A new paper entitled Australia’s Strategic Edge in 2030 from Ross Babbage, founder of the Kokoda Foundation, an Australian think tank, has furthered the debate in Australia about the future of Asia with a rising China and the role of the U.S.–Australia alliance. This paper continues the strategic discussions that took place within Australia following the release of Australia’s 2009 defense white paper and Hugh White’s 2010 Quarterly Essay piece “Power Shift: Australia’s Future between Washington and Beijing.” It, and the conversation it has generated in Australia, illustrates the continuing …
Compared to the U.S.–China joint statement in 2009, this year’s joint statement issued at the summit between Presidents Barack Obama and Hu Jintao contains no mention of improving U.S.–China “communication, dialogue, and cooperation on issues related to South Asia.” India objected strenuously to the language in the 2009 joint statement, and the U.S. has apparently taken on board New Delhi’s concerns. In any case, China’s actions over the last two years have demonstrated that China’s interests in South Asia don’t significantly match up with the Obama Administration’s goals or U.S. …
Liu Xiaobo, a primary author of the Charter 08 document calling for better human rights and democracy in China, has just won the Nobel Peace Prize. At the G-20 Summit this November in South Korea, President Obama, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, will meet with President Hu Jintao, the leader of China and the country where Liu Xiaobo is in jail. It’s a perfect opportunity for President Obama to put America’s actions where its mouth is. Members of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission and some their colleagues in …
Google just announced that its Internet licensed was renewed by the Chinese government. Google originally automatically redirected google.cn users to their Hong Kong site, google.com.hk. Now, China is forcing users to click on the link for Google Hong Kong (or almost anywhere on the page) on the google.cn page. Google did enough technical maneuvering to get what it wanted: a renewed license. Google gets to tell the good news story that it is still in China and that it doesn’t censor. The bad news is that mainland Chinese people will …
Advocates for religious liberty and active dialogue between Christian and Muslim communities lost an influential leader with the murder of Bishop Luigi Padovese in Turkey last month. Bishop Padovese, leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Turkey, pushed for greater religious freedom as the avenue for peace between religious communities in Turkey and around the world. There is a great deal of analysis and opinion over Turkey’s drift away from its secular roots. In that light, while acknowledging that this murder may be the act of a single man, it …
In his May 24 address to the nation, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak outlined an appropriately firm response to North Korea’s vicious attack on the Cheonan naval ship. President Lee’s policy decisions largely mirrored those recommended earlier by Heritage analyst Bruce Klingner, including a decision that “[t]rade and exchanges between the Republic of Korea and North Korea will be suspended.” The South Korean president also called for a more assertive yet still defensive military posture to deter further North Korean attacks and UN Security Council punishment of North Korea. Lee …
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s recent trip to China, following close on the heels of her January trip to India, demonstrates Bangladeshi leaders are leveraging the country’s increasingly important geostrategic position vis-à-vis Asia’s two rising powers. India is watching closely and with a certain degree of concern China’s growing interest in establishing links to South Asia, India’s traditional sphere of influence. The U.S., too, must find new ways to partner with Bangladesh – a country with the world’s third largest Muslim population – to encourage democratic trends, steady development of …
After trying to work with Chinese authorities and live up to its announcement in January that it would not longer censor its searches in China, Google redirected its Google.cn website to Google.com.hk. Google argues that this move would help its mainland China users get uncensored searches via Hong Kong servers. Nevertheless, using Hong Kong does not solve Google’s China problem, and the connection with Hong Kong will not be free and easy. The Washington Post has already reported that sensitive searches on the Hong Kong site have been blocked. China …
Google, which was censoring its searches in compliance with Chinese Communist Party (CCP) demands, still faced cyber attacks. Google announced that it is “no longer willing to continue censoring [its] results on Google.cn” after facing “a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on [Google’s] corporate infrastructure originating from China.” David Drummond, Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and Chief Legal Advisor, wrote on Google’s official blog that the primary purpose of the attack was to gain access to the “Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists.” Google made this statement after …
Liu Xiaobo, one of the primary drafters of the Charter 08 manifesto by Chinese intellectuals calling for protection of human rights, comprehensive political reforms, and a democratic government in China, has had an official case filed against him for “inciting subversion of state power.” Liu, a veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen movement and an influential writer, has been detained a year without charge. Now the strong likelihood of his conviction sends a message to other Charter 08 signatories broadly and other human rights activists that the Chinese government will do …
