Reflections From Asia

STOCKWIN:  Last Monday morning there was tension in the air of Canberra as word got around of yet another leadership challenge against a current Australian Prime Minister.   The suspense diminished as a remarkable politician (with a style all his own)...

In July, a slow and long-delayed process of potential change was supposed to begin in Burma, the nation stipulated to be Myanmar by its longtime military overlords. The Union Election Commission (the UEC) revealed the number of constituencies which w...

Any day now, it is almost certain that the upper House of  Councilors of the Japanese Diet will finally pass the legislation whereby Japan will be able to practice collective self-defence under the US-Japan Security Treaty.  The mutual defence treaty ...

The most unforgettable Asian love story poignantly emphasizes the Chinese poet Hung Sheng’s “The Palace of Eternal Youth”:   Since ancient times how few lovers Have really remained constant to the end.   This verse immediately came to mind as I r...

Events in Burma this week made me reflect 0n what I wrote on Burma’s authoritarian approach to the 2010 general election in the belief that those urging a policy of engagement with the Burmese military junta are often stunningly naïve, and never more s...

PLAY: the sound of Emperor Hirohitobroadcasting to Japan at midday on August 15th 1945:   STOCKWIN:  You are listening to History. ………that is the voice of the former Emperor of Japan Hirohito, now, in death, the Emperor  Showa, broadcasting to the Japa...

  Today, as we earthlings contemplate the latest achievements in space, it is worth remembering that they are part of the political legacy of President John F. Kennedy.  It is also a reminder that all his presidential successors have failed to stress...

Here is a reprise of Harvey Stockwin’s report of a seminal, not to say pivotal Asian event: Obama’s speech to the Australian House of Representatives on November 17th 2011. STOCKWIN : The Australian House of Representatives has a very relaxed atmo...

Here is a reprise of Harvey Stockwin’s report of a seminal, not to say pivotal Asian event: Obama’s speech to the Australian House of Representatives on November 17th 2011. STOCKWIN : The Australian House of Representatives has a very relaxed atmosp...

Reflecting on the latest American success story in space makes me hark back to January 20th 2006.  At that time I had felt a vague uneasiness over the fact that reaction everywhere was no longer “Out with the old, in with the new.”  Instead the atmos...

Is it possible?  Am I dreaming? Are we at the beginning of a major debate on international diplomacy, in relation to Iran’s nuclear ambitions??     Such a prospect seemed almost impossible recently and procrastination seemed inevitable, as new deadlin...

Reflections From Asia has aired continuously over RTHK Radio3 every Saturday since January 3rd, l998, as a result of many helping hands - all of whom deserve my deep appreciation. It was all started by RTHK's Paul  Gordon, who phoned up in late Dece...

Three months ago Reflections From Asia reported at length on a speech US President Barack Obama gave from the White House on an historic nuclear understanding reached with Iran “which would prevent it obtaining a nuclear weapon”.  Today the world ...

Three months ago Reflections From Asia reported at length on a speech US President Barack Obama gave from the White House on an historic nuclear understanding reached with Iran “which would prevent it obtaining a nuclear weapon”.  Today the world awa...