Stories about East Asia from September, 2010
South Korea:Seoul Hit Hard by Downpours, Twitter reported
Heavy downpours battered Seoul today, flooding roads and buildings and causing power outages. Twitterers reported the worst downpour Seoul had in 103 years live by twitting pictures of chaotic scenes and re-tweeting this Youtube video.
China: Walkway and Pedestrian Crossing
China Hush translated some forum posts on the design of pedestrian crossing that runs through grass and tree, and walkways for blinds that leads into the river.
China: The Shutting Down of Power Plant
A series of photos at 163.com showing the demolition of two power plant towers in Zhejiang Province on 16 of September.
Cambodia: Controversial mobile phone ad
An advertisement of a major Cambodian mobile phone service provider is being criticized by many netizens for promoting bad internet behavior among the youth. Bloggers are pushing for the removal of the ad.
China: Yihuang Self-Immolation Incident and the Power of Microblogging
Chinese online public opinion has once again changed the course of an event, this time regarding a forced demolition and consequent self-immolation protest in Yihuang county, Jiangxi. On September 10, the Zhong family were confronted by 40 local police officers and urban administrators seeking to carry out the forced demolition...
South Korea: Pulling Out Four Teeth to Evade Military Obligation
Pulling out one's own teeth is considered one of the most gruesome and painful acts one can do onto oneself. In South Korea, where military service is mandatory, an allegation that a Korean singer had pulled out at least four healthy teeth in order to avoid conscription has dominated the headlines for several weeks now.
Vietnam: Cash economy
Andy Engelson shares his shopping experience in Vietnam and notes that the cash economy of the country is sometimes better than relying on credit cards.
Cambodia Tourism Magazine
The Mirror reviews the September-October 2010 copy of the Cambodia Tourism Magazine. The blogger points out some errors in the paper but also praises the relevant tourism news about Cambodia. Tourism is Cambodia's second largest foreign exchange earner.
Cambodia: Khmer Rouge and Nazi
Keo Kounila compares the similar experience of Cambodians under the Khmer Rouge regime and the Germans during the Nazi era.
Thailand: Red Shirts back in the streets
The anti-government Red Shirt protesters in Thailand held a rally last Sunday despite the continuing implementation of emergency rule in Bangkok.
South Korea: Traditional Market Using Gift Certificates
In South Korea, traditional markets are rapidly replaced by chains of large discount stores. To attract customers in coming Chuseok holiday (Korean version of Thanksgiving day) traditional markets are modernizing the facility and issuing gift certificates. More on South Korea’s Donga.
China: Redefining the Great Wall
“The Great Wall is not a ‘wall’ but rather an ancient Chinese frontier ‘town'” – DANWEI translates an article that argues for a new definition and translation of China's Great Wall.
Taiwan: Typhoon Fanapi
Typhoon Fanapi, the season’s first major typhoon, has passed through Taiwan this morning. Tony Coolidge posts some photos on his blog.
Indonesia: Local government closes church defying court order
A Christian protestant church, GKI Taman Yasmin in the regency of Bogor, Indonesia was forced to cease activities by Bogor's regency on Sunday night. The police and Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) surrounded the church, disbanded a church meeting, then sealed the building by the city's order.
Japan, China fishing boat row: a war of words
Just as the Diaoyu Islands row between Japan and China intensifies over the detention of a Chinese fishing captain, whose detention has just been extended by a further 10 days, a war of words has broken out between prominent bloggers Yoshikazu Kato and Zhang Wen. Yoshikazu Kato, bilingual in Japanese...
Japan: A new cabinet, again
Tobias Harris at observingjapan comments [en] on the new cabinet that was formed after Prime Minister Kan won the DPJ party leadership election last week.
Philippines: President answers Facebook note
A facebook user wrote an open letter to the Philippine President expressing his disappointment with the two-month old government. The letter became popular in the web; even the president wrote a response through his facebook account.
Thailand Medical Tourism Blog Contest
The Tourism Authority of Thailand has launched a new blog contest to promote medical tourism. The decision of tourism officials to embrace social media is appreciated by many bloggers but some are questioning the strategy for this particular blog contest
China: Fishing boat captain detained, protests planned
More than a week after a Chinese fishing boat collided with Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in territory disputed by governments of those two countries and the Chinese captain was detained, anger in China shows little sign of abating soon, and a number of protests are planned for this weekend.
South Korea: The Family Reunion Deal May Lower the Inter-Korean Tension.
A South Korean Red Cross delegation departed to North Korea today to discuss the reunions of families separated by the Korean War ,South Korea’s Yonhap reported. It was a rare suggestion made by North Korea and some experts read this as a sign of improvement on InterKorean relationship.
China: Shanghai’s 7 Social Classes
Baoru from CNReviews translated an article from JFDaily on Shanghai's 7 social class.
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