Asia Pacific Viewpoint最新文献

This article evaluates the effectiveness of international law in resolving political conflicts by comparing Cyprus (1974–2004) and the Korean Peninsula (1993–2017). Employing a dual framework of liberal institutionalism and realism, it measures outcomes based on two criteria—resolution of core issues and alleviation of security threats—through analysis of UN Security Council resolutions and its interactions with relevant stakeholders. In Cyprus, proactive UN engagement and the establishment of the UNFICYP buffer zone facilitated ethnic reconciliation and long-term stability. In contrast, on the Korean Peninsula, a sanction-driven approach alongside great power rivalries undermined legal mechanisms, allowing North Korea's nuclear programme to persist and intensify regional risks. These divergent outcomes demonstrate when and how international law can succeed or fail in resolving political conflicts. The study concludes by advocating adaptive, law-based approaches that combine trust building, targeted remedies and multilateral cooperation to enhance legal effectiveness in future conflict resolution efforts.

This ethnographic study explores the often-overlooked social and cultural impacts of wildlife tourism on Indigenous communities coexisting with wildlife. Focusing on the engagement of Tibetan pastoralists with wildlife tourism in Sanjiangyuan National Park, Qinghai Province, China, the study employs the theoretical framework of placemaking to examine the transition from traditional yak herding to active participation in wildlife tourism. This shift allows Tibetan pastoralists to redefine their relationships with ancestral lands, reimagine their identities and reshape their interactions with wildlife, thereby fostering a renewed sense of communal belonging and cultural continuity. In doing so, the research challenges the conventional dichotomy between modern conservation efforts and Indigenous cultural preservation, contributing to the limited literature on Indigenous-led wildlife tourism. The study further reveals that wildlife tourism can serve as a powerful avenue for both the preservation of cultural heritage and the promotion of ecological sustainability within Indigenous contexts. It advocates for conservation approaches that empower local communities to shape tourism practices in ways that respect their cultural traditions while also supporting ecological conservation.

This paper draws on empirical data from a research project on diversified models of palliative care and hospice in China to examine the development and implementation of a Voluntary Cooperative Network Research (VCNR) approach in end-of-life care. The current study identifies several barriers to service provision, including limited institutional development, inadequate resource investment, insufficient training in palliative medicine and low levels of public awareness. Policy restrictions further constrain the delivery of palliative care in nonhospital settings. Employing the VCNR approach, the research generated 1028 quality of death questionnaires (857 valid responses; 83.3% validity rate) and 364 death narratives across multiple settings. The VCNR method demonstrates strengths in mobilising diverse stakeholders and generating rich, multisited data, yet it also encounters challenges, such as the absence of clear dispute-resolution mechanisms and disparities in the professional backgrounds of participants. The study contributes to sociological understandings of end-of-life care in China by foregrounding the complexities of collaborative research in under-resourced and policy-sensitive domains. It also offers methodological reflections on participatory research infrastructures and their capacity to foster interdisciplinary dialogue and inform the future organisation of palliative care services.

Research has shown how care work and care responsibilities play important roles in mobility and migration decision-making process in China and the broader Asia Pacific region. Care, as both a deeply embedded ethics and a universally present practice, plays a vital role in survival and wellbeing, as well as mobility. Yet few studies have examined the role that care responsibilities play in impacting young people's mobility decisions—in particular the anticipation of care responsibilities as an important factor. Is it possible that the methodologies used in young people's mobility studies have not been fit to pick up this nuance? And what is the role of the researcher in seeking out and representing narratives of care? In this article, we reflect on the methodological decisions in an ethnographic fieldwork experience which examined the reasons behind young people's decision to relocate to ‘lower-tier’ urban places in regional China. We reflect on the methodological choices researchers make in intentionally making care visible, and the implications of doing so. Such implications are not only about understanding young people's migration decision-making, but about strengthening a more ‘care-full’ scholarly discourse and reality where care is a central fact of life.

This study explored the entrepreneurial motivation and journey of new female immigrants from China. Based on the interviewees' entrepreneurial experience, this study aimed at providing a reference for new residents who are interested in starting their own businesses. It was suggested that the Taiwan government should take the difficulties encountered by new immigrants seriously, by improving their entrepreneurial conditions and providing support measures to enhance their entrepreneurial capabilities. For these purposes, document analysis and in-depth interviews were conducted with eight new immigrants. The results revealed that their entrepreneurial motivations were mainly the need to cater for their family, pursue their dreams, and self-actualisation. Their entrepreneurial challenges included how to deal with insufficient startup capital, how to acquire professional knowledge and skills and how to overcome family issues. Based on the findings, this study provided several recommendations as references for relevant authorities in Taiwan to assist new residents with entrepreneurship guidance and further support new female immigrants to start their own businesses in the future.