Diplomacy

A South Korean law that threatens human rights activists with fines of nearly $27,000 or up to three years in prison has prompted international concern about the status of free speech in South Korea and the future of human rights advocacy.

In this week’s episode, the editors discuss Luke Syrianos’ “Virtual Reality and Christian Politics,” Mark Melton’s “Cold War with China Hits Fashion Industry during H&M Boycott,” Alan Dowd’s “China Takes Aim at the Postwar Order,” and Jimmy Lewis’ “Christians Must Not Be Silent on China’s Human Rights Abuses.”

Palestine’s regional Arab allies, not Israel, should lead efforts to secure vaccines for the Palestinian population. The current crisis presents an opportunity for Arab countries to build goodwill internationally and support the Palestinian people by providing vaccines to the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

On March 5, 1946—75 years ago—Winston Churchill delivered the “Sinews of Peace” at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. “Special relationship” to describe US-UK relations and “Iron Curtain” both become household terms after the speech, and some point to this moment as the official start to the Cold War.

Few have discussed Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s formative early years of public service prior to joining Biden’s staff, years when our paths crossed.

A recent US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) report gives examples of China’s transgressions.

President Joe Biden’s China policy is coming into focus. As some of us predicted before his inauguration, he appears to be continuing the previous administration’s hard-line stance with Beijing—suggesting that the COVID-19 crisis marks a turning point akin to how the communist bloc’s attempt to seize West Berlin and South Korea solidified bipartisan commitment to waging the Cold War.

The normalization between the Arabs and Israelis diminishes Turkey’s role as the chief mediator between Israel and the Muslim world, so Erdogan’s anguish probably comes from fear of an “Arab option.”

A group of Egyptian thinkers has contested these practices and argued openly that restrictions against Christians ought to be repealed.