[Daniel DePetris] China’s message to Taiwan’s president

Last week, Taiwan got a new president. Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, was sworn in after a rough and tumble campaign, succeeding his old boss, former President Tsai Ing-wen. Elections in Taiwan are always a sore spot for China, which claims the self-ruled island as its own and regards any expressions of Taiwanese sovereignty as a violation. But Lai’s inauguration is an especially thorny subject for Beijing because the Chinese Communist Party views him as a dangerous instigator of

ViewpointsMay 31, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] Five takeaways from the trilateral summit

The trilateral summit between South Korea, Japan, and China held in Seoul, Korea, earlier this week was the first such event in four and a half years since 2019, and it has significantly positive implications for the resumption of the platform for peaceful coexistence and prosperity among the three countries. It was also a successful diplomatic event for the Republic of Korea, raising expectations for peace and stability in Northeast Asia and restoring Korea-China relations. However, it is ne

ViewpointsMay 30, 2024

[Bradford DeLong] The threat of Trumpflation and a Fed war

Inflation in the US is lower than it was a year ago, and substantial economic weakness elsewhere is driving other central banks toward interest-rate cuts. With little empirical basis to believe that US monetary policy is not restrictive, I continue to believe that in 18 months, the US Federal Reserve will have wished that it had started cutting rates in January 2024. If I am right, the US is not headed for a soft-landing path; it is already on the runway, albeit with a monetary-policy rudder ste

ViewpointsMay 30, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] Watching the medical school expansion dispute

Recently, the Seoul High Court overruled a petition by the medical community to block the government’s plan to drastically increase the enrolment quota at medical schools. However, the controversy over medical school expansion will continue in South Korea because people think that it will bring not only medical reform but also ultimately the alteration of the Korean health care system. Those who support the government’s policy criticize doctors for selfishly trying to protect their p

ViewpointsMay 29, 2024

[Jeffrey Frankel] Europe’s carbon border tax

The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, officially launched in October 2023, now requires importers to report on the direct and indirect greenhouse-gas emissions embedded in the goods they import. Beginning in January 2026, the EU will start imposing tariffs on imports from countries that do not price carbon at the bloc’s market rate, which could significantly affect carbon-intensive producers among its trading partners. The EU’s new carbon-pricing regime may s

ViewpointsMay 29, 2024

[Ana Palacio] Is Europe too big for further enlargement?

Earlier this month, the European Union celebrated the 20th anniversary of its biggest-ever enlargement, which brought ten new members into the bloc. That event remains a potent reminder of the EU’s potential to advance peace and unity across the European continent. But, at a time of deep internal divisions and an increasingly volatile external environment, the giddy idealism of 2004 seems a distant dream, and the prospects of further enlargement appear uncertain. The promise of EU accessio

ViewpointsMay 28, 2024

[Grace Kao] Did K-pop debut in US with The Kim Sisters in 1959?

K-pop’s first appearance on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart was in 2009, when the Wonder Girls’ “Nobody” hit No. 76. Fifty years earlier, in 1959 The Kim Sisters (Sue, Aija, and Mia) from Korea made their American TV premiere on The Ed Sullivan show. So, is 1959 the year that K-Pop made its debut in the US? Probably not, but we should celebrate the importance of The Kim Sisters in representing Korea to the US. They would eventually appear on The Ed Sullivan Show twenty-one

ViewpointsMay 28, 2024

[Arvind Subramanian] Sino-American trade war benefits China's rivals

US President Joe Biden and his predecessor Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in November’s presidential election, are competing to portray themselves as tough on trade and China. Biden has already imposed a 100 percent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles, and Trump has vowed to impose a 200 percent tariff on Chinese cars manufactured in Mexico, along with a range of other protectionist measures affecting steel, solar panels, semiconductors and batteries. The European Un

ViewpointsMay 27, 2024

[Yoo Choon-sik] Weak household income despite solid labor market

South Korea’s labor market remains strong even as the country’s economy went through one of the toughest years in history during 2023, according to official figures. It is fortunate, given that weak exports and depressed domestic demand have combined to bring gross domestic product growth down to the lowest in modern history last year except for crisis years. On a four-quarter moving average basis, the country’s employment rate for the whole population aged 15 years or older st

ViewpointsMay 27, 2024

[Wang Son-taek] Limits and chances from the limitless alliance

Last week, the summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Beijing was held amid global attention. The summit became famous because it could serve as the starting point for changing the current international order, namely the unipolar order with the United States as the hegemon, into a multipolar order with China and Russia sharing the same status and power as the United States. During the summit, the two leaders declared the beginning of a new era and sha

ViewpointsMay 23, 2024

[Jennifer Huddleston] AI, privacy rules meant for Big Tech

As lawmakers and regulators in the US consider policy born of their Big Tech concerns such as data privacy and artificial intelligence, they should carefully consider how such changes could end up trampling the small and midsize businesses that drive innovation and competition. While policymakers may have Google and Facebook in mind, the actual policies could unintentionally create new regulatory burdens that could deter investment in smaller businesses and prevent new companies from emerging. F

ViewpointsMay 23, 2024

[Richard K. Sherwin] King Trump on trial

The drama starring former US President Donald Trump that is now playing out in a New York City courtroom is more than just a criminal trial. It is a contest between competing conceptions of power: a liberal-democratic system of law versus an illiberal conception that locates the source of authority outside the current legal system. According to the conventional view, apart from the fact that for the first time in American history the defendant is a former president (and current presidential cand

ViewpointsMay 22, 2024

[Kim Seong-kon] If Edward Said still lived today

Recently, pro-Palestine protests have been erupting across American college campuses. Ever since Columbia University ignited the protest on April 18 by setting up an encampment and occupying Hamilton Hall, many other elite American universities have joined the protests. At the University of Michigan, protestors even waved Palestinian flags. The protestors demand the US government to withdraw its support of Israel in order to stop the genocide in Palestine. On Oct. 7, 2023, the Palestinian milita

ViewpointsMay 22, 2024