Stories about East Asia from March, 2019
Growing controversy in Myanmar: A Kachin banana plantation in photos
"Most of the plantations have Chinese backing and are accused of stealing land, damaging the environment and violating their workers’ labor rights."
China’s press freedom crackdown poses a threat to democracies, says media watchdog
“If democracies do not resist, ‘Chinese-style’ propaganda will gradually invade the world’s media, competing with journalism as we know it.”
Outgoing baseball superstar Ichiro Suzuki's oddball t-shirts make him fan favorite
Ichiro, who has set more records than any other baseball player, recently announced his retirement.
Deprived of citizenship, the Vietnamese of Cambodia live on the edge of society
“They tell us to go back to Vietnam. They say we fish everything and leave nothing for them. They tell us to go home. They don’t want us here.”
Controversy at Malaysia’s Women’s Day march leads to its organizers being probed for sedition
"The government must not take the side of the bullies. Denying a group of marginalised groups their right to participate in democracy is truly an abuse of democracy."
Japanese stray cats get VIP treatment on Instagram
An anonymous photographer has befriended and taken thousands of snapshots of stray cats from an undisclosed location in Japan.
Groups denounce continuous cyberattacks against independent media in the Philippines
"The goal is to deny a public hungry for information the reports and stories it needs to understand what is happening in a country besieged by lies and disinformation."
Foreign domestic workers contribute to Hong Kong economy but lack access to basic financial services
"We are treated as foreigners, low-class workers and therefore the government has been pushing for policies and practices that exclude and isolate migrant workers from the whole Hong Kong population."
Japanese app that ‘translates’ wives’ words for husbands ignites fierce online backlash
"This app is no more than an easy way out for selfish men who want to avoid the responsibilities of housework and childcare."
March 7th: The day Gandhi preached non-violent revolution in Myanmar
“I have no other and no better guidance to offer to you than to commend to your attention the general principle of non-violence, in other words, self-purification.”
How sports groups rallied for the release of a Bahraini footballer detained in Thailand
"We think that this campaign showed what sport can be, and our job as former players or athletes is to ensure that all sport becomes the vanguard for human rights."
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