Stories about East Asia from October, 2018
Madagascar citizens demand transparency in a fishy deal with China
The livelihoods of Madagascar’s coastal communities will be seriously threatened if they must compete with the potential catch capacity of these fishing boats.
Paramilitary group killed farmers in Philippines sugar plantation, fact-finding mission says
The "Sagay 9" massacre was the single most deadly attack against peasant activists under the Rodrigo Duterte administration.
As China legalizes Xinjiang ‘re-education camps’, Weibo netizens cheer on
China has switched its public relations tactics from denying to defending the camps, and the u-turn immediately reflected back on the social media conversation.
Chinese artist Badiucao sends ‘Make Wall Great Again’ hats to Google, in protest of company's return to China
“I want [Google] to know it is a mistake to collaborate with China’s censorship. It is as shameful as Trump’s wall ... an invisible wall online — the great firewall.”
Digging up the lost George Lucas Japanese 1980s TV commercials
Japanese Twitter has unearthed a series of 1980s Japanese TV commercials featuring George Lucas singing the praises of consumer electronics giant Panasonic.
Nationwide far-right protests in Japan met with vigorous anti-racism opposition
The main organizing force behind the racist marches is Japan First Party, a political party founded in 2016 who is the direct successor of a much older anti-Korean hate group.
Hong Kong Free Expression Week features Umbrella Movement activists and political cartoonist Badiucao
In recent years, Hong Kongers who support democratic rights and territorial independence have faced fierce repression.
‘Gabbie’ chatbot helps victims of sexual harassment in the Philippines
"Gabbie provided an additional platform for victims who want to keep a level of anonymity, or when Facebook is more accessible to them compared to phone or face-to-face counseling."
Japanese television program turns migrant raids and deportations into entertainment
"With no deep insights, without even a shred of critical analysis and the stupidity of superficial entertainment, [this] is the worst television program on Japanese television today."
Hong Kong rejects visa of Financial Times editor who hosted pro-independence talk
"The Hong Kong authorities’ visa renewal rejection—without explanation—of a journalist who’s done nothing more than his job smacks of Beijing-style persecution of critics".
Osaka cuts sister city ties with San Francisco over “comfort women” statue
The mayor of Osaka wrote a 10-page letter in English listing -- often in bolded, underlined text -- a litany of reasons for the breakup.
Japan mortgages its future, choosing growth over environment
"One could speculate that the Japanese militarism of the early Showa period has simply been channeled into fanatical devotion to the principle of economic growth."
This wiki is helping to keep the Balinese language alive in Indonesia
Basa Bali–which means "Balinese language" in Balinese–has an online dictionary, a library of Balinese culture, word games, translation materials and videos.
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