IV. International (03-16-06)
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Across the region
(Asia-Pacific),
a race is on to scale the heights of science and
technology. Money is poured into the lavishly equipped
labs and elite educational institutions.
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Ambitious research program are proliferating, aimed at
gaining leadership in areas that governments believe
will enhance both economic development and national
prestige, e.g., Dr. Huang’s fabricated cloning of human
embryos in South Korea.
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If science is isolated from the social mainstream, it
risks becoming a tool of government, instead of
promoting knowledge and public good. Mechanisms for
resolving problematic ethical issues, that are
increasingly posed by scientific progress and vital to
its public assistance, are weakened.
. China
has launched a tough crackdown on political activity
ahead of this month’s session of the national
parliament, with at least 2 dozen participants in a
nationwide hunger strike against government abuses
confirmed missing or detained, according to their
relatives and friends.
. China
attributes Vice Premier Huang Ju’s absence to
unidentified illness. He was diagnosed earlier to have
pancreatic cancer, and was expected soon to quit
politics. Others surmise he may be under investigation
for corruption.
. New rules
that make it easier for foreign companies to buy shares
in listed Chinese companies could encourage a surge in
M&A there.
. SAP,
the German software group, wants to expand in China and
Eastern Europe after costs in India have risen rapidly.
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Industrial production in
Japan
climbed by a seasonably adjusted 1.4% in December, the 5th
month in a row the sector has registered an expansion
and the longest period of growth since 1999.
. The
president of the Japanese Institute of Certified
Public Accountants called for new rules to include
the disclosure of SPEs (special purpose entities), legal
vehicles created to hold off-balance sheet items in the
wake of the Livedoor Scandal.
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The debate in Japan over SPEs has resurfaced due to the
Livedoor Scandal for allegedly using off-balance sheet
vehicles to hide losses and illegally book capital gains
in its accounts.
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Nomura,
Japan’s
biggest securities house, announced a more than 300%
increase in net profit for the latest quarter rounding
off a very strong reporting season for brokerages which
have all gained from a surge in retail investment.
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A scientist from
scientist Huang’s team confessed that Dr. Huang of
South Korea
ordered him to fabricate stem cell samples for a study
published in the journal Science in 2005,
according to the prosecution.
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In 2004 it was estimated that 46% of the software being
used in Korea were illegal copies costing the industry
about $500 million, according to a survey by a
non-governmental agency. New computer software pirates
will face stiff penalties after the government issued
tough new laws to regulate the market.
. Seoul ranks
13th as the most expensive city in the world,
said the Economist Intelligence Unit, after Tokyo
and Osaka-Kobe. Of the world’s 127 major cities last
year, it tied with Sydney and Dusseldorf.
Seoul
ranked 33rd in 2004. This is the first time
since 1991 that Tokyo has been edged out as the most
expensive city due to the yen’s gradual depreciation
versus key currencies and low inflation for yielding its
#1 position.
. Philippine
economic growth slowed, from 6% in 2004 to 5.1% last
year as consumer spending and production were hit by
record gas prices and weak US demand for electronics.
. Despite a
low import volume, the Bureau of Customs (BOC)
surpassed its January collection target of P12.083
billion by P297 million, said the commissioner (Napoleon
Morales).
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Inflation held near a
17-month low in January as oil price increases eased,
giving Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) room to
keep its key interest steady. Nationwide inflation rate
rose 6.7% from 6.6% in December which was the lowest
since July 2004.
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Embattled Thai Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra told supporters that if his
party fails to get more than half the votes in national
elections next month, he will step down.
. Thailand’s
stock market regulators have asked the children of P.M.
Shinawatra to clarify their dealings in Shin Corp shares
before the Shinawatra family sold a $1.9 billion stake
in Thai telecom-to-aviation conglomerate to Temasek
Holdings, the Singapore state investment company.
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Thailand raised its economic growth forecast for 2006,
saying the economy would be buoyed by sustained robust
exports and healthy global demand.
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Bangkok Metro
which runs the Thai capital’s railway system, plans to
sell shares to the public this month for the first time
to raise money for debt repayment and train purchases.
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The insurgency in Papua
is an issue likely to be far more difficult to resolve
(than the separatist conflict in Aceh province) and far
more prickly for President Susilo Yudhoyono’s government
to tackle in a fiercely nationalist
Indonesia.
. Scientists
discovered a “Lost World” in an isolated Indonesian
jungle of Papua, identifying dozens of new
species of frogs, butterflies and plants as well as
large mammals hunted to near extinction elsewhere.
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Indonesian women
demonstrated in front of Merdeka Palace and denounced
deliberations of the pornography bill which they said
would repress women, and demanded revocation of laws &
bylaws often used to stifle women’s rights.
. Cambodia’s
ruling party has swept the board in the election for the
country’s senate in a vote branded undemocratic by
activists.
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The government has no strategy in place to battle the
nation’s spiraling illegal drug use, and lacks the
resources & political will necessary to address the
problem affectively, officials said
. The
Ministry of Tourism reported in 2000 298 visitors,
most of whom foreigners, to Sen Monorom, to
experience Cambodia’s “Wild East.” Last year, more than
10k people made the trip, 9k of them Khmer.
. India’s
new oil minister (Murli Deora) is likely to adopt a less
trident approach to an Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline
project that could threaten the country’s relationship
with the US.
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India’s state-owned
Oil and Natural Gas Corp has agreed to pay $1.4
billion to buy Exxon-Mobil’s 30% stake in a field in
Brazil’s Curzon Basin, securing its first gas find in
the region after a string of setbacks.
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Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd.
(HTIL) is considering outsourcing more business
operations in India’s highly competitive wireless
market. India now earns $22 billion a year from
outsourcing.
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Pakistan
has a population of 149 million, though dwarfed in
number of people by neighboring India (which has 142
million Muslims), maintains a strong military
disproportionate to its size.
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73% of its parliament, with 72 women MPs, is composed of
women. It is now racking up an 8.4% economic growth.
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Pres. General Musharraf said Pakistan would get an edge
over India by achieving economic superiority rather than
indulging in an arms race.
. The
Karachi Electric Supply Co. (KESC) has asked the
National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra)
to further increase its power tariffs by 19.45 paisa per
unit in the wake of increase in gas prices since January
1, 2005.
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Turnout was thin in
Nepal’s
first national election since 1999 amid a general strike
called by Maoist rebels who threatened anyone voting.
The low voter turnout was in Katmandu and other towns as
well.
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The World Bank Nepal Office reported a recent
news putting Katmandu on the top of 17 Asian cities
calling it as the dirtiest, saying it was a
misrepresentation by the press.
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The Patan Appellate Court issued orders to 5
senior Maoist leaders to appear before the court in
person to respond to lawsuits filed against them under
the Terrorist & Disruption Activities Act of 2002.
