Stories about East Asia from March, 2006
Vietnam: Painted Scrolls
Six Months in Hanoi asks for help identifying the imagery in two painted scrolls he brought back with him from Vietnam.
Singapore: Playing the Game Counts
Wormie takes issue with those in Singapore complaining it was a waste of money to send a losing team to the Commonwealth Games. “Winning or losing is not everything in sports, it is about participating to the best of one's ability. Along the way in our quest for excellence we...
Singapore: No Longer Anonymous
Mr. Wang Bakes Good Karma, commenting on the rising prominence of local bloggers in the media, thinks the old belief that bloggers are anonymous is no longer true: “So I don't think it's fair at all for the MSM to keep harping on the point that bloggers are anonymous. They're...
Thailand, Singapore: Crashing Investment
Singapore Election Watch reposts a forum comment by someone pointing out that the value of state-owned Temasek Holdings’ controversial investment in Thailand's Shin Corp. — which triggered a political crisis in Bangkok — has plummeted, costing Singaporeans $2.21 billion in three days.
Singapore: Leaving Home
agrain of sand has a dilemma: “How to tell my parents that Singapore isn’t really my home anymore? I mean, yes, they are back there, I grew up there, they took care of me there, but how do you call home a place where you haven’t lived in years, and...
Hong Kong: Cardinal Zen
OhmyNews! reports on the ordination as cardinal of outspoken Catholic Bishop Joseph Zen, who has been dubbed “the conscience of Hong Kong”.
China: Tibetan nun statement
China Information Center posts a statement by Tibetan nun Phuntsog Nyidron on her release from prison and arrival in the United States. “In 1993, along with 13 other political prisoners I secretly recorded songs in prison that were in praise of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and about the situation...
China: Rabbis wanted
The Opposite End of China streams a clip from the NPR program “Marketplace” about an increase in demand for the services of rabbis in China, who can certify kosher food.
China: Absent friends
ESWN rounds up news from the Chinese blogosphere that has happened during a busy stretch, including the shutdown of the Aegean Sea Web site, the Chinese Angry Youth forum and the Chinese Election and Governance Web.
China: Law prof reader stats
Chinese Law Prof breaks down its readership statistics by country, with the lion's share coming from the United States.
China: New blog on the block
Danwei reviews a new blog from film producer John Chan, called Who Said You Have To Love Me< /em>.
Thailand: Boycott and Democracy
Chemical Generation Singapore thinks that Thai opposition's decision to boycott the coming snap elections is a strategic miscalculation and bad for democracy.
Philippines: Dress Codes
Jove Francisco asks if whether the Philippine press corps’ decision to dress “up” or “down” reflects their level of respect for the President.
Myanmar: Material Support
Burma Underground discusses the hypocrisy of the U.S. government opposing the Myanmar junta while denying thousands of Myanmar refugees resettlement in the U.S. because of purported “material support” to terrorists.
Indonesia: Tolerance for Terror
Sarapan Ekonomi worries about a recent survey result that indicate 11% of Indonesians – or 24.2 million people – think terrorist attacks are OK.
Cambodia: Gentle Tactics
Maytel 2020 talks about how Cambodians’ gentleness is really a strategy for survival. “Having observed the natural and unassuming bodily gestures of village life I can say undoubtedly that the perception that Khmers and southeast asians in general are all sweetness and light is simply untrue. They are just like...
China: Double act
Non-violent Resistance lays into U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Lindsey O. Graham, with many a searing epithet from behind the reporter's notebook at a recent news conference in Beijing. “They couldn't remember vice premier Wu Yi's name, whom they had just been meeting half an hour ago, (“one tough...
South Korea: Pagan practice
“The proud new owner will set a blanket out in front of his/her new vehicle. On this blanket will be a smiling pig's head, plates of steamed pork, chopsticks, and bottles of soju. There will also be burning incense,” writes The Asia Pages, on the subject of pagan rituals in...
Japan: Rise of anime
Japundit‘s Marie writes about the recent rise in popularity of anime and manga (cartoon movies and books) in the United States, sparking a lively discussion in the comments section.
China: Just a love song
Holidarity reads the cover story of the Chinese edition of Rolling Stone, only to be horrified by the glossing over of the political importance of rocker Cui Jian's music, especially the Eighties anthem Yi Wu Suo You.
China: Democracy of food
Shanghaiist reviews a new phenomenon in Chinese cyberspace; a good food guide called Dianping (ZH). Four stars, but only in the Web site version, which is written by the restaurant-going public. The book, Jay Sheng reports, is rather bland.