Stories about East Asia from April, 2007
Japan: Media has its eyes wide shut
Ampontan posted a detailed and scathing attack on American media (notably CNN and AP) for their failure to catch the “story staring them in the face”: “In the past two days, Prime Minister Abe and the government of Japan just issued its Declaration of Independence from the legacy of World...
Japan: What will happen after Golden Week?
Social Democratic Party MP Hosaka Nobuto and former diplomat Amaki Naoto say things will start moving in the Diet after Golden Week (one week period with several national holidays). Hosaka expresses his concern[Ja] about a recent trend in which the ruling coalition has forced through several bills and also points...
Taiwan: Crazy for Matsu
(Photo is from Arkun's flicker photo album.) Just like what Backlight53 said: 這禮拜中台灣都在瘋一件事，那就是–大甲媽祖遶境。 this week, there is one thing people in central Taiwan are crazy for. That is Da-jia Matsu's inspection. Based on Mei-Rong Lin's research, Matsu is the deity most commonly worshipped by Taiwanese people. Matsu's birthday falls on...
China: Please, no more rural healthcare propaganda!
Chris O'Brien from Beijing Newspeak blogged about the editorial process of a Xinhua article about China rural healthcare system: it was immensely frustrating that the story had to go through four revisions before all of them (opinions) were included in the story.
China: Prison Break
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI has translated a BBS post, Musings on the Chinese version of Prison Break, which addressed the question: how would a Chinese Prison Break be adapted so that it would pass the TV censors?
China: Slogans with Chinese characteristics
Banyue from DANWEI blogged some outrageous Chinese slogans, such as: Popularize the first child, control the second child, exterminate the third child, Whoever does not follow family planning will have his household ruined and his family perish, and many others.
China: An Eye for an Eye
The dog abuse case in Nanjing has resulted in furious internet response and real life threat: “You burned that dog to death and therefore I want you ‘dead'!” ESWN translated a report by Wang Feng from Southern Metropolis Daily on the case.
Japan: Baby Crying Contest
James from Japan Probe posted some photos from the annual baby crying contest.
Myanmar: Electricity and Internet
As internet is becomes more popular in Mayanmar, the electricity supply gets more and more irregular. Myat Thura has more.
Brunei: Brunei Girl, Sex and Relationship
Katie-Ella who calls herself “an old married woman” but remembers being a teenager once writes a post for “young women out there who are still finding their way, (hopefully) enjoying their youth and trying to make sense of modern relationships” .
![](<img id="image24500" src="https://www.globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/hlanpyakyal.jpg" alt="Polaris Library" />)
Weekly Roundup of Myanmar Blogs
Last week in Myanmar Blogosphere, the bloggers were into a new meme game introduced by Moe Moe. The bloggers had to write 10 Weird Things about themselves. The tag game happens to be quite a new concept for some bloggers and was played with much fun and enthusiasm. Almost all the bloggers participated in the game.
East Timor: Chinese Involvement in East Timor
Tumbleweed finds a Chinese petroleum company building a petrol station in Dili, the capital of East Timor. The post also some discussion on other construction projects that the Chinese are involved in.
Indonesia: Quiz
Are you a “capitalist pig”? asks Indcoup and invites the readers to take a quiz to prove or disprove it.
Religion and Philippine elections
Majority of Philippine politicians tolerate the political activities of some Church leaders, especially during election season. This is understandable since many Filipinos remain obedient to the teachings and instructions of religious leaders.
Japan: Why are checks not used in Japan?
Joe at Japan Law Blog explains the reasons why, unlike in many other countries, in Japan checks never caught on: “Japan has an entire legal structure for the payment systems familiar to Americans and Europeans. Yet if you live in Japan all your life, you may never write a check...
Japan: Interview with Sankei Shimbun Editor about Comfort Women Issue
Trans Pacific Radio reports on an interview with Sankei Shimbun Editor Yoshihisa Komori, conducted in late-March for the PBS series Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria, on the “Comfort Women” issue. TPR notes that “three things struck me [about Komori]: He looks off camera quite a bit, he brings up every...
Hong Kong: Hollywood Star Chow Yun Fat Supports Queen's Pier Preservation
Citizen reporters at inmediahk.net put up an exclusive report, with youtube clip (zh), on how Chow Yun Fat visited the Queen's Pier at 5:30am this morning (April 28), to show his support for preserving the historical landmark, Queen's Pier, in Situ. An English version of the report can be found...
Japan: Has the age of the Internet arrived?
Japanese blogger hirochan comments on the recent elections in Japan [Ja] and gives his insights into the nature of the role of the Internet in political and election campaigns in Japan. He points out the fact that Japanese politicians are not maximizing the potential of the Internet as a tool,...
Japan: Gore's “An Inconvenient Truth” popular among Japanese
Ken at What Japan Thinks reports on the results of a recent survey by MyVoice indicating that almost half of all Japanese want to see “An Inconvenient Truth”, Al Gore's recent film about climate change.
China: culture certification system
Joel Martinsen from DANWEI has translated an interview with Liu Changquan of the Ministry of Culture's Cultural and Artistic Talent Center from Southern Weekly about the newly proposed certification system for entry to cultural sectors.
Japan: Reactions to Tokyo Governor Ishihara's re-election
On April 8 and April 22 nationwide local elections were held throughout Japan, gubernatorial elections on the 8th and local assembly and municipal elections on the 22nd. Among 13 gubernatorial elections, the Tokyo elections attracted the most attention, with incumbent Ishihara Shintarou running for a third term. Over the previous...
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.
