Erich Parpart
Senior Reporter - Asia Focus
Senior Reporter - Asia Focus
Looking ahead with hope
First of all, welcome back to work to anyone who is lucky enough to be starting today instead of last week. I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year celebration with their friends and families.
Fingers crossed for world trade
It is clear now that the rise of protectionism and the current US tariff war against China and the rest of the world have led to a slowdown in global trade and demand. Since most export-led economies in Asia Pacific depend heavily on demand from China, any slowdown there is bad news.
When tradition trumps reason
The senseless killing of animals is something that should be condemned not celebrated. But a notoriously bloody spectacle that went ahead last week in Nepal reminds us how difficult it can be to overturn centuries of "tradition".
Bargaining trumps bullets
'When goods do not cross borders, soldiers will." It's a blunt quotation and one that certainly got my attention when Dr Supachai Panitchpakdi used it last week.
US hot air and the Paris accord
Does it matter that the United States has formally begun withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement? Given that it is the world's second biggest carbon dioxide emitter after China, some say that yes, it does matter, because it will now be free to pollute the planet even more.
The scourge of human trafficking
The case of 39 people, most Vietnamese, found dead in a refrigerated trailer in Britain highlighted the fact that human trafficking and modern slavery are still a huge problem for Asia, and the entire world for that matter.
Fight fake news with education
The fight against fake news is becoming more challenging, but a lot can be done by educating people in how to identify unreliable sources and fact checking. Just creating laws against people who spread such information doesn't fix the problem because they are like the Hydra -- you cut off one head and two more will pop up as the cyber-population grows.
Green salvation, one bag at a time
South America and Africa are on fire, the icecaps are melting and sea levels keep rising. Natural disasters have become more common on every continent and July 2019 was the hottest month on record globally. People are dying while thousands of animal and plant species are disappearing forever.
Time for a Seoul-Tokyo peace pact
I love kimchi and I love ramen. I love the bushido way of life and Japanese humility, and I love South Koreans' resilience and devotion to education that helped them lift their country from poverty after World War II to become an Asian economic powerhouse. And in my opinion, both South Koreans and Japanese are among the nicest people in the world.
Army unwilling to yield to democracy
For the country like Thailand where the military staged two putsches within the past 13 years, a coup d'état should no longer be necessary.
