Stories about East Asia from January, 2010
Vietnam: Long prison terms for ‘democracy activists’
Four ‘democracy activists’ in Vietnam were sentenced to long prison terms for subversion. The four dissidents are advocating social change through non-violent means.
Vietnam: Football frenzy
Football is very popular in Vietnam. Every time Vietnam wins in international competitions, it generates a lot of excitement, and traffic, in big cities.
Vietnam: Motorbike parking payment system
The Final Word describes the new payment system in one of the largest motorbike parking lots in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam.
Myanmar: Freedom for Aung San Suu Kyi?
A Myanmar junta official hints that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi could be set free this year. But the opposition doubts if this is an official announcement.
Japan: Grand Sumo Tournament
Godo Chillida published a photo reportage on the final day of the Tokyo Grand Sumo Tournament. The photographer captured intense pictures of the wrestlers and the decisive match.
China: War of Internet Addiction
DigiCha introduces an online video called “War of Internet Addiction” which a satire on the government’s attempt to “harmonize” China’s Internet with forced installations of “Green Dam Youth Escort” and the travails of Chinese World of Warcraft players over the last several months.
Japan: Doraemon Jet
Pink Tentacle reports on the Japan Airline's anime-themed aircraft, Doraemon Jet.
China: Hillary Talks About the Problem of the Chinese Internet
Max R from China Geeks translated human rights lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan's comments to Hillary's talks about the problem of the Chinese Internet.
China: No more dirty joke via SMS
According to last week's Xinhuanet report, Mobile China Shanghai branch will start suspending a mobile phone's SMS function if they find the number distribute “vulgar”, “pornographic” and other illegal contents(Details see GVA). Other cities and mobile companies also carry out similar practices since the beginning of 2010. The new policy...
Timor Police Brutality Video
Police brutality in Timor-Leste is not new, but getting it on video is. This is something of a “Rodney King” moment for Timor-Leste and its police service.
China’s Orwellian Future
John Chan (陳冠中), an author from Hong Kong who is currently living in Beijing, has written a novel entitled The Fat Years: China, 2013 (盛世 – 中國, 2013). The story happens in 2013, when China enters a new era of material prosperity and everyone is happy, while the western world...
China: How does the young generation view Confucius
A rumor circulated on the web that all the 2D versions of Avatar have been pulled out of the Chinese cinemas to make way for the domestic movie Confucius. Despite reports like this, government officials quickly denied it. Yet like all rumors, even if wrong, they may contain a kernel...
Taiwan: A look at wedding traditions
Life in Taiwan attends two banquets for an engagement and a wedding and discusses the importance of wedding traditions in Taiwan.
China:Google's announcement to clarify rumors brings in more speculations
The latest announcement by Google.cn is that all the rumors about their quit is just rumors. However, more speculations came in, questioning whether Google's move is to cover up its business failure, or to serve for a political purpose
Bhutan, China: Of Cyber And Border Wars
With quiet diplomacy and tact the tiny Himalayan state Bhutan took on giant China over encroachment and border issues recently. The Bhutanese officials and netizens are usually cautious to protest these issues with China, the powerful neighbor, but some netizens are voicing their dissent anonymously or under pseudonyms.
Hong Kong: A Post-50s Professional in Support of Today's Post-80s
ITvoices posted a support statement to the young generation (post 80s) who protest against the abuse of public expense in the construction of the world's most expensive rail.
China: The future of mobile media
DANWEI has a short Q & A with Lu Gang, co-founder of Kuukie.com and OpenWeb.Asia and chief editor of Mobinode.com, on the future of mobile media.
Japan: Kawaii Ambassadors
Harvey blogs about the appointment three Kawaii ambassadors by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The government expects they will increase international understanding of Japan and its people.
China: The Internet is freer than ever?
C. Custer criticized Shaun Rein’s recent column in Forbes about China internet freedom.
Japan: Tweeting Politicians
The Twitter application Politter offers lists of tweets from the official accounts of Japanese politicians. It also has an interface for hashtags related to politics. @masamix0417 uses it instead of following the politicians on Twitter. [ja]
Japan: Differing viewpoints on the US base relocation issue
The southern Japanese island of Okinawa, the first colony of Japan in the 19th century and the site of one of the bloodiest battles in the WW2, has become in the past months both the symbol and the object of a diplomatic dispute between Japan and the U.S. It began...