Sound familiar? It's happening in China, where rapid growth has led to a shortage of workers to fill low-skill jobs. But the Chinese don't seem to be concerned. September 19, 2010 By David Pierson Los Angeles Times Reporting from Aidian, China — The illegal immigrants come seeking higher wages, steady employment and a chance at better lives for their families. They cross the border in remote stretches where there are no fences or they pay traffickers to sneak them past border guards. Then they work as maids, harvest crops or toil hunched in sweatshops. As familiar as this sounds, this is not the United States or Europe, but China, which is attracting an increasing number of undocumented workers to fill the bottom rungs of its booming economy. Tens of thousands of foreigners from Southeast Asia, North Korea and even faraway Africa are believed to be working here illegally. Among the most active areas for the furtive crossings is China's 800-mile southern borders with Vietnam, whose people are drawn by jobs in China that may pay twice as much as they do at home. "People are struggling for money in Vietnam. They look at China and think it's rich," said Anh Bang, a 23-year-old Vietnamese clothing merchant who travels legally to China several times a month but empathizes with those who enter without documents. "In China they can find a job easily and earn so much more." Labor shortages in China's export-heavy eastern coastal regions are driving demand for foreign workers. So are Chinese workers' calls for higher wages, which are cutting into employers' profits. "This is an economic phenomenon," said Zhang Wenshan, a professor of law at Guangxi University who has studied the rise of illegal workers. "It's globalization. Labor costs are increasing in China. This is hard on employers who don't necessarily need sophisticated laborers. So a lot of foreigners are motivated to come here.… It's like how many Chinese have gone to the U.S. to seek better lives." It's an unlikely reversal for a country that until recently seemed to have an endless supply of cheap labor. But rapid development and urbanization are just as quickly raising workers' expectations. Young, rural Chinese have fled the farms for cities. Factory workers are choosing to strike rather than accept minimal pay. In their wake they're leaving openings that foreign workers are eager to fill. With their numbers still relatively small and China's economy growing rapidly, illegal immigrants so far haven't been the lightning rod that they are in the United States. China has no social safety net to speak of, so there's no resentment of immigrants using public services. Still, tensions are growing. The Chinese government, historically wary of foreigners, has granted permanent residency to only a few thousand migrants in the last three decades. Sporadic roundups of illegal workers are on the rise. Friction between authorities and African merchants exploded into a riot last year in the southern city of Guangzhou after police were accused of harassment. Controlling the influx of illegal workers isn't easy, even for an authoritarian state. China shares a border with 14 countries. The nation famous for its Great Wall has virtually no fencing or barriers along this boundary, which stretches 13,670 miles through tropical forests, mountains and deserts. "Beijing will start worrying if they're not worrying already," said Demetri Papademetriou, president of the Washington-based Migration Policy Institute. "But no country that reaches the status of China's economy doesn't go through this." For many Vietnamese, the quest for the Chinese Dream often begins in border communities such as Aidian, a shabby village of 8,500 in the province of Guangxi, an under-developed region along the border with Vietnam. On a recent rainy afternoon, two young men wearing basketball jerseys sat on plastic stools on the Chinese side of the border collecting 10,000 Vietnamese dong, about 50 cents, from a steady flow of people entering from the Vietnamese side. The visitors showed no documents, even though a passport and visa are required by law. The men collecting the entrance fees declined to say whom they worked for. Wei Haiguang, a contractor whose business is just up the street from the border crossing, said corruption in the region was endemic. He said friends of his had helped guide Vietnamese workers into China at the bidding of employment agents, who pay about $30 for each laborer. Most of the foreigners are young, 17 to 20 years old. The government "won't ever be able to control the border," said Wei, a stocky 38-year-old wearing Buddhist bracelets and an ivory pendant. "There's too many small roads and passes. Besides, who else is going to work in the fields?" The job of Chinese authorities is particularly challenging here because it's tough to tell who's who. Members of the Zhuang ethnic minority group dominate parts of Guangxi and share a heritage and a distinct language with natives of northern Vietnam. Many Vietnamese also speak Cantonese, which helps them navigate the factory towns of Guangdong, where the language is the native tongue. "There's really no big difference between the Vietnamese and us," said Qin Zhongjiang, who runs a health center in Chongzuo, a city 40 miles from the border whose central bus station often serves as a pick-up point for undocumented workers. Chinese farmer Lu Qixue hires Vietnamese laborers before the autumn sugar cane harvest. For as long as five grueling months, the foreign workers put in 10-hour days thwacking sugar cane stalks with scythes. "They work slowly and we always have to train them, but we can't find enough skilled Chinese," said Lu, a rail-thin 58-year-old village chief with gravelly stubble. "If we don't hire the Vietnamese we won't be able to grow as much." A capable Chinese worker is paid about $9 a day. A Vietnamese hire gets just over $5. Lu said he has no choice but to rely on the illegal help because his three sons have no interest in working the fields. Two are contractors and one is a taxi driver. "I don't want to carry sugar cane down the mountain," said his youngest son, Lu Xinghuan, 26, who aspires to own a trucking company. "It's hard work." Labor activists said the increasing use of undocumented foreigners is undermining gains made with China's 2008 labor law regulating working hours and workplace conditions. "These [foreign] workers have no legal protection at all and are often complicit with their employers in keeping their presence out of sight of the authorities," said Geoffrey Crothall, a spokesman for China Labor Bulletin. "If they are discovered they will be sent straight back to Vietnam unless the boss pays off the police. We have seen the same situation with child labor in the past." Officially, businesses that hire undocumented aliens are fined as much as $7,352. Workers are fined $147 and face deportation. Despite the crackdowns it remains to be seen whether illegal immigration will spark much resentment among the Chinese. Zhu Guanqiao, a restaurant owner from Guangzhou, was in Guangxi province recently on his way to a vacation in Vietnam. Waiting to cross the border with his 10-year-old son, he said he sympathized with the Vietnamese workers. "Everyone has to eat," said Zhu, 38, standing near a border gate in the Chinese city of Pingxiang. "The Vietnamese are poor and their living standards are lower than ours. We're a richer country now. If they come here just to work, I think we should let them." david.pierson@latimes.com Nicole Liu and Angelina Qu in The Times' Beijing Bureau contributed to this report.
More Detail No deal for SRP chief to return
Monday, 20 September 2010 Sebastian Strangio The Phnom Penh Post THE head of the Senate has rejected a request from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party that its embattled president be allowed to return to Cambodia under renewed parliamentary immunity. In a letter, Senate President Chea Sim wrote that the body’s hands were tied due to the Kingdom’s constitutional separation of powers. “The Senate will not be able to intervene with the government in order to drop the complaints … because the complaints against HE Sam Rainsy are under the jurisdiction of the judiciary, which is separate from the legislative branch and executive branch,” said the letter, addressed to the SRP’s Acting President, Kong Korm. Chea Sim’s letter, dated Friday, came in response to a request from Kong Korm on September 11, which said the Senate had a “duty” to try to broker a political compromise that would pave the way for Sam Rainsy’s return. The SRP leader, who is in self-imposed exile in Europe, was sentenced to two years in jail after an incident in October last year in which he helped villagers uproot wooden demarcation poles near the Vietnamese border. A verdict on two more charges – brought against him after he released maps showing what he claims are Vietnamese territorial encroachments – is set to be handed down at Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Thursday. Yesterday, Sam Rainsy issued an appeal to “parliamentarians of all countries”, saying that his only crime was an “unyielding denunciation of corruption and human rights abuses” and an “unwavering defence of the people who have elected me as their representative”. Senate Secretary General Oum Sarith declined to comment yesterday, but Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said that wiping away Sam Rainsy’s charges would set a “bad precedent” for Cambodia, despite the use of such arrangements in the past. “Sam Rainsy wants to make a wave as a celebrity in the media, but he has to take the time to show that he has principles,” he said. Hang Chhaya, executive director of the Khmer Institute for Democracy, said that unlike earlier cases, where Sam Rainsy’s spats with the government were resolved through compromises, officials were showing “no real urgency” to broker his return. “I hope there will be some sign of resolution and Sam Rainsy will be able to come back,” he said. “I hope the issue can be resolved quickly.” ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY VONG SOKHENG
More Detail Thai, Cambodia Urged To Talk At US-Asean New York Summit [... but bilateral talks have led to nowhere so far]
NEW YORK, Sept 20 (Bernama) -- Thai and Cambodian leaders should hold bilateral talks for their better understanding on the sidelines of the US-Asean summit to be held in New York on September 24 without the need of a mediator, Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said. It is a good opportunity for Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to hold bilateral talks with his Cambodian counterpart Prime Minister Hun Sen to pave the way for solving problems in the future as both leaders have not talked for some time, Thai News Agency (TNA) quoted Dr Surin as saying. Dr Surin added that both leaders being interviewed by the media could lead to misunderstanding. "The two leaders will have another opportunity to meet at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Belgium next month," he said. "They should take into consideration the two countries' major problem of unclear border demarcation and that technical measures should be laid out to settle the dispute. Technology (applied) and the (question of the) watershed can be negotiable." Dr Surin also said that the two neighbouring countries should talk and rely on each other while the framework of Asean (cooperation) supports negotiations but it also depends on the resolve of both sides. He called on the two countries to first agree on a bilateral level. The US-Asean meeting in New York reflects the American interest and determination to cooperate with Asean in trade, investment, energy, environment, global warming and worldwide cultural conflicts, Dr Surin said, pointing out that Asean could be a good role model for other countries containing an internal conflict within its own community. Tensions between Thailand and Cambodia regarding the border dispute flared up after the World Heritage Committee (WHC) registered the ancient Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage site in 2008. Cambodia attempted to propose a temple management plan to the WHC, but Thailand opposed the move as a problem of the contested 4.6 sq km of land near the temple remains unsolved, leading to several military clashes along the Thai-Cambodian border.
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Military Maneuvers
Strike one Malaysia's new sub, its first, docking on Sept. 3 (Photo: Saeed Khan / AFP /getty images) Has Christmas come early to southeast Asia? That's what it must feel like to military leaders across the region, as they contemplate the bounty of an unprecedented shopping spree. Indonesia has just taken delivery of the last of six Russian fighter jets worth $300 million. Thailand has received the first of 96 Ukrainian armored personnel carriers ($125 million), with the first of six Swedish fighter jets and two other aircraft ($574 million) arriving in early 2011. Singapore will soon launch the second of two Swedish attack submarines ($128 million), while Malaysia has already spent $1 billion on two Franco-Spanish subs of its own. The acquisition of sophisticated weapons indicates two things: First, that Southeast Asian nations are more wary of each other than fraternal declarations at ASEAN meetings suggest. Second, that a region that publicly welcomes China's soft power is also quietly tooling up for the hard version. The numbers are startling. Between the periods of 2000 to 2004 and 2005 to 2009, arms imports to Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia rose by 84%, 146% and 722%, respectively, reports the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). These imports included long-range fighter jets, warships and submarines, all with advanced missile systems. "The current wave of Southeast Asian acquisitions could destabilize the region, jeopardizing decades of peace," warns SIPRI's Asia expert Siemon Wezeman. Singapore became the first Southeast Asian country to make SIPRI's list of the top 10 arms importers since the end of the Vietnam War. Its recent purchases, which include stealth frigates, reflect the vulnerability felt by a tiny island state on one of the world's busiest shipping routes. Elsewhere in the region, the arms race is driven by the rapid and secretive expansion of China's military and its claims over almost the entire South China Sea. At least six countries claim these disputed waters, which are rich in oil and minerals and have been the scene of deadly naval clashes in the past. Vietnam has made no secret of its opposition to what it calls Chinese hegemony in the South China Sea. Last December it ordered six Russian submarines in a deal worth $2 billion or more; two months later another $1 billion was spent on 12 Russian fighter jets. Malaysia might be less vocal about its China anxiety, but its decision to base its new Scorpène-class subs on the island of Borneo, with its strategic outlook over the South China Sea, speaks volumes. There are two main beneficiaries of China's muscle-flexing: The first, of course, are weapons manufacturers. The second is the U.S. Last month the U.S.S. George Washington, a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, cruised into Vietnamese waters to mark the 15th anniversary of normalization of relations between two once warring nations. It also sent a signal to Beijing that Vietnam is seeking closer military ties with the U.S., whose Defense Secretary Robert Gates visits Hanoi next month. Even as Southeast Asia seeks a modus vivendi with China because of its growing wealth and might, the region is signaling to Washington that the U.S. remains needed as a counterweight and honest broker. It's not just fear of China, however, that fuels this arms-buying spree. Southeast Asian nations also distrust one another. Thailand's relations with Burma and Cambodia are often bellicose, while a six-year-old antigovernment insurgency rages along its border with Malaysia. Another reliable source of regional tension is the hazy maritime frontier between Malaysia and Indonesia. Last month, a Malaysian police patrol boat fired warning shots before arresting three Indonesian maritime officers. Yet another reason why generals buy weapons is because they can. The military still plays a central political role in many Southeast Asian countries. The obvious example is Burma, a military dictatorship where defense spending devours perhaps a third of its gross national product. Another example is the battered democracy of Thailand. Since 2006, when the military toppled an elected government, defense spending has more than doubled to $5.5 billion. It is tempting to see this as the price the current Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, must pay to ensure his generals' loyalty. Southeast Asian nations must make arms acquisitions more transparent not only to their own people, says SIPRI's Wezeman. Vital to keeping the peace is "telling your neighbors what you have bought and where you might station it," he says. Unfortunately, most countries in the region are reluctant to articulate their defense capabilities and concerns. But then so is their biggest neighbor. The opaqueness of China's military buildup "increases the potential for misunderstanding and miscalculation," the Pentagon warned last month in its annual report to the U.S. Congress. It also increases the insecurity on which Southeast Asia's burgeoning arms trade will continue to thrive.
Without any hope left Beoung Kak residents turn to deities to help them resolve their housing problems
Boeung Kak residents put a curse on the Shukaku Company (owned by CPP Tycoon-Senator Lao Meng Khin, one of Hun Xen's crony) on 12 June 2009 (Photo: Sophorn, RFA) Boeung Kak lake residents in Phnom Penh city organized a ceremony to pray to the angels (Tevoda) and deities to help them resolve their housing problems, after their expectation on human justice became hopeless. About 50 residents of Boeung Kak, Srah Chork commune, Chamcar Mon district, Phnom Penh city, organized a ceremony on Sunday morning at the location of the land dispute, they prayed to the deities to help them after their complaints against the Shukaku, Inc. Compay sent the authorities went without receiving any answer. Mrs. Hang Seng, a Boeung Kak resident, who came to the ceremony said: “My Boeung Kak is simply flooded out! They just wanted to kick the residents out! Now, listen up, brother, we went to the city hall, they do not resolve this issue for us, and everywhere else, nobody is resolving this issue. How could they resolve this issue? After all, they are the one who set up the master plan and they are the one who sold the lands.” The residents indicated that the Shukaku Company pumped sand to fill Boeung Kak Lake and this led to flooding of the housing in that area during this entire week. The situation brought hardship on the housing dwellers and roads are also flooded leading to difficult road traffic, but local and city hall officials refused to resolve this problem.
Vietnam reviews the murder case of 2 Khmer Krom youths
Chau Net, one of the two Khmer Krom victims killed by a Viet mob in Raung Damrey (Tay Ninh) province Sunday, September 19, 2010
Scientists warn little known gibbons face immediate extinction
A cao vit gibbon, a subspecies of the eastern black crested gibbon, in the new Bangliang Cao Vit Gibbon Nature Reserve. Photo by: Zhao Chao, FFI. 
Hainan gibbon with infant. Photo by: Bill Bleisch, FFI. It's not easy to be a gibbon: although one of the most acrobatic, fast, and marvelously loud of the world's primates, the gibbon remains largely unknown to the global public and far less studied than the world's more 'popular' apes. This lack of public awareness, scientific knowledge, and, thereby, conservation funding combined with threats from habitat loss to hunting to the pet trade have pushed seven gibbon species, known as 'crested', to the edge of extinction according to scientists attending the 23rd Congress of the International Primatological Society. "The crested gibbons are the most threatened group of primates and all species require urgent attention to save them from extinction", Thomas Geissmann, gibbon expert from Zurich University and advisor with Flora and Fauna International (FFI), said in a statement Gibbons, who spend their lives in trees, have been dubbed the 'lesser apes', for while gibbons do not have a tail like other ape species—gorillas, chimps, and orangutans—they share some other characteristics with monkeys. The seven gibbon species of concern inhabit regions east of the Mekong, including Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China. The situation is bleakest for the eastern black crested gibbon. This species is not only the world's most endangered gibbon, but likely the most endangered primate. Split into two subspecies—the cao vit and the Hainan—the eastern black crested gibbon has in total just over 100 individuals surviving. Only 20 or so Hainan gibbons survive in China, while the cao vit gibbon is faring just a little better. "Current efforts by FFI appear to be turning round the fortune of the cao vit gibbon at the eleventh hour," said Paul Insua-Cao, FFI China-Indochina Primate program manager, in a statement. "FFI has been championing conservation of several of the world’s rarest gibbon species for more than a decade. The organization is working with local communities and government authorities across the range states of these gibbons to protect them and their habitat". Of the seven species of crested gibbon, three are listed by the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered, four are Endangered, and one is Vulnerable to extinction. One would be hard pressed to find another mammalian group so imperiled. In fact, two of the species—the eastern black crested gibbon and the western hoolock gibbon—appear on the world's top 25 most endangered primates list. New surveys in largely unexplored regions have found unknown populations of some gibbon species, yet the situation remains dire for many. Gibbon experts say more action is needed if these apes are to saved from extinction
Cambodia wins award from United Nations for cutting HIV/AIDS
Sep 20, 2010 DPA
Phnom Penh - The United Nations said Monday that Cambodia had won an award for the government's successes in dealing with HIV/AIDS. The Millennium Development Goals (MDG) award follows the drop in the nation's HIV prevalence from an estimated 2 per cent of adults in 1998 to a projected 0.7 per cent this year. The UN's resident coordinator in Cambodia, Douglas Broderick, attributed success in tackling the disease to strong leadership, sound policies and collaboration between government and its partners. 'The lessons learned here can be applied to accelerating the progress of those goals still facing challenges to ensure their achievement by 2015,' he said referring to other MDGs that remain off-target such as the number of women dying in childbirth. In the past decade Cambodia introduced its 100-per-cent Condom Use policy, one of a range of measures that has helped to halve HIV prevalence among pregnant women. Another measure has tripled the number of HIV-positive women who receive drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV. In 2007, just 11 per cent received medication. Last year, one-third did. The UN added that more than 90 per cent of people needing antiretroviral therapy now get the drugs they need. But UNAIDS country director Tony Lisle warned HIV was not yet beaten, and pointed out that injecting drug users remain a high-risk group. 'HIV is still a very real challenge in this country, and stigma and discrimination remain high, which creates a barrier to accessing services,' Lisle said. His comments echoed worries expressed by AIDS campaigners who have long condemned provisions in the 2008 anti-trafficking law that outlaw prostitution. Police have arrested numerous sex workers and driven many underground in the past two years, which has made it harder for health workers to reach them. Organizations providing health services for sex workers have long expressed concern that their staff risk being arrested for providing sex workers with condoms and sexual health information. The UN acknowledged that in its statement announcing the award, saying 'changes in the legal and policy environment' had hampered efforts to help those most at risk More Detail
Mu Sochua character on stage in Turkey ... while the real Mu Sochua saw her rights being trampled by the Hun Xen's regime
Mu Sochua (Photo: The Phnom Penh Post) 
In the play, titled 'Yedi' (Seven), journalist Ece Temelkuran will play Nigerian democracy defender Hafsat Abiola, while the lawyer of assassinated Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Fethiye Çetin, will play North Irish activist Inez McCormack. Füsun Demirel plays Mu Sochua, who was co-nominated in 2005 for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work against sex trafficking of women in Cambodia and neighboring Thailand.Seven women take the stage to draw attention to human rights. The theater play 'Seven' will make its Turkish premiere at Istanbul's Muammer Karaca Theater on Thursday. The play is based on interviews with seven women’s rights activists from seven different countries, and has been staged in the world since 2007 In the play, titled 'Yedi' (Seven), journalist Ece Temelkuran will play Nigerian democracy defender Hafsat Abiola, while the lawyer of assassinated Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, Fethiye Çetin, will play North Irish activist Inez McCormack. Seven human rights-sensitive women will take to the theater stage to raise awareness of the issues via the stories of seven women who struggled for human rights in society. In the play, titled “Yedi” (Seven), journalist-writer Ece Temelkuran will play Nigerian democracy defender Hafsat Abiola, while the lawyer of assassinated Armenian journalist Hırant Dink, Fethiye Çetin, will play North Irish activist Inez McCormack, who was also played by Meryl Streep last year. Other women in the play are Turkish artists Lale Mansur, Füsün Demirel, Zeynep Eronat, Belçim Bilgin Erdoğan and Şevval Sam. The play will make its Turkish premiere Thursday at 8 p.m. at the Muammer Karaca Theater. Entrance to the play is free. Swedish national theater Riksteatern’s producer Figen Solmaz said the play, which is supported by the Swedish Institute and the Swedish Consulate General, would be staged within the framework of a conference on human trafficking and women’s rights that will be held in Istanbul. “This play has been staged all around the world for a few years and we wanted Turkish people to see it, too. This is why we have chosen seven women who are sensitive to democracy and human rights,” Solmaz said. She said the seven women, famous among Turkish people, agreed with the project and gave great support to it. “Turkey is perceived by Western countries as an underdeveloped country in terms of women’s rights. The best side of this play is that it shows that women’s rights is not only a problem for underdeveloped countries, but also is a common problem for all women in the world.” Hillary Clinton, Meryl Streep played in the US “Seven,” which is based on interviews made with seven women activists from seven different countries, has been staged around the world since 2007. Hillary Clinton presented the play in the U.S. and famous actress Meryl Streep played the role of Northern Irish activist Inez McCormack. The play has been performed by the Swedish Riksteatern Theater in more than 40 venues since 2009. Activists in the play Fethiye Çetin plays Inez McCormack, who is an activist for women’s and human rights, labor, and social justice and a former president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. McCormack played a critical role in the 1998 Good Friday Peace Accords and continues to advocate for equal rights and fair labor practices for women and minorities. Belçim Bilgin Erdoğan plays Muktharan Mai, who was gang raped by four men and forced to walk home almost naked. Instead of taking the traditional Pakistani women’s route of committing suicide, Mai brought her rapists to justice, built schools to improve the condition of women, and became an advocate for education in her country. Şevval Sam plays Farida Azizi, who became an activist fighting against marginalization of women under Taliban rule in her native country. Because of threats on her life, she gained asylum and now lives in the United States with her two children and works on women's rights and peace building in Afghanistan. Füsun Demirel plays Mu Sochua, who was co-nominated in 2005 for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work against sex trafficking of women in Cambodia and neighboring Thailand. Ece Temelkuran plays Hafsat Abiola, an advocate for human rights and democracy following the murder of her activist parents. She founded the Kudirat Initiative for Democracy, which provides skills training and leadership opportunities for young women across Nigeria. Zeynep Eronat plays Marina Pisklakova-Parker, who founded one of the first hotlines for victims of domestic violence in Russia, which has since grown into the Center ANNA, part of a coalition that has provided crisis and counseling services for 100,000 Russian women. Lale Mansur plays Annabella De Leon, who has been a congresswoman since 1995 and has received death threats because of her fight against corruption and for the rights of the poor, particularly women and indigenous peoples.
ASEAN has come of age as a market and producer
Monday, Sept. 20, 2010 SENTAKU MAGAZINE Posted by The Japan Times
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is regaining its economic clout to the extent that it is now time for Japanese corporations to think about the group's 10 members not only as huge markets for their products but also as production bases. A number of factors have contributed to the recent rise of ASEAN in the regional and global economic arenas: its geopolitical advantage of being adjacent to two economic behemoths (China to the north and India to the west), benefits accruing from a series of free trade agreements it has concluded with a number of trading partners since the 1990s, a combined population of 600 million whose personal consumption is on the rise, and a slowdown of the Chinese economy, which has suffered from the rising value of the renminbi currency and steep increases in labor costs. The Asian Development Bank surprised economists and market observers alike when it predicted in July that ASEAN as a whole would achieve a robust economic growth of 6.7 percent this year, up 1.6 percentage points from the previous forecast in April. This is a remarkable figure by today's global standards, and not far behind the 9.6 percent and 8.2 percent expected of China and India, respectively. The economic growth rate for Singapore this year is estimated at 12.5 percent, Malaysia 6.8 percent, and Indonesia 6.0 percent. Even Thailand, whose economy suffered after a violent confrontation between supporters and opponents of ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra earlier this year, is likely to see 5.5 percent growth. The history of ASEAN economies has had its ups and downs. During the 1980s, many Japanese, European and American corporations started investing in ASEAN-member production facilities — a major shift from the trend of concentrating investments in South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, collectively known as newly industrialized economies. New plants were set up in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, one after another, ushering in an age of full-fledged ASEAN economic growth for the first time since its inception in 1967. Following the Plaza Accord of September 1985, which pushed up the value of the yen currency, Japan's export-oriented firms started shifting their production bases to ASEAN- member nations, thus relieving those countries, except Indonesia, of trade deficits as oil prices plummeted. The remarkable prosperity of ASEAN came to a sudden halt with the currency crisis that hit the region in the summer of 1997. One of the factors behind the crisis was that much of the huge investments in new factories had come in the form of foreign currencies from outside sources such as financial institutions in Japan, Europe and the U.S. That's because the area did not have a fully developed financial market for raising funds domestically. Although a huge increase in imports of materials and components for these new plants led to trade deficits in ASEAN countries, the value of their currencies remained high. It was the massive sale of the Thai baht by foreign funds that began the collapse of ASEAN's economy. ASEAN-member nations learned valuable lessons from the 1997 crisis. Subsequently they made it their top priority to export more than they imported to accumulate foreign exchange reserves. China at present ranks first in foreign currency reserves with $2.450 trillion; while Japan is second with $1.060 trillion, Singapore eighth, Thailand 12th and Malaysia 13th, each with more than $100 billion. These reserves have not only stabilized the regional economy but also encouraged foreign funds to invest more in the region. The current ASEAN economic boom is reflected in booming sales of vehicles and other expensive consumer products. Although the car market in the area remained somewhat sluggish in 2009, total sales came to 1.9 million vehicles, not far behind India's 2.26 million vehicles. During the first half of this year, motor vehicle sales in the six principal ASEAN nations shot up by 41 percent over the same period for the previous year (1.18 million). Some have even predicted that the number for the whole year will reach a record 2.5 million vehicles. Motorcycle sales in Indonesia during the first half of this year rose 31 percent over the same period of 2009 to 7.6 million units, prompting Honda to raise production capacity there from 3.3 million units to 4 million units a year. Yamaha went from 3 million units to 3.6 million units. Sales of flat-screen televisions, air conditioners and refrigerators throughout ASEAN were also up nearly 50 percent in the January-June period from the same period of 2009. Even though China's per capita gross domestic product has risen to $3,700, topped only by Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand among ASEAN countries, ASEAN countries still offer lower production costs than China, especially with regard to labor. ASEAN offers a large labor force, as Indonesia has a population of 237 million and the Philippines, 88 million. Particularly low wages are available in Laos and Cambodia, broadening choices for enterprises outside the region that are contemplating off-shore production. China is trying to lure factories to inland areas where wages are still low, but these areas have a transportation disadvantage. India has a young labor force, but it will probably take 10 to 15 years before India's electric power supply, roads and port facilities compare with those of ASEAN countries. Above all else, the ASEAN region is ideally situated geographically to export manufactured goods not only to the neighboring big markets of China and India but also to North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. At present, ASEAN is working with the Asian Development Bank to build a highway crossing the Indochinese Peninsula from the Vietnamese city of Da Nang on the South China Sea coast to Myanmar's port city of Mawlamyaing facing the Indian Ocean. When completed, this highway will dramatically improve the efficiency of transporting goods manufactured within ASEAN to Europe and the Middle East, since they will no longer have to go through the Strait of Malacca, long a bottleneck for Chinese exporters. It is high time that Japanese manufacturers take a fresh look at the geopolitical advantages of the ASEAN region, where people in the middle-income brackets as well as their spending are ballooning. The region offers opportunities comparable to those of China and India. This is an abridged translation of an article from the September issue of Sentaku, a monthly magazine covering Japanese political, social and economic scenes.
More Detail Global brands face growing labour militancy in Asia
Sunday, September 19, 2010 By Cat Barton (AFP)
DHAKA — Global retailers fleeing China's rising labour costs now find themselves facing growing pressure for higher wages in countries from Bangladesh to Cambodia, Vietnam, India and Indonesia. The latest sign that workers are becoming more militant in their demands for a larger share of the region's economic success came in Cambodia last week, when tens of thousands of workers went on strike. The mass protest rejecting a proposed 20 percent pay increase crippled Cambodia's export-orientated garment industry, which produces items for renowned brands including Gap, Benetton, Adidas and Puma. The strike followed a deal between the government and industry that set the minimum wage for garment and footwear staff at 61 dollars a month. Unions want a base salary of 93 dollars. "Workers are having difficulties surviving on their low wages," Kong Athit, secretary general of the Cambodian Labour Confederation, told AFP. The Cambodian action came just weeks after Bangladesh's three million garment workers, who make Western clothes for the world's lowest industrial wages, spurned an 80 percent pay hike, attacking factories and burning cars. Tens of thousands of workers who sew clothes for brands such as H&M and Tesco went on the rampage over the 3,000 taka (43 dollars) monthly minimum wage offer then staged wildcat strikes protesting a four-month delay in implementation. "It is not a living wage," said Shahidul Islam Sabug of the Garment Workers Unity Forum, which wanted 5,000 taka a month to help workers cope with sharp increases in the cost of living, including near double-digit food inflation. Earlier this month, Bangladesh said exports leapt more than 25 percent year on year in July, with manufacturers linking the jump to a shift in orders from China to the low-cost South Asian country. In China itself, workers scored major victories this year at companies such as Japanese automakers Honda and Toyota and Taiwanese IT giant Foxconn, which were all forced to hike pay in the so-called "workshop of the world". In an effort to ease worker concerns, most Chinese provinces, regions and municipalities have raised official minimum wages this year, with Shanghai atop the list, offering monthly pay of at least 1,120 yuan (166 dollars). "Costs are going up in places like China, so you are getting a move to Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh and this is good for these countries," Robert Broadfoot of the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy told AFP. And even if manufacturers are now facing wage pressures in the new manufacturing centres, they are on a different scale. "China is getting more expensive. To be sure, less developed countries are too, but the gap between per capita incomes in places like Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam and those in China will continue to widen going forward," Broadfoot said. "Wages of workers in these countries are unlikely to go up in absolute terms step for step with China?s wages," In Cambodia, union leaders called off the strike last Thursday after the government stepped in and arranged talks with both manufacturers and unions for later this month. Cambodia's garment industry is a key source of foreign income for the country and employs about 345,000 workers. Social Affairs Minister It Samheng warned that further stoppages could "affect benefits for the workers, employers, and our nation that is facing the impact of the global financial crisis." Bangladesh's protests, which raged for days until a massive police crackdown restored calm, were the most violent of a string of recent strikes in Asian countries. In Vietnam, where independent trade unions are banned and inflation is running at some 8.75 percent there have been 139 strikes in the first five months of 2010, according to the Vietnam Confederation of Labour. The bulk of the protests concern low pay and poor conditions, with many of them hitting foreign-owned factories. Tens of thousands of workers at a Taiwanese-owned shoe factory in southern Vietnam went on strike in April. In Indonesia, where three powerful trade unions represent the vast majority of the country's 3.4 million unionised workers, there is also mounting pressure to raise the minimum wage. Garment factories in particular, including some that are foreign-owned, have been hit by strikes and disputes over long hours and low wages. The minimum wage is not set in Jakarta and varies from district to district. In 2008 the highest minimum wage was 123 dollars a month in Papua province and the lowest 60 dollars in East Java, according to the manpower ministry. Tens of thousands of workers protested for minimum wage levels to be raised during May Day demonstrations in Jakarta this year, until riot police stepped in to quell the unrest. India, which has a highly vocal workers' movement, has also seen recent disputes over pay and conditions at companies such as mobile handset manufacturer Nokia, car maker Hyundai and the technology and services group Bosch.
More Detail Swedish National Election and My First Time to Vote
Today 19 September 2010 the day that Sweden holds its national election which started from 8:00AM to 8:00PM and it is also the day that i have the right to vote in Sweden for the first time. But according to Swedish election law I am constitutionally eligible to vote only for congressmen to municipality and county council levels, not the national level (parliament). The law states that if one has lived in Sweden for three years then one has the right to vote for municipality and county council, and only Swedish citizens who have the rights to vote for all the three levels. For me I have lived in Sweden more than four year now. I feel great to vote here.
My constituency is in Kvissleby, Sundvall. I went to vote at 10am near my house. There I met two persons who stood outside near the entrance of the election building. They were the representatives from the two biggest parties in Sweden- Social Democratic Party (Red Block) and the Moderate Party (Blue Block). They stood their in order to hand us their parties’ election notes (ballots).
Inside the election room, there were four people. Two of them were standing at the door of the election room near the election booths. They were the people who would assist voters in case they didn’t have received clear information about how to vote and what rights they were eligible to vote.
Then at the table sitting two other persons who controlled the election list names and identity cards and carefully inspect and put the ballots in the ballot box. The ballot box is big and has three ports for three types of ballots: 1). municipality level, 2). the county council level, and 3). the national level.
The election environment is so peaceful, fair, and free as usual. I actually voted for Social Democratic Party, the party which has the best program and policy for welfare state, democracy, and environment.
The final ballot count is declared tonight at 12 o’clock midnight which showed that the Opposition Red Block (Social Democratic Party, Left Party, and the Green Party ) together received 157 seats in the parliament while the incumbent Blue Block (Moderate Party, Christian Democratic Party, Liberal Party, and Center Party) received 172 seats in the parliament.
The result shows that there isn’t any block has won the majority vote which required at least 175 seats of its 349 seats in the parliament in order to establish a government. The problem in the election in this mandate is that there is a new far right party emerged and has gained its position voted to the parliament. The new party- Sweden Democrats known as the Neo-Nazi Party in Sweden, now has won 20 seats. This party has an extreme policy against immigrants and multicultural cooperation and integration. It is remarkably noted that this party was established in 1988 and has never voted to the parliament, and surprisingly now this party is led by a very young man Jimmie Akersson, 31, becomes popular and does worry all immigrants who live Sweden.
Now we will wait and see how the government in this new mandate 2010- 2014 established.
NOTE: It is very important to understand the election system in Sweden while taken into account how the political party’s alliance works positively and influentially there which is contradictory to Cambodian election system in which political alliance is useless, has no ground and influence in establishing a government. And this is why I always say “NO” to the notion of political alliance between Sam Rainsy Party and Human Right Party and even with other parties. I will write more on this system later.
Sam Rainsy's Appeal to Parliamentarians of All Countries
20 September 2010 APPEAL TO PARLIAMENTARIANS OF ALL COUNTRIES
My name is Sam Rainsy. I am a member of parliament of Cambodia and the leader of my country’s second largest political party. As the leader of a vocal opposition I have been persecuted by the authoritarian ruling party and government of Cambodia. In 1995, I was expelled from parliament, but I managed to recover my parliamentary seat through subsequent elections. I have escaped several assassination attempts, such as a deadly grenade attack in 1997, but some eighty of my supporters have been murdered. Besides trying to kill me or to expel me from parliament, the ruling party has managed to strip me of my parliamentary immunity three times and to get me sentenced to prison terms twice. While currently in exile, I am expecting another sentence of up to fifteen years in jail, again under false charges. My only crime is my unyielding denunciation of corruption and human rights abuses and my unwavering defense of the people who have elected me as their representative. In 2006, I received the Prize for Freedom from Liberal International. The strategy of Cambodia’s ruling party is to use a politically subservient judiciary to crackdown on all government critics. On 28 January 2009, following my last conviction by a Kangaroo court, Human Rights Watch titled a statement, “Cambodia: Opposition Leader Sam Rainsy’s Trial a Farce” and added, “conviction demonstrates continuing persecution of critics, political control of judiciary.” In a 17 June 2010 report, Professor Surya Subedi, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Cambodia deplores “external interference in the work of the judiciary.” In a 12-15 July 2010 decision of its Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, the Inter-Parliamentary Union “reaffirms that the judicial action against Mr. [Sam] Rainsy bears no relationship to the alleged offence." A 14 September 2010 statement of a coalition of 16 Human Rights NGOs reads, “the government has used the courts to silence criticism of its responses to land-grabbing, corruption and border disputes," and the “criminal charges [against Sam Rainsy] are politically motivated.” I call on your solidarity as fellow parliamentarians. Please help me by asking the government of your respective countries to put pressure on the authorities of Cambodia so that I can resume my parliamentary work in acceptable conditions and continue to promote democracy in my country. Thank you. Sam Rainsy
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