2020: Year of the unexpected

Written by Manali Kumar

Although the motivations underlying the protests in Hong Kong and Thailand are different from those in India and the US, in all cases they indicate growing popular dissatisfaction with prevailing institutions and political leadership in each country.

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Heavy hand of China is prompting fears for Hong Kong’s future as a major business hub

Written by Leïla Choukroune

The days of ‘one country two systems’ — which is supposed to allow for Hong Kong’s specific legal status — appear to be long gone. This will inevitably have repercussions for the territory’s status as an important business and legal hub.

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Call for papers: Indo-Pacific Predictions 2021

In January we invite articles that seek to predict and analyse events across the Indo-Pacific for the year ahead. We welcome features that may focus on a specific country or issue (i.e. North Korea or multilateralism) in addition to pieces aiming to address the Indo-Pacific as a whole such as an ‘Indo-Pacific Top 10’.

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News9DL
Taiwan's democratic journey and stabilising national identity

Written by Sense Hofstede

Some critical observers warn that Taipei will inevitably have to deal with the unyielding demands of Chinese nationalism. But that is not the only reality that has to be faced. Beijing must also face the reality of the Taiwanese nation.

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Southeast Asia: The next manufacturing hub? Reality trumps ambition  

Written by Stephen Nagy and Hanh Nguyen

US lawmakers and officials are contemplating a ‘reshoring fund’ of $25 billion to encourage critical suppliers to move out of China. Japan earmarked more than $2 billion in subsidies for companies to either bring manufacturing back home or diversify supply chains to Southeast Asia.

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The time for building democracy in Hong Kong was before Britain handed over to China – now it may be too late

Written by Andreas Fulda

The demise of the ‘one country, two systems’ formula raises the question whether this descent into authoritarianism could have been prevented. Would the situation today be different if the UK had done more to institutionalise democracy prior to the 1997 handover?

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