Japan's Relations With China: Facing a Rising Power (Sheffi eld Center for Japanese Studies/RoutledgeCurzon)

By Peng Er Lam (Editor). Routledge, March 2006, 240 pages

In the context of a rising China and a stagnant Japan, this collection of essays addresses bilateral relations between the two nations and examines whether their relationship has been extended and intensifi ed despite differences in outlook, national interest and political systems. Rather than discussing the issue by reviewing the interactions of central governments, the book offers a new perspective by analyzing NGOs, local governments and sub-regional linkages. The book presents a wide range of case studies based on analytical approaches, including the Taiwan issue, the Japanese Offi cial Development Policy towards China, and joint fi shery management in the East China Sea. With perspectives from the US, Russia and Malaysia, the book provides fresh insights into this complicated and multifaceted relationship.

China Syndrome: The True Story of the 21st Century's First Great Epidemic

By Karl Taro Greenfeld. HarperCollins, March 2006, 464 pages

Former Time Asia editor Greenfeld was in China when evidence of SARS first appeared in the southern cities and then swept across the country. In his new book, Greenfeld offers a gripping description of the 2003 SARS epidemic from multiple angles, such as a migrant worker who fell victim to the disease and a doctor who volunteered to treat patients despite the high risk of infection. Greenfeld also recounts his own efforts of keeping his family and magazine staff safe in Hong Kong when public panic sparked and escalated. He ponders the factors leading to the epidemic crisis, concluding that overcrowded urban conditions provided a perfect breeding ground for the virus and the government's suppression of information gave it the time to escalate into a major pandemic. In the end, Greenfeld gives a gloomy prognosis, arguing that infectious diseases will certainly come along again.