January 9: China

China found evidence linking alleged militants in its autonomous northwest region of Xinjiang to international terrorist organizations, such as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). However, human rights groups say China uses the fight against terrorism to suppress an independence movement and religious freedom. Xinjiang is home to the Uighur Muslim minority, who struggle to preserve their distinct culture and establish an independent Islamic state.

January 19: China

China uses a medium-range ballistic missile to destroy a Chinese weather satellite, sparking fears over an arms race in space. China is also criticized for waiting several days before confirming the test.

February 2: China

Chinese President Hu Jintao pays an official visit to Sudan, where he signs several economic agreements relating to the construction of schools, roads, and a new presidential palace. China currently purchases 400,000 barrels of Sudan’s oil a day, 80 percent of the country’s oil exports. In the past, China financed a 1,000 mile-long pipeline that delivers oil from southern Sudan to Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

February 13: North Korea

After more than three years of negotiations, North Korea agrees to dismantle its nuclear program. The first step will be shutting down the main nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. In exchange, the country will receive energy aid and other benefits to be supplied by the five countries involved in the nuclear negotiations — the U.S., China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia. North Korea also agrees to invite representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to monitor the agreement, and to begin talks to normalize its diplomatic relations with Japan and the United States.

March 6: China/Taiwan

Taiwan tests a cruise missile that has a range of up to 620 miles and is capable of reaching Shanghai and Hong Kong in China. The Taiwanese defense minister justifies the missile test by saying that China has hundreds of similar missiles pointed at Taiwan. The test comes after the news that China has increased its military spending by almost 18 percent.

March 9: China

About 20,000 demonstrators clash with 1,000 police troops in the Chinese province of Hunan during protests sparked by rising costs of public transportation. Last year, there were thousands of similar protests in rural China triggered by corruption and discontent over the widening gap between rich and poor.

March 13: Australia/Japan

Australia and Japan sign a security pact aimed at closer cooperation between the two Asian states and bringing stability to the region. The agreement includes cooperation on border security, counterterrorism, and disaster relief. Both countries, however, emphasize that the pact is not equal to the mutual defense treaty that Japan has with the United States.

March 6: China/Taiwan

Taiwan tests a cruise missile that has a range of up to 620 miles and is capable of reaching Shanghai and Hong Kong in China. The Taiwanese defense minister justifies the missile test by saying that China has hundreds of similar missiles pointed at Taiwan. The test comes after the news that China has increased its military spending by almost 18 percent.

May 1: Taiwan/St. Lucia

Taiwan restores diplomatic relations with St. Lucia, making this Caribbean island its 25th official ally. The agreement angers China, which has long denied Taiwan’s independence. Taiwan pledges to help St. Lucia with agriculture, education, business, and medical assistance. St. Lucia first established diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1984, before switching its recognition to China in 1997.

May 8: China

Amnesty International issues a report claiming that China and Russia are defying a UN weapons embargo by supplying arms to the Sudanese government for use in Darfur. Both countries deny the accusation.

May 14: China

China launches the Nigerian Communications Satellite NIGCOMSAT-1 that will offer broadcasting, telecommunications, and broadband Internet services for Africa for fifteen years. The event is the latest in the growing cooperation between China and Africa.

June 4: China

China issues a national plan for addressing climate change, pledging to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while not compromising economic growth and development. The plan is to use more wind, nuclear, and hydro power, as well as make coal-powered plants more efficient. At the same time, China reiterates that rich countries are responsible for most of the greenhouse gases and should take more responsibility in the fight to reduce them.

June 6: China

China issues a five-year plan that pledges to bolster inspections and tests of its food exports. The decision follows several high-profile international recalls of tainted Chinese products. For example, Chinese toothpaste thought to contain a chemical found in anti-freeze was recalled after it was linked to the deaths of fifty people in Panama last year. The United States has blamed Chinese pet food ingredients containing melamine for the deaths of cats and dogs across the country.

July 10: China

Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of China’s State Food and Drug Administration, is executed for corruption. He was accused of taking bribes in exchange for approving sub-standard medicines, which were linked to several deaths. Following Zheng’s execution, the Chinese government orders an urgent review of thousands of drug licenses awarded during his tenure.

July 18: North Korea

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirms that North Korea has shut down all five nuclear facilities at its main Yongbyon complex. In return, the country will receive one million tons of fuel oil supplied by the five countries involved in the nuclear negotiations — the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, and Russia. Simultaneously, the six-country talks resume in China, where the participants discuss a timetable for the deal’s second phase: North Korea’s disabling all nuclear facilities.

July 30: Japan

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, says he will stay in office despite his party’s defeat in the elections for the upper house of parliament. He pledges to reshuffle his cabinet and to continue reforms. Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) lost seats due to a series of ministerial scandals and a crisis over lost pension records, which affected millions of payments. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan gained the most seats in the upper house.

August 15: Japan

Japan gives the Palestinian Authority $20 million in aid and humanitarian assistance in order to boost economic relations between Israel and the Palestinian Territories and revive the peace process. Earlier in the month, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed an aid deal granting the Palestinian Authority $80 million to reform its security services and strengthen the Fatah leadership.

August 24: North Korea/South Korea

South Korea approves a $40 million aid package to North Korea to help it recover from devastating floods. Also, the United Nations World Food Programme announces plans to provide food aid to North Korea while the Red Cross launches a global appeal to raise $5.5 million. At least 300 people died and 300,000 were left homeless in the recent floods, which damaged large parts of the country’s infrastructure and farms, and destroyed 11 percent of the annual grain harvest.

August 30: South Korea

After intense negotiations between Afghanistan’s Taliban rebels and the South Korean government, the Taliban releases the last group of the twenty-three South Korean Christian missionaries kidnapped in May. As a result, South Korea agrees to pull its 200 troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year and to stop missionary work by South Korean citizens in the country. South Korea also says it will impose a travel ban on its citizens to Afghanistan.

September 14: Asia

Ice cover in the Canadian Arctic shrinks to record lows and allows the Northwest Passage to become fully navigable, opening the most direct shipping route between Europe and Asia. The European Space Agency (ESA) reports that the shrinkage of ice has been steady and raises concerns about the speed of global warming. The opening of the new route has already caused international disputes. While Canada claims control over the passage, the European Union and the United States say the passage should be an international strait.

September 19: Cambodia

Authorities in Cambodia arrest Nuon Chea and charge him with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Nuon Chea was second-in-command in the Khmer Rouge regime (1975–79) led by Pol Pot, under which one million people were killed. He will face the UN-backed special Khmer Rouge tribunal, established in 1997 to try the remaining leaders for war crimes.

September 23: China

German Chancellor Angela Merkel holds talks in Berlin with the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader. China protests the meeting, claiming that the Dalai Lama is seeking Tibetan independence from China, and cancels planned talks with the German minister of justice.

September 25: Japan

Japan’s parliament elects Yasuo Fukuda as the country’s new prime minister. Fukuda replaces Shinzo Abe who stepped down after his party’s defeat in July’s elections. Fukuda faces the difficult task of restoring his ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s reputation, which has been damaged by numerous scandals.

September 28: Myanmar

Myanmar’s military government cracks down on anti-government demonstrators in the country’s main city of Rangoon, killing eight protestors and a Japanese journalist. Other sources report the casualties to be much higher. The ten-day peaceful demonstrations, which were led by Buddhist monks, were originally sparked by the government’s decision to double gas prices, but soon turned into powerful demonstrations against the authoritarian regime.

October 4: North Korea/South Korea

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean President Kim Jong Il meet for a three-day summit in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang. During the meeting, the two leaders sign a joint declaration calling for the replacement of the armistice that ended the Korean War in 1953 with a permanent peace agreement. The talks also address an unsettled issue of sea boundaries between the two countries and a joint fishing zone in the disputed western sea border. This is only the second summit between leaders of the two states.

October 10: Myanmar

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports that opium production in Myanmar has risen by 29 percent in 2007, making it the world’s second largest opium producer after Afghanistan. The report states that the reason behind the drug trade in Myanmar is corruption, inadequate border checks, and involvement by high-level officials.

October 18: China

The United States awards a Congressional Gold Medal to the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for his contributions to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and religious understanding. U.S. President George W. Bush attends the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. Past recipients of this top civilian honor include Pope John Paul II, Nelson Mandela, and Mother Teresa. The award enrages China, which considers the Dalai Lama a separatist. China accuses the United States of interference in its internal affairs.

October 22: China

China’s 17th National Congress of the Communist Party announces new leaders who will run the country for the next five years. President Hu Jintao is reappointed for a second term as party and army chief. Wen Jiabao is reelected as premier. New central committee appointees include Xi Jinping, the party chief in Shanghai, who is expected to replace President Hu in 2012. China’s National Congress is held every five years and is the country’s most important political event. It endorses policies for the next five-year period and promotes and demotes senior party officials.

November 20: Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

At a summit in Singapore, members of the regional Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) sign a charter that commits them to promoting human rights and democracy. Within the charter, the members pledge to set up a regional human rights body. Critics, however, say the members did not go far enough, and should have called for imposing sanctions or expelling members who violate the charter.

November 29: Philippines

Philippine authorities arrest two dozen renegade soldiers after a failed coup attempt. The soldiers sought to overthrow President Gloria Arroyo, whose popularity has plunged due to ongoing corruption allegations. Arroyo has already survived several coup and impeachment attempts.

December 11: North Korea/South Korea

The first regular cargo rail service opens between North Korea and South Korea as a result of the October 2007 summit talks between the leaders of both countries. The line links South Korea with the city of Bongdong in the North. South Korea hopes that this step will lead to a passenger train service that would eventually extend to the rest of the continent, linking South Korea with China and Russia. So far, however, North Korea has opposed this idea.