We Are Live @ ricetimes.com

A change of URL has occurred.  We are now at ricetimes.com.  This arrangement allows for a few more features and some more development.  

Thursday’s News

At least a few monks are seeking to continue the protests in Myanmar.  Things have quieted down after thousands were arrested after a government crackdown last month.

A strike has crippled Thailand’s rail system and left thousands of passengers stranded.

Experts are worried that gangsters are running Macau.

North Korea’s prime minister, Kim Yong Il, is continuing his jaunt around Asia with a stop in Cambodia.  Some are hoping that this is a sign of North Korea opening up to the world.

Finally, Far East Economic Review features an essay by Bertil Lintner.  Mr. Lintner warns that even if Myanmar is successful in its bid for democracy, things will not be easy.

Ricetimes Is On The Move

I’ll be moving ricetimes.  The new sight will go live on November 4th.  New URL will be www.ricetimes.com.  I’m testing out options for the new site, like putting live news feeds in the sidebar, etc.  I am planning to do a brief daily post about the latest news and longer editorials three or four days a week.  On this site, I’ll be testing out some of the posts I plan to write over on the new site.

Former Drug Kingpin Falls Off the Perch

One of the world’s most controversial and wanted men died this past week in the Burmese city of Rangoon. Khun Sa, an ethnic Shan warlord, controlled much of the world’s heroin supply until the mid nineties. He was thought to be suffering from diabetes and high-blood pressure recently, but th cause of death is unknown. The BBC reports:

He was once one of the world’s most wanted men, with a vast drug-trafficking operation in the so-called Golden Triangle region, spanning the border of Thailand, Laos and Burma.

To his people, however, Khun Sa was a freedom fighter, not a drug smuggler.

With a private army numbering in the hundreds, Khun Sa claimed to be fighting for independence for the Shan people – an ethnic minority group based mainly in Burma.

Despite being wanted by the US and other countries in conjunction with drug trafficking, his death will do little to slow the trade. Since the mid-nineties, Khun Sa has been out of the game, having made a deal with Myanmar’s government. He lived out the last 10 years of his life in Rangoon, enjoying at least a portion of his wealth with immunity from prosecution.

Author Christopher Cox, who trekked through the Golden Triangle to interview Khun Sa in the early nineties, captured one of the few snapshots of the warlord. The book which recounts the trip, Chasing the Dragon, shows Khun Sa’s many sides. He spoke of the plans for his people and seemed to be truly respected by local tribesmen. However, it was a falling out with the very same people that caused Khun Sa to retire. Ethnic minorities still control parts of Myanmar’s poppy production. Surely the military government received some of the action in Khun Sa’s immunity deal.

Philippines’ Arroyo Accused of Graft

A group of opposition party members have filed a complaint which accuses President Gloria Arroyo and several people close to her of being involved in a bribery scandal.

Oppositionists led by former Vice-President Teofisto Guingona Jr. filed Tuesday a graft complaint before the Ombudsman against President Gloria Arroyo and three others for alleged involvement in the $330-million broadband network project with China’s ZTE Corp.

The scandal is nothing new. It first came to public attention it became known that a contract between the government and Chinese broadband provider ZTE might have been marred by bribery. Opposition leaders claim that the contract constituted a misspending of the nation’s money  and Arroyo has taken steps to cover up what exactly took place behind closed doors.

This is not the first time that a Philippine president has been accused of graft. Remember Mr. Estrada? As recently as 2004, there were allegations that Arroyo was involved in rigging the voting to assure she was elected for another term. Are these allegations just the opposition making noise and attempting to dislodge Arroyo and her party from power? There are more than a few criticisms of Arroyo, including the fact that The Philippines is second only to Iraq in the number of journalists killed last year. However, her economic policies have made her popular at home and her stance against terrorism makes her a favorite of the White House. It doesn’t look like Arroyo will be going anywhere soon.

Thaksin Prepares for P.R. War

First outsted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra bought English Premeire League club Manchester City. With soccer second only to Buddhism as a national religion, Thais will surely be watching to see if Thaksin can conquer the soccer world. For the popular-but-corruptable former leader, being owner of Man City gives him a P.R. boost at home.

Now, Thaksin seems to be ramping up his P.R. efforts by making a film of his European exploits.

The documentary of Thaksin, who has said frequently he has quit politics to general disbelief at home, would be available on VCD and on Web sites, his Bangkok lawyer, Noppadon Pattama, told a radio station.

Thaksin still has the support of many if Thailand’s rural poor. Even if he were not to return himself, his political allies could still have a say in how national elections, scheduled for next year, turn out.

Neither Thaksin nor the leaders of the coup which ousted him seem to have a moral high ground. I guess it will just come down to whoever has the better relations with the voters.

China To Go Green (?)

A document released by President Hu calls for China to begin paying attention to conservation of natural resources and protection of the environment.

“(We will) promote a conservation culture by basically forming an energy and resource-efficient and environment-friendly structure of industries, pattern of growth and mode of consumption….”

Though the knee-jerk reaction might be to question the sincerity of the statement, there is a reason for hope. China already has a major pollution problem. One can only guess that the growth of pollutants will continue to grow as long as the economy does. Even if this is mere lip service, at the environment is getting a mention. It is more of a domestic problem than an international one, anway. Before its pollution begins to have adverse effects on the world at large, it will be making it more difficult for Chinese people to breath (in many cases, it already is).

Police Feud in Beijing

It’s tough to be a cop in Beijing. With a major political meeting upcoming, Beijing cops are making sure that the worse cases are someone else’s problem.

Police from two districts of the Chinese capital got into a brawl yesterday over a dissident neither side wanted on their territory, the Standard reports. The 17th Party Congress, due to start Monday, has authorities frantically playing “hide the dissident” in order to ensure a “harmonious” event.

That is pretty strong evidence that the communist system is still somewhat intact in China. There are two reasons I am saying this. The first is that they are arresting priests in the first place. The second reason: a problem is only a problem if it’s your problem. I’ve seen this at work in other communist countries in East Asia. It seems that getting ahead in The Party or in any government job has nothing to do with what you do, and everything to do with what you don’t. (I’ll pause here for you to discuss whether that is any different from government jobs in non-communist countries). Perhaps it is ironic that the only people the police are really out to protect are themselves. Perhaps you can just shrug and say “that’s China.”

I’m sure more follies with Beijing’s law enforcement are in the future, especially with the Olympics a fraction of a year away. I’m sure no police chief wants Bob Costas to be pick-pocketed in his district.

Copyrighting in Asia

Anyone who has wandered through the night markets in Bangkok or Jakarta, or stopped in Shenzhen knows that Intellectual property rights are not enforced. Those DVDs in the little plastic sleeves with photocopied covers are were not shipped from the studio, and the swoosh is backwards on those Nike shoes.

I have heard arguments for and against better enforcement of Intellectual property rights in Asia. Indonesian essayist and diplomat Yasmi Adriansyah argues that greater use of patents and copyrights will lead to a stronger economy.

A joint research project titled Impact of the Intellectual Property System on Economic Growth, carried out by the United Nations University (UNU) and WIPO (September 2007), shows that there is a significant correlation between IP and economic growth.

The survey, conducted in six Asian countries (namely Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam, Malaysia and India), shows that trends in the number of patent applications filed are very similar to trends involving economic data, such as GDP, R&D expenditure and foreign direct investment, in many of the countries studied.

On the other hand, most of the people you see hawking fake Rolex watches and bootlegged DVDs make a hell of a lot less money than the people who produce said products. Perhaps bootlegging is simply a natural way to share the wealth of a few with the mass of people struggling to make a buck.

Companies like Nike, which opened factories in Vietnam, are bringing jobs to countries where copyright infringement is worst. However, at $30-$50 per month, the salaries of workers are a bit low to seduce workers from the bootlegging industry.

I expect developing countries to make a show of support for intellectual property as a way to cozy up to The First World. However, I think that lip service is as far as most of them will go towards cracking down on one of the more lucrative industries in their countries.

Trouble Down South

Thailand has been in the international headlines a lot over the past few years. First there was the tsunami, then the charges of corruption and the subsequent military coup. YouTube was banned and an airplane crashed on the resort island of Phuket.

There has been reasonably little coverage of the ongoing conflicts in the southernmost regions of Thailand. It’s hard to say whether government persecution drove the region’s majority Muslim population towards violence, or whether it is simply a case of extremist elements battling the government for independence.

The Nation, an independant Thai news service, has collected their articles on the conflcit into one place. Perusing through the articles, one gets the sense that, like all conflicts, this one hurts the average joes caught in the crossfire most.

The deep south of Thailand has largely been ignored by Thai officials when it comes to aid and development. For that reason, there is a lot of poverty. As is the case everywhere, poverty breeds discontent and allows more extreme views to be seen as “the answer to our problems.” This seems to have been the case in southern Thailand.For now, the violence seems to be ebbing and flowing, with accusations of abuses by government forces being followed by bombings in which police, troops, and, mostly, civilians are killed.

Whether a solution will ever be reached depends, it seems, on the governments willingness to develop the area, and continue doing so even if extremists continue their activities.