Since, I will be taking my vacation to S. Korea in two months, I thought I would present some Korean history.  Many of us have heard of the Tian’anmen protest, but I am sure most people have never heard of the Gwangju massacre that happened in 1980.   Hundreds were killed…

Events in Kwangju unfolded after the dictator of South Korea; Park Chung-Hee was assassinated by his own chief of intelligence. In the euphoria after Park’s demise, students led a huge movement for democracy, but General Chun Doo-Hwan seized power and threatened violence if the protests continued. All over Korea, with the sole exception of Kwangju, people stayed indoors. With the approval of the United States, the new military government then released from the frontlines of the DMZ some of the most seasoned paratroopers to teach Kwangju a lesson. Once these troops reached Kwangju, they terrorised the population in unimaginable ways. In the first confrontations on the morning of May 18, specially designed clubs broke heads of defenceless students. As demonstrators scrambled for safety and regrouped, the paratroopers viciously attacked: “A cluster of troops attacked each student individually. They would crack his head, stomp his back, and kick him in the face. When the soldiers were done, he looked like a pile of clothes in meat sauce.” [Lee Jae-Eui, Kwangju Diary: Beyond Death, Beyond the Darkness of the Age, p. 46] Bodies were piled into trucks, where soldiers continued to beat and kick them. By night the paratroopers had set up camp at several universities.

As students fought back, soldiers used bayonets on them and arrested dozens more people, many of whom were stripped naked, raped and further brutalised. One soldier brandished his bayonet at captured students and screamed at them, “This is the bayonet I used to cut forty Viet Cong women’s breasts [in Vietnam]!” The entire population was in shock from the paratroopers’ over-reaction. The paratroopers were so out of control that they even stabbed to death the director of information of the police station who tried to get them to stop brutalising people. [Kwangju Diary, p. 79]

Read more here

This is a very emotional movie by John Pilger on how the United States was mostly responsible for the rise of Pol Pot.  Yes, the United States goverment aided the rise of Pol Pot.  I will let the video speak for itself. 

Year Zero: The Silent Death of Cambodia

[video width="320" height="240"]http://www.videos.informationclearinghouse.info/yearzero100.wmv[/video]

In other news, Malaysia has a new King.  The king, known as Yang di-Pertuan Agong or He Who Is Made Lord, formally took office at a ceremony in the throne room of the national palace.   Sultan Mizan, will rule for five years.  The sultan is the former ruler of the oil-rich Terengganu state.

Well thats all I have to report on that but best of luck to the new King and to economic and social development in Malaysia.

Welcome back to “A lack of talent: Chinese not returning to China.”  For part one please click here.  As the Chinese economy continues to grow, will they have enough talent to meet the demands of the government.  I think so.  Here is one Wang Li’s (interview with BBC) opinion on leaving China and the effect that will have on China.

Wang Li 

I came back to China in 2005 after 17 years studying and lecturing abroad. My major field is international studies.

From the very beginning, even as a undergraduate student in China, I had realised that China’s future statesmen and scholars must learn the rules of the wold’s politics and economics.

In its recent history, China has suffered at the hands of western powers because of a lack of understanding of the outside world.

I went to Harvard equipped with a Masters’ degree from a Chinese university and confidence that I was good. The list of books to read gave me a shock – I hadn’t heard of any of them and I quickly felt out of my depth.

I decided to come back after all these years – I am an old dog who needs a home to settle down. But more importantly, I wanted to pass on the knowledge I gained abroad.

My teaching is far better than colleagues who never left China. I use modern methods and I am open to new ideas. My students at Nankai University read the same books as American and British students.

Coming back after so long does come at a cost: while I’ve been away, the made-in-China professionals have filled nearly all the attractive positions of political and economic power. I am an outsider and I cannot compete with long-established local academics.

I am unlikely to benefit from the money the government provides to universities, for example. In addition, in 2002 the government stopped providing accommodation for returned university lecturers, so I had to rent or buy a place to live.

Young people are leaving, but I don’t think it’s a problem for China in the short term. Let’s be realistic: China is still a developing country and it cannot offer fantastic opportunities to all its young intelligent people.

Those who stay abroad will be China’s windows: to draw more investment, know-how and new ideas that will help China in the years to come.

It is very interesting to see why people who left their native land do not return.  In some cases it is because of the economy in other cases it is political reasons.  My roommate who is Chinese has no intention of going back to China.  I really should have interviewed him for this post but prehaps another time.  In any case, Today’s Talk will feature the topic of why Chinese who left their homeland do not go back. 

The Chinese society has changed a lot but for some the change is not enough.

If there is one thing about the U.S. foreign policy it is “consistently inconsistent!”  U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said repeatedly over the last several years that there would be no bilateral talks between the U.S. and N. Korea.  Contrary to views of most Asian Analysts who have been encouraging that the U.S. should have bilateral meetings.  Well, just this month in a secret meeting the U.S. agreed to have bilateral talks with N. Korea which has turn into N. Korea reaching a deal over its nuclear program. 

China’s chief envoy Wu Dawei said the deal was “favorable for the peace process in north-east Asia and for the improvement of ties between relevant countries”.

So what will N. Korea have to do?  Under the agreement, Pyongyang has pledged to close its Yongbyon reactor within 60 days, in return for 50,000 metric tons of fuel aid or economic aid of equal value. The closure of Yongbyon will be verified by international inspectors.

The North will eventually receive another one million tons of fuel oil or an equivalent when it permanently disables its nuclear operations.

It is my opinion that this deal could have been made years ago if only the Bush Administration have the policy of open talks.  You can not resolve issues without negotiations taking place.

Anyone who has visited China in the early 1990’s and has returned today to see China can certainly tell you, that the Chinese economy has grown enormously. China reported on January 25, 2006 that its economy grew at its fastest rate in a decade 10.7%. China has managed to raise incomes in southwestern china in provinces like Yunnan and Sichuan which have historically been behind the eastern provinces. According to the Chinese Statistical Agency “urban Chinese households grew 10.4 percent in real terms last year, while those in the countryside rose 7.4 percent.” Rural incomes are “still at a comparatively low level,” Xie said, though he stressed that compared with China’s historic poverty, “this is a great leap forward.” Government officials said that “China’s total economic output last year was $20.9 trillion.” Germany’s output was $3 trillion but in terms of growth it was only 2.5 percent which was below China’s.

The 10.7% growth in the economy sector means that China is closer to overtaking Germany as the world’s third largest economy. Furthermore, with China’s successfully launch of a missile designed to destroy satellites, China has further proven that it is “nobody’s puppy dog” especially that of the United States. In terms of the challenges that the U.S. faces due to its vulnerability of satellites that are now an easy target to Chinese missiles, the U.S. is in a “can do nothing” position. It’s response to the Chinese government was weak further demonstrating that the U.S. has no ability or control over what the Chinese government does.

Lastly, as the Chinese economy continues to grow, it can start focusing more on social developments in the rural area which is home to over 800 million people. The booming economy that is seen in places like Shanghai and Beijing must now be seen in the poorest of rural areas like Guizhou..

Access to safe drinking water is key to the livelihood of millions of people living in rural areas in the third world.  The lack of a clean water facility not only affects the health of the family but also brings secondary affects along with it.  For example, contaminated water has proven to slow income growth of families who drink it as oppose to families who have accessibility to safe drinking water.   

UNICEF is one of the many organizations who provide economic and technical assistance to the third world.  A reported done by UNICEF in 2003 indicated that only 41 percent of the country had access to proper bathroom facilities.  Currently, UNICEF is working with the Vietnamese government to provide the proper water infrastructures to the poorest rural communities.  Historically, the northern part of Vietnam has been the poorest compared to the south.  A project which was recently completed, provided a clean water facility in Dai Phac village.  Steve Nettleton of UNICEF “Dai Phac Commune takes water from a natural spring, purifies it and then pumps safe water directly to villagers’ homes. The system has made a dramatic improvement in the lives of people…”

Bringing awareness of the disadvantages that the people of the third world are faced with on a daily basis is a goal of mine.   Please visit this link on how you can make a difference to the millions of people who live in poverty.