Exporting “Tough on Crime” Policy to Thailand: Harper’s Recent Visit
Memo #148 – Human smuggling and terrorism – not trade – played centre stage in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to Thailand in March. Although the Thai government was eager to solicit more interest in trade during a visit that marked the 50th anniversary of Canada-Thailand relations, it was left with $7 million (CDN) for an anti-crime program and an “exploratory” talk on free trade.
Explosive Fuel Politics in Indonesia
Memo #146 – Indonesian cities have recently witnessed a wave of protests as citizens voiced complaints against a planned fuel price hike. On March 30, 2012, students in Jakarta stormed the legislature and clashed with police. Legislators have carefully adjusted their positions to distance themselves from the hated fuel price hike.
Indonesia’s Draft Law Exacerbates Religious and Ethnic Tensions
Memo #141 – Conflicts between religious and ethnic communities in Indonesia last year raised fears that communal violence might again erupt across the archipelago, as it did from 1999 to 2001. Disputes between Muslims and Christians led to the burning of several churches, the bombing of a church in Central Java, and the displacement of 7,000 people in Maluku.
Filipina Immigrant Girls’ Lived Experience in Japan
Memo #134 – Filipina women, who entered Japan as “entertainers” or as the spouses of Japanese men, sometimes left children behind to be raised by relatives in the Philippines while they built economically viable lives in Japan. More and more, the teenage children of these migrant women are entering Japan, entering Japanese schools, and entering society as an important and recent immigrant youth population. These youth are being reunited with their mothers, beginning lives with unknown step-families, and struggling to learn Japanese – which is often their third or fourth language. Most scholars focus on how immigrant youth are victimized by an assimilationist-oriented education system, with its Japanese-only language policies and hyper-competitive high school entrance exams. But this focus allows only a small glimpse of their lived experience.
Becoming a Commercial Marriage Broker in Malaysia
Memo #133 – In the last two decades, East Asian countries have experienced a dramatic rise in international marriages. Much of it is between men in the wealthier countries of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore, and women from poorer countries in the region. Among Chinese Malaysians, the number of marriages between the men and Vietnamese women increased from 28 in 2001 to 1,185 in 2005. To explain this increase, the media began to cover the proliferation of commercial matchmaking agencies in the early 2000s. But the role that Vietnamese wives play in the matchmaking business has attracted little attention.
Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge Tribunal – Victims’ “Right to a Remedy”
Memo #129 – Case 002 of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) is underway, more than three decades after the genocide that killed 1.7 million Cambodians. On trial before a hybrid United Nations/Cambodian judiciary are the three alleged most senior remaining leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime. They face charges of crimes against humanity, grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions, genocide, homicide, torture, and religious persecution.
Private Tutoring in Malaysia: Regulating for Quality
Memo #126 – Private tutoring is perceived as a household necessity in Malaysia. This growing phenomenon is increasingly difficult for policy makers to ignore. The Malaysian government consistently tries to achieve a balance between encouraging and regulating private tutoring.
Menghadiri Kelas Tuisyen Swasta Di Malaysia: Pemantauan Untuk Kualiti?
Memo #126 – Dewasa kini, menghadiri kelas tuisyen swasta dianggap sebagai satu keperluan utama dalam kebanyakan keluarga di Malaysia. Fenomena tersebut yang semakin menular menyebabkan pihak berkuasa sukar untuk mengabaikan hal tersebut. Justeru, kerajaan Malaysia berusaha untuk mencapai keseimbangan antara mengalakkan kelas tuisyen dalam sektor swasta dan pada waktu yang sama memantau pengurusan mereka.
The Philippines’ Labour Export Policies – Pros and Cons
Memo #122 – The Central Bank of the Philippines announced recently that despite the global economic crisis, remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) would hit $20 billion by the end of 2011. This is seven per cent higher than in 2010 and raised foreign exchange reserves to $76 billion, resulting in a $9 billion surplus in the country’s balance of payments. What lies beneath the surface of such good news?
Dramatic Reforms in Burma (Video Interview with Nelson Rand)
Memo #113 – Dramatic changes appear to be underway in Burma since a quasi-civilian government took office in March 2011.
Although there are many uncertainties over the extent and sincerity of the new government’s initiatives for reforms, which have been both political and economic, one thing is clear: the reforms that have been initiated in Burma since March 2011 have been the most significant in over half a century. The country is at a critical juncture, and while it is still too early to tell just how developments will play out, for the first time in years there is reason to be optimistic about Burma’s political direction.