Chye Shu Wen provides a round-up of events in 2016 and highlights what can be expected in 2017. There is no doubt that 2016 will go down as a year that overwhelmed the Asia Pacific: Brexit and the victory of Donald Trump sent shockwaves across the region; the electoral wins...
Voting in a US presidential candidate who can manage America’s fragile social fabric and foreign policy has never been more important. BACKGROUND Given the drama that has unfolded in 2016, with talk of border walls, political revolutions, Twitter wars and health scares, it feels like the US presidential campaign has dragged on for far too long. Its end,...
Will Hong Kong’s recent election lead to a cohesive and sustainable approach in dealings with China? In the late 1970s, Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese revolutionary who was responsible for propelling the transformation of China to the power it is today, had a grand dream. His ambition of creating a unified...
In this edition of The Interview, Fair Observer talks to award-winning journalist James Dorsey. To millions around the world, football is a religion. Countries bicker and fight to host the World Cup. Organizations like FIFA rise and fall in the face of never-ending corruption scandals. The last thing anyone might associate...
Data collection and analysis have played an important role in smart cities, but should citizens’ privacy be used as a foundation? The real-time analysis of data procured over various electronic platforms has become integral to the development of infrastructure, planning and policy formulation within cities across Asia. Big data collected from...
With the spotlight on Taiwan and China, the rise of Tsai is a sign of shifting political times in East Asia. Bestowed with its own hashtag and seen as “historic,” the electoral victory of President-Elect Tsai Ing-wen and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has shaken up the political landscape in...
On average, people are living longer than before, but they still suffer from diseases because of new pathogens, increased pollution and poor life choices. Background Human beings generally like to live. Good health enables people to live long and fulfilling lives. The Internet has multiple definitions of health and good...
Shu-Wen Chye provides a round-up of the Asia Pacific in 2015, and highlights what to look for in 2016. For many in the Asia Pacific, 2015 tested the political prowess and limits of the region. The year saw territorial disputes over the South China Sea; an imploding Rohingya refugee crisis...
Will elections on November 8 mark a watershed moment for Myanmar’s transition toward democracy? For the last six decades, Myanmar’s political history—like its neighbor, Thailand—has been volatile and authoritarian at best. It has largely existed as a one-party, military-led state since 1962, when General Ne Win led a military coup...
The case of Freeport is a clear illustration of Papua and the Indonesian government being held hostage by global capitalists. Papua, formerly known as Dutch New Guinea, is the western half of New Guinea, an island in the Pacific. For decades, Papua has been a region associated with conflict and has rarely received...
