Stories about East Asia from June, 2014
30 June 2014
How the Philippine President Managed to Anger Film Legend Nora Aunor's Legions of Fans
The Filipina actress who starred in one of the most memorable Asian films has been nominated for the National Artist title. But the Philippine president rejected the nomination.
Why Some Taiwanese Activists Are Accusing This Hotel of Caving to Political Pressure from China
Hotel Novotel found itself a target of criticism after management disrupted a protest against the minister of China's Taiwan Affairs Office. Some Taiwanese fear closer ties with their communist neighbor.
26 June 2014
Meet Xiaobing, the (Fun? Annoying? Creepy?) Chatbot Taking Over China's Weibo
Microsoft's artificial intelligence robot, which is modeled after a 16-year-old girl, has found new life on Twitter-like Sina Weibo after being blocked on messaging app WeChat earlier this month.
25 June 2014
This Film Is About the Remarkable Friendship Between a Buddhist and Muslim in Myanmar. So Why All the Hate?
A human rights festival in Myanmar cancelled a screening of the documentary "The Open Sky" after receiving threats on social media accusing the film of being a Muslim conspiracy.
24 June 2014
Thai Coup Leads to Exodus of More Than 180,000 Cambodian Migrant Workers
Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians are streaming over the border to escape a rumored crackdown on illegal migrants, only to be greeted by poor conditions and uncertainty.
23 June 2014
‘Happy’ in Thailand? How the Coup Regime Is Still Suppressing Democracy

Mass media is being censored, Facebook is under fire and even the Hunger Games salute has been outlawed. Are Thais truly "happy" under the military regime?
People in Hong Kong Have a Legitimate Reason to Freak Out When Facebook Is Down
Denial-of-service attacks in Hong Kong have recently targeted an online referendum on democratic reform and a media outlet critical of Beijing. Some suspect mainland China are behind the attacks.
Hundreds of Thousands of Hong Kongers Are Defying China and Demanding the Right to Nominate Their Next Leader
A total of 700,000 people have already voted in an unofficial referendum on democratic electoral reform, despite condemnation from China and massive DDoS attacks against the website.
22 June 2014
Student Faces Criminal Charges for Disrupting Philippine President's Speech on Independence Day
A student leader in the Philippines was detained and subsequently charged with two criminal cases for disrupting the Independence Day speech of the President.
21 June 2014
20 June 2014
China and Hong Kong Are Supposed to Be ‘One Country, Two Systems.’ Someone Remind China
The Sino-British Joint Declaration gave Hong Kong a high degree of autonomy from China. A recently released white paper from Beijing is seen as a threat to that autonomy.