Part of American Music Abroad, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced that Kensington, Maryland-based folk group Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, with Barbara Lamb, will tour Asia and the Pacific Islands. The trio will tour China Dec. 30 - Jan. 6, Malaysia Jan. 7-17, Vanuatu Jan.18-23 and Papua New Guinea January 23-27. Tour activities will include public concerts, lectures, demonstrations, workshops, media outreach, and collaborations with local musicians.

Taiwan is “the only force on Earth that may have an impact on the future political development of China,” said Steven S.F. Chen, formerly the island’s envoy to the United States and now an adviser to its president. “Not, I’m afraid to say, the United States, not Japan, not any another country. Only Taiwan.”

China's ambassador to the UK defended the country's internet crackdowns on Friday during an interview with the BBC. Liu Xiao Ming told Newsnight's Gavin Essler that there was a "misperception" about the internet in China and the way the Communist Party dealt with it. He also denied that it was difficult for Chinese bloggers to publish their opinions because of crackdowns on free speech.

We are all well aware that both India and China are rivals for supremacy in Asia and both are fishing for new strategies to tap to forge the alliances needed to strengthen that supremacy. If India and China nations that once put Buddhism aside for other priorities are now realizing that their answer for supremacy lies with Buddhism why has Sri Lanka’s policy makers not utilized this power which is under their very nose?

India can use the vibrant civil society network spanning Southeast Asia to highlight the shared concerns of rural riparian communities and engage China in a sub-regional dialogue to resolve trans-boundary water issues, Nimmi Kurian, Associate Professor, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi, says.

The Taiwan International Cultural & Creative Industry Expo (TICCIE) has thus seen considerable growth in the number of either participants or exhibit categories since the Council for Cultural Affairs (CCA), the predecessor of today’s Ministry of Culture (MOC), proposed to arrange the annual event three years ago.

The past year was a turning point in Sino-Japanese relations: Japan suffered a total defeat. Beijing realized practically all its diplomatic objectives, whereas Tokyo could not achieve any of them. But this victory may prove self-defeating for China.

Taipei-based Hungarian diplomat Levente Szekely is using his rare talent to introduce Hungarian arts to Taiwan, hoping to promote closer music and art ties between the two countries. The 53-year-old representative of the Hungarian Trade Office in Taipei shot to fame in Taiwan's diplomatic circles after showcasing his professional violin skills at a Hungarian National Day party held by his office in October.