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Web-only Exclusives
November 30, 2000

From Our Correspondent: Hirohito and the War
A conversation with biographer Herbert Bix

From Our Correspondent: A Rough Road Ahead
Bad news for the Philippines - and some others

From Our Correspondent: Making Enemies
Indonesia needs friends. So why is it picking fights?

Asiaweek Time Asia Now Asiaweek story

NEWSMAKERS


ROUND # 2

HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE TUNG CHEE-HWA's Oct. 7 Policy Speech, the second of his career at the helm of the SAR, came up short on specifics for reversing the territory's economic decline. A consensus-seeker, Tung made few new pledges, other than to push his plan to streamline Hong Kong's political structure. But he dragged his feet on his pledge to provide 85,000 new housing units yearly, turning the populist promise into an accommodation with business interests. There will be a modest increase in public spending, but his message was, basically: "Stay the course." The intitial response to Tung's speech: very little to upset people, but very little to make them happy.


ROYALTY PREVAILS

SULTAN HAMENGKUBUWONO X, 52, the eldest of the 16 sons of former Indonesian vice president SULTAN HAMENGKUBUWONO IX, was named governor of Yogyakarta on Oct. 3. That might not sound like a momentous appointment - after all, the sultan is already a god-like figure - but it was a big deal for Yogyakartans. They had to agitate to get the Sultan his job at the head of the autonomous territory. Hamengkubuwono X had led a peaceful anti-Suharto rally last May and looked a bit too "political" to the politicos in the nation's capital, who had been reluctant to give him the post since his father died in 1988. His installation as governor is seen as a notable victory for the provinces over the central government.


ANWAR ALLY OUT

EVER SINCE PRIME MINISTER MAHATHIR MOHAMAD criticized AHMAD ZAHID HAMIDI, 44, at a meeting of the United Malays National Organization in June, it has been clear that his days as head of the party's youth wing were numbered. Zahid, a close ally of former deputy premier ANWAR IBRAHIM, had been critical of Mahathir's leadership. Zahid resigned from his post on Oct. 2, soon after he was released from nine days in police detention. He said his decision was "not due to any particular UMNO leader" - an apparent refutation that he had been forced to step down by Mahathir, the party's president. "As a leader with responsibility," Zahid said, "I thought resigning was something I had to do. I will continue to work for the party as a member." He will undertake a nationwide tour to explain his decision. His deputy, Hishamuddin Hussein, will take over his duties.


PLUSES AND MINUSES

FORMER FIRST LADY IMELDA MARCOS was acquitted of a 1993 graft conviction by the Phillipines Supreme Court on Oct. 6. The decision will not affect the claims against the Marcoses of some 10,000 human rights victims who were awarded damages in a United States court. On Oct. 7 Marcos was summoned to the U.S. embassy in Manila to answer questions about unpaid American taxes and penalties.


LITTLE LEEWAY ALLOWED FOR ANTI-KIM OPPOSITIONISTS

FOR SHEER DRAMA IN South Korea, nothing quite surpasses the allegations against LEE HOI SUNG, 52, the younger brother of LEE HOI CHANG, head of the opposition Grand National Party. The younger Lee is accused of instigating a plot to stage a shootout on the DMZ just before last December's presidential election. Lee allegedly paid $3,570 to three South Korean men to arrange for North Korean soldiers to open fire on border guards. The hope was that a possible security alert would drive voters away from then presidential candidate and opposition leader Kim Dae Jung. The Lees strongly deny the charges, calling them a frame-up aimed at wrecking the opposition.


This edition's table of contents | Asiaweek home

AsiaNow


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TIME:

COVER: President Joseph Estrada gives in to the chanting crowds on the streets of Manila and agrees to make room for his Vice President

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SINGAPORE: Singaporeans need to have more babies. But success breeds selfishness


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