Stories from 21 August 2009
Russia: ‘The Coronation’ by Boris Akunin
Jost a Mon reviews The Coronation by Boris Akunin, among other “foreign” crime fiction items.
Ukraine: In Chinese, Yanukovych is Yushchenko?
Evgeny Morozov of Foreign Policy's Net.Effect writes: “It turns out that when you use Google Translate to translate (from Chinese to Russian) the expression “Vote for Yanukovych” (Yanukovych was Kremlin's favorite candidate), Google gives you “Vote for Yushenko” in the translated version. Global conspiracy orchestrated by Google!”
Hong Kong: School drug testing scheme
The Hong Kong government insisted to go ahead in implementing the school drug testing scheme despite a growing concern over its violation of children's rights.
China: Tan Zuoren’s Defense Statement
China Digital Times posted a translation of Tan Zuoren's defense statement against the charge of incitement to overthrow state power. Tan is a citizen rights activist who exposed the issue of bean dreg construction problem after the Sichuan earthquake last year.
Philippines: Ungrammatical Constitution preamble?
The Free Lancer asks if the preamble of the Philippine Constitution is grammatically flawed.
Philippines: Voter's registration
Touched by an Angel from the Philippines narrates how she helped her daughter apply for voter's ID card in a village center.