Stories about East Asia from May, 2009
China: Yingde Mass Incident
ESWN compared the official version and forum citizen report on the Yingde mass incident – a protest against government corruption and exploitation of overseas Chinese refugees from Vietnam who settled in Yingde in 1970s.
China: Should journalists be tried for bribery?
David Bandurski from China Media Project looked into into the trial of Fu Hua, a journalist, who was charged with bribery for accepting 5,000 yuan in exchange for a list of sources for a story about construction problems at an airport in Jilin Province. As David Bandurski pointed out the...
South Korea: Lee Myung-bak's Political Revenge Killed Roh Moo-hyun
Oh Yeon-ho from Ohmynews International pointed out that the present president Lee Myung-bak's political revenge has leaded to Roh Moo-hyun's death.
Taiwan: Comparisons of Chen and Roh
Former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyung tragically commited suicide over the weekend. Some have made comparisons between Roh and former Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian who is currently in detention on charges of corruption. The Far-Eastern Sweet Potato asks if both men were subject to character assassination by the judiciary and...
Singapore: Annual reading initiative
The National Library Board of Singapore launched READ! Singapore 2009, a nationwide reading initiative that aims to promote a culture of reading among Singaporeans
Suicide cases in Singapore
Reports show that suicide is one of the top causes of death among Singapore youth.
Myanmar: Junta leader is “mentally insane”
For conducting an “unjustified trial” against Myanmar opposition leader Daw Aung San Su Kyi, a blogger uploads an article which caricatures the junta leader Than Shwe as “mentally insane.” Suu Kyi is on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest.
Japan: Ministry of Health posts YouTube video
Kotori Piyopiyo praises the progressiveness of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for posting a video on YouTube and observes with irony that they have turned off the embedding function. The video introduces preventive measures for swine flu.
Malaysia: Yuna Changes the Face of Indie Music
In recent years more and more independent musicians are gaining popularity thanks to social networking websites such as YouTube and MySpace. Meet Yuna from Malaysia. She is the talk of the local blogosphere for not only producing great music but also her wholesome image. She causes a stir, in a positive way, in the indie music scene for wearing the tudung, a scarf worn around the head by women in Malaysia.
Malaysia: Is The New PM a Market Reformer?
Are we expecting a gradual political revolution with new leadership in Malaysia? The Prime Minister does not only embrace social media technology to improve citizen engagement, he ventures a step further where none of his predecessors had attempted before to introduce selective liberalization on financial and service sectors recently.
China: New development on Deng Yujiao's murder case
A concern group has been formed in Beijing to give support to Deng Yujiao, a nail beautician who stabbed a government official when defending herself from sexual assault. Joe Martinsen from DANWEI translated two statements, one by the government, one by Deng's lawyers, which gave very different story of Deng's...
China: Korea Former President’s Suicide, Chinese Reactions
Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated Chinese netizens’ reactions on the news of Korea former president's Roh Moo Hyun's sudden death.
Japan: A brief review of the eco-technologies
In mid May the Japanese Government has launched a stimulus package to boost the demand for energy efficient household appliances with a new eco-points system, details of which will be made clear in the next month after the Diet's approval of the supplementary budget for this fiscal year. The aim...
Japan: Shunsuke Nakamura to rejoin Yokohama Marinos?
Ryota welcomes the news that soccer star Shunsuke Nakamura might be coming home from Celtic to his old stomping grounds of Yokohama F. Marinos, calling him “a treasure of Japan“. Occhan is excited about the possibilities for the city of Yokohama. Blogger No.5 gives the back story.
Influenza A(H1N1) cases in Southeast Asia
Several Southeast Asian countries have confirmed that some of their citizens have tested positive for Influenza A(H1N1) infection. The region is no longer swine flu-free. Bloggers react as the virus continues to spread from one country to another.
“Obama” as President of Indonesia
“Obama” presents himself as President of Indonesia through a YouTube video. The clip features an Obama impersonator. The presidential election in Indonesia will be held on July.
Indonesia: Presidential election survey
Survey result shows Indonesia's incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is still leading among the candidates for the July polls.
Indonesia: Wealthy candidates
Jakartass reviews the wealth reports submitted by Indonesia's presidential candidates. Many of them have businesses outside of Indonesia.
East Timor: Dili stops on Friday mornings for cleaning
There is a new compulsory activity in Dili every Friday morning: the city stops to clean up the public spaces. Wiernie Walshe tells us about it in a guest post called “Limpeza Geral. Or, sweeping dirt by force“.
Korea: The Death of the Least Corrupt President in Korean History with the Corruption Scandal
Roh Moo-hyun, the previous president of Korea, died today. Suffering from the bribery scandal and investigation from the prosecution authority, the previous president who tried to live a quiet life in his hometown after his governance jumped off of a mountain behind his house. Without any clear evidence of bribery,...
Korea: North Korea cancels all contracts with South Korea at the Kaesong Joint Industrial Complex
North Korea cancels all contracts with South Korea at the Kaesong Joint Industrial Complex. There are several posts about this news in Korean blogs.
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.
