"Asia clearly offers long-term potential as a private equity market," said Timothy D. Dattels, a Texas Pacific partner and Asia specialist.

"Mongolia is in the middle of a major emergency," says Anna Ford, Asia specialist with Save the Children.

He is an Asia specialist, not an actor.

"He made a very deliberate decision to let Rice be the face of foreign policy," said Michael Green, a former top Asia specialist at the National Security Council.

Clyde V. Prestowitz, an Asia specialist, said he did not expect a partnership to come out of the Hu visit, but perhaps "less hostility, suspicion and confrontation."

Another Asia specialist, Mark W. Headley, president of Matthews International Capital Management, is betting heavily on growth in the region's domestic economy.

Mr. Armitage, who an Asia specialist, set aside his reservations and plunged into helping General Powell map out the new administration's foreign policy.

His "Inspector O" novels have been well-received, being noted by Asia specialists for offering "an unusually nuanced and detailed portrait" of North Korean society.

Huq issued an order for The Economist bureau chief and Asia specialist to appear before the tribunal to explain how they got the materials.

Her reputation as an Asia specialist grew in the 1990's as she became a familiar face on television interviews.