Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the Pacific
Author: WooJin Kang, Kyungpook National University
On 15 April 2020, the legislative elections to choose the 21st National Assembly were held in South Korea. President Moon Jae-In’s ruling Democratic Party (DP) was elected in a landslide victory, winning a total of 180 out of 300 seats. The DP won 163 out of 253 directly contested seats (49.91 per cent of votes) and 17 out of 47 proportional representation (PR) seats (33.35 per cent of votes) through its satellite party. Read more…
Author: Omkar Shrestha, Singapore
Through disruption of the forces of supply and demand and the forcing of lockdown measures across the global economy, the COVID-19 pandemic is posing an existential threat to least developed and developing countries.
Author: Shyam Tekwani, APCSS
The voyage from Serendib to Sri Lanka through Ceylon continues to be an uninterrupted tale of opportunities lost, scorned and spurned. The brutal end to the quarter-century war with the Tamil Tiger separatists in 2009 brought an unprecedented opportunity for the government to heal the Sinhala–Tamil ethnic divide. But now a new front is opening, one against Sri Lanka’s Muslim minority. Events since the Easter attacks of 2019 are reinforcing the belief that tolerance and inclusive governance are a chimeric dream. Read more…
Author: Andreas Fulda, University of Nottingham
On 28 May 2020, with a vote of 2878 to 1, China’s rubber stamp National People’s Congress passed and enacted its new controversial Hong Kong national security legislation. It sent a clear message to the international community: Hong Kong’s ‘one country, two systems’ model is history. But the process of hollowing out Hong Kong’s autonomy started much earlier.
Author: Juzhong Zhuang, ADB
A public health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic destroys economic growth and pushes millions into poverty. Without policy interventions, it will also worsen income inequality.
Author: Imelda Deinla, ANU
On top of its health impact, COVID-19 has thrown the Philippines further into economic and political uncertainty. The government under President Rodrigo Duterte is demonstrating to the world yet again that a forceful exercise of power is its preferred mode of governance. Yet despite harsh quarantine measures, the Philippines continues to struggle to contain the spread of the virus. Read more…
Authors: Farooq Yousaf, University of Newcastle and Imtiaz Gul, CRSS
COVID-19 has multiplied the economic woes of Pakistan, a country already embattled both politically and financially. Just as Prime Minister Imran Khan was about to begin implementing his ‘economic revival’ strategy, the virus hit — the first case was detected on 26 February. Yet, to the world’s surprise and before the post-Ramadan Eid holidays (May 22–27), the infection and fatality rates in Pakistan were still far below the projections. However, since Pakistan decided to ease the lockdown from the final week of May, the COVID-19 infections have surged to new levels.
Author: Vinay Kaura, Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice
The face-off between Indian and Chinese forces has become uglier with the recent deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers. It is the first such incident in over four decades and likely to change India’s perception of China decisively. US President Donald Trump initially offered to mediate to help resolve the border crisis threatening peace in the broader Himalayan region. Trump knew the two would reject his mediatory proposal. Read more…
Author: Lili Yan Ing, ERIA and Yessi Vadila, Indonesian Ministry of Trade
COVID-19 is a wake-up call for the world. The pandemic has brought some of the worst economic impacts since World War II. While some Eastern countries seem much better prepared than their Western peers in terms of handling infections, testing and mitigating the pandemic’s economic impacts, the poorest countries will be hit hardest. Read more…
Author: Duy Dinh, IHEID
On 14 January 2008, two female postal workers were found murdered inside a small post office where they also resided in Vietnam’s Long An province. Ho Duy Hai was detained two months later by the police and it was reported that he admitted to committing the crime. He inexplicably declined lawyers contracted by his family and only accepted the lawyer appointed by the investigative agency. No one was allowed to visit him until the trial day. Read more…
Authors: Arianto Patunru and Krisna Gupta, ANU
By 16 June 2020, Indonesia had recorded 39,294 cases of COVID-19, second only to Singapore in Southeast Asia. Indonesia’s death toll tops the region with 2198 lives lost. The government has drawn a lot of criticism for its slow response to the pandemic — from the lack of testing to ineffective physical distancing measures. The fear of the infection spreading has also shaped economic policies, including trade.
Author: Naoto Kan, Tokyo
COVID-19 quickly spread worldwide from the end of 2019. While some countries are seeing a decline in transmission and are relaxing restrictions after almost six months of disruption and uncertainty, there are still no signs of an end to the emergency in many countries. Meanwhile, the global economic impact of the virus is worsening, and there is concern that the number of suicides linked to economic collapse will increase. Read more…
Author: Sayuri Shirai, Keio University
Japan’s economy has experienced three consecutive shocks over the past year-and-a-half. The first shock struck Japan in early 2019 when the US–China trade war and slowing economic growth adversely affected Japan’s manufacturing sector. This economic effect was exacerbated by a second demand shock caused by the consumption tax hike from 8 to 10 per cent on 1 October 2019. Just as Japan’s economy was recovering, a third shock caused by COVID-19 dealt the most severe blow, plunging Japan into a full-blown recession. Read more…
Author: Daniel Sneider, Stanford University
Just as the crisis over the murder of George Floyd was erupting, US President Donald Trump, flanked by his senior foreign and national security and trade officialdom, strode out to the Rose Garden to deliver a statement on China. The announcement reflected the reality that Trump now sees a full-scale rhetorical attack on China as central to regaining his political legitimacy in the face of widespread perception that he bungled the response to COVID-19. Read more…
Author: Editorial Board, ANU
‘Stand your ground, don’t retreat’ is how to survive a bear attack. The same is true for surviving COVID-19. Countries that retreat into themselves will face worse health outcomes, deeper recessions and slower recoveries than open ones. Whatever misguided comfort people may get from closing their country, it cannot overcome the basic arithmetic of national accounting: closed economies will see living standards collapse. Read more…
