UBC Japanese Geography Expert – Full Video Interview
Memo #65 – UBC Japanese geography expert, Dr. David Edgington, compares the earthquake that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, dubbed the “Sendai Regional Earthquake,” with the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. In his view, the Japanese government’s response to the Sendai Regional Earthquake is a textbook example of emergency response, indicating there have been lessons learned from Kobe.
Tough Choices Ahead for Global India
Memo #64 – This is a time of great tumult in the Middle East. All major global powers are struggling with tough choices to strike a balance between their values and strategic interests in responding to the unfolding crisis in Libya. India is no exception but it is particularly under the spotlight as it assumed the non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in January.
Sino-European Hope for the G20 in 2011
Memo #63 – Is the G20 still useful? What can we expect of it this year? Analysts in Canada and the US are often quick to discount the G20 process as meaningless summitry among too many countries focused on widely divergent domestic agendas and embroiled in pre-electoral politics. Ian Bremmer and Nouriel Roubini both call this a G-zero situation.
Espoirs Sino-Européens pour le G20
Memo #63 – Le G20 a du mal à s’affirmer comme instance politique capable de résoudre énergiquement les risques systémiques, notamment financiers, et déçoit donc ceux qui en espéraient le plus.
Fully Ordained Nuns in Theravada Buddhism
Memo #62 – There are no fully ordained nuns, or Bhikkhunis, in Theravada Buddhism. Last year, after 35 years in the West, the Theravadin Thai Forest Tradition found that the ordination of nuns had become a flashpoint. The Western monks are willing to adapt, but require consensus with senior conservative monks in Thailand. In the end, the issue of nuns’ ordination may be decided by senior Canadian monks.
East Asia’s Population Crisis: Solutions
Memo #61 – Japan reported missing 230,000 centenarians in September 2010. This dramatic news highlighted among other things, the rapid aging of Japan’s population and its low total fertility rates. For the past decade, demographers have called attention to the impending population crisis in East Asia. Several countries saw fertility rates plummet to well below 2.1 births per woman – the rate required to sustain a population, assuming all other factors remain relatively constant. The problem has been compounded by increased life expectancy and the lack of immigration flows to compensate for birth and death rates.
Thailand’s Red-Shirts: One Year Later
Memo #60 – March 12, 2011 will mark the first anniversary of Thailand’s red-shirt protesters’ massive street campaign in Bangkok that ended in some of the worst political violence in modern Thai history. 91 people were killed and over 1,800 were injured in a military crackdown that resembled more of a civil war than a restoration of order. This was mainly due to the appearance of mysterious black-clad men on the side of the protesters who engaged the Thai army with automatic rifles and grenade launchers.
Is China the Next Domino?
Memo #59 (Part 2) – Authoritarian regimes seem to be crumbling almost daily. Will China go the way of Middle Eastern dictatorships?
The similarities are obvious. China relies on harsh measures to put down calls for democratic reform. And it is plagued by a huge gap between rich and poor, rampant corruption, rising prices of basic food stuffs, and high unemployment among recent university graduates.
Comparing Tahrir Square Demonstrations of 2011 and Tiananmen Protests of 1989
Memo #59 (Part 1) – At first glance there are many similarities: huge crowds (including many young people) demonstrate peacefully in the main square of the capital city against a repressive government that has been in power for a long time; the crowd has no clearly defined leaders; and the military allows the demonstrations to continue over an extended period of time.
Pre-Election Singapore Clamps Down on Social Media
Memo #58 – Social media including Facebook and microblogging sites such as Twitter galvanized the street protests in Tunisia and Egypt. Fears of contagion have led China to censor ‘Egypt’ on its microblogging sites. As Singapore gears up for its general election, due by February 2012, its long-serving People’s Action Party (PAP) government is increasingly nervous over the impact of social media and is finding ways to muzzle it.