· October, 2008

Stories about East Asia from October, 2008

Frightful Facts or Fantastical Fictions?

  31 October 2008

This third part of the "Lore, ghosts, demons and frights" series has arrived, and we are looking this time a bit beyond the Latin American borders. With this last installment, we seek out the Chupacabras, stick our heads into Voudou rites, observe examples of exorcism and inquire after a cannibal murderer who has become a Venezuelan legend.

China: Blog is Outdated?

  31 October 2008

The 4th Chinese Blogger Conference will be held November 15-16th, 2008, in Guangzhou, China. However, in the past year, there is a continuing discussion in the Chinese blogosphere on whether...

Japan: Thoughts on Itochu trading scam

  31 October 2008

On October 10th, Itochu Corporation announced that it had paid close to one hundred billion yen in false transactions valued at nearly 100 billion yen to Mongolian suppliers for construction machinery and materials. One blogger and chartered accountant offers their thoughts on what happened inside Itochu.

Japan: Spam mail from a chimpanzee

  31 October 2008

id:crystaline reports [ja] that she discovered a spam mail with the title: “It might seem unbelievable, but I am a chimpanzee”. The ‘chimp’ explains: “At first, I thought I was...

Cambodia: Hero of the Year nominee

  31 October 2008

Nuon Phymean from Cambodia is one of the nominees for the CNN Hero of the Year Award. She has helped a lot of children in Phnom Penh by providing free...

Indonesia: Parliament approves anti-porn law

  31 October 2008

Indonesia now has an anti-porn law which critics say will curtail freedom of speech and traditional practices. Via Twitter, Aulia comments: “If only people would read the entire ‘porn’ law...

SketchPAN: World without Words

  30 October 2008

SketchPAN, a service from Korea, aims to create a easy platform for people to express themselves with paintings. In the world without words, language is no longer a barrier for users around the globe.

Recession hits Singapore

  30 October 2008

Singapore is a major financial center in the world. It is also one of the richest countries in Asia. Unfortunately, it is not immune to the economic aftershocks caused by the Wall Street crash and the global financial crisis. Singapore’s economy is down today, the first Asian country to be hit by a recession.

Japan: Why is Halloween not popular in Japan?

  30 October 2008

id:nakakzs writes about the lack of interest in Halloween among Japanese people [ja] compared to other imported holidays such as Christmas and Valentine's Day, noting that many people only know...

Malaysia's Jungle Spirits

  29 October 2008

Lush with primary and secondary virgin jungle, Malaysians have long held a respect for the forests. It also helps that myths, whether bearing down from the forefathers or from urban legend, has caused a lot of superstition surrounding the vast jungle of Malaysia.

Japan: Marriage with anime characters

  29 October 2008

(the) Road to the Deep East blogs about a signature campaign by a Japanese man demanding Japanese government to permit the marriage with anime characters, legally.

About our East Asia coverage

Oiwan Lam
Oiwan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.

Mong Palatino
Mong Palatino is the South East Asia editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.