Washington DC, meetings and conference

The first time I went to Washington DC in the US was in May 2004. I was one of several International Fellows of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, then based in Fairfax, Virginia (now based in DC), and I attended several conferences in the US. First was the Mackinac Leadership Conference in Michigan, then the Heartland conference + Atlas Liberty Forum in Chicago, then meetings in DC and Virgina area. I stayed in the US for one month.

The second time I went to DC was in November 2009, also for another Atlas event and I was one of several panel speakers. Below, with Cindy Cirquitella of Atlas as panel moderator, Paulo Uebel from Brazil, and about three other speakers from Croatia, Nigeria, and Argentina I think. Thanks again to former Atlas VP, Jo Kwong, who would find funding for my travel scholarship. See Jo Kwong rocks.

Some of my notes during the Atlas events that time are here, Economic freedom means taller people.
I also attended a one-day discussion on several literatures about liberty. Below, Jo Kwong, in red dress, standing and introducing the activity.

Then I visited again the Americans for Tax Reforms (ATR) office. First time I saw their office was in 2004 and it was my first time to meet ATR President, Grover Norquist. Very articulate and intelligent free market leader. Below, with Grover's deputy, Chris Butler and a Russian lady scholar, Victoria Strokova, who authored the International Property Rights Index (IPRI) 2010 Report.

It was a freezing November for me; the locals would wear some not-so-thick jackets while I covered myself with a thick jacket even at daytime.

Soon, I will visit DC again for another conference and some meetings.
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See also:
RIP, Leonard Liggio, October 15, 2014

Mayflower Renaissance Hotel, Washington DC -- I stayed there, Nov. 9-12, 2009

Ronald Reagan National Airport, Arlington, Virginia -- I exited the US from this airport twice, in 2004 and 2009.

RIP, Leonard Liggio

Rest in Peace, Prof. Leonard P. Liggio, Executive Vice President of Academics at Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Washington DC, USA. He passed away October 14, 2014, he was 81.

I met Leonard first time in April 2004 when Atlas granted me an international fellowship for one month to the US, along with Ellen Cain of the Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF). First in Chicago for the Atlas Liberty Forum, then at the Atlas office in Fairfax, Virginia then. It was my first exposure to other free market-oriented groups, think tanks and individuals from many parts of the world.

Atlas put this brief memoriam for Leonard today in their website:

Leonard’s career advancing liberty spanned seven decades, during which time he served as the President of the Mont Pelerin Society, the Philadelphia Society, and the Institute for Humane Studies, where he later continued to serve as its Distinguished Senior Scholar. He was a professor at George Mason University, a visiting professor at the Universidad Francisco Marroquín, a board member of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, and a Trustee of Liberty Fund. 

Alex Chafuen and the late John Blundell once wrote that, if F.A. Hayek was the great architect of the revival of classical liberalism, then Leonard has been its “great builder, building a worldwide movement… one career at a time.”

Then I met Leonard again in 2005 in Phuket, Thailand, when Atlas and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) sponsored a round-table discussion on "The Constitution of Liberty in Asia" where we discussed for one whole day Friedrich Hayek's book, "The Constitution of Liberty". He moderated the discussion, assisted by Colleen Dyble, then Director for Institute Relations of Atlas. I learned a lot from that forum. A few months before we went to Phuket, Atlas mailed to us participants a copy of Hayek's book. I remember that I had a hard time understanding Hayek's deep political philosophy then, but it was good that I re-read some of the chapters to appreciate the great Austrian economist-philosopher's thoughts.

Our group photo below. Two names I cannot remember now, I put as (?). Standing from left: Leonard, (? from Malaysia), Hiroshi (Japan), Minh Nguyen (Vietnam), Charu Chadha (Nepal), Nambiar (Malaysia), (? from India), Kang Chandararot (Cambodia), Yongqin (China), Chung-ho Kim (S. Korea).

Sitting from left: me, Mr. You (Japan), Paata Sheshelidze (Georgia), Cuoung Nguyen (Vietnam), Khalil Ahmad (Pakistan), Colleen Dyble (USA), Trupti Meetah (India), and Ellen Cain (Philippines). Liu Junning (China) was also there but he went outside when this photo was taken.

Yesterday, good friend and former VP for Institute Relations of Atlas, Jo Kwong, posted in fb:

Grateful to have the chance to visit Leonard Liggio today, my long time friend and mentor, to tell him how much he's meant to me all these years. Remembering our younger days.

Today, she posted, Rest in peace, Leonard. Could there be a more gentle, knowledgeable, insightful, thoughtful person? A gentle giant, a gentle teacher. How blessed we are to have known him.

I have met again Leonard in 2008 (Atlanta) and 2009 (LA, California) during the annual Atlas Liberty Forum. Jo Kwong looked for extra funding to allow me to travel to the US and attend those events, and met with other free market leaders from other parts of the world. Thanks once again, Jo. I will never your efforts then.

The Institute for Economic Studies-Europe (IES) produced this youtube clip in 2009, also in recognition  of Leonard's role in contributing to the liberty movement in Europe. They posted in fb with this note,

The movement of Liberty has just lost a giant. R.I.P Leonard Liggio. Here is a little tribute (showing just small part of his huge impact) made in 2009 for the 20 anniversary of IES-Europe which wouldn't exist without his help. (Appearing in the video: Jacque Garello, Jo Kwong, Tom G. Palmer, Douglas B. Rasmussen, Pascal Salin, Fred Smith, Tibor Machan, Randy Barnett, Henri Lepage, Victoria Curzon-Price, Douglas Den Uyl, Emmanuel Martin, Mario Rizzo, Gregory Rehmke, Christine Dunn Henderson, Pierre Garello)

Ozlem Caglar-Yilmaz of the Association for Liberal Thinking (ALT) in Turkey posted this photo, with Alejandro "Alex" Chafuen, Atlas President, and  Leonard.

Leonard is known more by North and South American and European classical liberal academics and think tank leaders. He may have not traveled much to Asia, so the Atlas-FNF event in Phuket in 2005 was a great way for us Asians to know him more.

Once again, rest in peace Leonard. It was great to meet you.
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See also:
Jo Kwong rocks, February 09, 2010
EFN Asia 2: Hayek in Asia, September 20, 2010

EFN Asia 39: Rainer Adam's Farewell Letter

I received this warm, friendly and well-written farewell letter today from Rainer Adam. I have met him first time -- along with many Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) officials, Asian free marketers and friends -- in 2004, 10 years ago in Hong Kong, for the Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia conference. After that, I would meet him yearly except in 2007 and 2009, for the annual EFN conferences or some FNF major events here in Manila.

Cool guy, always smiling. When I first met him in 2004, I immediately thought that he looked like Eric Clapton, among my favorite rock stars.

I am very thankful to Dr. Jo Kwong, the former Vice President of Atlas Economic Research Foundation, for bringing me to the EFN conferences in 2004 to 2006, even if Minimal Government was still not a member of the network. We became EFN member only in 2009 I think. If Jo did not bring me to the 2004-2006 conferences, Minimal Government may not have been part of the EFN and the Asian free market network, I don't know.

Rainer, good work. No. Rather, excellent work.
Siggi, expect the same support and friendship from us.
It's all about Freedom. And free trade, rule of law, personal responsibility and limited government.

PS: the above photo, plus another one below, I got from Rainer's fb wall.
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Bangkok, 17.06.2014

To all FNF partners,

Dear friends, partners and Asian liberals,

Some of you already know that this year in June my term as the Regional Director for Southeast and East Asia of the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Freedom will come to an end. After six years in Thailand and over 26 years of living and working in Asia, the time has come for me to say goodbye to you.

From September onwards I will take up my new position as FNF Regional Director for Central-Southern- and Eastern Europe in Sofia, Bulgaria. The place may be a different one; however, the goal stays the same: to promote freedom, liberal values, human rights, free trade, democracy and the rule of law.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation and gratitude for your support, friendship and cooperation during the last six years. Without your help the Foundation would not be where it is today, a trusted member of the Asian freedom community.

During my time in the region, I had the good fortune to witness many exciting developments. Let me share some of them with you:

* A major highlight of 2010 was the election victory of the Philippine Liberal Party (LP). Together with a delegation of the Foundation, I had the chance to witness President Noynoy Aquino’s celebratory inauguration in Manila. President Aquino kept his campaign promises. Today, the Philippines shows significant economic growth and a reduction in poverty. The government is fighting corruption and promoting people centred development.

* 2010 also marked the beginning of Myanmar´s journey towards democracy. After years of military dictatorship, President Thein Sein implemented a number of remarkable reforms: most political prisoners were released, opposition parties can participate in politics, markets opened up and the population enjoys a whole new set of civil liberties. The Foundation has supported democratic developments in the country for many years. Therefore, the opening of the FNF office in Yangon in 2013 was a natural development and a special milestone in our work, marking our long-term commitment to promoting freedom, human rights and the rule of law in the country.

* Myanmar was not the only office opening I witnessed. One year before, in 2012, the doors to the new FNF Vietnam office were opened in Hanoi. Philipp Rösler, at that time German vice-chancellor and minister for economy, gave the inaugural speech and honoured us with his presence.

* Liberal forces become increasingly visible in our region. In 2011, the Liberal International (LI) Congress in Manila was the first time this important gathering of Liberals from all over the world was held in an Asian country. Manila is also the home base of the regional network of Asian liberal parties, the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD). The network is constantly growing. In 2012, the Mongolian Civil Will and Green Party was accepted as the 10th member party.

* Our regional partner in the promotion of human rights, a field of utmost importance to us liberals, the Regional Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism (RWG), has made good progress in its advocacy work.

* The Economic Freedom Network Asia (EFN) was able to hold annual conferences to discuss important topics of economic freedom, and bring political decision-makers and analysts together to foster better mutual understanding of the benefits of free trade, economic growth and free markets.

* Furthermore, I am proud that some of our programs – namely It’s all about freedom (Philippines), Dream Thailand and SIM Democracy (both from Thailand) – were included in the best practice manual of the Council for a Community of Democracies.

* Our Freedom Barometer Asia has become a well-established analytical framework and tool to measure freedom in the region and to stimulate debate and conversations about concrete policies increasing personal liberty and individual responsibility.

Pol. Ideology 35: Why Liberty

In 2007, I was invited by another free market thinker, Marc Guttman, to contribute a story, personal stories and experiences on how I became a free market thinker, or a libertarian, a classical liberal, related terms, to a book that he would edit and publish, "Why Liberty". Marc knew me through a good friend, Jo Kwong, who was the VP for Institute Relations then of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation.

Lucky me, I was the only Filipino who was invited to contribute to that project. After several revisions to my contribution, and after several glitches with his publisher, the book was finally published in 2010. See details here,  http://whyliberty.com/

This is the book. Nice and neat, isn't it? There were 54 of us from different countries and continents who contributed a paper. Marc as Editor did not contribute a paper but he wrote the Foreword and did all the legwork to make the book a reality.

My paper is #52, on page 379 of the book. Below is the last draft that I submitted to Marc. I think there were slight revisions to it in the published book.

One can view some reviews, as well as the Foreword, Table of contents, at the book website. Interested to see the whole book, it's available at   http://www.fr33minds.com/product_info.php?products_id=434.

Thanks for the opportunity to contribute to that book Marc. Cheers.
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From Collective to Individual Liberty

By Bienvenido “Nonoy” Oplas

My introduction to political activism was in my college days in the early 80s at the University of the Philippines (UP), a premier tertiary institution in the country. The movement to oust the Marcos dictatorship which was in power since 1966 was very strong. The former strongman (he died in the late 80s) declared Martial Law in 1972 and ruled by personal decrees and strong police and military forces. Civil rights were drastically curtailed; business monopolies by Mr. Marcos’ friends and cronies were created; and lots of taxpayers money were used to put up hundreds of government corporations and financial institutions to be run by his other friends and political supporters, especially retired police and military personnel so that they would continue  their loyalty to him.

The most consistent and most appealing mass movement especially to student activists then was led by the Maoist-inspired Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) in the underground, and its various front and sympathetic organizations above-ground. Thus, my early political formation was molded along the Maoist, anti-dictatorship, anti-imperialism, anti-feudalism, “national democratic” (nat-dem or ND) ideology.

Then in the mid-80s, my buddies and I began discussing the anti-democratic tendencies of most ND organizations. In addition, we were reading the classic writings of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels and Lenin, and we interacted with similar individuals, especially some of our professors in the university who were critical not only of the dictatorial tendencies of most ND organizations, but also of the ND ideology itself. We concluded then that the ND movement was theoretically wrong because the Philippines in the 80s was already predominantly capitalist, not feudal. Hence, the call should be socialism, not “controlled capitalism” under national democracy. And the primary leaders of the struggle should be led by the workers and urban poor, not the peasantry. In addition, we felt that socialism, the social ownership of the means of production was a lofty goal to achieve growth with equity, and to help the poor empower themselves. Socialism therefore, should be openly discussed and advocated to a wider audience, at least to our fellow students in UP and other universities.

Thus, we formed our distinct and small socialist movement in UP; later on, we reached out to other allied student organizations in other universities, groups that were anti-dictatorship, open to social transformation, and not fans of the ND philosophy. We also had our own “underground” body, a small group of individuals who were theoretically grounded on Marxism and Leninism, who issued our clandestine socialist newsletter. But we were not as competent and as patient as the NDs in the art of mass organizing and in reaching out to very poor segments of society. Thus, our group failed to expand.  We did retain those whom we had recruited.

When the Marcos dictatorship was finally toppled in 1986 after 20 years in power, there was less fear of political and military harassment. Our group was among the few groups which formed the first openly socialist coalition in the Philippines in 1987, BISIG or “Bukluran sa Ikauunlad ng Sosyalistang Isip at Gawa”, meaning Federation for the Development of Socialist Ideas and Practices. We felt that democratic space opened with the new Cory Aquino government which was made victorious by the first “People Power” revolution, in which we also had participated. I remained active in the socialist movement until 1990.

In 1991, I changed work and for the first time, I worked in government, at the House of Representatives’ economic think tank. Immersed in a new work environment and faced with new set of data and facts, slowly I began to embrace a limited scope of “economic liberalization.” For instance, while I was still in the activist movement, I had previously thought that the bulk of the government’s debt service payment was for foreign debts. When I worked in Congress, I saw lots of detailed data on the budget, numbers that showed that the bulk of debt service payment was from domestic borrowings. Then I got a big assignment to provide technical assistance to the Chairman of the House Committee on Economic Affairs, in a bill liberalizing the entry of foreign investment. Our work was successful with the enactment of the “Foreign Investments Act of 1991.”

EFN Asia 10: Conference November 2012 in Hong Kong

The Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia has announced last week that the Annual Conference this year will be held in Hong Kong this coming November 5-8.

EFN Asia annual conferences are sponsored by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty (FNF). My first exposure to EFN conferences was in 2004, also held in Hong Kong. When we formed Minimal Government in early 2004 -- not yet as a think tank, more of a small political movement for liberty and free market -- I have not met any free marketer yet outside of the Philippines, nor did I have any idea that there were existing regional and international network for free market.

When the Atlas Economic Research Foundation gave me an international fellowship for one month in the US in April 2004, I was amazed at the wide network of free market-oriented think tanks and groups worldwide. But I met only a few Asian free market leaders there. Like Parth Shah of the Center for Civil Society in India, Barun Mitra of Liberty Institute also in India, Andrew Work of Lion Rock Institute in Hong Kong, Jargal Dambadarjaa from Mongolia, Cuong Nguyen from Vietnam, and Ellen Cain of the Foundation for Economic Freedom here in Manila.

When the EFN Asia conference was held in Hong Kong six months after that, sometime in October 2004, Atlas, upon the initiative of its Vice President for Institute Relations, Jo Kwong, partnered with FNF and Jo Kwong brought to the HK conference some free market think tank leaders who were not members of the EFN Asia yet, including me. So the HK conference was my first exposure to the Asian free market network. Thanks to Jo Kwong and the FNF.

At the HK conference, I was able to meet free market thinkers from China like Dr. Mao Yushi of Unirule Institute, guys from NERI, Chinese Academy for Social Sciences (CASS) and the Cathay Institute for Public Affairs (CIPA) like Xingyuan Feng. From Indonesia I met Dr. Chatib "Dede" Basri, also from India Mohit Satyanand, from Pakistan Dr. Khalil Ahmad,  and many others.

Below, some of our photos in the HK conference in 2004. Upper left photo, from left: Ellen Cain of FEF, Colleen Dyble and Jo Kwong of Atlas, me, (I forgot the guy's name beside me) and James Lawson, co-author of the annual Economic Freedom of the World (EFW) annual reports.

Second row, left photo: Jo Kwong, me, Joe Lehman of Mackinac Center in Michigan, USA and Ugnius Trumpa of Lithuanian Free Market Institute. Bottom photo: Cuong Nguyen, Joe Lehman, Ellen Cain, Jargal Dambadarjaa, Parth Shah, me. Joe was a speaker in behalf of then Mackinac President Larry Reed who could not come.

Last row, from left: Cuong Nguyen, Joe Lehman, Ellen Cain, Jargal Dambadarjaa, Parth Shah, me.


I have also met many FNF officials in HK for the first time, like Dr, Hubertus Von Welck, then FNF Regional Director for East and South East Asia, Rainer Adam then Project Director Indonesia, Rainer Heufers from FNF Malaysia, Ronald Meinardus from FNF Philippines, Siggi Herzog who later replaced Ronald in heading FNF Philippines. Hubertus later moved to Africa and Rainer Adam took his post, until now. Siggi was promoted to become the  FNF Regional Director for South Asia and Jules Maaten replaced Siggi in heading the dynamic and fun-filled Philippine office.

The theme of the HK conference then was something like "The Role of Asian Governments in Economic Development". The original plan, I learned later, was to hold the conference in Beijing and FNF would not be mentioned as the main sponsor, but Unirule, NERI, CIPA and Atlas. But the Chinese government showed a not-so-happy attitude in hosting such a possibly controversial conference. Sensing difficulties in securing a permit from the government, and the consequent difficulty in getting a visa for international participants, the organizers have to move the venue to Hong Kong, just a few months before the scheduled dates.

This year, the conference theme will be How Welfare Populism Destroys Prosperity-The Populist Challenge to Economic Freedom. This is a good theme, just look at Europe, the US and Japan now. Heavy welfarism, forced equality and forced collectivism policies are punching huge holes in the public finance position of these countries, also huge holes in the pockets and savings of many taxpayers in these economies.


The Lion Rock Institute (LRI) will be the co-host of FNF in organizing this conference. Big work for LRI Executive Director Peter Wong and other LRI guys like Simon Lee, Andew Work, Andrew Pac Man, Nicole. LRI was also formed in 2004 along with MG. 


FNF and EFN Asia are the only institutes that consistently hold an important annual conference among free market-oriented think tank leaders and individuals in Asia. They are playing an important role in asserting the liberal, individual liberty, more personal responsibility, rule of law, and private property rights philosophies in our continent.

For interested think tanks, research institutes, especially the independent ones and not government-owned think tanks, that advocate free enterprise, free trade, rule of law, private property rights, check http://efnasia.org.

* Update: this article is also posted in the EFN Asia website,
http://efnasia.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=345:efn-asia-conference-2012-in-hong-kong&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=4
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See also:
EFN Asia 1: From HK to Phuket to KL, September 16, 2006
EFN Asia 2: Hayek in Asia, September 20, 2010
EFN Asia 3: Conference in Jakarta, October 06, 2010
EFN Asia 4: Migration and Freedom, Jakarta Conference, October 09, 2010

EFN Asia 5: MG Thinkers Now with EFN, October 19, 2010

EFN-Asia 6: Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Oct 10-12, October 09, 2011

EFN Asia 7: Conf, Dinner at German Ambassador, KL, October 11, 2011

EFN Asia 8: KL Conference, Day 1, October 12, 2011

EFN Asia 9: Panels on Education, Health, Transpo and Telecomm, October 14, 2011

EFN Asia 2: Hayek in Asia

Around late September 2005, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) sponsored the historic "The Constitution of Liberty in Asia" roundtable discussion (RTD) in Phuket, Thailand. For one day, around 20 of us, free market leaders and individuals from Asia, discussed half of a thick book -- Friedrich Hayek's "The Constitution of Liberty". The event was held one day before the Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia conference in the same hotel in Phuket.

I say "historic" because of the many conferences that I attended, that one really deepened my perspective and understanding about liberty and the rule of law.

The discussion was facilitated by Atlas VP, Prof. Leonard Liggio, who is himself a scholar on classical liberal philosophy. Good friend Colleen Dyble, with Atlas at that time, provided the technical and administrative support to Leonard. Below was our group picture.

From left to right, standing: Leonard, Toni (Malaysia), Hiroshi Yoshida (Japan), Minh (Vietnam), Charu Rizal (Nepal), Shankaran Nambiar (Malaysia), (forgot the man in blue shirt), Kang Chandararot (Cambodia), Wink Ho (China) and Chung-ho Kim (S. Korea).

Sitting, from left to right: me, Mr. You (Japan), Paata (Georgia), Cuong Nguyen (Vietnam), Khalil Ahmad (Pakistan), Colleen Dyble, Trupti Mehta (India) and Ellen Cain (Philippines).

Some of us there were working in not-exactly free market-oriented think tank, like the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research (MIER) where Nambiar is affiliated, is not exactly a free market think tank, it's a Malaysian government-owned think tank. But I know that Nambiar is a big Hayek fan.

Likewise, the Cambodian Institute for Development Studies (CIDS) is not exactly a free market think tank, but its head, Kang Chandararot, deeply appreciates the value of advancing individual freedom in the course of public policy research work.

The event was 5 years ago now and some of us have worked in various institutes, Including some Atlas staff who already resigned and pursued new careers in other think tanks in the US. The Asian scholars who went there still have a lot of Hayek molecules in their body. Junning was once called the "Hayek of China", Nambiar and Wan Saiful Wan Jan of IDEAS may also be considered the "Hayek of Malaysia."

I missed, or we all missed, Jo Kwong there, VP for Institute Relations of Atlas. Although she put a lot of hours and effort in helping organize that forum from her office in the US, she was not able to join us. It's good that her very friendly and also hard-working deputy, Colleen, was able to join us.

After the Phuket RTD on Hayek, I formed the ARBM2Phuket yahoogroups. Initially we were about 20 there, then it expanded to its current list of 90+ liberty-oriented people we included more like-minded thinkers from Asia and other friends in Europe and the US.

Last nght, IDEAS organized a discussion about Hayek's thoughts on political economy, and it was led by Nambiar. IDEAS is doing that event every third Monday of the month. More details at their website, the Bukit Tunku Society.

Hayek was a great thinker. His ideas permeated into the minds of people who push the ideals of individual freedom and liberty. Among the words that the man wrote, I like this one:

"Freedom and responsibility are two sides of the same coin. People who are afraid of responsibility are afraid of freedom itself."
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See also:
EFN Asia 1: From HK to Phuket to KL, September 16, 2006
Jo Kwong rocks, February 09, 2010

EFN Asia 1: From HK to Phuket to KL

Just came from Kuala Lumpur, it was the third Economic Freedom Network (EFN) Asia annual conference that I have attended. The conferences have been held a few years ago but I started attending only in 2004, thanks to Jo Kwong of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF).

Here are the past 3 conferences that I have attended.

2004.
6th Annual Conference, EFN Asia,
“The Role of Government in Asian Economies”,
September 16-18, Hong Kong
Sponsored by:
Hong Kong Center for Economic Research,
University of Hong Kong (www.hku.hk),
Unirule Institute of Economics (www.unirule.org), Beijing, and
National Economic Research Institute (NERI), Beijing, (www.neri.org.cn)

2005
7th Annual Conference, EFN Asia,
“Securing Economic Growth: Legal Structures and Property Rights in Asia”
October 1-2, Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket, Phuket, Thailand
Sponsored by FNF and Atlas Economic Research Foundation

The day before that, September 30, also on the same hotel, Atlas and FNF organized a one-day round-table discussion, Colloquium on “The Constitution of Liberty in Asia”

2006
8th Annual Conference, EFN Asia,
“Preferential Trade Agreements: Local Solutions for Global Free Trade?”
September 12-13, Corus Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Sponsored by Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (FNS), Malaysia Institute of Economic Research (MIER), and Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Virginia, USA

A day before that on the same hotel, Atlas and FNF also held a one-day forum, the "3rd Asian Liberty Forum". I was one of the panel speakers there, my paper was entitled "Obstacles to Free Trade: Thrashing Protectionists’ Logic".

Among the things that prodded me to start blogging in late October 2005, was after I came home from the EFN Asia conference in Phuket.

Thank you Atlas, thank you FNF, thank you Jo Kwong.