· April, 2009

Stories about East Asia from April, 2009

China: The Beijing Consensus

  30 April 2009

Few are calling China's overseas investment strategy a Consensus comparable to the Washinton/IMF model, so how then best to describe it? Tom Orlik at China Translated explores a few alternate understandings.

Malaysia: Humans as Commodities

  30 April 2009

In early 2009, Malaysia had the dubious privilege of being investigated by the US senate for the trafficking of humans. News reports stated that the migrants involved were mostly from Myanmar, but other foreigners were also allegedly taken by the government officials to the Malaysian-Thai border, where they were extorted or sold to human trafficking syndicates.

China: Ongoing urbanization

  30 April 2009

With the Olympics long gone, the gentrification of Beijing neighborhoods continues. “Still, the signs go up, the schools and shops close down, and jobs, education and the prospect of permanent residence are suspended,” writes changing china blogger Ray Deng in his two-part photo essay.

China: Mash-ups in history

  30 April 2009

With ‘Socialism with Chinese Characteristics’ as one of the more prominent examples, Jeff Wasserstrom at The China Beat delineates mash-up culture in China, and don't miss out on the Confucian Blues.

Hong Kong: SexyPhotoGate uploader sentenced

  30 April 2009

Just over a year since photos of Edison Chen in bed with his Hong Kong celebrity friends appeared online, computer technician Sze Ho-chun has been found guilty of uploading the 1,300 images, blogs an anonymous The Dark Side blogger.

Taiwan: Participating in the World Health Assembly

  29 April 2009

The news that Taiwan will be participating in the World Health Assembly under the name Chinese Taipei came from the island's president and is received simultaneously as humiliating, a major step toward international recognition, and as nothing really important.

China: Growing climigration

  29 April 2009

At Absurdity, Allegory and China, Jim Gourley discusses the extent and severity of China's climigration problem, and the reasons there's yet to be seen meaningful change.

China: Year of the solar

  29 April 2009

Julian Wong at The Green Leap Forward scans the plans the “California of China” has to boost solar power projects this year and for the coming few.

China: Green stimulus omissions

  29 April 2009

Beijing has earmarked a substantial portion of its economic stimulus package for environmental protection; Charlie McElwee at the China Environmental Blog shows us just how far that money has gone.

China: English-language mouthpiece paper launched

  29 April 2009

People are talking about the new English-language Party paper, Global Times, which launched last week, finding it alternately: confused, soft power, serious, a waste of money, revealing and redundant.

China: A citizen campaign to reveal the forgotten dead

  28 April 2009

从车上下来的高举冲锋枪的警察高喊“把手举起来,原地不要动”这个只有大片中才有的场景让我有些不知所措。 The police rushing down from the car with a sub machine gun at hand shouted at me, ‘put your hands up, freeze!’ It was so astonishing a scene that I had only seen at American blockbuster. In his blog, Li Peifeng so recalled his encounter with the police in...

China: Tracking swine flu on Twitter

  28 April 2009

Swine flu for China so far is a chance to reflect [zh] on how SARS was prevented from becoming a pandemic, and the steps being taken now in Mexico and elsewhere. Wang Jiadong has a post [zh] looking at how social media have been used to track the spread of...

China: Why people don't use voicemail

  28 April 2009

Instant talking, with interruption, anytime, anywhere. Jian Shuo Wang looks back at why voicemail failed to take off in China and remains unpopular today.

Macedonia: Celebrating Sakura Becomes a Tradition

  27 April 2009

Sakura, the annual celebration of cherry blossoms through display of elements of Japanese culture, took place in Skopje, Macedonia, this weekend: somewhat later than last year, because the organizers did not want it to overlap with the Catholic and Orthodox Easter celebrations during the previous two weekends.

China: Peking University Humiliated

  27 April 2009

Veteran Party member and man of letters Ren Yanfang has spoken out [zh] online about the fate of an anthology set to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the founding of Peking University, in the spirit of the May Fourth Movement. Involving 188 high-profile academics and administrators, preparations began in 2004;...

China: Who is Siemen's Man in China?

  27 April 2009

Tword last week that a ban had been sent down on any reporting of the Siemens bribery case led netizens to realize that the case involves someone in China, and the growing [zh] consensus seems to rest on Jiang Zemin's son, Jiang Mianheng. ProPublica is still looking to name names.

About our East Asia coverage

Oiwan Lam
Oiwan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.

Mong Palatino
Mong Palatino is the South East Asia editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.