· July, 2011

Stories about East Asia from July, 2011

China: Double Frontage

  27 July 2011

On July 27, 2011, Qianjiang Daily's have two versions of its newspaper's frontpage. One is about Wenzhou train crash, the headline said: Today is the fifth day of the accident, 11 lives are still struggling. Add oil! Be strong. The second version is a commercial. Netizens believe [zh] that the...

China: Chengguan kill handicapped street vendor in daylight

  27 July 2011

Jing Gao from MInistry of Tofu collects information about a mass incident happened in Guizhou province on July 26, in which two men and one woman from the Chengguan squad, killed a handicapped street vendor in daylight and riot police used tear gas to drive speculators away.

South Korea: Tweet Photos of Downpour

  27 July 2011

Heavy downpour battered South Korea yesterday, causing flooding and property damage even in one of the wealthiest parts of Seoul. Wiki Tree consolidated photos of downpour Twitterers have sent.

China: Ministry of Railways

  27 July 2011

Twitter user @JAYxiaomuzhu posts a number of T-shirt design using the logo of PRC's Ministry of Railways to protest against its handling of the recent train crash incident in Wenzhou.

Should Singapore Nationalize its Transport System?

  26 July 2011

The petition of Singapore’s private transport operators for a fare increase has sparked a debate on whether it's time to nationalize the country's transportation system. Bloggers react to the proposal to create a National Transport Corporation

Inside the Mind of the Norwegian Terrorist

  25 July 2011

Thoma Roche of Techyum blog posted an analysis entitled ‘Inside the Mind of the Norwegian Terrorist’. The fact that the terrorist pinpointed Japan and South Korea as clear examples of countries that consistently and directly dismissed multiculturalism has drawn various responses in South Korea.

China: Dead fishes

  25 July 2011

Heavy rainfall brought hazardous and toxic pollutants in large quantities into the river, killing thousands of fishes in Hai river. You can see the scene at the Ministry of Tofu.

Philippines: Planking Against Education Cuts

  24 July 2011

Thousands of students in the Philippines took to the streets on July 19 to demand a higher budget for education from President Noynoy Aquino. The protesting students used the latest planking craze to register their grievances.

China: Outrage at High-Speed Train Crash

  24 July 2011

A collision between two high-speed trains in China in the evening of July 23 killed at least 35 people and injured over 200. C. Custer at ChinaGeeks has written about the government's cover-ups of the tragedy and railway safety issues, and the outrages that are pouring in China's online community.

South Korea: Women-Only Subway Car Meets Strong Opposition

  22 July 2011

As the subway sexual harassment is on the rise, especially during rush hours and late nights, Seoul city government has decided to launch women-only subway compartment to cut down the crime rate. However, the move has prompted fierce debate amongst South Korean netizens.

Factory Closing in South China

  22 July 2011

Steve Dickinson from China Law Blog explains that the factory closing phenomena in South China is part of the government's plan to upgrade the manufacturing sector.

South Korean Twitterers Mobilized As East Sea(Sea of Japan) Conflict Intensifies

  22 July 2011

The ongoing territorial dispute over the Dokdo(Takeshima) island has flared up as the Japanese Foreign Ministry instructed a boycott against Korean Air for hovering over the island located in the disputed water. Korean Twitterers have set up a special website, IssueTok [ko], to plan a mass tweet-protest in several languages.

China: Bring Your Books to Rural Villages

  21 July 2011

A prominent Chinese scholar is encouraging netizens to "bring their books to the villages". Now a number of centres have been set up in cities across the country to handle the book donations and collect funds to go towards building libraries in rural areas.

Malaysia: The Economist print edition censored

  21 July 2011

uppercaise reports that the latest print edition of The Economist was censored by Malaysian authorities. The government said it only ‘blackened’ the ‘false and misleading’ parts of the story on the Bersih protest.

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.