By V. Bruce J. Tolentino

Bruce Tolentino is The Asia Foundation’s Director for Economic Reform and Development Programs. He can be reached at btolentino@asiafound.org.

Over the past few weeks, as the U.S. financial system has reeled from a shocking series of major “adjustments,” Asia’s economists and bankers remind themselves of the key lessons — painfully taught — by the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s:  (a) all markets are linked; (b) financial markets are much more volatile than others and thus require more stringent oversight and regulation; and (c) refocusing on economic fundamentals is key to long-term recovery and growth.

Taking the long view, the medium-to-long term impact of the U.S. financial crisis on Asia is likely to be muted.
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By Kim N. B. Ninh

Dr. Kim N. B. Ninh is the Hanoi-based Country Representative of Vietnam for The Asia Foundation. She can be reached at kninh@asiafound.org.

Vietnam may be experiencing the highest inflation rate in the last two decades, a whopping 28% year-on-year in August, but of late the country is consumed with a different kind of crisis.  The latest beauty to be crowned Miss Vietnam on August 31, 18-year-old Tran Thi Thuy Dung, was discovered to not have finished secondary school, contrary to the government’s beauty contest regulations.

On the surface, the ingredients of this still unfolding scandal are rather mundane.  It turns out that the rules established by the Miss Vietnam organizing committee were different from those of the Ministry of Culture, asking for contestants to have “the level of high school and up” rather than the government’s requirement of a high school graduation exam.  Under furious media questioning, the organizing committee stuck by its gun, stating that although its regulations did not meet legal standards, the new Miss Vietnam did not do anything wrong.  Under more media investigation, there are now serious questions about whether Miss Vietnam’s school records have been doctored to show that she has completed the twelfth grade, even though she had left in the middle of the school year. 
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By Doug Bereuter

On Tuesday, Asia Foundation President Doug Bereuter testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs’ Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia on “A Reliance on Soft Power ” Reforming the Public Diplomacy Bureaucracy“. Below is an excerpt.

My primary message is to emphasize that for a truly effective public diplomacy effort, America must return to (and I do emphasize the words “return to”), reinforce, and remind people around the world by example, what they had especially admired about our country and people.  It won’t be accomplished by an improved governmental public relation campaign, by governmental reorganization, or only by adding more State Department public diplomacy officers in our embassies, consulates, or Washington, D.C.  However, greater good will, respect, credibility, and support for our country can be regained.  Changes in policies and emphases, a smarter variety of public diplomacy, and perhaps governmental reorganization are part of the answer.  Yet the primary orientation of our effort must be to remind people abroad, and re-enforce by example and their direct experience, what they and their leaders traditionally have liked and admired most about Americans and our country.  We have done that well in the past; we can and must do it again.  Full Testimony.

By Robin Bush

Dr. Robin Bush, The Asia Foundation’s Deputy Country Representative in Indonesia, provides more in depth analysis of Sharia regulations in Indonesia in her recent essay “Regional Sharia Regulations in Indonesia: Anomaly or Symptom?“ published in August 2008 by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) as a chapter of Expressing Islam: Religious Life and Politics in Indonesia. She can be reached at rbush@asiafound.org.

Indonesia’s rich cultural diversity is on display in full force once again this week as activists, intellectuals, dancing musicians, and women dressed in brightly colored lace dresses have taken to the streets to protest a shoddy piece of legislation that just won’t go away. The poorly-named “Anti-Pornography Bill” was first introduced by legislators in early 2006. After nearly a year of protest, heated debate, demonstrations, and conflict, the bill was sent to committee where it essentially got shelved until a couple of weeks ago when a legislator from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) decided to revive it as what he called a “Ramadan gift” for Indonesia.
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By Scott Snyder

Scott Snyder is a Senior Associate at The Asia Foundation. He can be reached at ssnyder@asiafound-dc.org.

Since there have been periodic rumors about the state of Kim Jong Il’s health over the years, it’s easy for North Korea-watchers to become skeptical about unattributed reports from capitals outside of Pyongyang regarding the pulse of the Dear Leader. It has long been the case that rumors about the stability of North Korea are inversely proportional to the distance one is from Pyongyang; by this logic, rumors started in Washington require special skepticism.

But this time, multiple reports from intelligence officials in many countries are beginning to add up. These reports suggest that Kim Jong Il experienced an impossible-to-predict “medical event”–apparently a stroke–in mid-August. But it was particularly his non-appearance at last week’s 60th anniversary events to mark the founding of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) that sparked international speculation. Intelligence regarding special teams of physicians that had entered North Korea to treat Kim Jong Il has led to a broad array of reports about Kim’s condition and recovery.
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With rumors of Korean President Kim Jong-Il’s ailing health abounding, Former Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Ambassador to the U.S, Han Sung-Joo addressed packed crowds in Washington and San Francisco at the formal launch of The Asia Foundation’s America’s Role in Asia.  Ambassador Han asked: “The question is, is North Korea more or less likely to give up its nuclear weapons if there is a government change; or, if Mr. Kim Jong Il becomes incapacitated, is North Korea going to become more or less dangerous than now?”  At both the National Press Club and the Cosmos Club in Washington, DC, and at the Four Seasons in San Francisco, Ambassador Han addressed policymakers, Asian and U.S. diplomats, executives, journalists and philanthropists.
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By Preeti Thapa

Preeti Thapa is The Asia Foundation’s Program Manager for Community Mediation, Conflict Transformation and Peace Building in Nepal.

In the area of Devpura Village Development Community in Dhanusha District, Nepal, Kaladhar Jha had a property dispute with his brother, Devendra, which went on for almost 20 years. Even during festive occasions, like marriage ceremonies and social events, the two brothers refused to visit each other’s homes. Since the two brothers faced a lot of tension for a long time, Devendra Jha, who had heard about something called community mediation, decided to apply for mediation services. Eventually ” somewhat miraculously ” the two brothers were persuaded to attend mediation.  After a few hours their decades-long dispute had been resolved. Now the brothers are on very good terms and have started living in a joint household again.

The Asia Foundation promotes community-based mediation in Nepal, where trying cases in regular court can be very expensive and time consuming.  Mediation can improve access to justice and help establish a culture of peace building within communities.
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By Kim Ninh

Kim Ninh is The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Vietnam. She can be reached at kninh@asiafound.org.

On September 9, 2008, a workshop in Vietnam drew more than a hundred participants from government agencies, ministries, National Assembly, international and national organizations, and representatives from 12 provinces. The workshop, “Strengthening Cooperation and Effective Implementation of Anti-Human Trafficking Programs in Vietnam,” was organized by Vietnam’s Executive Office of the National Committee to Combat Trafficking (Office 130 of the Ministry of Public Security) and The Asia Foundation, and provided participants with an update from the government on new trends and patterns of human trafficking in Vietnam.  It also provided an opportunity for discussions around challenges and solutions, for participants to contribute to the ongoing drafting of the anti-trafficking law, and to examine existing anti-trafficking programs and discuss how they could better be implemented to respond to the constantly evolving trafficking situation.  
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In a report released recently, top Asian and U.S. foreign policy experts urge incoming US administration to put Asia at top of agenda.

The health of the U.S. economy is now tied to Asia in fundamental ways that, if not grasped quickly by the incoming presidential administration, could have unintended, adverse consequences, according to America’s Role in Asia: Asian and American Views, a newly published volume of foreign policy recommendations written by 20 distinguished Asian and U.S. experts and released this morning in Washington. Although relations with China are generally constructive, the report states, the U.S. must, in order to minimize threats to American security and prosperity, maintain a constructive response as China continues to rise. Further, the report underscores the importance of responding to the “rise of the rest” by adjusting the membership in various international organizations. Convened and supported by The Asia Foundation, this landmark report is the product of a year of high-level, closed-door discussions across Asia and in the U.S. that addressed critical bilateral and trans-national issues in U.S.-Asia relations, including Korea, Afghanistan, Pakistan, energy security, environmental degradation, Asia’s regional alliances, trade, and investment.
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By John Brandon

John Brandon is The Asia Foundation’s Director for International Relations programs. He can be reached at jbrandon@asiafound-dc.org. For on-the-ground analysis of the situation in Thailand, click here for The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Thailand, James Klein’s, comments to the Christian Science Monitor. He can be reached at jklein@asiafound.org.

On September 8th, Thailand’s constitutional court rendered the decision that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej must resign after being found guilty of violating a ban on ministers for taking money from a private company.  Article 267 of the constitution prohibits ministers from taking money from outside interests.  In this case it was for accepting money from a TV station to appear on his popular cooking show, “Tasting and Grumbling.”   Some may argue that rule of law has won the day as Samak has become the first Prime Minister to ever have to resign by court order.  Most former Thai prime ministers have fallen from power by military coup.  To Samak’s credit, which he has earned little as of late, he has agreed to accept and abide by the court’s verdict.

But does the constitutional court’s decision end the political paralysis Thailand is facing? 
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