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China: An International Journal (CIJ), indexed and abstracted in SSCI, JCR and CC/Social and Behavioral Sciences of Thomson Reuters

The East Asian Institute (EAI) is pleased to announce that, effective from December 2010, China: An International Journal (CIJ) will be indexed and abstracted in the renowned and authoritative interdisciplinary citation indexes of Thomson Reuters:

Social Sciences Citation Index^®;

Journal Citation Reports/Social Sciences Edition; and

Current Contents^®/Social and Behavioral Sciences.

The earliest issue of CIJ available for access in Thomson Reuters database is volume 7, issue 1, published in March 2009.

EAI Weekly Talking Point

Tuesday, 22 January 2013

Chinese Gini Index and the Widening Income Gap

The credibility of the recently released China's Gini coefficient, reportedly to have fallen for four consecutive years to 0.47 in 2012 since 2008 at 0.491, is highly questionable. The criticism stemmed from the fact that the previous round that the Chinese government officially published the Gini coefficient was in 2000. In reality, income inequality in China could be more severe than acknowledged and reported by the government as the number of millionaires and their wealth value have been downplayed. Equally debatable is the exorbitantly high Gini coefficient of 0.61 in 2010 reported by a research centre at China's Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. There is also serious doubt about whether these indices were scientifically derived. ......

Beijing's Air Pollution and the Environmental Implications

Air pollution is a perennial problem in Beijing as it had made multibillion efforts to curb air pollution during the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008. The first few weeks of January this year saw the capital virtually in paralysis when it was covered under thick shroud of hazardous smog. The index measuring PM2.5, or particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres, hit a staggering 755, while the World Health Organisation's safety recommendation is a daily level of no more than 20. ......

in focus

In Commemoration of East Asian Institute's 15th Anniversary in 2012

International Conference

China's 18th Party Congress: New Leaders, New Direction

24-25 October 2012

The four "wei"—weixin, weifa, weiquan and weiwen—are keywords from which East Asian Institute (EAI) Chairman Professor Wang Gungwu crystallised his thoughts on the direction that the Chinese leadership has undertaken since China's opening up.

The international conference—titled "China's 18th Party Congress: New Leaders, New Direction" and co-sponsored by Professor Saw Swee Hock and Lee Foundation—was a timely discourse coinciding with China's transition to a new leadership which took place on 8 November 2012 at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) when a younger top leadership led by Xi Jinping formally assumed the reins of power.

In Commemoration of East Asian Institute's 15th Anniversary in 2012

Public Forum

China's New Leadership and the World

24 October 2012

The East Asian Institute (EAI), National University of Singapore celebrated its 15th anniversary on 24 and 25 October 2012. The occasion was marked by a public forum, titled "China's New Leadership and the World" and an international conference, titled "China's 18th Party Congress: New Leaders, New Direction". Professor Saw Swee Hock and Lee Foundation were co-sponsors of the two events that saw the participation of local and international distinguished scholars, academics, policy-makers and interested individuals.

The theme coincided with China's transition to a new leadership which took place on 8 November 2012 at the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) when a younger top leadership led by Xi Jinping formally took over the reins of power.

Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) and Minister for Finance Tharman Shanmugaratnam presided at the public forum as guest-of-honour. EAI Director Professor Zheng Yongnian chaired the public forum featuring Professor Lawrence J Lau, Ambassador Wu Jianmin and Professor Lowell Dittmer in the panel of distinguished scholars.

LATEST China AnalysEs

GROWING CONCERN FOR PROTESTS IN THE CHINESE MEDIA

H. Christoph STEINHARDT, 3 May 2013

Against the background of a strategic shift in official propaganda policy in the Hu-Wen era, the Chinese news media has become much more inclined to report on previously strictly censored incidents of unrest. After reaching a peak between 2008 and 2010, media attention has recently wound down somewhat. Alongside the transformation of media reporting, public intellectuals have begun an increasingly penetrating discourse on the causes and consequences of mass unrest and inferred demands for substantial reforms from their analyses. While it remains to be seen if the new leadership has the resolve to undertake some of the reforms advocated by critics, the amplified media attention and public deliberation on protest have certainly made the chronic governance problems at its roots increasingly hard to ignore.

THE CHINESE LEADERSHIP'S SOFTENING RESPONSE TO POPULAR PROTEST

H. Christoph STEINHARDT, 3 May 2013

The Chinese central government has responded to proliferating popular unrest by gradually softening its rhetoric on the issue. Beginning in the 1990s and intensifying under the leadership of Hu Jintao the Communist Party leadership has increasingly acknowledged that grassroots protesters' grievances are often legitimate, stepped up open criticism of local officials and circumscribed conditions under which repression is appropriate. Events and indications since late 2012 suggest that the Xi administration does, for now, continue the approach of cautiously accommodating societal pressure. However, there are signs that the lines of conflict in contentious politics are becoming more intricate. Thus, managing an increasingly disobedient society will most likely remain among the most pressing concerns on the new leadership's agenda.

JAPAN'S RELATIONS WITH MEKONG BASIN COUNTRIES: DIPLOMACY, MARKETS AND COMMUNITY

LAM Peng Er, 25 April 2013

Shortly after assuming office in December 2012, Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and Deputy Prime Minister Aso Taro visited three Mekong Basin countries, an indication of the countries' strategic importance to Japan amidst the rise of China. Tokyo needs the support of Mekong Basin countries for securing a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, joining forces against North Korea's "nuclearisation" and abduction of Japanese nationals, and endorsing the principles of freedom of navigation, international law and peaceful resolution to the South China Sea territorial dispute. Since 2009, Tokyo has also institutionalised the Japan-Mekong Summit with the riparian states. At the Fourth Japan-Mekong Summit in Tokyo in April 2012, Japan pledged 600 billion yen (almost US$7.4 billion) in official assistance for the next three years. Despite Tokyo's and Beijing's keen interest in establishing ties with Mekong Basin countries, it is still unknown if the Mekong Basin will be a sub-region of cooperation for Japan, China and ASEAN or an arena of contention between Tokyo and Beijing.

CHINA'S EXPENDING OUTWARD FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT IN SOUTHEAST ASIA AND ITS IMPACTS

ZHAO Hong, 25 April 2013

The surge in China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has attracted considerable attention from the world. Most recent coverage has been directed at patterns of 'neo-colonialism' in Africa and the potential effects on the host countries. In Southeast Asia, however, Chinese investment plays a very important role in providing capital, employment and income, and in stimulating the formation of regional labour-division. The main objective of this background brief is to analyse the nature and distribution of these investments, examine the main drivers of China's OFDI to Southeast Asia, and what impacts it has created on the economic integration in this region.

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