Weekend catch-up: Chinese demography, the far side of the Moon, Ebola returns
The week that was on The Interpreter.
Sedition and Pacific media freedom
Amid recent budget cuts, a positive court ruling is a welcome step towards improved media reporting.
Ireland’s abortion referendum
A divisive campaign not only challenges Ireland’s place in the world but also exposes the vulnerability of elections to foreign interference.
Summit cancelled: advantage Pyongyang
US credibility has taken a significant hit, with broader impacts for Washington’s relationships in Northeast Asia.
Xinjiang’s “transformation through education” camps
The history of Chinese policy in Xinjiang shows the Communist Party has never been averse to repression of ethnic minority opposition and dissent.
Economic diplomacy brief: China relations, debt time bomb, and new rivalries
Greg Earl with economic news from across the region.
Operation Coldstore: Singapore’s struggle to confront history
A gruelling parliamentary hearing has opened a debate on a largely forgotten official crackdown in the Asian city state.
The tide is turning against US financial regulation
The lessons of the 2008 banking failures look like they have already been forgotten – or erased.
A “delicious” visit
Emmanuel Macron’s trip to the Pacific is a reminder of French maritime power, yet be cautious about the idea of France balancing China.
Will China finally end its one-child policy?
There’s a common saying in China: we’ll get old before we get rich.
Shinzo Abe “outside the net”
Japan’s Prime Minister is scrambling to reassert relevance while local media is searching for metaphors.
Immigration links: Cox’s Bazaar monsoon, Kakuma entrepreneurship, more
Links and updates from across the migration and border policy field.
Why China isn’t planning to storm Taiwan’s beaches
China’s navy has grown dramatically, but not its amphibious forces.
Broad strokes: Indonesian art and 20 years of Reformasi
Yogyakarta-based artist Eko Nugroho fears self-censorship is again growing in Indonesia’s otherwise flourishing art scene.
The prospect of North Korea’s economic reform
Declarations of reform mean decentralisation, and may not be sincere.
Ebola strikes again
The swift reaction to this latest deadly outbreak must be matched by the wider international community.
Challenges mount up
Unsolved political issues in the Middle East leave barren soil for economic and social green shoots.
A lesser Australia
If left unchecked, a decline in Australia’s influence will continue quite rapidly over the coming decade.
US naval accidents revisited
Collisions attributed to poor on-board standards have damaged the US Navy’s credibility.
Missed opportunities in the internationalised university
The majority of Chinese students leave Australia’s universities disappointed with the social experience.
China opens its financial institutions to the world – sort of
The change is the equivalent of VHS versus live streaming, yet the market will not be a decisive factor in China.
Weekend catch-up: Indonesia attacks, Malaysia election, China’s new aircraft carrier, more
The week that was on The Interpreter.
Russia: patrons of assassinations
Leaders promote and protect their clients to secure a debt of personal loyalty, and the cost of betrayal is high.
Helping the UN help Myanmar
The new UN Special Envoy on Myanmar must look beyond the Rohingya refugee crisis.
BREAKING: foreign influence campaign exposed!
An Interpreter exclusive reveals the insidious co-opting of Australian media and politicians.
Indonesia: a concrete block and a hard case
A unique protest has still failed to cement support for Indonesian farmers.
Philippines: justice removed, justice denied
The dismissal of the Supreme Court chief justice signals the demise of the rule of law in Asia’s oldest democracy.
Timor-Leste election: the generation gap
A peaceful election and decisive result is a win for stability, but it has come at the cost of youth leadership.
Digital Asia links: ode to the Belt n’ Road, rumour quasher, more
Sarah Logan with digital updates from across the region.
The misunderstood AIIB
China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank clearly does not challenge the global governance status-quo.
What PNG hopes to win from hosting APEC
The aim of staging a major summit might be to put the country on the global diplomatic map, but at what cost?
Bolton’s bargain: a Libya deal for North Korea?
New US National Security Adviser John Bolton might draw on past experience when negotiating with Kim Jong-un.
Time to sharpen the edge of Australia’s soft power
Two decades of yo-yoing government policy on international broadcasting has diminished Australia’s once significant presence in the Great Game of the Airwaves.
Pacific links: PACER Plus, Vanuatu plastics ban, and more
Links and updates from across the Pacific.
All’s not fair in US–China trade stoush
Mixed objectives and a focus on so-called fairness are creating unhelpful confusion.
Talking North Korea in Australia
Many of the moral debates about North Korea are settled, even if the diplomatic questions are not.
Risk and reward in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Donald Trump’s unconventional approaches may be just what are needed.
Will Argentina’s problems destabilise Asian economies?
Argentina’s problems will be high-profile, as it is the current chair of G20, but in our region the lessons of 1997 have been fully absorbed.
China’s play for military bases in the eastern Indian Ocean
Australia has expended a lot of defence resources in the western side of the Indian Ocean. It is time to look east.
The high price of fashion
Sweatshop conditions are still widespread across Asia in clothing and footwear manufacturing.
Malaysia: what now?
As the dust settles, Mahathir needs to navigate the Chinese threat he exploited in the campaign, while the Islamist lobby seeks new ground.
China’s first homebuilt carrier sails: so what?
Soon, China will be the only country other than the US to operate more than one large aircraft carrier.
Aid links: top-down development, insurance expectation, more
Links and stories from the aid and development sector.
Collapsing North Korea’s nuclear test site
Pyongyang is attempting to make a virtue out of necessity.
AfD and the politics of German identity
The far-right party Alternative für Deutschland is rattling the Bundestag by pushing identity to the centre of German politics.
Weekend catch-up: Malaysian election, Iran deal, and The Phnom Penh Post
The week that was on The Interpreter.
Did an election just cause Malaysian democratisation?
Southeast Asia’s incumbent authoritarian regimes have long presided over elections, but they almost never step aside as a result.