Featured stories about East Asia
Stories about East Asia
21 October 2019
First Thai female Theravada monk named one of BBC’s 100 most influential women
Dhammananda’s efforts to re-establish the Theravada bhikkhuni (female monastic) lineage in Thailand have been met with resistance from both the laity and monks who are against ordaining women.
18 October 2019
How bad is African swine fever for the pork supply crisis in China?
Animal epidemic control is about people, such as whether or not the media could effectively monitor the authorities and inform the public at early stage of the outbreak.
13 October 2019
Youth join Climate Strike in Japan as government invests in fossil fuels
Japan is not void of warriors shouting out for climate sustainability. But these young activists are concerned that the adults aren’t ready to hear them.
10 October 2019
Thai Twitter users face threats over comments on royal motorcade
The hashtag #royalmotorcade trended in Thailand after netizens reported traffic problems caused by a royal motorcade.
9 October 2019
US gaming company Blizzard bans Hong Kong e-sport player from tournament for shouting pro-democracy slogan
The e-sport player will be removed from the tournament without receiving any prize money and banned from Hearthstone contests until 2020. Chinese tech giant Tencent owns about 5% of Blizzard’s...
8 October 2019
After Xinjiang, the long road to recovery
A crowdsourcing project in Kazakhstan is offering medical treatment to victims of Chinese detention camps, but psychological scars will take longer to heal.
7 October 2019
Filipino teachers hold protest as presidential promise of salary increase remains unfulfilled
"It is now more than three years that Duterte is the President and still the promise of salary increase for teachers is illusive."
4 October 2019
NGOs slam Hong Kong's enacting of emergency law banning masks at protests as draconian
Last invoked in 1967, the Emergency Regulations Ordinance is a colonial-era law that gives the chief executive unlimited power in the event of an “emergency or public danger.”
Lilly Satidtanasarn, the 12-year-old taking on plastic pollution in Thailand
"Adults think I’m doing homework or a school project. They didn’t take me seriously but I kept emailing them and now they take me seriously."
2 October 2019
As real bullets fly and hit in Hong Kong, the police start a new cycle of unprecedented violence
Hong Kong sees its first victim of live gunshot as the city is once again marred in a vicious circle of violence
No land, no fish: Mekong community in northeast Thailand struggles against a double-threat
"I don’t understand but I’m very stressed. How can they demolish it? I don’t have anywhere to live. We aren’t rich investors. We’re poor people."
29 September 2019
Undercover journalist exposes harsh working conditions at Amazon warehouse in Japan
A new book by a Japanese investigative reporter exposes deadly working conditions at a giant Amazon facility just outside of Tokyo.
Press freedom watchdog dismisses China’s '70 Years of Progress on Human Rights’ as ‘smokescreen’
Reporters Without Borders slams China's white paper on human rights as "a smokescreen" to mask the country's "horrendous record" with regard to human rights and press freedom.
28 September 2019
Global rally to urge U.S. congress to vote for the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act
'This is a plea for universal human rights, for democracy and for the freedom to choose…'
26 September 2019
Caring for Myanmar’s orphaned elephants
Myanmar's wild elephants are under serious threat from poaching, with elephants being killed at the alarming rate of one a week.
25 September 2019
A snapshot of climate strikes across Southeast Asia
The protest actions in Southeast Asia highlighted various issues such as the impact of large-scale mining, haze pollution, and continuing dependence on fossil fuels.
22 September 2019
Broken bones, internal bleeding: Hong Kong police used ‘reckless, indiscriminate’ tactics during protests, says Amnesty
"...police officers meted out violence prior to and during arrests, even when the individual had been restrained. The use of force was clearly excessive, violating international human rights law."
20 September 2019
Netizen Report: Pro-government doxxing campaigns rock Hong Kong, Serbia
Doxxing is all the rage in Hong Kong and Serbia, an Indian judge delivers a win for internet rights, and Facebook debuts plans for its oversight board.
19 September 2019
Yale-NUS college draws criticism in Singapore after canceling a class on ‘dialogue and dissent’
"If we cannot make space and listen to the person that says no, then democracy dies. It’s that fundamental."
China Central Television urges netizens to doxx Hong Kong protesters and reporters
The state-run TV helped publicise doxxing site hkleaks.ru, which targeted pro-democracy lawmakers, student activists and journalists in Hong Kong.
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.
