[Slawomir Sierakowski] The Rorschach test of Notre Dame

Following the death of Pope John Paul II in 2005, a group of young Polish activists and artists donned T-shirts that read, “I did not cry for the Pope.” At a time of seemingly obligatory national mourning, it was the kind of provocative act that can only happen in a free, pluralistic society. In a country as staunchly Catholic as Poland, the meme immediately caused a scandal. Yet because it was so effective, the “I-did-not-cry-for” formulation has been repurposed for similar situations ever sinc

May 6, 2019

[Leonid Bershidsky] Huawei is being held to an impossible standard

The Bloomberg report of persistent vulnerabilities found in Huawei telecommunications equipment by major telecom operator Vodafone highlights the Chinese vendor’s current problem: While its competitors are given the benefit of the doubt when their products are found vulnerable, Huawei is held to impossible standards for political reasons.This is a problem that probably can’t be solved on a technical level. Huawei will have to drop any legacy resistance to stringent tests by clients and regulator

May 2, 2019

[Daniel Moss] Does Indonesia need a new capital?

Even as he awaits official confirmation of his election to a second term, Indonesian President Joko Widodo appears to be thinking about his legacy. He’s proposing a $33 billion plan to relocate the capital far away from clogged Jakarta. The idea isn’t as crazy as it sounds. That doesn’t mean it’ll work. Jokowi, as the Indonesian leader is known, is right to question Jakarta’s long-term viability as a capital city. The population has swollen to 30 million and, while a new subway system offers som

May 2, 2019

[Anjani Trivedi] China could win from tech Cold War

China’s growing technological prowess in areas such as artificial intelligence is making Washington very nervous. US efforts to fight back, though, could make the problem worse.In US policy circles, suspicion of China is starting to resemble a new Red Scare. Universities are heightening scrutiny of research proposals from China and, in some cases, restricting collaboration. Chinese scientists’ visas are being delayed for conferences and exchanges. Visas for Chinese graduate students studying top

May 1, 2019

[Chon Shi-yong] True test still ahead for Moon’s foreign policy initiatives

President Moon Jae-in is as confident as ever about his mediating role in denuclearization negotiations between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He reaffirmed that confidence in a meeting last week with a group of senior editors from the Asia News Network, a coalition of 24 leading media organizations from 20 countries across Asia. The Korea Herald is a member of the group, which celebrated its 20th anniversary in Seoul last Friday. In the meeting, held Thursday at

May 1, 2019

[Kim Seong-kon] Spiritual exiles “against the grain”

What is the role of an intellectual or a writer in a turbulent society? In his monumental book, “Representations of the Intellectual,” Edward W. Said eloquently illustrates what it means to be an intellectual in times of social and political turmoil. He contends that the intellectual should be a spiritual exile in his own society, who can “speak the truth to power” despite the threats of ostracism and even imprisonment. Said maintains that the intellectual should say “No!” not only to power-wiel

April 30, 2019

[Lee Jae-min] National Assembly failed to break old habits

Due process, mutual respect and civil debates. When do we get to see them in our parliament? Or, rather, will we ever see them? That question has echoed through the nation for the past five days. The long-forgotten “physical” politics has roared back to life in Yeouido – live, kicking and ever more hostile. In what has been five days of pushing, shoving and shouting, to put it mildly, the National Assembly has shown how far it is removed from the aspirations of its constituents

April 30, 2019

[Akira Iriye] Japan’s global emperor exits the stage

Japan’s Emperor Akihito will abdicate on Tuesday, having sat on the Chrysanthemum Throne since 1989. At the age of 85, Akihito seemingly wishes to live in quiet retirement with Empress Michiko, his wife of 60 years. His elder son, Crown Prince Naruhito, will succeed him as emperor.Akihito’s reign began upon the death of his father, Hirohito, whose life had spanned decades of domestic and international turmoil. Although Akihito himself came of age during the tumultuous era of World War II and the

April 29, 2019

[Andrew Sheng] Existential crisis of Pax Americana

Last year, American historian Walter Russell Mead identified the following traits of the current American and global discomfort: “ineffective politicians, frequent scandals, racial backsliding, polarized and irresponsible news media, populists spouting quack economic remedies, growing suspicion of elites and experts, frightening outbreaks of violence, major job losses, high-profile terrorist attacks, anti-immigrant agitation, declining social mobility, giant corporations dominating the economy,

April 29, 2019

[Jeffrey Frankel] Moore problems for the Federal Reserve?

One of US President Donald Trump’s two intended nominees to fill vacancies on the US Federal Reserve Board of Governors -- Herman Cain -- has now withdrawn. Trump’s other potential pick, Stephen Moore, is also under an ethical cloud, and often gets his economic facts wrong. By contrast, Trump’s earlier appointments to the Fed have been sound choices, in particular Jerome Powell, the current chair.Although Moore lacks a doctorate in economics, that is not a reason to oppose him. Fed appointees ha

April 28, 2019

[David Ignatius] Biden is the best candidate to beat Trump

Joe Biden’s limitations as a presidential candidate are so obvious that they’re almost a litany: He’s too old, too white, too male, too touchy-feely, too loquacious. But he has one huge plus: He may be the person who could move Donald Trump out of the White House. Biden rightly put the obligation of replacing Trump at the center of his announcement Thursday that he’s running. “The core values of this nation -- our standing in the world, our very democracy, everything that has made America, Ameri

April 28, 2019

[David Ignatius] US must overcome ‘terrorism fatigue’

One disturbing aspect of the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka was that the slaughter of 321 victims came at a time when America is suffering what might be described as “terrorism fatigue.”The wars against al-Qaida and the Islamic State extremist group are part of a painful past that policymakers and the public want to escape. Those Middle East conflicts were costly and distracting. They didn’t produce many tangible gains, other than killing terrorists. Sept. 11, 2001, feels like it happened a

April 25, 2019