China’s population policies have had a tendency to veer towards the extreme since the era of Mao, says commentator Yu Shiyu. A delayed response to adjusting the one-child policy, which has resulted in a declining population and is expected to have an adverse economic impact, demonstrates the inefficiency of an authoritarian system in self-correcting. Its decision making could also swing between extremes as it is based on subjective top-level thinking.
Politics
Society
US-based researcher Yu Shiyu notes that the EU seems to have gained greater unity and internal coherence from the stress test of Covid-19. In contrast, the US seems to be more divided and has not found its way around the pandemic as well as its many other domestic issues. What has the EU done right to be able to be a standard setter in the post-pandemic era?
Technology
Motivated by its rivalry with the Soviet Union, the US focused its resources on becoming a science and technology giant after World War II. Now, in competition with China, can the US muster a "whole-of-nation" approach to regain a clear dominance in science and technology?
Society
A study shows that the global population will peak before the end of the century and populations in most countries will be on a downward trajectory. China is no exception. Its birth rate continues to fall each year and its population size is expected to be as low as 730 million by 2100. How can China prevent this problem from becoming its Achilles heel?
Society
Nothing is black and white when it comes to race debates, says Yu Shiyu. What if you’re not black but ‘brown’ as some term it, that is, a minority nonetheless. Some Asian Americans of Chinese and Indian descent have been labelled model minorities for largely rising through the ranks though they face some forms of discrimination. Question is, if they don't see the current protests as their fight and stay out of the fray, are they equally culpable?
Society
Yu Shiyu observes that China could be reading too much into terms such as “sick man” and should by now, have the self-confidence to let such comments roll off their backs.