The World Today

The Internet could be an important weapon for undermining regimes which lack a democratic mandate. With eight million online and counting, China’s rapid Internet development should be a major threat to the political order. However, with the right rules in place – and more just issued – the government has little to fear. At least, for the moment.

‘After the successful resolution of the Hong Kong and Macau issues, people are naturally turning their eyes beyond the Taiwan Strait – where lies the final leg of China’s reunification march.’ That was the view of China’s official Xinhua News Agency in December as officials hauled down the Portuguese flag over the first – and last – European colony in East Asia, and China declared Macau the second of its Special Administrative Regions after Hong Kong. In case the message should be lost on ‘Taiwan compatriots’, the agency added, ‘Chinese leaders have said on many occasions that settlement of the Taiwan question cannot be delayed indefinitely. With Macau’s return to the Motherland, the Taiwan issue is urgently placed before the entire Chinese people.’

Taiwan has been doing well. Over the last thirteen years, it has been transformed, and now enjoys a per capita standard of living that is fourth in East Asia after Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Whereas in 1988, it was only just beginning to emerge from decades of authoritarian rule, it is now one of most vibrant democracies in the region.

Who will run Saudi Arabia – the world’s biggest oil producer – once the current generation hands over? What are the attitudes of young people in a society where they are in the majority? Mai Yamani reflects on the results of her two-year study. Hundreds of interviews have been distilled into composite characters, three of which are presented here.

Development as freedom – these three words – the title of Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen’s book – kept coming back to me as I was listening to the opening remarks of the second international meeting of economists on globalisation and development problems in Cuba at the end of January. There were four opening addresses, and to my surprise, all were about six year old Elian Gonzalez and the ‘imperialist’ ultra-right country – the United States – which prevented his return home. There was a mixture of propaganda and real concern for the boy’s well-being.

Urbanisation will be one of the big issues of the new millennium. According to UN estimates, half the world’s population will soon live in cities. Cities are at a cross-roads. Will they be able to capitalise on their strengths – many-layered opportunities for economic and social contact, accessible leisure and cultural facilities, dense networks – leading to an urban renaissance; or will suburbanisation intensify, becoming sprawl, because the disadvantages of city life outweigh the benefits? How can cities reconcile economic vigour with sustainability? What will be the impact of new technology? What should be the role of governance? What do cities need to do to succeed and prosper in a globally competitive world of increasingly footloose industries and individuals?