CAMBRIDGE/CHICAGO – US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s headline-generating visit to Taipei has reminded the world how much Taiwan matters to China. But Taiwan also should matter to the democratic world. It is no secret that the Communist Party of China (CPC) is committed to unifying Taiwan (which it views as …

By Ambassador Gurjit Singh In a globalising world there was an increasing shift towards development partnership. Today, when globalisation is threatened due to the pandemic and a new war in Europe, there is a greater requirement for development partnership programmes. India’s approach to development partnership was rooted in the experience …

The Thimphu Thromde has come up with a rash of heavy fines over the last two weeks for everything from parking on the footpath to the wrong colour of the roof. The fines are not the typical Nu 500 or Nu 1,000 but Nu 5,000 to Nu 50,000. These fines …

CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA – US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s arrival in Taiwan has incited a predictably strong response from China. Chinese warplanes have brushed up against the median line dividing the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese foreign ministry has warned of “serious consequences” as a result of Pelosi’s visit to …

There are four poisons or problems choking the civil service that need to be rectified by the RCSC and the reform team under it. The first problem starts at the recruitment level where the process is unscientific, outdated and unable to screen people who are fit for the job or …

In the first meeting between the government, private sector and Financial Institutions chaired by the Prime Minister, the RMA Governor was absent though a team was there. The issues raised were mainly around the monetary measures phase four. In the second follow up meeting chaired by the Finance Minister the …

HAMBURG – As Sri Lanka’s economy unravels before our eyes, one must ask how this could happen in a country that is historically known for its high standard of living and stable economy. Sri Lanka’s achievements go back decades, giving it a per capita GDP that is 70% higher than India’s, and …

Overall, the Rules for Administrative Disciplinary Actions (RADA) for civil servants is an important reform. While it is largely drawn from the Code of Conduct of the Bhutan Civil Service Rules (BCSR), the BCSR did not spell out specific penalties. As a result, there was no uniformity in the action …

On 13 December 2023 Bhutan is due to exit from the category of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) as we have met two out of the three thresh-holds viz. Per Capita Income and Human Asset Index (HAI). The HAI is a composite of health and education indicators.  The third threshold is …

Usually the Ruling Party, Opposition Party and the National Council can be trusted to have three different views on the same issue, but this was not the case when it came to discussions on the Civil Society Organizations Amendment Bill in the last two sessions. There were concerns raised on …