Asia Institute - Research Publications
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ItemNo Preview AvailableLearning in the Language of Cinema: A Case Study of the Impact of Humanities Subjects on Chinese International Student’s Critical Thinking Ability(Shanghai Jiao Tong University Press, 2020)Chinese students make up the largest portion of international students in Australia, yet we know relatively little about their study experience in the humanities and the impact of Australian humanities subjects on their critical thinking ability. Through a qualitative analysis of the academic performance of two cohorts of Chinese international students enrolled in two film studies subjects, this study has revealed that Chinese international students benefit considerably from an Australian-style training, as evident in their improved analytical skills and critical thinking ability. However, English proficiency remains a major challenge for them in obtaining higher scores, which they could have otherwise achieved in a native language educational environment. This study has also discovered that Chinese international students are generally adept at using multi-media tools to present and communicate ideas. Distanced from their home country, Chinese international students are more motivated to study if they feel a cultural or emotional connection with the course content. Communicating in a language that students can resonate with, be it more visual or culturally sensitive, will help both students and educators achieve better outcomes.
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ItemBold Strategy or Irrational Exuberance: Can China's Fiscal Foundation Support the Belt and Road Initiative?(Stanford University Press, 2020)This chapter examines the economic rationale and finances of the Belt and Road Initiative, a signature program in Xi Jinping's assertive foreign policy that aims to build multidimensional networks linking more than sixty countries and costing trillions of dollars. The BRI was conceived during the decade-long fiscal expansion that began at the turn of the century, and the question is whether it remains affordable under slower growth. At this stage in its development, China must manage the program prudently to avoid saddling banks with bad loans from failed projects. As ever, the decentralized system remains the Achilles' heel, reflected in the gap between official statements of expenditure and figures compiled from bank lending and program announcements. Recent fiscal reforms have strengthened the government's ability to rein in local governments but provide little protection against risks from an overly ambitious foreign policy agenda.
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ItemManaging across levels of government: The challenge of pension reform in China(OECD, 2020)The People’s Republic of China is facing a “population ageing tsunami”, with the share of the population aged over 65 expected to double between 2010 and 2030. Reforming the social security system to improve coverage, sustainability and equity is an urgent task for the government. This chapter examines the workings of the Urban Employee Scheme (UES), the main pension programme currently covering more than 400 million workers and retirees. Although nominally a national programme, the UES is a patchwork of pension pools, managed mostly at the city and county levels. Under fragmented management and weak oversight, the system is rife with underpayment and evasion and has stymied previous efforts by the central government to promote consolidation. This may finally change under top-down reforms implemented since 2013 that have strengthened governance and enforcement capacity. Improving equity and the long-term sustainability of the UES will also require extending coverage to younger migrant workers and strengthening their incentives for participation.
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ItemNo Preview AvailablePopulism in Southeast Asia: A Vehicle for Reform or a Tool for Despots?(Springer International Publishing, 2020)This chapter explains the rise of populist politics and why it takes different forms in Southeast Asia – specifically in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand. We see populism as an integral part of larger conflicts over power and wealth that accompany the advance of global capitalism. The failure of governments and elites to deal with structural crises confronting their societies provides the circumstances in which populism can emerge. Populist movements are shaped by different forces and interests operating within cross-class alliances in particular contexts. This explains why populism can sometimes be a vehicle for long-supressed popular demands for the redistribution of wealth and social justice and, elsewhere, effectively protect the interests of established oligarchies by diverting such demands into a politics of identity and culture.
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ItemOrdinary Laws and Extraordinary Crimes: Criminalising Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity in the Draft Criminal Code?(Routledge, 2020)Every Thursday since 2007, survivors of human rights violations, their family members and representatives of human rights organisations gather in front of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. After the end of authoritarianism in 1998, Indonesia witnessed many political and legal reforms. The failures of the Indonesian human rights system are perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that twenty years after the fall of authoritarianism, justice is yet to be delivered for crimes committed under the repressive regime of President Soeharto. Until legislative reform in the area of human rights took place after 1998, Indonesian law included very few provisions for the protection of human rights in general. Legal provisions criminalising serious human rights crimes were absent altogether. The proposed inclusion of gross human rights violations in the Draft Criminal Code has been mainly driven by a desire to fully codify Indonesian criminal law, rather than to improve the prosecution of serious human rights crimes.
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ItemMeaning matters: The political language of Islamic populism(Springer International Publishing, 2021-11-15)
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ItemNanotechnology in Food: Ethics, Industry Practices and Regulatory Frameworks(Walter de Gruyter GmbH, 2021)What are the ethical implications of nanomaterials in food systems, given the potential of such a material to cause harm to human health and the environment? Following an outline of relevant ethical principles, this chapter charts the current use of nanomaterials in food and what we do and do not know about the risks associated therewith. Regulatory frameworks are then examined for their ability to mitigate risks. Three recommendations are put forward. First, it is best to avoid all unnecessary food processing categorically; second, nano-processed food products should only enter the market when harmful impacts can be categorically ruled out on the basis of independent and in-depth research and where benefits are very significant; and finally, complete transparency on the use of nanomaterials and other additives is needed so that consumers can exercise individual discretion regarding their own exposure to nano-food products, even if they are safe, and the more so while any doubts remain about their safety. Overall, the trend of the largely profit-driven global food industry has been and is still toward hyper-processing - despite consistent warnings of health professions about hyper-processed food. Nanotech takes this trend to a new level. Current voluntary producer ethics do not even guarantee transparency, let alone safety, except in jurisdictions where legislation demands it. While some nanomaterials may be beneficial and safe for some applications, industry self-regulation is not viable under these circumstances. While regulations have been strengthened in some jurisdictions such as the European Union, regulators still struggle to catch up with the rapid development and application of ever-new nanotech products by the food industry. A restructure of our innovation systems is recommended so that all stakeholders are included in shaping its future direction from the start.
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ItemState of the Grain: Grain of the State: The Political - and Moral -Economy of Rice in Indonesia(Routledge, 2021)In so doing, the volume provides tools not only for understanding states’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also for judging what effects these responses are likely to have.
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ItemNo Preview AvailableDiaspora to the rescue: The role of civil society groups in helping Indians stranded by the COVID-19 pandemic(Routledge, 2021-07-23)As the novel coronavirus began to spread worldwide in early 2020, millions of people were stranded in different parts of the world because of the travel restrictions imposed by various governments and the cancellation or suspension of flights by international airlines. They included hundreds of thousands of Indian tourists, students, workers on short-term visas, and families visiting relatives in far-flung parts of the world. While the Indian government organized special flights to ferry some of them home, many were left stranded without official assistance or the means to support themselves in foreign lands. But a loosely organized network of not-for-profit organizations, run by members of the Indian diaspora, took matters into their own hands and offered to assist those in need. They raised funds, provided shelter, and collected, cooked, and delivered food to the needy, in addition to helping them in myriad other ways. This chapter contextualizes and explores the role of three civil society organizations who coordinated their efforts at local, national, and global levels to meet the needs of the stranded Indians and other South Asians. It aims to capture their initiative and social capital that transcended borders to bridge the gap in delivering services to vulnerable people.
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ItemIntroduction: Transnational Civil Society in Asia(Routledge, 2021)This chapter discusses the theoretical aspects of transnational civil society in Asia examined in the volume along with providing a succinct overview of the content chapters. The chapter first provides a definitional discussion of transnational civil society in Asia, followed by the presentation of the four key themes covered in the chapters: (1) local transformations and connections; (2) diaspora politics; (3) cross-regional initiatives and networks; and (4) global actors and influences. The chapter also poses the question of whether we are witnessing a kind of grassroots regionalization developing in the region.