In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

Within a single week, the San Francisco headquarters of The Asia Foundation hosted 16 new Luce Scholars, a Congressional Fellow from Thailand, and two participants in the Young Diplomats Program from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These are recent examples of Asia Foundation programs contributing to leadership development in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly those with [...]

> More

My recent 5-1/2 week trip to 11 countries and 13 cities in East and Southeast Asia was to finalize arrangements with Asian host organizations for 16 new Luce Scholars. It also inspired thinking about the dozens of organizations that have hosted these young fellows since the program began in 1974.  In the past four decades, [...]

> More

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 [...]

> More

The newly independent nation of Timor-Leste (formerly East Timor) faces daunting challenges in implementing the rule of law. Until recently, most efforts have focused on the important “hardware” of the justice system: training judges and prosecutors, establishing courts, and adopting laws. With insights gained from five years of independence and the security crisis of 2006 [...]

> More

In May 2002, Timor-Leste (formerly known as East Timor) became the first new nation of the 21st century after more than four centuries as a Portuguese colony and a quarter-century under Indonesian administration. As a young nation, with a literacy rate of only 50%, the country is struggling to establish institutions, provide basic public services, [...]

> More

On June 30th, East Timor’s citizens cast ballots in the first parliamentary election since independence in 2002. After an intense election campaign in which a record 12 parties and 2 coalitions competed — criss-crossing this small and mountainous half-island nation to hold rallies and conduct door-to-door visits — over 81% of the electorate turned out [...]

> More

April 9th marked a historic coming of age for East Timor: the fledgling democracy’s first presidential election as an independent nation. Record numbers of voters turned out to cast ballots for the eight candidates running for president. Three of the eight ” Nobel Laureate José Ramos-Horta, Francisco “Lu-Olo” Guterres, and Fernando “Lasama” de Araujo ” [...]

> More

Fairly or unfairly, the trial of former East Timorese Minister of Interior, Rogerio Lobato, is a litmus test for East Timor’s beleaguered judicial system. Indicted for misappropriation of public property, murder — and the unauthorized importation or use of firearms to disrupt public order — Mr. Lobato is the first senior government official to be [...]

> More

In 2007 East Timor will hold its first national elections as a sovereign nation after achieving independence in 2002. The elections are an important test for any young nation, but particularly for East Timor. After 400 years as a Portuguese colony and nearly 25 years under Indonesian administration, a 1999 referendum on the independence of [...]

> More