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The best of Asia Society every week.
May 15, 2018


POLICY

How Powerful Is North Korea, Exactly? Not Very

There's little doubt that North Korea's nuclear weapons program has grown in size and sophistication — and Pyongyang has long had a powerful conventional military. But the Asia Power Index, introduced last week by the Lowy Institute, shows that its paltry performance in social, cultural, and economic measures means that North Korea is actually one of Asia's weaker states. 


BOOKS

The Politics of Dehumanization

During a conversation with Kevin Rudd, Ian Bremmer explained how "dehumanization" is essential to Israel's treatment of Palestinians, President Trump's insult of Nigeria and Haiti, and America's refusal to accept more Syrian refugees, among other examples. In a world where technology will soon render millions of jobs obsolete, "it'll make us think very differently about who matters and who doesn't," he said.


LITERATURE

The Universality of 'Asian American' Themes

Novelist Weike Wang's acclaimed book Chemistry centers around a young Asian American woman who, like Wang herself, pursued an academic path in science before changing course. The novelist is proud to have written an Asian American character — but believes her characters are universal. "Nobody would have asked Ernest Hemingway if he could write characters from other races," she told Asia Blog.

ASIAN AMERICAN MONTH

The First DREAMer on Listening to the Next Generation

Born in South Korea, Tereza Lee came to the United States at age two and, by age seven, knew that she was an undocumented immigrant. When a high school teacher learned that her status would prevent Lee, a gifted student, from pursuing a college education, she notified Senator Richard Durbin — whose subsequent creation of the DREAM Act provided a pathway for people like Lee. In this interview with Asia Blog, Lee discusses what it means to be American — and much more.


INTERVIEW

Why Undocumented Immigrants Should Be 'Empowered and Unashamed'

Community organizer and DACA recipient Stephanie Ji Won Park works to empower Asian Americans who, like her, discovered at a young age that they were undocumented. In this interview with Asia Blog, Park explains how policy changes implemented by the Trump administration have affected her work.


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