Stories about East Asia from February, 2009
Japan: Internet paranoia
Neojaponisme has an article discussing the recent legal prosecution of 18 internet users for making false accusations towards a comedian. The blogger points out that in reporting the case, mainstream media has indulged in willfully-ignorant paranoia about the cyberspace.
China: Expectations of Xinjiang people
An article now popular in Chinese cyberspace depicts the sufferings and expectations of the people in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The post suggests that “all the friends across the country” owe an apology and a big “Thank you” to the Xinjiang people [zh].
China: Riding on Chairman Mao's head
On Feb19，a set of pictures that shows a girl riding on the head of Chairman Mao was circulated around the internet. Of course, what she rides is just a statue erected on the plaza in Hunan, Mao's hometown. However, the story with the pictures immediately secured the headline position in...
Indonesia: Weird Durian fruit
Good News from Indonesia posts a picture of a weird durian fruit from the wild rain forest of Borneo.
Clinton visits Indonesia
Aside from meeting the leaders of Indonesia, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton found the time to visit a slum community in Jakarta. She also appeared in a teen-oriented TV show. What are the reactions of bloggers?
Japan: Hay Fever Season is Here
If only it was just love that's in the air. Spring is slowly dawning, and pollen from Japanese cedars is starting to make its way around. Kafunsho (hay fever) season has officially started in Japan. Leftover Valentine chocolates have been pushed aside in convenient stores to make room for kafunsho related items: tissues, surgical masks, mint drops, and more.
South Korea: Suicides and Statistics
Korea Beat translated two local news on suicide patterns and statistics in Seoul and Busan.
China: TV News Broadcasting Suicide
Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated a local forum discussion on whether or not it is too inhuman for Shangdong TV channel to broadcast the suicide scene of a young man.
China: Fabricated Yuan Story
Dan from China Law Blog discusses about the “fabricated story” from China briefing that moved the Yuan market/
Brunei: Global Expeditions
Like other citizens around the globe, Brunei is never short of people willing to take the challenge to put the country on the world map. Two sets of expeditions are being carried out.
Iran:”Ahmadinejad, a lion in the Islamic World”
Mehdi has published a photo of a cover of a book that he discovered in a university book store in Malaysia. We can see on this cover Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's photo and book's title is “Ahmadinejad, a new lion in the Islamic World”. The blogger adds [fa] Ahmadineajd's speeches...
China: Religious demography and house churches
Last November (21-22, Nov 2008), the China State Council Development Research Center organized a seminar on “Christianity and Social Harmony — Special Session on House Church”. This is the first of its kind organized by a Chinese governmental sector. However, soon after the seminar, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued...
Cambodia: Pushing for a more organic future
Bloggers at CAAI News Media and Khmer Stars feature a Phnom Penh Post article on the slow food movement that ran on February 10, 2009. The article discusses Slow Food's philosophy of creating food in a good, clean and fair manner and how that philosophy is applied in Cambodia. The...
Japan: Transgender Man to Receive Compensation As a Male. Surprised?
The Okayama District Court has ruled that calculations of estimated lost earnings for a transgender man suffering severe aftereffects from a traffic accident be based on average wages for an adult male, even though he is registered as a woman in the national family registry. Bloggers reflect on gender identity and sexual identity, income disparities between men and women, and the country's recent "onee boom".
Cambodia: Reactions as Duch opens Khmer Rouge Tribunal
Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, stands trial today at the UN-supported Khmer Rouge Genocide Tribunal in Phnom Penh for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Duch headed the infamous Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh, where over 12,000 people died, according to the Guardian. KI-Media leads with a story...
China: Chemical Additives in Mengniu Milk Prohibited
ESWN translated excerpt Of Fang Zhouzi's interview on Mengniu's Telunsu milk regarding the recent prohibition of chemical additives, (OMP) and IGF-1, by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ).
Japan: Early-modern Japan in photography
Old Photos of Japan has a collection of fascinating photos taken between the 1860s and 1930s in Japan. The site is available in Japanese, English and Dutch.
China: Who stabbed the blogger ProState in Flames?
Alice Xin Liu from DANWEI translated three blog posts commenting on the stabbing of blogger “ProState in Flames”.
China: “Stay away!” Vice president Xi warned in Mexico
Xi Jinping (习近平）, the Chinese vice president, is widely predicted as the next chairman of China, the successor of Hu Jintao. On Feb 11, during his visit to Mexico, he gave a speech to overseas Chinese there. His address includes a passage as a harsh criticism against foreign intervention, which...
Japan: Jerusalem Prize to writer Haruki Murakami
Mojimoji praises [jp] a speech given by writer Haruki Murakami (村上春樹), who received the Jerusalem Prize for the Freedom of the Individual in Society on Sunday Feb. 15th. The blogger also remarks on how, in his opinion, Japanese media intentionally avoided giving weight to Murakami's words, which should be read...
Japan: Hetalia Axis Powers and the limits of parody
Hetalia, a satirical manga set mainly during the Second World War and featuring national protagonists of that era, has attracted attention among both domestic and international audiences for its caricature of world nations. In this post, read reactions in translation from bloggers in both Japan, where the manga originated, and in Italy, the country most strongly ridiculed.
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