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SEPTEMBER 8 , 2000 VOL. 26 NO. 35 | SEARCH ASIAWEEK


Letters
The Mouth Aside: 'The public loves it when governor of Tokyo Ishihara Shintaro blasts the central government. Now if only he could learn to be sensitive about Japan's Asian neighbors.' — ASIA'S BEST [Aug. 18-25]

Your Aug.18-25 COVER STORY, "Asia's Best," is the best report I've seen on Asia's past 25 years. Meaningful and a very attractive issue. It made me look back and look forward.
Seow Wai Kee
Hong Kong

I am shocked that you chose Tokyo governor Ishihara Shintaro as "The Best Local Administrator" [GOVERNANCE]. Don't tell me that being of this status has nothing to do with politics and human rights, or with tolerance or values that people generally cherish. Being good in economic management is not sufficient. Adolf Hitler helped bring Germany out of the Great Depression and became popular. But his policy pushed Germany and the whole world into a bigger disaster.

It is easy to find articles written by Western journalists in the 1930s that praised Hitler's performance. Today Asiaweek's editors are doing the same thing.
Feng Zeng
via the Internet


The listing, "How Asia Is Governed," seemed haphazard. You gave China a C- for rights. Hasn't Tiananmen taught you anything? What about the continued repression of human rights activists? Every right that a Chinese citizen has is given to him or her by the Communist government and can be taken away at any time. Including the right to life. China gets an F.

And how does Japan get a B+ for its anti-corruption rating? There are pervasive favors and counter-favors in business dealings in Japan. The entire system of keiretsu is completely corrupt — it defeats any idea of transparency. Sorry, Japan gets a C. You give Hong Kong the same anti-corruption rating as Japan. I disagree vehemently. Hong Kong still has the best business climate in all of Asia. It gets an A.

As for Taiwan, which you gave a C+, the Kuomintang and its "black gold" are out of power. Taiwan gets a B. Taiwan is a shining example of democracy. Japan can make great cars and electronics, but it can't make democracy truly work.
Andy Hsiung
Santa Monica, California


I was dismayed by your greatly exaggerated comments on law and order in Pakistan, including that in some places mobs hold the reins. This is outright misreporting or your reporter might have been thinking of Colombia. We have a civilized society with one of the lowest crime rates in Asia.
Arif Zaki
Rawalpindi


While democracy in the Philippines may be imperfect, to say the least, we have no reason at all to doubt it, notwithstanding your negative perception of President Joseph Estrada ["The Best Reasons to Doubt Democracy"]. In a democracy, the folly of the majority is more tolerable than the tyranny of an autocracy and the same can be corrected by the people themselves through the ballot, not by the bullet. Estrada is a consequence of a democratic process and therefore the people must respect the vote of the majority and bear with him, even as they continue to hope and pray that one day soon he will gather together his people and his allies, including buddies and cronies, and tell them: "We have been lucky, guys. Now it is time to give our country a chance."
Amay P. Ong VaNo
Cebu City


If President Abdurrahmin Wahid is bad, he is certainly better than Suharto. It was dictatorships that plunged the Philippines and Indonesia into the cesspool of corruption. On the governance of my country, not even an eighth of the 102,000 sq km of Mindanao is affected by your so-called "raging military conflict," and the South is not Muslim-dominated.
Vincent Romano
Quezon City
Philippines


I was very surprised to see the new Hong Kong airport Chek Lap Kok voted the Best in Asia and even more to read that it takes only 10 minutes to clear immigration ["Up, Up and Away"]. From my experience the only thing that has not changed from the old airport at Kai Tak is the waiting line at immigration. They are still as slow as they have always been.
Klaus Hammes
Bangkok


Lee Kuan Yew's Remarks
In "There, he's gone and said it again" [NEWSMAKERS, Sept. 1] you said that Lee Kuan Yew, in an interview with the South China Morning Post, "opined that Hong Kong people should either go into business or migrate, but avoid politics — it's a no-win situation." In his interview with the SCMP on Aug. 4, before his trip to Malaysia, Lee did not "tell" Hong Kong people what they should do. Instead, he recounted what he told a Hong Kong Chinese paper (Ming Pao), early 1990, in answering the question of whether he would be willing to be a leader of Hong Kong if he had been born in Hong Kong.
Yeong Yoon Ying
Press Secretary to Senior Minister
Singapore


JAKARTA'S 'BEST FOOD'
"Rendang" [LIFESTYLE, "Asia's Best," Aug. 18-25] was incorrectly bylined. The article was by Arif Suryobuwono.

Write to Asiaweek at mail@web.asiaweek.com

This edition's table of contents | Asiaweek.com Home

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   LATEST HEADLINES:

WASHINGTON
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MANILA
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ALLAHABAD
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COLOMBO
Land mine explosion kills 11 Sri Lankan soldiers

TOKYO
Japan claims StarLink found in U.S. corn sample

BANGKOK
Thai party announces first coalition partner



TIME:

COVER: President Joseph Estrada gives in to the chanting crowds on the streets of Manila and agrees to make room for his Vice President

THAILAND: Twin teenage warriors turn themselves in to Bangkok officials

CHINA: Despite official vilification, hip Chinese dig Lamaist culture

PHOTO ESSAY: Estrada Calls Snap Election

WEB-ONLY INTERVIEW: Jimmy Lai on feeling lucky -- and why he's committed to the island state



ASIAWEEK:

COVER: The DoCoMo generation - Japan's leading mobile phone company goes global

Bandwidth Boom: Racing to wire - how underseas cable systems may yet fall short

TAIWAN: Party intrigues add to Chen Shui-bian's woes

JAPAN: Japan's ruling party crushes a rebel ì at a cost

SINGAPORE: Singaporeans need to have more babies. But success breeds selfishness


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  ASIAWEEK'S LATEST
Web-only Exclusives
November 30, 2000

From Our Correspondent: Hirohito and the War
A conversation with biographer Herbert Bix

From Our Correspondent: A Rough Road Ahead
Bad news for the Philippines - and some others

From Our Correspondent: Making Enemies
Indonesia needs friends. So why is it picking fights?


  THIS EDITION

COVER: Faster, Higher, Stronger . . . Richer
Money interests are set to compete against pure amateurism at the Sydney Olympics

MEDAL PROSPECTS BY NATION: Taiwan | South Korea | Japan | Singapore | Hong Kong | Indonesia | Malaysia | China | Thailand | Philippines


Net Olympics: A prudent IOC bans webcasts, disappoints fans

THE NATIONS
Myanmar: The regime's real nightmare — Yangon's disgruntled "young-Turk" officers

Indonesia: Wahid, Megawati and the new cabinet

Philippines: How the big ransom money will change little Jolo

Malaysia: The pressure on PM Mahathir continues to grow

Hong Kong: A political scandal grips the public ahead of the Special Administrative Region's Legco election
Pollgate: Did Chief Executive Tung interfere or not? Newsmakers: Lee Kuan Yew tells it how it is

Viewpoint: Hugs, smiles only start Korea's peace process

ARTS AND SCIENCES
People: The starlet and the Abu Sayyaf guerrillas

Cinema: Cameras turn on Chinese film's maverick Aussie

Music: Family ties that are a hit in Vietnam

Books: Life and political upheaval along the mighty Mekong

BUSINESS
Hutchison: Li Ka-shing stays ahead of the telecom crowd

Investing: A window of opportunity for Asian bonds

Business Buzz: The value of planning ahead

TECHNOLOGY
Computing: Can Linux defeat Windows in Asia?

The Net: India tries to solve its telecom plumbing puzzle

Cutting Edge: Nintendo gets back in the game


EDITORIALS
Heritage: Why Asia should save its architectural past

Guns: The Philippines needs to curb its loose firearms

Letters & Comment: The Best — and other opinions

STATISTICS
The Bottom Line: Asiaweek's ranking of world economies


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