RealClearPolitics.com, 9 Nov 2008, Richard Halloran
"Running through the worldwide acclaim for President-elect Barack Obama this week have been several threads of Asian skepticism, appeals, and even threats. Chinese leaders sent congratulations that included a subtle reminder that they expected Obama to acknowledge their contentious claim to the self-governing island of Taiwan. Moreover, on the day Americans voted, the Chinese issued a policy paper on Latin America that the US has long considered its backyard."
"Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said he had written to Obama: "Many issues will claim your attention. May I make a case for the importance of Southeast Asia to the US, a region which is not unfamiliar to you," referring to Obama's childhood in neighboring Indonesia. A writer for the Straits Times, Joanna Lee, however, was skeptical of Obama's emphasis on hope: "Alas, I'm not sure hope is enough.""
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