Asia Insight

A weekly politics and economy big read

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Politicians up for election say that raising the earnings of workers at the bottom of the pay scale could kickstart a multiplier effect that reverberates across economies, but the chiefs of Southeast Asian industries are not so sure.
Asia Insight

Malaysia's 35% minimum wage hike stirs recovery concerns

Critics say politicians are promising happier paydays as an election ploy

26 April 2022
Can the world's third-largest democracy buy discounted oil from Russia, maintain its foreign policy independence and come down on the right side of history?
Asia Insight

Indonesia in spotlight as it weighs buying Russia's 'blood oil'

Ukraine war and skyrocketing fuel prices strip away Jokowi's rare opportunity

19 April 2022
John Lee, Hong Kong's former security chief and chief secretary, looks poised to win the city's top job.
Asia Insight

Hong Kong fears run deep as John Lee aims to take charge

Police vet emerges as China's pick to lead a public wary of security law

12 April 2022
Shanghai on March 31: Over two years into the pandemic, China continues to resort to lockdowns to curb COVID-19 outbreaks.
Asia Insight

Shanghai's extended COVID lockdown highlights China's hazy exit path

Vaccination policies and need for stability delay shift to living with virus

5 April 2022
Costs were already rising before Russia invaded Ukraine. Now, Asia's businesses and households are being squeezed even harder. 
Asia Insight

Inflation starts to bite in Asia on war, COVID, supply squeeze

Growing public anger puts governments to the test ahead of elections

29 March 2022
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha seized power in 2014 and had planned to serve a full elected term until 2023, but his way ahead is far from clear.  
Asia Insight

Rifts in Thailand's fractious coalition threaten early election

Prime Minister Prayuth less certain of lasting full term to 2023

22 March 2022
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam's administration has been criticized for frequent U-turns as it fights a wave of omicron-driven COVID-19 cases and deaths.
Asia Insight

China scrambles as COVID exposes cracks in Hong Kong leadership

Deadly omicron wave dents city's global status, while mainland fights spillover

15 March 2022
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has led Singapore for 17 years. The next leader faces the task of steering the city-state to steady growth in an unstable world.
Asia Insight

Singapore's succession: COVID and war raise stakes in PM search

City-state seeks a new economic path, and its next leader, amid global crises

8 March 2022
The nationalistic policies of Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa have resulted in food shortages as his government struggles under a growing pile of foreign debt.
Asia Insight

Sri Lanka faces food shortages and a meager New Year

Organic agriculture stunts crop yields, forcing lean times on debt-ridden nation

1 March 2022
The two main presidential candidates -- Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party, left, and Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party -- are pledging to run the economy in a way that facilitates innovation while providing a safety net.
Asia Insight

Innovate or die: Korea Inc. faces harsh choice as election looms

Nation's next president tasked with reshaping export-oriented economy

22 February 2022
Four decades after its "Look East Policy" deepened ties with Japan, Malaysia is increasingly seeking economic cooperation with China.
Asia Insight

Malaysia eyes China 40 years after it 'looked east' to Japan

Nation faces COVID, 1MDB and value chain hurdles on path to high-income status

15 February 2022
China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin: A joint statement released after their recent summit says the countries' relationship "has no limits -- there are no 'forbidden' areas."
Asia Insight

China and Russia's 'no limits' ties test West as Ukraine shivers

Olympic summit with Xi caps Putin's evolution from leader once lauded by Biden

8 February 2022
Myanmar's Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who leads the country, is facing resistance from a fractured -- and increasingly armed -- populace.
Asia Insight

Yangon calm masks Myanmar's pain 1 year after military takeover

Disparate forces meet along Thai border as strange 'new normal' sets in

1 February 2022
Joko Widodo is confident investments will flow into Indonesia if "we stop [exports of] bauxite, we stop copper, we stop tin, we stop gold, everything stops, stops, stops."
Asia Insight

Indonesia's drive to lift resource curse shakes global producers

Jokowi sees export ban on tin, gold, copper as invitation to foreign investors

25 January 2022
"The universe is an awfully big place," author Kurt Vonnegut wrote. "There is room enough for an awful lot of people to be right about things and still not agree."
Asia Insight

Space powers take aim at moon in quest for resources and glory

U.S. and China jostle for lead as Japan, South Korea and others carve niches

18 January 2022
"Just like Kim Il Sung had 'juche' and Kim Jong Il had 'songun,' Kim Jong Un too is trying to create his own thought form, by combining these two ideologies and naming it after himself."
Asia Insight

Kim Jong Un-ism: Leader seeks 'new' ideology for North Korea

The third Kim is trying to build an image distinct from his father and grandfather

11 January 2022
Elections in Asia this year will be an important test of several countries' political mood and institutions.
Asia Insight

From Philippines to South Korea: A guide to a busy election year

Democracy under pressure in Asia as pendulum swings toward authoritarianism

4 January 2022
As the pandemic continued in 2021, Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing seized power, the U.S. and U.K. agreed to share nuclear submarine tech with Australia, Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai made an explosive revelation and BTS ruled the airwaves. 
Asia Insight

From Myanmar to AUKUS to BTS: Newsmakers that shaped Asia in 2021

As COVID raged, the security landscape shifted and superstars made their mark

28 December 2021
Experts say the digital revolution raises the stakes of standardization, as rules set today will shape the global economy tomorrow.
Asia Insight

Standard-bearer: China races U.S. and Europe to set tech rules

Beijing's focus on strategic sectors like lithium and 5G puts West on defensive

21 December 2021
Hong Kong's Legislative Council election on Dec. 19 is the first since a Beijing-approved overhaul effectively barred anyone deemed "unpatriotic" from running.
Asia Insight

Reshaped in China's image, Hong Kong set for 'patriots only' polls

Election highlights divide among democrats reeling from impact of security law

14 December 2021
Sunday's referendum in New Caledonia is the final of three votes on gaining independence from France. A split was rejected in the first two plebiscites.
Asia Insight

China looms over New Caledonia vote on independence from France

Most indigenous Kanaks favor a split, but European residents tend to favor status quo

7 December 2021
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Asia Insight

China-Pakistan Belt and Road Initiative hits buffers

Disagreements, terrorism and COVID-19 stymie CPEC projects

30 November 2021
Critically endangered yellow-crested cockatoos handed in by owners for release in Indonesia in 2015: Experts say the exotic pet trade raises major issues regarding animal welfare, conservation and public health.
Asia Insight

COVID casts Asia's exotic pet trade in harsher light

From Thailand to Japan, health risks add to animal welfare and biodiversity concerns

23 November 2021
Should Lee Jae-myung, the ruling Democratic Party's pick, come from behind to win the presidency in March, South Korea could become the first major economy to adopt a universal basic income program.
Asia Insight

Cash for all: Lee Jae-myung's radical plan to reshape South Korea

Presidential hopeful wants universal basic income to ease economic disparities

16 November 2021
Indonesian President Joko Widodo resumes overseas visits in October after a nearly two-year hiatus while facing major global challenges. (Nikkei montage/Reuters/AP)
Asia Insight

Jokowi breaks out of shell to broaden Indonesia's global horizons

Can president reassert Jakarta's claim to lead the developing world?

9 November 2021