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Singapore's success story is essentially a'people'story. Singaporeans have good reason to celebrate the nation's golden jubilee with pride. In the short space of five decades the country has moved from Third World to First, and its real GDP has grown by 40 times! For this phenomenal progress, credit must go to its people, the Republic's primary resource.Against all odds and amidst dire predictions, Singaporeans proved that a united and resourceful community could build a nation from scratch. This book is dedicated to one segment of these Singaporeans — the Chinese community. In particular, this collection of essays focuses on the Chinese speaking members of the community whose many contributions are less familiar to those brought up on a strict diet of the English language.This celebratory book is divided into four broad categories. The first section examines the major Chinese organisations and their contributions in the past five decades. These include the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations, the Chinese Development Assistance Council and the Chinese Heritage Centre. In addition, it looks at the history and work of some of the social clubs and charitable organisations in the Chinese community.The second section examines some community issues that have engaged the Chinese community in Singapore's first 50 years. Two senior journalists and two academics review the evolution of the Chinese language, the integration of new immigrants from China and the influence of Chinese religions. The five essays in the third section trace the development of Chinese visual and performing art in the Republic. The last section looks at the interactions between Singapore's Chinese community and China on the one hand, and with the regional Chinese communities on the other.The contributors of this salute to the Chinese community are/ have been directly involved or are passionate about the subjects of their essays.Readership: General public, researchers and students interested in learning about the significant roles and contributors of the Chinese community in Singapore in the last 50 years.Keywords:Chinese Community;Chineses Language;New Immigrants;Chinese Organisations;Chinese Culture;External RelationsKey Features:This is first of its kind in English, credible, holistic and readableA good summary of the community after 50 years of independenceContributors are specially invited because of their close association to the organisations and the different topics'As Singapore celebrates SG50 this year, the publication of this book to document the Chinese community's contributions towards nation-building, is indeed timely and of great significance. This book records the resilience, the gumption and the confidence exemplified by our forefathers as they toiled to build a nation we are proud of today.The book not only encapsulates the development of the Chinese community in Singapore, it is also a tribute to our pioneers who have dedicated their lives to the nation.'Chua Thian PohPresident of Singapore Federation of Chinese Clan Associations“We are delighted that the Chamber's achievements and contributions have been included in this celebratory book on Singapore's Chinese community. We take pride that the SCCCI with its network of 4,000 corporate members and more than 150 trade association members covering 40,000 enterprises, has made its mark in the history of Singapore.”Thomas ChuaPresident of the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Nine years of violent conflict between Christians and Muslims in Poso from 1998-2007 elevated a previously little known district in eastern Indonesia to national and global prominence. Drawing on a decade of research, for the most part conducted while the conflict was ongoing, this book provides the first comprehensive history of this violence..

An up-to-date, comprehensive analysis of the high-yield bond market in Asia Beginning with a general definition of high-yield bond products and where they reside within the corporate capital structure, this newly updated guide looks at the development of high-yield bonds in the United States and Europe before analysing this sector in Asia. It covers issuer countries and industries, ratings, and size distributions, and also covers the diversification of the high-yield issuer universe. It includes a thorough technical analysis of high-yield bond structures commonly employed in Asian transactions, including discussion of the respective covenants and security packages that vary widely across the region. Chapters and sections new to this edition cover such subjects as high-yield bond restructuring, the new high-yield " Dim Sum" market, and the high-yield placement market shutdown of 2008 - 2009. Finally, the book looks at the new characteristics of Asian economies for indicators on how the high-yield market will develop there are the near future. Offers an extremely detailed analysis of Asia's high-yield bond market Features new and updated material, including new coverage of the key differences between Asian structures and United States structures Ideal for CFOs of companies contemplating high-yield issuance, as well as investment bankers, bank credit analysts, portfolio managers, and institutional investors

This book proposes a selective approach for states with more advanced human rights protection to establish a human rights court for Southeast Asia. It argues the inclusive approach currently employed by ASEAN to set up a human rights body covering all member states cannot produce a strong regional human rights mechanism. The mosaic of Southeast Asia reveals great diversity and high complexity in political regimes, human rights practice and participation by regional states in the global legal human rights framework. Cooperation among ASEAN members to protect and promote human rights remains limited. The time-honored principle of non-interference and the “ASEAN Way” still predominate in relations within ASEAN. These factors combine to explain why the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights is unlikely to be strong and effective in changing and promoting regional human rights protection.

ASEAN leaders proclaimed to create an ASEAN Economic Community by 2015. But achieving the target requires cooperation and coordination both within and among the ten ASEAN economies. Currently, with countries having varying considerations towards complete liberalization, protectionism still persists in certain sectors of the economies. Lot of work needs to be done in addressing the domestic reforms, the gaps in infrastructure, the lack of human resources and adequate institutions. Moreover, it is the businesses whose decisions and actions will help the region to achieve an effective integration.

This book critically analyses the specific threat of terrorism in Southeast Asia since the Bali blasts of 12 October 2002 and the US-led war on Iraq. It offers a comprehensive and critical examination of the ideological, socioeconomic and political motivations, trans-regional linkages, and media representations of the terrorist threat in the region, assesses the efficacy of the regional counter-terror response and suggests a more balanced and nuanced approach to combating the terror threat in Southeast Asia. The contributors include leading scholars of political Islam in the region, renowned terrorism and regional security analysts, as well as highly regarded regional journalists and commentators. This represents a formidable and unequalled combination of expertise.Contents:The Religion/Ideology FactorThe Al Qaeda FactorThe Media FactorThe ASEAN FactorThe US FactorThe Indonesia FactorReadership: Government officials in Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and the US, especially those engaged in counter-terrorism policymaking and execution; academics engaged in terrorism and counter-terrorism research and teaching; graduate students engaged in research on terrorism and counter-terrorism; and laymen with an interest in the topic of terrorism.

One of the great puzzles in the historiography of American religion is the dearth of studies on the role of religion during the Vietnam War. The untimely death of Walter Capps, member of Congress and former professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, probably contributes to the relative absence of such studies, but it remains something of a mystery why so few scholars have stepped into the breach. This is all the more puzzling when one recalls that the Vietnam era in American history was a time of extraordinary religious ferment. Young people in particular, disillusioned with tradition and distrustful of all things institutional, embarked on an unprecedented quest for spiritual fulfillment and religious experimentation, a journey that introduced them – and, by extension, all Americans – to an array of gurus, various meditative techniques, and the rich panoply of Eastern religions. Finally, one has only to think back over the twentieth century to realize that some of the most important theological reflection has occurred during times of war; the names Richard Rubenstein, Jacques Ellul, Karl Barth, Elie Wiesel, and the Niebuhr brothers, Reinhold and H. Richard, come immediately to mind. The American response to the Vietnam War was not without its religious dimension. Consider the activism of William Sloane Coffin, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Dorothy Day, A. J. Muste, and another set of brothers, the Berrigans, Phillip and Daniel, not to mention the work of organizations like the American Friends Service Committee, Clergy and Laity Concerned, and the Fellowship of Reconciliation. When Martin Luther King Jr. strode to the lectern at New York City's Riverside Church on April 4, 1967, a year to the day before his tragic assassination in Memphis, he added his considerable moral voice to the chorus of religious opponents of the war. Not all religious voices opposed the war, of course, and these ranks included a spectrum of voices from Billy Graham and Carl McIntire to John Bennett and Paul Ramsey. It is in sifting through these complexities surrounding religion during the Vietnam War that Rick Nutt's work is so important. After providing a brief and useful history of the Vietnam War, Nutt delves into the vagaries of religious life during the Vietnam era in American history. The author finds that those religious leaders who supported the war generally did so because they, like Lyndon Johnson himself, viewed it through the prism of the cold war. Add to that, very often, the notion of American exceptionalism – the conviction that the United States occupies a special place in the divine economy – and you had a very powerful rationale for prosecuting the war in Southeast Asia. Nutt also provides a nuanced reading of various theologians and their attitudes toward the war. American exceptionalism was also invoked by opponents of the war to call Americans to a higher moral standard. The author finds that the just war doctrine also cut both ways, invoked both to defend and to denounce the war. Such are the complexities of a vexed and vexing age. And Nutt demonstrates evolving attitudes toward the war, showing how people like John Bennett and organizations like the National Council of Churches altered their positions over time. The author expertly navigates these troubled waters, and the result is a judicious treatment of religious attitudes toward the Vietnam War. This is a good and important book, exhaustively researched and compellingly presented.

The launch of the ASEAN Economic Community raises key issues: the deepening of regional trade and production sharing, and the associated problem of exchange rate management. This volume questions the capacity of a shallow institution to deal with complex consequences on employment and inclusiveness, creativity and connectivity, and inequality and social cohesion. At a time when broader agreements are competing for regional leadership, contributors debate whether ASEAN can serve as a model of integration or else be diluted in wider Asian and Pacific arrangements. Approaches combine economics, history, geography, and political science to provide a clear understanding of ASEAN's potential and weaknesses in technical and non-technical but always readable terms.

This book consists of 20 short essays on different dimensions of international economic policy with specific (though not exclusive) focus on Asia. Topics covered include: exchange rate regimes and reserve buildup in Asia; global macroeconomic imbalances; financial sector liberalization; international capital flows to and from Asia; infrastructure financing in Asia; foreign direct investment (FDI) flows, production networks, manufacturing and outsourcing in Asia; the economic rise of China and India; and trade, financial and monetary regionalism in Asia. While the book covers important and often technical economic issues of contemporary policy relevance, it is written in a manner that is easily accessible to non-economists, including students of public policy, international affairs, international commerce and business, as well as policy-makers and interested observers.Contents:Monetary and Exchange Rates Issues:Asia's Embarrassment of Riches: A Story of Prudence, Global Imbalances, and Some Good Old Fashioned MercantilismThe Known Unknown: The Whopping US Current Account Deficit and Its Implications (With Surabhi Jain)Will the US Dollar Remain ‘Top Dog'?: The Billion Dollar Question (With Jose Kiran)A Central Banker's Holy Grail: Inflation-Targeting Frameworks with Reference to Asia (With Tony Cavoli)Singapore's Currency Baskets and the Mantra of Competitiveness: The Importance of Real Exchange RatesFinancial Liberalization, Financial Crises and the Financing of Development:Barbarians at the Gates: Foreign Bank Entry in AsiaThe Tobin Tax: A Panacea for Financial Crises?International Capital Flows to Asia: The Never-ending Magic Spigot?Using Reserves to Finance Infrastructure in India: Will it Clear the Gridlock?The Goldmine of Development Finance: Reassessing the Importance of Migrants'RemittancesTrade, Investment and the Rise of China and India:The “Do's and Don'ts” of Attracting Foreign Direct InvestmentChips from East Asia, Hardware from Southeast Asia, and Assembled in China: Production Sharing and Trade in AsiaAll Paths Lead to India: Do Other Asian Countries Pose a Challenge to Its Dominance in Services Outsourcing? (With Sadhana Srivastava)The Rise of the Indian Manufacturing Sector: A True Underdog StoryWill the Big Tiger Leave Any Crumbs for the Little Dragons? China vs Southeast AsiaEconomic Regionalism in Asia:Embracing One's Neighbour: Redefining the Importance of India to ASEANGoing It Alone: Singapore's Trade Strategy (With Rahul Sen)ASEAN Economic Integration: Taking Care of BusinessUncooperative Cooperation: The Saga of Economic Cooperation in South AsiaMonetary and Financial Cooperation in Asia: More than Just Buzzwords?Readership: Policy-makers, professors and students of international economics and political economy; investment bank/private sector industry economists and business leaders.