· March, 2013

Stories about East Asia from March, 2013

Religious Extremism Blamed for Myanmar Riots

  31 March 2013

The Meikhtila riots in central Myanmar which also spread to other towns have killed more than 40 people and raised fears that religious and ethnic clashes would continue to worsen in the country. Many people have analyzed the roots of the violence, in particular, the rise of religious extremism which have caused division and hate in many parts of Myanmar.

History of Myanmar's Movie Industry

  30 March 2013

Ei Ei Su writes about the history of Myanmar's movie industry beginning with the country's first silent film in 1920, up to the 1940s when the industry was producing about 400 films, until the army takeover in 1962.

Thailand: Mobile App for Autistic

  30 March 2013

The Autism Foundation of Thailand has developed a mobile application known as ‘True Autistic’ aimed at enhancing the “physical and mental development of the autistic, and provide guidance to their parents.” Since its launching, it has scored almost 200,000 downloads. According to a report written by Thanya Kunakornpaiboonsiri, there are...

Status of Vietnam's Civil Society Organizations

  30 March 2013

The Asia Foundation estimates that there are about 2,000 Civil Society Organizations or CSOs in Vietnam. It recently published a survey on Vietnam's CSOs: The nature of civil society in Vietnam is muddled by complex regulations and quasi-governmental organizations claiming to be, and sometimes behaving like, independent CSOs

Official Fine Dining Goes Underground as China Curbs Excesses

  29 March 2013

China's crackdown on extravagance and banqueting has sent official fine dining underground. Local governments have turned in-house cafeterias into fine restaurants and hosted lavish private dinners in their homes in order to avoid being seen indulging in public.

Censoring Censorship in China

  29 March 2013

The above screen capture of a local news brief has gone viral on Chinese social media yesterday. It said: “Recently Myanmar has unblocked Facebook, the world's most popular social media website. Now only four countries in the world still blocked Facebook, including South Korea, Cuba, Iran and another country.” Other...

China Government's Growing Weibo Footprint

  29 March 2013

The number of Chinese government Weibo accounts has soared over the past few years and will continue to be so. Via China Digital Times: The survey by the Chinese Academy of Governance found that by December 20, 2012, a total of 176,700 Weibo accounts had been opened by government organs...

Beware: North Korea Rockets on Standby

  29 March 2013

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered rockets on standby to attack US military bases in South Korea in response to recent U.S.-South Korea joint military drills. North Korea Leadership Watch blog post a full script of North Korean state media report on this. 

China's Social Web Fawns Over First Lady

  29 March 2013

China's fashionable first lady Peng Liyuan has not only made the front cover of newspapers home and abroad, but also has attracted a hardcore following on popular Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo.

China's Feel-Good Viral Photo Wasn't Real

  28 March 2013

A feel-good viral photo showing a young girl on her knees helping an elderly homeless man eat has turned out to be a publicity stunt and netizens feel cheated. More from Off Beat China.

Charity on a Subway

  28 March 2013

[G]iving to beggars is a straightforward opportunity to practice generosity in my daily life. So why the resistance to giving? At the time my friend pointed out that I had probably been targeted, I felt ashamed and tried to defend myself. I argued that I would rather risk being tricked by...

Dream a Little Dream in China

  28 March 2013

My Chinese dream: Judicial fairness. Give back the life of my son. While China’s new leader Xi Jinping likes to talk about his “Chinese dream”, a group of Chinese petitioners are using the microblogging site Sina Weibo to talk about their Chinese dreams. Rachel Lu from Tea Leaf Nation has...

Despite Bans, China's Uyghurs Wear their Identity with Pride

  27 March 2013

A viral photo showing Uyghur students being punished for wearing Muslims caps in Xinjiang's Urumqi city has been labelled by the authorities as a "rumor" and a "plot" by "outside forces." But many Uyghurs wonder when the government will show some respect for their culture.

China's Dead Pigs Expose Illegal Farms

  27 March 2013

Barry van Wyk from DANWEI highlights a local report that shed lights on the floating dead pigs in Shanghai river by investigating into the problem of illegal pig farms in Hubei province.

No Ghost Cities in China

  27 March 2013

China Law Blog has a guest post by Dirk Chilcote who had lived in Zhenzhou for 3 years. He is skeptical of western media's report on China's ghost cities: In my three years living and working in the neighborhood 60 Minutes decided to use for its doomsday exemplar, the most...

Drones and Drug Politics in China and Myanmar

  26 March 2013

Burmese drug lord Naw Kham was executed by China through lethal injection last March 1 after being found guilty of killing 13 sailors on the Mekong River in 2011. His death sparked discussion about his criminal activities, drug politics in Myanmar, and an admission on the part of China that it has acquired drones.

South Koreans Blast Authorities Over Hack Attack Handling

  26 March 2013

Nearly a week after a massive cyber attack against major websites in South Korea, the identity of the attackers remains unknown. Frustrated South Koreans have slammed authorities in their comments online for their incompetence in blocking such attacks and for taking political advantage of the situation by blaming North Korea.

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.