If the Federal Reserve was looking for reasons not to raise interest rates when its policymaking committee meets later this month, it now has two. Today’s new and surprisingly weak U.S. employment numbers, added to investor anxiety about a possible British exit from the European Union, make a plausible case for leaving short-term interest rates unchanged.That would be a mistake. The Fed needs to step back and consider. A British exit and volatile U.S. jobs numbers notwithstanding, the balance of

Viewpoints June 6, 2016

When the winds of change blow, a Chinese proverb says, some people build walls and others build windmills. Given the tremendous environmental challenges the world faces, it’s not enough just to build windmills. We need to develop a range of innovative environmental technologies, and we need to break down barriers to trading them worldwide.Global trade in wind turbines, water filters and other environmental goods amounts to nearly $1 trillion annually, and it’s growing fast. But high tariffs acro

Viewpoints June 6, 2016

Nuclear power plants in Taiwan are still a controversial issue, yet to have more transparency and caution toward it should be a consensus.It may be debatable whether nuclear power is a safe form of energy, but there is no question that nuclear power plants must be managed with extreme caution.A nuclear meltdown has always been a nightmarish possibility haunting what supporters argue is a clean form of energy -- at least cleaner than coal-fired electricity in terms of carbon emissions.The public’

Viewpoints June 6, 2016

Two high-profile accidents recently occurred at workplaces, both of which took lives. The consensus of the public is that the mishaps are attributable to negligent security measures.Some claimed that these incidents could have been avoided as they were the type of accidents that often take place in underdeveloped countries and there were few safety measures in place for the workers. On Wednesday, four people died and 10 others were injured after a subway construction site in Namyangju, Gyeonggi

Editorial June 2, 2016

South Korea’s global competitiveness ranking stayed at 10th out of 14 Asia-Pacific countries in a report released this week by the Swiss researcher International Institute for Management Development.  Out of the surveyed 61 countries across the world, Korea ranked 29th. Asia’s fourth-largest economy was behind Malaysia (19th), China (25th) and Thailand (28th).Besides these rankings, the nation’s corporate sector ranking was also somewhat shocking.Korea was 48th in overall business efficiency. It

Editorial June 2, 2016

The Thai junta has tilted too much toward China and Russia over conflicts with the U.S. and Western democracies.The National Council for Peace and Order has misjudged changing geopolitical realities in its tilting of Thai foreign policy toward China and Russia in a bid to counter political pressure from the United States and other Western countries over rights violations and democracy suppression.U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to Vietnam, along with his Secretary of State John Kerry’s trip

Viewpoints June 2, 2016

MANILA -- Have the authority and charisma of Philippine President-elect Rodrigo Duterte weakened the critical capacities of his supporters? 　After admitting in a recent press conference that he is no longer a Catholic, Rodrigo Duterte remarked that he had a new religion: “Iglesia ni Duterte (Church of Duterte).”　He invited people to join it, presumably after leaving the Catholic Church, which he has called “the most hypocritical institution.”　Many will dismiss the invitation as just another joke

Viewpoints June 2, 2016

The Afghanistan debate will drive most decisions.“Interesting” times are upon Pakistan-U.S. ties again. A U.S. drone strike killed Mullah Mansour in Balochistan; the proposed U.S. F-16 sale to Pakistan formally expired. The Obama administration failed to convince lawmakers on Capitol Hill to allow the use of U.S. public funds to complete the transaction and Pakistan refused to pay for them in toto; and the U.S. Congress is moving to put further Haqqani network-related conditions on assistance to

Viewpoints June 2, 2016

The differences between China and the U.S. over the South China Sea issue have become a matter of concern and even anxiety. But some of the perceptions in the U.S. and elsewhere about China’s policy and intentions in the area are misplaced. A pressing task is to understand the facts and China’s intentions correctly so as to avoid real danger and consequences as a result of misinterpretation and miscalculation.　The issues in the South China Sea revolve around territorial and maritime jurisdiction

Viewpoints June 2, 2016

The outlook for the Korean economy is getting increasingly murky as uncertainty is growing over U.S. monetary policy, the referendum in Britain on European Union membership, and the ongoing restructuring of ailing companies.A strong headwind is blowing for Korea, as the U.S. central bank is likely to raise its key interest rate in the coming months. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Friday that an interest rate hike in the coming months would “probably” be appropriate. She did not specific

Editorial June 1, 2016

Although President Park Geun-hye called for “drastic” measures to improve the worsening air quality three weeks ago, the administration has not come up with any solutions yet.The delay is attributable to the inability of the related ministries to iron out their differences.The Environment Ministry is seeking to raise diesel prices to curb the demand for diesel vehicles. In its view, no significant improvement in air quality can be expected from measures such as installing emissions reduction equ

Editorial June 1, 2016