Stories about East Asia from March, 2010
Ada Lovelace Day: Celebrating Women in Technology and Transparency Worldwide
In celebration of Ada Lovelace Day we profile several women based around the world who use technology to to make government more transparent and accountable.
Philippines: Post-earthquake reactions on Twitter
A 6.1 intensity earthquake rocked Manila and nearby provinces in the Philippines a few hours ago. Twitterers continue to share their experience and observations.
China: Characters in leaders’ names made sensitive search terms on Google
Beginning Wednesday and continuing today, Chinese Internet users have discovered that Google searches containing the Chinese characters for the surnames of China's top leaders (ie. the ‘hu’ [jintao] in carrot, ‘huluobo’) are resulting in a reset connection to the website. Isaac Mao has made a screencast showing how this works.
Japan: Human-faced dog
Pink Tentacle has a feature story about the legend of human-faced dog in Japan.
China and Japan: Expo Osaka and Expo Shanghai
Martin J Frid notices that the theme of Expo 2010 is loaded with a strong belief in “developmentalism” and “urbanism”. He then shares the experience of Expo Osaka in 1970 which helped setting up the global agenda of sustainable development.
Myanmar: Why Is There No Backup Plan?
Nyi Lynn Seck shared his thoughts on the political processes of Myanmar in the past, and wondered why there are no backup plans to continue with another person if one person cannot carry ahead anymore.
Myanmar: NLD Challenges Election Laws
Myanmar's National League for Democracy (NLD) has legally challenged the electoral laws which prohibits the party's leader Aung San Su Kyi from participating in the general election.
Philippines: Earthquake near Manila
A 6.1 magnitude earthquake was felt near Manila, Philippines. Earthquake is now a trending topic on twitter.
Fashionalism in the Philippines
Andang Juan blogs on “fashionalism,” a term invented by a Filipino fashion designer from the words “fashion” and “nationalism,” as a means by which capitalists translate the abstract concept of nationalism into the logic of consumerism and profit.
Philippines: Online Campaigning
Radulce blogs about online campaigning in the Philippines in the context of the 2010 Presidential Elections.
East Timor: Economic data
The Lost Boy questions the accuracy of some positive economic indicators cited by East Timor officials.
“Brunei Foodies Go Pink”
Senor Pablo blogs about the “Brunei Foodies Go Pink” event whose proceeds will go to the Brunei Breast Cancer Support Group.
Rabies epidemic in Bali, Indonesia
Jotman writes about a rabies epidemic in Bali, Indonesia
Japan: Live Streaming Tokyo Marathon
Joseph Tame live streamed his run of the Tokyo Marathon with a hotel room “studio”, multiple live stream channels, Twitter, and GPS uplinks. Here's his full feature post chronicling the successful project.
Rio Tinto and Chinalco Sign a Joint Deal with Guinean Junta over Mining Project
Baldeabdoulaye explains that mining companies Rio Tinto and Chinalco have come to an agreement on jointly developing an iron ore project in Guinea. The opposition criticizes the signing because they perceive the deal as a way for the military junta to take advantage of the current obscure political circumstances to...
China: Official Nudity
A township government in Sichuan Province is being called “China’s first completely nude government” after township officials issued salary and expenditure information online. The reference to nudity recently found in many Chinese publications denotes an unprecedented level of transparency in local government. The government of Baimiao Township in northeastern Sichuan disclosed...
China: Bride Dumped on Wedding Night Because She Isn't a Virgin
PH from Veggie Discourse translated a local forum post and comments about a bride being dumped on the wedding night because the groom found out that she isn't a virgin.
The Trials of Being a Chinese Reporter
C. Custer from ChinaGeeks translated a telephone recording in which a Hong Kong reporter trying to confirm Google’s retreat from China with Chinese government officials.
China and the U.S: Testimony on Internet control
Rebecca MacKinnon posts her testimony for the U.S Congressional Executive China Commission on Google and Internet Control in China: A Nexus Between Human Rights and Trade.
China: Google.cn migrated to Hong Kong
Finally Google has decided to leave China. Soon after the announcement, Google stopped censoring the search result of google.cn by redirecting the site to google.com.hk. In Google's official blog, David Drummond, the corporate's chief legal officer explains that its decision is due to the Chinese government's “non-negotiable legal requirement” in...
China: Singing farewell to Google
Google has formally closed its mainland Chinese search engine and rival Baidu will not need long to pick up the slack; nonetheless, former users of Google.cn search braved the cold air to show their support outside the company's Beijing headquarters, singing an anti-Internet censorship protest song while they were at it.
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