· September, 2013

Stories about Citizen Media from September, 2013

India: The Prime Minister Nominee & His Criminal Records

  30 September 2013

“Can a person with Criminal Records become the PM of India?” – asks Dr. Abdul Ruff while discussing the nomination of the right wing leader and Gujarat chief-minister Narendra Modi. He is the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance for the upcoming 2014 Indian general...

South Korea: President's Failed Welfare Promise Sparks Criticism

  30 September 2013

President Park is under fire for her retreat on campaign promises of higher pension and tuition subsidies. Critics say her campaign pledges adopted against her own identity as a conservative candidate, helped Park to rake in more votes in the last presidential election. @metempirics gathered relevant links and web reactions [ko] in...

“You Can Kick Female Flight Attendants” in Kazakhstan

  27 September 2013

A former government official in Kazakhstan recently kicked a female flight attendant, reportedly because she did not speak Kazakh. The story has caused a stir on social media. Blogger Pivovar offers [ru] the most interesting and most widely shared Twitter posts on this incident, such as the one below: Казахстан-2013: бить...

Russia’s Hunger Games

RuNet Echo  27 September 2013

There are two hunger strikes in Russia today, one by a famous Pussy Riot member and another by a mothers' group. What do the different receptions online say about Russia?

Kyrgyzstan: “It is Impossible to Propagandize Homosexuality”

  27 September 2013

Prominent Kyrgyzstani blogger Bektour Iskander reflects [ru] on on the recent law banning gay ‘propaganda’ in Russia and speculations that some Kyrgyz human-rights NGOs are engaged in such propaganda: It is impossible to propagandize homosexuality. Because a heterosexual cannot turn into a gay, even if she/he communicates with hundreds of...

“Fetishization of Somoni” Continues in Tajikistan

  26 September 2013

As Tajikistan's president unveils yet another statue of national icon Ismoil Somoni, blogger Tomiris criticizes [ru] monument monoculture in the country: Don't we have other historical figures to erect statues to? Was Somoni really the only one of its kind? I understand that this fetishization of Somoni is a political...

Busting Myths about Kazakhstan

  26 September 2013

Kazakhstan is not part of the Middle East; Kazakhs do not have Chinese blood in their veins; and not everything about Kazakhstan is bad. Blogger busts (part 1, part 2) [ru] common myths about the oil-rich Central Asian nation.

Podcast: China's Big Internet Crackdown

  26 September 2013

Sinica podcast discusses China's recent crackdown on Big-Vs on Sina Weibo and poses questions about whether Sino Weibo will continue to be popular and if online discussions are already moving away from Sina Weibo towards mobile services like WeChat.