RoW: Links for 25th September, 2019

Five articles about East Asia today, all interesting in their own right.

1. Reading this article reminded me (of all the things in the world!) of the conversation that Aakash has with his dad in Dil Chahta Hai, where Aakash’s dad asks him to find out the vajah. Weird? Yes. Relevant? You be the judge!
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   “Without really knowing what the North is about, it has been hard to be certain about what they really want: relief from the economic pressure of sanctions and the need to circumvent them so that the Kim dynasty can continue in not-so-splendid isolation, or economic and political engagement with the international community and a route to becoming a normal state without hostile relations with the US.”
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2. Speaking of North Korea…
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3. Part II of a two part series on energy (well, electricity)  in North Korea. Read both, though.
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4. Hong Kong as a Shakespearean tragedy.
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5. “There was no criteria except availability in English. Yes, this was more mad than methodical — but we’re proud of the result.”
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   A very useful list indeed: 100 books about China. I have read, I am happy to say, only six out of these. I am also slightly surprised to see that China Airborne didn’t make it to the list. And Taipan, maybe.