Stories about East Asia from February, 2014
PHOTOS: A Dizzying View From the Top of Shanghai Tower
Take a look at photos taken by Russian climbing team Vadim Makhorov and Vitaly Raskalov from the top of what will soon be the second tallest building in the world.
Dancing and Rising for Justice in Southeast Asia
Thousands in Southeast Asia supported the 'One Billion Rising' campaign with many people calling for justice and the elimination of violence against women
Correction to Chosun Newspaper in South Korea
In an article that lists Global Voices as one of several “non-legitimate”, “foreign media websites” who “spread rumors about South Korea” abroad, South Korean pro-government newspaper Chosun falsely describes our Korean editor Yoo Eun Lee as, “a dark-haired Korean-American blogger, who goes by a last name starting with L”. Lee's...
Collaborative Translation Project Promotes Civic Tech in Japan
Translators in Japan are volunteering to translate Code for America's "Beyond Transparency" to help promote civic tech there.
Japan Slides Further Down in World Press Freedom Index
"To put it bluntly, media is even less believable than a politician."
South Korea: Being Native English Teacher and Reverse Racism
Geoffrey Fattig of Jeollamite blog shares his brutally honest opinion on reverse and latent racism in South Korea, urging fellow native English teachers who under-appreciate a fairly good working condition to stop whining. Some of the highlights of his post are: On the whole, though, Korea is a pretty easy place...
5 Music Blogs about China's Underground Music Scene
There’s an emerging group of Chinese musicians working outside government-controlled media channels, striving to form an independent voice through musical expression in China.
China Central TV Blames Beijing Government for Air Pollution
Beijing has reached Red Alert Levels of Smog during the past few days. China's state media CCTV wrote some comments on Sina Weibo on Feb 15, 2014, blaming Beijing government's impotency: 连续几天的沉默，说明了一个问题，严重雾霾天气多了，民众自然就会麻木，社会也会熟视无睹，但央视财经提醒的是，政府不能当瞎子，它必须要肩负起自己的责任，守土要有责，莫无知！无畏！无为！所以，央视财经大声的问一句，这里，还有人管雾霾吗？ Several days of silence indicates one problem: with constant smog, people will become numb, the society will turn a blind...
Ex-South Korean Skater Viktor Ahn Wins Two Medals at Sochi for Russia
Star speed-skater Viktor Ahn, formerly a South Korean, runs as a Russian player and won two medals in Sochi Olympics so far. Koreans seem happy for this under-appreciated star's success.
Why It's Hard to Say “I Love You” in Chinese
Roseann Lake from ChinaFile explores why it's hard for Chinese to say “I Love You” in their own language from historical and sociological perspectives. The piece has also introduced an experiment about Chinese brain and its relation to love and romance.
Chinese Singletons Snatch Up Cinema Seats to Sabotage Valentine's Day Dates
One of the organizers of the occupation said that many of those who participated did so wanting to meet new friends, hoping to turn a "prank" into a "blind date".
‘Dolphin’ Marriage Proposal in the Philippines Angers Animal Rights Activists
Many Filipinos did not find it romantic to use a dolphin in a marriage proposal. Environmentalists described it as vandalism, unethical, and plain cruelty to animals
PHOTOS: Saigon in the Past 50 Years
The Saigoneer features several photos published by the French Consulate in Saigon, Vietnam that highlight the changes that took place in the city between 1955 and 2005. Slideshow: How Saigon, #Vietnam Changed from 1955 – 2005 http://t.co/mdfjPyQGgz pic.twitter.com/Z6teefeXLo — Saigoneer (@Saigoneer) February 12, 2014
‘Bizarre’ Thailand Elections
Thai writer Aim Sinpeng describes the recent election in Thailand as one of the most bizarre in the country's history: The February 2 election in Thailand was not only one of the most bizarre, but also “pointless” elections in recent memory. “Missing” polling stations, locked up ballot boxes, an M16...
Self-Censorship in Hong Kong Claims Another Popular Radio Host
In the past ten years, a large number of newspapers columnists, editors, radio and TV hosts have been sacked for their critical stance towards the Hong Kong and Beijing governments.
Activists Ask China to Ban Bear Bile Farming
In China, moon bears are kept in captivity and their bile is harvested for use in traditional Chinese medicine.
China: Cleaning Up The Yellow
扫黄 pic.twitter.com/GuCIkzcRF3 — 变态辣椒 (@remonwangxt) February 11, 2014 In Chinese language, the color yellow also signifies sex and pornography. The crackdown of sex industry and pornographic materials is termed as “cleaning-up the yellow”. Political cartoonist @remonwangxt's latest work is about the “Cleaning-up yellow” campaign in China.
China Dissidents Going to the U.S
Patrick Lozada from Beijing Cream discussed the phenomena that many dissidents who have left China would turn up joining the Right Wing organizations in the U.S. He pointed out the dilemma of the current situation: I understand why they do it. You can say bad things about China in China...
Journalists in Hong Kong and Taiwan Battle Beijing's Influence
Committee to Protect Journalist released a report on self-censorship practice in Hong Kong and Taiwan under the increasing influence from Beijing: Self-censorship–it's like the plague, a cancerous growth, multiplying on a daily basis.
South Korean Film About Samsung Worker's Death Slowly Winning Over Moviegoers
In a country where electronics giant Samsung has enormous influence, the film is receiving little promotion and few screenings, but it is being met with positive reviews online.
International Open Data Day Set for February 22
Bloggers, hackers and others interested in Open Data and Transparency will gather for the International Open Data Day on February 22. Find out how you can get involved.
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