· August, 2009

Stories about East Asia from August, 2009

East Timor: Tour de Timor

  31 August 2009

Tour de Timor has 300 registered competitors, 50 International volunteers and thousands of Timorese volunteers. The race was organized to promote peace.

Japan: Voting for Change

  31 August 2009

Diary of A Singaporean Mind comments on the Japanese election result that ended the LDP 54 years of continuous rule. The blogger pointed out that Japanese people had voted for change even though the future remains uncertain.

China and Taiwan: Dalai Lama's visit, inevitably political

  31 August 2009

Yesterday Dalai Lama arrived in Taiwan on a visit that has been denounced by China. The trip, requested by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to President Ma Ying-jeou, aimed at comforting victims of Typhoon Morakot. Dalai Lama explained in the airport that “I'm a monk. I was asked to say prayers...

Bangladesh: Justice Denied

  31 August 2009

The Online Citizen, a citizen media outlet of Singapore reports on a Bangladeshi labor, who was physically abused repeatedly by his Singaporean employer and denied 5 months salary. He held on to Singapore’s justice system, but the justice he got was deportation from the country and the employer got away...

Myanmar: Tension in the Sino-Burmese border

  31 August 2009

ESWN collects news reports on the military conflict between the Burmese government and the Kokang Ceasefire Group near the Sino-Burmese border. The situation has been getting worse in the past few days and thousands of Burmese refugees fled to China. Last Friday, a bomb fired across the border killed one...

Myanmar: Cooking oil ban removed

  31 August 2009

According to The Irrawaddy News, seven brands of cooking oil that had been banned for health reasons in Myanmar are now on sale again in Yangon after government authorities recommended their sale in the market.

Malaysia: Muslims can’t watch “immoral” concerts

  31 August 2009

The political party which banned the concerts of Beyonce, Avril Lavigne and Gwen Stefani in Malaysia is now proposing to ban the "sinful" Michael Learns to Rock concert. Malaysian Muslims can't also watch a Black Eyed Peas concert because the show is sponsored by an alcohol company.

East Timor: “Happy Day” of freedom vote

  30 August 2009

Timorese bloggers have celebrated the 10th anniversary of the popular referendum which led to the territory's formal independence. One commemorates the "happy day", another recalls his determination to drive out the Indonesian military occupiers, and yet another uses the day to question the current moment in Timor.

Japan: We will not forget Hiroshima and Nagasaki

  30 August 2009

64 years ago, on the 6th and the 9th of August, atomic bombs were dropped by the U.S. forces on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over 200,000 people died and every year, ceremonies are held to commemorate those victims and to remind humanity of the horrors of war and of the use...

Hong Kong: Parents, don't get fooled by CCTVB!

  29 August 2009

The Libertines Pub comments on a local T.V's (TVB Jade Channel) news report regarding the public consultation on review of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. The writer pointed out that the news was manipulated to create panic among our parents. The T.V company has been spoofed by netizen as CCTVB...

Japan: Marines and Okinawa

  28 August 2009

Peter Ennis at NBR Forum explains [en] the “role” of the U.S. Marines in Okinawa. “The US Marines are so heavily based on Okinawa for one reason:Budget. Japan picks up most of the bill. War plans for the Korean Peninsula virtually do not include the US Marines.” [via Tobias Harris,...

China: Are Tibetan Bloggers Being Silenced?

  28 August 2009

Quite alarming to report that all of the most popular Tibetan language blog hosting sites (except one) have been inaccessible for almost three weeks now. Although it is fairly common practice for Tibetan language blog hosting sites to be taken down (sometimes for “maintenance”) at times deemed sensitive by the...

Japan: Robot nurse bear

  28 August 2009

Pink Tentacle featured a new machine – robot nurse bear which is designed to assist nurses by lifting patients in and out of their beds and wheelchairs.

Japan: Falling Asleep on Trains

  27 August 2009

A Tsukuba Express train driver fell asleep at the wheel and was reported by a customer who used his cell phone to film the driver's slumber. While many bloggers expressed relief that this didn't cause an accident, ruhiginoue wonders why the line needs drivers [ja] when it's equipped with an...

Hong Kong: “Compensated Dating” and the use of Pejoratives

  27 August 2009

The life imprisonment of the “girl butcher” might have halted the case against “compensated dating” in Hong Kong for a while, but what have Hong Kong people learned from the incident? It all started with the conviction of a 17-year-old girl for soliciting compensated dating online. In Hong Kong, it...

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.