The Asianist

Earlier Google got into something of a controversy over its map showing Taiwan as "a province of China," thus seemingly taking Beijing's side.

Now, Angry Chinese Blogger reports that Google has changed its story, sort of:

In September, Google became embroiled in an argument over its naming of Chinese-Taiwan as ‘Taiwan, Province of China’. In October, Google Merged its Google Map service with its Google Local service, and in doing so removed the legend describing the island as a Chinese province. Problem solved? Not quite.

It appears that Google has not entirely gone over to Taiwan’s side.

Apparently, Taiwan is only Taiwan so long as you speak English, and the same goes for Taipei.

Posted by James Na at 8:41 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

As in Japan, rice imports are severely restricted in South Korea. Traditionally, rice autarky (and thus farmers) was politically important.

What this meant, however, was that rice pricing was distorted from the market supply-demand equilibrium (either the price was too high or the government subsidized the cost).

Of course, the economically rational thing to do is to allow free trade in rice like any other commodity. The resulting competition naturally lowers the price to benefit the consumers.

In a positive step (via The Marmot's Hole):

A National Assembly panel Thursday passed a bill aimed at ratifying rice import agreements that South Korea signed with nine countries last year despite fierce protests from lawmakers of the minor opposition Democratic Labor Party (DLP).

Under the agreements, South Korea will raise its rice import quota to 7.96 percent by 2014 from the current 4 percent in return for a 10-year additional delay in introducing tariffs on rice. The minimum import amount of rice will increase from some 200,000 tons to 400,000 tons by 2014.

The rice accords also call on Seoul to permit up to 30 percent of the imported rice to be sold directly to consumers by 2010.

Posted by James Na at 8:33 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Not exactly Asia (well, Iraq is SW Asia, but that's still outside the agenda of this blog), but my latest op-ed on the US casualties in Iraq is up:

Predictably, the mainstream media is talking up the "milestone" of the 2,000th American military death in Iraq to portray the struggle as a useless, costly quagmire.
According to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, the total number of American military deaths in Iraq, including non-battle deaths, now stands at 2002 in approximately 32 months of combat from March 2003 to October 2005.

It is often said that these deaths are not simply statistics. They are real faces and lives, each with its own story and family. Yet we do rely on statistics sometimes, because they offer a sense of scale...

Posted by James Na at 8:26 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Earlier I wrote about Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi visiting Yasukuni and, in effect, honoring Japanese war criminals.

Chairman Henry Hyde, the Republican head of the House International Relations committee, has chimed in on the debate.

Recall that I heartily applauded a previous Hyde letter to President Roh Moo-Hyun of South Korea about the MacArthur statue.

It's really too bad that Congressman Hyde is retiring. I really like the letters he sends out to foreign leaders. They always strike the right note.

Posted by James Na at 12:24 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

"Hello Kitty" is huge in Asia. Now there is a Hello Kitty Jet from Taiwan. For the life of me, I don't understand why Asian women (not just little girls) are mesmerized by Hello Kitty.

It just seems so, well, childish. On the other hand, it might also be a sign that feminism has not exactly made much inroads in Asia. Women are still in love with cutesy things there, and are not afraid to show it.

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Todd Crowell at Asia Cable writes:

Public approval for the democratic members is low at the moment. The government of Donald Tsang is very popular, unlike the previous administration. Beijing seems to be making peace offerings to the democrats as shown by the get-together in Guangzhou earlier this month. Another mass demonstration being bruited for early December might prove embarrassingly sparse.

The public may look on opposition as being simply stubborn obstructionism in pursuit of a utopian cause. The baby thaw with Beijing, which they are so eager to nurture, would freeze again. In the end the democrats are in a corner and may not have many good options other than to accept the proposals and try for some compromises.

Of course, the desire for democracy can be bought off with prosperity for only so long, e.g. South Korea and Taiwan). But South Korea and Taiwan had powerful external influences for pro-democracy movements from other governments, most notably the United States.

Unfortunately, because of China's increasingly economic juggernaut status, many governments are "going along to get along" with China's, and by extension, Hong Kong's political repression. And my country, the US, is to some extent guilty of that too.

Some technophiles thought that the Internet might derail China's oppression, but the big technology-as-liberator has turned out to be a decidedly mixed bag where China is concerned:

On one hand, the internet has been a tremendously empowering and liberating force for many Chinese - economically and culturally. On the other hand, a business and regulatroy model is emerging that enables censorship to work in a way that is actually tolerable for most Chinese internet users (except for political dissidents who are - to put it mildly - out of luck). As a result, China's extensive system of censorship and internet controls doesn't hold businesses back when it comes to innovating and making money from products and services that enable users to create media (blogs, posdcasts, etc.). We are also looking at a future in which soft censorship will be "baked" into a new generation of software and online services coming out of China. And these products and services will prove very attractive not just for the Chinese government but for many other governments - including some that call themselves democratic.

Posted by James Na at 11:36 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

From the Korea Times:

South Korea will dispatch its deputy foreign minister to Iran early next week to solve what looks like a bid by Teheran to punish Seoul for voting for a U.N. resolution on its nuclear program [boldface mine].

Iran rejected imports from South Korea since Oct. 17. At least five cases of such a retaliatory measure have been confirmed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul said on Thursday.

Posted by James Na at 9:34 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Japan's imperial family just might join the 21st Century and allow females to inherit the throne:

An advisory panel to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has reached a consensus that an emperor's first-born child, regardless of sex, should be the heir to the Chrysanthemum throne, sources said.

If the proposal is accepted, Princess Aiko, the 3-year-old daughter of Crown Prince Naruhito and Crown Princess Masako, would be given priority to ascend the throne.

No boy has been born in the imperial household for 40 years.

However, a group of scholars on Oct. 6 issued an "emergency statement" arguing that former imperial family members who withdrew from the imperial registration after Japan's defeat in World War II should be allowed to return to the imperial lineage. Such a move would put a male in line for the throne.

The group wants to maintain the imperial tradition of passing succession on to only males.

Posted by James Na at 11:01 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

From Asia Times Online:

Never one to shy away from rattling the saber, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld made his customary digs about China's growing military machine while in the country. But the words are something of a smokescreen; his visit could mark a new beginning in bilateral military ties.

Posted by James Na at 10:50 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Deutsche Bank Research says, with lots of pretty graphs (via Asiapundit):

1. China's GDP per capita is 2.2 times higher than that of India.

2. China's economy is more globalized.

3. India has better corporate governance and more "commercially driven" companies.

What this tells me is that China's reform policies have paid off handsomely, but that China's business culture has some strong hurdles. Conversely, India has fared less well due to slower reforms, but has a greater potential in the sense that there is more ingrained Western-style business culture.

Posted by James Na at 10:45 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Why South Korea seems to be leading the world in the controversial science of stem-cell research (via The Marmot's Hole).

Some explanations are interesting (cultural view of "blood" and genetics, reverence for scientists), some are questionable ("collectivist" research culture) and others are just down right silly ("chopsticks"!).

A couple of points that caught my attention:

For example, despite a nearly absolute ban on abortion, Korea has one of the highest abortion rates in the developed world because the government looks away and no one protests.

The article goes on to criticize American-style "moral wresting," but what it really shows is that, in some way, South Korea is a pretty materialistic, amoral culture.

On the positive side:

Korea reveres scientists more than we do. Science is trendy in Korea. It attracts the nation's best students. There's no nerd derision. Hwang Woo-suk is a celebrity in a way we can't imagine an American scientist could be. The national law-enforcement agency assigns officers to protect him. Korean Airlines flies him around the world for free. The minister of science and technology ranks at the top of the South Korean Cabinet—as high as the secretary of state or treasury in the United States. While most foreign scientists who study in the United States end up staying there, nearly 90 percent of Korean scientists end up returning home, despite much lower salaries.

When I was growing up, I couldn't hear enough about studying science, engineering or medicine from my parents, relatives, friends, parents of friends and ad naseum (when I showed some interest in the study of law, I couldn't hear enough about studying computer science first and then doing intellectual property law).

And, yet, the prevaling social culture of South Korea, in my view, is a mythic-bureaucratic one, rather than a rational-scientist one. Policies and laws are often fashioned from rumors, hearsays and wild shifts in popular emotions rather than after substantive debates about the consequences.

If I may so speculate, I think this has much to do with the prevailing materialistic emphasis on education (study science, invent something or become respected and rich) rather than spiritual one designed to teach one to be a learned, rational gentleman/lady.

Posted by James Na at 11:02 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I don't know what the problem is with some of these conservative Japanese politicians. I agree with their foreign policy and strong alliance with the US. I agree with their economic policy (postal savings privatization). But for reasons I cannot fathom, they continue to insist on honoring war criminals, with the predictable result that surrounding Asian nations, particularly China and Korea, use it as an excuse for political and economic conflict and xenophobic nationalism.

OneFreeKorea echos my thoughts almost exactly:

I'm not suggesting that men who died for their country in wars not of their own choosing don't deserve to be remembered. I'm saying that the war criminals should be moved to another place, and the museum--if it needs to be there at all--needs to tell a more balanced story than its current theme than its present theme that Japan was an innocent victim.

Imperial Japan was anything but a victim. My reading of the British historian Paul Johnson's Modern Times showed some remarkable parallels between psychology of the Japanese leadership in the 1930s and of North Korea today. In both situations, the leaders competed with each other to be more radical, more bellicose, more irrational, and more ruthless . . . in part because being perceived as rational had proven to be so dangerous.

Unlike Germany that went through a deep national soul-searching in 1970's and 1980's about Nazism, Japan never went through a similar process. So no matter how much Japan's leaders apologize about its aggression and abuses before and during World War II, the people of surrounding nations will always remain wary of any assertiveness from Japan, simply because they believe -- likely correctly -- that most Japanese still see themselves as victims of World War II rather than perpetrators of some of the most heinous acts during the war.

Rather than continual expressions of "regret" for past misdeeds from Japanese politicians, what must happen for Japan to be able to "move on" regarding this issue is a nation-wide movement to re-examine its wartime history. That also means no more revisionist text books that portray Japanese imperialism as a benign movement to rid fellow Asians from European domination.

Posted by James Na at 1:51 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I agree with Bret Swanson that this obsession with currency-revaluation is highly misguided. Frankly, I think it is the wrong subject with which to criticize China.

The main problem with China's economy is the elusive rule of law. Mind you, rule of law does not necessarily equate to Western-style democracy (see Singapore, for example). But rule of law, including the all-important property rights and just and consistent resolution of disputes, is essential if China is to emerge as a viable economy with long-term stability.

For the moment, unfortunately, that goal remains elusive, because rule of law requires political reform, particularly that aimed at genuine reduction of corruption and kleptocracy.

Posted by James Na at 12:45 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Hostesses in Japan aren't exactly prostitutes. They usually sit with clients at clubs or bars and get them to buy (expensive) liquor while chatting together. There is, however, a hint or "allure" of possible sexual relationships.

Apparently, some customers are thinking up new gifts to woo these hostesses:

"Loads of customers have recently started giving nightclub hostesses little dogs as presents in the hope they'll be able to woo them. Dogs are little bit out of the ordinary and, as a present, they have a bit more impact than the average brand name goods," a hostess in Tokyo's Roppongi nightclub district tells Shukan Taishu (10/24).

"The dog also provides the customer with a good topic of conversation next time he meets the hostess and he's probably hoping he might get a bit of action. But, there are so many guys out there with the same idea, some hostesses are apparently getting as many as four dogs as presents. They can't look after the dogs, so just dump them. I feel really sorry for the poor dogs."

Japan is falling for dogs like never before -- its young women in particular. It's now highly fashionable among 20-something women to own a toy breed, especially if it's a Chihuahua like Kyu-chan, the little pup that has made a small fortune for a finance company courtesy of a series of clever TV ads.

Animal activists are outraged at the trend.

"Many young women have bought pets for things like animal therapy recently. But that increase in buyers has also been accompanied by an increase in the number of pets being dumped. There's a problem with the morality of these owners," says Kosaku Yamada, producer of a dog's rights song produced earlier this year. "I want people to treat their pets with the same love and affection they would give to any other member of their family. I hope that Japanese morality regarding pets rises to the same standards shown in Western countries."

For the time being, there are few signs of that occurring. Local and national government statistics show that 170,000 dogs collected from entertainment districts alone were exterminated during fiscal 2004.

Keiji Morii, a vet from Tokyo's Adachi-ku, pleas for people to take more care of pets they've purchased.

"Like humans, animals have precious lives," he tells Shukan Taishu. "Buying a dog means agreeing to become the protector of that animal's precious little life. It's not a decision that should be made lightly. And, once that decision has been made, you should be prepared to accept the dog as a lifetime partner and shower it with all the love and affection that involves."

Posted by James Na at 12:36 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Is there a split in China's leadership?

While most Chinese hearts soared with the launch on Wednesday morning of the spacecraft Shenzhou VI, which took two Chinese "taikonauts" into orbit, China's leader was in no mood to celebrate.

President Hu Jintao was conspicuous by his absence from the launch site to watch the liftoff from the heavily guarded Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. And it is telling that as chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), Hu should have missed this important day for China's military.

Hu's absence, and presumably his ill-humor, bear out rumors circulating in the higher reaches of power in China: he suffered a major setback at the 5th plenary session of the central committee of the CCP, which ended after four days of closed-door meetings in Beijing on Tuesday.

Hu, the nominal military chief, is believed to be particularly unhappy with his top brass.

None of the political objectives Hu had aimed for before the session were endorsed by the 354-member central committee in its 11th Five-Year Plan (2006 to 2010).

Hu's list had included speeding up political reforms, a pledge by all local authorities to submit to the macro-controls instituted by central CCP officials, and support from all cadres for the state leadership to attain a more prominent role in international affairs.

Instead, the communique issued at the close of the plenary session concentrated on economic reforms. There was no endorsement at all of macro-control nor the enhancement of China's stance on the international stage.

Political observers in Beijing agree that there now appears to be two party centrals in China. On the table, and for the public to see, there is the Hu-Wen combine. Behind the curtains, there is a special "train" in which the "retired" party chief, Jiang, rides, free to roam the country. Only a few top leaders are allowed a special train, and it is a symbol of exclusive personal status.

Hu replaced Jiang as party chief in 2002, state president in 2003, and military chief last year.

Another indication of a schism at the top can be found on the website of the People's Liberation Army Daily, the official organ of the military. Among the list of special topics in the latest archive, half still bear Jiang's name, while Hu is almost invisible. The military paper also devoted little space to promoting the plenary session.

Posted by James Na at 12:24 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

I'm late to this news (sorry, I've been having software issues) about Chinese thugs beating up a village democracy activist right in front of a journalist:

When I worked as a journalist in China, usually the thugs - and certainly the police - were too smart to let these things happen in front of foreign journalists. Not this time.

Posted by James Na at 6:28 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Asahi Shimbun reports:

A ceremony was held Wednesday at Yasukuni Shrine for the planned return of a Korean monument that commemorates the Korean Peninsula's defeat of Japanese invaders at the end of the 16th century.

The Japanese and South Korean governments officially requested that the stone monument be sent to the peninsula in an attempt to mend relations between the two countries, and also North Korea.

The monument was created in what is now North Hamgyong, a North Korean province, in the early 18th century to celebrate the failed attempt by warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598) to invade the peninsula. Volunteer Korean armies repelled the Japanese attack.

The monument is believed to have been brought to Japan during the Russo-Japan War (1904-1905) by Japanese troops, and later kept at Yasukuni Shrine, which honors the nation's war dead.

The Bukgwandaecheopbi monument, currently held in the Shinto shrine in Tokyo, is scheduled to be airlifted to South Korea at the end of October after protective measures are taken. It will eventually be transferred to North Korea [boldface mine].

Posted by James Na at 6:18 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Google says that Taiwan is a province of China.

What do you expect from a company that is run by raging leftists? It'd just be so convenient for them and their business if Taiwan just disappeared as a free, democratic nation and became subjects of a quasi-communist dictatorship.

This isn't to say that Taiwan's leaders have behaved rationally (they've been too reliant on US support without having to spend the funds for their own self-defense), but still that's a minor quibble.

The freedom-lover that I am, I'd rather live in Taiwan than in communist China, but I guess for Google, it's China, so long as there is money to be made.

Posted by James Na at 11:17 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

The blog "Kushibo-E-Kibun" has a good analysis of the latest proclamation from North Korea that it won't need aid due to "bumper crops."

The claim is likely faulty, and the Potemkin view of happy peasants and soldiers havesting crops shown to journalists "at a distance" is probably staged.

It appears clear, however, that the North Korean regime does not wish to be a dependency of outside parties, even if many of its people starve.

The North Korean regime is all about control. Despite the talk of economic reform (now curtailed to some degree), what the North Korean leaders want is to maintain their absolute power at all costs. If outside aid is what's needed for that control, they'll take the aid. If the aid is undermining their control, they'll bar it. It is as simple as that.

Kim Jong-Il and his cronies will kill half the people in North Korea if it means they get to keep prison-like control of the other half (my apologies to normal prisons, which usually have much better conditions than North Korea).

Posted by James Na at 10:26 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Angry Chinese Blogger says:

Despite frosty political relations, there remains a great deal of charitable good will between China and Japan, as has been characterized by Ito’s donation.

Each year, many Japanese travel to China to take part in charitable works, ranging from volunteers tree planters in North West China, working to help to halt desertification, to doctors and teachers who working with the China’s poor. Many more also work in Japan as fundraisers each year, or make personal donations to good causes in China, including funds to assist Chinese comunities and to help poorer Chinese students to study overseas.

I pointed out earlier the crucial difference between China and Japan as being that of rule of law. Angry Chinese Blogger confirms this:

One rule for China, another for Japan

Ironically, while Tokyo accepted responsibility for Nakagama’s amateurish attack, and authorities issued a full apology soon after the incident, Beijing has yet to accept responsibility for the actions of several thousand Chinese protestors who attempted to storm the Japanese consulate in 上海 (Shanghai) on a number of dates earlier this year, and has yet to issue an full apology for the incidents.

Beijing has also yet to accept responsibility, or issue an apology, for the damage caused to other Japanese interests in China during Government sponsored riots earlier this year which saw tens of thousands of Chinese attacking and looting Japanese businesses on the mainland.

Similarly, Chinese businesses that were targeted for selling Japanese products, and Chinese, Koreans, and other Asians/overseas Asian who were attacked or intimidated by Chinese vigilantly, in the mistaken belief that they were Japanese, have also yet to receive any substantive verbal or monetary recompense for actions committed against them.

Under current international conventions, a host nation is responsible for the protection of foreign citizens and businesses within its boundaries, both during peacetime and during times of unrest, an is tasked with guarding against unrest aimed at foreign dignitaries and diplomatic personnel.

Posted by James Na at 9:56 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)