Random observations on countries around the world from stuff I read and conversations I had.
On Japan :
Ethnicity and culture can be worlds apart. In the 80s, to encourage the ethnic population, the Japanese government invited ethnic Japanese (nikkeijin) from Latin America, mostly Brazil. However, they were culturally so different that they could not assimilate. By 2009, the gov’t offered them a one-way ticket to return. Same color or heritage doesn’t mean the same world.
For historical context, in the 1920s thousands of Japanese left for Latin America in search of plantation work and a better life. Generations later, they might still be Japanese on paper, but only on paper. Brazil is now home to the largest Japanese diaspora outside Japan.
On Palestine :
What’s often forgotten is that Palestine is multi-faith, home to Sunni Muslims, Christians, and Jews. Iran has the largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel and Russia has one of the largest Jewish diasporas in the world.
The world is not binary, yet politicians often make it seem that way. Oppressing Palestinians or anyone is never acceptable.
On Indonesia :
Indonesia’s biggest turnaround of the century is the decentralization of its government. With 17,500 islands and over 200+ ethnic groups, Jakarta distributed power to 300 districts, and sectors like healthcare, education, and investment improved significantly. There is power in trusting the people.
Sukarno standardized the language (Malay - Bahasa Indonesia), Suharto brought unity and capitalism, but it was Habibie who introduced decentralisation and autonomy to the people.
When Suharto came to power, Indonesia and Myanmar were of similar economic capacity. Similarly when Lee Kuan Yew came to power, Singapore and Jamaica had similar economic and population capacity.
It’s interesting to see how political leaderships can impact a country drastically
On Malaysia :
A country to visit, food to indulge in, people to meet, and nature to love. On the Malaysia–Singapore debate, everything in Malaysia is better than Singapore.
On Thailand :
When Thaksin came to power, he was already a billionaire, yet instead of siding with elites, he ensured that the rural poor benefited from extended loans to farmers, overseas scholarships, government-subsidized housing, and healthcare insurance for just $1 per visit. The elites were so angry that they overthrew him in a military coup.
He certainly had flaws, and there were some recent hints of corruption, but once you empower the poor, the country can take off. I wouldn’t be surprised if Thailand becomes the first modern country in the region to let go of the royals.
On Vietnam and communism market :
Vietnam began introducing free-market reforms in the 1980s. It’s interesting that a communist country has become one of the US’s largest trading partners. When you travel to China, you’ll find plenty of American capitalists doing business there. Outside the US, it seems that whether a country calls itself capitalist or socialist doesn’t really affect how business is done.
On Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore) :
His book One Man’s View of the World is well worth reading. I may not agree with LKY on every point, but he was a wise man nonetheless. The book was published 12 years ago, yet it clearly shows how deeply he thought through the subjects. His clarity and originality are rare these days.
On Pavaroti and Deng Xiao Ping :
Listening to the beautiful o sole mio by Pavarotti. Lee Kuan Yew wrote saying it was Deng Xiao Ping, one of China’s greatest transformational leader’s fav song. When we look past politics, it’s beautiful how the world appreciates each other’s culture.
Also, if you want to understand capitalism in China, start with Deng.
On Xi (as written by Lee Kuan Yew) :
"He struck me as a man of great breadth, what the Chinese call da qi, as opposed to xiao qi. He is not narrow-minded. He thinks through problems deeply and does not feel the need to display his knowledge. He lacks the bonhomie of Jiang Zemin and is not as formalistic as Hu Jintao, but he has gravitas. That was my first impression.
Consider further the trials and tribulations he has endured. As a young man, he was rusticated and sent to Sha’anxi province in 1969. From there, he worked his way back up slowly, never complaining, never grumbling. I would place him in the Nelson Mandela class of individuals."
China vs Taiwan :
In the 1930s, the CCP and KMT rose to fight foreign invaders (Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the US, and Italy), local warlords and eventually each other. When the CCP won, the KMT moved to govern Taiwan. The CCP remained socialist but began embracing market reforms in the 1970s. The KMT established a democratic system and a long-standing defense alliance with the US. Today, this geopolitical rivalry is becoming increasingly intense.
On North Korea :
A large portion of North Koreans genuinely believe they are the greatest nation in the world, thanks to the Kim dynasty. If you cut off or tightly control external communications and block market reforms, a country can remain trapped under oppressive leadership for generations.
Then again, the capture of Venezuela’s president shows that maybe only North Korea understood the assignment when it comes to nuclear missiles.
I have a long book review somewhere here on North Korea especially during the famine era, and my favourite Korean series (the only one I’ve seen) is Crash Landing on You.
US economy :
America began by adopting European engineering, then went on to build its own manufacturing base, and eventually became an innovation leader. At its peak, it shifted toward globalization and financialization, a move that disproportionately benefited a narrow set of shareholders rather than broad-based productive capacity.
Neoliberalism is often treated as a fixed ideology but in practice shifts depending on who defines it. What has remained constant is the cumulative concentration of output and power over the past fifty years.
Despite current rhetoric, meaningful decentralization of the US economy is not yet visible in policy. In this context, renewed calls for open-source systems are necessary to liberate innovation from entrenched bottlenecks.
The US maintains a trade-to-GDP ratio of roughly 25% on a $28 trillion economy. With services accounting for nearly 80% of output and supported by strong domestic markets, the country struggles to broaden its export base. Bilateral trade concessions tend to funnel gains toward selective industries. A strong dollar reinforces this imbalance by attracting imports while making exports less competitive.
Europe :
The euro is opposite: one monetary policy, one too many fiscal policies. Since the euro era, much policy energy has gone into preservation. Economically, Europe has transitioned from innovation-led growth to manufacturing and globalization, and now prioritizes survival over dynamism.
On France :
France is rather international. French fries is from Belgium, French press is from Italy, French manicure from America
On a nation’s strength :
A nation’s industrial capacity determines its national strength, not just how advanced its military weapons are. Sustenance comes through its economic capacity.
On Racial purity :
There is no such thing as racial purity. Modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved in Africa. When some groups migrated out of Africa around 60,000 to 70,000 years ago, they interbred with other human species already living beyond the continent, most notably Neanderthals and Denisovans.
On Migration :
Humans have, from the test of time, migrated from one location to another to find a place to call home. When you zoom out, everyone is an immigrant. What makes a diff is a time stamp and the (in)ability to assimilate