IV. International
(03-15-08)
.
The annual survey of
PERC (Political and Economic Risk Consultancy)
covers 13 economies in
Asia
and excludes other
countries notorious for corruption, such as Myanmar
and Bangladesh. The score 9.0 out of a probable 10
under a grading system is used by PERC under which
zero is the best score and 10 the worst.
. Changing
attitudes about love & marriage in rich Asian countries,
such as Japan & South Korea are pushing many
desperate bachelors to seek out brides in other, poorer
nations around the region, such as
China, Vietnam & RP
where income levels are much lower. The practice has
led to some complaints of abuse & exploitation,
particularly when the unions are arranged by third-party
brokers, although some couples say their marriages are
as happy as any other.
.
Many Asian men, particularly those in rural
areas, tend to seek traditional wives who still
stay home, do traditional domestic chores, like wash
clothes, be submissive, etc., and raise children, said a
research fellow (Mike Toyota) at the National U. of
Singapore Research Institute. The trend marks a
significant shift in countries that have long been
ethnically homogeneous.
.
Philippine authorities
have arrested 3 suspected Middle East
militants suspected of involvement in a plot to bomb the
US and other
foreign embassies in Manila, officials said.
.
During 4 years of
searching for OBL and his followers, the US has spent
billions of dollars worth of surveillance hardware to
South Asia,
from top-secret spy satellites to sophisticated
eavesdropping gear for intercepting text messages and
cell phone conversations.
.
The Beijing Summer Olympics holds significant
political importance for the government which sees the
Games as an opportunity to bolster its legitimacy. With
22k journalists covering the Games, any mishandling of
the crisis could take on large significance and perhaps
further tarnish the country’s much-criticized human
rights records.
.
Police blocked waives of
Tibetan exiles from leaving an area near
Dharmasala, a northern Indian city, at the start of a
planned 6-month march to Tibet to protest China’s
hosting of the Summer Olympics.
.
As the Iran issue
threatens to turn critical, New Delhi is faced with a
serious challenge over its policy promoting a “strategic
partnership” with Washington. Efforts are on to push
P.M. Singh’s government to play a significant support
role in case the Pentagon unleashes another
“pre-emptive” war in the Middle East.
.
PERC found
China
to be mired in
corruption, coming in as No. 3 at 7.98 from 6.29 last
year with corruption seen as widespread as ever despite
Beijing’s efforts to clamp down on it. Graft is so
widespread and the political rewards so great that
people seem to be more than willing to take the risks.
. During the
past 10 years, China has been the No. 1 consumer of
copper, steel and iron ore in the world. It consumes
more of both steel and iron ore than the US and Japan
combined. It has also been the No. 1 consumer of
soybeans and the No. 2 consumer of oil and energy
products.
.
Kraft Food (China)
has been accused of violating the country’s new labor
law for shifting its headquarters from Beijing to
Shanghai without consulting the employees.
.
The
Philippines
retained its No. 1 ranking in corruption. The
Philippine situation is probably no worse than in
Thailand and Indonesia but corruption has become
politicized and openly discussed in the media unlike in
authoritarian countries like China and Vietnam.
.
Even in RP-based
surveys, the government of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
is seen to be very corrupt, with 7 out 10 Filipinos
distrusting her and her spouse, who is perceived to be
part of the conjugal partnership involved in alleged
corrupt deals.
.
A Philippine senator (Antonio Trillanes, IV) accused
Pres. GMA for giving away exploration rights of the
Spratly Islands for its oil & gas resources in exchange
for a $1 billion loan for various “milking cow projects”
under her umbrella, e.g., CyberEd, ZTE, South Rail and
North Rail project, among others.
.
Government corruption is
getting worse. Every time they look for a contract with
China, it is nowhere to be found, e.g., the $932 million
South Railway Project of the National Railway Corp
signed with China on 4-27-05; the agreement cannot be
found. The same thing happened with the agreement with
ZTE Corp of China win the National Broadband Network
project for $329 million which had been either lost or
stolen.
.
Corruption is inherent
in a liberalized backward economy and has greatly
benefited the Arroyo administration for the past 7
years, while it continues to worsen the incidence of
poverty and deny much-needed social services to millions
of Filipinos, think-tank foundation IBDN said.
They have labeled her the most corrupt president the
country ever had.
.
A recent survey by the National Broadband Network
(NBN) shows an overwhelming majority of Filipinos
want Pres. GMA ousted by whatever means, despite
the desperate efforts of Malacanang and their media
apologists in putting down peaceful demonstrations.
. If the
allegations against GMA are true, with interference in
governance from her husband and two congressmen sons,
she will make her predecessor, the corrupt and
national-treasury raider Joseph Estrada, look like the
harmless Charlie Brown.
. The
Catholic Conference of Bishops of the Philippines (CBCP)
condemned the continuing culture of corruption from top
to the bottom of the social and political ladder. They
want Executive Order 464 abolished so that
whistleblowers may be free to testify before the
appropriate investigating bodies.
.
As in the 2007 survey,
Thailand
remained the 2nd most corrupt country in the
region after RP, with a score of 8.0 after the military,
which seized power in a coup in 2006, was seen to have
failed to tackle the problem.
. Around 800
Thai Muslims claiming to represent the Bangkok Islamic
community burnt a Danish flag and marched on the Danish
embassy to protest reprinting of cartoons mocking the
prophet Mohammad by Danish newspapers.
.
US dropped China from its list of world’s worst abusers
and ranked it equal to Thailand’s --“authoritarian
countries undergoing change.”
. Indonesia
ranked behind
Thailand with a
score of 7.98 in corruption under Pres. Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono but the perception of the civil service as one
prone to graft remains strong, said PERC.
. A study
from WWF’s Remote Sensing Solutions and
Hokkaido U. in Japan, claims that converting the
forests & peat swamps of just one Sumatran province into
plantations for pulpwood and palm oil is generating more
annual greenhouse gas emission than the Netherlands, and
is endangering elephants and tigers.
. The
normally vibrant
Bali
came to a standstill
(3/7) as the island’s Hindu majority celebrated the Day
of Silence heralding the Hindu New Year. The
Balinese stay home, unable to work, play, and for some,
even talk or eat.
.
Corruption is perceived
to have worsened in
Malaysia,
which 6.37 in the PERC survey, worse than last year’s
grade of 6.25 but the country retained its No. 6 ranking
in the poll. P.M. Badawi’s failure to carry out his
promise to fight graft was one of the key reasons his
ruling coalition suffered its worst ever results in this
month’s elections.
.
Malaysia’s ruling coalition (in power since 1957)
suffered its biggest electoral upset, losing control of
4 state governments (Penang, Selangor, Kedah & Perak)
and more than one-third of Parliament in a show of
frustration over racial tensions, crime and corruption.
.
Malaysia’s 27 million people are divided into 3 major
groups: 60% Malays, 25% Chinese and 8% Indians. Each
ethnic group is represented by a party in the
National Front. The coalition’s election losses
underscore anger over racial inequities (Muslim Malay
preference in jobs, business and education), but
frustration among all Malaysians over rising prices,
corruption and crime.
. Burma’s
military government rejected a UN suggestion that it
allow independent observers to monitor the upcoming
national referendum on a new constitution, state radio
and TV reported.
. The CFI
Bible School is training young Karenni men and women to
serve as pastors, teachers, evangelists, administrators
and leaders in Burma and in the refugee camps in N.
Thailand. The
Karennis are a persecuted Christian ethnic minority from
Burma.
.
Burma’s security force betrays businessmen after taking
their bribes. They give them permission to export goods
to Bangladesh, and when the businessmen are ready to
cross the Naff
River, the
security men seize all their goods.
. Pakistan’s
role in Pres. Bush’s “war on terrorism” was a
significant factor in a separate outpouring of voter
fury against Pres. Musharraf who is seen as far too
willing to do the military bidding of the US.
. The Bush
administration’s continued backing of Pres. Musharraf
despite the overwhelming rejection of his party by
voters this month is fueling a new level of frustration
in Pakistan
with the US.
.
Islamist parties in the volatile Northwest Frontier
Province lost seats in the elections (3/10). The country
has been shaken recently by fanatic suicide bombers.
