Stories from 23 August 2012
Taiwan: Corporate Lawsuit Threatens Academic Freedom
Dr. Ben-Jei Tsuang, an environmental engineer and professor, is the latest victim of a defamation lawsuit brought on by a big corporation, the Formosa Plastic Group, for his research. Dr. Tsuang's defense believes the lawsuit is 'intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense." Many legal experts suggest that Taiwan's current criminal defamation law is in violation of international covenants.
India: Social Media Blamed for Fueling Assam Unrest
'A temporary ban was put on bulk SMS and MMS. Local police swung into action and began arresting people forwarding ‘hate' SMS examples. Social media sites were warned to monitor and remove inflammatory content. About 310 webpages were blocked.'
Colombia: Students’ National Mobilization Call
On Twitter [es], Facebook [es] and other [es] media, the National Student Board (Mane) [es] is calling for a national mobilization on September 5 to protest President Santos’ failure to keep his commitments to higher education. Image from their facebook page.
