George Sioris - The Japan Times

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George Sioris

For George Sioris's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 25, 2003

Encouraging signs from the Chinese world

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- If one focuses on the totality of the Chinese world, there have been several positive signs recently. With international media attention generally fragmented, it perhaps would be worthwhile to try to compile a synthesis of what we have witnessed lately.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 8, 2003

No symmetry in annexations of Sikkim and Tibet

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- In my last column, and in the aftermath of the recent high-level Sino-Indian talks in Beijing, we dealt with the issue of Tibet from a historical perspective. A parallel analytical exercise with regard to Sikkim would perhaps prove equally interesting.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 28, 2003

A Tibetan history lesson for China

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- With India's recognition of the Tibet Autonomous Region as a part of China -- a corollary result of the recent talks in Beijing between Chinese and Indian leaders -- the region has ceased to be viewed as a historical buffer state between two Asian giants. This is of tremendous importance to all three parties concerned and to strategic balances in the heart of Asia as well. Tibet has been squeezed between these two great powers for centuries; now its tragic "liberation" of the '50s seems to have been acknowledged even by New Delhi in spite of the legacy of Pandit Nehru, who was always fearful of jeopardizing Tibet's crucial position as a buffer.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 6, 2003

An offer Yangon's generals can't refuse

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Two elements could become the basis of further efforts toward a Myanmar solution: an emerging uneasiness -- if not outright division -- among the generals in power over how to handle the growing following of the "the Lady" (democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi), and the long-awaited shift in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' policy of not interfering in the domestic affairs of its members.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 22, 2003

A lifelong need for university reforms

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The chorus of university critics in general keeps increasing, both in numbers and intensity. In a way, the debate is natural -- as every institution seems to need adjustment in this cataclysmic era of globalization -- as well as beneficial for correcting eventual shortcomings and addressing new areas of activity. My own horizon is circumscribed by personal experiences with universities in the Far East, especially with regard to the field of humanities, liberal arts, social sciences, etc. I will leave the area of the sciences to those truly qualified to speak with authority and knowledge.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 14, 2003

The Korea issue viewed from a distance

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Far from being a Korean-issue pundit, the present writer would like to add some brief thoughts as he notices growing anxieties even further from the crucial zone of tensions.

COMMENTARY / World

May 25, 2003

Imagine there's convergence of religion

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- In these turbulent times, when the term "religion" is so often hijacked by the proponents of its very antithesis -- namely, conflict and strife -- an academic initiative to discuss religious topics in the framework of globalization feels like a refreshing breeze. This welcome event is scheduled to take place here in "the Rose of the North," the cultural capital of Thailand, in July. The project was conceived by the Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture at Payap University in Chiang Mai.

COMMENTARY / World

Apr 13, 2003

From polarization to U.N. reconstruction

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- A future historian will almost certainly view the current tragedy in Iraq more calmly than so many of today's analysts and commentators. As the drama is screened from sophisticated command rooms to the remotest television-equipped hut in a far corner of the world, emotions prevail and the emerging conclusions are almost always black or white, allowing no space for more critical and impartial questioning.

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

Apr 13, 2003

Siam's Greek Faulcon

FALCON: At the Court of Siam, by John Hoskin. Bangkok, Asia Books, 2002, 275 pp., 425 Baht (paper) Constantine Phaulkon, a famous Greek adventurer of the 17th century, who had a meteoric rise in King Narai's Siam (former name of Thailand) and an equally dramatic end, seems to continue attracting the interest of historians and writers of various nationalities. The story is so appealing that it can be, and has been, told from many angles -- with negative bias, with hagiographic exaggerations or with a concern for objectivity.

COMMENTARY / World

Mar 9, 2003

Glimpses of Indochina life 330 years ago

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Against the current drama of the Iraqi issue, other national and regional developments seem to fade out of focus. One such "minor event" that is heading toward oblivion concerns the tiny landlocked country of Laos. At the beginning of the year, unexpected news from there made regional waves, raising more questions than answers: The Vientiane regime had surprised observers by officially unveiling a large statue of legendary King Fa Ngum. Why had a powerful chieftain of the 14th century been suddenly resurrected and rehabilitated by an administration that was otherwise divorced from royal ideology and institutions? And why choose a symbol of Buddhism?

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 23, 2003

Restructuring the U.N. Security Council

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Although we live in an era of sad comparisons between the current status of the United Nations and the demise of the old League of Nations, let us hope and assume that the U.N. will survive its immense test without being relegated to "irrelevancy" and substituted by new formations of "the willing." Without wishing to enter the fray of analyses on Iraq, I find it striking that references are being made continuously to the U.N. Security Council from all quarters without -- at least to my knowledge -- any mention of the body's eventual expansion.

COMMENTARY / World

Feb 7, 2003

Ancient voices, timeless tales brought back to life

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- "Thai" or "Tai"?

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 26, 2003

U.S. pursuit of a second ASEAN track

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Analysts tend to classify U.S. policies toward Asia -- and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in particular -- according to two irreconcilable stereotypes: the "unchangeable pattern," in which administrations come and go while fundamental American perceptions remain the same; and the "presidential pattern," in which related policies are personally shaped by each president and his inner team.

COMMENTARY / World

Jan 13, 2003

Thais create Buddhist studies landmark

CHIANG MAI -- Against a background of terror, conflicts and violence worldwide, during times when consumerism and materialism have been elevated as never before on pedestals surrounded by a divine aura, a small group of modest but dedicated Thai scholars, monks and nuns have worked quietly and efficiently the past three years, seeking solace in the wisdom of Buddha -- precisely by resurrecting his genuine words, ideas and teachings.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 27, 2002

ASEM painfully short on substance

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- ASEM, the Asia-Europe meeting process, was born in a climate of general euphoria in 1996 in Bangkok. The idea to bring together the combined potentials of the European Union and of several important Asian players looked promising and, fundamentally, it is still valid today.

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 6, 2002

Blocs should transcend members' shortcomings

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- As long as regional cooperation develops in various parts of the world, it is only natural that some concerns are voiced from time to time, especially about the composition of these groupings.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 30, 2002

Peacemaking efforts deserve applause

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- International public opinion seems focused almost exclusively on the issue of Iraq these days while other important regional developments are relegated to the back burner. Among the developments that deserve greater attention are the moves toward peace in Sri Lanka.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 8, 2002

Let time bridge the China-Taiwan gap

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- Recent complications with regard to visits, or planned visits, by Taiwanese politicians to Indonesia and Thailand serve as new reminders of a most sensitive lingering East Asian issue. The purpose of this article is not to deal with the pluses and minuses of the visits but to try to view the overall China-Taiwan dispute with the least bias as possible. A long time ago, I was professionally involved with both parties of the dispute, a situation that resulted in my acquiring an increased level of appreciation for the great heritage and traditions, as well as the potential for progress and prosperity, that both share.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 22, 2002

Managing Foreign Ministry's fault lines

CHIANG MAI, Thailand -- The drama at the Japanese Foreign Ministry is still unfolding with a multitude and variety of acts, inviting continuous comment and debate. I believe that certain aspects should be clarified before proceeding to a postmortem of the crisis or to estimates about the future. First, a look at some of the "victims" in this drama so far: a flamboyant and dynamic female politician, a disastrously influential lawmaker, a top bureaucrat, some other senior diplomats and the perpetrators of money scandals.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 27, 2002

Prospects improve with Megawati at helm

CHIANG MAI, Thailand-- With President Megawati Sukarnoputri at the helm, the amount of sensational news coming out of Indonesia has somewhat subsided. This is a welcome development as too much media interest usually points to trouble.

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By Stephen Mansfield

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Live like a lord or lady for a night at Ozu Castle

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