Stories about East Asia from October, 2005
Images from Japan: Sushi
“Sushi” by Sekihan A young woman ponders the display at a sushi restaurant in Tokyo.
Australia, Singapore: Execution
Several Singapore blogs are campaigning to stop the execution by hanging of Australian Nguyen Tuong Van in the city-state for heroin smuggling.
China, Taiwan: Map Mess
When Google Maps labeled Taiwan a province of China, the company received protests from Taiwanese — and anger from China at its efforts to change the label. Then Google removed...
Indonesia: Poor Credentials
Indonesia Now lists the credentials you need to qualify for government handouts to offset the impact of fuel price rises. Some of them: no electricity, a house made of bamboo,...
Japan: Mobile Auction Space
Technology blogger Gen Kanai shares his end of a conversation with a telecoms analyst on mobile auctions.
Japan, South Korea: Compulsory English
The Asia Pages weighs in on proposals in both Japan and South Korea to prioritize English — most controversially, in South Korea, to make it the official language in certain...
Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey: Inside Nobel Information
Kotaji claims to have inside information on the Nobel Prize for Literature discussions, which he says came down to Indonesia's Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Turkey's Orham Pamuk and South Korea's Hwang...
Singapore: Complaining
Double Yellow muses on Singapore's new pastime: complaining.
Vietnam: Know Your Greens
Food blog noodlepie asks for help identifying what's in those sideplates of tasty greens and herbs that come with meals in Vietnam. Help them here.
China: Guide to the Blogosphere
China bloggers have been praising China Blog List, a collection of English language weblogs focused on China assembled by John of sinosplice.
Myanmar: Ten Year Anniversary
Burma watch.com has a roundup on global commentary on the 10th-year anniversary of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest.
Philippines: Zafra Eats Her Words
Some years ago, popular columnist Jessica Zafra founded a magazine in Manila named Flip: The Official Guide to World Domination, in which she argued that Filipino migrant workers were the...
Singapore: Government Blogging Guidelines
mrbrown finds on the road to work a Singapore government circular listing guidelines on public communications for civil servants. “Civil servants may create or participate in a blog,” it reads....
Singapore, Thailand: Grading the Media
A ranking that placed Singapore as No. 140 in press freedom sparks much discussion in the local blogosphere. Singabloodypore explains the sorry state of the island state's docile media. Omeka...
Vietnam: Lone Star
A Viet soul in Texas rails against outsiders misunderstanding Vietnam. “We are 1 people, 1 country now, and don't try to think us as two countries anymore.” Meanwhile, American blogger...
Effect Measure on Facing the Global Bird Flu Threat
With recent reports of avian flu in Western Europe, the disease is clearly no longer East Asia's problem. It's a dilemma for the world. Last week I emailed Revere, the pseudonymous leader of Effect Measure, a public health group blog. Since its inception in late 2004, Effect Measure has been covering the global response to avian flu. My goal was to discuss the pandemic fears and what the world -- and ordinary people -- can do to prepare for it.
Revere, an environmental epidemiologist in a senior faculty position at a major research university, has 40 years of experience in medicine and public health. He is also one of the individuals behind the Flu Wiki, an Internet-based experiment in community mobilization and knowledge-pooling to face the feared epidemic. He paints an alarming picture. "If a pandemic is going to happen (and we don't know how to predict if it will or not with certainty), it will happen whatever we do," he writes. "There will be no "outside" for help to come from, so each community needs to prepare to cope on its own." In previous flu pandemics, hundreds of thousands of people went sick or died, leading to massive disruptions as workers failed to show up to work and instead surged into ill-equipped and ill-prepared hospitals ill-prepared.
Revere sees two big tasks ahead: managing the consequences of a potential pandemic, and building (or rebuilding) the world's rotting public health infrastructure.
Malaysia: Blogebrity?
“I heard you're a blogger so you must have lots of thoughts.” Curious non-bloggers corned Kenny Sia at an impromptu bloggers’ meet; our hero ends up in an awkward, beauty...
Philippines: Conference Report
The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has reports here, here and here on its recently concluded “Journalists as Bloggers” Conference.
Singapore: Signs of Life
unkster has thirty-six signs you've been in Singapore too long.
Taiwan, China, Singapore: Debunking a “History” Book
The View from Taiwan‘s Michael Turton reposts an email from from a National University of Singapore professor critiquing the myths, fabrications and inaccuracies that plague a recent book on the...
Thailand: Food Critics
Tom Vanvanij critiques some of the New York Times‘ choices for “real” Bangkok street food.
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