In November, 2011, representatives of important museums of Asian art from Asia and the U.S. met in San Francisco for a pioneering Directors Forum organized by The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. The Margaret F. Williams Memorial Fellows in Asian Art Program supported the participation of East Asian museum directors in the Forum, where they shared strategies for fostering greater global awareness of Asian art and cultures while exploring models for collaboration and partnerships among their institutions.
Brayton Wilbur Jr. Memorial Fellows Mr. Mukherjee and Dr. Srisuchat participated in the first Directors’ Forum organized by the Asian Art Museum. The event brought together leaders in the art field from Asia and the United States to consider strategic partnerships and collaborations. At the Forum, Mr. Mukherjee and Dr. Srisuchat discussed various aspects of museum management in their countries, including challenges in conservation, institutional cooperation in programming and staff exchanges.
Established by the late Asia Foundation President Emeritus Ambassador Haydn Williams, the Margaret F. Williams Memorial Fellows in Asian Art Program honors his late wife, whose interest in Asian art was stimulated by their travels together on Asia Foundation visits to the region. Mrs. Williams was also a founding docent at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, the cooperating partner in implementing the fellowship program.
Asia Foundation Trustee Judith Wilbur generously established a fellowship in Asian Art in honor of her late husband and former Trustee, Brayton Wilbur, Jr. The fellowship stems from the Wilburs’ deep interest in Asian art, nurtured through their residence and travel in the region, and their commitment to the work of The Asia Foundation and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (AAM). The two institutions are collaborating in the program’s execution, with AAM identifying qualified fellowship recipients, and The Asia Foundation’s Asian American Exchange unit responsible for overall administration.
Francia came to Tala Leprosarium from her hometown of Camarines Sur in Bicol region as a leprosy patient when she was 17 years old. Before she contracted leprosy, she had worked as a domestic helper. When I met Francia at Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, a former leprosarium and grantee of The Asia Foundation’s partner organization, Give2Asia, Francia was teary-eyed as she related how she was orphaned at such a young age. Surprisingly, she said she was “glad” to have been a leprosy patient, as this was how she found her way to the leprosarium which has become home to her for almost 30 years. She now lives with other former leprosy patients in a Gawad Kalinga home in Tala, Caloocan. (Gawad Kalinga, which means “to give care” in Filipino, is a Philippine-based poverty alleviation and nation-building movement whose mission is to build homes for the poor.) Unmarried at 47 years old, she looks to her life as a patient assistant as a vocation.
As patient assistants at Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, both Francia and her friend Caesar receive an allowance of a little under $10 a month from the hospital, $16 a month from the local government for their care-giving services, and a cash/food ration of $1.5 a day from the hospital. They support doctors and nurses with fellow leper patients and provide care and moral support to patients who have been shunned by society. Despite having been fully cured, Francia still bears the psychological scars from her disease. As a person with a disability, she yearns for the time when former leprosy patients can mingle and live with family members and be accepted fully by society. (more…)
Newsweek/The Daily Beast, in its September 18 issue, ranked the Philippines as the “best place in Asia for women.” The Philippines ranked 17th worldwide, among 165 countries, the only Asian country to make the top 20. Data across five categories – justice, health, education, economics, and politics – were analyzed to determine the overall ranking. It is, however, interesting to see that the data points did not consider the situation of women in conflict situations. If Newsweek had analyzed the situation of women in the conflict-affected Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), and women’s limited access to education and health services, vulnerability to violence and trafficking, and lack of livelihood opportunities there, then the Philippines would have certainly fallen far in its ranking.
As with most internal conflicts, women have been particularly affected by the conflict in Mindanao. Above, students outside of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camp in southern Philippines. Photo by Karl Grobl.
The question of gender equality is particularly acute in the ARMM. It is well known that the provinces in the region rank lowest in the Philippines on the Human Development Index; what is less well known is that they also have the highest Gender Disparity Index. In the Philippines, it is only in the ARMM that women have significantly lower literacy and educational levels than men. Compounding the problem are the domestic roles proscribed by cultural norms, which often constrain Muslim women’s opportunities to be full participants and beneficiaries in social, political, and economic life. (more…)
A robbery suspect lies naked and writhing on the cement floor of a Manila police precinct with his genitals bound while a plainclothes policeman pulls a rope and whips him. All the while a uniformed officer stood by and watched. The torture was recorded on video via a mobile phone and was leaked to the internet and aired over the biggest television station in the country on Aug. 17, 2010. The identity of the torture victim was never known as his body was never recovered, though several families claim the man to be a relative based on his physical appearance in the video. The policemen involved who were then suspects for the crime were immediately relieved, but just one year after, they were seen reporting back to work, while an indictment by the justice department was issued only a month ago.
In another case, the provincial coordinator of the party list group Bayan Muna was leaving home to take his 12-year-old son to school on July 5, 2010, in Leno, Aklan, when a gunman shot and killed him and then fled on a motorcycle. An arrest warrant was issued by a regional trial court against the alleged perpetrator, but the Philippine National Police has not served it due to the legal machinations of the accused – consisting of several motions for reconsideration and a motion to hold in abeyance the service of the warrant of arrest. Thus, the accused remains at-large.
After a clash with the New People’s Army in late August 2010 and on Sept. 1, 2010, in a barangay in Surigao del Sur, soldiers conducted a massive military operation in the area that forced the community to evacuate to a safer place. In the course of the military operation, two farmers went missing. Despite extensive efforts by the community to search for the two disappeared, the farmers haven’t been seen since. (more…)
The Philippines long had a terrible reputation for telecommunications, with Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew famously saying that in 1992, “98 percent of the population are waiting for a telephone, and the other 2 percent for a dial tone.”
Above, a rice farmer in the Philippines uses his mobile phone to send a text message. Photo: IRRI Images.
However, beginning with the administration of Fidel Ramos (1992-1998) and followed by President Estrada (1998-2001), the telecoms industry was liberalized, and phone ownership skyrocketed. While there were more landlines available, much of the growth was in mobile phones. Soon the Philippines was the texting (SMS) capital of the world – to the point where the practice played a part of the ouster of President Estrada early in 2001. When the Senate impeachment trial was suddenly adjourned without verdict, the text message went around “meet at EDSA.” Crowds gathered in the middle of the night and refused to leave the main Manila thoroughfare until he left the presidential palace.
Fast forward to the present, and we have Facebook being used by more than 25 percent of the population – ranking 8th in the world, while other social media networks (such as Twitter) are rapidly growing in popularity. In September 2011, the Philippine Trust Index, commissioned by EON The Stakeholder Firm, was released. The study revealed that 68 percent of the respondents view online news sites as the most trusted sources of news and information while 49 percent trust social networking sites. (more…)
In 1863, John D. Rockefeller sold his first kerosene to China and made his first gift to China missions. He was 24 years old. He could not have dreamed that both his future oil company and future foundation would one day dominate the American commercial and cultural presence in China.
Indeed, the Rockefeller China story is America’s China story. The first three John D. Rockefellers were engaged with China from the time of the American Civil War to Deng Xiaoping’s reform era. Across the 20th century, their philanthropic investment in China’s science, medicine, and higher education far outpaced any other American source – upwards of a billion dollars. The Rockefeller interests in China’s commerce, religion, science, and art epitomize the multi-dimensional, non-governmental forces that continue to shape U.S.-China relations today.
The Rockefeller family story that began in the late 19th century continues today: several years ago members of the 4th and 5th generation gathered in Beijing to dedicate a Chinese statue of John D. Rockefeller. They followed by about 90 years John Jr. and his wife Abby’s 1921 trip to dedicate the Rockefeller Foundation’s flagship institution. This family keystone memory was intensified a year later when Chinese bandits kidnapped Abby’s sister Lucy Aldrich, daughter of Senator Aldrich of Rhode Island. Despite family consternation, Abby wrote Lucy, “I am sure this incident will not kill your love of China any more than it does ours.” (more…)
Through presentations and round table discussions with policy makers, academics, and business sector representatives in the San Francisco Bay Area, Boston, and Washington DC, Mr. Cheng Siwei, Chair, International Finance Forum (Beijing), and former Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, shared his expertise and insider’s perspective on China’s efforts to rebalance its economy, the next Five Year Plan, and the role of the green economy. He was also a keynote speaker at the Global Financial Leadership Conference in Chicago.
The Asia Foundation Chang-Lin Tien Fellows Program was established to foster exchanges for leaders to meet and interact with their counterparts in Asia and the U.S. The fellowship honors the late Dr. Chang-Lin Tien, former Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, for his many accomplishments in science, higher education, and community affairs. It was created to highlight Dr. Tien’s assuming the chairmanship of The Asia Foundation Board of Trustees in 1999.
September 28 is celebrated internationally as Right to Know Day, highlighting the critical importance of people’s right to access information held by their governments. In India, following a nationwide campaign led by grassroots and civil society organizations, the government passed a landmark Right to Information Act in 2005. Since then, social activists, civil society organizations, and ordinary citizens have effectively used the Act to tackle corruption and bring greater transparency and accountability in the government. Social activist Aruna Roy has described India’s RTI Act as “the most fundamental law this country has seen as it can be used from the local panchayat(a unit of local government) to parliament, from a nondescript village to posh Delhi, and from ration shops to the 2G scam.”
While the debate on corruption in India rages on, the RTI Act is fast emerging as an effective anti-corruption tool. Photo by Michelle Chang.
Last month, thousands of Indians remained glued to their television sets as veteran social activist and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare ended his 12-day fast. A stalwart of the RTI movement, the 74-year-old Gandhian’s campaign for a strong anti-corruption agency in the country, or Jan Lok Pal, galvanized tremendous public support with citizens coming out on the streets of Delhi, Bangalore, and other cities to voice their anger and discontent over mounting corruption in the country. While the debate on corruption in the country rages on, the RTI Act is fast emerging as an effective anti-corruption tool.
Right to Information laws, or “sunshine” laws as they are commonly called, grant citizens the legal right to access information held by their governments, bringing much-needed transparency in the otherwise opaque functioning of government. Globally, more than 80 countries have now enacted such laws, with the list growing each year. India’s RTI Act is internationally recognized as a strong and effective law. Over the last six years, the RTI has been used extensively by ordinary Indian citizens to demand a vast range of information from their government. (more…)
The number of migrants pouring into Vietnam’s cities as the nation rapidly industrializes and modernizes is staggering. The Vietnamese government estimates that in 2009 there were 1.99 million migrants in Ho Chi Minh City, nearly 30 percent of the population.
Although Vietnam’s 26 million migrants have contributed greatly to the nation’s economic growth, they struggle to access services in the large cities where they work.
The majority of migrants are young and, increasingly, women. Migrants represent both Vietnam’s greatest advantages and greatest challenges. Their 14-15-hour work days have helped fuel the economic miracle that has rocketed Vietnam from one of the five poorest countries in the world in 1985 to an average per capita income of over $1,000 in 2010. Economic reform, combined with cheap, flexible labor has led to a surge in foreign investment. Booming consumerism is visible in the adverts on every street corner and the accessories hanging off Vietnam’s newly wealthy youth. A young and vibrant population provides the continued promise of future economic expansion and innovation.
With low incomes, poor benefits, unstable employment, and far from traditional family support systems, migrants are particularly vulnerable – a situation worsened by the global economic crisis. In Ha Noi, the government estimates that only 11 percent of newly resident laborers have work contracts compared with 90 percent of local residents. Ministry of Health statistics show only 30 percent of private companies pay health insurance fees for their workers and 90 percent of new residents from the countryside have no social insurance.
Migrants also struggle to access state support. Their permanent registration documents, or their ho khau, and with it their rights to access government services, remain tied to their homes in the countryside. Historically, the ho khau system was used as part of the public administration system both to control the movement of the population but also to allocate scarce resources and public services during the war years. As Vietnam has opened up since the doi moi reforms in the late 1980s, the system has loosened. Increasing numbers of people have moved away from the places where they are registered. In theory, migrants can get official permission to change their registration. In practice, large numbers of migrants cannot do so, unable to fulfill the conditions required. This state of limbo means even seemingly simple tasks such as registering a birth can become complex and fraught. The expense and bureaucratic convolutions of accessing basic health and education services put them beyond the reach of many.
The immediate challenges of dealing with such a massive population shift are huge. Binh Chieu, like most of the industrial zones that ring Ho Chi Minh City, is dominated by row upon row of anonymous-looking factories churning out textile, footwear, and electrical products for export. The local government there estimates that 65 percent of the population are migrant laborers. The vast majority of migrants arrived over the last decade and have created a huge strain on infrastructure and services. Far from traditional familial restraints and forced to adapt rapidly to an urban lifestyle, migrant communities have increased incidence of social problems such as prostitution, drugs, and HIV/AIDs infection.
Workers wait for day labor job in Ha Noi City. The government estimates that in Ha Noi, only 11 percent of newly residents laborers have work contracts, compared with 90 percent of local residents.
Government approaches to migrant worker issues have often come from the point of view of managing migration flows and social problems rather than supporting a dynamic labor source and providing protection. No one department is responsible for migrant social policy which means that their specific challenges frequently fall between the cracks. Non-governmental support for migrant workers in Vietnam is increasing, but it is often viewed with suspicion both by companies and local governments concerned about potential labor unrest and uncertain about NGOs’ intentions. This resistance can make it very challenging for NGOs to develop projects to support migrant workers. The few NGO programs that do exist are limited in size and scope.
In response, over the last 18 months, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, The Asia Foundation worked with Vietnamese civil society to build innovative programs to support migrant workers in Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City. With our local partner organizations, we have created health and education service models tailored to migrant workers, and helped migrants access information and better understand their rights. We also helped set up a hot line, website, and information center for migrant workers to disseminate information on employment, provide online counseling, and work closely with local authorities to advocate for additional support. Our partners have trained 86 staff members from organizations that provide training and consultation to migrants on life skills, legal education, and workers’ rights. Through this program, we have provided nearly 1,500 migrants with legal counseling and critical information on safe migration, life and work in the cities, HIV/AIDS prevention, reproductive health, legal and labor rights, and employment counseling.
In Ho Chi Minh City last month, The Asia Foundation brought together migrant workers, NGO workers, and officials from the North and South, to share experiences on approaches to supporting migrants and consider how to alleviate the impact the global financial crisis continues to have on these vulnerable population.
Interestingly, the discussions produced some clear contrasts in attitudes between the North and South. The authorities in Ho Chi Minh City stressed the economic benefits of migrant workers, the economic dynamism they provide, and the active steps local authorities are taking to try and address the issues a large migrant worker population presents. They emphasized regulatory changes, allowing migrants to change their registration if they can demonstrate they have been in the city over the year. They discussed successful innovations; multi-stakeholder approaches involving close cooperation between local officials, hostel owners, police and NGOs, engaging with migrant worker groups to breach the gaps between the authorities and migrant communities, and embedding public communications into community events. The NGOs from the South also stressed their close cooperation with the authorities, and the importance of filling gaps in official service delivery. There were also hints of a more entrepreneurial spirit, and excited discussions of how to develop services on the basis of social enterprise models.
The conversation among the northerners was more cautious and focused on the risks presented by migrant workers. Participants talked about the potential that greater social services for migrants could lead to even higher numbers of arrivals. Others talked about the need to tackle many of the migration issues at source. They felt that the authorities in source cities should provide more information and help ensure a more ordered flow of migrants to identified jobs. Northern NGO participants showed a greater interest than their southern counterparts in public advocacy approaches to engage migrant workers in groups to discuss common issues.
The different approaches perhaps reflect the different character of migration in the North and the South. A large proportion of the migrant workers in Ho Chi Minh City’s factories are recruited directly from the provinces for specific jobs. There is a core, relatively more stable population established over a longer period, bringing family, forming communities and, for some, achieving prosperity. Northern authorities on the other hand view many migrants in Ha Noi as having lower levels of education and containing a higher proportion of freelancers who shift frequently between odd jobs, scrapping for opportunities in the informal economy, and thus represent a bigger economic and social challenge.
Whether these North versus South characterizations are accurate or more a matter of perception, what we could all agree on was the magnitude and range of the needs and challenges migrant populations face. It was particularly encouraging to see officials in both Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City express their appreciation for the work carried out by the NGOs involved in our project. It is clear that NGO workers and officials in the North and South will benefit from increased engagement with each other, and hopefully learn lessons from each other’s programs. Ultimately, a mix of all these approaches will be needed to support this growing, vulnerable population. Tackling these challenges successfully will be critical to Vietnam’s continued economic growth.
Editor’s note: This post has been edited slightly from the original.
William Taylor is The Asia Foundation’s deputy country representative in Vietnam. The views and opinions expressed here are those of the individual author and not those of The Asia Foundation.
On August 3, in a nationally televised speech, Senator Juan Miguel “Migs” Zubiri resigned his seat in the upper house of the Philippine Congress. While he stated emphatically that he did not cheat, or ask anybody else to cheat, when he ran in the 2007 election, Zubiri said that rising speculation and publicity about fraud, new witnesses going public, and an ongoing process at the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) were taking a toll on his family. To spare them more trauma, he submitted his resignation and subsequently withdrew all his motions before the SET, allowing the panel to move forward speedily toward proclaiming the other disputant, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel, III, as the winner.
This is the first time in Philippine history a senator has resigned over an election protest. The Philippines has had elections – and charges of electoral misconduct – at various levels since the late 19th century, so it is hard to know how far back to trace the roots of this problem. However, some coherence is reached by going back 16 years to 1995, when Koko Pimentel’s father, Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel II, also charged that he was cheated.
The year of 1995 saw the first scandal to dent confidence in the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), in the post-Marcos, post-1986 People Power Revolution era. Senators in the Philippines are elected nationwide, with 12 seats being filled every three years for six-year terms to the 24-seat body. Often, very few votes separate the last several seats, and in 1995 Nene Pimentel (who had been senator from 1986 to 1992) charged that he was edged out by a system of dagdag-bawas (add-subtract) during canvassing of votes. (more…)
