Stories about East Asia from September, 2008
Japan: Internship at Hatena
University student and blogger id:suztomo describes (with many photos) their experience in September doing an internship [ja] at Hatena in Kyoto, Japan. The blogger had two objectives with the internship: to learn how to set up a server that can withstand many users, and to learn about how web services...
Taiwan: Run The Rainbow Way
Despite the Typhoon, the LGBT community had their annual rally in Taipei city. peopo.org has put up a video on the event with coolloud.org.tw‘s citizen report.
China: PR-ing Poisonous Milk
David Bandurski from China media project wrote a detailed article about Sanlu's public relation strategy in creating the high-quality image of its milk products and showed how the media is conspired in relaying the lie.
China: Imprison for Faking Tiger
Do you still remember the South China Tigergate issue? The farmer, who claimed to have taken the photo is now facing criminal charge and may be put into prison because of that. ESWN has collected and translated local news on the case.
Japan: The psychology of prostitution, and why it should be legalized
id:fromdusktildawn delves into the the roots and social context of prostitution [ja], arguing that by looking down on women who work in the sex industry, men offload feelings of guilt about their lust for prostitutes onto the prostitutes themselves. The blogger claims that by legalizing the 5 trillion yen prostitution...
Myanmar: Aid still needed
Five months after the devastating cyclone which killed and displaced at least a hundred thousand people, Myanmar is slowly recovering. Relief efforts may be improving but international aid is still very much needed.
Japan: MIRAI brings together gadgets and the Internet
Alpha Bloggers announces a free event [ja] in Tokyo entitled, “Mirai: synthesis of gadgets and the net” (MIRAI：ネットとガジェットの融合), to be held on October 20th from 7pm to 10pm near Kudanshita station (see map [ja]). The event will discuss the possibilities of a future in which gadgets and the Internet are...
Korea: Ceremonial Expenses
What is your biggest expense? A website, www.career.co.kr, did a survey of 1,676 employees, and asked them which of their expenses they consider worthless. The highest percentage answered drinking and the second highest was for payment of other peoples’ ceremonies. The top answer could be understood anywhere. Then, what do...
Japan: Fluctuations in Yen-Dollar rate
Japanese blogger kawase_oh [為替王] analyzes recent fluctuation in exchange rates [ja] between the yen and the U.S. dollar, and also between the yen and other major currencies. The blogger says to look out this week for the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey [日銀短観] on Oct. 1st, and to the announcement...
Taiwan: Typhoon Jangmi strikes
JD on EP and Michael Turton did live blogging of Typhoon Jangmi as it struck Taiwan.
Japan: Group Bookmarking with 4dk
Osamu Higuchi at Higuchi.com introduces a free bookmarking service [ja] (in Japanese) called 4dk [ja], where bookmarks are visible only to those within a closed group. Higuchi refers to this idea as “group bookmarking”, explaining that it is different from the “group catharsis” of open bookmarking services like del.icio.us and...
China: Will a Nobel Peace Prize really hurt our feelings?
Hu Jia's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize has raised the question: are The Chinese People easily upset by the notion of human rights? Party spokesman Liu Jianchao would have you think so, and many netizens agree. Not all do, however, judging from comments that haven't yet been deleted.
Japan: Dropping out of Graduate School
At Hatena's AnonymousDiary, a former student of a Japanese graduate school describes their experience and why they decided to drop out [ja]. The student explains that in their lab, what mattered most was not experimental techniques or fundamental knowledge, but just the amount of time that students spent at their...
Indonesia: Breastfeeding campaign
Everything Indonesia blogs about a breastfeeding campaign in Indonesia
Malaysia: Molotov cocktail thrown at politician's house
A molotov cocktail was thrown at the house of Malaysian politician Teresa Kok. She condemned the act and attributed the “despicable act to certain media groups and blogs that have deliberately demonised and portrayed (her) as chauvinistic, anti Malay and anti Islam.” She adds: “They persisted in reporting similar fictitious...
Myanmar: Saffron Revolution a year later
Alternative Asean Network on Burma published a briefer which revealed the intensified repression in Myanmar a year after the crackdown on the monk-led Saffron Revolution.
East Timor leader at a U.N. meeting
President Jose Ramos-Horta of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste delivered a statement at the 63rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Horta mentioned the improving economy of his country.
China: One Trillion US Bonds and Debt Scandal
According to a New York Times report in early September, the Chinese Central Bank has invested over USD $1 trillion on U.S. Treasury bills, bonds and debt securities. Among the one trillion dollar bill, $376.3 billion have been put into the mortgage backed securities of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,...
Japan: Taiwanese blogger looking for Japanese boyfriend
According to Ameba news [ja], Taiwanese blogger and Japan-lover Shuen Shuen, also known as “Naomi”, announced on her blog [zh] that she wanted to move to Japan and find a Japanese guy to marry. That news is now all the talk of the Japanese bulletin boards [ja], and apparently sparked...
Japan: Photos from Iriomote
Blogger id:mereco posts amazing photos [ja] from her trip to the island of Iriomote [西表島] in Okinawa, Japan. Photos from the trip include pictures of cows, hermit and coconut crabs, and a box turtle. The full set can be found on id:mereco's Flickr page.
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.
