· June, 2013

Stories about East Asia from June, 2013

Japan's Most Evil Corporations

A committee of labor activists and journalists have announced the nominees for Japan's most evil corporation in 2013 [ja]. Eight corporations and organizations that lost their employees to overwork and suicide...

30 June 2013

‘Code For Japan’ in the Works

Among others, Haruyuki Seki, a software developer at Georepublic Japan[ja] and social media consultant Hiroyasu Ichikawa are currently working toward the launch of Code For Japan [ja], an organization that aims to...

30 June 2013

Thailand Cuts Rice Subsidy Price

The Thailand government has announced the reduction of rice subsidy price that it gives to four million farmers. The program was meant to improve the savings of farmers. Critics blame the rice pledging program for the huge financial losses in the rice sector.

30 June 2013

Singapore: From Haze to Hail in Less Than a Week

From #sghaze to #sghail. After the record level haze pollution, Singapore was struck by rainstorms carrying hail this week. The haze caused by forest fires in Indonesia is the worst air pollution in Singapore in years. Many people welcomed the rains which poured down on Singapore early this week because it helped in easing the haze situation but they were surprised by the hail which hit the country Tuesday afternoon.

29 June 2013

Myanmar's Internet Freedom Forum

Faine Greenwood writes about the first Internet freedom forum in Myanmar and the challenges facing the IT community: The event revealed optimism about opportunities for a newly connected society, even...

28 June 2013

Bankruptcy in Malaysia

iMoney.my creates an infographic about bankruptcies in Malaysia. Almost 20,000 bankruptcy cases were recorded in 2012 or about 53 Malaysians who went bankrupt everyday.

28 June 2013

China's People's Daily Bashes American Political System

Fresh off its “Dishonest Americans" series, which claimed to offer an “objective picture of what real Americans are like”, the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece newspaper, the People's Daily, has shocked again with another attempt to bash the American political system.

28 June 2013

Father of China's Great Firewall to Quit His Job as University President

Fang Binxing, an information security expert nicknamed the “father of China’s Great Fire Wall”, has resigned as president of Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. His abrupt decision to step down--made during a university commencement speech --has ignited uproar online and touched a nerve with China’s Internet-savvy community.

28 June 2013

Thai Monk On Abortion and Buddhism

Takato Mitsunaga of Prachatai interviews Bhikkhuni Dhammananda, a feminist and Buddhist monk, about the spread of abortion in Thailand. About 300,000 abortion cases are reported in Thailand where majority of...

27 June 2013

US Got Snowden's Name Wrong on Extradition Papers, Hong Kong Says

Hong Kong's secretary of justice explained othat officials permitted American whistleblower Edward Snowden to fly out of the city because the US failed to respond to their questions in time regarding their case against Snowden as well as address Snowden's allegations that the US hacked Hong Kong.

26 June 2013

Japanese Official Suspended Over Twitter Comment

A Japanese reconstruction official in charge of helping victims of the 2011 post-tsunami meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear power plant has been taken off duty after sharp-eyed journalists unearthed tweets he wrote insulting area activists.

26 June 2013

Are Chinese Netizens a Bunch of Losers?

According to the 2013 China New Media Development Report released by China's News and Communications Research Center under China’s Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), the majority of Weibo users are a group of “low...

26 June 2013

Podcast: Chinese Dissident's NYU Departure

Sinica Podcast hosts New Yorker correspondent Evan Osnos who talks about Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng's departure from NYU, how the Snowden affair may or may not affect Sino-American diplomacy, and...

26 June 2013

Southeast Asia: The Great Haze of 2013

Since last week, a thick haze has enveloped Singapore and some parts of Malaysia caused by forest fires mainly in Indonesia. The haze brought air pollution levels to a record high in the region. Malaysia placed two districts under state of emergency while Singaporeans were advised to remain indoors.

26 June 2013

Hacker Attacks on South and North Korea

Hacker collective Anonymous previously announced they will attack North Korean sites on June 25. But it took an unexpected turn as several major South Korean sites, including the website of...

25 June 2013

Haze Chokes Singapore and Malaysia

Air quality in Singapore and West Malaysia hit hazardous levels after forest fires swept neighboring Indonesia. It's the worst haze in recent years in Southeast Asia. Malaysia has suspended school in affected states while Singapore advised its citizens to prepare for a prolonged haze. Indonesia has already formally apologized for the haze.

24 June 2013

Indonesia Fuel Price Hike Ignites Protests

Indonesia's decision to raise fuel prices has ignited a lot of debates and protests as well. Thousands of students and workers trooped to the streets to condemn the new fuel price scheme. However, the government insists the price hike is necessary to save the economy.

24 June 2013

China: Keywords Unblocked in Weibo

Jason Ng from Tea Leaf Nation reviewed the recent unblocking of several politically sensitive words in Weibo, Chinese biggest social media platform and pointed out that the unblocking is not...

24 June 2013

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.