Stories about East Asia from March, 2019
Uyghur man bids to save ‘most extraordinary mom in the world’ from Chinese camp
"There is no due process, there is no trial. Nobody knows when they are getting out."
Netizen Report: Activists in Pakistan and Malaysia confront online backlash after International Women’s Day events
This week, the EU parliament approved its Copyright Directive, Pakistan blocked mobile services (during a military parade) and Bangladesh blocked Al Jazeera English.
Facebook comment about throwing an egg at Singapore minister triggers police probe
"To be honest, I don't feel much regret. I feel it's a matter of freedom of speech, and that we have a right to voice such opinions."
Growing controversy in Myanmar: A Kachin banana plantation in photos
"Most of the plantations have Chinese backing and are accused of stealing land, damaging the environment and violating their workers’ labor rights."
China’s press freedom crackdown poses a threat to democracies, says media watchdog
“If democracies do not resist, ‘Chinese-style’ propaganda will gradually invade the world’s media, competing with journalism as we know it.”
Censored on WeChat: #MeToo in China
The term “rice bunny”, which sounds similar to “me too” when spoken in Chinese, was used as a replacement hashtag to get around the censors.
Outgoing baseball superstar Ichiro Suzuki's oddball t-shirts make him fan favorite
Ichiro, who has set more records than any other baseball player, recently announced his retirement.
Deprived of citizenship, the Vietnamese of Cambodia live on the edge of society
“They tell us to go back to Vietnam. They say we fish everything and leave nothing for them. They tell us to go home. They don’t want us here.”
Controversy at Malaysia’s Women’s Day march leads to its organizers being probed for sedition
"The government must not take the side of the bullies. Denying a group of marginalised groups their right to participate in democracy is truly an abuse of democracy."
Japanese stray cats get VIP treatment on Instagram
An anonymous photographer has befriended and taken thousands of snapshots of stray cats from an undisclosed location in Japan.
Censored on WeChat: the disappearance of Ye Jianming, former chairman of CEFC China Energy
With Ye's disappearance, the details of quiet agreements between his multi-billion dollar company and the Chinese government began to unravel.
Kazakhstan silences the Xinjiang megaphone
“I have one issue – and that issue is Xinjiang.”
Groups denounce continuous cyberattacks against independent media in the Philippines
"The goal is to deny a public hungry for information the reports and stories it needs to understand what is happening in a country besieged by lies and disinformation."
Foreign domestic workers contribute to Hong Kong economy but lack access to basic financial services
"We are treated as foreigners, low-class workers and therefore the government has been pushing for policies and practices that exclude and isolate migrant workers from the whole Hong Kong population."
Japanese app that ‘translates’ wives’ words for husbands ignites fierce online backlash
"This app is no more than an easy way out for selfish men who want to avoid the responsibilities of housework and childcare."
March 7th: The day Gandhi preached non-violent revolution in Myanmar
“I have no other and no better guidance to offer to you than to commend to your attention the general principle of non-violence, in other words, self-purification.”
How an Uyghur activist felt the long arm of the Chinese Communist party, in Canada
Chinese student organizations decried activist's talk on the mass incarceration of Uyghurs in Xinjiang as separatism “promoting ethnic hatred” and demanded McMaster university administrator to protect Chinese dignity.
Censored on WeChat: Chinese megastar Fan Bingbing's tax evasion scandal — and her disappearance
The news of Fan's tax evasion penalty and her apology made the actress a top target for censorship on social media.
‘We've got two sessions': China promotes communist party meetings with English-language rap video
In China's latest party propaganda video, lyrics like “Gotta be the Ready One Player when in front of dirty polluter" are puzzling netizens.
How sports groups rallied for the release of a Bahraini footballer detained in Thailand
"We think that this campaign showed what sport can be, and our job as former players or athletes is to ensure that all sport becomes the vanguard for human rights."
The French Yellow Vests movement seen through global lenses
As we witness the rise of the Yellow Vests, France revisits its bloodthirsty history.
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