<!--[if !mso]> <![endif]--> On March 11 last year, Honshu Island of Japan was hit by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake at a subduction zone, followed by a horrendous tsunami that knocked out the emergency diesel generators and cooling pumps at the Fukushima Dai’ichi nuclear power station. The natural disaster resulted in a triple meltdown, two hydrogen … Continue reading The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster – One Year Later
Category: East Asia
The Passing of Kim Jong Il
The death of Kim Jong Il, on Dec. 17, caught the attention and imagination of the capitalist media hucksters. His death, which wasn’t reported for two whole days, was in many ways symbolic of his life. It was a life that, through the lens of the Western media, was obscured by secrecy and unflattering portrayals. This distorting lens is designed … Continue reading The Passing of Kim Jong Il
Occupy comes to Taiwan!
When U.S. House Majority leader Eric Cantor derided the Occupy Wall Street activists as “a growing mob,” he could not have known that the movement’s influence would grow so strong that its impact would be felt even at the other end of the world. On Oct. 15, as part of an international weekend of protest, … Continue reading Occupy comes to Taiwan!
Maoist leader appointed prime minister in Nepal
On Aug. 28, Baburam Bhattarai became the fourth Prime Minister in Nepal since 2008. He is vice-chairman of the United Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M), whose chairman, Prachanda (Pushpa Kamal Dahal), was unable to form a stable government three years ago. Bhattarai’s election was widely hailed in the bourgeois media as a step forward after … Continue reading Maoist leader appointed prime minister in Nepal
Japan nuclear crisis continues unabated
by Christine Frank On March 11, Northeastern Japan was struck by a Magnitude 9.0 megathrust earthquake, followed by a powerful tsunami from which the nation is still struggling to recover. The human-made part of the disaster is also still in progress at the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant One, where three of its six reactors … Continue reading Japan nuclear crisis continues unabated
Turmoil Erupts in Tibet
by Adam RitscherTibet is again the topic of conversation around the world. And this time it’s not the result of some Hollywood movie, but rather the bloody clashes that have broken out there between Tibetan protesters and Chinese police. While a lot of details are still hazy as a result of a systematic attempt by … Continue reading Turmoil Erupts in Tibet
Maoists Join Nepal Government
by Wayne S. Rossi / July 2006 issue of Socialist Action newspaper Following the massive and valiant popular stand that forced Nepal's king to reinstate parliament and lose most of his authority, as reported in the June issue of Socialist Action, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has come to an agreement with the Seven-Party … Continue reading Maoists Join Nepal Government
The Push to Privatize Hong Kong
by Jennifer Vincent 200 thousand squatters, known as Hong Kong’s “floating poor,” reside atop forty thousand skyscrapers in filthy, cramped, shacks (many times 2 or 3 stories high). They pay on average $1,000 HK dollars or about $100 US for these dwellings a month. There is little to no privacy or security. The thin walls … Continue reading The Push to Privatize Hong Kong
Unemployment Growing in China
By ZHANG KAI HONG KONG-Since China embarked on the road for capitalism, enterprises with profit-making as their main concern have been laying off workers for cost-effectiveness. With China entering into global competition after accession to WTO, readjustments, bankruptcies and mergings of enterprises will accelerate; the post Sept. 11 impact on China's exports also added to … Continue reading Unemployment Growing in China
Chinese Workers Protest Layoffs
By GERRY FOLEY Since China, unlike Russia and Eastern Europe, is still a predominately rural country, the effects of the ruling bureaucracy's turn toward restoring capitalism have not been so obvious. But for the industrial sector, they are basically the same. The first effect is massive layoffs of workers in the big industries built up … Continue reading Chinese Workers Protest Layoffs
Editorials
Editorials Chinese Communist Party to include capitalists Taking the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, on July 1 the CP general secretary and president of the country, Jiang Zemin, called for welcoming capitalists into the party's ranks. It was a logical corollary of the policy of restoring capitalism and of … Continue reading Editorials
Indonesian Gov’t Veers Rightward; Steps up Military Attacks in Aceh
As we go to press, Indonesia has plunged into a new political crisis. The legislature has begun impreachment proceedings against the president, Abdul Rahman Wahid. In response, he has called his supporters into the street to demonstrate on his behalf and even threatened civil war and the breakup of the country if he is removed. … Continue reading Indonesian Gov’t Veers Rightward; Steps up Military Attacks in Aceh
The Destruction, Resurrection, and Eclipse of Japan
By PAUL SIEGEL John W. Dower's "Embracing Defeat" won the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award for 1999 non-fiction. These prizes were richly deserved. "Embracing Defeat" explains much about what has made present-day Japan what it is-and indeed, although Dower does not explicitly draw such conclusions, about what has made the contemporary world what … Continue reading The Destruction, Resurrection, and Eclipse of Japan
Indonesia Masks Repression with Facade of ‘Democracy’
By GERRY FOLEY With the Chechen capital of Grozny reduced to ruins, inhabited only by a destitute remnant of its population, the champions of Russian "power" can now begin to total up the results of their campaign. One result will be an enduring hatred on the part of the Chechen people. This savage slaughter renews … Continue reading Indonesia Masks Repression with Facade of ‘Democracy’
China Trade: The Yellow Peril?
By CHARLES WALKER Some commentators are saying that the Seattle anti-WTO demonstrations have ensured that foreign trade will be a weighty political issue in the run up to next year's presidential election. But even before the Seattle actions, organized labor intended to campaign against the U.S. Congress granting China the same access to the U.S. … Continue reading China Trade: The Yellow Peril?
Religious Struggle Highlights Crisis in Indonesia’s New Regime
By GERRY FOLEY Clashes between Christians and Muslims in the Moluccas, a chain of a thousand islands in the east of the Indonesian archipelago, have grown into another major crisis for the post-dictatorship regime. In the recent flareup that began on Dec. 27, reportedly around 300 people have been killed. Over the past year about … Continue reading Religious Struggle Highlights Crisis in Indonesia’s New Regime
Separatist Movement Destabilizes Indonesian Government
In October, a new Indonesian government was installed in an attempt to put a democratic face on continued neocolonialist rule. Now the stability of the new government is already being threatened by a powerful rise of movements for self-government among various peoples of the diverse island country. These areas were pockets of chronic discontent compressed … Continue reading Separatist Movement Destabilizes Indonesian Government
Indonesian Neocolonialism Puts on a New Face
By GERRY FOLEY In the face of angry demonstrations by students, supported by the poor masses of Jakarta, the Indonesian capitalist class has fallen back to a new line of political defense. The party of the military dictatorship, Golkar, decided on Oct. 20 to put a moderate Muslim divine, Abdurrahman Wahid, known as Gus … Continue reading Indonesian Neocolonialism Puts on a New Face
CHINA: 50th Anniversary
By ZHANG KAI It is half a century since the Chinese revolution scored a victory and the People's Republic of China was set up, and with the changes in the relations of production and in class relations, the economy acquired possibilities for rapid growth. According to official statistics, China's GDP rose from 67.9 billion … Continue reading CHINA: 50th Anniversary
Military Shoots Protesters in Streets of Jakarta
By GERRY FOLEY The Indonesian government and military have suffered their third major defeat in the last two years at the hands of student protesters with broad support among the population of the country's main city, Jakarta. The fighting in Jakarta Sept. 23-24 revived the image of a country gripped by a revolutionary crisis, … Continue reading Military Shoots Protesters in Streets of Jakarta
US Urges Japan to Rearm
By NAT WEINSTEIN In a brazen Aug. 26 New York Times editorial titled, "Japan Discovers Defense," this very influential voice of American imperialism tells Japan it must break with its post-World War II rejection of militarism and serve as window-dressing for a U.S.-led NATO-like "peace-keeping" force in Asia. The editors take care to express satisfaction with … Continue reading US Urges Japan to Rearm
East Timorese Defy Violence
As we go to press on Aug. 30, hundreds of thousands of residents of East Timor have cast their votes in a UN-supervised referendum for independence from Indonesia. Reports indicate that over 90 percent of registered voters went to the polls-in strong defiance of the pro-Indonesian militias. These death squads killed dozens of independence supporters … Continue reading East Timorese Defy Violence
U.S. Imperialism Targets China
By NAT WEINSTEIN The most important single event that crashed onto the center stage of world politics last month was the bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade. How does that bizarre incident-which the U.S. bipartisan capitalist government is finding so hard to explain-fit into the total picture of the U.S.-NATO war on Yugoslavia? U.S. … Continue reading U.S. Imperialism Targets China
Political Tensions Rise in Indonesia
By GERRY FOLEY As Indonesia approaches the June general elections that are designed to restabilize the country politically, it is evident that the situation remains explosive. In two areas where the post-New Order government has offered concessions, East Timor and Aceh on the island of Sumatra, there have been new massacres. Paramilitary forces began a … Continue reading Political Tensions Rise in Indonesia
Socialist Action’s World Resolution: A Contribution to a Discussion – Ex-USSR & China
Ex-USSR & China The road to capitalist restoration in the degenerating workers' states of Europe and Asia is more difficult than anyone expected. The world's capitalists acknowledge that these states have a long way to go before their economies are truly market-driven; that is, capitalist. While they have all made varying degrees of "progress" toward … Continue reading Socialist Action’s World Resolution: A Contribution to a Discussion – Ex-USSR & China