Advertisement Territorial elections were held in French Polynesia on April 16 and 30, during which more than 210,000 voters elected representatives to the 57 seats in the Assembly of French Polynesia. For the first time since 2004, the pro-independence party, the Tavini Huira’atira, won the triangular second round, accounting for 44.32 percent of the votes … Read more
Advertisement The incumbent prime minister of Mongolia, Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai took office in 2021. While the new administration was under immediate pressure to strategize a post-COVID economic recovery plan, both internal and external challenges continue to soar. The prime minister answered questions from The Diplomat’s Bolor Lkhaajav on his administration’s policies and solutions for fighting corruption, … Read more
Advertisement Twenty political parties have registered for Cambodia’s parliamentary election in July, the country’s National Election Committee (NEC) announced yesterday, though nine of them have not yet been approved, including the one opposition party of any significance. According to The Associated Press, the nine outstanding applications are still under review, including that of the Candlelight … Read more
Vietnamese Americans parading with the flag of the Republic of Vietnam during the Tết, February 8, 2008. Credit: Wikimedia Commons/DHN Advertisement Late last week, Vietnam’s government issued a complaint about the release of an Australian commemorative coin that shows the flag of the now-defunct government of South Vietnam. The incident was relatively minor, Australian media … Read more
China Power | Politics | East Asia Chief Executive John Lee’s proposal would reduce the proportion of directly elected seats in local district councils to about 20 percent, from some 90 percent currently. Advertisement Hong Kong’s leader on Tuesday stepped up a campaign to shut down further democratic challenges by unveiling plans to eliminate most directly elected seats on … Read more
Advertisement Southeast Asia’s leaders generally do not go gentle into that good night, as a poet once wrote. At 97 years old, Mahathir Mohammad hasn’t lost any of his enthusiasm for racism and political bumbling, although it could also be said that he had few mental faculties to lose in old age. Singapore’s Lee Kuan … Read more
Advertisement Thailand’s main progressive opposition party has announced that it will not join a coalition government with conservative forces after this month’s general election, which is likely to produce a fractured parliament. Speaking during a party rally in Samut Sakhon on Monday, Piyabutr Saengkanokkul of the Move Forward Party (MFP) said that the party would … Read more
ASEAN Beat | Politics | Southeast Asia Anousa “Jack” Luangsuphom was shot twice by an unidentified gunman in a Vientiane coffee shop on April 29. An image of Anousa “Jack” Luangsuphom posted on Facebook by friends and supporters following his killing in Vientiane on April 29, 2023. Credit: Facebook/Joseph Akaravong Advertisement The U.S.-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) … Read more
Advertisement Against the backdrop of a looming debt default, the U.S. House passed the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, a Republican-led bill proposing to raise the country’s borrowing limit. The 217-215 party-line vote suggests the partisan nature of the bill, the purpose of which is to jump-start negotiations with President Joe Biden and his … Read more
Released prisoners on a bus leave from Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar Wednesday, May 3, 2023. Credit: AP Photo/Thein Zaw Advertisement Myanmar’s military authorities have pardoned more than 2,000 people locked up under a law that makes it illegal to encourage dissent against the military. In a junta statement cited by Agence France-Presse, the military … Read more