Asia's year in review: Who had it good — and who had it bad — in 2022

Curtis S. Chin, a erstwhile U.S. ambassador to the Asian Development Bank, is managing manager of advisory steadfast RiverPeak Group. Jose B. Collazo is an expert focusing connected the Indo-Pacific region. Follow them connected Twitter astatine @CurtisSChin and @JoseBCollazo.

As the caller twelvemonth approaches, we crook again to our yearly look astatine Asia's winners and losers. Government and concern leaders successful each large system — China present included — whitethorn good anticipation 2023 is the twelvemonth erstwhile draconian pandemic-related lockdowns go a substance of history.

In our 2021 yearly review, we awarded "worst twelvemonth successful Asia" to Afghan women and girls — a effect of the U.S. and its allies' chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and the instrumentality of Taliban rule. "Best year" went to Asia's Cold War warriors, arsenic societal media, "wolf warriors" and politicians helped spark a instrumentality to Cold War rhetoric amid worsening U.S.-China relations.

Now, with hopes that Covid is successful retreat and that ostentation volition mean successful the twelvemonth ahead, we instrumentality a past look astatine who had it bully and who had it atrocious successful 2022.

Perseverance proved a victor successful 2022 arsenic the twelvemonth ended with Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. of the Philippines and Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia becoming leaders of their respective countries. One salvaged a household legacy, the different moved from situation to powerfulness — storylines befitting a Netflix series.

In the Philippines, Marcos — the namesake lad of his authoritarian begetter — won a landslide predetermination successful May for president, contempt what detractors spot arsenic a household bequest of corruption and impunity. More than 35 years ago, successful February 1986, the elder Marcos and his woman Imelda fled to Hawaii successful exile, driven retired by a People Power Revolution and a nonaccomplishment of U.S. support.

And successful Malaysia, Anwar yet proved a victor successful November, shedding the long-held descriptor of "prime-minister-in-waiting" to go his nation's 10th premier minister. That followed decades marked by smear campaigns, imprisonment and backroom intrigue arsenic the onetime lawman premier curate challenged vested interests with his vows to combat corruption.

The 2 present look the situation of governing and moving their respective countries forward. Stay tuned for the adjacent episode.

In a twelvemonth that saw tensions betwixt the U.S and China scope a feverish highest erstwhile U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi visited Taipei, the island's blase semiconductor manufacture ends the twelvemonth successful a bully position. Taiwan's chipmakers are much indispensable than ever.  

Semiconductor chips prevarication astatine the bosom of everything from computers to cars to smartphones. Underscoring the Taiwanese tech industry's captious role, a Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA)/Boston Consulting Group 2021 survey recovered that 92% of the world's astir precocious semiconductor manufacturing capableness is located successful Taiwan. The different 8% was successful South Korea. 

A uncommon bipartisan U.S. Congress has taken notice, passing successful July 2022 the CHIPS and Science Act, which allocates $52 cardinal successful national backing to spur further home accumulation of semiconductor chips. In December, the world's ascendant chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), announced plans for a second semiconductor spot works successful Arizona, raising to $40 cardinal what is already 1 of the largest overseas investments successful U.S. history. 

With numbers similar those, Taiwan's semiconductor manufacture ends the twelvemonth connected the move, inactive gathering ties and winning increasing enactment from concern and authorities successful the United States and elsewhere.

As successful overmuch of the world, investors successful Asia — erstwhile bedazzled if not bewitched by the crypto manufacture — extremity the twelvemonth successful a mixed mood. Industry meltdowns person near many, including successful government, wondering if the connection of caveat emptor — purchaser beware — is sufficient, and caller regulations loom. 

The crypto speech FTX's billions-dollar implosion acceptable disconnected alarm bells passim the region. Singapore's Temasek Holdings, which has written disconnected its full $275 cardinal concern successful the now-collapsed FTX cryptocurrency business, has suffered "reputational damage," Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said.

Even amid nutrient insecurity and economical worries crossed overmuch of Asia, the images of aggravated citizens storming the authoritative residence of Sri Lanka's President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Presidential Secretariat basal retired successful what was astir decidedly a atrocious twelvemonth for this one-time "pearl of South Asia."

Sri Lanka continues to look a multidimensional crisis. A breached economy, depleted overseas currency reserves, precocious ostentation — at 1 constituent reaching much than 70% — and power, substance and nutrient shortages made worse by the interaction of the warfare successful Ukraine, a increasing "brain drain" and meager tourism numbers qualify this southbound Asian federation today.

By September, nearly 200,000 Sri Lankans had near the land nation, and thousands of would-be emigrants were readying to bash the aforesaid successful hunt of a brighter aboriginal elsewhere. 

An IMF woody to restructure Sri Lanka's indebtedness could supply overmuch needed currency and economical stability, but negotiations stay analyzable by ample amounts of Sri Lankan indebtedness held truthful by China, India and Japan.

While China has taken pridefulness successful an extraordinarily debased fig of (officially reported) Covid-related deaths, the federation has besides go a showcase for the antagonistic consequences of efforts to incorporate the virus. In what should person been a bully twelvemonth for Chinese President Xi Jinping, helium has seen the twelvemonth adjacent with a question of Chinese discontent. 

By year-end, anti-lockdown protests were reported successful galore cities, including astatine the world's largest iPhone assembly mill successful Zhengzhou, arsenic China's zero-Covid argumentation took its toll connected the system and mundane people's intelligence health.

"We privation freedom, not Covid tests," became a communal chant of immoderate protesters, according to Reuters, arsenic individuals "pushed the boundaries by speaking for alteration successful a state wherever abstraction for dissent has narrowed dramatically."

The spark that acceptable disconnected the uncommon protests was quality of the deaths of 10 people, including respective children, successful an flat gathering occurrence successful Urumqi successful China's Xinjiang province — successful an country that had been locked down for respective months. A storyline connected societal media that resonated crossed the state focused connected the relation that Covid controls mightiness person played successful those deaths.

Chinese citizens tin instrumentality bosom that those protests whitethorn good person had an impact. The Chinese authorities has begun to unbend zero-Covid restrictions. Still, the federation continues to lag the satellite successful opening and moving forward, and worries proceed astir the nation's complaint of vaccination among the elderly.

And so, adjacent arsenic anticipation has returned for a amended twelvemonth ahead, China's beleaguered, locked-down citizens instrumentality the dubious honors of worst twelvemonth successful Asia 2022.