From The Economist, how to deal with a falling population: Worries about a population explosion have been replaced by fears of decline. If a country wants to keep its population up, it should promote IVF. A review of Embryo Culture: Making Babies in the Twenty-First Century by Beth Kohl Sarah and Everything Conceivable: How Assisted Conception is Changing Men, Women, and the World by Liza Mundy. Japan's population is ageing fast and shrinking. That has implications for every institution, and may even decide the fate of governments. In the Ruins of Empire should inform our thinking about calling on Japan to make reparations to "comfort women". China's corpse brides: An article on a lucrative, grisly market for grave robbers and murderers. An interview with Xinran, author of The Good Women of China.
China's Chicago: A giant city in the south-west is a microcosm of China's struggle to move millions from rural to urban areas. Despite its attempt to impose "capitalism with Chinese characteristics" in an effort to preserve the authority of the Communist state, Beijing will soon find that it can no longer silence the many who speak out against tyranny and corruption. Scared of China's economy? You should be. The Sopranos State: How North Korea’s crime empire functions. North Korea's no Mozambique: A review of North of the DMZ by Andrei Lankov. A matter of honour: A row over the UN's record in North Korea gets very close and personal, to everyone's detriment.
A review of Asian Godfathers: Money and Power in Hong Kong and South East Asia. From The Economist, ten years after Asia's financial crisis, the region is booming again. Has it fully recovered or are economic mistakes being repeated? Left behind by Asia's rise: Nature has dealt Papua New Guinea a tough hand. Even so, reformers have already shown how it could be doing much better. The survivors of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia were witness to one of the greatest atrocities in human history. Many cannot bring themselves to speak of it. The French children of these survivors are trying to come to terms with their parents' silence. A review of Perfect Hostage: A Life of Aung San Suu Kyi by Justin Wintle.
A review of The Great Partition: The Making of India and Pakistan by Yasmin Khan. A review of Gandhi: The Man, His People and The Empire by Rajmohan Gandhi. The Gandhis' girl: The election of India's president is a modest boost to the government. The Internet's Spice Route: An excerpt from The Elephant and the Dragon: The Rise of India and China and What it Means to All of Us. A review of Shadow of the Silk Road by Colin Thubron (and more). A review of Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang by James Millwoard. A review of The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion by Paddy Docherty. A review of Bound Together: How Traders, Preachers, Adventurers, and Warriors Shaped Globalisation by Nayan Chanda. Going nowhere: Despite reports in the Financial Times, there's no backlash against globalisation — only against growing inequality and social immobility.
