The bundling of race and ethnicity with nation is common in state ideology and popular perceptions in East Asia. These beliefs in racial homogeneity deeply held by the societies that make up this world region are now being challenged by the international migration of workers, most of whom are themselves from Asia or ethnic Asian origins. The advent of multicultural societies has already begun and, given both the globalization of migration and demographic trends in the higher income economies, it will increasingly become an issue for public policy in the coming decades. While central governments tend to continue to reify the race-nation ideology, local governments and citizen groups have in many instances become more positive in their responses to the issues of cultural diversity and social justice for foreign workers working and living in their communities. Mike Douglass is professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Hawaii. He has lived in East and Southeast Asia for more than twelve years, where he has carried out research and practice in urban policy and planning. His current research interests and projects include globalization and urban policy in the Asia Pacific region; urban poverty, environment, and social capital; foreign workers and households in Japan; and rural-urban linkages in national development. His recent books are Culture and the City in East Asia, edited with Won Bae Kim (Oxford, 1997); Cities for Citizens: Planning and the Rise of Civil Society in a Global Age, edited with John Friedmann (John Wiley, 1998); and Coming to Japan: Foreign Workers and Households in an Age of Global Migration, edited with Glenda Roberts (Routledge, 2000).

Mike Pillsbury earned a BA at Stanford and a PhD in political science at Columbia University. He is a longtime analyst in Chinese foreign policy and national security strategy at RAND Corporation, the Defense Department, and as a staff member on Capital Hill. He has authored several influential books and articles, including, most recently, Chinese Views of Future Warfare and China Debates in the Future Security Environment.

Telecom reform in India has been variably paced, with false starts and imperfectly empowered regulators. The government recently changed its strategy from generating high upfront fees to revenue-sharing. The latest move in January 2000 of bifurcating the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India into separate judicial and recommendatory bodies will be analyzed by the speaker in the context of broad trends towards reform. T.H Chowdary is the Information Technology Advisor to the Government of Andhra Pradesh, in the rank of a Minister for State. He has held executive and managerial positions in Indian Government's departments of Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications. He was Deputy Director-General in the Department of Telecommunication and the first Chairman and Managing Director of VSNL, India's Overseas Telecom Corporation. He was President of the Institution of Electronics and Telecommunications Engineers (INDIA) and UNO/ITUs Senior Expert in Guyana (1985) and Team Leader in Yemen (1990-1991). He has worked extensively for the de-monopolization and liberalization of Indian telecommunication sector. He heads the Center for Telecommunication Management and Studies (CTMS) in Hyderabad, India and is consultant to several national and international electronics and telecom companies and financial Institutions and is on the Board of Directors of a number of corporations.

The history of Indian power sector is abound with myths like those that envisioned the big projects as "temples of modern India" some fifty years ago, to the recent characterization of the sector as a "millstone" hindering economic development. The dynamics of the sector provides a classic case of the debate on the role of state versus that of the market in developing economies. Lately, economic realism has led to reforms for developing competitive electricity market. Under the changing dynamics, long-term policy needs to be based on some robust insights. In this talk, the speaker will present an analysis of Indian power sector under different scenarios that take into account the "success" of reforms, technology transfer regimes and local and global environmental concerns. Some insights will be offered vis-?-vis the well known debates on fossil energy options (coal versus gas), decentralization versus centralization, renewable and nuclear technologies, and the extent of linkage between local and global environmental policies. Discussion will also address the status of reforms and trends. P.R. Shukla is a Professor with the Public Systems Group at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad. He obtained Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1979. He has been a consultant to the Government of India and several national and international organizations. He is a leading expert on developing country policy, especially in the areas of energy, environment and technology. He is a lead author of several international reports of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). He is a co-author of eight books and numerous publications in reputed international journals and invited articles in books and proceedings.

Professor Gomes will discuss the role of computer-mediated communication in the construction of diasporic identities among Goans. This is part of a broader project focused on the politics of culture among Goans, examining the trends and identity expressions that relate to the re-establishment of Indian "roots"and heritage. Professor Gomes is a Malaysian-born Australian of Goan Indian descent. He teaches anthropology at La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia. He has researched and published extensively on Malaysia's indigenous peoples (Orang Asli), focusing on demographic patterns, ecological issues, and political economy. Apart from his Goa project, he is currently writing a book, partly autobiographical, on cultural politics in Malaysia.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) which is the country's market regulator has recently released its draft rules on corporate governance. Mr. L.K. Singhvi will discuss the SEBI draft. The Securities and Exchange Board of India is India's primary regulator of financial markets. A member of the Indian Civil Service, Mr. Singhvi heads SEBI's Investigation, Enforcement and Surveillance Departments and its Derivative and Venture Capital Fund Departments. Prior to joining SEBI, he held positions in the Indian Revenue Service and the Income Tax Department. When India began reform in 1991, Mr.Singhvi undertook the important assignment of the Director of Enforcement of Foreign Exchange Regulations and was also a member of the committee for dilution of Foreign Exchange Regulations. Mr. Singhvi has participated both in national and international conferences especially in the area of capital market and is also an active member of the Asia Pacific Regional Committee on Enforcement.

Professor Jean-Luc Domenach is one of France's leading experts on China, and on Asia more broadly. His publications include works that have dealt successively with the internal and external politics of the People's Republic of China and with international relations in East Asia. His books include The Origins of the Great Leap Forward (1995); The Forgotten Gulag: China's Prison Camps (1992); Asian Communism: Dead or in Transition (1994); Asia Rediscovered (1997) and, most recently, Asia in Danger (1998). In addition to his academic writings, he is a regular columnist for two French dailies, La Croix and Ouest-France. He is also on the editorial and advisory boards of several scholarly journals, including the French Review of Political Science, International Politics, and Politics Abroad. Professor at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, beginning in 1995 he became Scientific Director of the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques, where he is also in charge of the Masters of Contemporary Asia Program. Jean-Luc Domenach is a knight of the National Order of Merit.

Traditionally, an entrepreneurial spirit has not been seen as something of much value in Japan. However, the Japanese government has undertaken a variety of short-term and long-term measures to revitalize the Japanese economy through creating new business opportunities and employment. Mr. Yoda's discussion will touch on the SBIR, the Japanese version of the Bayh-Dole Act, the revision of the Bankruptcy Act, the revision of the standard for accounting as well as the revision of patent law for research institutes at national universities. To further promote the development of new enterprises and support for their growth, tax provisions, such as the "Angel Tax", have been revised and the number of incubators available for new entrepreneurs to use are also subject to increase. Through the revision of patent law, the relationship between university research institutions and private businesses in Japan will become a key factor in Japan's revitalization. Expected results from these government strategies as well as some aspects of these revisions that need to be further considered will be discussed by Mr. Yoda along with his analysis of the potential role of the Japanese government in facilitating entrepreneurial links between Japan and Silicon Valley. Mr. Yoda serves as Chief Executive Director of the Japan External Trade Organization's (JETRO) San Francisco office, where he as served since 1997 as a liaison between the Japanese and the US business communities. His primary responsibility is implementing Japanese trade promotion programs and assisting US companies looking to enter the Japanese market. Previous to his assignment at JETRO San Francisco, Mr. Yoda spent 25 years working for the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) and other governmental organizations. Mr. Yoda has also served as Commercial and Economic Councilor for the Japanese Embassy in Ottawa, Canada (1991-94). Mr. Yoda received a BA degree in Law from Kyoto University. He frequently takes part in directing JETRO's trade promotion activities as well as promoting the Japanese market to U.S. business and community leaders.

Why do some regions seem more innovative then other regions? What is the secret of successful regions? Based on research in several innovative regions, Collaborative Economics has identified some of the factors that shape success. Doug Henton, President of Collaborative Economics based in Palo Alto will present results from the 2000 Index of Silicon Valley and the results of a recent study on Innovative Regions which analyzes trends in several American regions including Austin, Route 128, Northern Virginia, San Diego as well as Silicon Valley. Doug founded Collaborative Economics in July 1993 after a decade as assistant director of SRI International's Center for Economic Competitiveness. At SRI, Doug directed local strategy projects in diverse regions, including Tampa, Florida; Southern California; and Austin, Texas. He led major state-level strategy development projects in Arizona, Florida, and California, and provided consulting assistance to the President's Commission on Industrial Competitiveness, the Western Governors Association, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and the Appalachian Regional Commission. Internationally, Doug directed major projects on the economic future of Hong Kong, the technopolis strategy in Japan, and regional development in China. Doug holds a bachelor's degree in political science and economics from Yale University and a master of public policy degree from the University of California, Berkeley.