· September, 2013

Stories about East Asia from September, 2013

Fuel Price Increase Divides Malaysia

  10 September 2013

Critics fear it would lead to higher cost of living while some believe the increase is reasonable given that Malaysia has one of the lowest fuel prices in the world

Chinese Pop Song: Rule Breaking Animal

  10 September 2013

Rensi from ChinaSMACK translated and explained the lyrics of a recently released pop song, ‘Rule-Breaking Animals’, written by a 27-year-old independent singer-songwriter Xu Song. The song is about the conflict between chengguan (city management officers) and street vendors and it has generated more than 12 million listen in QQ music...

Story Behind the “Cancelled” Beijing Independent Film Festival

  10 September 2013

Like other sensitive events, the Beijing Independent Film Festival was announced cancelled but quietly had its full program of screenings and panels held on schedule, except the opening ceremony. Liz Tung from Beijing Cream interviewed the festival's artistic director Dong Bingfeng on the story behind “cancellation”.

East Timor: “Literacy Often Falls by the Way Side”

  9 September 2013

Marking the International Literacy Day, September 8, The Asia Foundation's blog, In Asia presents striking numbers on the quality of educational outcomes in Timor-Leste, a country where “education, and literacy in particular, too often falls by the wayside”: World Bank research found that 70 percent of first grade students in Timor-Leste were...

Chinese Tomboy Image Gets Popular

  8 September 2013

Offbeat China blogs about the rise of a new Chinese woman image – Nu Hanzi, meaning manly woman or Tomboy. The blog has also translated the 20 typical characters of a Nu Hanzi.

Hong Kong: A Cautionary Tale for Taiwan

  8 September 2013

A group of 300 individuals in Hong Kong published a statement in Taiwanese newspapers warning the Taiwan society against Sinicisation [i.e. the bad influence of mainland China]. The statement has two versions one published in Hong Kong and one in Taiwan. Dictionary of Politically Incorrect Hong Kong Cantonese has translated...

Tokyo to Host 2020 Olympics

  7 September 2013

Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Summer Olympics after the members of International Olympic Committee have voted on September 7th to select the host city. Tokyo 2020 reacts to the news #olympics2020 #BA2013 #olympics pic.twitter.com/lKws4Qcw4E — Olympics (@Olympics) September 7, 2013

100 Million Signature Campaign for Resolution of Japan's ‘Sex Slaves’ Issues

  6 September 2013

The Korean Council for the Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan has launched a new campaign to gather 100 million signatures. Their online petition, in eight different languages, calls on Japanese government to offer an official apology and legal reparations to the victims and asks the international community to join their cause....

Podcast: Bo Xilai's Trial

  6 September 2013

Sinica hosts Ed Wong from the New York Times and James Miles of The Economist for a closer look at Bo Xilai's trial. The podcast discusses media transparency in China and historical comparisons with previous political purges, including the famous case against Jiang Qing and the Gang of Four during...

Why Malaysia's Fuel Price Hike is Wrong

  6 September 2013

Anil Netto uploaded the analysis of Institut Rakyat which described Malaysia's recent decision to slash fuel subsidies as a ‘wrong approach” to address the country's fiscal deficit. Wastage and corruption should be cut first and income-boosting policies should take effect before subsidies on essential goods should be open to reconsideration.

China: A Question Becomes a Rumor

  5 September 2013

Fauna from ChinaSMACK translated a report about a rumour crackdown case in Hebei. A woman asking if a murder took place in Louzhuang was arrested and detained for 5 days for spreading rumour and disturbing public order.

China: Show Swords in Ideology Battle

  5 September 2013

The Chinese President Xi Jinping recently launched the party's ideology battle to take over opinion leadership in a meeting of propaganda officials. In the past few days, state-controlled media outlets echoed with Xi's call by using the phrase “showing one’s sword” in their editorials. David Bandurski from China Media project...

China: New Visa Policies for Foreigners

  5 September 2013

Last year, the number of foreigners entering or leaving China reached 54 million. To cope with the situation, the Chinese government has introduced three new types of visas for foreigners. Cam MacMurchy from Nanfang.com put together a complete list of visa categories.

About our East Asia coverage

Oiwan Lam
Oiwan Lam is the North East Asia editor. Email her story ideas or volunteer to write.

Mong Palatino
Mong Palatino is the South East Asia editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.