Featured stories about East Asia
Stories about East Asia
11 December 2018
Singapore government threatens critics and independent media with defamation claims
"How can a prime minister be offended by someone sharing a Facebook post?"
28 November 2018
British national urges UK to ban Chinese state TV over role in forced confession
The complaint was filed mere weeks before's CCTV's opening of its European hub in Chiswick Park in London.
27 November 2018
How will Google plug into China’s all-encompassing internet censorship regime?
How far is Google willing to go to get the Chinese government's blessing?
26 November 2018
Indonesian school teacher faces jail time for documenting sexual harassment
Public outrage forced the Attorney General's Office to suspend the jailing of the female teacher, who was sexually harassed by her boss.
Despite threats of arrest, rap song criticizing military rule goes viral in Thailand
As a response to the 40-million-view music video, the Thai government launched its own rap song celebrating innovation and progress (it flopped).
24 November 2018
Made-in-China fake news overwhelms Taiwan
Last year, Taiwan’s National Security Bureau revealed that a significant volume of disinformation that had circulated on Taiwan social media networks came from “content farms” with China's Communist Party.
21 November 2018
Tokyo Immigration Bureau accidentally highlights the plight of refugees in Japan
To critics, the pinned tweet wasn't about graffiti at all, but was instead a reaction to criticism of how the immigration body treats refugees, undocumented workers and others in detention.
Winning Taiwanese director calls for independence at the Chinese Oscars
"I really hope one day our country will be regarded as an independent entity. This is my biggest wish as a Taiwanese."
18 November 2018
‘I am prepared to go to jail': Founder of Hong Kong's Umbrella Movement offers hope ahead of trial
"I am prepared to go to jail… So long as we are not crushed by the trial and the prison sentence...then we will come out stronger."
16 November 2018
Saudi Arabia's execution of another migrant worker angers Indonesians and strains an already fraught diplomatic relationship
According to the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, about 103 Indonesians were handed death sentences in Saudi Arabia between 2011 and 2018.
Dissident novelist’s close call casts a shadow on Hong Kong's once-vibrant cultural scene
Since the 1950s, Hong Kong has had a proud tradition of exile literature and art. Recent events suggest they're under threat.
15 November 2018
Bangladesh's now-postponed repatriation would have turned the plight of Rohingya refugees from bad to worse
"How can repatriation still be an objective, when all the evidence shows that these cyclical influxes into Bangladesh are rooted in Myanmar's persecution and denial of citizenship to Rohingya?"
10 November 2018
Is Jair Bolsonaro another Rodrigo Duterte? It's more complicated than you think
As Brazilians prepare for a Bolsonaro presidency, they’d do well to look at the Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte’s two and a half years in office.
Zimbabwe's black rhinos at risk as China reverses a 25-year ban on horns
Conservationists lack the financial resources required to increase security and boost capacity to monitor and track poachers in Zimbabwe's national parks. China's partial ivory-ban reversal may make matters worse.
6 November 2018
Political cartoonist Badiucao abruptly cancelled his Hong Kong exhibition — and then went silent
The event was seen by many as a test of the limits of free speech in Hong Kong.
5 November 2018
Apple censors sensitive words from device-engraving service in Hong Kong and China
Banned words include the names of current and former Chinese state leaders and the phrase "Taiwan independence".
2 November 2018
A 15-year-old rape victim is the latest collateral damage of Duterte's drug war
Netizens say Duterte’s misogyny, rape jokes, and assurances to defend police and military in the course of anti-drug & counterinsurgency operations have normalized a macho culture of sexual abuse.
1 November 2018
The Cop and the Showgirl, or how China's newest tool of repression targets the rich and powerful
The "liuzhi" detention law was introduced in May 2018. "Even the constitution now says that the liuzhi agency ranks higher than the judiciary and the prosecutor’s office."
31 October 2018
Madagascar citizens demand transparency in a fishy deal with China
The livelihoods of Madagascar’s coastal communities will be seriously threatened if they must compete with the potential catch capacity of these fishing boats.
29 October 2018
Paramilitary group killed farmers in Philippines sugar plantation, fact-finding mission says
The "Sagay 9" massacre was the single most deadly attack against peasant activists under the Rodrigo Duterte administration.
About our East Asia coverage
Oiwan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
Nevin Thompson is the Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
