Stories about East Asia from October, 2008
Thailand will ban websites that attack monarchy
Thailand plans to ban websites that attack or defame its monarchy.
Rats invade Myanmar fields
Adding to the woes of Myanmar farmers are rats which are invading fields in West Myanmar
China: Shanghainese
Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated a long discussion and debate in Tianya forum on Shanghai people's attitude towards outsiders.
Blog for LGBT Filipinos
Rainbow Bloggers Philippines is a blog dedicated to LGBT Filipino bloggers worldwide.
Japan: Refunds from Saizeriya
News that Saizeriya [ja], a Japanese restaurant chain offering low-cost Italian food, is offering refunds for people who ate pizza with melamine-tainted dough — without asking for receipts — has sparked some people who never ate any of the tainted dough to take up the restaurant's offer anyway [ja]. At...
Japan: 10 rules for debating, from students in Finland
id:takerunba follows a trackback [ja] to an article by blogger Oika [ja] about five rules for debating apparently conceived of by 5th-year students in Finland. Oika highlights points #1 (“Don't cut in when other people are talking”) and #7 (“Listen carefully [to what people say] until they finish”). The blogger...
Korea: Rise of ‘No Reason for Murder’
A South Korean man who was not satisfied with himself and society attacked a gosiwon and killed six people in an arson attack and knife in the middle of Seoul.[En] His hatred against this society, mistreatment since childhood and long term odd-jobs, led him to kill innocent people who stayed...
Japan: Expression of surprise
Blogger and comedian Hirokazu Fujii [藤井宏和] snaps a picture and catches an expression of surprise [ja].
Japan: Net users versus mainstream media on Governor Hashimoto
id:Chikirin observes that lately a pattern of estrangement has developed in Japan between the tone of existing mainstream media and public opinion on the net [ja], one that can be traced to a generation gap. The blogger takes the case of Osaka Governor Tōru Hashimoto, recently in the news for...
Japan: Hospital system in crisis, but how can it be fixed?
Gurikenblog takes up the story of a pregnant mother who was turned away by seven hospitals in Tokyo and eventually died of a brain hemorrhage, writing that the basic problem with the hospital system in Japan is that there is a lack of basic resources [ja]. “Certainly talk of suddenly...
China: Quiet at Melamine tainted-eggs
David Bandurski from China media project notices how the mainstream media in China are quiet about the melamine tainted-eggs issue even though the government stressed its determination on securing food safety.
China: No Uyghurs in our Hotel
The new dominion blogs about the systematic discrimination against Uyghurs in China, such as denied access to inns or hotels.
Brazil: Grandma Aggie, Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers and the Pope
Lou Gold, a North-American blogger and nature-person turned “brasileiro’, blogs about [En] Grandma Aggie and the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers, re-telling some of the adventures of these courageous indigenous ladies and their recent efforts to get the Pope to rescind the Papal Bulls that created the “right” to...
Thailand: Dispute over Preah Vihear Temple
Thai Girl has photos of Preah Vihear temple and a discussion of the dispute between Thailand and Cambodia.
Thailand: Amulets and warfare
Soldiers and even non-combatants are using Buddha amulets when they are on duty.
Burmese Americans and US elections
Writers Myat Soe and May Ng discuss the views of Burmese Americans about the U.S. elections
Laos and Western culture
Lao Voices ponders about the impact of Western culture on Lao people.
Japan: Arrested in Shibuya just for walking?
id:inumash comments on news [ja] that three people heading a demo in Shibuya (Tokyo) on Oct. 26th with the intention of going to “see the home of PM Taro Aso” were arrested for not having notified police beforehand [ja]. The blogger points to an article by Amamiya Karin [雨宮処凛] [ja]...
Taiwan: Huge crowd at 1025 protest
Several media outlets reported that 600,000 people attended the 1025 Safeguard Taiwan protest on Saturday in Taipei. A-gu live blogged on the protest tracking the news reports of several TV channels. Travels around Taiwan had a post featuring photos of some of the signs at the protest. Memories of Past...
Taiwan: Protest to defend Sovereignty
Claudia Jean blogs photos of the weekend protest organized by Democratic Progressive Party against the president Ma Ying-jeou concerning his policy towards China.
China: Rumors and Authorities
ESWN translated an article from Southern Metropolis Daily on the relation between the spreading of rumors and the lack of trust on the authorities.
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