After Tsunami, Cherry Blossom Signals Japan's Rebirth

After such devastation hit Japan with the Tsunamis the miracle of the Cherry Blossoms is whispering hope to the beaten down people. Many have lost not only all material possessions, but also their friends an family. Thus, the Cherry blossom is becoming the symbol for hope in the nation. One woman said "“ Every year that the trees bloom, they will give us courage to keep going, They blossom as they watch over this town. They saw the tsunami. They see everything. I want to tell the bloom, 'Keep watching us. We’ll revive.'” I view that as one of the tender mercies by our Heavenly Father that no matter where or when, he provides a little bit of beauty in every situation to remind us that things are not as bad as they may seem.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/arts/After-Tsunami-Cherry-Blossom-Signals-Japans-Rebirth--145969175.html

Lauren Neeleman

Factories in China Plan to Raise the Bar

Due to criticism by the public an shortage of people willing to work for the factories, Apple and Foxconn plan to make life easier for their assembly workers. Workers currently have more choices than factory owners and so they are able to sift through the jobs that do not seem enjoyable. Contrary to their ancestors, the youth of today in China not only look for jobs to send money home to their families, but they also care about quality of life. Those against the plan argue thatthe wages of assembly workers have already increased an average of 15% a year since 2005, and the government has pledged to double minimum wages so this isn't necessary.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17584523

Lauren Neeleman

Oil and Wage Connection

In Cambodia the price of fuel has been continuously increasing, which has resulted in an increase in wages.  They are expecting the the minimum wage will continue to increase by about 40%. Also they are experiencing inflation in the country.  This was interesting for me to read because it is valuable to learn how oil, wages and inflation are connected. Also it is good to understand how they affect countries.

Kimberly Young
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-03/thai-inflation-quickens-first-time-in-five-months-on-oil

Extra precautions

In Japan, the government is trying to take extra precautions to prepare for national disasters since the tsunami.  They are especially checking nuclear power plants because of the great safety risk associated with nuclear technology.  The prime minister actually shut down the Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka because it wasn't safe enough to withstand another tsunami.  This was interesting to me because it is good to see countries learn from disasters and work on prevention in the future. 


Kimberly Young
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-03/japan-asks-chubu-electric-to-reassess-safety-of-hamaoka-plant

Tensions Remain After Hong Kong Election

This article expresses concerns about the political tensions going on in Hong Kong with the new election of Mr. Leung. I have learned another strange way of protesting in a country besides our own posters and yelling protests in America. They throw plastic disks as a sign of their disapproval. Interesting method. Hopefully the political problems about Hongkong being a democracy will be solved. There were promised one man one vote in 2007 and now don't think this will come to pass till 2017, about ten years. Also the people don't know if they can trust Mr. Leung to keep the same "one country, two systems" custom going.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/26/world/asia/after-hong-kong-election-tensions-remain.html?ref=hongkong
By Ashleigh Hefner

Hong Kong Frets Over Low Fertility Rates

March 27, 2012

This article talks about how Hong Kong would like the people to have more children.  Whereas in the past the people were limited to the number of children they were to have.  An estimate has been given that by 2030 it is predicted that a fourth of the people will be 65 and older.  To help try to increase births there is talk about helping people finacially; the amount of finanical help depends on the what number the children is in the family.  Something interesting said by someone from Hong Kong's Family Planning Association named, Paul Yip, in the article and which I also quote,  “Children belong not only to me, but also the community,... and everybody should chip in.”  This is an interesting how he talks about children.   

http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2012/03/27/hong-kong-frets-over-low-fertility-rates/
McKenzie Carpenter

Green camp fans fuel price hike

Gas prices aren’t only increasing in the United States, and Americans aren’t the only ones upset about it. CPC Corp, Taiwan just raised the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel by an average of 10.7% yesterday. This is the most extreme increase in almost four years. This decision was the result of a decision made by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Sunday to remove the cap on fuel price increases. This move led to increased tension with the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who countered by saying that the CP should have made their decision after reviewing high personnel costs and disclosing its oil purchasing contracts. These increases in fuel prices can be significant because potential increases in electricity and water costs combined with this increase could lead to more inflation. It is also frustrating to many Taiwanese because 46% of all CPC employees receive an annual salary of at least $33,900, which is pretty large in Taiwan. I found this article to be interesting because I had never thought of how other countries feel about increasing fuel prices. It expanded my appreciation of how interconnected various countries of the world really are.

3 April 2012

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2012/04/03/2003529371/1

Josh Thompson

Hong Kong Court Overturns Ruling on Domestic Workers

I thought it was interesting about this situation because usually workers are swindled out of as much money especially when they are domestics from other countries. Hong Kong is now regretting the opportunity that they had to state they were opposite and were giving more benefits, workers rights, and making sure they received at least minimum wage. Hong Kong did however rule against making domestic workers citizens even after a long time of working there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/29/world/asia/hong-kong-court-overturns-ruling-on-domestic-workers.html?_r=1&ref=hongkong
By Ashleigh Hefner

Hon Hai and Sharp: Crystal Vision

Within Taiwan there are many companies that most Americans have never heard of that are used by larger name brand companies, such as Apple, to make electronic products. Hon Hai Precision Industry, also known as Foxconn is one of these companies. Foxconn, who works for Apple making most iPads and iPhones, recently purchased 10% of Sharp, a struggling Japanese company that makes LCD display panels. This deal only further spurs the growth of Foxconn, which has experienced a 50% increase in sales growth from January to February this year compared to last year. Sharp, on the other hand, is predicted to experience a huge loss this year from January to March. It is predicted that Sharp’s revenue will fall by one-sixth, which is a loss of approximately 290 billion yen. This is significant because it demonstrates the decline of the Japanese consumer-electronics industry and the rise of China’s. I think this article is interesting because it shows how markets and countries evolve. For years Japan was such a huge electronics producer, but now they are being replaced.

31 March 2012

http://www.economist.com/node/21551499

Josh Thompson

Three deadly explosions hit Yala in southern Thailand

Three explosions went off within 10 minutes of each other today in the southern province of Thailand, Yala. This violence is believed to be the responsibility of Muslim insurgents and has been quite common in the southern-most provinces since 2004.  Since that time there have been over 4,300 killed in the region due to violent attacks.

This article was a real eye-opener to me.  I feel that we are fortunate to live in such a stable and safe country.  Though we are visiting Thailand, I'm not too worried about this type of violence, especially since we will be staying much farther north than the areas affected by the violence in the south.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-17571133

Chinese Medicine Goes Under the Microscope

April 2, 2012
In this article it talks about 4 herbs helping with side effects of chemotheorpy with those that have colon cancer.  These particular 4 herbs work together, in this article a way these herbs are referred to is as PHY906.  PHY906 showed postitive effects in an experiment with mice who had colon cancer and were given a chemotheropy drug.  This is interesting, becasue this could be nice to help the side effects of chemotheropy of individuals with colon cancer.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304177104577313821796467932.html?KEYWORDS=china
McKenzie Carpenter

The worst system, including all the others

This article talked about the process of "electing" a chief-executive for Hong Kong.  Ever since Hong Kong returned as a part of China in 1997, the Chinese government has denied the state the privilege of democratic elections.  Instead, the Hong Kong chief-executive is chosen through an electoral process, but one that is extremely flawed.  Beijing places great pressure on the voters, so the true decision of who will be the candidate elect falls squarely on the Chinese government.  This is done in order to keep order throughout the country.

I found this interesting because it so harshly condemned the current electoral system. There are clearly some massive flaws in the system, especially when examined from an American perspective.  Chinese policy changes are so conservative that I don't see the system changing anytime soon.

http://www.economist.com/node/21551482

Cambodia will now be 3 hours away from Philippines

The recent offering from Cebu Pacific to have direct flights from Cambodia to the Philippines is expected to increase both countries economies because of increased investors and tourism.  This is a great step forward for the countries, aside from the economic benefits, because the agreement came as a result from the Joint Conference for Bilateral Cooperation which hadn't been held in over ten years.  As the two countries become more in unison politically they have the opportunity to increase in trade and mutually benefit.  I think it's interesting that Cambodian government officials are excited to learn from the development of the Philippines because the Philippines don't have that advanced of an economy.

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/31477/cambodia-will-now-be-3-hours-away-from-philippines

Dallen Shakespear

Lawyer offers advice about opening individual businesses in mainland

In this article directed towards Taiwanese citizens a Chinese lawyer,Chiang Chih-chun, tried to help the public become more knowledgeable.  This year a new law has been passed allowing citizens of Taiwan to more easily obtain business licenses in mainland China, but mostly as retail operators and restaurant owners.  It isn't just easier to obtain a business license, but Taiwanese owner can now occupy more space, from 300 to 500 square meters; and employ more people, from 8 to 10.  The biggest suggestion was just doing simple, thorough market research.  Rather than going to the main, bigger markets, he suggests going after smaller markets because other established Taiwanese business people are likely to choke out the competition with pricing wars because they're more established.  With many businesses trying to penetrate the Chinese market, I'm sure all the practical knowledge is well received and many Taiwanese people are very excited to start their small businesses.

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/china-taiwan-relations/2012/04/02/336470/Lawyer-offers.htm

Dallen Shakespear

Full unclosure? As oil-and-gas exploration intensifies, so does the bickering

China is fighting for a chance to claim some islet and island by the 9-dashed lined in the South China sea.  Disputes that china has such claims brings in surrounding countries and are trying to claim it themselves as well as discourage China from getting them.  The Philippines and Vietnam do not like this idea because it is full of oil and other resources that would give China a more powerful edge in the Asian world.  But dispute about a old map and international law have been delaying the Chinese from obtaining what they really want.  I thought this was interesting because China has been such a huge topic in the world lately and if the Chinese gain control of oil they really will become a dominating powerhouse. 

Robert Ostler

http://www.economist.com/node/21551113

China, Taiwan Both Lay Claim to Jeremy Lin

China and Taiwan are having a social and traditional debate about who Jeremy Lin represents in Asia. Lin is a Taiwan resident and "Though Taiwan has de facto sovereignty, most of its population are ethnically Chinese and China continues to claim Taiwan as a part of China and has not ruled out the use of force to take the island." Both countries have caught "linsanity." According to the article, "Even Taiwan's normally staid financial analysts have gotten into the spirit: In an email, one analyst attributed the Taiwan stock-market rally early Wednesday to Mr. Lin's game-winning shot." Lin himself claims to be neutral, recognizing his Taiwanese and Chinese heritage. Although this article doesn't have a lot of business application, it was in the wsj and it shows how important one persons influence can be. Whether it's China or Taiwan, one person can become a profitable marketing campaign.


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204792404577225010369633998.html


-WEston

Sumo Wrestling Scandal - Uncovered Via Text Messaging

In Japan a routine Sumo Wrestling match took place, but a text message exchange between the two wrestlers the previous day suggests that the match was rigged — The text message sent from one wrestler to the other read as follows: “Please hit hard at the face-off, then go with the flow,” one of the wrestlers said. The other responded: “Understood,” “I’ll go with the flow and put up at least a little resistance.” This article was interesting to me because #1: Sumo Wrestling is an important cultural tradition in Japan, and #2: Sports scandals take place all over the world, not just in the U.S. I wonder if we would be able to see a Sumo Wrestling Match in Japan? Probably not, but it would be cool.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/world/asia/05sumo.html?_r=1&ref=sumowrestling

Ben Rindlisbacher