Stories about East Asia from October, 2019
The Hong Kong protests are becoming more violent because justice is not being served
"I am not asking you to tolerate violence, I am asking you to understand it."
Taiwanese court rules no jurisdiction in Vietnamese marine disaster case, victims to appeal
Taipei District Court dismissed the lawsuit filed by nearly 8,000 Vietnamese fishers against Formosa Plastics Group (FPG) over the marine disaster in Vietnam in 2016 out of jurisdiction concern.
DreamWorks’ ‘Abominable’ film banned in Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines for showing China’s claim over disputed seas
"We have to engage with them, and they are sensible people...They are just being misled."
From camps to prisons: Xinjiang’s next great human rights catastrophe
While most of the world’s attention has been focused on the region’s “re-education” camps, an incredible number of those detained in 2017 and 2018 are now being given lengthy prison sentences.
Hong Kong political scientist likens Hongkongers to a stateless nation
'... to balance the interests of China, the US and HK people, the city needs a truly democratic self-government that can represent HK people's interests and understand the complexity of geopolitics.'
First Thai female Theravada monk named one of BBC’s 100 most influential women
Dhammananda’s efforts to re-establish the Theravada bhikkhuni (female monastic) lineage in Thailand have been met with resistance from both the laity and monks who are against ordaining women.
How bad is African swine fever for the pork supply crisis in China?
Animal epidemic control is about people, such as whether or not the media could effectively monitor the authorities and inform the public at early stage of the outbreak.
Thai judge shoots himself in court after alleging political interference in courtroom decisions
"Return rulings to judges. Return justice to people....My statements might hold weight as light as a feather, but a judge’s heart must be as firm as a mountain."
Youth join Climate Strike in Japan as government invests in fossil fuels
Japan is not void of warriors shouting out for climate sustainability. But these young activists are concerned that the adults aren’t ready to hear them.
Google removes Hong Kong protester role-playing game from its Play Store
The mobile game, entitled "The Revolution of Our Times", provides details on the political context leading up to the protests with a map on key protest sites in Hong Kong.
Thai Twitter users face threats over comments on royal motorcade
The hashtag #royalmotorcade trended in Thailand after netizens reported traffic problems caused by a royal motorcade.
US gaming company Blizzard bans Hong Kong e-sport player from tournament for shouting pro-democracy slogan
The e-sport player will be removed from the tournament without receiving any prize money and banned from Hearthstone contests until 2020. Chinese tech giant Tencent owns about 5% of Blizzard’s parent company.
After Xinjiang, the long road to recovery
A crowdsourcing project in Kazakhstan is offering medical treatment to victims of Chinese detention camps, but psychological scars will take longer to heal.
South Park creators mock the NBA with a sarcastic apology to China
One single tweet about Hong Kong demonstrations is able to set a war of words between China and the US and to end NBA's business prospects in mainland China.
Filipino teachers hold protest as presidential promise of salary increase remains unfulfilled
"It is now more than three years that Duterte is the President and still the promise of salary increase for teachers is illusive."
NGOs slam Hong Kong's enacting of emergency law banning masks at protests as draconian
Last invoked in 1967, the Emergency Regulations Ordinance is a colonial-era law that gives the chief executive unlimited power in the event of an “emergency or public danger.”
Lilly Satidtanasarn, the 12-year-old taking on plastic pollution in Thailand
"Adults think I’m doing homework or a school project. They didn’t take me seriously but I kept emailing them and now they take me seriously."
As real bullets fly and hit in Hong Kong, the police start a new cycle of unprecedented violence
Hong Kong sees its first victim of live gunshot as the city is once again marred in a vicious circle of violence
No land, no fish: Mekong community in northeast Thailand struggles against a double-threat
"I don’t understand but I’m very stressed. How can they demolish it? I don’t have anywhere to live. We aren’t rich investors. We’re poor people."
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