Stories about East Asia from July, 2013
Protests Crush Nuclear Complex Plans in Southern China
But is this victory temporary? Some worry the project may pop-up in another densely populated area.
Data Visualization: Electric Japan
Electrical Japan [ja], a website by researcher Asanobu Kitamoto [ja] lets you explore electric power plants and energy consumption in Japan through data-visualization. The color of the dots represents the type of power plant, for example fossil-fuel plants are red and hydroelectric plants are blue. The size of the dot represents the amount of power generated....
Riau, Indonesia: ‘Ground Zero’ of Southeast Asia Haze
The deadly haze which swept Singapore and some parts of Malaysia this year was caused by the forest fires in Riau, Indonesia. Naturally, it attracted significant mainstream media attention but there was scant reporting on the situation of Riau citizens who have tremendously suffered and are still suffering from the impact of both the haze and forest fires.
‘Gender-Based Violence’ Mapping in Cambodia
The Open Institute NGO has launched a crowdsourced gender-based violence mapping tool in Cambodia to promote and protect women rights. The project echoes the need for public awareness about the issue of violence against women and how new technologies and the Internet can be tapped to address the problem.
Punish the Unmarried in China?
Starting from July 1, 2013 China put into effect a new filial piety law, requiring grown children to visit their parents “frequently”. In reaction to the law, an elderly suggested to punish the unmarried one: My kids shouldn't be treated as a violator of any law if they don’t visit...
Web Popularity of Japan's Candidates Ranked
In the midst of Japan's first election campaign where politicians are officially allowed to use social media, freelance engineer Masahide Mori [ja] has compiled a ranking [ja] based on the number of likes and the number of subscribers on the Facebook pages of candidates. Users can view increase and decrease of Facebook...
Garment Factory Map in Cambodia
The Cambodian Center for Human Rights has launched a map of garment factories in Cambodia. The map provides details of each factory including location, nationality of the owner, and number of employees. There are at least 558 garment factories in Cambodia which produce and supply garments to major international brands...
Myanmar's Poor, Young Glue Sniffers
Inhalant abuse through the use of cheap glue is a worsening problem among poor children in Myanmar. Yin Yin Hnoung, a medical student from the University of Medicine in Mandalay, interviewed some of these children and analysed the causes and impact of this particular drug abuse.
China's Jiangmen Residents Protest Against Uranium Plant
Several hundred residents in Jiangmen, a city near China’s southern Guangzhou, took to the street to protest against a planned uranium processing plant on July 12, 2013.
Should Foreign Reporters Learn Bahasa?
DC Guy observes that most foreign correspondents in Indonesia have little knowledge of the local situation: They can't understand the TV. They can't understand the radio. They can't read local blogs, websites, or newspapers. All they have is the English language sources. It's why the Western wires were obsessed with...
Outcry Over Hush-Hush Nuclear Plans in Southern China
A complex of nuclear fuel facilities has been quietly planned in Heshan in China's southern Guangdong province, unleashing a wave of anger among Web users over the hush-hush nature of the project once local media brought the plan to light.
Is WeChat the Next Sina Weibo in China?
There’s a battle brewing in Chinese social media between text and voicemail service WeChat and microblogging website Sina Weibo.
Cambodia Elections: The Facebook Vote
Cambodian netizens are actively using Facebook to discuss, debate, and share updates about the July 28 National Assembly elections. Meanwhile, political parties are also maximizing the popular social networking site to reach out to younger voters.
VIDEO: ‘Beijing State of Mind’
Mark Griffith from Blog of Niffguard has put together a music video about life in Beijing: Watch Beijing State of Mind on YouTube.
Korean Culture to Blame in Asiana Crash?
As more details are coming out about the Asiana Airlines plane crash which claimed two lives and injured 181 passengers, Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller ‘Outliers’ has been widely quoted in articles and online venues. The book points Korea's hierarchical culture as the main contributing factor of the 1997 Korean Airlines Plane Crash at Guam airport. The Marmots Hole...
China: Rural Identity, Urban Heart
Off Beat China translated a photo feature by Sina which gives a snapshot of the life of a few post-90s migrant works in Beijing.
50 Million Kids Without Birth Certificates
Michelle Unwin highlights the need to provide birth certificates to Indonesia's street kids. She cited a report which says that only nine to 22 percent of street children have birth certificates. Further, an estimated 50 million children in Indonesia do not have birth certificates which deprive them of the right...
Mafia Hukum, the Law Mafia in Indonesia
Indonesia Law Online tackles Mafia Hukum or Law Mafia in Indonesia and the campaign to end corruption in the judiciary : Mafia Hukum, the Indonesian term for the blocks of lawyers, judges, police, and other law professionals who lock up practical access to law in many jurisdictions.
Former Fukushima Plant Manager Passes Away
Masao Yoshida, the manager at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant at the time of the accident in Japan, died on July 9, 2013. He had esophageal cancer. Many people expressed condolences on social media, and EX-SKF blog translated more details on Yoshida's unfulfilled dream to speak for workers and stabilize the...
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