1 Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia ARTICLES Thailand: The Lessons of Protest | Kevin HEWISON A Critical Consideration of the Use of Trauma as an Approach to Understanding Korean Cinema | Ju-Yong HA and Joel DAVID Review Essay on Perspectives on Philippine Languages: Five Centuries of Philippine Scholarship | Lawrence A. REID Philippines-China Relations, 2001–2008: Dovetailing National Interests | Charles Joseph Garcia DE GUZMAN COMMENTARIES Turning the Page: Re-examining Standards in Academic Journal Publication | Asian Studies Editorial Staff Hudud: Is UMNO goading PAS? | Francis LOH Kok Wah Introduction to Crises, Vulnerability & Poverty in South Asia: Peoples’ Struggles for Justice and Dignity | South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) Japan, An Ambiguous Power | Valerie Anne Jill I. VALERO REVIEWS Joel ROCAMORA | Sharon MAPA-ARRIOLA POETRYYY Mohiuddin AHMAD | Thomas David CHAVES Volume 50:1 (2014) Volume 50 Number 1 2014 2 ASIAN STUDIES is an open-access, peer-reviewed academic journal published since 1963 by the Asian Center, University of the Philippines Diliman. EDITORIAL BOARD* • Eduardo C. Tadem (Editor in Chief), Asian Studies • Michiyo Yoneno-Reyes (Review editor), Asian Studies • Eduardo T. Gonzalez, Asian and Philippine Studies • Ricardo T. Jose, History • Joseph Anthony Lim, Economics* • Antoinette R. Raquiza, Asian Studies • Teresa Encarnacion Tadem, Political Science • Lily Rose Tope, English and Comparative Literature * Ateneo de Manila University. All the other members of the editorial board are from UP Diliman. Managing Editor: Janus Isaac V. Nolasco Editorial Associate: Katrina S. Navallo Layout Artist: Ariel G. Manuel EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD • Patricio N. Abinales, University of Hawaii at Manoa • Andrew Charles Bernard Aeria, University of Malaysia Sarawak • Benedict Anderson, Cornell University • Melani Budianta, University of Indonesia • Urvashi Butalia, Zubaan Books (An imprint of Kali for Women) • Vedi Renandi Hadiz, Murdoch University • Caroline S. Hau, Kyoto University • Huang Renwei, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences • Reynaldo C. Ileto, Australian National University • Benedict Tria Kerkvliet, Australian National University & University of Hawaii • Lau Kin Chi, Lingnan University • Lee Jung Ok, Daegu Catholic University • Francis Loh Kok Wah, Universiti Sains Malaysia • Armando S. Malay, Jr., University of the Philippines Diliman • Kinhide Mushakoji, Osaka University • Raul Pertierra, Philippine Women’s University • Somchai Phatharathananunth, Mahasarakham University • Michael Pinches, University of Western Australia • Bambang Purwanto, Gadjah Mada University • Vicente Rafael, University of Washington • Helen Yu-Rivera, University of the Philippines Diliman • Harsh Sethi, Seminar Journal (New Delhi) • Wen Tiejun, Renmin University of China • Surichai Wun’Gaeo, Chulalongkorn University ASIAN STUDIES Copyright 2014 | ISSN: 0004-4679 (print) | ISSN: 2244-5927 (online) Asian Center, Magsaysay cor. Guerrero Sts. University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City EMAIL: [email protected] | [email protected] PHONE: 63.2.920.3535 or 63.2.981.8500 loc. 3586 The cover is based on the design of Marco Malto. The silhouette on the front cover is that of Byodoin Temple in Uji, Japan. It represents paradise in Pure Land Buddhism and appears on Japan’s ten-yen coin. The content of Asian Studies may not be republished without the written permission of the Asian Center. ASIAN STUDIES: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia Contents 3 ARARARTICLES Thailand: The Lessons of Protest Kevin HEWISON ............................................................................ 1 A Critical Consideration of the Use of Trauma as an Approach to Understanding Korean Cinema Ju-Yong HA and Joel DAVID ........................................................ 16 Review Essay on Perspectives on Philippine Languages: Five Centuries of Philippine Scholarship Lawrence A. REID .......................................................................... 51 Philippines-China Relations, 2001–2008: Dovetailing National Interests Charles Joseph DE GUZMAN ........................................................ 71 COMMENTARIES Turning the Page: Re-examining Standards in Academic Journal Publication Asian Studies Editorial Staff ........................................................... 99 Hudud: Is UMNO goading PAS? Francis LOH Kok Wah .................................................................. 113 Introduction to Crises, Vulnerability & Poverty in South Asia: Peoples’ Struggles for Justice and Dignity South Asia Alliance for Poverty Eradication (SAAPE) ...............123 Japan, An Ambiguous Power Valerie Anne Jill I. VALERO ........................................................ 138 REVIEWS The Ruling Elite of Singapore: Networks of Power and Influence by Michael D. BARR Joel ROCAMORA .........................................................................148 Tapping Ink, Tattooing Identities: Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary Kalinga Society, Northern Luzon, Philippines by Analyn V. SALVADOR-AMORES Maria Sharon MAPA-ARRIOLA ................................................. 151 Volume 50:1 (2014) 4 Contents POETRYYY Human Wrong Mohiuddin AHMAD ..................................................................... 155 Student Lovers on a Hopei September Thomas David CHAVES....................................................... 159 ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS ASIAN STUDIES: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia 5 Thailand: The Lessons of Protest Kevin HEWISON Professor, Murdoch University Abstract Since late 2005, Thailand has seen almost unending street protests by red shirts and yellow shirts against incumbent governments. While there are many lessons from this period of often unruly and uncivil political contestation, this paper concentrates on four that bear on several assumptions associated with the broad literature on democratic transitions. These are: (1) the political intransigence of a conservative elite unwilling to accommodate the rise of electoral democracy and subaltern claims for political voice; (2) the challenges posed to notions that the middle class and civil society have certain “historical roles” as the ballast for democratization; (3) the capacity for so-called independent institutions and agencies, created as checks-and-balances to be captured; and (4) the link between high rates of inequality and political rebellion cannot be assumed. Keywords: collective action, democratization, monarchy, antidemocratic movements, middle class, inequality WITH THE EXCEPTIONS of Singapore and Brunei, each of the countries of ASEAN has experienced regime challenging political protests in recent decades. Thailand has experienced more than most. The period since late 2005 has been unusual as one of essentially nonstop protest, which only came to an end on May 22, 2014, when the military overthrew a pro-Thaksin Shinawatra elected government. Since the coup, all protest has been banned and political repression has been extensive. Volume 50:11 (2014) 26 K. HEWISON Thailand’s street protests have involved a range of actors, from small ginger groups to huge and aggressive antigovernment protests that have gone on for several months. Throughout the period, however, the most significant and lengthy actions have been by the red-shirted supporters of Thaksin and his various political parties, and those by royalists, often identified as yellow shirts. Both groups have been able to mobilize hundreds of thousands of supporters. Thailand’s political protests present an opportunity for considering the lessons of collective action in the context of a nation where democratization has been debated, challenged, and discarded. Before turning to the lessons, however, some background is required. Context In the depths of the Asian Economic Crisis, Thailand’s parliament adopted the 1997 constitution, which had been debated since 1992. This constitution was the first to involve a consultative process, even if it remained elite-dominated. The new constitution was innovative in that it took seriously human rights, decentralization, and the establishment of checks-and-balances. The latter were meant to combat the cycle of “money politics” that saw politicians accumulating ill-gotten funds to buy votes and parliamentarians (MPs) in elections. A defining feature of the constitution was the effort to establish a more stable form of representative government. It did this by making the executive stronger and by establishing a greater degree on party control over MPs. The aim was to prevent “party-hopping” by MPs and to increase the longevity of elected governments. In essence, the desire was to establish a stable, two- (or three-) party system. As events unfolded, Thaksin was the only prime minister to be elected under the 1997 constitution. He convincingly won polls in 2001 and again in 2005. That constitution was thrown out in the 2006 military coup, which then resulted in the 2007 constitution, essentially drawn up to prevent any Thaksin-like domination of electoral politics. However, as pro-Thaksin ASIAN STUDIES: Journal of Critical Perspectives on Asia Thailand: The Lessons of Protest 73 parties unexpectedly continued to win substantial election victories, the military threw out its own 2007 constitution with the 2014 coup. The 2006 coup was preceded by several months of street protests against the Thaksin government, led by the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), a loose alliance of civil society, businesses,