Given Beijing's preoccupation with political and social stability both domestically as well as in neighboring countries, it argues that there is little doubt that for Beijing economic goals are subordinate components of broader national goals, which in turn formulate the basis for geopolitical calculations. BRI represents an attempt by Beijing's leadership to shape the rules and norms governing the surrounding regions to better reflect their own preferences. Following Xi Jinping's launch of BRI, Seoul announced the Eurasia Initiative (EAI) as its own vision for an East-West connection. In calling for a revival of the ancient Silk Road, President Park's main goal was to foster a flow of economic, political, and social interaction from Europe though the Korean Peninsula. Her policy was driven primarily by political and security motives concerning the division of the Peninsula. Park's successor, President Moon announced his own foreign policy initiative, the New Southern Policy (NSP), which seeks to strengthen relations with Southeast Asia while continuing to manage relations with Northeast Asia. While NSP at first sight might suggest a new policy direction, the article argues that both EAI and NSP ultimately have sought to change dynamics on the Korean Peninsula and work toward peace with the North. Both policies reflect the Korean fear of vulnerability to great power competition, seeking to foster relations with smaller powers so as to increase Seoul's foreign policy leverage as a middle power., Author(s): Balbina Y. Hwang [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0001 1955 1644, grid.213910.8, Georgetown University, , Washington, D.C., USA Introduction 2018 was a remarkable year for the Republic of Korea [...]

This paper revisits the rise of industrial unionism in Korea in the wake of the 1997 financial crisis at the turn of the twenty-first century. By closely investigating the reorganization of labour unionism in the context of neoliberalization, it challenges the alleged converging impact of neoliberal rhetoric or hegemony on industrial relations. To this end, this paper raises following substantive questions: How far did Korea's industrial unionism advance under the new economic circumstances and how stable was it? More importantly, what were the fundamental factors behind such re-formation of labour unions? This paper finds that the transformation of labour unions in Korea is a mixture of the rise of industrial unionism and the persistence of enterprise unionism, that is to say a precarious progress of industrial unionism. It argues that behind the unstable development of industrial unionism in Korea were state-fostered legacy of power imbalance within labour in favour of enterprise unions, especially at chaebols, and continuing state intervention in the re-formation of labour unions in the neoliberal era. Finally, it argues that the seemingly sweeping neoliberal rhetoric or hegemony does not override the long-standing political-economic institutions of industrial relations and the leverage of the state, but it is filtered and reified by them., Author(s): Taekyoon Lim [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0004 0470 5905, grid.31501.36, Institute of Latin American Studies, Seoul National University, , 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, 08826, Seoul, Republic of Korea Introduction [...]

This article observes that the cycle of violent political extremism that began in Japan's postwar period did not last long beyond the mid-1990s. In view of the situation, this article intends to (1) give an overview of the issue, (2) discuss why the frequency and degree of political violence declined, and (3) investigate current trends in Japanese political extremism, as it still appears to exist if we define extremism as more than physically violent behaviors. This article argues that violent extremism as a tactic may have found it difficult to outlive the period of the 'developmental state' of Japan, while the era of 'civil society' in Japan that followed perhaps rendered ideologically motivated violence irrelevant. This article also argues that, today, acts that can be counted as extremism have morphed into occasions where activists have grievously offended the feelings of the targeted population, thereby gaining notoriety and publicity., Author(s): Daiki Shibuichi [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0004 1756 4881, grid.469245.8, United International College, , Zhuhai, China Introduction Violent political extremism in post-war Japan-by both sects of far-left activists [...]

Since the 1980s, Japan's war memory has strained its relations with South Korea and China, to a less degree, the USA. Two of the thorniest issues are the comfort women and the US atomic bombing of Japan. Before the Obama administration announced its policy pivot to Asia in 2011, both Japanese and American leaders were reluctant to make amends for the past acts of their countries. However, in 2015, the Japanese conservative Prime Minister Abe reached an agreement with South Korea that 'finally and irreversibly' resolved the comfort women issue, thus achieving a historic reconciliation between the two countries. In 2016, then President Obama visited Hiroshima to commemorate the atomic bomb victims. Then, in December 2016, the comfort women issue resurfaced in Japan and South Korea relations, indicating a failure of the reconciliation. Why did the USA change its policy on historical issues involving Japan? Why did Abe and the South Korean President Park Geun-hye settle the comfort women issue? Why did Obama visit Hiroshima? Why did the reconciliation fail? In this article, I propose a rational choice theory to answer these questions. Applying the proposed theory and relying on available evidence, I argue that the settlement of the comfort women issue and Obama's visit to Hiroshima are important components of Obama's pivot to Asia to balance China's rise. The reconciliation failed mainly because it did not resolve the historical justice issue promoted by the human rights norms. I discuss some implications for reconciliation in Northeast Asia., Author(s): Chien Liu [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0001 0493 7966, grid.422476.1, Department of Sociology, Wagner College, , One Campus Road, 10301, Staten Island, NY, USA Introduction Japan's war memory [...]

Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor has broken many ceilings as Hong Kong's first female Chief Executive and the first post-Occupy Central leader. The mission of the political biographer is to contextualize Lam's policies in the circumstances that she was put into and/or inherited from previous administrations without any value judgments (or highly minimized ones). The purpose is to recognize Lam as a complex entity characterized by a triad of images that include caring a senior civil servant, a tough-talking iron lady (nicknamed 'The Fighter') and a compliant Beijing loyalist (nicknamed 'The Puppet' or 'CY Leung 2.0'). The readers are the ultimate arbiters and evaluators of these narratives and perceptions to craft their own impression of Lam. The writing is organized into sections analyzing Lam's family background, her rise in the civil service, her appointment as Chief Secretary, and her current tenure as the Chief Executive. The significance of this writing is an early assessment of Lam's achievements and policy direction and a recount of her initiatives when she was Chief Secretary that can later be compared to post-administration retirement biographical writings for a full understanding of her political achievements and failures. Taken together, these accounts can then be a combined diachronic and synchronic historical biographical accounts of Lam., Author(s): T. W. Lim [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0001 2180 6431, grid.4280.e, East Asian Institute (EAI) Bukit Timah Campus, National University of Singapore (NUS), , 469A Bukit, Timah Road, [...]

This article develops a general articulation of the politics of offence and outrage by drawing on examples of high profile political furores in Malaysia. In these furores, minority ethno-religious groups and individuals ostensibly caused offence to the majority Muslim Malay population. Although these offences were framed as transgressions of genuine sensitivities, I argue that politics of offence must be seen for the political utility it holds for those who claim to represent the majority group that has been putatively offended. In Malaysia, a key component of this political strategy is the positioning by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) of its constituency-the Malays-as being comparatively economically weaker than non-Malay groups. This positioning in turn warrants the continuation of the positive discrimination policies of the New Economic Policy of the 1970s, which was implemented to achieve parity between the major ethnic groups in Malaysia. An example of this was when UMNO vehemently rejected the findings of a think tank that argued that the New Economic Policy's target of having 30% Malay ownership of equity had been achieved. This positioning of an in-group as weak, and the normalisation of privilege in the Malaysian context, is analysed in view of two other cases studies, Erving Goffman's concept of 'the turn', and Ward Goodenough's description of the human experience of outrage. I also show that 'outrage' as a politico-emotional strategy remains effective despite the momentous results of Malaysia's general elections in 2018, which might otherwise herald a new era of inter-ethnic co-operation., Author(s): Julian C. H. Lee [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0001 2163 3550, grid.1017.7, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University, , GPO Box 2476, 3001, Melbourne, VIC, [...]

Through an analysis of the data collected by China General Social Survey (CGSS) on urban residents in 2005, this study finds out that the factors of social network and reciprocity that affected social capital are significant positive predictors of political participation within and outside the system in Chinese cities. And it also finds out that the exposure to news in media use is also a significant positive predictor of political participation within and outside the system. However, time for watching television is the only positive predictor for partial political participation within the system. The results reveal that the impact of media use on the political participation of urban residents depends on exposure to news rather than the time of media use. The theoretical contribution of this study is that exposure to news in media use is still a significant positive predictor for the political participation of urban residents, even after controlling the variable of social capital and other factors. This implies that political participation is related to social capital, which stems from interpersonal communication, as well as news use, which stems from mass communication., Author(s): Fanbin Zeng [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (Aff1) 0000 0004 1790 3548, grid.258164.c, School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University Guangzhou, , 510632, Guangzhou, China Introduction Political participation of middle class [...]

Nation building is a major issue in the political agenda of many countries, a project made more arduous in countries fragmented along racial, linguistic, and religious lines. In an attempt to gain some understanding of the issue, this paper examines the trajectory of nation building in Malaysia. Basically, the Malaysia government uses the model of nation-state to create a sense of collective national identity in a multi-ethnic society. It is a top-down approach with the state playing a dominating role. The main political parties are communal parties, based on race or religion. Well-crafted programs of nation building have been not properly implemented. While the government has achieved impressive economic development, it is at the same time becoming more authoritarian and the country faces a range of disturbing social and political problems. Thanks to a growing educated middle class, urbanization, demographic change, globalization, and the spread of the Internet, mass-based civil movements and a multi-ethnic coalition of opposition parties have emerged with the potential of redressing the situation. The study suggests a framework for understanding the trajectory and dynamics of the nation-building project in Malaysia. The framework gives a list of historical forces that are likely to shape the course of nation building in the coming years., Author(s): Michael S. H. Heng [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) Center for Ethnic Studies and Development, Chiang Mai University, 0000 0000 9039 7662, grid.7132.7, , Chiang Mai, Thailand Introduction The ethnic [...]

Leftist political parties and labor unions that had stood at the forefront of the collective effort to protect Article 9 until the early 1990s have stepped back to some extent as they have shrunk and fragmented. Instead, advocacy groups whose influence is often enhanced by 'leftist elites' have now seemed to come more to the fore, thereby raising certain questions: What roles do the leftist elites play in those groups? How are such groups organized? Who exactly are the leftist elites? This article intends to address questions regarding the leftist elites, as well as the organization and development of these advocacy groups, in particular the Article 9 Association., Author(s): Daiki Shibuichi [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) Centennial College, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Introduction Mass protests and demonstrations broke out around Japan's parliament (the Diet) buildings in 2015, peaking in autumn. [...]

President Park Chung-hee played a predominant role in shaping South Korean history, yet he remains a controversial figure. This paper explores the way this controversy has manifested itself in the memorial landscape and its significance within the context of national identity politics. It is argued that the debate between conservatives and progressives over the memory of Park has complicated the discourse beyond the prevalent focus on ethnic nationalism. The increasing place allocated for Park in the memorial landscape since 2008 is a tangible manifestation of a memory boom that appeared a decade earlier. Thus, the creation of an encouraging atmosphere in this regard can explain the correlation between the establishment of consecutive conservative governments and said trend. The way the memorial landscape has changed has offered an opportunity to think about a form of national identity which is more intricate. However, with the socio-political camps entrenched in their respective positions, the high-profile controversy has reflected the competing agendas and the degree to which the two sides differ on the fundamental components of national identity. The controversy over the memory of Park has thus both reinforced the divide between the political camps and demonstrated the extent to which it is deep., Author(s): Guy Podoler[sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of Asian Studies, The University of Haifa, Mt Carmel, 3498838, HaifaIsrael Introduction President Park Chung-hee is undoubtedly one of the most influential figures [...]

The Tiananmen Square Incident of 1989 was one of the most influential events in the last few decades on China's relationship with the world. In the aftermath, a united front was formed by the international community against China led by the USA. Tiananmen had negatively impacted the views of the American public and Congress on China, and it has not recovered since. At the turn of the century, the international context of US-China relations and China's domestic, economic, and political conditions had changed drastically since 1989. This study sets out to understand what is the legacy of Tiananmen Square Incident of 1989 in Sino-US relations post-2000. Taking into accounts of the American media, relevant Congressional Committees, Congress legislations, and Department of State from 2000 to 2015, extensive research has been conducted on several aspects of American foreign policy to understand the lasting impacts of Tiananmen. At the start of the year 2000, references to Tiananmen seek to use its strength, as a symbol to associate with contemporary events remained strong in the media and was relatively weak in the discourse of US policy, but the Tiananmen arms embargo debate revived its value in the collective foreign conscience. With China's increasing prominence on the international stage, American policy toward China is changing particularly with Obama administrations' introduction of the pivot to East Asia. Invoking negative views of China created by the Tiananmen Square incident could gain greater influence in Sino-US relationship when its symbolic value can enforce traditional power interests., Author(s): XueYing Hu[sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) University Of Waterloo, 200 University Avenue West, N2L 3G1, Waterloo, ONCanada Introduction Stated by Steven I. Levine, two singular events 'reshaped the bilateral and [...]

China's new Silk Road policy, titled 'One Belt, One Road,' signals a proactive turn in China's regional policy towards Central and West Asia. The policy has two dimensions: First, China aims to revitalize the old Silk Road exchange of goods, ideas, and people with trade, energy, and transportation projects. Second, armed with these new connections, China aims to redefine the territories the old Silk Road encompasses as a region in the contemporary international system. Turkey, as one of the countries at the westernmost end of the historic Silk Road, and one of the target countries of China's new Silk Road diplomacy, welcomes the increasing economic and technological exchange with China. Establishing better contacts with China fits suitably in Turkey's new foreign policy orientation. While the foreign policies of the two countries seem to be compatible, Turkish domestic political dynamics and public opinion hinder further engagement between the two ends of the Silk Road. The negative public opinion towards China manifests itself in the form of media coverage, protests and lobbying and, at times, it derails bilateral relations. This paper assesses the prospects for bilateral relations in the light of these developments. The paper starts with a historical analysis of Sino-Turkish relations and proceeds with various dimensions of the current relations. Then, it provides an analysis of various public opinion surveys in order to grasp the nature of the Turkish public opinion towards China, and it offers a media framing analysis in order to decipher the specific ways the image of China is constructed in Turkish public opinion. The last part of the paper discusses the domestic political actors that have a role in the perceptions and policies toward China in Turkey., Author(s): Ceren Ergenc [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) Department of International Relations and Asian Studies Program, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey Introduction At one time, Eurasia was a vast regional [...]

China's new Silk Road policy, titled 'One Belt, One Road,' signals a proactive turn in China's regional policy towards Central and West Asia. The policy has two dimensions: First, China aims to revitalize the old Silk Road exchange of goods, ideas, and people with trade, energy, and transportation projects. Second, armed with these new connections, China aims to redefine the territories the old Silk Road encompasses as a region in the contemporary international system. Turkey, as one of the countries at the westernmost end of the historic Silk Road, and one of the target countries of China's new Silk Road diplomacy, welcomes the increasing economic and technological exchange with China. Establishing better contacts with China fits suitably in Turkey's new foreign policy orientation. While the foreign policies of the two countries seem to be compatible, Turkish domestic political dynamics and public opinion hinder further engagement between the two ends of the Silk Road. The negative public opinion towards China manifests itself in the form of media coverage, protests and lobbying and, at times, it derails bilateral relations. This paper assesses the prospects for bilateral relations in the light of these developments. The paper starts with a historical analysis of Sino-Turkish relations and proceeds with various dimensions of the current relations. Then, it provides an analysis of various public opinion surveys in order to grasp the nature of the Turkish public opinion towards China, and it offers a media framing analysis in order to decipher the specific ways the image of China is constructed in Turkish public opinion. The last part of the paper discusses the domestic political actors that have a role in the perceptions and policies toward China in Turkey. Keywords Turkey * China * Silk Road * One belt one road * Asianization * Public opinion * Foreign policy * Regionalization, Introduction At one time, Eurasia was a vast regional system, interconnected with the flow of goods, ideas, and people. The modern states system created national identities that made the societies [...]

In this article, I would like to show that China's rough treatment of Uyghurs is related not only to domestic tensions in Xinjiang but also to the legacy of Uyghurs' association with the Soviet Union and Russia against China's nationality policy. Both, but particularly Moscow, used the Uyghurs in their virtual propaganda and, moreover, also in actual acts of organizing outfits-mainly civilian but also military-including espionage, sabotage, and even preparations for invasion. While most-if not all-of these attempts failed, the memories of these actions still survive. Behind the apparent friendship between China and Russia today are hidden mutual suspicions as well as unsettled accounts going back as far as the seventeenth century. Given these potential, and occasionally actual, tensions and China's growing economic advantage over Russia, a future conflict is an eventuality that should be taken into consideration, meaning that Uyghurs may become pawns in this playground yet again., Author(s): Y. Shichor [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) Political Science, Asian Studies, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel Introduction Beijing's rough treatment of its Uyghur nationality in [...]

Kashgar, a westernmost city in the restive Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region bordering Central and South Asia, was paired with the southern city of Shenzhen, the most successful special economic zone for its future development. The development of Kashgar's economy in specific and the Xinjiang in general is a part of China's new Silk Road project which serves multi-purpose goals, such as narrowing regional disparity, reducing ethnic tensions, fighting terrorism and balancing US pivot to Asia. It is skeptical whether the Shenzhen model can be transplanted into Kashgar. The plan of developing Kashgar's economy and establishing Kashgar special economic zone may be considered a new bottle with old wine. The development programmes in the past several decades did not address the roots of ethnic tension, including suppression of cultural autonomy and unequal distribution of the benefits and social costs of economic growth. Besides that, the success of the Shenzhen special economic zone is an exception, not a rule. It was unsuccessful in the past attempts to transfer the successful experience from Shenzhen to other special economic zones. It is skeptical whether the Shenzhen experience can be transplanted to Kashgar, whose geographical location and investment environment was much inferior., Author(s): Bill Chou [sup.1] , Xuejie Ding [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) Faculty of Social Sciences, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, HKSAR (2) Department of Sociology, University of Oxford, Oxford, [...]

This study examines the two contending theories of racial issues or ethnic politics, namely, the 'contact' and 'group threat' theories, in an attempt to learn how increased exposure to and contact with China affect Taiwanese people's perceptions of China. More explicitly, faced with China's rising power and changes in cross-Strait relations, the attitudes and sentiments of the general public in Taiwan could either become friendlier or more hostile to China. This study employs a randomized telephone survey, and statistical analysis of the data has allowed us to identify a clear trend of increased exposure leading to more positive opinions of China, confirming the contact theory. Furthermore, these positive impressions have encouraged the very same people to display a willingness to continue interactions with China. This phenomenon under-states the unchanging reality that close economic ties between the two sides have overcome, at least to some degree, the sense of hostility across the Taiwan Strait. Keywords China's rise * Contact theory * Group threat theory * The China image, For several decades after 1949, and particularly after the Korean War clarified and deepened ideological divisions in Asia, Taiwan and mainland China developed an unconventional relationship. A hostile policy of [...]

Abstract The potential roles played by local governments in Japan regarding SinoJapanese relations are often neglected. Drawing upon a few representative case studies by highlighting the interaction between local and [...]

Abstract This article examines the role of public opinion in Japan in directly influencing the Japanese government's decision to nationalize the Senkaku Islands in 2012. The public mood in Japan [...]

This paper explores the relationship between anti-Japanese popular nationalism and China's approach towards Japan amid Sino-Japanese political tension from 2001 to mid-2006. Among various factors that may affect the relationship, this research focuses on the interaction between the government and the public expressions of anti-Japanese nationalism in China. Throughout most of this period, Sino-Japanese political relations were seriously strained by historical, territorial and other controversial issues, which stirred up anti-Japanese sentiment in China. However, it was only between 2003 and the spring of 2005 that mass anti-Japanese protests were allowed, or at least tolerated, by the Chinese authorities and played a role in Beijing's handling of Japan-related controversies. The paper examines China's domestic political situation during the leadership transition from the third to fourth generation of leaders, which it claims drove the Chinese government's lenient response to popular anti-Japanese protests and enhanced the prospects for popular nationalism to affect the government's approach towards Japan. Keywords Anti-Japan * Popular nationalism * Public opinion * Popular mobilization * China * Foreign policy * State-society relations, Introduction Sino-Japanese relations have experienced ups and downs over the past decade. Mounting tensions between the two countries have been accompanied by outbursts of anti-Japanese sentiment in China. The Chinese [...]

As China has become the largest greenhouse gas (GHG) emitter in terms of total annual emissions, to promote GHG emissions reduction in China turns out to be crucial to the success of the global efforts to address climate change. This paper explores the development of the Chinese Domestic Voluntary Carbon Market (DVCM) in order to understand how carbon trading institutions have emerged and developed in China. To do this, it traces and analyzes the roles of the Chinese government and other key actors. Through process tracing and literature review, it argues that the pre-legislation and territorially fragmented development pattern of the Chinese DVCM has resulted from the activities of Chinese local governments and non-state actors under the policy experimentation approach adopted by the Chinese central government. It concludes with brief comments on the Chinese policy experimentation approach, and suggests that some measures can be taken to promote voluntary emissions reduction and policy learning. Keywords Climate policy * Voluntary carbon trading * Chinese government * Policy experimentation * Non-state actors, Introduction The international community has established a global regime to address anthropogenic climate change [67]. Under this regime, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto [...]

The question posed in this paper is whether the triple disaster of 3/11 constitutes a 'critical juncture' in Japan. We can point to minor discontinuities in Japanese policies, institutions, and identity caused by the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear plant meltdown that eventuated on March 11, 2011, but in the year following the event there was no evidence of a critical change. The disaster and post-disaster situation in Japan are summarized, and an explanation for the lack of critical change in nuclear policy--an area where change might have been expected in view of the fact that European countries reacted to 3/11 with critical changes in nuclear energy policy--is sought by comparing the ability of mainstream theories of Japanese politics to explain the situation. Keywords Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant * Anti-nuclear power movement * Japanese politics * Nuclear power debate * 3/11 earthquake, Introduction Does 3/11 constitute a critical juncture for Japan? (1) The answer is that it is too soon to know. There can be a considerable time lag between an exogenous [...]

This article examines Chinese nation building in the post-Cold War era from the perspective of foreign policy. It focuses on the role of Japan and the United States as significant 'Others' in Chinese leaders' construction of three major variants of Chinese national identity: as a victim (past), as a developing country (present) and as a great power (future). The article argues that Japan occupies a primary place in the enactment of the past aspect of Chinese identity, while the US plays a major role in its present and, especially, future aspects. Keywords China * Foreign policy * Japan * National identity * 'Other' * United States, Introduction The increasing weight of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as both a regional and international player has produced mixed perceptions in the US and East Asia concerning its [...]

This introduction explores the changing nature of Chinese and Vietnamese nation-building in the era of globalisation and specifically, transnationalism. The first part sets out a conceptual framework designed to put contemporary Chinese and Vietnamese nation-building in comparative, international perspective. The second part looks at the borders of nation-building from the point of view of diasporas living the nation-state, while the third part focuses on a series of trends working to reinterpret the nation from within. Keywords Nation-building * Transnationalism * Diaspora * China * Vietnam, Introduction: Nation-building in China and Vietnam This special issue explores the changing nature of Chinese and Vietnamese nation-building in the era of globalisation and specifically, transnationalism. The concept of transnationalism [...]

Chinese popular nationalism has been spotlighted as a source of the 'China Threat' in interpreting the country's foreign policies by China scholars, especially, so-called constructivist pessimists. However, the applicability of this interpretation is quite limited when Sino-South Korea relations are examined. Though it is true that the anti-Korean sentiment of the Chinese has seriously grown in recent years, it has not affected the government's foreign policies to Korea. On the contrary, it has been played down or counter-balanced by the government, its media, and academics of China, as the period around the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when negative feelings surged, clearly illustrates. Chinese nationalism is not a threat to South Korea and cannot be generalized as a variable explaining Chinese foreign policies. Keywords Anti-Korean sentiment * Beijing Olympics * China * Nationalism * South Korea, Introduction Recalling Chinese soccer fans' insults and pelts at the Japanese team during the 2004 Asian Cup, Peter Gries wondered in 'Narratives to Live By' whether Chinese nationalist anger would [...]

Author(s): Feng Zhu [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.11135.37, 0000000122569319, Center for International & Strategic Studies, School of International Studies, Peking University, , Beijing, China Introduction Since the outbreak of the [...]

This paper examines China's role in the Six-Party Talks, a multilateral initiative with the aim of denuclearising North Korea. As North Korea's behaviour has become increasingly provocative, evidenced by the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Incidents and the newly unveiled uranium enrichment plant at Yeonbyon, China's indecision in dealing with the deteriorating situation has dramatically undermined Beijing's ability to continue successfully to play the leading mediator role. Yet if China fails to take decisive action now, the consequences could be dire. Further deterioration in North Korea's behaviour could trigger a nuclear arms race, severely hamper regional economic development and even create a geopolitical split in East Asia, leading to a confrontation between the US, South Korea and Japan acting together on one side, and China, Russia and North Korea aligned on the other. The factors that have prevented China from making further progress in the diplomatic process are many and various and this paper will reveal the complexity of the North Korean issue for China. Foreign academics and policy makers have tended to attribute China's indecision over North Korea to China putting its own security interests first. But this is far too simplistic a picture of the complex relationship that China has with North Korea. There are a host of factors at work that need to be taken into account to understand the present impasse in the diplomatic process. These factors include China's emotional ties to North Korea and empathy with its position as the weakest party in the Talks, the conflicting attitudes within the Chinese government itself towards the North, and the competing interests and lack of trust between the different stakeholders. It seems that for the foreseeable future, the North Korean issue will continue to plague Chinese foreign policy until all the parties involved act as a collaborative body to reach a consensus on how to resolve the situation. Keywords Chinese diplomacy * Denuclearisation * Korean peninsula * Mediation * North Korea * Six-party talks, Introduction Since the outbreak of the second North Korean nuclear crisis in October 2002, China's positive efforts to engage with North Korea, and play a 'mediator role', initially boosted China's [...]

Does the rise of China present a threat or an opportunity for Southeast Asia? One of the most revealing arenas in which this will be determined will be within the context of regional institution-building. For a region that is perennially associated with under-institutionalisation it is remarkable just how many initiatives have been proposed recently. Such institutions, may be important venues within which 'asymmetric regionalism' may be manifest and perhaps managed. The paper provides an assessment of this process through an analysis of China's relationship with Southeast Asia. The paper initially provides a brief theoretical introduction which explains the relationship between regional development and its possible impact on inter-state relations. Following this I provide an analysis of the political economic and strategic dynamics that are shaping and being shaped by regional initiatives. Finally, I assess how successful ASEAN's efforts have been to engage China via regional mechanisms has actually been. Keywords China * Development * Regionalism * Southeast Asia, Is the much discussed 'rise of China' a threat or an opportunity for the rest of the region of which it has historically been such a dominant part? This question [...]

In 1947, Japan became the first East Asian country to introduce democracy, and it was not until four decades later that South Korea completed the democratic transition. Today, surprisingly, South Korea stands out among the East Asian countries as the one that has the most vibrant and politically powerful civil society, whereas in Japan, the role of the nongovernmental organization (NGO) sector in political advocacy is greatly limited. Using historical institutionalism, this paper tries to explain why the NGOs in South Korea and Japan play vastly different roles in political advocacy. It concludes that the different social movement traditions have played important roles in the evolution of the civil societies in Japan and South Korea, and led to the different levels of institutionalization within the NGO sector. Keywords Civil society * Political advocacy * Social movement tradition * Institutional change * Japan * South Korea Conclusion, Introduction Civil organizations in East Asian countries have witnessed profound growth since the 1990s and have become part of the global 'organizational revolution' [p.1]. Despite their state-centric tradition, since the [...]

War reconciliation and cultures of memory themes continue to receive high attention but despite the long list of newly released books praising Germany which has been thought to be more prone to experience guilt and from it ensuing war responsibility for its past than the Japanese nation in the aftermath of World War Two (46), the long shadows of the past are still prevailing in both countries. Even if Germany scores better then Japan from a comparative perspective this does not mean that Germany has internally resolved the problems related to its past once and for all. Yet, the slave labor compensation legislation in Germany which was meant to definitely settle the accounts with the past has shown that lasting war reconciliation is possible. The unwillingness of Japanese Government officials to admit past wrongdoings, to apologize for coerced war prostitution and to refuse to compensate former slave laborers has put Japan on the frontline of international criticism. The claim that Japan as a nation has not learned from history is critically re-assessed against the backdrop of bottom up NGO reconciliation activities and lawmaker efforts to enact legislation aimed at resolving the comfort women issue. In contrast to conventional explanations it is argued that different circumstances, influenced by distinct historical and political factors in each country, resulted in different approaches. In Germany the social protest movements led to the institutional birth of the Green Party. The Greens initiated the reconciliation process for former slave laborers and changed the political landscape from the bottom. In Japan the social protest movements did not succeed to settle as a novel political force. Thoughtless-ness, ignorance, conspiracy of silence, 'double victimization' stigma, 'negative pacifism' and the reluctance to address the war guilt issue prevented a public discussion. It is then sought to answer the question: Why do people repress or deny past wrongdoings despite knowing the facts? It is looked at how consecutive generations in Germany and Japan have coped with guilt and shame feelings in different ways. The article concludes that war reconciliation similar to restorative justice is an ongoing, never-ending process. The emotional part of reconciliation which goes far beyond words of apology, judicial punishment or monetary compensation and does not necessarily lead always to positive outcomes is given particular attention. Ways of civil society bottom-up reconciliation in Germany and Japan are explored. Keywords Denial * Germany * Guilt/shame * Japan * Repression * War reconciliation, Introduction Even more then 60 years after the war shadows of the past continue to haunt the public conscience in Germany and Japan (20), (24), (25), (28), (44), (48). For [...]

This paper analyses the Chinese quest for energy resources in Latin America, arguing that the strengthening of relations in this sector can only be explained by a conjunction of interests on both sides. Looking at the presence of Chinese national oil companies in the regional energy sector, we show that China's incursion has allowed the region to shift its traditional energy partners, introducing a factor of change into economic and political relations with geopolitical implications for the regional arena. Keywords China * Energy * Foreign policy * Latin America * Oil, Introduction The importance of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as an international actor today is unquestionable. Its emergence goes well beyond the economic field. In addition to its prominence [...]

To shed light on conflicting views of the regional readjustment under way, this article views Northeast Asia from various geographical angles. It compares local strategies for regionalism, identifying the perspectives of six border cities, two each in China, Japan, and Russia. Problems of regionalism are treated in light of the poor fit among local strategies. The past five years have produced more conflict than cooperation, which can also be explained by differing national strategies. The article examines linkages among the region's powers, suggesting how they affect regionalism, and concludes with an analysis of divergence in national strategies., The 1990s represents a transitional decade for Northeast Asia. The past has left a formidable legacy: the cold war lasting half a century compounded in this region by the Sino-Soviet [...]

In this timely study, Joel Andreas examines the 'red engineers' who were trained at China's elite educational institutions in the 1950s and early to mid-1960s to be both 'red and [...]

Today we come together to begin sharing a deeply painful part of Asian history; but we are also ourselves making history today in more ways than one. We at Canadian [...]