Latest from Peter T. C. Chang
Nurtured by Donald Trump, the Christian radical right – with its doomsday prophecies – threatens to bring civil war, deepen US rivalry with China and upend international relations and governance.
Nurtured by Donald Trump, the Christian radical right – with its doomsday prophecies – threatens to bring civil war, deepen US rivalry with China and upend international relations and governance.
With American and Chinese universities abandoning any pretence of academic impartiality, Malaysia’s neutrality could provide a base for critical scholarship and impartial research through institutions like Xiamen University Malaysia.
With American and Chinese universities abandoning any pretence of academic impartiality, Malaysia’s neutrality could provide a base for critical scholarship and impartial research through institutions like Xiamen University Malaysia.
The Southeast Asian nation’s Malay Muslim and Chinese Confucian communities are at odds, but have much common ground to work with.
The Southeast Asian nation’s Malay Muslim and Chinese Confucian communities are at odds, but have much common ground to work with.
Since the 1960s, when the US overcame Cold War differences with the Soviet Union to defeat smallpox, America has taken an illiberal, ethno-nationalistic turn. These dark undercurrents, stirred up by Trump, have made it harder for the US to set aside its differences and cooperate with China
Since the 1960s, when the US overcame Cold War differences with the Soviet Union to defeat smallpox, America has taken an illiberal, ethno-nationalistic turn. These dark undercurrents, stirred up by Trump, have made it harder for the US to set aside its differences and cooperate with China
China has woken up to its historical failure to shape how the world sees it. In the battle to influence global opinion, amid the US-China trade war, the Chinese community in Southeast Asia can help bridge the gap between East and West.
China has woken up to its historical failure to shape how the world sees it. In the battle to influence global opinion, amid the US-China trade war, the Chinese community in Southeast Asia can help bridge the gap between East and West.
Malaysia has shown pragmatism in its approach to China and is uneasy with the US framing of its rivalry as a moral choice between good and evil.
Malaysia has shown pragmatism in its approach to China and is uneasy with the US framing of its rivalry as a moral choice between good and evil.
China should exercise greater candidness and become a more open society, while America needs to confront its racial and ideological prejudices if they are to avoid the Thucydides Trap.
China should exercise greater candidness and become a more open society, while America needs to confront its racial and ideological prejudices if they are to avoid the Thucydides Trap.
China’s Confucian heritage means it can tolerate multiple belief systems ‘under heaven’, but the US’ insistence on liberal democracy has echoes of Christian exclusivism.
China’s Confucian heritage means it can tolerate multiple belief systems ‘under heaven’, but the US’ insistence on liberal democracy has echoes of Christian exclusivism.
China’s flexing of its academic muscles is to be welcomed, if its cooperation with others is fair and open. For its own sake, too, China must return to the roots of its tradition of pluralistic education, and free up space for critical learning.
China’s flexing of its academic muscles is to be welcomed, if its cooperation with others is fair and open. For its own sake, too, China must return to the roots of its tradition of pluralistic education, and free up space for critical learning.
Peter T.C. Chang writes that, 48 years after his book diagnosing the problems ethnic Malays faced, Mahathir Mohamad is once again leading a country where Malays are still mostly poor, despite a decades-old policy that has favoured them and angered other groups. Addressing both problems will be the great challenge of his term in office.
Peter T.C. Chang writes that, 48 years after his book diagnosing the problems ethnic Malays faced, Mahathir Mohamad is once again leading a country where Malays are still mostly poor, despite a decades-old policy that has favoured them and angered other groups. Addressing both problems will be the great challenge of his term in office.
At a time when China is emerging as a global power and extending its influence far and wide, aspersions cast on the loyalty of ethnic Chinese born and bred in Malaysia are wholly unjustified.
At a time when China is emerging as a global power and extending its influence far and wide, aspersions cast on the loyalty of ethnic Chinese born and bred in Malaysia are wholly unjustified.