tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74571332085272226002024-03-14T02:04:48.095+11:00Dr Lincoln Fung's blogMost posts are comments reflecting personal views on current public and topical policies, with some general themes too to reflect personal interests.Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.comBlogger1857125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-21388220997583295952017-10-12T22:08:00.003+11:002017-10-12T22:08:41.645+11:00How to compare trade and FDI?
Comments on James Laurenceson, UTS “In
the US–AU–China love triangle, actions speak louder than words”, 12/10/2017
The author seems persuasive in arguing that trade and
investment relations are both important. It is also probably true that it is
difficult to be sure which of the two is more important and by how much.
Notwithstanding those, it is probably also true that the two may not be
Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-44693621365089290652017-10-09T11:35:00.000+11:002017-10-09T21:29:08.335+11:00Russia is indispensable to solving North Korea nuclear crisisComments on Editorial Board, East Asia Forum "Stepping back from the brink with North Korea", 2/10/2017
This article, like the leading article of the week, underestimates the important role of Russia in the context of the Korea peninsula nuclear crisis. Sidelining Russia will be a huge mistake and represents a serious misunderstanding of the world power dynamics. As a result, it is unlikely to Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-36683852690942404362017-10-09T11:29:00.001+11:002017-10-09T11:46:00.092+11:00The PC draft report on GST system itself lacks comprehension
Comments
on Peter Martin "GST system broken 'beyond comprehension', Productivity Commission finds", 9/10/2017
While it would take a careful reading of the draft report to fully understand it and to make constructive comments, a glance at the key points suggests that the draft report may suffer a fundamental weakness, that is, it may have based on incorrect premises and misunderstanding of the Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-40578664058380234262017-10-09T11:19:00.000+11:002017-10-09T11:46:47.708+11:00Efficiency illusive to understandComments on Xinling Wang, China Policy "China’s twenty-year dream of SOE reform still unfulfilled", 8/10/2017
Efficiency seems so easy to define in theory yet very hard to really understand.
To illustrate this, consider two extremes in terms of efficiency.
First, the case of China. There have been and still are so many areas in China which are so inefficient, yet its economy has beenMr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-55663853218853547602017-08-20T22:31:00.002+10:002017-08-20T22:34:54.836+10:00China, the US and the Thucydides Trap
Comments on Peter Van Ness, ANU: “Are
China and the US falling into the Thucydides Trap?” 20/08/2017
While the author of the post has presented some good points,
it appears that either the critics or the author have probably misrepresented a
basic fact. That fact is, among the known nuclear powers, there are both
qualitative and quantitative differences to many orders. The US and Russia are
Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-69481530575354654022017-07-26T10:29:00.001+10:002017-07-26T10:29:49.817+10:00US–China cooperation on North Korea remains critical?
Comments on Brendan Taylor, ANU “US–China
cooperation on North Korea remains critical”, 26/07/2017
This is a useful and interesting post. I have some comments
on it.
Firstly, the statement that the "Australian Prime
Minister Malcolm Turnbull is in lockstep with Washington, asserting at last
month’s Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that ‘China has the capacity and
responsibility to bring Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-90382950795930032312017-07-22T00:07:00.001+10:002017-07-22T00:07:23.571+10:00Growth potential out of regional disparity in income?
Comments on Yang Yao and Mengqi Wang, Peking University, “Maximising
China’s growth potential”, 21/07/2017
While I agree with the general point of this post, it should
be pointed out that the statement that "Analysis shows that a region
should grow more slowly at high levels of GDP per capita and more quickly at
low levels" should be properly interpreted as a possibility to present a
Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-13948832371871270602017-07-22T00:04:00.000+10:002017-07-22T00:04:36.589+10:00The Chinese exchange rate regime
Comments on Yu Yongding, CASS “Backpedalling
or a step forward in renminbi reform?” 20-22/07/2017
There are a few interesting points arose from this post.
Firstly, it is a case of whether one views that as "half bottle
empty" or "half bottle full" as far as the case of the equal
weights being given to both previous day's close and the ‘theoretical RMB
exchange rate’ in setting the renminbi Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-4615929976503486612017-07-06T16:47:00.002+10:002017-07-06T16:47:53.921+10:00Elegant wording and stuff!Comments on Gary Hawke, VUW, "Is the TPP a sleeping beauty or an organ donor?" 26/06/2017The use of sleeping beauty and organ donor aiming to best characterise the real situation and to provide a very vivid description is itself beautiful!I appreciate the analysis and share its logic conclusion.
The last two paragraphs sum up them so elegantly!
Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-21754508556491125142017-07-06T16:41:00.003+10:002017-07-06T16:41:26.425+10:00A peace regime on the Korean Peninsula may require more to be doneComments on Stephan Haggard, University of California San Diego, "A peace regime on the Korean Peninsula?" 28/06/2017It seems that the Chinese proposal represents a good compromise that may provide a solid and acceptable method to advance and resolve the nuclear and peace issues on the Korean peninsula. Both North Korea and the US should make and need to make some compromises and it is in their Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-82473851992748060822017-07-06T16:34:00.001+10:002017-07-06T16:34:28.385+10:00Time for Trump to hit back at China’s new cybersecurity law?Comments on Claude Barfield, AEI "Time for Trump to hit back at China’s new cybersecurity law", 1/07/2017Hasn’t the US, and for that matter Australia too, shut some Chinese firms out from participating in their projects? For example, Huawei has been shut out from Australia’s NBN work, even though Huawei is allowed in Europe.
Given the dubious reasons for shutting out Huawei and other Chinese Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-49964158167375313812017-07-06T16:28:00.003+10:002017-07-06T16:28:43.434+10:00Strategic vision and subtle diplomacy requried now to unite the world for good causesComments on Adam Triggs, ANU "Divided G7 an opportunity for Asia and the G20" 3/07/2017It appears that the G20 meeting may make some real progress in terms of climate change and some other global and international issues, but it may be unlikely to be reflected in the meeting communique or documents, if the US is to veto or pressure others not to have those reflected in their wording.
It may Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-46698506748334736482017-07-06T16:19:00.000+10:002017-07-06T16:21:10.391+10:00Achieving real results: Balanced versus one sided approaches to nuclear and missile issues on Korean PenisulaComments on Hitoshi Tanaka, JCIE: "Breaking the impasse with North Korea", 6/07/2017
While this post contains some good analysis of and proposals for resolving the nuclear issue on the Korea peninsula, I am afraid it still runs the risk that it remains in the realm of largely one-sided western thinking.
There are at least two areas to support such a conclusion. One is that it argues that China Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-17296074741508896852017-06-22T10:33:00.001+10:002017-07-06T16:23:38.643+10:00Revenue neutrality a better way to tax negative externalitiesComments on Lennert Veerman, Senior health economist, Cancer
Council NSW “Taxing
sugary drinks would boost productivity, not just health”, 22/06/2017
While the argument for a tax on sugary drinks may have some
appeal for a number of reasons including the additional and new reason put
forwarded by the author of this post, there is a danger that a country or
politicians in a country may Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-23211890710609072852017-06-20T14:42:00.002+10:002017-06-20T14:49:11.745+10:00Withdraw THAAD not that too difficult for President Moon
Comments on Kai He, Griffith University “THAAD
is no easy withdrawal for Moon”, 20/06/2017
It seems that the author is a bit too pessimistic on what
the new president could do on this issue. I think he will be able to achieve a
successful withdraw and to do it skilfully and elegantly without too much
trouble.
While it would not be a very easy job to withdraw the THAAD in
South Korea, it is Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-36041227227782155832017-06-19T13:26:00.001+10:002017-06-19T14:46:47.927+10:00Inactions sometimes may not necessarily be bad
Comments on Editors, East Asia Forum “ASEAN,
the region’s strategic convenor”, 19/06/2017
I think this editorial may need some rethinking of itself,
particularly in terms of its view on 'the uncertainty about consensus within
ASEAN on appropriate responses to manifestations of great power rivalries in
the Asia and the Pacific', even though it should be commended for its correct
judgement Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-643300716526430572017-06-17T14:19:00.001+10:002017-06-17T14:21:30.262+10:00Singapore has not been neutral between the US and China!Comments on Ja Ian Chong, NUS "Singapore caught between a rock and a hard embrace", 17/06/2017
It seems that this post is based on a fundamentally slippery
basis, that is, Singapore has been neutral and fence sitting. It has not and it
has been a US ally and has been on the US side. The military training in Taiwan
represents an interesting case of such non-neutrality, because China has always
Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-5367956834406630712017-06-13T09:48:00.001+10:002017-06-17T14:15:06.628+10:00Don't be too sensational on Xinjiang policies and be balancedComments on Ben Hillman, ANU: "China’s dangerous ethnic policies in Xinjiang", 13/06/2017
This post fails in its grasp with the reality particularly in the context that even the British Prime Minister Theresa May recently has said that enough is enough after the terrorist attacks in Britain and the Australian government has updated its citizenship requirement where there are significant ‘Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-55121782659621808352017-06-11T06:58:00.003+10:002017-06-11T07:06:09.481+10:00Unwise and ugly actsComments on Titli Basu, IDSA: "Asian Development Bank at 50 and Japan’s puzzle", 11/062017
This is a very interesting post that exposes the foolish, futile and self harm acts by some countries in the attempt to maintain their own and long held positions at the costs of other developing countries, as the author put it: “As the US-led international economic order has failed to reflect the shiftingMr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-28095813563540797162017-06-10T14:03:00.001+10:002017-06-10T14:10:04.653+10:00Many anti-dumping actions against China unfair and unjust
Comments on Minsoo Lee, ADB “China,
the US and anti-dumping actions”, 10/062017
The use of anti-dumping against China by some western countries, as analysed by the author in this post, clearly demonstrate that it is ineffective in protecting the domestic producers and is more likely than not, harmful to both their domestic consumers as well as the overall welfare of those countries.
The main Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-72827607667340659402017-06-09T12:16:00.001+10:002017-06-10T13:54:34.448+10:00Commending courage in researchComments on Jean-Pierre Lehmann, IMD: "Phasing out the US (dis)order in the Asia Pacific",
9/06/2017I highly commend the author for this excellent post with bold and a way that does not necessarily bind to the conventionally political-correct view (presumably the main stream and dominant West view and probably not so West views in many quarters in the world).
It requires courage, wisdom Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-15626907021562749462017-06-05T06:25:00.001+10:002017-06-09T12:13:25.549+10:00International relations should be based on equality and reciprocity
Comments on James Laurenceson, UTS: “Is
China really a threat to maritime trade?", 4/06/2017
I think the point that Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia’s
first ambassador to China, made is an important one, that is, that ‘what the US
is really about is freedom of navigation for its military ships and aircraft to
push hard up against Chinese waters — which it would not countenance near its
own Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-75870338772743056252017-06-03T12:55:00.000+10:002017-06-03T16:12:18.594+10:00There are more monetary tools availableComments on Ran Li, Peking University, "Monetary policy and China’s soaring leverage problem", 31 May 2017
While your work in that survey and in your pursuit is interesting and possibly important, one has take a broad and creative approach to what monetary tools can and can’t do. A useful lesson is what the FED did or has done in the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis (particularly the Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-21453273461416078252017-05-31T20:08:00.000+10:002017-05-31T20:08:30.911+10:00Chinese sovereign debt default likely?
Comments on Yiping Huang, Peking University, “Is
a Chinese sovereign debt default likely?”, 28 May 2017
This post raises a number of
interesting questions.
Firstly, about the argument of that the recent downgrading
of China’s credit rating by Moody’s “could turn out to be more a warning of
past problems than a prediction of future risks”. One can certainly argue one
way or another on Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7457133208527222600.post-17792465867779056022017-05-31T14:24:00.001+10:002017-05-31T19:42:47.059+10:00Government guarantees, reforms and growth in China
Comments on Jiao Wang, University of Melbourne, “No
more ‘straight Aas’ for China?”
31/052017
While any governments should take it as their own
responsibility to prevent systematic or even fairly large-scale failures of
banks, financial firms and other major firms (even with the so called potential
too big to fail situations or scenarios), a blanket guarantee may create
serious moral Mr Lincolnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06093175073702435132noreply@blogger.com0