I first met Hsiao Bi-Khim on a sidewalk during Taiwan’s 2008 election campaign. Sitting on a low plastic yellow stool, wearing a stylish white trouser suit, she was stuffing leaflets into envelopes. An elderly couple came up and greeted her. She gave them a pile, set them to work, then turned her attention to my […]
Read MoreAsian Affairs
Clarity, communication… and caution
As dust settled from last month’s discordant US-China summit in Alaska, the People’s Daily published two photographs side by side. One showed the 1901 Boxer Protocol meeting in which Western powers forced their way onto Chinese soil after quelling an anti-foreign uprising. China regards those sanctions imposed on the corrupt Qing dynasty as the beginning […]
Read MoreStriking a balance
As Donald Trump was heading out of the White House, China’s Xinhua news agency did not mince its words: ‘Good riddance to the current US administration and its final madness,’ it declared. President Xi Jinping has called for a ‘healthy and stable’ relationship with the Biden administration, one that upholds principles of ‘no conflict’ and […]
Read MoreUnited States of Asia
Dust had barely settled on the American presidential election when 16Asian leaders signed a trade deal encompassing a third of the world’s population in an area that accounts for 30 per cent of the global economic output. Although promoted as a pan-Asian initiative, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is regarded as being Beijing-led. With […]
Read MoreDefine China
Humphrey Hawksley on a new book that plumbs the historic foundations underlying China’s distinct identity and current conduct. Polarising rhetoric between Beijing and Washington is expected to heighten in these months leading up to November’s US presidential election. Already there is a plethora of books by experts delving into China’s military, its modern communism, its intent […]
Read MoreThe Genius and Flaws of the Founder of Bangladesh
Had he lived, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman would have turned 100 this year and proudly seen his daughter Sheikh Hasina at the helm of his country, navigating it impressively through the complexities of the 21st century. But Mujib survived barely four years from his independence victory in 1971 to his horrific assassination, together with most of […]
Read MoreNew narrative in the Indo-Pacific
Europe’s navies are returning to Asia in a move that could either inflame or help keep tensions under control. Britain and France have deployed warships to the contested South China Sea and announced that more are on their way. For the West it is a natural culmination of Donald Trump’s trade war, the European Union […]
Read MoreChina – A Less than Happy Birthday
China’s October commemoration of the Communist Party’s 70 years in power was extravagant, artistic and disciplined. It ushered in the next decade with verve reminiscent of that displayed at the 60th anniversary ten years earlier, but with one significant difference. Back then, Beijing had just hosted the lavish 2008 Olympic Games with panache and style, […]
Read MoreBeijing’s Achilles’ heels
When the Chinese leadership maps out its long-term regional and global policies, the territories of Hong Kong and Taiwan take special position. While the United States, Europe, the Belt and Road Initiative through Asia and Africa are all vital to China’s continued growth, these two cosmopolitan wealthy, educated societies represent its emotional side. Beijing regards […]
Read MorePlaying the long game
The re-election success of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi comes at a unique time for his country because Western democracies are continuing their inward naval-gazing and the world stage is crying out for new players with bold ideas. In his first term, Modi blazed an international trail through the sheer force of his personality and […]
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