This is supposed to be the "Asian century", and already many people in South-East Asia are of good cheer. Among them is Goh Chok Tong, Singapore's prime minister. The doom and gloom of the financial crisis which began to engulf the region in 1997 has given way to renewed optimism. The decade of despondency that many predicted now seems unlikely to materialise. But it's not quite business as usual. The crisis, says Mr Goh, has produced "four positive outcomes": it has speeded up the opening of economies, forced Asians to be more aware of good corporate governance, made the region concentrate on its real competitive strengths, and provided a hard lesson about globalisation. If so, that is all for the good. But this survey is mostly about another positive outcome, the one that Mr Goh left out: the emergence of more open and democratic government.
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