How did a journalist wind up in the headline herself? Al Jazeera’s Beijing correspondent Melissa Chan has become the first foreign journalist to be expelled from China in 14 years. In her recent interview with the LA Times, Chan stated that she is ‘not exactly sure what prompted her expulsion after five…
Month: May 2012
NORTH KOREA: Media Helping Them to Get New Messages
“Illicit” and “smuggled” are two words that could easily describe goods making their way into North Korea. Many products, such as low-cost TVs, DVD players, and other equipment, are being smuggled into North Korea from China. A recent, excellent U.S. State Department-commissioned study, “A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment,” reveals…
CHINA: Cheap Brothels, Expensive Societal Bill
Sex trafficking is one of the most discussed topics in China today, but does prostitution fall under the same category? Sex trafficking is a form of business that illegally trades and sells human beings, predominantly women, for commercial sex exploitation. The victims of sex trafficking have no control over their fate. Prostitution, on the…
THAILAND: Tragic TEXT-book Case of Repression — and Death
Previously ASIA MEDIA highlighted an article about Thailand’s lese majeste law and its oppressive reach over media systems such as social networking sites like Facebook or text messaging. Recently, Amphon “Akong” Tangnoppakul died while serving a 20-year sentence for allegedly sending text messages “deemed defamatory to the Queen.” He was…
SINGAPORE: Zuckerberg Has Facebook but Saverin’s Got Stock in Singapore
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal deftly described the “Kardashian-like” fame of one of Facebook’s early founders, Eduardo Saverin — now in Singapore. Despite his 33% stake in the social networking site being whittled down to 2%, Saverin seems to be doing just fine. His 2% of a…
CHINA versus PHILIPPINES: Media Reports of Tension
Since April, China and the Philippines have been involved in a tense dispute over Huangyan Island in the South China Sea, and the Filipino media has been quick to defend its nation’s legitimacy in the region. The quarrel was initiated with the recent Philippine harassment of Chinese fishermen who sought harbor on the…
AUSTRALIA: Suddenly There’s Wiggle Room
Reports by the New Zealand Herald and Sydney Morning Herald have confirmed that after 21 years, the world famous children’s singing group, the Wiggles, with be losing the majority of its members following the conclusion of its Celebration Tour in December. The move announced by the group earlier this month…
NORTH KOREA: Now Broadcasting Live
North Korea’s young new leader, Kim Jong-un, has embarked on yet another (relatively) shocking endeavor. The micro-managed state-controlled television company has initiated the occasional live broadcast. Under the late Kim Jong-il, such communication was nonexistent due to a high risk of technical difficulties and “mishaps.” Since his death four months…
SOUTH KOREA: Newspaper Retaliates After Being Denied Access to Press Meeting
The Korea Times, a major daily newspaper in South Korea, has been publishing less than favorable articles regarding Admiral Samuel Locklear, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. After being denied access to Locklear’s April 17th press meeting, the paper has released several “sensationalized” articles, such as “USFK Commander Too Media…
NORTH KOREA: Should This Country Be Put on Trial?
“Dire” along with “absence of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights” are the words used by Marzuki Darusman, the current United Nations special rapporteur for North Korea, to describe this bleak facsimile of a real normal country. This was in a report Darusman gave to the General Assembly ‘s…
NORTH BY NORTHJEST: Satirizing a Brutal Regime
NORTH BY NORTHJEST: Satirizing a Brutal Regime
NORTH BY NORTHJEST: Satirizing a Brutal Regime
CHINA: A Whole Lot of Shaking Going on
No wonder China appears to be undergoing so many changes all at once. Technology ventures of all sorts are bursting out everywhere. Consider entrepreneur Joseph Chen, who would very much like to come China’s version of Mark Zuckerberg: He is is the founder of Renren.com, a social networking site that…
BANGLADESH: TV Station Charged With Prime-Time Crime!
Boishakhi Television, a private news channel from Bangladesh, was allegedly caught laundering money in “broad daylight”. On Wednesday, April 18th, the Weekly Blitz, a weekly tabloid from Bangladesh, reported that the private television station was involved in smuggling millions of dollars every year. According to its reporting, the Weekly Blitz…