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Stay
tuned: In a
special virtual event organized by Asia Society Southern
California, a distinguished group of policymakers, advocates,
journalists, authors, student leaders, and actors will come together to
discuss combating racism against Asians and Asian Americans in the wake
of the coronavirus outbreak. Participants include Rep. Ted Lieu
(D-CA), Los Angeles Mayor Eric
Garcetti, actors Tzi
Ma and Joan
Chen, and CNN political contributor Van Jones.
The event will be held on Sunday,
May 3, at 5 p.m. Los Angeles time. Learn
more here.
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CURRENT
AFFAIRS
Coronavirus:
What's the Global Economic Outlook?
It’s
difficult to understate the toll that the coronavirus has taken on the
global economy. And with the virus still infecting thousands each day —
with no effective treatment or vaccine available — predicting where
markets might go in the months and years ahead is a risky
enterprise.
To game out how COVID-19 will affect the global economy, Asia Society
Southern California convened three investment experts — Howard Marks,
Weijian Shan,
and John
Emerson — for a
conversation with journalist and former Asia Society
Southern California Executive Director Jonathan Karp.
Some key takeaways from their conversation:
- Shan
was optimistic that China’s economy, which in the first quarter of
2020 endured its first
contraction in over 40 years, would bounce back
quickly, citing encouraging data on electricity production and
consumption. “In the next quarter or two, business and the economy
will come back to normal,” he said.
- Solomon
said that the coronavirus crisis may change how companies view
sourcing and supply chains. “You’ll see companies looking at
just-in-time inventories, or whether it makes sense to bring
manufacturing closer in,” he said, adding that “trade tensions and
tariffs will not go away if Donald
Trump is no longer [the U.S.] president.”
- Marks
predicted that relatively lax quarantine restrictions in the U.S.
will not suppress the virus to the extent seen in China and that a
rekindling of the outbreak would not be a surprise. But he sounded
a more optimistic note on the long-term economic outlook. “We’re
not screwed up permanently — we’ll recover,” he said. “One
characteristic of human beings is shortness of memory. So I think
things will, over time — maybe in three or four years — go back to
the way they were.”
Image:
STR/AFP/Getty Images
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POLICY
Kim Jong
Un's Absence Reveals North Korea's Succession Problem
Kim
Jong Un’s uncharacteristic
absence at an event commemorating his grandfather Kim Il Sung’s
birthday earlier this month triggered speculation that something was
seriously wrong with the North Korean leader’s health. But even if it
turns out to be much ado about nothing, Asia Society Policy Institute
Vice President Daniel
Russel writes
in The Los Angeles
Times that the episode reveals an unsettling
truth about North Korea: The country does not have a clear plan for
succession:
Yes, [North Korea] is a resilient
monarchical regime that has managed the succession process twice. But
North Korea’s political system is a Frankenstein-like mashup of models:
It is simultaneously a hereditary monarchy, a Leninist dictatorship, a
religious cult, and a Mafia-style family racket. Its ideology requires
that the ruler must be a direct descendant of Kim Il Sung — part of the
so-called "Mount Paektu bloodline."
But,
Russel says, none of Kim Il Sung’s other descendants — notably Kim Jong
Un’s sister and brother — may be a suitable replacement. This could
lead to a dangerous power struggle in the event of the current leader’s
death:
Although North Korea has a nominal
political structure — a ruling party, a prime minister, government
institutions, a military — it would be wishful thinking to imagine the
political succession would move in a conventional or even an orderly
manner.
The implications of a North Korean
succession would extend far beyond the country’s borders.
“The combination of loose nukes and political conflict is a nightmare
scenario for the world,” writes Russel.
Read the
whole article here.
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ARTS
A Virtual
Tour of Asia Society Museum's Latest Exhibition: The Art of Impermanence
Asia
Society Museum is currently closed due to the coronavirus. But you can
still experience the museum’s latest exhibition — The Art of Impermanence:
Japanese Works from the John C. Weber Collection and Mr. and Mrs. John
D. Rockefeller 3rd Collection — from your own home in this
video tour.
Here’s more about the exhibition:
Through masterpieces of calligraphy, painting,
sculpture, ceramics, lacquers, and textiles the exhibition examines
Japan's unique and nuanced references to transience. Objects in the
exhibition span from the Jōmon period to the 20th century. From images
that depict the cycle of the four seasons and red Negoro lacquer worn
so it reveals the black lacquer beneath, to the gentle sadness evoked
in the words of wistfully written poems, the exhibition demonstrates
that much of Japan's greatest art alludes directly or indirectly to the
transient nature of life.
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CURRENT
AFFAIRS
Coronavirus
Roundup: The Situation in India and Pakistan
- The
latest
episode of the Asia
In-Depth podcast features conversations on how
COVID-19 is affecting South Asia’s two largest countries: India
and Pakistan. Asia Society Policy Institute (ASPI) Associate
Director Anubhav
Gupta speaks with Foreign Policy Managing Editor
Ravi
Agrawal and The
Hindu Pakistan correspondent Mehmal Sarfraz
about why, in spite of a relatively low number of confirmed cases,
the two countries cannot afford to be complacent.
- ASPI
Senior Fellow Puneet
Talwar discusses
India’s coronavirus outlook with Taranjit Singh Sandhu,
the country’s ambassador to the United States.
- Asia
Society Southern California presented a
panel discussion with three experts — Romain Wacziarg,
Ravi
Tilak, and Praful
Kulkarni — about the future of the U.S.-India
relationship in the era of “America First” and “India First.”
- The
New York Times cited
Asia Society’s work in facilitating the movement of
critical supplies from China to hospitals and medical workers in
need in the United States.
- A
new
ChinaFile
conversation considers how the coronavirus will affect
China’s relationship with its Asian neighbors.
- The
latest batch of cultural recommendations from the Asia Society New
York staff features films, recipes, books, and comedy specials for
you to enjoy while in quarantine. Check
it out.
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ARTS
Something
Fun: A Hamilton
Parody From China Focuses on Making Connections Through Art
There’s
a new Hamilton
in town. Well, there’s a new Hamilton
at home. Featuring
updated lyrics by the Chinese film and theatre writer Raymond Zhou, “In
Lockdown You Can Be A New Man” has a new main character — the COVID-19
virus — and a message of unity through international arts. Starring
actors from touring musical theater productions and posted on social
video platforms within China and on YouTube, the video has already
garnered millions of views.
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