Stories about Asia
23 January 2019
Biryani Stories: Is Biryani the national dish of Pakistan?
Biriyani might be considered the king of South Asian cuisine, but is it the national dish of Pakistan?
22 January 2019
Azerbaijani prosecutors drop controversial charges against political prisoner
Activists cheered the concession as a victory of people power.
18 January 2019
Correspondence between Arundhati Roy and Shahidul Alam shares resilience and hope
"...the tide will turn, and the nameless, faceless people will rise. They will rise against the entire state machinery."
What's wrong with mainstream media's interpretation of Taiwan's referendum results?
Taiwan just finished its location election and ten referendums on Nov 24, but there are still some misunderstandings about the results in mainstream media.
14 January 2019
Rare film footage with sound of Kyoto, Japan, from 1929
What makes this film notable is that it features actual sound footage of Japanese city life at that time. Usually, newsreels from that era are silent.
Protests condemn another election delay in Thailand
Thai students turned to Twitter and activists organized protests after the military-backed government announced another delay in the holding of elections.
11 January 2019
Chinese authorities go after citizens for using VPNs, skirting online censorship
The news of two men being fined for using VPNs may serve as a wake up call to Chinese netizens.
10 January 2019
First transgender pride march hopes to shatter stereotypes in Pakistan
The first transgender pride march seeks to change stereotypes and demand rights.
9 January 2019
A pig carcass floats from China to Taiwan, triggering fears of swine fever
A dead pig with deadly pig virus floated from China to Kinmen, an island belong to Taiwan but located close to China, and it triggers fear in Taiwan.
8 January 2019
Azerbaijanis pressure government to #FreeMehman after blogger endures 12 days on hunger strike
Young, popular and politicized, video blogger Mehman Huseynov is a classic target of the Azerbaijani government's crackdown on civil society.
Conservation groups claim victory as Japan leaves IWC and ends Antarctic whaling
Pressure by conservationists made it too expensive for Japan to continue the Antarctic hunt.
7 January 2019
‘Even by leaving us she gave us a lesson': Fearless rights defender's death shocks Tajikistan
"She was not silent when others buried their heads in the sand. She risked her life every day and knew the value of this risk."
6 January 2019
Trump unleashed a collective facepalm in Afghanistan with account of 1979 Soviet invasion
"We're caught in the middle. End of story."
5 January 2019
As international factory safety group ordered to leave Bangladesh, garment workers fear return to deadly work conditions
In April 2013, a garments factory collapse at the Rana Plaza building in Savar, Bangladesh, left 1,134 people dead. The tragedy exposed the lack of safety of Bangladesh's garment industry,...
China's push for ‘one country, two systems’ in Taiwan meets vigorous opposition
"As a Hongkonger, I urge Taiwanese people to never believe in CCP’s 'one country, two systems.' Once they take control, they can do whatever they want."
4 January 2019
How preserving folktales and legends help raise environment awareness in the Mekong
"By means of stories, the communities search for ways to accommodate and/or resist changes that are taking place in the Mekong river basin."
2 January 2019
China persecutes independent leftists in the name of Marxism
While many Marxists believe in workers' struggle as the driving force for social and political transformation, Chinese ideologues consider young leftist students’ who stand by workers' rights simply troublemakers.
1 January 2019
New Year's Eve 2018 marked the end of an era in Japan
For Japan, 2018 was the year of Heisei saigo (平成最後), "the last time we'll do this in the Heisei era" — especially year-end New Year's events.
31 December 2018
Censored in 2018: Protest videos, court verdicts, real news — and Peppa Pig
From blocked websites to revoked media licenses to account shutdowns, censorship comes in many forms. Here are a few we saw in 2018.
