Gerald Tooth accompanied the Noble Peace Prize winner and East Timorese foreign minister during the lead up to the first democratic elections in that country. There's money to be made in the poorest countries, where the big western firms compete for development projects. These are often 'high risk environments', where local corruption can destroy business reputations.
Many countries now outlaw the paying of bribes to foreign officials.
The Falun Gong practitioners say their discipline promotes health and spiritual well being, but critics have dubbed it an 'apocalyptic cult'. Chris Bullock looks at the war of words. The Walkley Foundation and the MEAA held a Forum on how Australian media reports on Asia in early 2001. Louise Williams, of The Sydney Morning Herald, Michael Maher of the ABC, and the Thai journalist Thepchai Young are on the panel, chaired by Gerald Stone. The Indonesian economy is still in deep trouble four years after the East Asian financial crisis hit.