· April, 2011

Stories about East Asia from April, 2011

Citizen Journalism from Tibet

  25 April 2011

“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

  24 April 2011

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.

China: Rescuing Dogs

  22 April 2011

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

  21 April 2011

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

  21 April 2011

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

  21 April 2011

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

  20 April 2011

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

  20 April 2011

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

  20 April 2011

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.

Brazil/Japan: Bridge Blogging Post-Earthquake News

  19 April 2011

“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...

Laos: Protest against Xayaburi dam

  19 April 2011

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

  19 April 2011

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.

About our East Asia coverage

Oiwan Lam
Oiwan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.

Mong Palatino
Mong Palatino is the South East Asia editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.