When news came in that former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan had been shot at a political rally, it was hard not to recall the turmoil following Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, says Bloomberg Opinion’s Mihir Sharma.Continue Reading
Beyond escaping floods and crowds, the location of Indonesia’s new capital will have economic and geopolitical ramifications, say these writers.Continue Reading
Beijing should take note of the risks posed by a property bubble and demographic changes, says the Financial Times’ Leo Lewis.Continue Reading
Those “lying flat” instead of having babies increase official worries about the fall in China’s birth rate, says this writer.Continue Reading
Japan’s experience shows how difficult it is to reverse a shrinking population, especially when a country has a sizable population and a persistently low birth rate, says this academic.Continue Reading
The new Politburo and Politburo Standing Committee make it very clear that there now is no alternative power centre in China beyond Xi Jinping, says Christian Le Miere.Continue Reading
Malaysia will go to the polls in less than a month. Asian Studies professor James Chin looks at how things might play out over the next fortnight before nomination day.Continue Reading
Malaysia’s new anti-hopping law took effect on Oct 5, five days before it was announced that the country’s parliament would be dissolved. The law seeks to respect the mandate of voters, but it is not without faults, says a researcher.Continue Reading
Chinese President Xi Jinping cannot justify his unprecedented power if he makes mistakes, which backing down from zero-COVID will look like. But the reality is that China cannot keep this up indefinitely at the expense of its economy, says Robert E Kelly.Continue Reading
Questions such as “Are you married?” and “Have you got any children?” assume that every adult woman in most Asian countries is heterosexual, married and, presumably, a mother, say these writers.Continue Reading