Victoriei Plaza in Bucharest, Romania, filled with anti-corruption protesters on Feb. 5. (Dan Balanescu/EPA) People power Late last Tuesday night, the Romanian government bypassed parliament and tried to enact an “emergency decree” that decriminalized cases of official misconduct in which the damage is less than roughly $47,000. It also moved toward commuting the sentences of people previously convicted of such crimes. The ruling party claimed the decree was intended to ease prison overcrowding, but many Romanians saw it as a free pass for corrupt leaders. Official corruption has long plagued Eastern European nations, and it has been widespread in Romania for decades. The ruling Social Democratic party campaigned on eliminating graft, and the decree was seen as a betrayal of that promise. One of the people who stands to benefit from the decree is the current head of the Social Democrats, who was ineligible to be prime minister because of an election fraud conviction and other abuse of power charges. For five days, Romanians filled a central square in their capital, Bucharest, demanding the decree be withdrawn. Many protesters expressed humiliation that their government would, by cover of night, try to pass new laws pertaining to crimes that only they could commit. The demonstrations were the biggest since Romania’s communist regime was overthrown in 1989. Romanian prime minister Sorin Grindeanu held firm through the first three days of protests. But by Saturday, when crowds swelled to 500,000 people nationwide — and nine close allies, including Germany and the United States, had chimed in with their disapproval — Grindeanu had to back down. Yet massive protests continued on Sunday, even after the government rescinded its decree, with thousands demanding the resignation of top government officials. The protests have been peaceful, festive, and — to a certain degree — successful. But the government, despite the evident crisis in confidence, is still planning to introduce a similar version of the same decree in parliament. While the popular movement has made undeniable progress, Romania’s long battle against corruption is far from finished. — Max Bearak Secretary of Defense James Mattis reviews an honor guard at the Japanese defense ministry on Feb. 4. (Franck Robichon/EPA) The big question Secretary of Defense James Mattis visited Japan and South Korea last week, giving the American allies their first chance to see the new administration's security team in action somewhere other than Twitter. So we asked Anna Fifield, the Post's Tokyo bureau chief: Was Mattis' trip to Asia a success? "In a word, yes. "Nerves have been jangling in this part of Asia since Donald Trump, who called into doubt the U.S.’s post- World War II alliances with Japan and South Korea, won the Republican nomination. Mattis put those fears at ease, telling his Japanese counterpart that the Trump administration was 'committed to the defense of Japan under the Treaty of Mutual Security.' "Japan was after reassurances that the U.S. would still come to its aid if there was a fight over the Senkakus, a group of islands in the East China Sea controlled by Japan but claimed by China. Mattis confirmed that the U.S. would adhere to the countries' security pact, which states the U.S. military will help Japan defend any Japanese territory that comes under attack from a third country. Tokyo breathed a sigh of relief. "In Seoul, there was widespread relief at Mattis’ commitment to taking a strong stance against North Korea and defending South Korea against attack from Kim Jong Un’s regime. The Trump administration has said very little about North Korea to date. "And, in a surprising turn of events, Mattis’s military record turned out to be a plus. His four-decade-long service in the Marine Corps meant Mattis required special dispensation from Congress to become defense secretary. But in Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he was 'very encouraged' that Mattis was in the job, noting that Mattis served in Okinawa in 1972, the year that the United States gave sovereignty of the southern island chain back to Japan. His record also earned him a warm welcome in South Korea. Defense Minister Han Min-koo, formerly top brass in South Korea’s army, said that he and Mattis had formed a close bond because of their shared backgrounds in military service." | 