Stories about East Asia from May, 2012
North Korean Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur Dishing up Dollars?
Diana van Oort wrote a post on North Korean restaurants in Kaula Lumpur in one travel site. After explaining her general impressions of food, service and atmosphere, the author included...
China: Weibo Censorship Pattern
Andrew Phelps from Nieman Journalism Lab looks into Chinese micro-blogging platform, Sina Weibo's censorship pattern and offers explanation on why and when tweets are deleted.
Philippines: Budget Transparency Portal
The Philippine government has recently launched the Budget ng Bayan website to promote transparency and good governance in the country. Budget documents and state expenditures are uploaded in the site.
Singapore: Food Bloggers’ Portal
Opinioneated is an “interactive map of where to eat in Singapore, based on the reviews of popular food bloggers.”
Malaysia: Petition for Free and Fair Access to Media
Bersih, an election reform movement in Malaysia, identifies key reforms that the government can implement to ensure free and fair access to media during elections
China: Chinese Local Official Rapes “Nearly One Hundred” Young Girls Before Capture
David Wertime from the Tea Leaf Nation blogs about a serial rape crime committed by a local official in Henan province who had raped “nearly one hundred” young girls. So...
South Korea: Support for Castration of Repeat Child Rapists
South Korea will soon enforce chemical castration of repeat child rapists. A majority of South Korean net users expressed support for the newly implemented law, complaining that current law enforcement is 'generous to sex criminals with excuses'.
Philippines: Military Bombings Create Refugees
Thousands of residents in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao have been forced to flee their land in the past few months because of increased military presence and activities in the area. The escalation of conflict between government and rebel troops also worsened the situation recently. The residents have become bakwits - the local term for refugees.
Hong Kong: Living in High-rises
Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated a feature story showing German photographer Michael Wolf's collection of “Architecture of Density” which reflects the living condition of ordinary Hong Kong people in high-rises.
Myanmar: Power Shortage Protests Spread
Power blackouts in several Myanmar towns triggered peaceful protests in the country. Several protesters were detained but it didn't stop the gathering of ordinary residents and consumers who are angry over the electricity shortage. The protesters also want the government to explain why it continues to sell power supply to China despite the electricity shortage in the country
Taiwan: When News is Sold to the Chinese Government
In recent years, more and more Taiwanese media workers have been worried that press freedom has been eroding. In addition to the "embedded marketing" practice which cloaks advertising as news, the mainland China government has extended influence on the Taiwan public sphere through news industry acquisitions.
Video: How Societies Work – a Look at Unconventional Arrangements
The VJ Movement has partnered with the London School of Economics to bring us videos and stories that attempt to show how societies in conflict and crisis-affected areas across the globe are facing their futures.
China: Campaign to Clean ‘Foreign Trash’ Out of Beijing
A campaign to rid Beijing of illegal foreign residents has created controversy in China, with Chinese people expressing widely differing viewpoints on social media. A famous television host has labelled a reporter for Al-Jazeera as 'foreign trash' and invited police to run background checks on the blogger who has criticised his xenophobic remarks.
South Korea: Movie Review on the President's Barber
Storify user @Jaemin posted a review on the President's Barber, a movie which well depicted how ordinary people's lives suffered under a dictatorial military regime back in the 1970s and...
South Korea: Taking Evolution out of Textbooks
An atheist blogger who works as an English teacher in South Korea, Chris Hallquist wrote about some efforts made to strip evolution out of science textbooks. Based on his experience...
China: Chinese Man Murdered by Government-employed Demolition Team
Again, a Chinese man was brutally killed on May 15 by dipper when he tried to stop his home from being razed by the government-employed demolition team in Heilongjiang province....
China: Workers’ Culture on Weibo
Jennifer Cheung from China Labour Bulletin introduces how workers in China make use of micro-blog to tell their stories in different artistic forms.
Myanmar: Protest Against Power Shortage
CJMyanmar uploaded photos of the protest against the electricity shortage in Mandalay, the second largest city of Myanmar. Hundreds who joined the activity lighted candles and peacefully protested in front...
Philippines, China: Scarborough Shoal Dispute Goes Online
Tension rose in the past month between the Philippines and China when the governments of the two nations accused each other of illegally occupying the territorial waters near the disputed Scarborough Shoal. It sparked nationalist sentiments in both countries and the ‘word war’ has gone online.
South Korea: Police Question Influential Podcasters for Campaign Violations
One of South Korea's most influential podcasters was summoned for questioning last week over alleged illegal campaign activities, igniting heated debates and discussions online.
Thailand: Red Shirts Back in the Streets
Tens of thousands of Red Shirt protesters commemorated the second anniversary of the army and police crackdown on anti-government protesters in central Bangkok.
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