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Asia, a
Civilization in the
Making, Masakazu Yamazaki, Foreign Affairs, July/August
1996.
According to Masakazu Yamazaki, modernity is the force that will bring
about the convergence of East and West in the Pacific Basin region.
Born
in the West, modernity has radically transformed both East and West in
this century. In order to have historical relevance, the Pacific sphere
must, and it is hoped that it will, serve as a transitional stronghold,
helping to overcome fanatic nationalism and fundamentalism in all its
forms.
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Controlling
Economic
Competition in the Pacific Rim, Charles W. Kegley Jr., USA
Today
Magazine (Society for the Advancement of Education), May 1998.
China, Japan, and the United States are the big three economic powers
in the Pacific Rim, and they must learn to cooperate economically,
politically,
and militarily if prosperity is to succeed. A unified collective spirit
in the Pacific Rim, and in the entire global system in the twenty-first
century, is the responsibility of these big three powers.
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How Asia
Went from
Boom to Gloom, Andrew Z. Szamosszegi, The World & I,
May 1998.
Due to the recent East Asian economic crisis, many countries must
reform
the economic systems that lifted them from poverty to near prosperity.
The roots of the crisis can be traced to a combination of adopting too
closely the Japanese economic model, not letting market forces guide
their
economic development, and a banking system that is being milked for
loans
by corrupt officials.
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Fallen idol,
The
Economist, June 20, 1998
Japan was once feared for its economic might. Today it is feared for
its economic weakness--and the harm its ailing system might do to the
rest
of Asia and the world. Just how sick is Japan?
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Asian Values
and the Asian
Crisis, Francis Fukuyama, Commentary, February 1998.
The significant differences in social and cultural values among the
countries of East Asia helped precipitate the recent Asian economic
crisis.
Attitudes toward work and money varied tremendously from one part of
Asia
to another, and, in many ways, economic growth was contingent on the
rejection
of their own cultural heritage.
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Out with the
Old, in with
Something Much Less Familiar, The Economist, October
10,
1998.
After the economic turmoil in Southeast Asia, the resultant political
changes were inevitable. As this article points out, these changes have
just begun.
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Out of the
Ashes? Southeast
Asia's Struggle through Crisis, Stephen Parker, The
Brookings
Review, Summer 1998.
In the wake of Southeast Asia's struggle with its economic crisis has
come political change, recession, unprecedented unemployment, surging
inflation,
and collapsing imports throughout the entire region.
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Japanese
Roots,
Jared Diamond, Discover, June 1998.
The Japanese are very unique and distinctive in their culture and
environment.
Just who are they, and where did they come from? Jared Diamond examines
some of the questions of Japanese roots.
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In
Defense
of Japanese Bureaucracy, Peter F. Drucker, Foreign Affairs,
September/October 1998.
The realities of the dominance of bureaucracy in Japan are discussed
in this article: Japanese bureaucracy is a good deal less overbearing
than
of some other developed countries; bureaucratic elites manage to keep
power
despite personal problems; procrastination is a proven method of
solving
problems; and as an overriding rule, society comes first, not the
economy.
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Sputter,
Cough,
Choke, Robert Alan Feldman, The Brookings Review,
Summer
1998.
Japan will not be able to solve the Asian Pacific financial crisis.
It does not have the fiscal power and maneuverability to drive Asian
economics,
and may not have the political will.
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Why Japan
Won't
Budge, Justin Fox, Fortune, September 7, 1998.
Why won't Japan bail out Asia? As Justin Fox points out, there are
fundamental economic forces that drive Japan's financial system.
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Once Prized,
Japan's Elderly
Feel Abandoned and Fearful, Nicholas D. Kristof, New York
Times,
August 4, 1997.
In Japan, filial devotion traditionally ran a close second to loyalty
to one's feudal lord. Recently, however, there has been a shift in
attitudes
toward the elderly as many young Japanese feel less of a debt to their
parents.
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The Dilemma
of a
Fading People, Johnathan Sprague, Asiaweek, April 3
1998.
Most population worries over the past 30 years had to do with having
too many people -- that we may be reproducing beyond our planet's
ability
to support us. This remains a specter. But in future, the problems of
population
explosion will increasingly be complicated by those of population busts
in Japan and Europe.
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The
System that
Soured: Toward a New Paradigm to Guide Japan Policy, Richard Katz,
The
Washington Quarterly, Autumn, 1998
Richard Katz, senior editor of the Oriental Economist Report, surveys
the history of Japanology in the United States and suggests a new
paradigm
to capture the urgent need for reform there. This article is
adapted
from his new book, Japan: The System That Soured -- The Rise and
Fall
of the Japanese Economic Miracle, published by M. E. Sharpe.
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A
Continental
Divide: Who Owns Aboriginal Lands?, Lindsey Arkley, The
Christian
Science Monitor, December 8, 1997.
In Australia the rights of native Aborigines have come under recent
debate. The Aboriginal ownership of a great deal of Australia's land
mass
has created a national political crisis.
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The New Order,
Edward
A. Gargan, The New Republic, April 20, 1998.
With Hong Kong reverting to China, there were a number of questions
about what would happen to this important Asian financial center.
Edward
Gargan examines some of the changes that have taken place and what will
continue to take place as Hong Kong truly becomes part of China.
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China's
New Family
Values, Leslie Pappas, Newsweek, August 24, 1998.
Chinese leaders have been unhappy with their country's high divorce
rates and the prevalence of adultery. New rules are being imposed by
conservative
legislators: marriage will have a required waiting period, a divorce
will
be difficult to obtain, and a conviction for adultery will be
punishable
by forced labor.
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Indonesia's
Discontent, Curtis Runyan, World Watch, May/June
1998.
For the last three decades, the rulers of the world's fourth most
populous
country have pursued an aggressive and seemingly successful development
policy. As Curtis Runyan points out, much of this success has been
achieved
through a relentless exploitation of the country's rich environmental
assets.
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Not Fair:
Indonesia
Feels More Unequal Than It Is, The Economist, July 26,
1997.
Indonesians used to be able to rely on their village community for
protection and justice. Today, people have to rely more on formal legal
and political systems, which are seen as hopelessly biased in favor or
the rich and powerful.
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Little
House on the Paddy:
Life in a Northern Vietnam Village, Cameron W. Barr, The
Christian
Science Monitor, September 30, 1997.
Life in rural Vietnam has increased in quality since the end of
collective
farming. Cameron Barr reviews how people now have control over their
lives.
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Vietnam's
Communists
Eye New Vices as Market Worries Rise, Minh T. Vo, The
Christian
Science Monitor, April 3, 1998.
The control of the Communist regime in Vietnam is being challenged
by a populace that is lured by a market economy.
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Philippine
Leader Tries to Withstand Buffeting From Scandal, Mark
Landler,
New York Times, Oct. 17, 2000 |
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Corruption
inThailand, Ron Moreau, Oct 16, 2000, Newsweek. |
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South Korea, in Turnabout, Now Calls for
More Babies, NORIMITSU
ONISHI,
August 21, 2005, New York Times
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