EVENTSPAST EVENTS

As countries around the world grapple with finding the right measures to effectively combat the spread of COVID-19, the Asian Tigers have stood out for their extraordinarily low infection rates, despite their close proximity to mainland China.

This event explored the government policies, tech applications and societal behavior that have contributed to such low – or leveling the curve of – infection rates in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong, as well as Tiger Cub economy Vietnam. Looking into the case of Singapore, the event looked at what lessons can be learned in preventing a ‘second wave’ of infections. Can these be applied to Israel and other countries in striking the right balance for back-to-work strategies?

SPEAKERS:

Dr. Mark Clifford is executive director of the Asia Business Council in Hong Kong, and a member of the Israel-Asia Center’s Advisory Council.

Previously, he was editor-in-chief of the South China Morning Post and the Asia regional editor for BusinessWeek. Mark moved to Asia in 1987 as the Seoul, Korea correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review, and later served as the magazine’s business editor in Hong Kong.

His books include The Greening of Asia: The Business Case for Solving Asia’s Environmental Emergency, Through the Eyes of Tiger Cubs: Views of Asia’s Next Generation,  China and the WTO: Changing China, Changing World Trade, and Meltdown: Asia’s Boom, Bust and Beyond.

Mark holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of Hong Kong, where his research focused on the Kadoorie family following its emigration to Hong Kong in 1880,  and its electricity company China Light & Power. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the Hong Kong Forum. He has lived in Hong Kong since 1992.

Dr. Gedaliah Afterman is head of the Asia Policy Program at the Abba Eban Institute of International Diplomacy at IDC Herzliya.

He previously served as a fellow and China Program Lead at the Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI).

Prior to this, he served as a political officer at the Australian Embassy in Beijing, responsible for strategic planning and policy advice to the Australian government on issues related to China’s foreign and strategic policies, its relations with major powers, as well as its engagement with Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

ADDITIONAL READING:

In the battle against the coronavirus, Japan and the four ‘tiger economies’ offer the world a new ‘Asian miracle’
By Mark Clifford – South China Morning Post

What Asian states can teach Israel about coronavirus surveillance tech
By Gedaliah Afterman – Haaretz

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