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History has been made in Bhutan with the election of the country's first democratic government (3/24). The vote for the 47 seat national assembly brought an end to 100 years of absolute monarchy in the small Buddist kingdom, situated in the Himalayas between India and China. Election officials say the Bhutan United Party of Jigmi Thinley, a staunch royalist, secured 44 of the seats. He is likely to be elected the country's first prime minister. The polls were the culmination of an initiative by Bhutan's royal family to peacefully transform the kingdom into a constitutional monarchy. The United States has congratulated the people of Bhutan on Monday's elections which it called "another positive step" in the Himalayan nation's transition to a democratic, constitutional monarchy. "We congratulate the people of the Kingdom of Bhutan on the successful elections for the lower house of parliament on March 24," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement. "This event, which builds upon the historic and peaceful elections for the upper house of parliament in December 2007, marks another positive step in Bhutan's transition to a democratic, constitutional monarchy," it added. The young king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck has spent his first years as king overseeing the democratisation of his country.
Former Indonesia Leader Suharto's Condition Worsens
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Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has been sworn in for a second term as Malaysian prime minister after his ruling coalition's worst ever election results. Dressed in traditional costume, he was sworn in by Malaysia's king in a ceremony at the royal palace in Kuala Lumpur. Mr Abdullah's coalition lost its crucial two-thirds majority in parliament in Saturday's election (3/08) for the first time since 1969. It has conceded four states to the resurgent opposition, which now controls five in all. The result means Mr Abdullah will need opposition cooperation to make constitutional changes. Three of Mr Abdullah's cabinet ministers have also lost their seats, including the women's minister ousted by Dr Anwar's daughter, 27-year-old Nurul Izza Anwar. The opposition parties were brought together by former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim, who is currently banned from politics because of a corruption conviction. He has called the election result a defining moment in Malaysia's history, and a big success for the opposition. Following the shock gains in the Malaysian election, veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad has accused the prime minister of "destroying" the coalition, and has suggested he should quit. Dr Mahathir ruled Malaysia for two decades before handing-over to his chosen successor, Mr Abdullah, in 2003. He says Mr Abdullah "should accept 100% responsibility" for the loss. Dr Mahathir is further quoted by the AFP newsagency as saying "I am sorry, but I apparently made the wrong choice". 馬來西亞執政國民陣線，在國會大選遭受近四十年來最大挫敗，未能保著國會通過法案所需的三分之二議席，反對派則贏得三分一議席，並取得檳城等五個州的控制權，總理巴達維表明無意在壓力下辭職。
OJ: We Will Heal Malaysia's Divisions 3/11 SB120518598840225345
Malaysian Shares Suffer 9.5% Plunge 3/11 SB120513829554423911
Vote Rocks Malaysian Government 3/10 SB120506336114222351
OJ: Malaysia's Maturing Democracy 3/10 SB120510041016122943
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India's Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, has arrived in Beijing (1/13) for talks with Chinese leaders on a three-day visit aimed at improving relations. It is the first visit by an Indian leader in five years as the two countries, which account for one-third of the world's population, try to set aside lingering disputes and establish a partnership on the international stage. Mr Singh is hoping to discuss a wide range of issues with Chinese leaders including UN reforms and regional dialogue. Also on the agenda are global issues such as climate change, energy security, international trade and counter-terrorism. After arriving in the Chinese capital, Mr Singh visited an Olympic venue as part of the three-day trip before holding talks with his counterpart Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao on Monday and Tuesday. 辛格是近五年來首位訪華的印度總理
The Indian state of Sikkim, a victim of a history of conflict between India and China, looks set to gain immensely from closer ties between the two Asia powers. The leaders of India and China met this week in the Chinese capital, Beijing, to continue their long process of developing economic and trade ties, and defusing outstanding border issues. One of the initial outcomes from their three day meeting is a revised two-way trade target of USD60 billion by 2010, after their previous target of USD40b seems to have already been achieved. The shared border region between the two most populous and new economic superpowers is seeing a resurgence in trade, and trust. A history of conflict In 1962, India and China came to blows over their claims of more than 90,000 square kilometres of their shared border - shutting down trade between China's newly-annexed Tibet and the Indian side. S.K. Sarda is the President of the Chamber of Commerce of the north Indian state of Sikkim - once part of the ancient Silk Route through India. He told Radio Australia relations between China and India weakened with the 1962 closure. "After that business was zero until 6 July, 2006 when again it was opened," S.K. Sarda said.
Trade through Sikkim, from China, is less than two years old after 44 years of stagnation. Its success is almost like a parable for the success that India and China relations could enjoy in the future. Sikkim is India's second-smallest state, a small thumb-shaped Indian channel between China, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal and its' trade route is a prized possession - especially the Natha La Pass. "This is the shortest land route between India and China. Now they should bring the goods from sea from mainland China to Indian ports it takes 30 to 40 days but if the same item is transported through the land route it takes only 10 days," S.K. Sarda told Radio Australia. China redrew the map in 2003 to formally recognise Sikkim as part of India - largely to defuse tensions between the booming nations. Former navy commodore, Uday Bhaskar, is now the Deputy Director of New Delhi's Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis. He told Radio Australia the Chinese decision in 2003 allowed for a greater robustness in the Sino-Indian relationship. He says while a mutual distrust is still there, trade is now foremost in the mind of India and China.
Nepal's lawmakers have voted (2007/12/29) to abolish the monarchy and declare the country a republic. But King Gyanendra will remain on the throne, stripped of powers, until assembly elections expected by mid-April. The constitutional amendment was tabled after the government and Maoists concluded the 23-point deal ending a long-running deadlock in the peace process. The Maoists waged a decade-long revolt to topple the monarchy that ended late last year with a landmark peace pact with mainstream political parties.
Thai lawmakers chose right-wing politician Samak Sundaravej, a close ally of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, as the country's new prime minister. 泰國下議院以過半票數推選人民力量黨主席沙馬出任新總理；在國會310名議員中沙馬獲163票支持輕易擊敗民主黨主席阿披實，成為泰國第２５總理；沙馬在獲得泰皇普密蓬批准後可在本周內宣誓就職並於下月初完成組閣。
ARREST IN BANGKOK: The wife of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was arrested after she returned to Thailand on Tuesday (1/08). SB119976831572774307
In Thailand's first elections Sunday (12/23) after a coup 15 months ago, the People Power Party, which has an anti-coup platform and has campaigned to bring back the ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has won the most seats but failed to secure a majority in Parliament. PPP won 228 seats -- just 13 short of an absolute majority. The party's leader Samak Sundaravej says he will be seeking a coalition partner. The vote marks the beginning of the transition back to an elected government after the Sept 2006 military coup. They're electing 480 members of the lower house in a new system devised by the military junta, which combines voting for individuals and a party list.
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Burma's state media has announced the nation's Prime Minister General Soe Win (緬甸總理梭溫) died on Friday night (2007/10/12) at a military hospital in Rangoon. He was believed to be 59 and to have had leukaemia. He had been receiving treatment in Singapore, but returned to Burma earlier this month after the failure of a bone marrow transplant. Soe Win is presumed to have been the architect of an attack in 2003 on supporters of pro democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was imprisoned after the incident and remains under house arrest. Soe Win's death is unlikely to have any impact on Burma's military government. His duties have been performed since May by an acting prime minister, Thein Sein (緬甸代總理、國家和平與發展委員會第一秘書長登盛).
Marching in Myanmar: Thousands of Burmese protesters have been marching in Rangoon despite a bloody crackdown by police (9/26), one day after President Bush announced new economic sanctions against Burma.
Orange Revolution? Burmese civilians joined Buddhist monks in a march in Yangon.
THE NEWS: Buddhist monks are testing the patience of Myanmar's military leaders with the largest protests in decades, amid outside pressure on the junta to show restraint.
THE BACK STORY: The military has ruled the country formally known as Burma since 1962, imprisoning political opposition leaders like Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and periodically resorting to violence to put down dissent. The current junta sent the army into the streets to deal with the last mass demonstrations in September 1988, and some 3,000 people were killed. But the latest protests -- begun Aug. 19 when the junta sharply raised fuel prices -- seemed to gain protection when Buddhist monks joined the movement in ever-growing numbers, with one clerical group vowing to fight "evil military despotism." Myanmar itself is 89% Buddhist, and the country's neighbors -- traditionally reluctant to criticize Myanmar's internal affairs -- could object to any violence against the revered monks. Meanwhile, the protests have spread to other cities.
WHAT'S NEXT: Outside observers fear the junta's atypical restraint won't last. Government sound trucks have blasted warnings in the streets of Yangon, and army troops were reportedly converging on the capital. The United Nations urged a peaceful resolution, the U.S. tightened economic sanctions on the country, and India and China -- which covet Myanmar's offshore gas fields -- have been asked to wield whatever leverage they can muster. — Cassandra Vinograd
Read more:
Council on Foreign Relations report | Aung San Suu Kyi's Nobel citation | State Department briefing on protests | International Crisis Group's statement
Naypyidaw/Nay Pyi Taw: The administrative capital of Myanmar was officially moved to a greenfield site two miles west of Pyinmana on 6 November 2005. Naypyidaw is approximately 320 kilometers north of Yangon. The capital's official name was announced on Armed Forces Day in March 2006.
Cambodian police have barred (1/20) Hollywood actress Mia Farrow and other activists from laying flowers at a "Killing Fields" museum. The flower laying ceremony was intended to be part of the 'Dream for Darfur' pressure group's campaign to end atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region. Some 100 baton-wielding police blocked Mia Farrow and her fellow activists from entering the compound at Tuol Sleng, a Phnom Penh high school that became Pol Pot's main torture centre. The group, which had planned to light a symbolic Olympic torch in the compound, has held similar events in Chad, Rwanda, and Germany as part of a campaign to persuade China to push Khartoum into ending the violence in Darfur. Beijing is hosting the 2008 Olympic Games and human rights groups have targeted China in the hope of using the spotlight thrown on the country to influence Chinese foreign policy. China, a major investor in Sudan's oil industry, has been accused of breaching international rules and fanning bloodshed by selling Sudan weapons that have been diverted to Darfur.
Singapore's Battle of Indexes: Straits Times Takes On MSCI 1/09 SB119983130914775779
新加坡總理李顯龍 PM Lee Hsien-loong
內閣資政李光耀 Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew
國務資政吳作棟 總統納丹
Founded in 1930, the Vietnamese Communist Party is struggling with its identity -- and role. Take the current debate over whether to change the party's name. 2007/11/15 SB119507691232593218
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South Korea has chosen a new head of state, with Lee Myung Bak 李明博 claiming victory in the presidential poll (2//0/12/19). Lee celebrates his 66th birthday with his wife, Kim Soon-ok, after an overwhelming win. The former senior executive with the conglomerate Hyundai made his political name as mayor of Seoul. He becomes the first president from the conservative side of politics in a decade.
WSJ editorial writers take a look at Japan's ambition to play a greater role in international security, a stance that can be chalked up as a victory for the country's new prime minister. 1/14 SB120026495934287047
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ASIA
Asia 200 (2006oct16): As AWSJ celebrates its 30th birthday, we present 200 companies readers admire most.
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