This issue’s collection of Web pages highlights sites created by a variety of governmental agencies in Asia. As the descriptions below for each site will aver, these sites contain an abundance of information about each of the countries represented, and for teachers of pre-college level students these sites can be a rich and broad reference source.
KOREA
SITE: EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
URL: http://korea.emb.washington.dc.us/
Beginning with an extraordinary “slide show” of images of Korea, it is impossible to summarize in a short paragraph the encyclopedic resources of this site produced by the Korean Embassy in Washington, D.C. In the Korean Information Center is an archive of Feature Stories about the Politics, Economy, Culture and Diplomacy of Korea. The General Information page contains a huge amount of information: A Window on Korea — Language, history, customs, arts, foreign relations, and more. Facts about Korea — History, government, economy, education, media, and so forth. Korean Heritage — Culture and Arts, based on a series of 20 booklets including Pottery, Gardens, Musical Instruments.
CHINA
SITE: INTRODUCTION TO CHINA
URL: http://www.china-embassy.org/China/China.htm
This page, organized into more than 20 broad topics, is provided by the Chinese Embassy in the U.S. The topics include Chinese History, Literature, Industry, Political System, Foreign Policy, Education, Science, Culture. Each topic is divided into sub-categories; so, for example, under Agriculture is: Agricultural Development, Crop Cultivation, Animal Husbandry, Aquaculture, Township and Village Enterprises.
SINGAPORE
SITE: INTRODUCTION TO SINGAPORE
URL: http://www.sg/cgi-bin/mlweb/multi/mlweb/index.html
Based on the text “Singapore 1996,” a yearbook published by the Ministry of Information and the Arts, Singapore, the information is organized into four areas: Government and Politics, Trade and Industry, Social Infrastructure and Physical Development. One can listen to a welcome greeting in four languages, and to a short and long rendition of the national anthem.
INDIA
Site: The Indian Parliament
URL: http://alfa.nic.in/
For a thorough introduction to the workings of the Indian Government, this is the page to look at. There is information on the Parliament’s structure, how a bill becomes an act, the committees, the officers and the budget. The two houses of Parliament — Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha — are described in detail on separate pages. The Constitution of India, the speeches of India’s President, and Parliamentary debates are featured prominently on the site.
JAPAN
SITE: THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
URL: http://www.mofa.go.jp/
In addition to major foreign policy statements, press conferences and speeches, the core of this site is the “Japan Information” section. In addition to links to several English language magazines, like Japan Echo, Mangajin, and Japan Pictorial, as well as links to the enormous body of information provided by JIN, the Japan Information Network, this section has features such as “Trends in Japan,” articles on the latest trends in lifestyle, the economy, the environment, etc. The collection of pages, “Opinions,” includes transcripts of addresses given by the scholars and opinion-makers of today’s Japan. The text for “Japanese Viewpoints,” a handbook in Q&A format, covers a wide range of topics from Human Rights to AIDS.
INDONESIA
SITE: THE BPS SITE, REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA
URL: http://www.bps.go.id/
If it’s statistical data about Indonesia that you seek, you have come to the appropriate page, i.e., this page from Indonesia’s Central Bureau of Statistics. Here you will find data grouped by sectors including Agriculture, Manufacturing, Foreign Trade, National Income, Population, Employment and Transportation. There is also a database of statistics organized by geographic region, as well as indepth Macro Economic Statistics reports. On the site is a page providing extensive links to the statistical pages of other nations, and other pages sponsored by the government of Indonesia.
THE PHILIPPINES
SITE: MALACAÑANG HOME PAGE
URL: http://www.philippines.gov.ph/
The President’s Office of the Republic of the Philippines has produced this series of pages which provide information on the Cabinet, general information on the country and “Public Information,” a collection of documents including speeches and treaty agreements. In the section devoted to information on the Philippines, one can find a brief history of the nation, a description of tourist destinations, the economic structure and the political system. These pages offer a brief overview rather than an in-depth picture of the Philippines.