The Guardian (September 4)
“With the population expected to decline dramatically in the coming decades–leaving a gaping hole in the workforce–Japan is quietly easing restrictions and accepting record numbers of migrants, mostly from Asian countries such as Vietnam, China, Indonesia and the Philippines.” Recent data shows “a jump in overseas-born residents, to an all-time high of around 3 million, almost 50% up on a decade ago.”
Tags: China, Decline, Dramatically, Easing, Indonesia, Japan, Migrants, Philippines, Population, Record numbers, Restrictions, Vietnam, Workforce
Washington Post (June 22)
“America’s Asian allies are quietly joining forces to confront China.” Beijing may want “to split off Asian allies from the United States and each other, but its actions are pushing them together.” Amid perceived threats from China, “mini-laterals” have been cropping up, including the very first meeting of JAROPUS, which brought together “national security advisers from Japan, the Republic of the Philippines and the United States.”
Tags: Actions, Asian allies, Beijing, China, Confront, Japan, JAROPUS, Joining forces, National security advisers, Philippines, U.S.
Washington Post (September 27)
“In the case of Ukraine, the president is accused of using the awesome power of the United States…to serve his personal political gain. Sadly, this is part of a pattern of violations of democratic norms.” While “Trump is a particularly egregious example” he fits a “global trend” of misbehavior that extends to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
Tags: Democratic, Duterte, Egregious, Erdogan, Hungary, India, Johnson, Misbehavior, Modi, Norms, Orbán, Philippines, PM, Political gain, Power, Trump, Turkey, U.S., UK, Ukraine, Violations
New York Times (March 4)
“There can be little doubt now.” President Donald Trump “truly sees no danger in Mr. Xi’s ‘great’ decision to extend his own rule until death. That craven reaction is in line with Mr. Trump’s consistent support and even admiration for men ruling with increasing brutal and autocratic methods—Vladimir Putin of Russia, Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, to name a few.”
Tags: Admiration, Autocratic, Brutal, China, Duterte, Erdogan, Philippines, Putin, Rule, Russia, Trump, Turkey, U.S., Xi
CNN (May 2)
President Trump said “that he would be ‘honored’ to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un under the right circumstances, the latest in a series of odd moves that suggest Trump may still not grasp the power and signal-sending of such a gathering.” Meeting with Kim Jong Un, the Philippines’ Duterte or other dictators creates the wrong optics. “The visuals are all to the good for these men. It puts them on equal footing with the leader of the most powerful nation in the world…. It’s odd that someone as image conscious as Trump doesn’t get that.”
Tags: Dictator, Duterte, Image conscious, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Optics, Philippines, Trump
Bloomberg (November 2)
“The last time the Philippine peso neared 50 to the dollar, the global financial system was melting down and the central bank raised interest rates to defend it. This time, it has been driven by the president cursing his trading partners.”
Tags: Central bank, Dollar, Interest rates, Melt down, Peso, Philippines, President, Trading partners
Chicago Tribune (October 9)
While “most of the world has remained silent,” Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has engaged in sweeping genocide. “Nearly 3,000 people have already been gunned down, either by police or vigilante death squads, encouraged by Duterte, who has promised immunity.” Another 600,000 are “now caged in hideously crowded prisons that already look like concentration camps.” This may be “the logical conclusion of the brutal rhetoric of the drug war,” but “history shows that such dehumanization doesn’t stop crime or drug use — it simply enables it.”
Tags: Concentration camps, Crime, Dehumanization, Drug war, Drugs, Duterte, Genocide, Immunity, Philippines, Prison, Silent, Vigilante death squads
Washington Post (July 12)
“China is increasingly asserting itself as a great power, and nowhere is its rise more likely to lead to war than in the South China Sea” where tensions have been rising with nations who dispute China’s claims. “These tensions are likely only to increase in the wake of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling Tuesday undermining China’s claims and bolstering those of the Philippines, one of the closest U.S. allies in the region.” We have not escaped from “perilous waters.” In fact, “China is more prepared for a confrontation than Western experts may expect.”
Tags: Allies, China, Claims, Confrontation, Dispute, Perilous, Philippines, South China Sea, Tensions, U.S., War
Euromoney (April Issue)
“Blackouts have become so widespread on the island of Mindanao that social-media users have taken to calling the energy secretary the secretary of darkness.” This highlights the need for infrastructure, not just in the Philippines, but throughout much of ASEAN where the Asian Development Bank (ADB) estimates “infrastructure projects will require sustained annual investment of approximately $60 billion a year to 2020.” Banking giant HSBC believes “demand in Asia as a whole might reach $11.5 trillion by 2030.”
Tags: ADB, Asean, Asia, Blackouts, Energy, Infrastructure, Investment, Mindanao, Philippines, Social media, Widespread
The Economist (June 23)
Business-process outsourcing (BPO) has been a boon for the Philippines. “Today the sector employs 638,000 people and enjoys revenues of $11 billion, about 5% of the country’s GDP. Last year the Philippines even overtook India, long the biggest call-centre operator in the world, in ‘voice-related services.’ The country now employs about 400,000 people at call centres, India only 350,000.” And the Philippines predicts that the number of BPO jobs could grow to over 1.3 million by 2016, with revenues of $25 billion.
Business-process outsourcing (BPO) has been a boon for the Philippines. “Today the sector employs 638,000 people and enjoys revenues of $11 billion, about 5% of the country’s GDP. Last year the Philippines even overtook India, long the biggest call-centre operator in the world, in ‘voice-related services.’ The country now employs about 400,000 people at call centres, India only 350,000.” And the Philippines predicts that the number of BPO jobs could grow to over 1.3 million by 2016, with revenues of $25 billion.
Tags: BPO, Call-centres, GDP, India, Philippines
