A curated selection of public diplomacy-relevant news from a global cross-section of English-language media outlets, including independent, corporate-owned, and state-sponsored sources. The stories featured don't necessarily represent CPD's views nor have they been verified by CPD.
U.S. Foreign Aid Expected to be Biggest Casualty of Trump's 1st Budget
US spending on overseas aid is expected to bear the brunt of dramatic cuts as part of Trump’s plan to increase defence spending by $54bn in his upcoming budget. The US operates the largest and most expensive overseas aid programme in the world, with a proposed federal spend of $50.1bn for 2017 alone. More than $18bn of that is made up of economic and development assistance, commonly referred to as humanitarian aid.
Language Study as a National Imperative
A major 2013 report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences warned that at “the very moment when China and some European nations are seeking to replicate our model of broad education,” including the humanities, the U.S. was instead “narrowing” its focus and abandoning its “sense of what education has been and should continue to be.” The paper caught the attention of policy makers, including members of Congress.
China Launches Studies Exchange Program for African Journalists
The training topics include China’s political, cultural, media and economic studies amongst others. Other activities will include touring China, covering major political activities at the National People’s Congress and other major events like the BRICS economic summit slated. The development studies and media exchange is being organized by Renmin University of China (RUC) based in the capital, Beijing.
Taiwan Shares Expertise in Smart Cities, Clean Energy with India
Under its new foreign policy adopted last year, Taiwan hopes to share its expertise with India in areas like smart cities and clean energy, a senior official has said. [...] Clean energy goes without saying,” she said. “Your country and mine are going in the same direction.” The Asian Silicon Valley project is a major part of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s economic reforms aimed at infusing new life into Taiwan’s economy.
Überman America: The Sinister Soft Power of Trump’s Foreign Policy
Bad guys can possess soft power. I know—I wrote a book about it. But over most of the past century the U.S., as the soft power hyperpuissance, has largely set the standards of what constitutes effective national image projection. The United States has drawn its soft power, the “ability to shape the preferences of others,” as put by Joseph S. Nye, who devised the term.
Digital Geneva Convention
Microsoft’s call for a Digital Geneva Convention, outlined in Smith’s blog post last week, has attracted the attention of the digital policy community. Only two years ago, it would have been unthinkable for an Internet company to invite governments to adopt a digital convention. Microsoft has crossed this Rubicon in global digital politics by proposing a Digital Geneva Convention which should ‘commit governments to avoiding cyber-attacks.'
China-Singapore Summit a Proof of Willing Partners Within ASEAN
The Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation, the highest level of bilateral cooperation between China and Singapore starts today, February 27. Singapore Deputy PM Teo Chee Hean arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a three day visit at the invitation of China's Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli. Both leaders are co-chairs of the platform, which is for promoting dialogue between China and Singapore.
Climate Change a Focus at Science Diplomacy Summit
U.S. representative Raúl Grijalva said climate change is the greatest danger facing the world right now in his closing speech at the Science Diplomacy and Policy with Focus on the Americas conference in Tucson. Applause erupted from the conference attendees, speakers, panelists and organizers in the audience. [...] The conference aimed to provide a “state of the art” vision for the future in science diplomacy and policy.
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