Stories about History from May, 2006
Malaysia: Finding the Banned Movie
Brand New Malaysian finds that one can actually find the video CDs of the banned movie “Lelaki Komunis Terakhir”. The blogger also links to another post that has background information on Chin Peng. The movie features some of the places where Chin Peng lived in and operated from.
China: Relations with Germans
A lengthy and thorough post from China Matters‘ China Hand looks at cooling Sino-German relations and the global role the two countries now play, set against German Chancellor Angela Merkel's recent visit to China: “So China—the world's most populous and vibrant economic power, which hasn't engaged in military aggression since...
Togo: National Treasures in German Hands?
Blogger Kangni Alem contends that (Fr) “no national treasures (…) were taken from Togo by the Germans” but rather that “what colonization generally speaking stole from the Togolese is their soul.” Nevertheless, he plans to tour German museums this summer to test his theory and cautions “do not count on...
Senegal: Forum on Cheikh Anta Diop
Semett announces (Fr) an upcoming forum taking place from May 25 to May 28 in Dakar entitled “20 years Later: the Intellectual and Scientific Legacy of Cheikh Anta Diop and the Challenge of the Building of Africa in the 21st Century.”
Armenia: The First Republic
Nessuna writes about an event presenting the Armenian-language publication of the first volume of Richard Hovannisian's history of the first year of the first Armenian Republic, and notes that the book restores historical truths locked away during Soviet times.
Ukraine: Books on Crimean Tatars
Otto Pohl posts a list of English-language publications on Crimean Tatars.
Japan: Korean terrorists interested
I am the Japanese rightist blogger yellowpeep continues her series of posts this month exposing religious and right-wing terrorist groups in Japan with a story that shows the various roles Koreans expats play in the organizations and violence.
China: Rights news roundup
Celia in her China Activist Weekly news roundup this week looks at Kofi Annan's recent visit to China, the media ban on coverage of the fortieth anniversary of the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, the completion of the Three Gorges Dam, another mine collapse trapping at least forty miners and...
Cambodia: What caused Angkor's Fall?
Curzon at cominganarchy.com has a discussion on the latest thinking behind the collapse of the civilisation that built the Angkor monuments in Cambodia.
Hong Kong: Literary history
On the latest episode of Danwei TV we see EastSouthWestNorth blogger Roland Soong take Danwei‘s Jeremy Goldkorn around Hong Kong in search of landmarks featured in Eileen Chang‘s (张爱铃) novel Love in a Fallen City (顷城之恋).
Sri Lanka: Remembering Rajiv Gandhi's Death
Rajiv Gandhi, an Indian politician assasinated by the LTTE is remembered at Transcurrents.com.
Indonesia: President Lets Off Former Leader
Indi at indirani,net writes why he will not vote for Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono again. Many Indonesians are disappointed that the president dropped corruption charged against ailing former leader Suharto.
China: A multi-colored country?
Stories this week from China Herald blogger-journalist Fons Tuinstra include a public protest against the Cultural Revolution in downtown Shanghai, wage raises and indicators, a review of a book on leading Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo and a Dutch academic's thoughts on how best to describe politically today's China in colors:...
Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica: Remembering ancestors
At The Pan Collective, Trinidadian Attillah Springer describes the Ifa ancestral ceremony held yesterday on the third anniversary of her grandmother's death. “We sang for her. Cooked her favourite foods. Cried a bit and missed her dry humour terribly. And in the end the Iya cast the obi. The offering...
China: Pinyin's persecuted past
Pinyin, the alphabetized version of simplified Chinese which today makes learning of the language so much easier was not, as noted by Pinyin.info blogger Mark Swofford, embraced during the Cultural Revolution as a communication tool, but rather attacked as ideologically incorrect with all traces burnt in the street.
Haiti: Haitian Flag Remembered on May 18
On the occasion of Haitian Flag Day celebrated in both Haiti and the diaspora, AyitiCherieConnexion says (Fr) “May 18, 1803, Catherine Flon sowed the first Haitian flag … to mark the ending of colonisation. La Dessalinienne, the national anthem, was composed in 1904 with lyrics by Justin Lherisson and music...
Cameroon: Reunification
Scribbles from the Den commemorates the reunification of Cameroon and the advantages to both the English and French speaking regions.
Francophone Africa: Bloggers On Colonialism's Enduring Influence
In recent weeks, several Francophone African bloggers have grappled with their countries’ colonial legacies and the power history has to shape the present and the future. For them, independence is an illusion and in ways both psychological and material, Africa remains a colony of the old empires. All stress the...
Pan African consciousness: Malcolm remembered
Afrika-aphukira remembers Malcolm X's birthday. He writes that 41 years after the assassination, Pan-African consciousness is dead and asks “What happened to such a promising start? What can we do today to make pan-Africanism once again the ideological force that it once was?”
Ukraine: 62nd Anniversary of Deportations of Crimean Tatars
J. Otto Pohl writes about the deportations of the Crimean Tatars, which took place 62 years ago: “In the early hours of 18 May 1944 some 32,000 members of the NKVD and NKGB began the systematic round up the entire Crimean Tatar population. These armed units went from house to...
Estonia: Tallinn's Architecture
Simon of Tallinn Daily Photo highlights one aspect of the city's architecture: “the marrying of modern around the old.”
