Taiwanese Public Support For the Trans-Pacific Partnership: A Deal Breaker?
Memo #377 By: Timothy S. Rich – timothy.rich[at]wku.edu and Lucas Knight – lucas.knight078[at]topper.wku.edu Twelve countries comprising nearly 40 percent of the global economy signed onto the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in February. Taiwan’s president-elect Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has indicated her support for joining, yet persuading the Taiwanese public may take additional work. […]
Where are the voices and the interests of rural Lao women in ASEAN?
Memo #356 By Carly Teng – c.teng [at] alumni.ubc.ca The primary focus of ASEAN has been on economic development, with some attempts since 2014 to include “women’s economic empowerment” through support of female entrepreneurship in its member countries. ASEAN’s recognition of the need for women’s economic empowerment is necessary, but not sufficient to advance women’s rights, especially […]
Permanent Neutrality Debate in Mongolia
Memo #355 By Mendee Jargalsaikhan – mendee [at] alumni.ubc.ca Since September 2015, when President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj and his foreign policy team launched a campaign both domestically and abroad to institutionalize a “permanent neutrality” status, foreign policy pundits in Ulaanbaatar have been intensively debating whether or not Mongolia should enact such a policy. Beijing and Moscow have committed […]
Regional Vitalization: Japan at the Crossroads
The Heisei mergers are long done and Japan has turned to vitalizing its rural economy. The question is whether such a policy will work. Memo #331 By Anthony Rausch – asrausch [at] cc.hirosaki-u.ac.jp The current focus on regional vitalization by the Abe Cabinet reflects Japanese concern with its dropping rural population and Tokyo-centered economy. The […]
The Future of the Renminbi and Next Steps for Canada
Memo #328 By Grégoire-François Legault – gregoire.legault [at] alumni.ubc.ca Though internationalization of the renminbi (RMB, the “redback”) is far from complete, it is well under way. In 2014, China signed eight new agreements to establish RMB hubs around the globe, and the redback was used to settle almost 25% of payments across China’s borders. The […]
AEC 2015: Stop Talking to Other Governments, Start Talking to Firms
Memo #325 By Cesi Cruz – cesi.cruz [at] gmail.com and Benjamin A.T. Graham – benjamin.a.graham [at] usc.edu How can the governments in ASEAN help businesses prepare for the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) scheduled to start in 2015? Foreign firms operating in the Philippines are preparing for the changes, but what help do they want from […]
Will the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) transform Southeast Asian economies in 2015?
Memo #322 By Kai Ostwald – kai.ostwald [at] ubc.ca and Krislert Samphantharak – krislert [at] ucsd.edu December 31, 2015 is the launch date of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), possibly the most ambitious undertaking to date of the ten-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Envisioned as the culmination of decades-old economic integration efforts to […]
Canada – China FIPA: Just the Facts, Please
Memo #313 By Matthew Levine – matthew.a.j.levine [at] gmail.com Canada’s Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement with China (China FIPA), which entered into force October 1, 2014, is a laudable step towards norms-based economic relations in the Asia-Pacific. My two goals here are to briefly introduce key developments in the China FIPA and to put […]
Engaging China: Myth, Aspiration, and Strategy in Canadian Policy from Trudeau to Harper (Video Interview with Paul Evans)
Memo #291 Behind the Book: Dr. Paul Evans discusses his latest book Engaging China: Myth, Aspiration, and Strategy in Canadian Policy from Trudeau to Harper Last month the Asia Pacific Memo sat down with Paul Evans to discuss his recently released book, Engaging China: Myth, Aspiration, and Strategy in Canadian Policy from Trudeau to Harper […]
Of Sea Squirts and FTAs
Memo #283 By Hyung-Gu Lynn – hlynn [at] mail.ubc.ca Ten years ago today, April 1, 2004, the Chile-South Korea free trade agreement (FTA) came into effect. This landmark agreement marked Chile’s first FTA with an Asian country, and South Korea’s first FTA altogether. But what do sea squirts (Korean meonggye/Spanish piure) have to tell us […]