Stories about East Asia
22 February 2019
Netizen Report: Both Bangladesh and South Korea are waging a ‘war on porn’ — and paving the way for political censorship
South Korea and Bangladesh are blocking porn and "obscene" content, Venezuela is blocking YouTube, and Uzbekistan has finally stopped blocking Facebook and VK.
20 February 2019
A Tibetan-Canadian student was attacked online after winning student council elections. She thinks Beijing is to blame.
Chemi Lhamo faced a barrage of threatening comments on social media from overseas students who appeared to be from mainland China.
19 February 2019
‘Man returns to his native Xinjiang and disappears’ — a story too common for the headlines
Nurbolat Shalayit is one of hundreds of thousands of Xinjiang minorities whose current whereabouts are uncertain.
18 February 2019
Censored on WeChat: As tensions in China-US trade conflict rose, so did WeChat censorship
The second installment in our series looks at the most censored topic in the 2018 WeChatscope dataset: the China-US trade war.
14 February 2019
Australia revokes Chinese tycoon's citizenship over alleged political interference in Australian politics
"...winding back CCP [Chinese Communist Party] interference as an unacceptable and counterproductive part of bilateral engagement is a step towards developing a healthy China-Australia relationship"
Japanese ads aimed at women criticized for misogyny. Again.
This is the latest in a long line of Japanese ad campaigns that have sparked controversy online for alleged anti-women messaging.
Athan: A youth group promoting freedom of expression in Myanmar
"All lawsuits filed against journalists must be withdrawn. All journalists staying under detention including Reuters journalists must be released unconditionally. Defamation must be decriminalized in accordance with international standards."
13 February 2019
#MetooUyghur campaign asks Chinese government to prove that Xinjiang detainees are still alive
Uyghur communities from all over the world are using the #MetooUyghur hashtag to demand answers about the welfare of their loved ones.
Users flood Reddit with China censorship memes, balk at $150 million investment from Tencent
While Chinese companies regularly invest in US media companies, this makes for an unusual match.
12 February 2019
Let the dead tell their stories about Hong Kong
A "homicide tour" seeks to explore "the meaning of life and living conditions" in one Hong Kong neighbourhood.
11 February 2019
Censored on WeChat: A year of content removals on China's most powerful social media platform
Our team tracked censored posts from more than 4,000 public accounts covering daily news on WeChat. Here is what we found.
9 February 2019
Japanese PM staff ‘restrict’ reporter from pressers for ‘spreading misinformation’ about environmental harm
Mochizuki apparently angered the Cabinet Office during a news conference on December 26, when she asked about the risks of environmental contamination at a controversial construction site in Okinawa.
7 February 2019
Netizen Report: Philippine news outlet faces ‘cyber libel’ charges
Philippines DOJ takes another swing at Rappler news site, Facebook tackles disinformation in Indonesia and Russia moves to outlaw fake news.
Is there political interference in the public television network of Timor-Leste?
"There have been several attempts at political interference on me and directly on journalists to try to influence editorial content."
1 February 2019
This Twitter account celebrates women in Japan, one short profile a day
The common theme of the daily profiles is that the celebrated women come from all walks of life, and all have experienced unique challenges and successes.
Pressure mounts for Thailand to free Melbourne-based Bahraini refugee Hakeem al-Araibi
"Australia just gave our highest award to 2 divers for risking their lives to rescue 12 Thai boys from underground caves. We know where Hakeem is. He just needs a...
30 January 2019
Surveillance is a key concern for foreign journalists working in China, survey shows
Mobile phone surveillance and physical spying were top concerns for foreign correspondents in China in 2018.
29 January 2019
Larisa Pak is the last Korean standing at Tajikistan's hardscrabble border with Afghanistan
Up to 200,000 ethnic Koreans were deported to Central Asia from the Russian Far East by Soviet authorities during the 1930s.
22 January 2019
Taiwan’s referendum results may have been swayed by an ill-informed public
Many feel that an ill-informed public swayed the results of Taiwan's recent referendums.
18 January 2019
What's wrong with mainstream media's interpretation of Taiwan's referendum results?
Taiwan just finished its location election and ten referendums on Nov 24, but there are still some misunderstandings about the results in mainstream media.
About our East Asia coverage
Oiwan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
Nevin Thompson is the Japan editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.
