Archivo categoría «Asia»
¿Es posible que todo un pueblo enloquezca? Indiscutiblemente, algunas veces parece que sí.
Las imágenes de cientos de miles de norcoreanos dando alaridos de dolor por la muerte de Kim Jong-il sugieren algo que es muy desconcertante. Pero, ¿qué es?, ¿una muestra de delirio colectivo?, ¿la práctica de un ritual de masoquismo colectivo?
Kim fue un brutal dictador que se mimaba con los mejores licores de Francia (presuntamente gastaba en licores 500.000 dólares al año), con sushi fresco que le traían vía aérea desde Tokio, y que tenía a su disposición a los mejores y más caros chefs, mientras que … Seguir leyendo
China está más cerca de Francia que de Chile. Después de largos años, recuerdo diferentes experiencias francesas relacionadas con China. Me tocó presenciar, en décadas pasadas, un periodo de descubrimientos, de búsqueda, de contrastes. Hace poco, en el Museo del Louvre, visité una extraordinaria exposición de la Ciudad Prohibida de Pekín. Es una muestra de encuentros entre Occidente y el misterioso y remoto Imperio del Centro. El centro del mundo conocido del siglo XVI, del siglo XVIII: China. Desde el punto de vista de los chinos, se entiende. Hasta allí llegaban los viajeros europeos: religiosos, exploradores, diplomáticos. Jesuitas franceses y … Seguir leyendo
India ended 2011 amid political chaos, as the much-awaited “Lokpal Bill,” aimed at creating a strong, independent anti-corruption agency, collapsed amid a welter of recrimination in the parliament’s upper house, after having passed the lower house two days earlier. The episode, which leaves the bill in suspended animation until its possible revival at the next session, raises fundamental issues for Indian politics which will need to be addressed in the New Year.
The need for the bill – Lokpal loosely translates as “ombudsman” – was first mooted in 1968, but eight subsequent attempts to create one had never reached a … Seguir leyendo
A peculiar feature of Chinese society is that a complaint process runs parallel to, but outside, the legal system.
Victims of corruption and injustice have no faith in the law, and yet they dream that an upright official will emerge to right their wrongs. Although a complaint mechanism is in place at all levels of Chinese government, petitioners seem to believe that the central authorities are less susceptible to corruption, and so make Beijing their destination. By some estimates, more than 10 million complaints are filed around the country each year, far more than are heard by the regular courts.… Seguir leyendo
Cada rincón del mundo tiene sus problemas, y en términos económicos el gran problema del año 2011 ha sido la crisis de deuda europea, que ha alarmado incluso a los Estados Unidos y ha sido en parte responsable del colapso de los gobiernos de Grecia, Italia y España. El suceso más notable del año fue, por supuesto, la Primavera Árabe, que derrocó una por una las dictaduras en todo el mundo musulmán, y aún no ha llegado a su culminación. Pero desde una perspectiva verdaderamente global, resulta difícil no concluir que el pasado año ha sido el año de Asia. … Seguir leyendo
Por Gregorio Morán (LA VANGUARDIA, 31/12/11):
Yo entré en Corea del Norte en septiembre de 1992. No se puede decir que la visité porque no es país para turistas, aunque entonces apareciera por allí algún alemán nostálgico de la República Democrática (RDA). El más importante hotel proyectado nunca, el Ryukyung, de 105 plantas, lo iniciaron en 1987 y sigue en obras; aseguran que en abril del 2012 inaugurarán las 25 de abajo. Hacía años que había caído el muro de Berlín y admito que mi perplejidad ante la idea de ver en vivo y en directo una monarquía comunista, algo … Seguir leyendo
Por Un Chul Yang, director de Estudios sobre Estrategia de la Unificación en el Instituto Sejong de Seúl (LA VANGUARDIA, 31/12/11):
La súbita muerte de Kim Jong Il ha suscitado intensos debates sobre el futuro del régimen norcoreano. El interés del mundo se centra en el modo en que su hijo Kim Jong Un logrará mantener el control directo del país a pesar del poco tiempo que ha habido para preparar la sucesión. El 22 de diciembre el periódico oficial de Corea del Norte, Rodong Sinmun, se refirió a Kim Jong Un como “líder del pueblo” en un editorial … Seguir leyendo
By Sergey Radchenko, a lecturer in history of American-Asian relations at the University of Nottingham in Ningbo, China, and the author of Two Suns in the Heavens: The Sino-Soviet Struggle for Supremacy, 1962-1967 (THE WASHINGTON POST, 31/12/11):
With China stumping assertively on the world stage, one might think Beijing would be open, even gracious, about the country’s past. To the contrary, history remains an exceedingly sensitive subject here, drawing relentless attention from authorities anxious to keep all skeletons safely in closets.
As a university professor in China, I face the consequences of this official apprehension every day. My young, … Seguir leyendo
By Namini Wijedasa, a journalist (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 31/12/11):
The Sri Lankan government’s defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers in 2009 ended a three-decade war that took tens of thousands of lives. But only now is the government beginning to acknowledge its huge human cost. Two weeks ago, a government-appointed reconciliation commission released a long-awaited report, giving voice to the war’s civilian victims for the first time.
From August 2010 to January 2011, hundreds of people appeared before the commission in tears, begging for news of their loved ones, many of whom had last been seen in the … Seguir leyendo
By Joshua Muldavin, professor of human geography at Sarah Lawrence College (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 31/12/11):
Two weeks ago peasants in Wukan, a fishing village in the prosperous southern Chinese province of Guangdong, took over their village, throwing out local leaders. Because of long unanswered grievances, they risked their lives, barricading roads into the village and facing down the police. Their central concern was the sale of collectively owned village land to property developers, which has impoverished most residents while enriching their leaders.
As the Wukan protests evolved into an international media event, a provincial party official, under pressure … Seguir leyendo
By William Courtney, a retired career diplomat, U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and Georgia and special assistant to the president for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 30/12/11):
This is a holiday season the people of Kazakhstan will not soon forget. On Dec. 16 security forces in the western city of Zhanaozen killed and wounded hundreds of unarmed demonstrators, mostly striking oil workers, occupying a public square. Officials claim only 15 people died but reports from local people — impossible to confirm — say the death toll was higher. A startling video on YouTube — blacked out in … Seguir leyendo
By Jagdish Bhagwati, University Professor at Columbia University and Senior Fellow in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations, and the author of Termites in the Trading System: How Preferential Agreements undermine Free Trade (Project Syndicate, 30/12/11):
As if undermining the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round of global free-trade talks was not bad enough (the last ministerial meeting in Geneva produced barely a squeak), the United States has compounded its folly by actively promoting the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). President Barack Obama announced this with nine Asian countries during his recent trip to the region.
The TPP is being … Seguir leyendo
By Kim Moon-soo, the governor of Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds South Korea’s capital, Seoul, and borders North Korea (THE WASHINGTON POST, 29/12/11):
Not long after South Korean economist Oh Kil-nam was enticed into entering North Korea with his family in 1985, he realized he was in trouble. The opportunities they expected were illusory; instead, Oh and his family found themselves trapped. About a year later, Oh was ordered to abduct two Koreans studying in Germany, much as he had been lured to the North. Although she knew it would endanger their family, Oh’s wife, Shin Sook-ja, implored him to … Seguir leyendo
Por Javier Solana, Alto Representante para Política Exterior de la UE entre 1999 y 2009 (EL PAÍS, 29/12/11):
Kim Jong-il, el líder de Corea del Norte, murió en un tren en su país a las ocho y media de la mañana del viernes 17 de diciembre. Dos días más tarde, las autoridades de Corea del Sur no conocían el hecho y el Departamento de Estado se limitaba a reconocer la existencia de algunos informes de prensa haciéndose eco de su muerte. Que los servicios de información no hubieran captado ninguna señal de lo ocurrido atestigua el carácter opaco del … Seguir leyendo
By Joshua Kucera, a freelance reporter based in Washington who writes frequently on Central Asia (THE NEW YORK TIMES, 29/12/11):
There is perhaps no country on earth surrounded by more difficult neighbors than Afghanistan. When the U.S. wants to ship matériel to its troops there, it can’t go through Tajikistan because the roads are so poor; it can’t go through Turkmenistan because that country maintains an isolationist neutrality; and, for obvious reasons, it can’t go through Iran.
Until Nov. 26, the U.S. military shipped about a third of its supplies through Pakistan, but after an American attack killed 24 … Seguir leyendo