Stories about East Asia from December, 2013
Top 10 YouTube Videos of 2013 in Japan
RocketNews24 has compiled a list of the top 10 YouTube videos in Japan for the year 2013. The list includes a video uploaded by a popular Japanese idol girl group AKB48, a video of two cute kids showing off their new toys, and a video of a shocking moment of...
Photos of Mass Candlelight Rallies in South Korea
By holding candlelight rallies across the country, frustrated South Koreans have voiced flooding concerns over current political developments and series of scandals, including the snowballing election manipulation allegations. @Emfla505 tweeted [ko] this stunning photo of protest in Seoul (below) and WikiTree.com site gathered more photos of rallies on December 19. 오늘 서울시청 광장입니다! 민노총의 깃발이 빠져 나가고...
7 Amazing Vintage Photos of 19th-Century Japan
Take a look at what life was like in Japan some 150 years ago, thanks to a series of photos that recently entered the public domain.
Japan's Open Data Catalog Launches Beta Version
Data.go.jp, a website that aggregates publicly available data by Ministries and Agencies of the Japanese government, launched its Beta version on December 20, 2013. Datasets by 21 governmental organizations and 567 groups are available under Creative Commons License Attribution 2.1 Japan detailed in the Terms of Use. This comes as a...
Chinese Film Director Feng Xiaogang on Censorship
When asked about his dream during an interview at China's top Tsinghua University, Chinese film director Feng Xiaogang said[zh] to the students: I have realized all my dreams, if there is any, that is one day, I wish there's no film censorship in China. His words inspired thunderous applause. He...
Protesters March Against Nuclear Plant's Re-Start on Japan's Kyushu Island
About 1,800 people marched on December 15, 2013 in protest of the re-start of the Sendai Nuclear Power Station [ja], according to the protest organizer. After two years of the plant's operations being suspended, Kyushu Electric Power Company applied for a review in July from the Nuclear Regulation Authority with the intention...
China: Online Annihilation of Dissent
China Media Project translated veteran journalist and former Southern Weekly commentator Xiao Shu's comment on the Chinese authorities’ online annihilation tactics against Chinese liberal opinion leaders: In early August this year I was abducted by state security police. Under orders to bring me in for questioning, state security from Guangzhou...
China: Hot Mom Contest
China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo is holding a “hot mom” contest. While most of the photos are not real mom, the images do tell you a lot about gender relation in China. More from Offbeat China.
China: Soft Landing Foreign Policy
South Sea Conversation summarized China foreign policy scholar Professor Wang Yizhou's podcast comment on China’s emerging foreign policy, regional strategy, territorial disputes, global role, and bilateral relations with the US.
China and North Korea: The Inevitable Fate of Jang Song Thaek Under Dictatorship
"The only rule of dictatorship is no rule." Many Chinese netizens believe the purge of Jang Song Thaek in North Korea a wake-up call for China's political reform.
Refuse to Pay Pension Premium? Japan Could Seize Your Assets
The Japan Pension Service has announced that people who refuse to pay the national pension premium could have their assets seized if they still refuse to pay. Japan's young population have been reluctant to pay for national pensions mostly because they believe the system will be broken by the time...
Official Chinese Patriotism: Without Motherland, You Are Nothing!
A widely circulated post "Without the motherland, you are nothing" has gone viral on the Chinese Internet since November, sparking heated discussions over the meaning of patriotism.
Typhoon Haiyan: A Story of Resilience in a Short Doc
Typhoon Haiyan, a short film by Janssen Powers, documents the aftermath of the super storm that in early November killed more than 6,000 people in the Philippine province of Leyte. “Naturally, I intended to capture a story of destruction,” Powers wrote in the description of his work. “What I found...
Video: Hong Kong Intertidal Marine Life
Dickson Wong makes an one min video to record intertidal marine life in Hong Kong.
The Inside Story of China's CCTV Journalist
China's former CCTV producer Wang Qinglei details his experience of working in the state TV in the past ten years. He says: The real reason for the defeat of China’s traditional media, including CCTV, is not that they have no way to resist the assault of new media, but rather...
China's 2014 Holiday Schedule Triggers Complaints
China's holiday system has always been complicated. The 2014 China legal holiday has again triggered complaints on Chinese social media. ChinaSmack has translated some netizens’ comments online.
Bangkok has the Most-Instagrammed Location of 2013
The Siam Paragon, a popular shopping complex in Bangkok, Thailand is the ‘most-Instagrammed’ location of 2013. Suvarnabhumi International Airport, also in Bangkok, was ranked ninth in the list. Not surprisingly, Bangkok is second ‘most-Instagrammed city’ in the world this year.
Abducted a Year Ago, Sombath Somphone Case Highlights Human Rights Abuses in Laos
Sombath Somphone, an NGO leader and educator, remains missing a year after he was abducted in Laos. His case puts a spotlight on other enforced disappearances in Laos
Jakarta Hotline for Victims of Sexual Violence
Jakarta has launched an emergency hotline to help women victims of sexual violence. The initiative is linked to the website developed by the National Commission on Violence Against Women to “make it easier for authorities to protect victims and bring perpetrators to justice.” Last year, there were more than 200,000...
Citizens Complain Against Bad Roads in Brunei
Teah criticized the slow action of the Brunei government in fixing bad roads and how road repairs are usually done when foreign dignitaries are visiting the country To fix an area to impress foreigners is crucial, I think, but what's even more important is the fact that citizens who have...
Another Rural Japanese Elementary School Disappears Due to Declining Birthrate
Every year, about 500 public schools in Japan are closing due to shortage of children as the cost of education becomes unbearable for rural communities.
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