Asia-Pacific

Image credit: UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC)

UNHRC’s Sri Lanka Resolution Viewed as Intrusive Intervention

By Kalinga Seneviratne*

SYDNEY (IDN) — “The Core Group chaired by the UK tabled a shoddy motion based on a hostile UNHRC Report riddled with factual errors and unproven allegations going back to 2009; none of which qualifies as robust evidence,” said Lord Naseby. Conservative party member and the President of the All-Party Parliamentary UK-Sri Lanka Group in a statement issued on March 23 following a vote at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva that called for intrusive human rights intervention in Sri Lanka’s domestic affairs.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 26 March 2021

Photo: Workers at a Chinese shoe-making factory in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Credit: Lin Qi

The Story of China’s Development Miracle

Viewpoint by Siddharth Chatterjee

UN Resident Coordinator* in China Siddharth Chatterjee, formerly the Resident Coordinator in Kenya, considers how China’s admirable rise can provide valuable lessons for developing nations looking to improve livelihoods for their citizens. The 'story' first appeared on UN News on March 20, 2021.

BEIJING | GUANGZHOU (IDN) — Arriving in Guangzhou as a first-time visitor to China, I could not help but think of former U.S Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's description of what he saw as an underdeveloped provincial city in the 1980s.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 23 March 2021

Photo: German Chancellor Angela Merkel with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on May 24, 2018 at which they discussed intensifying German Chinese relations. Credit: Xinhua/Liu Weibing

Germany Is Particularly Attractive for Chinese Investors

By Jutta Wolf

BERLIN (IDN) — Germany is one of the most important countries for Chinese investors and ranks tenth in terms of Chinese foreign direct investments (FDI). Particularly the transport sector and the technology sector in Germany received a great number of investments from Chinese investors in recent years.

Although China has recently focused more than ever on geostrategic investments in countries of the "Belt and Road Initiative," investments in Germany remain strategically important for Chinese investors to gain access to key technologies.

: Jutta Wolf; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 19 March 2021

Emerging QUAD Appears to Be A Threat To APEC

Viewpoint by Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — With the elevation of the QUAD (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue) grouping to a head of state summit on March 12, it is opportune to ask what would happen to APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) that has been losing its shine in recent years.

Australia and Japan have been the main movers of QUAD to keep the United States (US) involved in the region, and this was also the main reason for the launch of APEC.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; OPINION; 17 March 2021

Image credit: United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Afghan Women's Voices on Peace Heard with UN Mission's Backing

By Devinder Kumar

NEW DELHI | KUNDUZ (IDN) — While the UN Security Council on March 14 "condemned in the strongest terms" the alarming number of attacks deliberately targeting civilians in Afghanistan, women activists were over several days knocking on doors in Kunduz, posing two questions to their relatives, neighbours and fellow residents of the city: “What does the peace process mean to you? How do you see your role in it?”

The members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern regarding the increase of these targeted attacks in the months following the start of the Afghanistan peace negotiations on September 12, 2020.

: Devinder Kumar; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 14 March 2021

Photo: Dorji Wangchuck, Bhutanese communication scholar and filmmaker, pleaded for 'Middle Path Journalism' instead of adversial journalism. Credit: Dr Kalinga Seneviratne.

Buddhists Map A New Paradigm for Dev. Communication

By Krishan Dutta

BANGKOK (IDN) — A group of Buddhist economists and communication scholars from Asia are embarking on a mission to redefine the development communication paradigm using concepts from the Buddhist philosophy.

A webinar held earlier this month organized by Lotus Communication Network (LCN) in association with the Institute of Asian Studies (IAS) at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok and Delhi-based International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) discussed how ‘sufficiency economics’ (sometimes referred to as ‘Buddhist Economics’) and ‘middle path journalism’ could be incorporated into a new development communication paradigm.

: Asia Editor; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 12 March 2021

Photo: Criticism of the handling of the rape scandal in Australia involves Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Senator and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, and Christian Porter, Attorney-General of Australia. In the backdrop is the Parliament in Canberra. Photos from Wikimedia Commons. Collage by IDN-INPS.

Rape Allegations Rock the Australian Parliament

By Kalinga Seneviratne

SYDNEY (IDN) — While International Women's Day was celebrated around the world on March 8, a debate was gathering momentum in Australia about the “toxic workplace culture” within the corridors of power in the Australian parliament in Canberra, with politicians running for cover as rape allegations against them and their staff surfaced fast and swift.

: Kalinga Seneviratne; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 10 March 2021

Photo: The UN Human Rights Council meeting room in Geneva. Credit: ohchr.org

Indian Dilemma Over UNHRC Resolution on Sri Lanka

Viewpoint by Sugeeswara Senadhira

COLOMBO (IDN) — New Delhi is in an unenviable situation over the UNHRC (United Nations Human Rights Council) resolution on Sri Lanka as it would not be in India’s long-term interest to pave way for the international body to be provided with an opportunity to directly interfere in an internal affair of a member of the world community, especially a country in South Asia, where India is the superpower.

: Opinion Editor; SUSTAINABILITY; Peace & Justice; 10 March 2021

More Women Researchers in Developing Nations Than in the Rich

By Jaya Ramachandran

PARIS (IDN) — While women make up 33.3% of researchers in the global average, in South and Southeast Asia, several countries are achieving gender parity, according to data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics for 107 countries covering the years 2015–2018.

This is the case for Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand, for instance. The most recent addition is Sri Lanka, where women accounted for 46% of researchers in 2015, up from 24% in 2006.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Sustainable Industrialisation; 06 March 2021

Photo: The fourth session of the 13th National People's Congress (NPC) opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2021. Credit: Xinhua/Li Xueren

China Sets Over 6% GDP Target & 11 Million Urban Jobs in 2021

By Press Trust of India (PTI)

BEIJING (IDN) — China, which was the first to be hit by COVID-19 and the earliest to recover from the lockdown effects, has fixed a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) target of over 6% in 2021, optimistic of an economic recovery after last year’s 2.3% growth, its weakest in decades.

Premier Li Keqiang, in an announcement at the country’s Parliament National People's Congress (NPC), said China, the world's second largest economy, aims to expand its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by over 6% in 2021, with more efforts on reform, innovation and high-quality development.