Doug Bereuter, President of The Asia Foundation, is traveling to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia to meet with President Enkhbayar, Democratic Party Leader Ts. Elbegdorj, and Civic Union/Green Party Leader Enkhbat. Mr. Bereuter will also meet with the Head of the Independent Authority Against corruption and civil society organizations, in addition to touring mine sites in Zamaar soum, Tov aimag.

By Dr. James Klein

James Klein is The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Thailand.

Even before the cabinet of Samak Sundaravej was endorsed on February 6, 2008, many analysts questioned how long his People Power Party (PPP) coalition government would last. After all, Samak was the one who described his own cabinet as “a bit ugly.” Best estimates at the time were that his government would last until October or December. In view of a litany of problems including his failure to amend the 2007 Constitution, criticism of the handling of Cambodia’s listing of Preah Vihear as a World Heritage site, and recent court decisions – not to mention others to be issued during the coming months – many believe he will not be able to last beyond September, if he makes it through August.

The central questions now are: will Samak be impeached, will he be indicted for corruption, will he dissolve the house and call snap elections, will he resign and allow another PPP or coalition party member to form a new cabinet, will he allow the opposition Democrat Party to coax away his coalition members to form a new government, or will there be another coup?
Read more »

The summary of The Asia Foundation’s observation results relating to the recent Mongolian voting process, and to voter perceptions of the June 29th elections, was recently released. The Asia Foundation deployed 17 two-person teams to observe the parliamentary election.

Over 1,500,000 citizens were registered to vote nationwide, and voter turnout is estimated at 70%. A total of 356 candidates from 12 political parties, one coalition, and 45 independent candidates competed in 26 multi-member constituencies as prescribed by the 2005 Election Law. The number of candidates in a constituency varied from 20-30, and the number of seats in each constituency varied from two to four, depending upon the population.
Read more »

By Veronique Salze-Lozac’h

Veronique Salze-Lozach is the Regional Director for Economic Programs at The Asia Foundation’s office in Phnom Penh.

A few weeks ago, trucks carrying loudspeakers and loads of cheerful party supporters sporting colorful t-shirts invaded the normally peaceful streets of Phnom Penh. Small white posters displaying the images of party leaders started to cover walls throughout the capital city. There is no doubt about it; the election season has started.

In a country still on the learning curve of democracy, this event is indeed significant.

Music in the streets, often played as early as 5 a.m., and shouted slogans mixed with the discordant sounds of loud speakers should not conceal the reality of a “relatively” quiet campaign season. Up until now, the 4th mandate for National Assembly elections in Cambodia has been less violent than the previous one: while the 2003 elections were overshadowed by intimidation and violence, the 2008 campaign season has been generally qualified by observers, politicians, and the Cambodian National Election Committee as, for the most part, peaceful. Whether this relative tranquility is a sign of democratic maturity or of a lack of enthusiasm for an election that many believe is a foregone conclusion has yet to be determined.
Read more »

Neil McCulloch, Director of Economic Programs for The Asia Foundation in Jakarta, is quoted in Tuesday’s Christian Science Monitor article, “Indonesia’s Answer to Rising Food Prices,” in which he discusses Indonesia’s approach to self-sufficiency in rice.

Doug Bereuter, President of The Asia Foundation, is traveling to Korea to meet with the new president of the Korea Overseas International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) — the grant and technical assistance arm of Korea’s foreign assistance program – and speak to business leaders on Challenges in US-Asian Relations Awaiting a New American President. He will also meet with Prime Minister Han Sung-soo, U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow, Mr. Nam Yong, CEO of LG Electronics, and the Dean of Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management.

By Dominc Nardi, Jr.

Dominic Nardi, Jr. is a joint-degree student from Georgetown Law Center and Johns Hopkins SAIS in the Southeast Asian Studies program. He is serving as an Intern in Law and Human Rights unit of The Asia Foundation’s Manila office.

Over the past year, crackdowns against political opponents in countries like Burma, Kenya, and Zimbabwe shocked the world. Yet, in some countries, dissidents face more subtle, but no less serious , political intimidation. Consider the following incidents, which took place between March and July of this year:

• While being interviewed by a radio station, the head of a local human rights organization received a text message from a pro-military source threatening, “You are the next one to be eliminated”;
• Unidentified motorcycle-riding gunmen shot and killed a spokesman for a peasant organization; afterwards the mayor speculated military soldiers may have been involved;
• Soldiers repeatedly questioned a villager for the location of her husband, while her neighbor reported overhearing them boast the husband would be “titirahin” (killed) as soon as they found him.

These incidents did not occur in an “outpost of tyranny,” but rather in the Philippines, Asia’s oldest democracy.
Read more »

By David M. Lampton

The following is an excerpt from the newly-published book, “The Three Faces of Chinese Power: Might, Money, and Minds,” by David M. Lampton, Director of the China Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Reprint permission granted by the author, a Trustee of The Asia Foundation. For information on the book, contact University of California Press. It can be purchased on amazon.com.

China’s elite and public opinion leaders have a national grand strategy. For them, the next twenty years provide a strategic opportunity. In a February 23, 2004, Politburo study session, General Secretary and President Hu Jintao could not have been clearer when he said, “Take a broad view of the world while analyzing the situation; see clear-headedly the serious challenges posed by the intensifying international competition; see clear-headedly the difficulties and risks in the road ahead; [and] grasp firmly and conscientiously use well this period of important strategic opportunity.” The next twenty years are expected to be an era of continuing American dominance in which Beijing’s principal tasks are to get along with Washington while relentlessly building the nation’s military, economic, and ideational power. At the end of this period China will be better able to defend and advance its interests. And while most Chinese hope to build a cooperative relationship with America in the coming decades, they are also aware of other possibilities, just as they are mindful of the many uncertainties that stand between the present day and twenty years of continued, uninterrupted, high-speed growth.
Read more »

By Scott Snyder

Scott Snyder is a Senior Associate at The Asia Foundation’s office in Washington, DC. He can be reached at ssnyder@asiafound-dc.org.

This week in Beijing, the Six Party Talks are set to reconvene after a nine month hiatus. The hiatus began October 3, 2007 with China’s release of a joint statement that anticipated a series of concrete measures that would be completed by the end of 2007 to resolve the North Korean nuclear crisis. During the hiatus, the U.S. and North Korea negotiated bilaterally over how to implement the commitments outlined in that statement. North Korea’s measures included disabling its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon; “reaffirming its commitment not to transfer nuclear materials, technology, and know-how” and making a “complete and correct” declaration of its nuclear programs by the end of 2007. In return, North Korea would receive the following: one million tons of heavy fuel oil or equivalent energy supplies; the removal of North Korea from the U.S. terrorism list, repeal of the Trading With the Enemy Act; and seeing the improvement of Japan-DPRK relations through implementation of the Pyongyang Declaration.
Read more »

In Seoul, on Monday, July 7, The Asia Foundation organized a public forum on “Development Assistance in Areas of Conflict in Asia: Lessons from the Field”. The forum addressed providing development assistance in conflict areas such as Afghanistan, Timor Leste, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and southern Philippines, and brought together international experts, Korean policy makers, as well as Korean and Asia Foundation managers of development projects to discuss the complex relationship between conflict and development and effective strategies for working in difficult environments. For more information, please contact Mr. Chun Sang Moon: csmoon@asiafound.org.

In Tuesday’s New York Times, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Mongolia, Bill Infante, was quoted on post-election riots in a piece called “In Election Dispute, A Challenge for Mongolia’s Democracy”.

By Katherine S. Hunter

Kim Hunter is The Asia Foundation’s Luce Scholars Coordinator.

What began as a trip to finalize arrangements with Asian host organizations for 18 new Luce Scholars ended up providing a memorable and kaleidoscopic window into the vitality of Asia. A 14-city journey in East and Southeast Asia in May and June provided on-the-ground exposure to timely events in the countries in which the Luce Scholars will spend their fellowship year starting in August 2008.

Read more »