There are a lot of people in the world who can plausibly claim ignorance of China’s foul campaign against its Muslim minority, but UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is not among them. Six months ago, the UN’s own committee on the elimination of racial discrimination released a devastating report on how China arbitrarily and systematically detains Uighurs in the western part of the country. Just last month, the UN high commissioner for human rights pressed the Chinese for access to the Uighur

Viewpoints April 24, 2019

In Sri Lanka, memories of war and terrorism are very much alive. The decadeslong civil war between the Sinhala-dominated government in Colombo and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was brutal by any standards, and it ended a decade ago with a climactic battle near the Indian Ocean that took thousands of civilian lives. But Sri Lanka, beautiful and multicultural, has never had just the one fault line. On Easter morning, when hundreds of Christians and hotel guests were killed by suicide bomber

Viewpoints April 23, 2019

Even as the US and China seem headed toward a truce on trade, their rivalry is heating up in other areas.The threat of espionage taking place under the cover of routine activities appears to be a particular concern. As many as 30 Chinese academics and policy experts have had their US visas canceled or reviewed in the past year, the New York Times reported recently. The relatively open approach adopted toward Chinese businesspeople and academics may now be ending.That’s a mistake -- not because C

Viewpoints April 22, 2019

In coming to terms with Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, we should adopt a principle of neutrality and put entirely to one side our enthusiasm, or our lack of it, for President Donald Trump. It is also essential to emphasize that the report, running to two volumes and some 448 pages, will take some time to absorb.Even so, the most puzzling thing about it is unquestionably a single sentence, repeated several times: “while this report does not conclude that the President committed a crime,

Viewpoints April 21, 2019

On the face of things, Narendra Modi has failed variously and spectacularly as India’s prime minister. After pledging to create millions of jobs, he has -- according to a leaked government report -- presided over a dramatic rise in unemployment among young Indians. Vowing to vanquish terrorism, he took most currency notes out of circulation and cracked down hard in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir has since witnessed a sharp spike in militancy and its biggest terrorist attack in years.Swe

Viewpoints April 15, 2019

There is a strange sound of relief coming out of the International Monetary Fund.The IMF has slashed its global growth forecasts to the lowest level since the financial crisis, but it also believes policymakers may have stepped in just in time to avoid a turn for the worse.Central bankers deserve credit for pausing on their long road back to a more normal monetary policy. This has helped to bring some calm to financial markets and may help to lift growth in the second half of this year. But it’s

Viewpoints April 10, 2019

China and the US last week signaled substantial progress in their trade negotiations, as President Xi Jinping welcomed a “new consensus.” One question remains, however: Why has the US opted to deal bilaterally with China rather than lead a coalition of Western nations that share the same concerns about some of the Asian giant’s trade practices?The answer to this question will be one of the leading issues in assessing whether a China-US agreement is a decisive resolution to a conflict that has ha

Viewpoints April 8, 2019

It’s not Bollywood yet, but Indonesia could be germinating Asia’s next big film scene. After years of stifled growth and censorship, new cinemas are opening across the vast Southeast Asian archipelago at a rapid clip thanks to large cash investments. Meanwhile, international filmmakers are setting up operations. With local production houses and cinema owners taking their companies public, investors might want to pay attention.While movies have been produced in Indonesia since the 1920s, early ef

Viewpoints April 7, 2019

These are testing times for Detroit’s big automakers as they puzzle over where to place their bets. Pickup trucks or driverless cars? Internal combustion engines or electric motors? Hardware or software?Now, an even larger question looms, just as a mobility revolution reshapes the industry: America or China?Tensions over technology, if not an outright cold war, are threatening to become a permanent feature of the US-China relationship. In an extreme case, as White House hard-liners press to limi

Viewpoints April 1, 2019

To understand Europe’s muddle over China, look at Monaco.The tiny tax haven, famous for its casinos, has forged an unlikely partnership with the communist state that would have Lenin spinning in his grave. It is going to become a 2-square-kilometer test bed for a new fifth-generation mobile network from Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications equipment maker. The deal has been promoted by Monaco as an attempt to build a “smart nation,” and China is happy no doubt to have a display window in the h

Viewpoints April 1, 2019

There is no adequate remedy for the crimes the Reimanns, Germany’s second-wealthiest family, committed in the Nazi era. But it’s still worth trying to figure out what kind of redress is possible now that the events are receding so far into the past that few victims are alive.Through their JAB Holdings company, the family own brands from Pret A Manger sandwich shops to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. The Reimanns also once owned part of what became consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser.Bild am Sonntag,

Viewpoints March 27, 2019

The summary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report submitted to the US Congress on Sunday by Attorney General William Barr can only be described as a significant win for President Donald Trump. Mueller did not find that the Trump campaign coordinated with or colluded with Russian efforts to subvert the 2016 election. And Mueller did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump himself committed obstruction of justice.On top of that, Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein determined separ

Viewpoints March 25, 2019