Reflections From Asia

It may seem rather premature, but already headlines are appearing announcing the result of the Taiwan presidential election in January 2016:  “Taiwan will have a female president in 2016.” At that time, current Kuomintang President Ma Ying-jeou compl...

Various dates have been advanced for the 70th anniversary of the ending of World War Two.  August 15th?   September 3rd ? There should be no debate.   In 1945, the Second World War formally ended on September 2nd, when Japanese representatives signed ...

Last week, I highlighted how North Korea has occasionally continued to act as if the 1950-1953 Korean War was not yet over.  This week we will be stressing how the promise of the 1953 Armistice has yet to be fulfilled.  An Armistice is often thought t...

Two weeks ago I described how Korea, historically united, was divided by foreign influences.  Last week, I highlighted how this division was accentuated by the 1950-53 Korean War. This week I will be stressing how North Korea is still occasionally rev...

Last week we tried to answer two questions -- why were there two Koreas in existence, capable of going to war with each other, 65 years ago?  What were the key developments which led to traditional Korean unity becoming the potentially bitter divi...

This week and next I will be trying to explain an enduring Asian reality – how was it that Korea became a bitterly divided nation and an intractable international problem   The Korean War remains a momentous event in Asian history which still casts ...

The only thing wrong with celebrating history is that not everyone agrees with what is being celebrated.   Take the current global celebration of the 70th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War.  Even the dates are questionable.  Russia ...

As I scanned the international media on and after April 30th for its reporting on Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s address to a joint session of the US Congress, one conclusion became blindingly obvious: it had not been the free press’s finest hou...