Stories about East Asia
3 August 2017
Japan Reacts With Alarm to Venomous Fire Ant Invasion
Fire ants have never been observed in Japan before.
31 July 2017
Greenpeace's Taiwan Map Error: Oversight or Consequence of China's NGO Management Law?
"In Taiwan, it is very easy...to chant the slogan of independence...but in China, the price is that the dozen people in the office would disappear the next day.”
30 July 2017
Apple Removes Apps Offering Virtual Private Networks from Its China Store
"It represents the most drastic measure the Chinese government has taken to block the use of VPNs to date, and we are troubled to see Apple aiding China’s censorship efforts."
A Request to ‘Imagine the World Differently’ One Year After Mass Murder at Japanese Care Home
The video features how residents in a care home for people with intellectual disabilities responded to the largest mass murder in Japan after World War II.
29 July 2017
Brunei Government Employee Complaining About Halal Certification Charged with Sedition Over Facebook Post
"Anyways that guy that's being charged with speaking out against the govt is a reminder that we don't have freedom of speech," wrote a Twitter user.
The Rise and Fall of a ‘Patriotic Investment Charity’ in China
Despite the government crackdown, many Shanxinhui’s members insist that Shanxinhui is a legitimate patriotic business.
28 July 2017
Philippines: On Facebook's Free Version, Fake News is Even Harder to Spot
Free Basics' limitations leave poorer users at a loss, giving them less access to useful information -- and little capacity to determine whether news is reliable or not.
27 July 2017
Vietnamese Activist Trần Thị Nga Sentenced to 9 Years for ‘Propaganda’
The 40-year-old Trần Thị Nga, also known by her pen name “Thúy Nga,” is a prominent advocate for migrants and land rights.
Can Facebook Connect the Next Billion?
New research by Global Voices tech and digital rights experts in Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, Mexico, Pakistan and the Philippines exposes the ups and downs of Facebook's "Free Basics" app.
25 July 2017
A Final Glimpse of Cambodia’s Iconic Phnom Penh White Building Before Its Demolition
The Cambodian government plans to build a multipurpose complex in the land occupied by the iconic White Building in the capital city.
23 July 2017
A North Korean Refugee and Cartoonist Draws What Life Is Like for Those Who Escape
As a child, teachers praised Choi Seong-guk for his sketches of American soldiers that he says he made look “as ugly and violent as possible.”
21 July 2017
With China Now the Top Market for Initial Public Offerings, One Economist Fears for Ordinary Investors
"To be honest, the Chinese stock market has become the tool of the state to make money."
Between Worlds: The Complicated Life of a Young Japanese Returnee
'We said "sorry" in Japanese, to which she replied, “Oh, you're Japanese? Then always speak Japanese, you foreigner!”'
Thai Academics to Be Summoned by Military for Raising ‘Anti-Junta Placards’ at an International Conference
The Thai Academic Network for Civil Rights reminded authorities that the country's constitution does not forbid people from holding up placards.
20 July 2017
Netizen Report: Authorities in China and Indonesia Threaten Whatsapp, Telegram Over Political Content
Global Voices Advocacy's Netizen Report offers an international snapshot of challenges, victories, and emerging trends in Internet rights around the world.
A Look Back at Japan's Transformative ‘Showa Era’
One Twitter account combs encyclopedias, photo magazines, guidebooks and other sources for nostalgic images from Japan's postwar recovery.
19 July 2017
China's Xinjiang Residents Are Being Forced to Install Surveillance Apps on Mobile Phones
Local netizens reported that police officers at check points are randomly searching residents' devices to see if they have installed the surveillance app.
17 July 2017
Censorship After Death: Chinese Netizens Quietly Mourn Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo
"After [Liu Xiaobo's] death, any mention of his name in English and Chinese is enough to get messages blocked."
16 July 2017
Pop Band's Music Video Parodies Junta Rule in Thailand
The video, which is still available on YouTube, immediately went viral.
15 Movies That Speak to the Complex Relationship Between Taiwan and Japan
Only since the late 1980s have filmmakers begun to examine the two countries' history, from colonial rule and World War II to present day.
About our East Asia coverage
Oiwan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.
