Author: Halpin's Asia Takeout

Hillary Warrior Princess: Would a Clinton Presidency Lead to a Showdown With China?

~ Halpin's Asia Takeout ~ Leave a comment

980 × 551 - scmp.com By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea! You and me, you and me, oh how happy we'll be! Then Secretary of State Clinton and then Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi were anything but happy when they discussed freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The long march … Continue reading Hillary Warrior Princess: Would a Clinton Presidency Lead to a Showdown With China?

China: Pulling the Red Carpet Out From Under President Obama

~ Halpin's Asia Takeout ~ 1 Comment

Proper Greeting on the tarmac: Premier Zhou Enlai Greets President Nixon in 1972 with a handshake that changed history. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- China, the land of Confucian etiquette, is where diplomatic protocol was first invented.  The sage himself famously wrote in his Analects: “You peng zi yuan fang lai, bu yi le hu!” which roughly translates as … Continue reading China: Pulling the Red Carpet Out From Under President Obama

Cambodia: A Violent Summer for a Soprano State

~ Halpin's Asia Takeout ~ Leave a comment

Funeral Procession of Kem Ley in Phnom Penh -- The Cambodia Daily A July 26th event at the Heritage Foundation, titled “Cambodian Democracy and International Accountability,” with renowned journalist and long-time Cambodia expert Elizabeth Becker, drew my thoughts away from my usual East Asian focus. (http://www.heritage.org/events/2016/07/cambodian-democracy-and--international-accountability).  I thought again of that tragic yet mystifying Southeast … Continue reading Cambodia: A Violent Summer for a Soprano State

A Michigan Journey: Following Father Marquette

~ Halpin's Asia Takeout ~ Leave a comment

Wikipedia EDITOR'S NOTE:  I found this unpublished manuscript from a summer trip taken in August 2014 to the Great Lakes (Michigan, Huron, Superior) region of the State of Michigan. These musings have little to do with the blog's intended subject of news out of Asia -- except if one stretches one's imagination and argues that … Continue reading A Michigan Journey: Following Father Marquette

Trump, Hyde, Immigrants, and Gold Star Mothers

~ Halpin's Asia Takeout ~ 1 Comment

    War-Veterans.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------       I felt a special connection when I read Mrs. Ghazala Khan’s July 31st column in the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/ghazala-khan-donald-trump-criticized-my-silence-he-knows-nothing-about-true-sacrifice/2016/07/31/c46e52ec-571c-11e6-831d-0324760ca856_story.html.)  She described how she had a son who graduated from UVA and then went on to become an army captain.   So did I.   My boy was deployed to South … Continue reading Trump, Hyde, Immigrants, and Gold Star Mothers

European Terrorism and Asian Tourism

~ Halpin's Asia Takeout ~ Leave a comment

  Hong Kong victims of axe attack on German train South China Morning Post980 × 551 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One less conspicuous aspect of the axe attack last month (July 18th) on a German train, another in a series of relentless acts of terrorism in Europe this year, was the fact that members of a Hong Kong family were among … Continue reading European Terrorism and Asian Tourism

The Coming War Between China and Japan — Maybe Not In the Realm of Fantasy

~ Halpin's Asia Takeout ~ Leave a comment

YouTube1280 × 720 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One of Beijing's first responses to the recent Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruling against its territorial claims in the South China Sea including its sacrosanct "nine-dash-line" was, according to a  July 16th report in the South China Post, to lash out at Japan.(http://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/1990349/china-japan-dont-get-involved-south-china-sea-row).  Beijing reportedly issued a warning to Tokyo "to not get … Continue reading The Coming War Between China and Japan — Maybe Not In the Realm of Fantasy

Anti-TPP Tea Party Forces Seek Another Republican Scalp –Speaker Ryan

~ Halpin's Asia Takeout ~ Leave a comment

2016 so far is proving to be a banner year for the isolationist, xenophobic and anti-immigration forces which are rallying against the inevitable changes brought about by globalization.  Their rhetoric strikes a sympathetic chord with a substantial portion of an apprehensive population.  In this they bear a striking resemblance to their spiritual forebearers of  well … Continue reading Anti-TPP Tea Party Forces Seek Another Republican Scalp –Speaker Ryan

Why Not India? Just Look at a Map!

~ Halpin's Asia Takeout ~ Leave a comment

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second state visit to Washington in two years, according to the Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/06/06/the-impressively-awkward-hugs-and-handshakes-of-indias-narendra-modi/),  occurred last month (June 7-8) with the usual Washington pledges to upgrade the relationship with the  world's most populous democracy.  I have pondered for a long-time why the U.S. has not vigorously pursued closer ties with a country … Continue reading Why Not India? Just Look at a Map!

Brexit: A Warning Sign for TPP?

~ Halpin's Asia Takeout ~ Leave a comment

Those in the Washington establishment, strong supporters of globalization, have been giving assurances to Asian trade partners NOT to worry about all the anti-free trade rhetoric being hurled about in the current U.S. presidential campaign.  (NOTE: Both of the likely nominees of the major parties, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, who famously reversed her position, have come … Continue reading Brexit: A Warning Sign for TPP?