Liang Fook Lye - Böcker

This book studies the Suzhou Industrial Park, a flagship project between the governments of Singapore and China, in a holistic manner, by highlighting not only its economic progress but also the developments on the social front such as its neighbourhood centres, schools, housing and talent attraction. The success of the Park should be assessed keeping in view not only its economic achievements alone, but also its ability to attract residents to live and play in it. Making the Suzhou Industrial Park economically and socially attractive is thus a perennial challenge and remains key to the continued success of the industrial park.This book details Suzhou Industrial Park's latest effort in industrial upgrading and transformation in terms of new growth areas as well as the challenges faced. It examines the social achievements of the Park, which are critical in enhancing the overall attractiveness of the Park and distinguishes it from other industrial parks in China and elsewhere. It also highlights how the experiences of the Suzhou Industrial Park is being replicated not only in the Jiangsu province, but also in other provinces and autonomous regions in China.

With the new team of Chinese leaders at the helm following the successful hosting of the 16th Party Congress in November 2002, the attention of China's scholars has now shifted to the raft of challenges that await the new leadership. In the economic realm, there is unlikely to be any sharp changes in the direction of economic policy-making although the leadership faces a number of daunting issues, such as rising urban unemployment, potential rural unrest and the huge debt burden of state banks.In the political arena, power succession has only just begun even though leadership transition is almost complete. Jiang Zemin remains highly influential in his capacity as Chairman of the Central Military Commission. It is however unclear how the working relationship among the triumvirate Hu Jintao, Zeng Qinghong and Wen Jiabao will unfold. The jury is still out whether Hu Jintao can provide the leadership and vision to deal head-on with a number of burning issues, like corruption and the need for political reform.

The rate of urbanisation will accelerate in the years ahead. The massive influx of people to cities will result in the demand for more services, expending more resources and generating more waste. The forces of globalisation and better connectivity will hasten this urbanisation process. Although the developed and developing countries in East Asia are at different stages of development, they have to grapple with the common challenge of improving the quality of life for urban residents and making cities liveable. This book brings together a collection of articles that traces the process of urbanisation in selected countries in East Asia, including the achievements and challenges encountered. It seeks to promote the sharing of best practices and experiences that can be a reference for governments and relevant stakeholders to facilitate the process of urbanisation that brings about the greatest benefits to residents and lessens the negative impact on the environment.

With cities rapidly encroaching onto surrounding lands, the notion of “eco-city” proposes an innovative yet pragmatic approach to designing, building and operating cities in a way that the destructive impact of human urban activity upon nature will be significantly reduced.This book comprises of papers from a workshop organized by the East Asian Institute on Eco-cities in East Asia on 27 February 2009 in Singapore. Contributed by scholars, officials and environmental specialists from Japan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, the papers focus on how individual governments in these countries undertake eco-city projects. The book also highlights best practices that are useful to policy makers and anyone else who seeks to learn from the experiences of other countries in order to reduce their ecological footprints.

With cities rapidly encroaching onto surrounding lands, the notion of “eco-city” proposes an innovative yet pragmatic approach to designing, building and operating cities in a way that the destructive impact of human urban activity upon nature will be significantly reduced.This book comprises of papers from a workshop organized by the East Asian Institute on Eco-cities in East Asia on 27 February 2009 in Singapore. Contributed by scholars, officials and environmental specialists from Japan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, the papers focus on how individual governments in these countries undertake eco-city projects. The book also highlights best practices that are useful to policy makers and anyone else who seeks to learn from the experiences of other countries in order to reduce their ecological footprints.

Some fledging democracies in the world have encountered setbacks due to political parties trying to grapple with the expectations of sophisticated electorates and introducing gradual political reforms over the years.This book describes how democracy is evolving in East Asia and how it assumes different forms in different countries, with political parties adapting and evolving alongside. It has a two-fold intent. First, it contends that the existing variety of party systems in East Asia will endure and may even flourish, rather than converge as liberal democracies. Second, it highlights the seeming political durability of one party systems — unlike two-part or multi-party systems in the US and Europe — and their enduring predominance in countries such as Cambodia, China, Singapore and Vietnam.

The aim of the book is to provide readers with an understanding of the important and emerging political, economic and social trends and challenges in East Asia in the coming years.There is urgency to conduct such a review of the state of East Asian affairs as the international and regional environments seemed to be headed towards greater uncertainty. At the international level, the European Union (EU) continues to grapple with its debt crisis with no clear resolution in sight. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US is gearing up for its presidential and congressional elections that will take place towards the end of 2012. The outcome of these elections would have implications for America's relations with countries in East Asia, particularly China. Already, in the run-up to these elections, potential candidates have whipped up anti-China sentiments or even called for tough anti-China measures to appeal their respective constituencies.More significantly, with the relative decline of the US and EU, increasing doubts have been raised concerning the values and beliefs that have undergird the US and individual European countries' political system and institutions since World War Two. China's current stellar economic growth in the midst of the sputtering performance of the US and the EU economies have lent increasing legitimacy to the attractiveness of China's model that combines strong authoritarian leadership with the vibrancy of a market economy. Managing a rising China and a declining US and the EU will have an impact, whether big or small, on the countries in Asia.Also, in East Asia, a number of countries have either undergone or are going to undergo major elections that have elected or will elect a new leadership to take over the helm, with possible implications for policy adjustments or possibly even policy changes in these countries. China is gearing up for its crucial leadership transition at the 18th Party Congress, while Taiwan has held its presidential election; Hong Kong has elected its Chief Executive and will hold the Legislative Council elections, while the two “Koreas” will be adjusting to the post-Kim Jong-il uncertainty. Japan, too is still trying to recover from the triple disasters (tsunami, earthquakes and the radioactivity fallout) with the current Noda administration still trying to figure a way out to revitalize the Japanese economy.

Showcasing the substantive and multi-faceted Singapore-China relationship, this book examines the political, economic, socio-cultural, people-to-people and even military exchanges between the two countries. It also highlights flagship projects and other key private sector-led projects that have become hallmarks of bilateral cooperation.The book argues that the current level of cooperation is built on the earlier foundation laid by Lee Kuan Yew and Deng Xiaoping. In a way, the bilateral relationship is a unique one. For one, Deng Xiaoping had singled out Singapore as a model for China's reforms and China today continues to find Singapore's experience relevant. Singapore is also learning from China in the process. The two countries also have a number of bilateral institutional mechanisms that have become more important in reviewing existing cooperation and identifying new ways of working together.Rather than simply provide an overview of bilateral relations, the book highlights the unique or distinguishing features of the Singapore-China relationship.