CAPP Newsletter Archive: May 2004
May 2004 Table of Contents
Message from the Director
In
the News
New RAND Publications on Asia
CAPP
News and Events
Recommended
Resources
Message
from the Director
CAPP has recently released a report that provides possibly the most comprehensive
analysis ever done of Korean attitudes toward the United States over the
last decade. Former Ambassador to Korea Stephen Bosworth called the study "a
thorough and balanced appraisal of South Koreans' attitudes toward the United
States, and U.S. policy actions that can make a difference in improving the
overall tenor of the bilateral relationship. The recommendations are excellent." A
new report on living standards in Indonesia is also highlighted. As always,
we'd like your comments.
-Nina Hachigian, CAPP Director
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Koreans
on U.S.: Can't live with 'em,
or without 'em
Asia Times article by David Isenberg
April 7, 2004
Isenberg examines the complexities of South Korean attitudes toward the United States and cites the findings of a recent RAND report, Ambivalent Allies: A Study of South Korean Attitudes Toward the U.S. The report found evidence of both a recent downturn in favorable attitudes toward the U.S. among South Koreans and a more recent recovery. The article cites the report's recommendations for putting bilateral relations back on track.
Read More [See below for the report]
A
Tinderbox in Taiwan?
James Mulvenon
Time Magazine - March 22, 2004
The victory of incumbent President Chen Shui-bian in Taiwan's recent election has stirred fears that Taiwan may be closer to declaring independence from mainland China. Although Americans have come to regard North Korea as the biggest threat to security in Asia, RAND analyst James Mulvenon warns that the possibility of escalation across the Taiwan Strait looms larger than any potential danger from Pyongyang.
Read More [Access to article requires subscription]
Arm
Sales to China
Commentary by Roger Cliff and Evan S. Medeiros
International Herald Tribune - March 22, 2004
While the momentum to lift the European Union's longstanding embargo on weapons transfers to China has recently increased, the authors argue that scrapping the ban would send Beijing mixed signals on human rights issues, assist China's rapidly accelerating military modernization program, undermine stability across the Taiwan Strait, and further exacerbate tensions in trans-Atlantic relations.
U.S.
Not Worried about Radical Islam's Pull on Votes
Angel Rabasa
Straits Times [Singapore] - April 2, 2004
Rabasa comments on U.S. concerns about the effects of Indonesia's recent
parliamentary elections on democratic reforms, Indonesia's cooperation in
the war on terrorism, and the future of smaller, radical Islamic fundamentalist
parties. "We can live with any combination within the political spectrum
as long as these parties are democratic and play by the rules of the game," Rabasa
said. "The real issue for the U.S. is whether the process of democratic
consolidation in Indonesia will continue, rather than who gets to be elected
at the end."
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Ambivalent
Allies? A Study of South Korean Attitudes Toward the U.S.
by
Eric V. Larson, Norman D. Levin, Seonhae Baik, and Bogdan Savych
Have South Korean attitudes toward the United States deteriorated? To answer this question, RAND researchers compiled and analyzed a vast amount of public opinion data over the last decade and examined selected periods in U.S.-South Korean relations to identify the sources of anti-U.S. sentiment. They found evidence of a downturn in favorable sentiment toward the U.S. but also of a more recent recovery. They recommend several ways to improve South Koreans' perceptions of the U.S. and address their long-standing grievances.
Indonesian
Living Standards Before and After the Financial Crisis:
Evidence from the Indonesia Family Life Survey
by John Strauss, Kathleen Beegle, Agus Dwiyanto, Yulia Herawati, Daan Pattinasarany,
Elan Satriawan, Bondan Sikoki, Sukamdi, and Firman Witoelar
Using rich survey data to uncover how families' lives were affected by the
Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, Indonesian Living Standards Before
and After the Financial Crisis is a valuable tool for policymakers examining
economic issues facing Indonesia.
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CAPP
News and Events
China's
Economy: Will the Bubble Burst?
Senior
Economic Adviser and Corporate Fellow in International Economics
Charles Wolf, Jr. challenges the prevailing consensus that
China's economy will continue to expand at an accelerated pace
in an essay for the June 2003 Woodrow Wilson Center's Asia
Program Special Report. He highlights several roadblocks to
continued economic growth that China may encounter in the next
decade.
RAND Health Staff Visit Taiwan
In February 2004, RAND Health staff members Ross Anthony, Lee Hilborne, and Jason Wang traveled to Taipei to discuss how RAND could collaborate with the new Center for Health Improvement in Taiwan. They met with Dr. Chien-Jen Chen, Taiwan's Minister of Health, and Dr. Andrew T. Huang, Taiwan's Chairman of the Commission on Healthcare Quality. Discussion included how RAND research could benefit health improvement in Taiwan and how collaboration and exchanges between RAND and the new center in Taiwan could promote expanding Taiwan's health services research capabilities.
Graduate School Dean Speaks at East Asia Banking Meeting
Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS) Dean Robert Klitgaard was one of three principal speakers at a recent meeting in Manila in which the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation kicked off an unprecedented year-long study to assess infrastructural needs of developing nations in the East Asia region and steps that can be taken to facilitate their funding through public and private capital. Ministers and officials from 21 countries attended. Currently, East Asian countries are getting only about $20 billion a year in funding from the private sector and international development institutions but are in need of infrastructure investment of at least $200 billion a year to 2010, World Bank officials said.
The Growth of the Internet in China
Guo Liang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and a well-known authority on China's Internet, visited RAND’s Santa Monica office on April 1, 2004 to present key findings from a recent groundbreaking survey of Chinese Internet users and discuss the implications of the Internet’s rapid growth in China.
Former Ambassador Discusses Security and Stability in Pakistan
Ambassador Husain Haqqani, former advisor to Pakistani Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto, visited RAND's Washington office March 3, 2004 for a discussion of recent security developments and stability in Pakistan. He recommended that the U.S. closely observe Pakistan's domestic politics and focus on the country's internal challenges.
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