Blogue Voix émergentes sur l’Asie
Le blogue Voix émergentes sur l’Asie offre aux jeunes Canadiens un forum pour échanger leurs points de vue et partager leurs liens avec un monde asiatique en pleine mutation.
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Posted on Mai 17, 2013 13:26 / Author: Ian McDonald / Tags: cultural diplomacy, North Korea, people-to-people relations
Dennis Rodman’s recent visit to North Korea highlights an important component to international diplomacy: the human aspect. Rodman reported that “even a casual chat about basketball will help build trust.” Rodman’s visit was allegedly facilitated by Kim Jong Un’s love of basketball - and the trip was reminiscent of the ping-pong diplomacy between the West and an isolated China in the 1970s. The meeting between the two went so well that Rodman is reportedly visiting again in August of this year, demonstrating that interaction that bypasses government...
Posted on Mai 17, 2013 11:08 / Author: Karen Campbell / Tags: migration, Overseas Filipino Worker, Philippines
When you step off the plane at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, you are unlikely to notice anything unusual. The humidity in the air and the busy passport and customs zones are on par with most Southeast Asian countries. However, important symbols abound that reveal much about Philippine society and the important role of labour migration in the everyday lives of Filipinos.Stationed in the arrivals lounge is a table with a placard reading “OFW Help Desk.” OFW (Overseas Filipino Worker) is the local moniker for migrant workers. The help...
Posted on Mai 15, 2013 14:01 / Author: Dana Wagner / Tags: China, hukou, manufacturing, migration, rural, urbanization
Nearly 660 million people living in rural China, just under half the country’s population, may soon have the right to urbanize. Chinese citizens have long been divided into rural and urban classes by the hukou residence system, a model also used in Vietnam and North Korea, which restricts rural residents from permanently moving to cities. An estimated 250 million people moved anyway, and live without the benefits and entitlements of legal residents. China’s leaders recently indicated plans to reform the discriminatory system and at least one city...
Posted on Mai 02, 2013 10:04 / Author: Clement Nocos / Tags: healthcare, Manila, Philippines, telecommunications
At night above the skylines that dot Metro Manila’s multiple city centres, a sign featuring the logo from Telus, one of Canada’s largest telecommunications companies, shines brightly over the tallest building of the Ortigas Centre, and can be seen from the rooftops of surrounding slums and squatter neighbourhoods. Even though it may be 3:00 am on a Tuesday, the streets below the glowing Telus sign are busy with activity. Fast food restaurants are left open, traffic is still gridlocked, and street vendors continue to peddle cigarettes in order to cater...
Posted on Avril 18, 2013 15:23 / Author: Maria Kari / Tags: death penalty, health, mental illness, Pakistan
During my law internship in Pakistan, a group of us organized a conference on mental illness and its role in Pakistan’s criminal justice system. Our target was the judiciary and lawyers, and our focus was on Pakistan’s notorious Death Row, which has the world’s second largest population of inmates (following the United States).Despite our mediocre Urdu skills, we three foreign interns were sent to the Lahore High Court to invite lawyers and judges to our conference.By then, I had enough know-how of Pakistani culture to know that promises of a...
