In a vast parking lot outside Cambodia’s famed Angkor Wat temples complex stands a new museum built by North Korea, part of a lucrative charm offensive by a hermit state exporting its monumental art to a handful of foreign allies. [...] “North Korea has discovered soft power, it has discovered cultural diplomacy ... they are trying to broaden the image of what North Korea is about..."

Human rights in the West: does the reality live up to the rhetoric? On the surface, the cultural narrative seems innocent enough: billionaire philanthropists, political luminaries and transnational corporations, along with legions of staff and volunteers – all working together in the name of social justice, forging a better, fairer and more accountable world.
 

The elephant in the room isn't the strong-arming of Chinese State-Owned Enterprises in The Bahamas but rather their inability to grapple with the culture shock of doing business in the Caribbean region.

Companies are snapping up US film studios, which all want a piece of the mainland’s booming box office. But there is no such thing as a free lunch, warn observers. [...] The US$3.5 billion agreement [to buy Legendary Pictures]  is the largest cultural takeover by China, with American studios keen to capitalise on its burgeoning cinema market at a time when Beijing is pushing entertainment as a source of “soft power”.

Initially screened once a week, the show quickly captivated mainstream Australian viewers as well as Chinese-speaking migrants, so that now, due to popular demand, it is screened three times a week. SBS’s online promotion for the show says, ‘With a viewing audience of up to 50 million per episode, this popular Chinese dating show is a cultural phenomenon’.

“Real change” was Justin Trudeau’s campaign slogan last year. While these are still early days, the change – in both style and substance – has already been palpable. [...] Justin Trudeau is rebranding Canada as an open, progressive, plural society.