Hoe Yeong Loke | National University of Singapore (original) (raw)

Papers by Hoe Yeong Loke

International Journal of Chinese Education

In the media and policy discourses in Singapore, comparisons have often been made with countries ... more In the media and policy discourses in Singapore, comparisons have often been made with countries like Taiwan and South Korea to validate the Singapore government’s long time policy approach of maintaining the cohort participation rate (cpr) in public universities at around 25% to 30%. Considering the rates of youth unemployment in Taiwan (12.7%) and South Korea (9.5%), where the cpr in universities has hovered around 80% to 90%, it would appear that the problem is one of an over-supply of graduates. While Singapore has maintained a commitment to skills training and to fostering a well-resourced polytechnic sector and the technical and vocational education sector, the government announced in 2012 its plans to raise the country’s cpr in universities to 40% by the year 2020. It established new public-autonomous universities to fulfill this goal, and expanded study places in existing universities, nevertheless with the proviso that internships would central to the curriculum, and that t...

The Business Times (Singapore) , Aug 5, 2015

The UK may indeed need to extend its trade links beyond the European continent. But the British g... more The UK may indeed need to extend its trade links beyond the European continent. But the British government has certainly no great desire to exit the EU single market.

EU Centre in Singapore Background Brief No. 14 , May 2015

The UK’s membership of the EU has become a highly charged topic in British politics. In January 2... more The UK’s membership of the EU has become a highly charged topic in British politics. In January 2013, Prime Minister David Cameron promised an in/out referendum if his Conservative Party won the 2015 General Election. Now that the Conservatives have formed a new government after winning a slim majority, David Cameron will push on for EU reform ahead of his referendum promised for 2017, while hoping that British voters would choose to remain in the EU for the benefit of a stable economy.

What is really at stake for the UK, with regard to its membership of the EU? This background brief charts the arguments for and against Brexit – the term coined for the potential exit of the UK from the EU. Various analyses from think tanks and observers across the political spectrum are presented here. While attempting to offer a balanced coverage of the debates on Brexit, this background brief nevertheless seeks to offer a fact-based assessment of the merits of the UK leaving the EU, or otherwise. Economic considerations, rather than ideological underpinnings, are therefore the key here.

A separate section charts out the economic relations between the UK and Singapore, a key political and economic partner of the UK in Asia, to discuss the potential impact of Brexit internationally.

ASEM Outlook Insights, Oct 2013

"The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process has almost doubled in the 17 years since its estbalishmen... more "The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process has almost doubled in the 17 years since its estbalishment in 1996, expanding from 26 members to 51 at present. Not only has the membership widened, but the scope has broadened as well to include dialogue at a ministerial, working group, parliamentary, and wider civil society level. Much debate has been generated on where to take ASEM and what lies ahead.

These future trajectories are discussed in this paper by examining some of the key literature on the process by some of pre-eminent by renowned ASEM watchers."

Baltic Journal of European Studies, Dec 12, 2013

This paper seeks to determine whether the EU has accomplished its objectives concerning the visib... more This paper seeks to determine whether the EU has accomplished its objectives concerning the visibility of EU external action, which the Lisbon Treaty sought to achieve. The role of Catherine Ashton as the EU’s High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, together with the newly formed European External Action Service (EEAS) which supports her work, aimed to “effectively project European values and interests worldwide” (Šefčovič, n.d.) and to make Europe “an actor on the global stage” (Europa, n.d.). Despite the sui generis nature of the internal functioning of the EU, there is a strong case in academic literature that the EU can be studied as an international actor like any other state actor. Southeast Asia, represented in this article by Singapore and Thailand, is a key region to test whether the post-Lisbon EU has reached the status of a key actor on the global stage. The findings from media research carried out in 2006 and 2011 (i. e. before and after the Lisbon Treaty) suggest that the EU has failed to achieve its stated aims.

EU Centre Background Brief No. 8 (March 2013)

On 22 January 2013, French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel gathe... more On 22 January 2013, French President François Hollande and
German Chancellor Angela Merkel gathered in Berlin to
celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Élysée
Treaty, the document that ended centuries of rivalry and
warfare between their two countries. It is all too easy to forget
the importance of Franco-German reconciliation. The 1950
Schuman Declaration, which led to the creation of the European
Union’s (EU) predecessor, the European Coal and Steel
Community (ECSC), sought to render the prospect of war
between France and Germany ‘not only unthinkable but
materially impossible’. Over 60 years later, when the EU was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel
Committee noted that indeed, ‘war between Germany and
France is unthinkable’.
Halfway around the world in Asia, the other theatre of World
War II, tensions between China and Japan have arisen, with
Taiwan and South Korea also in the fray. Nationalist movements
in these countries have grown. This background brief lays out
the issues for a timely reappraisal of the applicability, or
otherwise, of the European integration and reconciliation
processes to East Asia.
The brief seeks to outline the contours of the historic act of
Franco-German reconciliation, and its consequences ever since.
Starting from a brief look at the history of rivalry and war
between the two countries, the brief examines the events
leading to the signing of the Élysée Treaty in 1963, and the
development of Franco-German exchanges that have cemented
the relationship. Difficulties between the countries are also
raised. A timescale analysis of the opinion of the two publics is
considered, as a measure of the success of Franco-German
reconciliation.

In an increasingly interlinked and interdependent world, Europe and Asia are key players. Free tr... more In an increasingly interlinked and interdependent world, Europe and Asia are key players. Free trade agreements (FTAs), such as the ones the EU concluded with South Korea and Singapore, are indicative of strong mutual economic interests. It is therefore timely to take a closer look at the mutual perceptions of Asians and Europeans – not only at the governmental and policymaking levels, but also public opinion and the media. This paper draws on data from an extensive research project led by the National Centre for Research on Europe (NCRE), New Zealand, the empirical study in this paper assesses the mutual perceptions of the EU/Europe and Asia, and their respective actors, focusing on two countries – Germany and Singapore.

In 2011 Turkish officials began indicating their intention to suspend all contact with Cyprus’s p... more In 2011 Turkish officials began indicating their intention to suspend all contact with Cyprus’s presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), slated for the second half of 2012, given the issues surrounding the unresolved Cyprus conflict. This came as the latest development in a long and arduous path of Turkey’s application for EU membership that began in 1987. This paper provides the context – the Cyprus conflict, Turkey’s EU accession negotiations, and the Cyprus reunification talks – in understanding the reasons and consequences of Ankara’s boycott of the Cyprus presidency. The article also considers the evolving nature and the role of the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, especially after the implementation of the Lisbon Treaty, and how this may have played into Turkey’s calculations in calling for the boycott.

Keywords
Cyprus; Turkey; EU Council; rotating presidency

This background brief examines the relations between the EU and its eastern neighbours through a... more This background brief examines the relations between
the EU and its eastern neighbours through a case study
of Georgia. What are the underpinnings and factors
driving EU policies such as the European Neighbourhood
Policy (ENP) and the Eastern Partnership (EaP)? Is EU
membership for these eastern countries the end goal?
Georgia, a small country in the South Caucasus, has
been thrust into the limelight in the wake of its 2003
Rose Revolution and its 2008 war with Russia, with
implications for EU-Georgia relations. This relationship
is fraught with asymmetric expectations – Georgia has
been more than won over as part of the EU’s ‘ring of
friends’, evident in how its leaders and people have
expressed a desire to join the EU. However there is
currently little if any reciprocal desire on the EU’s part,
and understandably so, given the persistence of
Georgia’s territorial conflicts.