Stories about East Asia from April, 2011
Citizen Journalism from Tibet
“The Story Behind the Story” on Radio Free Asia looks at recent video footage that was taken by a Tibetan citizen journalist. The footage, smuggled out of Tibet, appears to have been taken using an iPhone and was received by RFA in QuickTime format. It refutes China's state media pronouncements...
Thailand: Outrage Over Topless Teen Dancing
The buzz in Thailand in the past week was the scandal caused by the topless teen dancers during the Songkran Water Festival (Thai New Year). The photos and videos of the three girls dancing bare breasted immediately went viral and generated intense online debates on the real meaning of Thai culture and morality.
Japan: Tohoku Earthquake as seen through Twitter
A video by Rio Akasaka shows how the news of the earthquake spread on Twitter on March 11.
Cambodia, Thailand: Border troops clash anew
Thai and Cambodian soldiers clashed anew in the disputed border territory of the two neighbouring countries. For live updates, follow Thai Report and Khmerization.
Malaysian-ASEAN Regional Bloggers Conference
The 1st Malaysian-ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Bloggers Conference starts today in Kuala Lumpur.
North Korea: North Korean Defectors’ Remittances to Families in North
North Korean expert Andrei Lankov, wrote about the remittances from North Korean defectors on the East Asian Forum site. Despite their economic struggle in capitalistic South Korea, they send money to their starving families in the North, a basically illegal act according to both South and North Korean law.
China: Massive Strike by Truck Drivers at Shanghai Ports
Kenneth Tan from Shanghaiist posts photos and reports on the massive strike by truck drivers against rising fuel prices and higher handling fees charged by Shanghai ports.
China: Rescuing Dogs
Jing Gao from The Ministry of Tofu has summarized some micro-blog discussions on the recent dog rescuing action in Beijing.
China: The Murder Case of Yao Jiaxin
Over the past few months, the cold-blooded murder of a young woman, Zhang Miao, by affluent music student Yao Jiaxin, has been the most heated topic on the Chinese Internet. On the eve of the verdict in the murder trial, propaganda authorities have demanded that all media outlets use the Xinhua report as their only news source, as well as to monitor all related online discussions.
China: Facebook's PR strategy
Bill Bishop at DigiCha and Imagethief's Will Moss ruminate on Facebook's PR strategy as speculation grows over the social networking site's possible entry into the Chinese market.
Indonesia: Suicide Bomber Targets Police Mosque
A suicide bomber attacked the Adz-Zikro mosque located within a police complex in Cirebon City in Indonesia last Friday, April 15, 2011. Dozens were injured when the bomb exploded during Friday prayers. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim dominated nation in the world and in recent years, it has been targeted by extremist terrorist groups. Here are some reactions from Indonesian bloggers.
Malaysia: Email For Citizens Project Draws Criticism
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that all Malaysians aged 18 years and above will receive a 1Malaysia email account. But many bloggers have criticized the project as unnecessary, saying that its estimated cost of RM 50 million can be better used for other purposes.
South Korea: Search Engine Censorship Claims
As South Korea's biggest search engines file an anti-competition charge against Google, net users have started to look back at the various companies' contributions to the Korean net environment. The nation's most visited portal, Naver, has come under particular fire for alleged news screening and censorship of information, along with its monopoly in the field.
Singapore: Bloggers Criticize PAP Manifesto
Singapore’s ruling coalition, People’s Action Party, released its election manifesto on April 17, 2011, which was immediately criticized by many bloggers for being “too vague.” PAP has been in power for five decades already. The General Elections will take place on May 7.
China: College mistress “price list” exposed
Chiafu Chen from Ministry of Tofu has translated a forum post from MOP about the exposure of college mistress “price list” and contract.
Brazil/Japan: Bridge Blogging Post-Earthquake News
“I read a post from a japanese blogger, I found it truly interesting and I decided to translate part of it”, said [pt] Satou Mihoko, who has decided to bridge japanese news to the portuguese speaking community, following the earthquake. Brazil is home to the largest Japanese population outside of...
Philippines: Using social networks to promote local music
A photographer uses various social networks to promote original Filipino music.
Laos: Protest against Xayaburi dam
Activists held a picket in front of the Laos Embassy in Bangkok, Thailand to protest against the planned Xayaburi dam in Mekong River in Laos. The big dam, according to protesters, would affect fish supply and inundate villages in the region.
Myanmar: Petition campaign for peace and reconciliation
A petition campaign was initiated on the first day of the Burmese New Year at the headquarters of the Myanmar opposition party, the National league for Democracy, urging the President of the Union of Myanmar to take some concrete actions for national reconciliation and domestic peace of the country.
Myanmar: Quake victims need water and zinc sheets
A relief worker reports that quake victims in Northeast Myanmar need drinking water and zinc sheets for shelter. A 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Myanmar last month.
Malaysia: Residents to receive email account from the government
All Malaysian residents above 18 years old will get a 1Malaysiaemail account from the government.