If Asians (MXAP) got together to name aperson of the year, someone who brought surprise, intrigue andeconomic impact to the region, the choice would be obvious:Mother Nature.
From earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand to floods in thePhilippines and Thailand to Chinese droughts to volcaniceruptions in Indonesia, this was a year overrun by nature��sfury. Food shortages and the effects of climate changechallenged governments and inflation rates as rarely before.
Other forces of nature, meanwhile, ran out of steam. Themost surprising thing about Kim Jong Il��s death is that we wereso surprised. Time was never on the side of the hard-livingNorth Korean leader after a 2008 stroke. Yet, the world seemedto think the laws of science no longer applied to Kim.Unstoppable China also showed signs of being subject to a set oflaws -- those of economics, which guarantee that rapid growthinevitably slows.
As 2011 draws to a close, 10 awards are in order for thecountries, people and companies that shaped Asia��s tumultuousyear -- natural disasters aside.
Homer Simpson Award: To the hapless crowd at Tokyo ElectricPower Co. (9501), whose corruption and negligence turned Japan��s March11 earthquake and tsunami into the worst crisis since Chernobyl.Japan��s nuclear industry was proved to be no sounder than thatof the fictional Springfield Nuclear Power Plant, where on ��TheSimpsons�� cartoon program, the bumbling Homer heads safety.Only for Japan��s 126 million people, there��s nothing to laughabout.
��Dictatorships for Dummies��
Ready or Not Award: To Kim Jong Un, the 20-something sonexpected to replace Kim Jong Il. Grandfather Kim Il Sung spentdecades preparing his son to take over in 1994. Kim Jong Il hadfar less time to show his successor the ropes. If onlyAmazon.com carried a ��Dictatorships for Dummies�� title.
Reality TV Award: To Philippine President Benigno Aquino,for offering nary a dull moment. First, he stood up to theCatholic Church��s stance against contracep! tion and familyplanning. Then he went after the billions of dollars watchdoggroups say Ferdinand Marcos looted during his 21 years in power.Next, he arrested predecessor Gloria Arroyo on corruptioncharges. And you think things are tense in Washington?
Overwhelmed Freshman Award: To Yingluck Shinawatra, thefresh-faced prime minister of Thailand. With her unsteadyhandling of massive floods that breached Bangkok��s defenses,Yingluck confirmed concerns that she is both unqualified for thejob and a proxy for her brother Thaksin Shinawatra. He wasousted from the premiership in 2006 amid huge street protests.Talk that Yingluck may allow her brother to return to Thailandmeans one thing: This might just be a warm-up.
Coming Out Party Award: To Myanmar, for shocking the globeby taking steps toward democracy. If you told Hillary Clinton ayear ago that she would be in Yangon and embracing Aung Sang Suu Kyi, the U.S. secretary of state might have laughed. It makesyou wonder whether Pope Benedict XVI will soon get an invite.
Underdog Award: To Anna Hazare, whose hunger strike shookIndia. Only history will tell if the anti-corruption movementtouched off by the Gandhian social activist will drive thechange India��s inefficient economy needs. It��s a dialog thatIndia must have if it��s going to keep up with China.
Gillard Thrives
Grrl Power Award: To Julia Gillard, the Australian primeminister who is thriving in a man��s world. After topplingpredecessor Kevin Rudd in a June 2010 party coup, word was thatGillard wouldn��t last. Today, she��s running an economy that��sthe envy of the developed world and planning to lead the LaborParty to the next election in 2013. Gillard is also working toincrease female participation in Australia��s executive suites.Good on you, mate.
Clueless Executive Award: Although it��s hard to top Japan��sTepco for dismal leadership, Olympus Corp. deserves honorablemention for a scandal that left a $1.3 billion hole in itsbalance sheet and President Shuichi Takay! ama stru ggling to savethe company��s board. And the next recall by Sony Corp., which ison course for a fourth straight annual loss, should be ChairmanHoward Stringer.
Contrarian Indicator Award: To Standard & Poor��s, whichmight as well have flashed a ��buy�� signal on American debtwhen it cut the U.S.��s AAA rating in August. Far from fleeingthe dollar, investors -- many of them from Asia -- loaded upanew on U.S. Treasuries. Does that signify complete distrust ofour credit-rating system, or what?
Meredith Whitney Award: To Muddy Waters LLC, the Hong Kong-based short-seller that claimed to have found financialshenanigans at timberland owner Sino-Forest Corp. Whitney��s 2007prediction that Citigroup Inc.��s dividend was in danger -- itwas later cut -- drew denials and rebukes. Muddy Waters��sreport, initially disputed, is looking more accurate (TRE) by the day.Among the investors tripped up was John Paulson, he of thecolossally profitable bet on subprime mortgages.
It��s fitting that the final award concerns China becauseAsia��s prospects are so dependent on the region��s dominanteconomic power. Maybe next year is when we will find out ifSino-Forest was an anomaly or a microcosm of the Chinese growthmiracle. If it��s the latter, then what Mother Nature served upthis year might seem tame by comparison.
(William Pesek is a Bloomberg View columnist. The opinionsexpressed are his own.)
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