Peter Eng - The Japan Times

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Peter Eng

For Peter Eng's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

COMMENTARY / World

Dec 21, 2000

Mounting problems to test Cambodia's new 'stability'

PHNOM PENH -- They fought with guns and bombast during a civil war, a U.N. peacekeeping mission, an election, a coup, another election -- and every free moment in between. For most of the past two years, the followers of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and Prince Norodom Ranariddh have cooperated in a coalition government, giving Cambodians a taste of peace for the first time in three decades. But the road ahead is full of danger.

COMMENTARY / World

Nov 11, 2000

Where information is only for the rich

PHNOM PENH -- In an information-technology world, the vast majority of Cambodians remain deprived. While the amount of information in the country has been growing significantly, compared with the dark past, as with everything else here information is being hoarded by the rich and powerful.

COMMENTARY / World

Oct 14, 2000

Cambodian media: cowed and corrupt

PHNOM PENH -- They don't have to worry as much as before about getting shot on the street or having grenades thrown at their houses. But Cambodia's journalists still labor under a government that doesn't like dissent. And the country still has to put up with journalists who create problems for themselves by being unprofessional and corrupt.

COMMENTARY / World

Sep 10, 2000

Corruption continues to plague Cambodia

PHNOM PENH -- Cambodia has become more stable since the 1998 election, a major victory for a country that has suffered so much turmoil in the past three decades. The infighting between the two parties of the coalition government has receded, and it is safer to travel around the country as the number of weapons has been curtailed. But the more favorable climate has brought little progress in what is perhaps the biggest hindrance to Cambodia's democratic development -- the impunity of the authorities, from government bigwigs to foot soldiers.

COMMENTARY / World

Aug 5, 2000

ASEAN slowly embraces human rights

BANGKOK -- When ASEAN agreed in 1993 to consider creating a regional human-rights monitoring body, some member countries that weren't really enthusiastic about the idea probably thought they were safe. At the time, there seemed no way it could ever happen. For ASEAN, human rights was so sensitive that it was rarely discussed publicly, and one of ASEAN's cardinal principles was that members must not meddle in the "internal affairs" of other members.

COMMENTARY / World

Jul 6, 2000

Bangkok sticks with its old-style politics

BANGKOK -- If Thai politics has changed since demonstrators ousted a pro-military government in 1992 and set the stage for democratic reforms, you would hardly know it from watching the campaign for this month's Bangkok gubernatorial election.

COMMENTARY / World

Jun 22, 2000

Thailand refuses to face its bloody past

BANGKOK -- The Thai Ministry of Defense recently released a 605-page report of a team that investigated a May 1992 uprising in which soldiers shot dead dozens of prodemocracy demonstrators. To people abroad, the news headlines may make it appear as if Thailand finally is coming to terms with political atrocities of the past, as several new democracies in Latin America, Africa and Asia have done in recent years.

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.

[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.

The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores

By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

Prize winner Maki Imoto catches light with glass

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