South Korea | The View from Taiwan

Entries for the ‘South Korea’ Category

What is the East Asian Growth Model?

Oct.18, 2007 in Asia, China, East Asia, Japan, Korea, South Korea, economics, political economy

A recent posting on the excellent China briefing blog on whether China’s growth has/will hit a glass ceiling reminds me of another debate still in its opening stages: How will China’s growth be refracted through the debates over East Asian growth?
China’s growth trajectory might, on the surface, appear to be similar to that of South [...]

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Korea-US FTA on the rocks

Sep.22, 2007 in South Korea, US, economy

The Nelson Report, the Washington insider report, gave a short blurb on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Korea and the US:
What about KORUS? Obviously important strategically, and from a political/foreign policy standpoint…and important economically…there’s no disagreement on that.
We all know the problems alleged by the Congressional Auto Caucus.
Perhaps more difficult to overcome will be [...]

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Bush Resignations Affect Korean FTA, Taiwan

Aug.29, 2007 in South Korea, economy

While most of the attention in Washington has focused on the resignation of that hopeless and venal incompetent, Attorney General Gonzalez, there was another resignation recently that affects Taiwan indirectly. The Nelson Report noted:
All this by way of saying there were two resignations today which will resonate, one you all know about (Atty. Gen. Gonzalez) [...]

The Grass is Greener: Taiwan and Korea

Jul.09, 2007 in South Korea, economy

From Korea comes a piece on Taiwan’s dynamic OEM makers and their world-class technology:
But take apart an iPhone or an iPod and inside you’ll find some unfamiliar names, like Hon Hai, Quanta, and Inventec. These are Taiwanese companies that provide outsourced manufacturing for other companies instead of producing goods with their own brand names. The [...]

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IHT: Taiwan Refuses Olympic Torch

Apr.27, 2007 in China, North Korea, Olympics, South Korea, Vietnam

It’s all over the news, so go see it for yourself: Taiwan has become the first nation to ever refuse the Olympic Torch:
Within hours of Beijing’s announcement Thursday of what would be the longest torch relay in Olympic history — a 137,000-kilometer (85,000-mile), 130-day route that would cross five continents and scale Mount Everest — [...]

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North Korea as future ally of US?

Apr.21, 2007 in China, North Korea, South Korea, US foreign policy

My friend John alerted me to this interview on NPR with New Mexico governor Bill Richardson on his recent trip to North Korea. The money quote:
Does the U.S. at this point approach North Korea from a weakened state since that country knows full well that this country’s military is stretched rather thin?
Well, they know that [...]

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East Asia and Global Security

Mar.29, 2007 in China, Japan, Peking Duck, South Korea, Taiwan Relations Act, Taiwan independence, US

Two articles on global security and East Asia crossed my path this week. The first is from Japan Focus, and discusses the emerging alliance structure aimed at China that is growing now in Northeast Asia.
Secondly, by explicitly “affirming the common strategic interests and security benefits embodied in their respective alliance relationships with the United States, [...]

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East Asian, Popular Democracy, and Military Strategy Changes

Feb.23, 2007 in Asia, East Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, US, US foreign policy

Posted to H-Asia, an article on the way popular democracy affects US military strategy. It’s mostly about South Korea. Of course, if the US wanted to establish a massive base on Taiwan, I suspect most people would be absolutely delighted, except for the pro-China crowd:
According to conventional wisdom, the Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA) and [...]

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