South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has been engulfed by a scandal centering on a confidante who is accused of using personal ties with Park to coerce local firms to donate millions of dollars to a non-profit foundation. The confidante is also accused of interfering in state affairs, and two former advisors are accused of helping her gain entrance to the presidential office. The scandal has sparked nationwide fury, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets to call for Park’s resignation. Under South Korea’s constitution, the incumbent president may not be charged with a criminal offence except insurrection or treason. But many argue a sitting president can be investigated by prosecutors, then charged after leaving office. The problem of corruption can only be solved through constitutional reform. For details see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has been engulfed by a scandal centering on a confidante who is accused of using personal ties with Park to coerce local firms to donate millions of dollars to a non-profit foundation. The confidante is also accused of interfering in state affairs, and two former advisors are accused of helping her gain entrance to the presidential office. The scandal has sparked nationwide fury, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets to call for Park’s resignation. Under South Korea’s constitution, the incumbent president may not be charged with a criminal offence except insurrection or treason. But many argue a sitting president can be investigated by prosecutors, then charged after leaving office. The problem of corruption can only be solved through constitutional reform. For details see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.

Article 39 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law specifies that residents of the administrative region have the right of self-determination. The people of Hong Kong must not fall asleep while their rights are in danger. Take a lesson from the Swiss, where the signatures of 50,000 citizens are sufficient to call for a referendum, meaning that public issues can be settled with a vote with no need to take to the streets. Otherwise, when the dictatorship becomes a reality, the people will have no choice but to resist. For details, see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.

The Philippines’ macho President will undoubtedly tone down his rhetoric during his four-day visit to China in a move that could shift Manila closer to Beijing and bring greater economic cooperation between the two sides. Duterte won the top office on the strength of his efforts to suppress drug trafficking, often at the expense of human rights, but Beijing is unlikely to bring up the question of rights in any talks with the Philippine leader. For the people of the Philippines, better relations with China may bring economic benefits, but other problems can only be resolved by carrying out reform of the constitution to limit the powers of government officials and put restrictions on their terms in office. For more details please see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.

Stories of corruption and undue political influence are flooding news headlines everywhere from the western reaches of Europe to the most Eastern areas of Asia. The reason for these outbreaks of corruption is the concentration of too much power in the hands of a few key officials and a lack to restraints on the powers that they wield. Constitutional reform is urgently needed to return power to the people. For more details, please see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.

Human security and sustainable development are the two major tasks of the UN, which are, of course, subject to compliance by member states. The solution is to enforce "One World under One Set of Laws.” international law must prevail over domestic law and directly affect the people", with supervision by the people to ensure compliance with the UN Charter, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the Charter of Nature and others. For details see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.

No matter who is sitting on the throne, the old adage -that absolute power corrupts absolutely - still rings true. China can its utmost to ferret out and eradicate corruption, but until comprehensive constitutional reform is carried out to implement full democracy and the rule of law along with separation of powers and checks and balances, as well as direct election of the heads of the executive, legislative, judicial and procuratorial branches of government, democracy in China will never amount to anything more than what Xi Jinping has called "rights confined in a birdcage under order." For more, please see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.

Human security and sustainable development are the two major tasks of the UN, which are, of course, subject to compliance by member states. The solution is to enforce "One World under One Set of Laws.” international law must prevail over domestic law and directly affect the people", with supervision by the people to ensure compliance with the UN Charter, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, the Charter of Nature and others. For details see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has been engulfed by a scandal centering on a confidante who is accused of using personal ties with Park to coerce local firms to donate millions of dollars to a non-profit foundation. The confidante is also accused of interfering in state affairs, and two former advisors are accused of helping her gain entrance to the presidential office. The scandal has sparked nationwide fury, with hundreds of thousands of people taking to the streets to call for Park’s resignation. Under South Korea’s constitution, the incumbent president may not be charged with a criminal offence except insurrection or treason. But many argue a sitting president can be investigated by prosecutors, then charged after leaving office. The problem of corruption can only be solved through constitutional reform. For details see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.

The people have the right to call for a referendum at any time on any public issue with relation to self-determination. Any measure which might restrict the ability of the people to self-determination through the process of holding referendums should itself be subject to a public referendum on whether the measure should be outlawed. For details, see the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.