Articles by S P Seth

Australia's conservative establishment appears to want to keep their country in a time warp: after all why change when past policies - of immigration and the issue of aboriginals - have served the country so well? Besides, it is important for Australia to project itself as a harmonious and homogeneous nation so that security and other ties with the US may be nurtured.

For long Australia has been one of the US's strong allies in the Pacific Ocean region, posing an effective counterpoise to Chinese aspirations in the area. However, in recent times, questions have been raised in the opposition and media about the need to maintain a careful balance between established friends such as the US and Australia's Asian neighbours.

Falun Gong, a non-political religious organisation in China, is being targeted by the Chinese government, which has banned the outfit. Practitioners of Falun Gong claim that many of its members have been detained or imprisoned. With a membership of over 100 million in China, Falun Gong continues to raise its voice demanding the right to practise its beliefs.

Japan, with its public debt at 130 per cent of GDP, needs to square its national accounts. But the leaders worry more about social cohesion and prefer to go slow on economic reform.

Beijing is currently obsessed with two issues: the question of Taiwan, and the quasi-religious Falun Gong movement, which the party ‘apparatchiks’ fear is threatening its unquestioned hold over the country. Combinedly they have the potential of plunging China into another political and social nightmare.