2 September 2011

Stories from 2 September 2011

China: Guangdong Model Making a Comeback?

  2 September 2011

Back in July this year, the two ‘cake theories’ articulated by the Communist Party of China (CPC) chiefs of Guangdong province and the Chongqing municipality stirred a public debate about different social development models in China.

Zimbabwe: Changing Young Lives Through Theatre

  2 September 2011

Boyce Chaka is a 27 year-old poet and stage actor in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe’s second largest city. Since last year, he has been investing his time towards teaching high school kids about Shakespearean works and poetry as part of what he says is an attempt to “keep them off the streets.”

Venezuela: Judge Lifts Ban on Weekly ‘6to Poder’

  2 September 2011

“A judge in Caracas, Venezuela, lifted an injunction against the weekly 6to Poder prohibiting its publication and distribution […] The publication had been closed since Aug. 20 after publishing a photo montage portraying high-ranking female government officials as cabaret dancers on the magazine's cover”, Natalia Mazotte reports for Journalism in the Americas....

Malaysia: Video salutes Generation 709

  2 September 2011

Following the formation of Generation 709 by young Malaysians to call for free and fair elections in the country, the Cantonese-speaking Malaysian music group EVYbody has created a video (with Chinese and English subtitles) to salute everyone who dares to stand up for their rights.

Lebanon: “Live For The Moment” Attitude?

  2 September 2011

“The only thing that came to my mind is how can we be labelled as people who live for the moment, while at the age of 22-23, the young Lebanese is compelled to think about buying an overly expensive house which he/she has to pay in installments for, for 20...

Sing Out from Japan

  2 September 2011

Musicians from the earthquake-hit areas united and gave life to a project called Sing Out From Japan [en,ja]. They have released two songs so far: Let's go home/lawblow and One love/I shall walk looking up, which are both cover versions of popular songs. The videos were shot in the regions...

Myanmar: Human Rights Report

  2 September 2011

Tomas Ojea Quintana, the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, released a statement which recognizes the positive steps taken by the government to improve the human rights situation in the country; but at the same time reminds the government to be more aggressive in fulfilling its...

Myanmar: Monitoring of Parliament Sessions

  2 September 2011

Altsean-Burma releases a summary of what transpired in the parliament sessions of Myanmar which resumed this month. The report cites the questions, issues, and proposals raised by Parliament members.

Thailand: Lese Majeste Trial of Webmaster

  2 September 2011

CJ Hinke of the Freedom Against Censorship Thailand or FACT writes about the resumption of the Lese Majeste trial of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, webmaster of Thailand’s independent news website Prachatai.

Myanmar Train Crash

  2 September 2011

Blogger Htootayzar posts pictures and videos of a train crash which took place near Hledan in Myanmar.