Last week, the WTO handed China a setback in its ruling over its appeal over export controls (herein the Ruling) covering "[c]rtain forms of bauxite, coke, fluorspar, magnesium, manganese, silicon carbide, silicon metal, yellow phosphorous, and zinc." The Global Times has a strong response: Time to reassess unfair WTO entry terms Global Times | February 01, 2012 … [Read more...] about WTO’s Recent Ruling Against China over Export Controls of Certain Raw Materials: A Critical Juncture for the WTO and a Chance for Chinese Leadership?
politics
perspectivehere on the 90th anniversary of “The Shandong Problem”
If not for the United States, Shandong Province (山东省), map to the left, may still be a Japanese territory today. Reader perspectivehere brought to our attention tomorrow (Feb. 4th) will be the 90th anniversary of the Washington Naval Conference of 1929 which gave back sovereignty of Shandong Province to China. It was The Treaty of Versailles marking the end of WW1 in 1919 … [Read more...] about perspectivehere on the 90th anniversary of “The Shandong Problem”
South China Sea, two opposing views from Philipines on the U.S. Asia ‘pivot’
There has been a lot of coverage in the U.S. media lately about America's Asia 'pivot.' In particular, U.S. seems to be taking sides with Vietnam and Philippines in their disputes with China. The U.S. relationships with these two countries are nothing but complex. When the Philippines was colonized by the Spanish, the U.S. took sides with the Philippines to oust Spain. … [Read more...] about South China Sea, two opposing views from Philipines on the U.S. Asia ‘pivot’
Five reasons why China will not invade Taiwan, and an analysis of Cross-strait Relations
‘So solidly built into our consciousness is the concept that China is conducting a rapacious and belligerent foreign policy, that whenever a dispute arises in which China is involved, she is instantly assumed to have provoked it.’ — Felix Greene, 1965. When a superpower is engaging in full hegemonic and supercilious display, another country with slowly increasing … [Read more...] about Five reasons why China will not invade Taiwan, and an analysis of Cross-strait Relations
What Does SOPA (and PIPA) Tell us About “Freedom”?
As you may know, there is a heated high-profile war being waged in the U.S. now over a new bill called SOPA ("Stop Online Piracy Act" in the House) and PIPA ("Protect Intellectual Property Act" in the Senate). The bills have been temporarily put on hold, but the issues highlighted by the controversies will not go away. The purpose of the bills is to enable IP owners to … [Read more...] about What Does SOPA (and PIPA) Tell us About “Freedom”?