By John Brandon

John Brandon is Director of The Asia Foundation’s International Relations program and head of America’s Role in Asia.

With our election cycle, every four years American foreign policy has a fresh opportunity to be re-examined and re-strategized. Come 2009, U.S. policy towards Asia will continue to directly affect 60% of the world’s population. Many Asians tell me they’re concerned that decisions affecting them, and their countries’ security, are being made unilaterally in Washington. Many say they believe the Global War on Terror tops the U.S. foreign policy agenda, trumping all else. Asian policymakers I’ve spoken to say repeatedly they have little input in decisions made in the U.S. and that their domestic interests are rarely if ever taken into account. Given the political, economic, and security interests of the U.S. in the region, it is essential that both Americans and Asians contribute to solving problems of mutual concern.
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By William Foerderer Infante

William Foerderer Infante is The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Mongolia.

In 2007, both Mongolia and Canada improved their corruption-fighting performance by the same nominal amount, two tenths of a point, according to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. And this is almost where the parallel ends: Canada ranks number 9, and Mongolia ranks number 99.

According to numerous polls, Mongolians believe that corruption is among the most important challenges facing the country, after soaring inflation and high-unemployment.
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ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan, who also serves as a Trustee of The Asia Foundation, spoke recently about the importance of East Asian countries forging closer ties with its Southeast Asian neighbors. To read his full speech, click here. To read an article about the speech in the Korean JoongAng Daily, click here.

Special to In Asia, by an on-the-ground contributor in Burma to The Asia Foundation.

Rangoon, Burma - One month has passed since Cyclone Nargis hit Rangoon and the Delta region of Burma. Electricity is back on at the house where I am staying in Rangoon, though the phone-line is still down. Monsoon season has begun and it rains heavily almost every day – dark and angry storms that threaten to drown the city in a daily deluge as murky waters rise up from the overburdened sewage systems.

Solid information about the situation in the Delta area is still frustratingly hard to come by due to restricted access.
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By Doug Bereuter

Doug Bereuter is President of The Asia Foundation. This is an excerpt of a recent presentation he made in Berlin to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Economics and Security Committee. To read the complete text, click here.

Six years after emerging from 25 years of conflict, Afghanistan continues to face tremendous challenges to stability and growth. The increasing strength of the Taliban and al-Qaeda, based across the border in relatively safe havens in Pakistan, threatens security and reconstruction, and robust economic growth is threatened by the effects of a burgeoning drug economy and near-total dependence on foreign aid.

Despite daunting challenges, the government has made important achievements in recent years. Unfortunately, as underscored in several recent studies, these achievements may prove short-lived if significant progress is not achieved on a range of tough challenges over the next few years. Over 75 percent of adult Afghans remain illiterate and about 80 percent of women and children can neither write nor read and 70 percent survive on less than two dollars per day. Afghanistan’s poppy and opium production still represents over a third of the country’s GDP and supplies over 80 percent of the world’s heroin.
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By Nick Langton

Nick Langton is The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in Nepal. Among many projects in Nepal, the Foundation is supporting the Constituent Assembly process.

On Wednesday, May 28, I was at the Constituent Assembly (CA) until just before midnight when Nepal was declared a federal republic and the king was given 15 days to vacate the palace. The CA was initially supposed to convene at 10:30am, then 3:15 pm. It wasn’t until after 9:00 p.m. that proceedings finally got underway. Throughout the day, party leaders were at the Prime Minister’s residence debating the leadership structure of the new government and the composition of the 26 nominated seats. The motion that passed last night provides for a president to be elected by the house, a vice president, and an executive prime minister. We assume that Girija Koirala will be the president and Prachanda the executive prime minister. What remains unclear is whether the army will report to the president instead of the PM, and which party will fill the post of vice president. There was no resolution on the nominated members. That should be decided before the CA reconvenes next week.
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By Melody Zavala

Melody Zavala is the Director of The Asia Foundation’s Books For Asia program.

As I pack my bags for Book Expo America, where I will meet with publishers whose generous donations are improving the lives of millions, I am struck by the high level of participation by the publishing industry and the general public. About 25,000 people will gather in Los Angeles for three days to discuss the latest trends, hear talks from bestselling authors, and get up-to-speed on this year’s must-read titles. Moreover, we are there to celebrate the importance of books and learning.

No matter where you live, education is a key factor in development; and everywhere teachers, parents, and educators face enormous challenges. We are all familiar with schools and libraries that lack materials, supplies, or the budget to improve their collections. While there are clear needs for improvements in education in the U.S., the situation we see on the ground in Asia is far more dire.
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By Robin Bush

Robin Bush is The Asia Foundation’s Deputy Country Representative in Indonesia.

Ten years ago, in May 1998, rioters thronged the streets of Jakarta, activists occupied the parliament building, students were shot and killed, stores were looted and burned, and attacks and rapes of ethnic Chinese took place. Eventually, then-President Soeharto stepped down from the post he had held for over 32 years, and Indonesia began the momentous transition to a democracy.

Against that backdrop, and the 30 years of authoritarian rule that preceded it, it is nothing short of remarkable that, today, Indonesia is recognized as the most vibrant and stable democracy in the region. Last week, Indonesians paused to remember the dramatic events of ten years ago, and to take stock of how far their nation has come since then.
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By Hana Satriyo

Hana Satriyo is the Director for Gender and Women’s Participation for The Asia Foundation in Indonesia.

It has been 10 years since Indonesia turned a new page in its history and entered the post-Soeharto Reformasi era. The women’s movement was at the very center of the Reformasi movement when a group of women, who called themselves “Concerned Mothers,” became the first mass of people to enter the streets of Jakarta to protest increased milk prices. After 10 years of Reformasi and four presidents, it is an ideal time to reflect on a number of important reform milestones in the area of women’s rights. Two reform efforts should be highlighted as achievements of the Indonesian women’s movement in demanding equal status and protection of women’s rights: the protection of women’s rights through institutional reform within the government; and the legal reform spearheaded by women activists and their counterparts in the national parliament to promote equal status of women.
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The Asia Foundation’s president, Doug Bereuter, addresses NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Berlin. To access his speeches on Afghanistan, click here.

The Asia Foundation’s China Representative, Jonathan Stromseth, to Participate in Emergency China Donor Briefing. For more information, click here.

Books for Asia Director, Melody Zavala, to Attend Book Expo America in Los Angeles. For interviews, please contact Debbie Felix at dfelix@asiafound.org.

Barnett Baron, Executive Vice President of the Asia Foundation, led a workshop on governance, internal management and funding of nonprofits for Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) in Hanoi on May 26. Along with experts from India, Philippines, and the U.S., he covered international experience with nonprofit boards, certification systems, rating, and self-monitoring mechanisms in the three countries. The program was part of a Foundation grant to VUSTA, under which it is preparing a guidebook for Vietnamese NGOs on nonprofit governance, management, evaluation, and funding.