Elections | Arizona MUNdi

A Modern Day Oligarchy

April 22, 2012 in Asia, The World Today

from http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~lee20d/classweb/

by Hugo Polanco

By most accounts South Korea is an extremely prosperous nations, especially when compared to the mind boggling destitution of its northern neighbor. Ever since the two split, the South has rapidly climbed to economic greatness and now its products both commercial and cultural are widely exported. If you’ve ever owed an LG telephone, Hyundai car or watched a Korean drama then you are one of the many consumers of these products. These goods that are surging out of South Korea are the products of South Korea’s chaebol. The chaebol are South Korea’s vast business empires, held as personal fiefs by a small number of South Korean families.

The control that these groups have exerted over South Korea is incredible and disturbing. Samsung the largest chaebol for example has business interests in the electronics, constriction , theme parks, life insurance, and ship building industries. Unlike other large conglomerates the South Korean chaebol are also known for outright owning most of their suppliers giving them more monopolistic power over the South Korean economy.

Beyond economic power, the chaebol have also had a complex relation with the South Korean government dating back to the end of the Second World War. During this time period the founding families, with the seized Japanese industries and political support quickly grew. Later they exploded under the patronage of President Park Chung-hee. The chaebol were given preferential treatment as a strategy to industrialize the country. In a way it worked, this time period saw South Korea rise as one of the four Asian Tigers as well as finally surpassing North Korea’s industrial advantage.

Now as South Korea is prosperous and spreading their influence throughout the world, there is great domestic concern over the damaging control the chaebol. These opinions have a shifted widely in the past, the chaebol were exalted for the rise of the South Korean miracle economy, denounced during the Asian financial crisis and finally rehabilitated during the recent global economic downturn.

The recent elections have sent signs that the chaebol’s reputation is again falling. Many South Koreans believe that chaebol and government are intertwined to a ludicrous extant. The stock of chaebol rise and fall depending on the electoral fortunes of the parties they patronize. For example one investor sold his stock of a pharmaceutical company based on that fact that an opposition party leader had once visited a company hospital nearly 20 years ago for back surgery. The chaebol are now seen to contribute little to society, they make billions in profits but employ only a tiny fraction of the South Korean population. The fact that so much profits are being made when there such deep holes in the South Korean social security net is also upsetting.

Before we haughtily deem our own society vastly superior, we should use South Korea as a mirror for the failings of own society. The United States also has a far from exemplar relationship with private business, we are notorious for one for the extant that corporations are able to use money in elections. Both the United States and South Korea would do well to look in ourselves and question whether we are satisfied with the status quo.

Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.

Tags: Chaebol, corporations, economic miracle, Elections, Korean Wave, South Korea
2 Comments »

Good News and Bad News

April 1, 2012 in Asia

by Hugo Polanco

North Korea has returned in full form after a brief hiatus following Kim Jong-il’s death, when the region collectively held its breath hoping that the new leader would bring reform and moderation. Their latest act is a plan to launch a missile over Japan under a claim that it is a satellite launch. Japan has not taken kindly to this news and has announced that be it a missile or genuine satellite launch, it will be shot down if passes over Japan. This is erratic North Korean policy at its finest given that the new leader had reached an accommodation with the west. He had restarted talks and in return for ceasing uranium enrichment and long range ballistic missile development, North Korea would receive much needed aid. This is perfectly in line with established North Korean strategy of making deals then increasing tensions through crisis in order to move for a better deal. Towards the end of Kim Jong-il’s rule this strategy failed to pay off because both South Korea and the United States began taking a harder line against North Korean provocations while being distrustful of any overtures for deals or talks. This transfer period was an excellent opportunity for North Korea to reverse its policies for the betterment of the region and its own suffering population. So while not surprising, this missile launch is disheartening.

On the other side of Asia, Myanmar has passed milestone one that has been greeted with adulation and joy. The election in Myanmar have passed and Aung San Suu Kyi has won a seat in the parliament. These election were a powerful symbol and a marker of how far Myanmar has gone in the past few years. Myanmar is still not free, Suu Kyi’s party could not have win a majority because only a small percentage of the parliamentary seats were contested and there was also accusations of irregularities. Each step that the government takes towards democracy is a sign, it makes rolling back all the reforms less likely for one. This step will also increase the likelihood that the European Union and the United States will roll back sanctions. With that Myanmar may finally achieve its full potential, there is already speculation that its position astride India and China, and its rich mineral resources will quickly transform it into a new economic powerhouse.

The contrast between the two countries is shocking. One is on its way up and the other still mired in oppression. Two years ago both these countries were considered absolute basket cases and often muttered in the same breath when listing corrupt regimes. So this week I’m left with hope and praise for the successes of Aung San Suu Kyi’s decades long struggle for the freedom of her people, while lamenting the failure of the corpulent Kim Jong-un and the North Korean regime to advance beyond the failed policies of his father.

This post reflects the author’s personal opinions, not the opinions of Arizona Model United Nations.

Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.

Tags: Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma, Elections, Myanmar, North Korea, Suu Kyi, the lady
No Comments »

Taiwan’s Awkward Elections

December 18, 2011 in Asia, The World Today

By: Hugo Polanco

Photo: Lin Wen-hsiung, Taipei Times

Taiwan will have elections for President and for their legislature January 14^th. These elections will be the fifth such since the Island ended martial law in 1987. Taiwanese elections have rarely gone smoothly in the past. Either internal growing pains or external influences have marred previous elections. For example the first election for President, in 1996, was interrupted by mainland China firing missiles outside of Taiwan’s main ports. The 2000 election was mired with a scandal within the Nationalists party (KMT) that led their vote to be split among two contenders, subsequently the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected into power for the first time. Finally the 2004 election featured an assassination attempt on the incumbent Chen Shui-bian, who was later indicted on corruption charges. This pattern of turbulent elections indicates just how young and fragile Taiwanese democracy really is. This coming election, while hopefully avoiding many of the more dramatic aspects of previous elections, has the potential to destabilize both Taiwan and East Asia as a whole.

At stake is the nature of Taiwan’s relationship with China. Ma Ying-jeou’s electoral victory in 2008 brought rapprochement with China after 59 years of tense relations. In quick succession his administration managed to open and reconnect Taiwan with China via direct air and shipping links, Mainland tourist access, and many other cultural exchanges. Also his administration managed to successfully negotiate and implement the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement(ECFA), which is a trade agreement designed to lower tariffs and other trade barriers between the two sides. While both the presence of Mainland tourists and ECFA has been beneficial to Taiwan’s economy, many Taiwanese worry that the price is too high. Tsai Ing-wen, the DPP nominee, is running against President Ma Ying-jeou on a platform that rapprochement with China is occurring too rapidly and is threatening Taiwan’s sovereignty. Since Taiwan is a disputed territory with de facto independence, despite being claimed as a province of China, binding Taiwan’s economy too closely China’s could leave it vulnerable to China’s attempts to reincorporate the territory. This concern was so great that the passage of the act was mired with violence in the legislature.

As of now the election is wide open, with both candidates holding equal shares of voter approval and James Soong a third party candidate running a distant third place. A DPP victory could return Cross Strait relations to the tenuous pre Ma Ying-jeou era. A return to that era may prove to be untenable for Taiwan. Like the rest of the East Asian countries, Taiwan’s future economic growth lies in business relations with China. The current political relationship between both sides is a flimsy façade, a façade that however must be maintained. This façade allows China to preserve its myth of national unity while allowing the Taiwanese to exercise de facto independence. It must be a bitter and humiliating pill for the Taiwanese to swallow, to be denied all the formal trappings of prosperous and independent state. Taiwan has long paid this price and despite the desire to reevaluate the speed and depth of Cross Strait relations, the DPP would probably not move toward altering the status quo. The Chinese must be prepared for the possibility of a DPP victory and act responsibly. An overly negative or heavy handed response will only confirm the fears of many Taiwanese that China seeks to aggressively reincorporate them. Such a situation would hamper China’s goals of deeper connections with Taiwan and simultaneously severely limit Taiwan’s future growth. While on China’s insistence the relationship cannot be at a state to state level, a more stable relationship must be established that does not rely on the preference of the Chinese for certain political parties.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/12/17/uk-taiwan-election-debate-idUKTRE7BG0CH20111217

http://the-diplomat.com/2011/12/18/cross-strait-ties-at-crossroads/

Thanks for installing the Bottom of every post plugin by Corey Salzano. Contact me if you need custom WordPress plugins or website design.