The biggest hit in Chinese cinema is a marketable contemporary comedy of the ilk of The Hangover. Would it succeed in the US? Something unspoken lay behind expectant articles in the film press for its US opening: the idea that this could be the point when cinema's trade winds stopped blowing from west to east, and the reverse became possible.

Though Greek culture is famous for its sociability and its nightlife, the country’s economic crisis is making people spend a little more time at home with their TVs. And with Greek TV channels looking for cheaper content, the airwaves are now filled with imported Turkish soap operas, says Asli Tunç, head of the Media School at Istanbul Bilgi University.

For the past few years, as China’s emergence has cast an increasing shadow over the region, Canberra’s strategic thinkers have tried to interest New Delhi in the concept of the “Indo-Pacific” as the two former colonies of Britain, now two leading democracies, find common ground.

The authors have been looking too much at what the US is espousing and not at what the US is actually doing in the Asia-Pacific. Most tensions between the US and China seem to be smoothly dispersed and resolved through very subtle diplomacy, such as the deal done about the fate of Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng, who took refuge in the American Embassy last year.

Bangkok governor candidates have been painting a rosy picture of the capital under their stewardship, but what's glaringly missing from their campaign bullet points and speeches is the policy and vision of Bangkok as a city of arts and culture. "Art and culture must be on the master Bangkok agenda, not something on the side.... We're talking about 'soft power' and how the creative industry can generate income."

TODAY, February 10, Chinese people worldwide celebrate one of their most important and revered cultural traditions, called in Mandarin language as the Spring Festival and outside of China as the Chinese New Year. Such celebrations wherever in the world the Chinese diaspora is embraced, are a manifestation of what may be called China’s “soft power”—where its very nature and personality convert into plusses for this great civilization.

APDS Blogger: Shaocong 'Amanda' Hu

On Jan. 19th, the USC MPD Beijing Delegation attended a roundtable themed “The Present Situation and Prospects of China’s Public Diplomacy” sponsored by the Charhar Institute, a leading public diplomacy and international relations think tank in China.

Some said that Seoul should seek to bring in tactical weapons and could propose to the North mutual nuclear arms reductions. But others argue the disadvantages of bringing nuclear weapons to the South would outweigh the advantages. They cautioned that Seoul could face strong resistance not only from its ally the US but also from the international community upholding the non-proliferation principle, and that its soft power accumulated through its active participation in global issues such as green growth and anti-piracy efforts would be undermined.