Category: East Asia

The International Food Crisis and Proposals To Overcome It

By ERIC TOUSSAINT and OMAR AZIKI [Editor’s note: We reprint this article by the Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM). In 1989, the Bastille Appeal was launched, inviting popular movements throughout the world to unite in demanding the immediate and unconditional cancellation of the debt of the so-called developing countries. This crushing debt, along with neo-liberal macro-economic reforms imposed on the global South, has led to an explosion of worldwide inequality, mass poverty, flagrant injustice and the destruction of the environment.

Report from Hong Kong: The rise and outlook of the mass struggle

By LAM CHI LEUNG Protests are continuing in Hong Kong, despite the withdrawal of the Extradition Bill by Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Sept. 4. Protesters have raised the slogan, “Five key demands, not one less!” They want direct elections of Hong Kong leaders, an independent investigation into acts of police brutality, unconditional release … Continue reading Report from Hong Kong: The rise and outlook of the mass struggle →

Hong Kong protesters reject extradition to China

By KEITH LESLIE Anti-government protests continue to spread in Hong Kong, despite violent attacks on demonstrators by police and right-wing thugs. A number of protests are planned on the weekend of July 26-28, including at the airport (with the support of some airline unions) and in rural areas. An earlier article follows, which will be … Continue reading Hong Kong protesters reject extradition to China →

Japan’s highest court upholds sterilizations for trans people

  By AUTUMN RAIN The Supreme Court of Japan upheld an abhorrent law that explicitly requires trans people to be sterilized in order to have their gender recognized by the state—a terrible blow to trans people’s rights, and reproductive rights generally. Trans people are denied the right to have their gender legally recognized in many … Continue reading Japan’s highest court upholds sterilizations for trans people →

Stop the ethnic cleansing of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims!

By MARTY GOODMAN Capitalism has reached a new level of barbarism in Myanmar. So far, over 500,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees have been driven out of their homes in the Northern Rakhine State and into unsanitary, crowded camps in Bangladesh, without adequate food and water. Soldiers and Buddhist fascist-like gangs have torched thousands of Rohingya homes; … Continue reading Stop the ethnic cleansing of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims! →

Myanmar: A revolution betrayed

By MARTY GOODMAN Myanmar (Burma) was a colony of Britain from 1824 to 1948. Despite super-exploitation and trigger-happy British troops, Myanmar was known for its ethnic diversity, rich cultural life, and intellectual influences, including Marxism. Burmese Muslims participated in the fight against British and Japanese imperialism and were officials in the first post-colonial governments. In … Continue reading Myanmar: A revolution betrayed →

Trump: “We will totally destroy North Korea”

By BARRY SHEPPARD Trump made this unprecedented threat not in a tweet or off the cuff remark but in a written speech before the United Nations General Assembly. No other country in the U.N. has ever openly stated its intention to destroy another country. Coupled with his earlier threat to rain down “fire and fury” … Continue reading Trump: “We will totally destroy North Korea” →

Are North Korea’s leaders crazy?

By MARK BRUNT Much has been made—and quite astutely—of connections between the current lead-up to a potential war with North Korea and the events before the Iraq War: the collusion of mainstream media with a president that earlier they had largely disliked; massive fear-mongering about their weapons; and a narrative about the brutality of the … Continue reading Are North Korea’s leaders crazy? →

Nuclear insanity: U.S. threatens North Korea

By JEFF MACKLER In the days of my youth, our local peace group began its protests against U.S. nuclear weapons—atomic bombs at that time—by marching across the radius of total incineration, in our instance, the distance from the Ohio-based Strategic Air Command (SAC) Wright Patterson Air Force Base to a location nine miles away. Everything … Continue reading Nuclear insanity: U.S. threatens North Korea →

The story of North Korea

By ADAM RITSCHER The U.S. government’s hysterical campaign against North Korea is likely to escalate as the Kim Jong-un regime works toward perfecting a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile. The Trump administration is considering its military options to try to stymie the tests, including missile strikes against North Korean missile bunkers and re-arming South Korea with … Continue reading The story of North Korea →

Venezuela must learn from Indonesia

By BARRY WEISLEDER The 50th anniversary of one of the biggest political massacres of the 20th century passed in the West almost without notice. In 1965, a military coup in Indonesia, backed by the United States, unleashed a slaughter that consumed over one million lives. The aim of the insurgent generals was annihilation of the … Continue reading Venezuela must learn from Indonesia →

China’s slide exposes world capitalist crisis

By GARY BILLS and JEFF MACKLER Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen announced in mid-September that interest rates charged to U.S. banks would once again remain unchanged—close to zero. She also expressed concerns about the still “weak U.S. recovery” since the disastrous collapse beginning in 2008 that shook financial markets and caused unprecedented harm to working … Continue reading China’s slide exposes world capitalist crisis →

Racist attacks on Muslims in Myanmar

By MARTY GOODMAN The military regime and fascist monks within the Buddhist clergy in Myanmar (Burma) have been waging an ethnic war against the Rohingya, a mostly Black Muslim minority living in the southwest of the country. Violence against the Rohingya erupted in 2012, leaving villages torched, up to 300 dead, and 140,000 fleeing their homes … Continue reading Racist attacks on Muslims in Myanmar →

TPPA: Capitalism at its predatory best

BY JEFF MACKLER  President Obama was granted “Fast Track” authority by Congress on June 24, thus clearing the way to rapid passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA). The TPPA has been 10 years in the making, including the last six under the aegis of the Obama administration. The agreement, written in secret by some 600 top corporate … Continue reading TPPA: Capitalism at its predatory best →

Why so much ado about ‘The Interview’?

By BARRY WEISLEDER  Hollywood, Wall Street, and the White House are celebrating the release, albeit delayed and via the internet and small cinemas, of the third-rate comedy “The Interview.” The film is about a plot to assassinate the leader of North Korea.  Pyongyang took exception to the idea, and threatened to retaliate, which set off a … Continue reading Why so much ado about ‘The Interview’? →

‘Vietnam’: Riveting but flawed documentary

By GAETANA CALDWELL-SMITH “The Last Days of Vietnam,” a documentary film produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. Director Rory Kennedy, daughter of environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy, has created a riveting and heartwarming, yet heartbreaking, full-length documentary film, “The Last Days of Vietnam,” which takes place in South Vietnam from 1973 to 1975, the last … Continue reading ‘Vietnam’: Riveting but flawed documentary →

Hong Kong protests demand democracy

By MICHAEL SCHREIBER Hong Kong is witnessing the most massive street protests in its history. Many thousands of people have stood up to police repression while maintaining an Occupy-style presence in the streets. The protests have become known as the “Umbrella Revolution” for the umbrellas that demonstrators have employed to help shield their faces from … Continue reading Hong Kong protests demand democracy →

Behind U.S.-China cyberwar debate

BY JEFF MACKLER  We live in a society of law and order for sure! Indeed, the U.S. likely has more laws than any nation on earth. Many, if not most, are derived from the U.S. Constitution and its associated Bill of Rights, both of which have been subjected to endless revisions or re-interpretations over the … Continue reading Behind U.S.-China cyberwar debate →

Fukushima nuclear crisis deepens

By CHRISTINE FRANK The crisis at Fukushima Dai’ichi, the crippled nuclear power facility that was severely damaged by an M 9.0 megathrust quake and 40-foot tsunami in March 2011, is deepening. Every living thing in the Northern Hemisphere, if not the entire planet, is in peril from radioactive contamination. The list of problems resulting from … Continue reading Fukushima nuclear crisis deepens →

Capitalism damns the environment

By JEFF MACKLER Capitalism, the system—Chinese, American, or European style—has struck yet another devastating blow against all humanity. One of the world’s largest solar-panel manufacturing plants, employing 10,000 Chinese workers at the city of Wuxi on China’s east coast, has declared bankruptcy—a victim of its own “success” and capitalism’s inherent drive to destruction. The Wuxi … Continue reading Capitalism damns the environment →

The socialist answer to capitalist crisis

We present below the first of a series of resolutions on key issues in U.S. and world politics that were approved by the elected delegates to the 15th National Convention of Socialist Action, held in Minneapolis last Aug. 16-19. Socialist Action is the fraternal U.S. section of the Fourth International, founded by Leon Trotsky and … Continue reading The socialist answer to capitalist crisis →