A Strategic Discovery: Rare Earth Elements Bonanza in the DPRK
Memo #258 By Marie-Pier Baril – mariepier.baril [at] gmail.com Earlier this month, MiningWeekly announced the world’s largest known single reserve of rare earth elements (REE) was discovered in Jongju, North Pyongan province, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK, or North Korea). The DPRK’s mineral resources have always been substantial, but the discovery of such rare […]
Xiaomi: The Rise of an Indigenous Chinese Tech Industry
Memo #257 By Grégoire Legault – gregoire.legault [at] alumni.ubc.ca Xiaomi (小米), a Chinese consumer electronics manufacturer, represents the dawn of a new era in China: the shift from low-tech to high-tech industry. What’s more, Xiaomi’s business model heralds the emergence of Chinese tech firms not just as producers, but as competitive innovators that are poised to explode […]
Visas, Medicine, Education: Feeling Chinese Soft Power in Mongolia
Memo #256 By Jargalsaikhan Mendee – mendee [at] alumni.ubc.ca China has been gradually increasing its soft power in neighbouring Mongolia, from offers of visa-free travel to access to its medical facilities, and most recently, growing educational opportunities in China for Mongolians. These policies have gone far in diminishing deep-seated anti-Chinese sentiment among Mongolians, feelings hardened during the […]
Decentralized Governance and Local Leadership in Urbanizing Asia
Memo #255 By Michelle Ann Miller – arimam [at] nus.edu.sg and Tim Bunnell – geotgb [at] nus.edu.sg The trend toward decentralized governance in twenty-first century urbanizing Asia has ushered in a critical role for local leadership. With around 1.5 billion people currently living in its urban areas, Asia is home to more than half of […]
Japan-China Relations: Issues and Prospects (Video Interview with Akio Takahara) – Part 2 of 2
Memo #254 Featuring Akio Takahara In part two of his interview with the Asia Pacific Memo (see part one here), Dr. Akio Takahara , a professor in the Graduate School of Law and Politics at the University of Tokyo and a recognized authority on contemporary Chinese politics and Japan-China relations, talks about bridging the divides in Japan-China […]
Japan-China Relations: Issues and Prospects (Video Interview with Akio Takahara) – Part 1 of 2
Memo #253 Featuring Akio Takahara Recently the Asia Pacific Memo sat down with Dr. Akio Takahara, Professor in the Graduate School of Law and Politics at the University of Tokyo and a recognized authority on contemporary Chinese politics, international relations in East Asia, and Japan-China relations in particular. In this first part of a two-part video memo, […]
Post-Typhoon Haiyan: Challenges and Opportunities for the Philippines (part 2 of 2)
Memo #252 (See Part 1 of this Memo) By Leonora C. Angeles – nora.angeles [at] ubc.ca In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, even as climate justice advocates raise concerns in regional and international arenas, post-disaster reconstruction and long-term recovery challenges confront Philippine local and national governments and civil society. There are some hard-learned lessons by international development agencies […]
Post-Typhoon Haiyan: Challenges and Opportunities for the Philippines (part 1 of 2)
Memo #251 By Leonora C. Angeles – nora.angeles [at] ubc.ca The world has come to the Philippines to support local and national rescue and relief efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. Emergency teams and humanitarian aid workers and goods from abroad have added to many inspiring local initiatives to help survivors in the most ravaged areas […]
Saving Lives in Odisha: Disaster Mitigation Comes of Age in India
Memo #250 By Asim Arun – asimarun [at] hotmail.com The recent typhoon in the Philippines, and growing threat of climate change it may represent, has once again taught us the necessity of disaster preparedness. It was just over a month ago, on October 12, 2013, that the category-five Cyclone Phailin slammed into India’s eastern coastal states […]
Keeping Neighbours Closer: Beijing’s Geopolitical Pitch
Memo #249 By Jargalsaikhan Mendee – mendee [at] alumni.ubc.ca Lately, Chinese leaders have been busy bolstering relations with their immediate neighbours. As evidence, the Prime Ministers of India, Mongolia, and Russia arrived in Beijing for bilateral meetings with China’s President Xin Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang on the same day—October 24, 2013. While Russian Prime Minister Dmitri […]