It ain't Hollywood, BUT...

Asia: the land of street food, sticky air, and pop tunes and starlets galore. And some of it is trickling into the United States, too, with first a multitude of kung-fu movies, then Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, and now more and more celebrities of Asian descent making dents into the mainstream.

Instead of doing two sites, each on a different country, I chose to critique two sites, one on entertainment in Asia, and the other on entertainment in the United States starring Asian-Americans.

ASIAN-AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT

Beyond Hollywood shows off sexy photos in an informative section featuring profiles of mostly Asian-American actresses and celebrities. For example, Yunjin Kim (above) who was on "Lost": I'm heartened to see that Asian-Americans are slowly trickling into mainstream media, and I had no idea that there was an Asian starring on "Lost." Considering the number of guys (I feel, just a casual observation) who are fascinated by the Asian face, Hollywood would do well to integrate more Asian-American actresses into movies and TV as lead roles, not just supporting characters. (But where does that leave the effeminized Asian male actor? There is still progress to be made!) As a former producer of theatre/improv shows for the nation's oldest Asian-American theatre company (www.lcctheatre.com), I know that there is plenty of talent out there but literally zilch roles. http://www.beyondhollywood.com/asiancelebs/?cat=1

The website is at least testament to the fact that Asian-American actresses have some pretty rabid fans. Says one commentor on the Beyond Hollywood site: "Here she [Yunjin Kim] is in the latest 2007 issue of Maxim looking goooooooood. Not just 'good', but 'gooooooooood'."

The website also features other celebs such as Kelly Hu, Michelle Kwan, Lucy Liu, and even a half Asian starlet named Kristin Kreuk.

Speaking of Lucy Liu, she seems at the top of the Asian-American acting scene, and the lone one at that. I'm glad to see Yunjin Kim featured in a mainstream mag like Maxim, but the question in my mind remains: How far have Asian-Americans come since the first prominent Asian actress Anna May Wong came on the scene? http://thetyee.ca/Entertainment/2004/03/23/Where_are_Asians_on_Screen/

Even then, Wong played all the Asian stereotypes: "Dragon lady, lotus blossom, seductress...during her film career, which began more than 80 years ago, during the silent film era. More often than not, the characters she portrayed were killed, by either murder or suicide." This analysis comes from a second site, which I found useful for an article that looked critically at Asian-Americans in film today -- have they really made inroads into the industry?

No, says the article. "None of the actresses in The Joy Luck Club are working in mainstream Hollywood films, not unless you count Ming-Na as the voice of Mulan in Disney's animated film Mulan and its upcoming sequel...In U.S. cinema today, only one Asian American actress seems to be working regularly - Lucy Liu."

And then follows a fascinating analysis of the roles that Liu has played: dominatrix, detective, and secret agent -- not all that diverse. The diversity of options to Asian-American actors looks grim.

In any case, right now we shall remain easily satiated with more pretty pictures of women:























ENTERTAINMENT IN ASIA
I'm not particularly obsessed with those hunky actors or doe-eyed pop singers that come a dime a dozen (albeit some are more lasting, like Boa and Zhang Ziyi), so I looked for a site that would give me an overview of what's hot now.

Amped Asia (http://www.ampedasia.com/) is an excellent place to start. Lots of titillating photos, of course:












This is of Panward Hemmanee, a new-ish Thai actresss. Her legs strike me as waifishly skinny, but wait -- we're in Asia, I forget: everyone is expected to be Kate Moss bony. The site is aethetically advanced, but all they had to do was include lots of high-quality photos of celebrities. It's easy to be a website when you're not talking about the oil crisis, nuclear weapons, wrinkly politicians or environmentalism.

Women of all shapes and sizes, I'm happy to say, are featured: from the typical impossibly skinny Asian figure to a more busty one:


The main page displays a very useful Top Five Most Viewed Babes and Top Five Most Viewed Hunks, which allowed me to get up to speed on the Asia entertainment scene in a glance: yes, Boa is still hot, at Number Two.

The writing, though terrible, could be effective in surprising ways (law of unintended consequences?). The review on Peach Girl, a Taiwanese TV drama series, is pure summary rather than a bona-fide review. However, by summarizing the plot (girl named "Xiao Tao" or "Little Peach" pursued by two boys -- one the guy she liked since high school and the other a newcomer, a troublemaking playboy), it made me want to watch it even more...if only because I'm a sucker for formulaic love stories starring cute boys and girls.




Some of the writing lacks clarity; with the open nature of the website (where anyone can post articles or comments), you get the good with the bad: the insightful bits with rocky sentence structure: "Although this series is different than some of the other ones, it is well worth watching for people who like school romances and a story based on revenge, jealousy, love, and friendship." And the recommendation at the end is tepid at best: "Overall, I would have to say the series is worth a watch." It's posted by Roger, and I figure English is his second language, for better or worse.

HOKAY. More pictures:












Uh-oh, I think in the course of my research for this posting, I've fallen newly in infatuation with Daniel Henney, a "South Korean/British actor and model." Questions abound: is he actually ethnically half Korean, half white? The profile on him is relatively short and unhelpful. But "he has often been praised by directors of his mastery of languages and accents." Perhaps it doesn't matter if he's ethnically British, I think to myself: as long as he works the accent!

Amped Asia also hosts discussion threads that display the attitudes of those who follow Asia entertainment culture. One post criticizes "Zhang Ziyi, most pitiful actress," reinforcing the rumor that she's not popular in her home country China. It's unfortunate that she should be judged so harshly by other Asians in Asia by perhaps jealous, morally traditional onlookers. There seems less intense criticism coming from Asians in the U.S., since at worse, most people I talk to seem to have a lukewarm reaction to her, instead of a hatefu one. Apparently, "most Chinese people look down on women who are too aggressive in pursuit of fame and fortune. Zhang Ziyi's quick rising in showbiz is considered as rampant careerism."

One respondent posted a scathing observation: "Is it just me, or does she always take up the roles where she gets all dirty with a guy? I was shocked to see her keeping her clothes on for the most part in MoG [Memoirs of a Geisha]." Can't a girl just be sexy without becoming a pariah?
http://www.ampedasia.com/forums/showthread.php?tid=2560&pid=26632#pid26632

Also informative were the occasional articles on Asia entertainment containing a societal spin, this one on plastic surgery in Korea. No doubt the young (or old) women in Korea are influenced by the pretty, clone-like singers and actoresses, all bearing the same double eyelids, tummy tuck, and boob jobs. http://www.ampedasia.com/forums/showthread.phptid=2549&pid=26424#pid26424

The article is excerpted from Chosun, one of the three major newspapers in Korea; it contains numerical data on cosmetic surgery in Korea. Surgery is incredibly prevalent in Korea, which I already knew: my Korean friends tell me that eyelid surgery is the most common. ("Double eyelids" are considered almost a must-have, and the procedure is so often done that it's relatively quick and risk-free.) Statistics on Korean women are shocking: "As to whether cosmetic surgery is necessary, 72.6 percent of respondents said it should be done if needed, while only 20.4% said it should be avoided if possible." This is the sad truth. The female exterior is considered so important in Korean society that it becomes a source of stress for women. It sounds like the United States but a touch worse, maybe.

"Asked to identify which areas of their appearance they were most dissatisfied with, 17.1 percent said their lower body, followed by the abdomen (14.6 percent), body weight (12.5 percent), height (11.6 percent), skin (11.1 percent), face (9.6 percent), and upper body (9.5 percent)."

And we thought Hollywood was bad.

Look into the Rising Sun: discover Japan's culture, politics, and economics online

Japan, the land of mesmerizingly cute food and meticulous people. So powerful, yet mysterious; how can a person gain understanding of this historied nation without actually visiting?

Well, for one, watch "Lost in Translation," which we did in Asia Media I last quarter. Funny, realistic, and illustrative of Prof. Tom's life (or so he says), the film -- albeit full of "national narratives" (stereotypes held about a particular country) -- illustrates the pulse and the flavor of Japan's big cities.


I explored some online pathways to Japan, and here's what I found:

GOOD #1
I'm a big fan of websites that compile news from various sources, because a single newspaper or magazine source can only cover so much; you go to the Mainichi Times for stories on, say, the Japanese stock market, and in 20 minutes, you've exhausted their content.

A tastefully selected medley provides for a wealth of different stories, angles, and tones. Take the New York Times DealBook on business and finance, for example. Compiled daily by Andrew Ross Sorokin, it is clear, aesthetically delightful, and comprehensive. It's well organized into sections covering Mergers and Acquisitions, Legal, Private Equity, Venture Capital, I.P.O.'s and other major topics. http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/.nytimes.com/

I bring up the DealBook as a parallel to News On Japan, an excellent site for news on Japanese politics AND business. http://www.newsonjapan.com/

News On Japan seems to follow the same model: it's a compilation of news from both domestic and international sources (Reuters, NYTimes, Asahi). Even though it's not as visually pleasing as the NYTimes DealBook, I would argue (if you allow me to compare two sites covering disparate topics) that News On Japan is actually better than the DealBook, one of my favorite news sites. This is because unlike the Dealbook, News On Japan features, along the left hand side, a list of blogs and "RSS feeds" covering Japan. (For those like myself who aren't technology-saavy, RSS feeds automatically check websites for any updates and new published material, presumably so that the person using the RSS feed does not have to visit all the websites individually.) The News On Japan site does not just feature the viewpoints of those in the established press. Instead, I found a variety of useful blogs and other sources, from the established press to the man-on-the-street. For example, one interesting blog contained the writings by a regular guy named Ken Yasumoto-Nicolson who is authors a blog called "What Japan Thinks: From kimono to keitai; explore Japanese views through the medium of translated opinion polls and surveys." http://whatjapanthinks.com/

The latest topic is: "Should be giri chocolates (the obligatory chocolates that women must give even the semi-significant men in their life on Japanese Valentine's Day) be at work?" Many women found this custom to be an expensive nuisance, while others didn't seem to mind to much.
The poll results and observations in What Japan Thinks are telling because they are perhaps indicative of Japanese society as a whole. How are women's attitudes changing? This resource adds a micro level to the macrocoverage of traditional media sources. It contributes to the richness of News On Japan, which is already a solid source even without the blog and RSS feed component.

With that said, the compilation of traditional sources is also interesting and diverse. Below are three articles from the site, which illustrates the comprehensive, yet diverse, nature of the content:

First, a report on the ever-important topic of international progress of the multilateral effort to get N. Korea under control. And News on Japan of course has some solid pieces covering this topic. With any conflict in the Asia Pacific region, Japan always seems to have its hands tied behind its back. Because the atrocities committed during WWII are still fresh in the minds of many, Japan's goodwill and charitable deeds go largely unnoticed by the community, whereas any threatening move, even if it is just to protect itself (from the looming gloomy N. Korea!), is met with suspicion from China and smaller Asian countries.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/15/world/asia/15japan.html?_r=1&oref=slogin%5C



Second, a CNN article discusses Australian journalist Ben Hill's refusal to apologize for a book he wrote on Japanese Princess Masako's life. The government feels that the book contains factual errors and insults the royal family. I was fascinated to hear that the "43-year-old Masako is a Harvard-educated former diplomat, whom many had hoped would help modernize Japan's staid imperial family when she married Crown Prince Naruhito in 1993...But she has been suffering from a stress-related mental illness caused by the pressures of adapting to rigid royal life." Apparently, there is real-life turmoil in the life of a princess with real-life smarts! I love fairy tale stories, and this one seemed like one gone terribly wrong. How stressful the royal life must if it is causing her to develop mental disorders!
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/02/14/japan.princess.reut/index.html?section=cnn_latestprincess.reut/index.html?section=cnn_latest

Third, a Bloomberg article informs readers about how Merrill Lynch is beginning to expand it's operations in Japan, based on a hiring spree: "The company in January and December hired at least seven bankers in Japan, including five from Morgan Stanley and one from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., said Tokyo-based Hiroto Yamada." Useful information for anyone involved in the financial services industry.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aNmucBiHcyss&refer=japanucBiHcyss&refer=japan

GOOD #2
Mainichi Times, one of the most prominent papers in Japan, also yielded me some interesting articles on the society. I learned about some new trends.























One trend indicates that some of Japan's populace is better off. For example, the appeal of joining yakuza, or Japanese gangs, is on the decrease, probably due to a rising quality of life for Japanese youth. One yakuza member explained:"I joined up because I wanted to get laid by a sexy woman every night. I thought it was cool. The day I went over and enlisted, the boss gave me 50,000 yen and I went out to a massage parlor and had the time of my life. Just as I'd finished, though, another gang member came to the parlor, dragged me out and took me back to the gang dorm." There he was only allowed out at certain times and was forced to wake up at 6 in the morning to clean the dorm. "When I'd finished, I had to wash all the other members' clothes, then sit in the office and answer the phone all day." Gangs need phones answered? Who would call a gang? The guy from the opposition gang across town calling in threats? No wonder Japanese kids don't want to join yakuza anymore! Basically, with the Japanese economy robust, they could make a better living elsewhere. Domestic chores and office drudgery, nothing like the glamourous life of sex, violence, and drugs that they'd imagined. If only gangs in the U.S. required their members to wash dishes and file paperwork, too; perhaps that would provide enough incentive for kids to avoid joining gangs!
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/archive/news/2002/06/20020629p2g00m0dm999000c.html

Another trend indicates that not every is doing better. I am in total disbelief at the second story I find. Apparently, over the past two or three years, the number of people living out of net cafes has been growing. People live in net cafes?! I guess that's not surprising, given the sky-high expensive living costs that the Japanese must endure. One of the people "was a 32-year old man who and been living in a net cafe for the previous 18 months, occupying a cubicle at the rate of 100 yen an hour." He said, "There's no shower, and no sofa...I sit on a wood chair that doesn't recline, shove the keyboard over to the side of the table and doze there, face down." And "not all cafe inhabitants are young. Take Yasushi, age 59, who's been staying at such places for the past four years."
http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/waiwai/archive/news/2007/03/20070303p2g00m0dm001000c.html

U.S.-China energy competition with American enemies and allies

CHINA GOOD:

I searched "energy," "competing," and "China" and came across a very thorough, well-written article published in the Winter 2006 issue by Flynt Leverett and Jeffrey Bader, two China and Middle East specialists from the Brookings Institute. It's called "Managing China-U.S. Energy Competition in the Middle East," a perfect complement to our in-class discussion. http://www.twq.com/06winter/docs/06winter_leverett.pdf

First, I wanted to make sure that the article comes from a credible source. Published by CSIS (The Center for Strategic International Studies), The Washington Quarterly online seemed like it would be an authoritative and scholarly resource, since it's a compilation of diverse voices associated with established think tanks (CSIS and Brookings). The TWQ lists topics that it covers as: "the U.S. role in the world, the emerging great powers, missile defenses and weapons of mass destruction, global perspectives to reduce terrorism, regional issues and flashpoints,the implications of global political change, [and] views from the U.S. Congress."

The article brought up thought-provoking points that lent in-depth color to the in-class examples that Prof. Tom gave about U.S.-China competition for energy in Sudan. For example, let's talk reasons for China's "charm offensive" in Africa: if the U.S., it's hands locked up in a self-righteous moral handcuff, refuses to deal with Sudan's totalitarian, genocidal governement, then China certainly will -- to make a point ("We're not jerks like those two-faced Americans!") and to secure more oil to fuel its swelling economy.

Same goes for China's V.I.P. treatment of the Middle East, say Leverett and Bader. In Iran, NORINCO is helping expand the subway systems in Tehran, a Chinese fiber-optic company is helping build a broadband network, and Chinese automobile and TV manufacturers are building factories.



"From a strategic perspective, these investments are meant to bolster China's positive image in Tehran as a long-term customer of Iranian oil and gas at a time when Iran's options for international economic cooperation are limited because of its poor political standing with the U.S. ," they write.

















China continues to develop export and investment ties indiscriminately, even with long-time U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, to satisfy its voracious hydrocarbon appetite and perhaps, as Leverett and Bader write, to communicate clearly to the U.S. that China is a "serious player" on the global stage. The TWQ article itself paints an equally clear picture: both Iran and Saudi Arabia have responded positively to China's diplomatic come-ons and China, as a member of the U.N. Security Council AND the IAEA Board of Governors (really? I was surprised -- doesn't China provide nuclear technology to smallish rogue countries? Isn't it otherwise nuclearly involved in some irresponsible way?), is a desirable suitor hard to refuse. That is, countries with distressed or hopefully developing economies cannot afford implement idealistic, discriminatory policies like the U.S. Most countries (Singapore and China come to mind) must take practical measures, and that means China will continue to make them offers they can't refuse.

I value the TWQ as a source for news about China's energy contention with the U.S. because it was more in-depth than a typical magazine or newspaper source, full of background statistics and examples to support its points, and less simplistic and knee-jerk reactive to the issue.


CHINA EVEN BETTER:

But of course the Middle East would be a major region of contention between China and the U.S. After all, those extremist, terrorist infested countries (right?) are insidiously anti-U.S. in every way possible -- almost downright eeee-VIL. What about Canada? Would good ol' neutral, nonoffensive Canada, always happily beholden to its world superpower neighbor, ever betray Uncle Sam?

Yes. The New York Times Business section turned out a great resource on U.S.-China competition for energy in, lo and behold: Canada.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/23/business/worldbusiness/23canada.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5088&en=bec439e3e7482281&ex=1261458000&partner=rssnyt
"Canada, the largest source of imported oil for the United States, has historically sent almost all its exports of oil south by pipeline to help quench America's thirst for energy," says the NYTimes in the article published in December 2004. But not anymore.

China is more than making friends with traditional enemies of U.S.: it's now encroaching on "places such as Venezuela, Saudi Arabia and Canada that are well within the American sphere," said Gal Luft for the New York Times article, a Washington-based authority on energy security issues who is writing a book on China's search for oil supplies around the world.

And the Times doesn't state outright, but it hints at the fact that countries like Canada are getting tired of being taken for granted. "Even so, there is the perception among many in Alberta's oil patch that Canada's rapidly growing energy industry remains an afterthought for most Americans." Uh-oh, and a little word of warning: "That might change, industry analysts say, if Canada were to start exporting oil elsewhere."

Refreshing pair: online I found Canada contrasted with Saudi Arabia/Iran, after the Prof. Tom's example of Sudan in class.

Environmental Issues: the Problem-Solver and the Troublemaker

SINGAPORE GOOD
When the topic turned to the environment during lecture, my first thought went to Singapore. Last quarter, it was in Kishore's book where I learned that Singapore has the highest biodiversity of any country in the world(?) -- I have yet to verify this claim; it sounds too good to be true (Singapore isn't that big...), but I also trust facts that coming from Kishore, a respectable scholar!


Whether or not Singapore has the highest biodiversity in the world, the question of how the "nanny state" nutures environmental awareness and protection is a legitimate question. Judging by the article on how Singapore dealt with SARS by providing its citizenry with more information, Singapore might also be doing a capable job protecting the environment. Perhaps Singapore takes the same approach to the environment as it does to public health -- equipping its people with useful and, in fact, empowering information, like on this site:
http://www.nea.gov.sg/cms/sei/International.html


Since 1994, the Singapore Environment Institute (SEI) has been educating government officials and business people not only from Singapore but also from other countries. They offer courses like "Solid Waste Management," "Public Education," and "Air Pollution Control." Singapore, as a leader in implementing science and technology to achieve its goals -- environmental and otherwise -- is an ideal source of education for neighboring countries.

Therefore, even though this site isn't a typical news source, it has practical, comprehensive listings of evironmental development courses and events featurings a meeting of minds on the ecological issues of the day. "To-date, more than 500 officials from over 50 countries had benefited from our environmental training programmes," the site says. For journalists and other professionals, the SEI site is an invaluable resource. Singapore, as a leader in implementing science and technology to achieve its goals, environmental and otherwise, uses Internet to disseminate information about its government-initiated, developmental programs.

SINGAPORE BAD
For the fact that the United Nations is supposed to be a catalyst for information, collaboration, and change, I thought that the UNEP website would be a great resource.
http://www.unepapac.org/

I was wrong. I went to the Asia Pacific UNEP website, and to my dismay, I found only a lot of talk (mission statement, etc.) and a list of awards and sponsors but no concrete resources, unlike the SEI site with information on courses and conferences. The only useful piece of information I gathered from the site was some vague information on a youth initiative called UNEP Youth Advisory Council (YAC), "a group of 12 youth leaders (2 per region) elected biennially at UNEP's Global Youth Retreat. The Council works closely with UNEP on environmental issues, UNEP decision making processes, and UNEP programme development...[and] act as ambassadors for the environmental conscience of young people world wide."

CHINA GOOD

http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1421&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=216812#englishtopic_id=1421&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=216812#englishm?topic_id=1421&fuseaction=topics.item&news_id=216812#english

The Woodrow Wilson Center website is an excellent source of news on China's environmental issues. We know that as a respectable think tank, the links are also from credible sources. For example, I found a substantial and analytical article from China Daily on whether China had the option of polluting first, and then treating its pollution (as Western countries like the U.S. have done).

One source says definitely no. "Firstly, when China started its industrialization and modernization drive in the late 20th century, the developed Western countries had already completed their primitive capital accumulation and established a series of international rules in their favor. Under such circumstances, it is impossible for China to transfer its cost of pollution to the rest of the world."

"Secondly, the population-environment structure in China is different, so we cannot blindly copy the Western model to pay attention to environment issues only after the country has achieved a per capita GDP of $8,000. China may already be facing a severe environment situation when its per capita GDP reaches $2,000," said Pan Yue, vice-minister of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA). Hence the severity of the impending energy crisis due to worldwide neglect.

Most of the articles listed on the Woodrow Wilson site are from the China Daily. I'm surprised at the quality of reporting from China Daily under an authoritarian media system. I'm also pleased that the article (above) contains relatively sensible, realistic reporting on the environmental challenges that lay ahead of China.

CHINA GOOD #2

Because China is suddenly (and intensely) on the forefront of U.S. concerns about environment and energy sources, I was able to find more good rather than bad sources on China. One that would augment Woodrow Wilson Center and China Daily's sites is the U.S. government's Energy Information Administration.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/chinaenv.html

Before delving into day-to-day news updates on China's environmental issues, it would help to get some concrete statistics and background, for example, that "China's share of world carbon emissions is expected to increase in coming years, reaching 17.8% by 2025." Not a staggering statistic, but more likely accurate than some overblown shocker published in many an environmental nonprofit's glossy brochure. This site also provides useful information about China's politics regarding environmental protection: "China is a non-Annex I country under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, meaning it has not agreed to binding emissions reductions in the Kyoto Protocol, which it ratified in August 2002" -- a detail to keep in mind when trying to reach some understanding of the complex issue of interntational environmental preservation.

North Korea the next Asian economic tiger?

Can you believe it? Trade between South Korea and China now exceeds trade between Korean and U.S.!

...What about North Korea?

WORST: The worst website for economic and business news on N. Korea is simply the government's own official website. It looks more basic than a 7th grader's school project! The website won't even let me cut and paste text -- what? Is that on purpose, because they know the text on their website doesn't make sense and they don't want people to easily replicate content in order to make fun of it? Now I'm going to have to manually re-type their propaganda, soon to come below.

http://www.korea-dpr.com/

BEST #1: Interestingly enough, the same website is simultaneously the best source of N. Korean business news. Allow me to explain. Since some of gathering information from media sources involves reading between the lines, the website is great at showing (demonstrating through its juvenile, unsophisticated contact and formate) how stagnant -- really nonexistent -- N. Korean economic development and business are. In other words, it's a joke(!) because:


1. It contains non-truths. I won't call them "lies" for the sake of unbiased commentary (don't want to knee-jerk react!), but the site states that "only a few people in the world know that Korea is divided by a big concrete wall in the Parallel 38 that was built by the United States when the Korean War was finished." Prof. Tom knows this, I know this, and the guy sitting next to me know this; I think the website is truly deluding itself. (Although since many Americans are so ignorant of geography and international relations, the N. Koreans do have somewhat of a point.)

2. It contains silly links. "Korean trade" contains links to souvenir purchase sites: "KFA webshop," "DPRK souvenirs," and "KFA shop e-business" all link to the same site featuring posters and other memorabilia. These are three of the four links under "Korean trade." Does not provide any helpful information about the country's economy; maybe accurately portrays DPR Korea, because there is indeed nothing going on there?

3. The business section is also unsatisfying. The link express that the government is open to mutually beneficial joint ventures and "company brochures." It gives an example of a "fiparam (whistle) car" produced as a joint venture with Pyonghwa Motors, and doesn't explain its significance. The link to patents is equally unimpressive, featuring the "multi-compass" (from what I can tell from an unintelligible description, sounds like an advanced, high-tech version of a kid's drawing) and instrument) and "toothed wheel auto gearbox adapted without step" ("this device has distinguished characteristics than others" and interacts "dinamically."

BEST #2: But to be fair, because the government website is so uninformative, making me feel like there was really nothing happening in N. Korea, that I was surprised to find other sources on N. Korea that are incredibly interesting. That is, I found out there are people investing in N. Korea?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3558283.stm

The author's tone in the article subtly expresses the same incredulity that I am feeling right now!

"Roger Barrett says North Korea is the next Asian tiger... 'Got any nuclear weapons for sale?' is the response Briton Roger Barrett usually gets when he tells people at Beijing cocktail parties that he invests in North Korea."

In fact: "It's like China in the eighties... The market reforms are very evident. It's an exciting time to join the market," he says.

This article is extremely helpful to businesspeople -- after all, you want to be the first to get into the market, not a late bandwagoner. That's where the profits are!

Here's more: "An Austrian company is reportedly buying pianos from the North Koreans, a French television station uses North Korean artists to produce cartoons, while a Singapore-based firm is developing forestry and tourism."

For the lack of information on NK, this kind of reporting is admirable. Perhaps NK is worth some attention. Think about it: lack of information about NK means that we know conditions are definitely dire on one hand, but on the other hand, we also don't find out about about improvements.

The DPRK News Bulletin is where I'd go to next, which is recommended in the above article. It's Roger Barrett's, who recently opened a branch of his consultancy firm, Korea Business Consultants in Pyongyang, started this publication: N. Korea's ONLY business publication!

Best and Worst of Business Economic News in Taiwan and Malaysia

Taiwan Worst
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/

It is true that there are media sources that are both obscure and quality, but if I were in a pinch for news about business in Taiwan (and because Taiwan is still a relatively obscure little island to the rest of the world; Americans still confuse it with "Thailand"!), I'd go straight (strait, haha!) to the source. I was first linked to China Post via a Google search on "Taiwan economic" and found, surprise surprise, an article on how "China should learn from Taiwan's democratic experience and not fear that chaos might follow should Beijing embrace radical political reform," said the most senior official jailed over the 1989 Tiananmen protests: Bao Tong, once a top aide to then Communist Party chief Zhao Ziyang, obviously a biased guy with his biased views magnified in a Taiwanese newspaper.

The reporter fails at giving good reason for Tong's views against China's strict controls.
"There's absolutely no rationale for them to fear chaos would ensue" should China let there be full and free elections, he said, which is an easy assumption to make when you're not the government that would have to deal with 1.2bn unhappy people if such chaos did break out. There is no way to tell what might happen if the Communist government fully relaxed its grip.

"There was no chaos in 1989," he added. "Even Beijing's petty thieves stopped stealing." Now I don't know this for sure -- I wasn't there, but the fact that the reporter had to color the description -- "said Bao, his voice choking with emotion" -- make me think that not only is Bao biased (which would be okay; it's clear to any reasonable reader that he might be biased, and his bias is contained in quotes) but that the reporter is also infusing further slant into the story.

But what could we expect from a Taiwanese paper? Therefore, if you're looking for unbiased analysis of Taiwan's economic system compared to China's, the China Post is a bad bet.

Taiwan Best
http://www.chinapost.com.tw/business/
Still, while in Greece, do as the Greek do...or something. That is, China Post is still the leading English-language newspaper in daily readership and editorial content, so if you're doing business in Taiwan, better check it out. They amply covered Taiwanese businesses, for example: China Airlines and EVA Airways Corp., Taiwan's two largest carriers, had their ratings upgraded to "outperform" from "neutral" at Credit Suisse Group due to lower fuel prices. Although I had learned about fuel prices dropping in the United States, my media sources had not mentioned anything about Taiwanese companies. The shares climbed. "China Airlines may report a profit of NT$1 billion for the fourth quarter of 2006, better than market expectations": NT $1bn isn't that impressive by U.S. standards if converted to a dollar amount; nevertheless, news about Eva Air, a major Taiwanese carrier, still remains important to the Taiwanese markets.

Minor irritation, but very unprofessional: differently-colored keywords in the articles link to online retail sites like Ebay instead of stock prices or further information. The website could be less commercial and more useful.

Conclusion: Still an important first step to finding out about Taiwan business/economic news.

Malaysia Best
http://www.malaysiasun.com/
In Comm 183, I had been surprised by the professionalism displayed by some of the newspapers and magazines Prof. Tom brought in to show-and-tell. The Sun was one of them. I'd bet they'd have interesting, compelling economic news. First story that came up linked me to The Peninsula Qatar:
http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=World_News&subsection=Rest+of+the+World&month=January2007&file=World_News200701172548.xml
I'm not as interested in Malaysia as I am in Taiwan, though I did fing the nation to be much more interesting after Comm 183 (the more I know, the more I want to know! Hilariously, we found out from lecture that they hate the successful Chinese and actually enact affirmative action for the majority Malays).So The Sun does an excellent job in featuring articles that really picque my interest: [former Malaysian deputy premier] Anwar demands probe into corrupt $900bn Russian jet deal, saying it was "blatantly corrupt". Excellent! This guy was finance minister before being sacked and jailed in 1998; the article also mentioned useful background information -- that Malaysia had lost 31.3 billion ringgit ($8.9bn) in foreign exchange speculation in the 1990s. "The allegations are the latest from the one-time heir apparent to former premier Mahathir Mohamad who is launching himself back onto the Malaysian political scene ahead of general elections due to be held by 2009."

So this not only uncovers possible corruption, but it comes from the mouth of someone who was sacked and jailed, meaning someone in the present government wants to shut him up, meaning that it's great that the media is picking this up, meaning that Malaysia is indeed on it's way to have a rigorous, developmental system! Also, very timely if Anwar is heir apparent to former premier Mahathir, who is trying to get reelected in 2009. Economic news relevant to the whole direction of the country!

Malaysia Worst
The Singapore National News Agency's layout is visually unappealing. The front page consists of all text and no images. The headlines are not attention-grabbing. For example "Illegal Logging Not An Issue In FTA Talks With US: Anifah" and "PM: Govt Will Always Safeguard Nation's Interest In FTA Negotiations" are bland at best. (Perhaps we shouldn't expect too much from a governmental statutory body "set up by an Act of Parliament in 1967." The front page looks both empty and cluttered at the same time. Is that possible? Yes, apparently; the site seems empty of juicy articles and features, but cluttered with very basic links in garish colors. Furthermore, though the website is a legitimate extension of the goverment, it somehow looks commercial. The "Top Business Story" is encased in a box that makes it look like an Internet banner advertisement, which makes me want to immediately navigate away from the page in search of a site more stimulating.
www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/business.php