· December, 2013

Stories about East Asia from December, 2013

Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia

  31 December 2013

The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development has published a policy briefer that tackled the extent of human trafficking in Southeast Asia. Many Southeast Asian countries are at the bottom of a lot of the world's supply chains, including for food, garments, and technology. Yet few countries in...

South Korean Pres. Vows Pre-emptive Strikes on Social Media Rumors

  31 December 2013

Is South Korea government gearing up toward social media censorship? The latest official remark by President Park (full transcript [ko]) had Korean net users worried. Park, addressing “those rumors spreading via social media”, said “if the government let these things happen, it will bring chaos nationwide” and added “bear in mind that...

PHOTOS: Humans of Southeast Asia

  30 December 2013

Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York Facebook page has inspired many photographers in Southeast Asia to share photos and stories of ordinary people in the streets in their respective countries

Mandela's lesson for Hong Kong

  30 December 2013

Sa Law from left21 wrote a piece on Nelson Mandela and his lesson for Hong Kong, a city where migrant workers are living in apartheid. Due to their long working hours for six days a week, they lack the chance to socialize and mingle with the rest of Hong Kong...

Chinese President Xi Jinping Eats Steam Buns

  29 December 2013

The news about Chinese President Xi Jingping in a small restaurant eating steam buns with common people was first appeared in Weibo and spread through mainstream media outlets. ChinaSMACK translated the news and netizens’ comments.

South Korea: Reason Behind Movie ‘The Attorney's Box Office Smash

  28 December 2013

South Korean movie ‘The Attorney’ which depicts the early life of ex-President Roh who started as a civil rights lawyer resisting against dictatorial regimes, has drawn over 4 million admissions in just ten days of screening. Movie critics even comment [ko] that its popularity in Korea is more explosive than that...

South Korean Election Scandal Brings Three Religions Together

  27 December 2013

Opposition against the current administration's election manipulation scandal grows stronger every day, even enough to inspire conservative Protestant Christian groups to join the protest movement [ko] following the trails of Catholic leaders and Buddhist monks. On Christmas, this rare scene took place: in front of a Christmas tree which stood in...

IMF Silent on Corruption in Cambodia?

  27 December 2013

Jessica Evans of the Human Rights Watch criticized International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde for being silent about Cambodian's corruption problem when the IMF leader visited the country early this month: Lagarde missed a major opportunity in Cambodia to highlight governance problems, but she can right this by speaking out...

Dishing on Sino-American Relations

  27 December 2013

Chinese food culture constitutes a significant part in the Chinese language. Below is a part of an online fictional story on a conversation between Obama and Xi Jinping on Sino American relation explained and translated by Mary Ann O'Donnell: With respect to the importance of Sino-American relations, we will eat...

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.