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Human Rights in North Korea
The recent dramatic increase of North Korean refugees in South Korea (called saeteomin, new settlers) has attracted the attention of scholars as well as practitioners not only because of their impact on South Korea and its citizens but, more significantly, because of their unique experiences there. They have encountered various hardships in South Korean society, including economic difficulties, maladjustment to schools, and emotional distance or isolation. This article attempts to illuminate and analyze the status of the North Korean refugees and their perceptions and emotions with respect to South Koreans.
Key words: North Korean refugees, human rights - East Asia
CONTROVERSIES OVER NORTH KOREAN
HUMAN RIGHTS IN SOUTH KOREAN SOCIETY
This article examines, on the basis of international human rights norms, the controversies that exist in South Korean society with respect to North Korean human rights issues. The article looks at current human rights conditions in North Korea; the root causes of these human rights concerns; the conditions faced by "displaced persons"; the problems associated with planned defection; reactions to the 2004 North Korean Human Rights Act passed by the U.S. Congress; and the direction that should be taken to improve human rights conditions in the country. We can only expect a continuation of debate within South Korean society on these issues until a fundamental point of agreement is reached, one that can serve as a rational and practical basis for improving the human rights situation in North Korea.
Key words: North Korea, human rights - East Asia, South Korea
FAILING TO PROTECT:
FOOD SHORTAGES AND PRISON CAMPS IN NORTH KOREA
This article has three purposes: first, to lay out two of the areas of most serious human rights concern regarding North Korea, namely, the chronic food shortage crisis afflicting the country and the prison camp system; second, to characterize the main aspects of the problem; and third, to present recommendations on what should be done. The information comes directly from three reports of the U.S. Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (USCHRNK).
Key words: North Korea, human rights - East Asia
TEN YEARS OF KNOWLEDGE PARTNERSHIP WITH NORTH KOREA This article analyzes broadly defined economics-related knowledge partnership (KP) between North Korea and the international community. Knowledge partnership with North Korea was prominent during 2001-2004 but decreased drastically after 2005 due to the heightening of tension over the North Korean nuclear issue. Some organizations, however, have been very successful in continuing their KP programs. Based on an examination of ninety-one KP projects during 1997-2006, this article outlines the trends in knowledge partnership with North Korea, and suggests dos and don'ts in this important initiative.
Key words: North Korea, NGO programs, economic development in East Asia
The article examines the recent changes in Japan's official development assistance (ODA) to Southeast Asia in response to domestic and international challenges after the cold war. It argues that Japan is in a position where it has to choose between "spending" and "earning" strategies in the disbursement of aid. Influenced by external and internal developments, Japan has tilted toward a "spending" approach over the last decade. Due to a limited ODA budget, Japan has to optimize the use of aid and disburse it more strategically. Also significant is the noticeable across-the-board increase in the grant allocation to Southeast Asia and Vietnam's emergence as a major recipient.
Key words: foreign aid in Asia, Japan, ASEAN
THE CHINA FACTOR IN THE HONG KONG PUBLIC'S CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF
"ONE COUNTRY, TWO SYSTEMS"
This article depicts changes in the public's perceptions in Hong Kong of the implementation of the "one country, two systems" policy following the handover in 1997 and discusses the role of the China factor in shaping such perceptions. It finds that the Hong Kong people's rating of "one country, two systems" was quite positive in the first two years after the handover, but the rating started to fall after April 1999 and reached its record low in April 2004. Although the rating has since risen somewhat, the Hong Kong public has not regained all the confidence it previously had in the policy. Beijing's Hong Kong policy is the most powerful variable shaping the public's perceptions of the "one country, two systems" policy, followed by trust in the Hong Kong government, the government's performance in mainland-Hong Kong relations, and the government's political performance. Since all four variables are largely politically related, it seems that the public's perceptions of "one country, two systems" have largely been shaped by political affairs related to maintaining Hong Kong as a highly autonomous system in the "one country, two systems" plan.
Key words: Hong Kong, China, East Asian politics CHINA'S CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY:
DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
This article demonstrates that prospects for emission reduction are not realistic under the current policy environment, and China is unlikely to take on commitments in the near future. The major determinants of and actors involved in China's climate change policy are discussed, relating these to China's stance in global climate change negotiations. Energy is seen as the key to economic development and is one of the main causes for China's unwillingness to take on emission reduction commitments. Vulnerability to climate change is an emerging issue in China, and could contribute to elevating the climate change issue on China's domestic agenda in the future. Global climate change is still seen as a remote matter by the country's policy makers, and remains a foreign-policy issue. International pressure has not been able to change Beijing's stance of no commitments, although China is now an active participant in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which has become a way to apply an international mechanism on domestic problems and one of the channels that China itself prefers to use in its climate-change efforts.
Key words: China, environmental protection - East Asia, sustainable development
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