海角大神

America鈥檚 Asian communities had already been facing a pandemic-related spike in prejudice and hate. Killings in Atlanta this week have sparked a more concerted effort for solutions.

The pandemic will influence politics for years to come. Some voters are looking to replace leaders they blame for mismanagement, but new candidates also need a vision for post-pandemic life. Brazil is an especially dramatic example.聽

Cybercrimes often entail a violation of trust. But the hack of a private psychotherapy center 鈥� including patient session notes 鈥� has struck the Finnish culture of privacy particularly hard.

Einstein revolutionized physics with the idea that time is relative. Physicist and writer Alan Lightman finds joy in stepping out of time entirely.

Perseverance may be misinterpreted by others as selfishness. But perseverance breeds mastery 鈥� and ultimately respect and affection. When our essayist set himself to learn folk dancing, he also found grace and friendship.

In a symbolic gesture of meeting each other halfway, the top foreign policy officials of China and the United States met in Alaska on March 18 and 19. Less symbolically, the meeting鈥檚 main purpose was to agree on issues where the two countries can cooperate 鈥� as a way to ease tensions in so many other points of conflict.

Which issue might turn out to hold the most immediate promise of an American-Chinese partnership? Climate change? North Korea鈥檚 nuclear program? COVID-19 vaccinations?

One opportunity could be the newest issue: whether Myanmar returns to its democratic path after a Feb. 1 military coup and a violent crackdown on mass protests.

鈥淢yanmar may present a unique opportunity for the two powers 鈥� at odds on so much 鈥� to address in unison the growing international crisis radiating out of Myanmar,鈥� states Jason Tower, country director for Burma at the U.S. Institute of Peace.

Hints that the authoritarian regime in Beijing might not ultimately back the authoritarian generals in Myanmar have been growing stronger. Soon after the coup, China supported the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy that won parliamentary elections last year. She was arrested and charged of dubious crimes. China鈥檚 ambassador in the country said the coup was 鈥渁bsolutely not what China wants to see.鈥� And on March 8, China emphasized the importance of its ties to the NLD and suggested a willingness to play a 鈥渃onstructive role.鈥�

China has major economic and strategic interests in a stable Myanmar. It needs peace along the long shared border and access to the ports in the Southeast Asian nation. The big question is whether it also wants a democracy next door or a regime like its own.

For its part, the U.S. could hope that any Chinese support of democracy in Myanmar is 鈥渁 chance to evaluate China鈥檚 willingness to act as a responsible member of the international community,鈥� stated Mr. Tower. The people of Myanmar have already experienced semi-democratic rule, said an editorial in the Beijing-friendly South China Morning Post in Hong Kong. 鈥淩olling back the clock will be near impossible,鈥� it concluded.

A convergence of trust on Myanmar may be what China and the U.S. could use right now. Their tensions over China鈥檚 island claims in East Asia have put their navies on high alert. And the U.S. under President Joe Biden is poised to counter China鈥檚 cyberattacks, industrial theft, and human rights abuses.

To cool their passions and prevent conflict, China and the U.S. can find common purpose in Myanmar. They can focus on a shared problem without engaging in a contest of who is right 鈥� or whether 鈥渕ight is right.鈥� If they build up goodwill on something of mutual interest, it could begin to establish a virtuous circle of聽trust and help the two nations reduce their fears of each other.