IV. International
(02-01-07)
.
Beijing
is recruiting
overseas Chinese scientists to bolster its technology
modernization, according to state-run media reports. In
China,
the lines between commercial and military technology
research are blurred as a matter of government policy,
said US officials.
.
China hopes to “entice” 200,000 overseas Chinese to
return home by 2010 by setting up science centers where
they can continue their research work, the official
Xinhwa news agency reported on ¼.
China’s
rapidly developing economy has made it an increasingly
desirable place to live for Chinese citizens.
.
2005 statistics show that only ¼ of all Chinese scholars
studying abroad returned to China. The Chinese
government is offering “favorable policies” to returning
scientists interested in launching start-up companies by
creating 50 business “incubator” centers. More than 930k
Chinese have studied abroad with some 230k returning
back.
.
The
US forces in
South Korea
has been shrinking from
37,500 troops in 2003 to 29,500 today, going down to 25k
by 2008. Most of the troops are moving to new, less
intrusion base areas. In negotiations, Seoul had agreed
to pay 44% of the troops’ consolidation costs ($886
million). However, what Seoul finally offered was $772
million, leaving a shortfall of more than $100 million.
.
Fortune tellers are taken seriously in South Korea. But
in a country renowned for the volatility of its
politics, those who claim clairvoyance in matters of
money and love are being cautious about predicting the
increase of this year’s presidential elections.
.
Korea’s largest automaker (Hyundai) said that its
net profit in the quarter ending Dec. 31 tumbled 22% on
a year-to-year basis. It earned 537 billion won ($574
billion) in the quarter. A year ago, its quarterly net
profit over the same period came at 691 billion.
.
North Korea
recently banned the domestic use of all foreign
currency in a desperate effort to get hold of US
dollars possessed by individuals amid strict financial
sanctions imposed by the outside world, reports said.
.
With the reintroduction
of the measure, the North Korean won-US dollar
exchange rate in the North’s black market plunged from
3,285 won to 2,800 won, according to a
recent report. The North’s official, but not
internationally accepted, currency ratio is $1 to 143
North Korean won.
. Singapore
is a paradox.
According to the World Economic Forum, Singapore
recently displaced the US as the world’s #1 economy for
information technology. Yet the secret of the success of
this strait-laced city-state is the diametric opposite
of the individualistic, entrepreneurial driven success
of Silicon Valley.
.
Singapore’s corporate tax rate stands at 20% and the top
rate of personal taxation will fall to match that rate
in 2007. It seems a huge trade surplus and its real GDP
hit 7.7% in 2006. That makes it the third-fastest
growing economy in the world after China and India.
.
Throw in Singapore’s very low-levels of corruption, a
skilled work force, a stable environment, and an
efficient infrastructure and you see why this
ultra-sleek city-state continues to attract significant
foreign investment.
.
The Asia Development
Bank says foreign direct investment in the
Philippines
plummeted to $319
million in 2003 from $1.8 billion in 2002. It blames the
drop in “political uncertainties” and a lack of public
investment in infrastructure projects.
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Corruption has a long history in RP. Former Pres.
Ferdinand Marcos is accused of stealing between $5
billion to $10 billion during his 20-year government.
Joseph Estrada has the distinction of being on the list
of top ten most corrupt leaders in the world, according
to Transparency International. Earlier this year,
Hong Kong’s Political and Economic Risk Consultancy
(PERC) ranked RP as the 4th most-corrupt
country in Asia.
.
The problem originates with the typical representative
or senator who is unlike the typical Filipino. The
legislator is likely to be male, middle-aged, and
college-educated, most likely with a degree in law. In
1962, only 27% were classified as upper class. In 1999,
it was 44%. Over time, the assets of legislators have
grown. In 1992, the average net worth of congressmen was
P8 million. By 2001, it was P22 million. A quarter of
all senators today have a net worth of P100 million. The
typical Filipino, meanwhile, is likely to be below 35,
with a few years of high-school education, and an annual
income of about P150k in 2000. Sadly in 2002, one in
three Filipinos lived below the annual poverty threshold
of P12k.
.
Many political and
social critics believe that after 4 months in power, it
is now clear the Thai public should not expect
much change for the military junta and the new
government it put in place. What is now important is for
Thais, especially the middle-class to take
responsibility for their role in perpetuating the
ongoing cycle of inept and corrupt leadership.
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Apart from removing Thaksin from office, critics charge
the Council for National Security (CNS) and its
administration has made few achievements. After tearing
up the 1997 constitution, their first project was to
discuss and pull back from raising the minimum drinking
age from 18 to 25. It proposed, then halted, the
implementation of new regulations on alcohol
advertising.
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Whether members of the military, industry, police,
technocracy or politics, this elite conspires to
manipulate politics and tanks & guns to determine who
will be in charge. Most are likely to be guilty of
corruption at some level, or even worse, as the recent
bombings illustrate.
.
The military regime in
Burma
is intent in wiping
out Christianity in the country, according to claims in
a secret document believed to have been leaked from a
government ministry. The incendiary new “Program to
Destroy the Christian Religion in Burma” contains point
by point instructions on how to drive the Christians out
of state.
.
Human rights groups claim that the treatment meted out
to Christians who make up 6% of the population, is part
of a wider campaign by the regime, also targeted at
ethnic minority tribes, to create a uniform society in
which the race and language is Burmese, and the only
accepted religion is Buddhism.
. In the past
year, an estimated 27,000 of the predominantly Christian
Karen tribe were driven from their homes in eastern
Burma. The regime has denied authorship of the document,
which also calls for teenagers to be prevented from
wearing western clothes, but has made no public attempt
to refute or repudiate its contents.
.
Seeking expansion with
India
in a variety of new
areas, including hi-tech, telecommunications and
ship-building, Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin says
bilateral trade should be up $80 billion by 2015 but
feels it is for corporate houses to address issues in
the hydro-carbon sector.
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Millions of women in
India are going through menopause as young as 30 because
of chronic
malnutrition and
poverty, according to a study by a prominent Indian
think tank.
. Kerala
topped in the hospitality sector by bagging 3 awards for
best state in tourism, innovative use of tourism website
and rural tourism. Among the North Eastern states,
Sikkim
stood out as the best tourist destination at the
prestigious “Incredible India National Tourism Awards”
given by the Union Tourism Industry.
. Pakistan
has cracked down on
Al Quaeda at a significant cost to law enforcement
lives, rendering more terror suspects to the US than any
other counterterrorism partner, as the
Rand
report points out.
.
Amnesty International
and other human rights organizations estimate that
between 1,000 and 2,000 men have been arrested in the
aftermath of the 9/11 attacks Detained on little or no
evidence, none have been formally charged, a flagrant
violation of Pakistan’s constitution, analysts say.
.
Many argue that the
arrests have spawned a new level of rancor against the
country’s intelligence services, a fount of discontent
that militants can draw from. But it is not only alleged
disappearances that are raising concerns about the war
on terrorism. Even when the police have brought cases
against high-profile militants, many trials have
collapsed because of flimsy evidence.
