South Korea on Edge After Ex-President's Suicide

The New York Times

Published: May 24, 2009

By CHOE SANG-HUN

Thousands of South Koreans flocked to central Seoul on Sunday to pay their respects to former President Roh Moo-hyun, who had committed suicde Saturday.

Former president Roh Moo-hyun was recognized as a clean politician while in office(2003 ~ 2008) and was highly respected as a leader to end the recent decades' tarnished history of South Korean presidents having been charged of corropution for receiving grafts from conglomerates.

After the retirement, Mr. Roh faced corruption charges for receiving $6 million from a businessman. The amount is minor compared with those that have been received by some of his predecessors, who had collected massive sums from the nation's top conglomerates. However, prosecutors aggressively hounded Mr. Roh and leaked details of their investigations to the media without any solid evidence although Mr. Roh denied receiving money. As well, the preosecutors went after Mr. Roh's family members; Mr. Roh's wife, Kwon Yang-sook, had been summoned for questioning for a second time on the day he committed suicide. He left a suicide note which was his last comment on his bribery scandal that tarnished his legacy as an upstanding political leader, "Life and death are all parts of nature. Don't be sorry. Don't blame anyone. Accept it as fate."

 

His suicide aroused political divide. This division is considered serious as it came in the time when President Lee Myung-bak has been criticized for the authoritive government that is Many people accused prosecutors of taking orders from whoever is in power. People believed that Mr. Roh was the victim of political vendetta from his successor President Lee Myung-bak as there has been a long His supporters trampled President Lee Myung-bak's. Moon Chung-in, a political student at Yonsei University in Seoul and former adviser to Mr. Roh, said, "the prosecutors have become the most omnipotent force in Korean society today. Their strength is a legacy of dictatorship that still affects us." 

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the government and Mr. Roh's family decided to hold a state "people's funeral" Friday.

Opinion: I am saddened that former President committed suicide. As a citizen of Korea, I pay my respect to him. However, I think I have to be rational in choosing my mind between two ideas that are currently dominant in Korea. According to my parents and my friends in Korea, his suicide has brought the nation into chaos. Many people believe that former president Roh is a victim of political vendetta and is innocent. On the other hand, although it can be seen rude to the dead, others believe that people are just being irational because of his death and somehow ignored the fact that he is a guilty man. Many also believe that the prosecutor is a highly controlled organization of Blue House and the press was also controlled to disclose all the flaws of Mr. Roh during the investigations, putting him to a life-and-death situation. To be honest, I have been really oblivious of how politics are going in my own country. But through this event I read alot of related articles and learned the dark truths about Korea's politics such as conspiracy, controlled press, effects of past dictatorship in Korea society, etc. I felt really embarrassed and confused. I didn't like how Korean people lose rationals easily and become one-sided. The lack of rationals appears in people protesting for impeachment of current President Lee Myung-bak without any evidence of President controlling the prosecutors and the press. Although they may be right, they have to take a series of investigations before they take a side. What I am really disappointed at this Korean society is how there seems to be no truthful source where I can get balanced opinion, or I might have just lost trust in them. Although former President Roh was guilty of receiving bribe, I believe he significantly contributed to remove corruption in society. Therefore, although he is gone now, I wish I could be the one who can establish a society free of dishonesty.

Arms Sent by U.S. May Be Falling Into Taliban Hands

The New York Times

Published: May 19, 2009

By C. J. CHIVERS

Insurgents in Afghanista are located in the poorest and most remote regions on earth where it is virtually impossible to provide themselves with supplies such as munitions. On the other hand, American and Afghanistan forces are materially superior. Thus, there has been questions posed on how insurgents in Afghanistan have managed for years to maintain their forces against American and Afghanistan forces under such a condition.

An examination of ammunition markings by The New York Times and interviews with American officers and arms dealers hint at one possible reason. The examination reveals that military supplies provided by the United States to American and Afghanistan forces have been found in dead insurgents. At least 17 of 30 rifle magzines collected from dead bodies were idenfied to be identical to ammunition the United States had provided to Afghan government forces. This is a strong hint that munitions procured by the U.S Defense Department have been used against American troops due to poor discipline and corruption among Afghan forces.

Military officials, arms analysts and dealers said that it is not enough for spotty American and Afghan controls to take control of the vast inventory of weapons and ammunition sent to Afghanistan during the conflict. 

The United States has been criticized by the federal Government Accountability Office for failing to take responsibility for thousands of rifles issued to Afghan security. In response to the criticism, the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan admitted that it is difficult to keep track of ammunition that are more liquid than firearms. The reasons include limited resources and institutional memory of issued arms. As well, absence of collaboration between field units and the investigators and supervisors in Kabul is also a reason that makes the tracing work difficult.

Military officers said that it is not easy to figure out whether the Afghan government is a significant Taliban supplier or not. Mr. Beven has documented ammunition diversion in Kenya, Uganda, and Sudan. He said that soldiers or police officers might have sold ammunition. The American military's Capt. James C. Howell was not surprised to learn the possibility that theft or corruption could have steered Wolf and Czech ammunition to insurgents. He also added that this has been resulted from causes such as poor discipline and oversight in the Afghan national security forces (A.N.S.F).

The deputy commander of the transition command General Ierardi said, "the emphasis from our perspective is on accountability of all logistics property." He said that leakage of supplied armaments is the worst-case scenario: "we want to guard against the exact scenario you laid out."

Opinion: This article points out what has always been considered as one of the most serious problems in Afghanistan: leakage of the munition in Afghanistan. The leakage of supplied armaments is giving Taliban more chances to resist the U.S and Afghanistan forces. It is shocking that our men are being killed by what we have produced. The leakage of supplies should be addressed as soon as possible because Taliban might start developing their own arms based on the structure and designs of the U.S. arms. Taliban is arguably the most ferocious terrorist organization on earth and such a development of weapons of destruction could bring about a horrible consequence where many people lose their lives and possibly Taliban takes control of Afghanistan once again. The United States Military has investigated the routes how Taliban forces are supplied with U.S-supplied munition. From the investigation, they learned that it is practically not possible for spotty U.S and Afghanistan forces to take control of such a vast region of Afghanistan. As well, poor disciplined and corrupt Afghanistan forces are also accused for leaking the munition to Taliban. In order to prevent this from happening again, the United States should come up with a set of rules to apply on Afghanistan forces. As well, I believe it is really necessary to investigate whether the Afghanistan government is behind Taliban forces as the collective effort of the United States and Afghanistan is required to remove such a terrorist organization.

India's Path to Economic Reform Reaches a Fork

The New York Times

Published: May 13, 2009

By VIKAS BAJAJ

In India, independence, land reform, a green revolution and bank nationalization are recognized as the governing Congress Party’s achievements over last 60 years.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is the main opposition party to the current Congress Party that is promising to provide the struggling diamond industry with subsidies and to protect the farmland from excessive reforms, “dubious industrial projects”.

Amid the global economic downturn, India’s traditional socialist-style self-sufficiency is becoming more and more captivating to many people in the West. However, Indians are still indifferent about the openness and dynamism as they consider their outdated policies, that insulated India from the rest of the world, as a factor that enabled the country’s fast and tremendous economic growth of the past 15 years.

Regardless of which party comes to power in voting that ended on Wednesday, the next stage of Indian reforms will be controversial.

A decade of high growth and increasing prosperity has created beliefs among many people in the political class that it is not necessary to seek for openness to investment, fewer state-owned companies, or greater deregulation of the private sector. Regarding banks, whose 70 percent of shares are held by the government, Sonia Gandhi, the Congress Party’s president, said that the nationalization of banks has “given our economy the stability and resilience we are now witnessing in the face of the economic slowdown.” As well, he insisted to retain a majority stake in state-owned companies. Congress Party is proud of their achievements of saving India from freewheeling capitalism. Prakash Karat, a Community Party leader, said that the left-wing’s economic policies of regulating the country’s involvement in global economy has “protected our economy, national sovereignty and the interests of the people.”

On the other hand, economists and political analysts who believe the necessity of deeper reforms in India warn that the left-wing parties seem to have forgotten the time when the country struggled with slow growth and sever poverty due to the country’s policy of isolating itself from the outside world during the cold war. Raghuram G. Rajan proposed financial reforms that many people “don’t quite remember how bad it was in the ‘80s when we had tremendous amount of rationing, when it took years to get a car, when it took years to get a phone.”

Since the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, the antipathy toward capitalist has only grown. Small parties who reflect populist demands seem to be ready to forgo liberalization and openness to foreign investors. Razeen Sally, director of the European Center for International Political Economy said, “this crisis provides cover for the Indian politicians to say we were right to be cautious.”

Meanwhile, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, an independent member of the upper house of Parliament and an entrepreneur, said he was worried that the country would end up facing a new crisis if it doesn’t undertake the next series of reforms as soon as possible.

Opinion: I believe this kind of controversy between openness and closeness is what a economically developing country is destined to face. South Korea also faced the same controversy in the 1970s to 1980s when the country's economy boosted and people were discussing whether they should accept external influences or not. Korea's president Park Chung Hee imposed a policy of opening its gates to the world and learned new technologies and economic systems to further improve the nation's economy. The result of this was both advantageous and disadvantageous. Influx of foreign technologies enabled the country's industrail development and led to creation of jobs. As well, exporting goods earned a huge amount of money. On the other hand, foreign capitalists dominated Korea's economy, taking away Korean businesses' room to rise on the horizon. Considering both advantages and disadvantages, I believe it is necessary for Indian government to make a wise decision that can balance between opennes and closeness to both develop and protect its developing economy. As well, as Prakash Kara warned, it is critical to make social reforms such as establishment of reliable economic system and building infrastructure, changing labour laws, and streamlining licensing requirements. Such a social reform would benefit the nation's economy in the long run because establishment of ineffective economic system can directly lead to recession just like South Korea fell into IMF crisis after years of economic growth. With the huge population and cheap labour, India has a incredible potential to become a world power in terms of economy. For it to achieve the status in the world relations, it should answer the question of openness and closeness wisely and establish effective economic system that they can rely on in their long run.

China Observes Anniversary of Quake

The New York Times

Published: May 12, 2009

By ANDREW JACOBS

The earthquake a year ago this week killed 87,000 people Sichuan Province in China. In order to give hands to people hit by this deadly earthquake, more than a million people flocked the quake zone. The nation’s leader acted quickly upon this disaster by mobilizing 146,000 troops in a matter of days. As well, China’s biggest corporations and citizens and celebrities gave a total of over $1 billion.

President Hu Jintao said Tuesday during a commemoration, “the great task of earthquake rescue and recovery reminds us again that unity is strength, and that victory can only be gained through struggle.”

However, the government has been criticized for its opaque and authoritarian ways that are not likely to change after the disaster that cost a huge number of lives. The government controlled the press in order to prevent publishing of harmful and provoking aspects. The government blamed the wrath of nature, rather than human malfeasance, to explain why so many school buildings crumbled, causing deaths of 5,300 students.

Tang Kai, who directs the planning office for the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development said, “up until now, we haven’t found that anybody caused or did anything to make buildings more vulnerable.”

Parents of the killed students have tried to expose the instances of substandard school buildings. However, their efforts were hindered by the government who doesn’t want its reputation to be tarnished. Most parents acknowledge that the government has given them payments to shut their mouths from revealing the government’s faults.

In recent week, foreign journalists trying to interview the parents were intimidated. Ai Weiwei have been attacked and detained and found his blog postings getting deleted ever since he started a campaign to count the number of dead children in the earthquake.

One reporter said that he and his colleagues’ works to reveal compelling proof that cuts corners and inadequate oversight by local officials have been denied to publish.

As well, the government restricted the attendance of those parents to the public mourning on Tuesday as they might disrupt the commemorative events that were replete dignitaries.

Opinion: We learned in class that one of the characteristics of an authoritative government is controlling press. Controlling press means that people are not free to express their opinion. In contrast, a democratic government protects people's freedom of speech. I have heard many times that China is moving towards democracy from authoritarian. Thus, it is crucial for the chinese government to understand the importance of people's opinion and how they should respect them. The way the government dealt with the earthquake was a violation of freedom of speech. Parents who try to speak up for investigation and strict governmental regulation on school buildings have been harrassed and jailed. As well, reporters are deprived of their rights to inform people with the truth. I understand that the government is worried of social unstability angry people might cause. However, the government has to realize that organized protests are an important part of democratic society. The government has to listen to people and work on behalf of them in order to finally establish democracy in the country.    

U.S. Jobless Rate Hits 8.9%, but Pace of Losses Eases

The New York Times

Published: May 8, 2009

By PETERS S. GOODMAN

The government monthly employment report shows that the American job market still remains dreadful and is worsening, however, in a slower pace, giving hopes that the recession may be relenting. The report shows that another 539,000 jobs disappeared in April and the unemployment rate increased to 8.9 percent. However, encouraging talk is slowly rising between people as deterioration was milder than expected.

Michael T. Darda, chief economist at the research and trading firm MKM Partners said, “less bad is always a prelude to good. It’s going to take some time for this economy to get back on its feet, but we might be closer to the recession ending.”

Supporting the Treasury’s claim that American banks are healthier than many analysts had anticipated, the jobs report presented made it clear that the nation is starting to drive out of the economic downturn. Panic that settled in people minds after the bankruptcy of the prominent investment bank Lehman Brothers has alleviated. Relief, rather than panic, is becoming more dominant motif of American commercial life. Ethan Harris, one of the chiefs of United States economic research at Barclays Capital, said, “It’s a confirmation that we’re in the early stages of a turn. We’re getting further and further removed from the confidence shock of last fall.”

However, others warned that we should not forget that the economy is still in recession, but a slower one. Many emphasized that although it is a positive sign, the economy is still not regaining its vigour. Dean Baker said, “this is really horrible in any normal context. This isn’t recovery. It’s a slowing recession. In any other time other than the recession we’re in, we’d be appalled by these numbers.” In fact, the numbers for April looked promising only compared to the numbers for recent months. And this was mostly because people become more inclined to seek jobs, rather than because businesses are inclined to hire workers.

President anticipated additional two million job losses before the economy begins recovering, “we’re still in the midst of recession that was years in the making and will be months or even years in the unmaking. We should expect further job losses in the months to come.”

The government will spending money to offer training programs for workers and to activate a stimulus plan. Labour Secretary Hilda said that her department will spend $750 million to retrain workers in faster-growing areas of the economy like health care, technology and renewable energy, rather than auto industry and other areas of manufacturing. Some economists insist the government-led initiative to stimulate the economy. A $787 billion spending and tax cut package will be installed to prevent any more job losses.

Now the question is whether new job losses will be overwhelming enough to disable the benefits of the stimulus spending. Lost wages combined with drops in real estate prices would prompt banks to tighten credit again, which would slow down recovery and worsen joblessness. The next few months will test the effectiveness of Obama administration’s stimulus plan.

Opinion: It is great to hear that the pace of the jobless rate eases although it is still worsening. As some economists believe or wish, I also wish the economy finally arrives at the relenting stage. However, we have to be aware of the fact that the jobless rate looks great only by comparsion with recent months. The numbers are still appalling compared to the times when economy was doing well. Also, the jobless rate has increased because more people seek jobs, not because businesses are inclined to hire workers. This means that businesses can still not afford to pay more workers. Therefore, I believe it is most important for the government to balance out direct and indirect plans. Direct plans will support people or businesses who are struck by the economic crisis and need help to go over it. The indirect plans will establish fundamental sectors of economy such as new energy, and transportation. In order to create more jobs, the government should invest in a growing industry such as renewable energy.

Flu, Mostly Mild, Has Spread Across U.S.

The New York Times

Published: May 3, 2009

By DENISE GRADY

According to federal health officials on Sunday, swine flu has spread across the United States. 226 cases have been reported from 30 states and the number is expected to grow the next few more days.

Dr. Anne Schuchat is the interim deputy director for science and public health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She said, "I think it's circulating all over the U.S. The virus has arived. I would say, in most of the country now." She added that the most cases have been mild and cases in Mexico seem to be leveling off. However, Dr. Schuchat was still cautious, saying, "I don't think we're out of the woods yet."

Dr. Schuchat said that there were some unusual features of the virus. The virus is called H1N1 by scientists and has started infecting people when the usualy flu season is coming to the end. This virus is new, so people probably are less immune to it. Also, most of the cases appear to be occured in older children and youner adults. She said, "very few confirmed are over 50. They tend to be younger. Whether it will pan out in the weeks ahead we don't know, but it is a pattern that looks different from seasonal influenza."

She assured that scientists at the C.D.C were preparinga vaccine to protect further cases. Also, a making of vaccine to protect pigs from the H1N1 virus is also in progress.

Dr. John R. Clifford is the chief veterinary officer for animal health for the Department of Agriculture. He said that there are some cases in Canada in which pigs have contracted the virus from a human although there has been none in the United States.

The World Health Organization announced that 898 human cases of the new swin flu have been confirmed in 18 countries worldwide. On Sunday, there was a World Health Organization news teleconference to discuss the possibility of H1N1 virus passing between humans and pigs. Canadian officials reported in the gathering that pigs in Alberta have caught the virus from contact with an infected farm worker. Peter K. Ben Embarek warned of the possibility of people getting infected from the pigs they work with. He suggested that people should avoid exposing to sick animals.

Also, Dr. Ben Embarek and other health officials said that it was safe to eat properly cooked pork: "You can continue eat safely safely your prosciutto".

In the gathering, it was highlighted that the infected pigs in Canada were detected because of a policy in Alberta that requires farmers and veterinarians to report all cases of flu in pigs to the government. In contrast, the United States government do not impose such a policy that requires farmers to report flu in pigs.

Opinion: For the past few days, St. Andrew's College has installed extra sanitizer stations to reduce the possibility of students catching the swine flu. As well, in dining hall, we were joking that eating pork will infect you with the flu. First of all, I was also uncertain and worried whether or not it is safe to eat pork. So this article assured me that the flu has been mostly wild and cases in Mexico are leveling off, and that it is safe to eat pork. Second of all, As Dr. Schuchat said, this virus is new and unusual that people are more susceptible and have less resistant to it. Unfortunately, the cause of this virus hasn't been discovered. Therefore, I believe it is important for the government to make sure that vaccine is available to infected people. Also, the government should impose a policy to require farmers to report infected pigs so that this kind of influenza can be quickly prevented from spreading in the future.  

South Africans Vote, Likely for Status Quo

The New York Times

Published: April 22, 2009

By BARRY BEARAK

Starting to line up soon after midnight, by 4:30 a.m. the South African voters formed lines of thousand people long. Thomas Baloyi, 49, waited five hours to be finally able to cast his ballot. He said he did not mind the long wait because he felt a sense of involvement when he voted, 15 years ago, for the African National Congress, which led the liberation from apartheid. Mr. Baloyi said, “I am an A.N.C. man until the day I die.” The African National Congress has led the country for the past 15 years.

These huge crowds are considered typical turnouts. A record of 23 million South Africans out of 48.7 million were registered to vote. Numbers so big that many polling places ran out of paper ballots and cardboard boxes in which they get stuffed. This was the fourth national election in the young in the young democracy’s history. It will be the fourth landslide victory for the A.N.C., propelling the controversial Jacob Zuma into presidency although he has been accused of corruption by some people. The A.N.C earned more than 62 percent of the vote out of 1.5 million votes counted. This victory came when the party was facing an international bloodletting that led to diversion of some politicians off the party.

The city of Diepsloot offers evidence of the A.N.C’s continuing hold on most voters. The city is in terrible condition, without basic resources such as electricity, water and sanitation. Poverty has settled deep in the 150,000 people’s lives. Some are fortunate to have government-provided houses although many others live in shacks know as mkhukhu. However, people believe that their life condition has improved thanks to the A.N.C. Elvis Ndou, 32, who lives in the mkhukhu with his wife and children, said, “things are getting better bit by bit, and that’s because of the A.N.C.”

Also, people’s loyalty to those who sacrificed for freedom also explains why the A.N.C has continued winning the election. The A.N.C. remains the political brand who political image represents liberation. Mary Jane Tyutula, an unemployed 28-year-old, said, “I always vote A.N.C. because of Nelson Mandela and all he did for the struggle. I won’t let him down.”

On the other hand, there also were some critics about the domination of A.N.C and people’s imprudent favour for the A.N.C. Former President Thabo Mbeki expressed his concern as people seemed to vote for the A.N.C. only because of the party’s past achievement although the party has been tainted with corruption. He said, “I think the future of the country depends in part on people voting according to their conscience.”

Opinion: First of all, I am impressed how South African people gathered at the polling station at midnight to cast their ballots on the election taking place next morning. Many people here in Canada and in my country Korea seem to be indifferent of thier privilege of suffrage. However, they were in realization of the importance of voting. One of the other articles about this South African election shows an interview with a 20-year-old student. He spoke about making a difference and having their voice heard. I also agree that the right to vote is something that is extremely important and is worth waiting hours to cast my ballot. This is because that is one of many easy ways to have your voice heard and participate in democratic society where people have freedom of speech. Second of all, I think South Africa citizens should now become more thoughtful of their selection rather than voting for the African National Congress party out of thankfulness for the party's past achievement of liberation. Because the party has currently been accused of corruption, people should become more careful. Their wrong decision can easily lead to the country's fall to the political corruption. In this context, I agree with former President Thabo Mbeki that people should vote according to their judgement on conscience. In order to complete the most ideal form of government Abraham Lincoln proposed in his Gettysburg speech, people's active and conscientious participation is critical. "The government of the people, by the people, and for the people" can only be established with people's righteousness and such a government "shall not perish from the earth".