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Storms in Chongqing and Judicial Justice

By Patricia Sun, BASC Research Assistant On February 6, 2012, Wang Lijun, vice-mayor and head of the Public Security Bureau (PSB) of Chongqing, and a hero in Chonging gang trials, traveled to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu to seek political asylum and offload Bo Xilai’s misconducts in Chongqing, but “left of his own volition” a […]

As Global Financial Stakes Are Raised, U.S. Calls BRICS’ Bluff

By A. M. Newhall, BASC Research Assistant On March 16th, President Barack Obama nominated Jim Yong Kim to replace the graying Robert Zoellick as President of the World Bank. Although The Wall Street Journal hailed the selection of a candidate lacking experience in either finance or diplomacy as a refreshingly daring choice, other states in […]

North Korea’s Failed Rocket Test: 3 Implications for Trans-Pacific IR

By Jake Lerner, BASC Research Assistant On Friday, North Korea’s long anticipated, much criticized, and uncharacteristically open launch of its Unha-3 rocket ended in flames. Take-away lessons from its disintegration over the Yellow Sea: 1. Kim Jong Un’s leadership is stable enough to survive failures. Even very shortly […]

The Sad Situation in Syria

By Adam Motiwala, BASC Research Assistant Ever since the group of disgruntled students first immortalized their message of revolution onto the worn-down walls of the city of Deraa, there has been much discussion about what the West should do about Syria. An increasingly vocal chorus of people is now calling for a reenergized and bellicose […]

The United States, China, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership

By Daniel Chen, BASC Research Assistant On March 9, 2012, the eleventh round of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations came to a close. TPP, a “21st century trade agreement” that spans three continents and covers a multitude of issues from trade in goods and services to regulatory coherence, encompasses nine members and hopes to be a […]

Can’t Handle the Linsanity?

By Cindy Li, BASC Research Assistant The New York Knicks’ turnaround winning streak in early February put a spotlight on the newly signed Jeremy Lin and began the global Linsanity sensation. Lin’s Cinderella story and Asian descent have allowed him to capture the attention of Chinese viewers. The effects of his overwhelming fame, however, may […]

Global Mic-Check

By Jake Lerner, BASC Research Assistant The Arab Spring came at an unfortunate time for Vladimir Putin. Though they began more than a year ago, the aftershocks of those democratic uprisings are still being felt around the world, most recently in Russia. On March 6th, Putin won the Russian presidential election with 64% of the […]

Wukan! Wukan! Sign of Democracy?

By Patricia Sun, BASC Research Assistant (Youtube video made by villagers of Wukan: 乌坎！乌坎!) February 2, 2012 was a day worth remembering for villagers in Wukan (乌坎), Guangdong Province, China: after 5 months of protests, they cast ballots to elect a committee that would supervise future election of the village’s leaders […]

Free Trade and the Alien Tort Statute of 1789

By A. M. Newhall, BASC Research Assistant On October 21st President Obama signed free trade agreements with Panama and Colombia while ignoring the impact such agreements have had on human rights and the environment in other countries in Latin America. For example, mounting evidence suggests multinational corporations frequently […]

Currency Manipulation and Clean-Tech Subsidies

By Daniel Chen, BASC Research Assistant Over the past month, trade disputes have created heightened political tension between the world’s two largest economies. In October, the Senate took action against the China’s undervaluing of the renminbi, arguing that it unfairly supports Chinese production at the cost of American manufacturing. Now, the Commerce Department is investigating […]

KORUS Frozen in South Korean Parliament

By Viola Tang, BASC Research Assistant After the U.S. Congress’s ratification of the KORUS FTA, the agreement has met staunch opposition in the South Korean National Assembly. While the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) is pushing for ratification, the Democratic Party (DP) has colluded with four smaller, liberal parties to oppose the bill. Despite four […]

99% Strong or Weak?

By Do-Hee Jeong The Occupy Oakland protest on the front page of the New York Times website immediately caught my attention because of its close proximity to home and got me thinking about the potential direction of the greater Occupy movement. The Occupy movement has swept across America and the world like wildfire, mobilizing angry […]