Stories about East Asia from September, 2011
Hong Kong: Migrant Domestic Workers
Foreign domestic workers constitute 3,763,000 total workforce in Hong Kong. However, their rights are very often neglected. “Open door” a support group for FDW posted an article addressing the situation...
China: National Secrets and Face
C Custer explains how the Chinese authorities’ concern for their “face” is at work in Chinese media and law enforcement unit.
Indonesia: Suicide Bomb Blast at Protestant Church
A Protestant church in Solo, Central Java in Indonesia was hit by a suicide bomb blast on Sunday. Twitter users in Solo and elsewhere are extending their condolences and expressing their disappointment over this tragic event.
Philippines: Anti-Planking Bill Draws More Planks
A proposal in the Philippines to ban planking has drawn much criticism online and offline. Planking has been used by student activists as a creative form of protest, especially in last week's nationwide campus strikes against education budget cuts.
China: Interview with a digital dissident
Tom from Seeing Red in China interviews Xiaomi (twitter: @xiaomi2020), one of the organizers of Yizhe, a group which translates Western journalism on China so that they are more accessible...
China: If This is Neocolonialism, Bring It
The new US ambassador to China Gary Locke's public appearances since his appointment in July have shown him to be a man with class that Chinese government officials just can't compete with. Or so most Chinese netizens say. It's actually just an elaborate scheme aimed at making China lose face.
Video: Water Bottle Lights and Other Eco-Friendly Inventions
Solar lights and hot water heaters from plastic water bottles, houses made from trash and a way to do without plastic bags are some of the projects making reducing, reusing and recycling not only fun and affordable but also vital in improving the quality of life of people all around the world.
Timor-Leste eProcurement Portal
The East Timor government says it established the Timor-Leste eProcurement Portal to enhance transparency and accountability. The website “allows citizens, donors, NGOs and the press to analyze and search information...
East Timor: Proposed Base Law on Environment
La’o Hamutuk provides an unofficial translation of East Timor's proposed Base Law on Environment which seeks to provide the legal framework in protecting the country's environment.
Thailand: Commemoration of 2006 Coup
Lillian Suwanrumpha posts pictures of the assembly of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship or popularly known as Red Shirts as the group commemorated the five-year anniversary of the...
North Korea: Google Earth Reveals Death Camps in Detail
Kyle Wagner from Gizmodo site wrote a post on one of the most detailed images of the North Korean concentration camps taken by Google Earth. It is estimated that over...
Colombia: President Santos’ Tour of Asia
Last week, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos toured Japan and South Korea for seven days with the goal of strengthening commercial ties. In Japan, he signed an agreement to protect reciprocal investments, while the Koreans promised to accelerate the process for a free trade treaty. Bloggers and Twitter users commented on the trip.
China: “Dog Meat Festival” Cancelled
Fauna from ChinaSMACK translates the Chinese netizen's online campaign to petition against the Dog Meat Festival in Zhejiang province.
China: A water calligraphy dot matrix printer
Danwei has produced a video interview with Nicholas Hanna, a media artist who has built a tricycle that can paint Chinese characters with water on the ground as it moves....
China: Chinese restaurant secrets
Ministry of Tofu translated a post from Sinablog exposing how some of the Chinese restaurant use chemicals to add favor and color to their food.
Protecting the Beaches of Brunei
The Beach Bunch Association was established to protect the beaches of Brunei from pollution. It taps the power of social media to gather more support from the public. One of its projects include a mapping of Brunei beaches to identify the location, services offered and situation of the beaches in the country.
Global: Reflections on Peace Day 2011
To mark the International Day of Peace, celebrated on September 21, female bloggers from The SunFlower Post share their perspectives on world peace by reflecting on the realities of their lives in Mexico, China, Turkey, Russia and Latvia.
China: Netizens ridicule Shanghai’s architectural designs
The Ministry Tofu collected a number of funny photoshop pictures produced by Chinese netizens to ridicule Shanghai's architectural designs.
China: California Hotel adapted by a cook
A Chinese kitchen worker adapted the song California Hotel and sang in his farewell party. The video was uploaded in youku and echoed by thousands of people. China Hush translated...
South Korea: The Diplomats Who Can't Speak English
It was revealed on September 13, 2011, that four out of ten South Korean diplomats find it nearly impossible to use proper diplomatic language in English, prompting the public to raise questions on the competency of Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials.
South Korea: More Blocking of Pro-North Korean Internet Content
Quoting DongA newspaper's report on the censorship of internet content in South Korea, Martyn Williams from North Korea Tech blog wrote that there has been a sharp increase of the...
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