Asia in Review

Preview: This Week’s Issue

China: European Parliament calls for sanctions of the European Council against Chinese human rights abusers

(dql) Last week, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the situation of religious and ethnic minorities in China. The resolution expresses deep concern over “a new low point” of freedom of religion and conscience in China since the begin of the country’s opening up in the late 1970s. Referring to Xinjiang, where “an extrajudicial detention programme has been established, holding ‘from tens of thousands to upwards of a million Uyghurs’ who are being forced to undergo political ‘re-education’”, the resolution calls on the European Council “to consider adopting targeted sanctions against officials responsible for the crackdown in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.” [European Parliament]

Sri Lanka: Suicide bomb attacks kill hundreds in churches and hotels

(ls) Coordinated Easter Sunday suicide bombings at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka cost the lives of 290 people. About 500 were wounded. Four bombs went off at about the same time, with two others coming within 20 minutes. Overall eight explosions took place in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. A ninth explosion went off on Monday. The government blamed National Thowheeth Jama’ath, a domestic radical Islamist group, for the attacks. [Reuters]

Indonesia’s polls unofficial results show Widodo and his coalition in lead

(jk/cc) Following last week major elections, incumbent President Joko Widodo has won 54.55 percent of the votes, according to an unofficial “quick count”. This did not stop his rival, Prabowo, to declare himself winner, as he did after the last elections in 2014. For him, the quick count announced is a lie and the real count should be around 60% in his favour. On Wednesday, the former General declared “This is a victory for the Indonesian people … I will be and I am already the president of all Indonesians.” [Al Jazeera 1] [Reuters 1]

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Analyses

The Venezulean Crisis and Its Eurasian Implications

Henning Glaser, Director, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG)

One Belt One Road and its Strategic Implications

Major General (ret.) Ashok Hukku, former Chief Military Intelligence Advisor in the Cabinet Secretariat at New Delhi, India

US–Taiwan–PRC Relations: A brief history of US policy towards Taiwan

Jan Kliem, Senior Program Officer and Researcher, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG)

White Warships, Little Blue Men, and Looming Conflict in the East China Sea – China’s “Short, Sharp War” For The Senkakus

James E. Fanell, Government Fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), and Kerry K. Gershaneck, Senior Research Associate, German-Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy & Good Governance