Stories about East Asia from August, 2020
Japan reacts to tennis star Naomi Osaka’s protest in support of Black Lives Matter
Before I'm an athlete I am a black woman. And as a Black woman I feel as though there are much more important matters at hand.
Concerned citizens petition Timor-Leste authorities to drop planned revival of defamation law
"This proposed law is to protect those in power from criticism when they commit any act of corruption and any other acts of crime."
The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the environment
"If suddenly, skies are more blue, and citizens breathe more freely, they realize a more healthy and sustainable life is within reach."
Hong Kong police accused of rewriting history to oppress political dissent
Hong Kong police manipulates narratives of mob violence to accuse political opponents of disturbing the peace and arrest them despite multiple video proofs of their innocence
#JusticeForZaraAlvarez: Filipino activists protest worsening impunity under President Duterte
"Saddened by Zara Alvarez's murder in Bacolod. Her daughter is now an orphan. The communities she served as a health worker and human rights advocate are orphaned too."
Most Taiwanese unfazed by former president's fearmongering on war with China
Speaking at a conference on August 10, former Taiwanese president Ma Ying-jeou said that, once China attacks Taiwan, “the first battle will be the last."
Hiroshima Timeline project under fire for racism, fabricated history
An innovative project about the August 1945 bombing of Hiroshima has come under fire for using racist epithets to describe Koreans, political interference, and for potentially fabricating historical source material.
Reorienting Taiwan and Hong Kong: New avenues for building power
" ... Taiwanese theorist Wu Jieh-min once posed what seems in retrospect a rather utopian vision of activists in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and China uniting to combat their shared enemy—the CCP."
From horticulture to Harry Potter cosplay, Thai students find creative ways to protest against repression
Students across Thailand have been organizing protests demanding “an end to the authorities’ harassment of citizens, the drafting of a new constitution, and the dissolution of parliament.”
Hong Kong's pro-democracy lawmakers split over Beijing-imposed mandate extension
Accepting an extension granted by Beijing's NPC could be seen as a surrender to the mainland -- while rejection means, in practice, a boycott of the LegCo.
Devastated hilltop in Myanmar’s jade mining region remains home for scores of families despite danger
Despite the danger of further landslides, 77 families remain, saying they cannot afford to relocate.
‘Uyghur pop music humanizes and amplifies their hopes': Interview with musicologist Elise Anderson
"Uyghur pop is a source of both entertainment and rich inner life. Another role it can play is in humanizing and amplifying Uyghur hopes, aspirations, and lives."
Will China's color-coded COVID-19 tracking system come to Hong Kong?
While implementing such a system in Hong Kong is still in debate, the city is on track to carry out universal testing of its 7.5 million population -- with the help of Beijing.
Indonesian students expelled from school face treason charges for joining a protest on Papua
"Khairun University should support academic freedom and free expression, not expel students peacefully expressing their views."
Is moving to Canada the real American Dream?
"I thought Canada was just another America, only with nicer people and colder weather. Since moving to Toronto, I’ve been fascinated by the special relationship between the two."
‘Hiroshima Timeline’ uses tweets to portray real-time experience of world's first atomic bombing
Three Twitter accounts use an "on-this-day" format to share observations and experiences of daily life from 75 years ago in the months leading up to the August 6, 1945 bombing.
Human rights defenders and journalists under attack in Southeast Asia
The past two weeks saw several disturbing cases of arrests, convictions, and raids targeting human rights activists and journalists in Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested under national security law
Upon his arrest, Hong Kong police raided the office building of his news outlets.
What will a US ban on WeChat mean for Chinese netizens?
While many in the West have criticized Trump's ban, some overseas Chinese dissents see the decision with positive eyes.
COVID-19 and China's information control policy
China’s strategy to control information and its consequences has become a global concern.
Another Australian university criticized for censoring voices supporting Hong Kong's human rights
An Australian university was criticized for deleting an article published on its website that urges the international community to put pressure on China for infringements on human rights in Hong Kong.
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