This appendix consists of fourteen tables covering politics, economies, trade and investment, energy and the environment, security challenges, and nuclear arms and proliferation. The data sets presented here summarize the critical trends in the region and changes underway in the balance of power in Asia.

Ann Marie Kimball

This chapter examines the potential impacts of an avian flu pandemic in the Asia-Pacific, in particular the effects on regional economic integration, effectiveness of regional responses, and implications for the United States.

Richard J. Ellings and Aaron L. Friedberg

Asia is in better shape than during the Cold War, but it remains fragile and prone to crisis—and this condition will hold for the foreseeable future. Security risks in Asia stem from unprecedented, rapid change in the balance of power, legacies of past wars, rising nationalism, strategic competition, radical Islamist terrorism, the nature of the North Korean regime, uncertainty about China’s future, and other causes. Providing some stability to the region is the domestic focus of the major powers on economic reform and development, and their increasing embrace of globalization.

Yasheng Huang

This essay first examines political status in Hong Kong and explains why the U.S. emphasis on politics is misguided. This is followed by a discussion of laissez-faire in Hong Kong and the increasing Chinese economic presence in the territory. Then the reasons that Chinese business activities may erode Hong Kong’s laissez-faire economy are evaluated. The essay concludes by offering some policy implications.

Merle Goldman

Once China regains sovereignty, the subversion of Hong Kong’s institutions and practices is likely to accelerate.

Joseph Fewsmith

There is much controversy over the future of Hong Kong following its July 1, 1997, return to Chinese sovereignty. Much of this debate revolves around images, generally not well-grounded, of the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.). Nevertheless, if there is a nugget of truth in these images, it is that the future of Hong Kong is dependent on China, in particular on its future stability and continued reform. Hong Kong simply cannot be isolated from either the economic development of China or its political and social situation.