Month: October 2012
PALESTINIAN EXHIBITION: THE BRANDEIS CONTROVERSY
PALESTIANIAN EXHIBITION: THE BRANDEIS CONTROVERSY
CHINA: Guan Xi – It’s All About Whom You Know, Reports The New York Times
If you’ve ever done business in China, you would be very familiar with the term “guan-xi,” translated as connections. Without any guan-xi, it is nearly impossible to get things done. China is a nation built on guan-xi, a business deal-making strategy embedded in the culture. From a Western democratic perspective,…
JAPAN: Are These Stupid Islands Worth the Trouble?
The ongoing disagreement over the Senkaku, or Diaoyu, islands is nothing new to those who follow current events in East Asia, even as both China and Japan have made stumbling efforts at negotiation. the first of which took place on September 25. Despite the storm, the truth is that the…
PHILIPPINES: Arrest Sparks Heated Debate Over Cybercrime Law
You want to hear ridiculous?! Filipino environmentalists and Internet users have rallied behind Esperlita Garcia, an anti-mining advocate who was arrested on libel charges for a critical post on her Facebook. She was arrested despite the Supreme Court’s suspension of the law that was used against her, which was actually…
NORTH KOREA: Trying to Save Face With a Stolen Tablet?
The release of North Korea’s new “Arirang” tablet computer is very exciting news, but as with many new gadgets, there is at least one big question. Instead of asking how it compares to competitors or how well it performs, the question is about where it was made. North Korea’s media…
HONG KONG: ‘Next Media’ Announces Goodbye to Taiwan
Following up on our “No Next Step for Next Media” article that appeared here in April, Hong Kong’s largest media company, ‘Next Media’, has recently confirmed the selling of its Taiwan-based Entertainment Services Ltd. Next Media’s largest Taiwanese publications, ‘Next Magazine’ and ‘Apple Daily’, are a huge part of the…
LOS ANGELES: Asia Society Event
This vital regional citizens’ organization has been in the service of improving understanding of Asia in America for decades. Its events, with venues mainly in downtown Los Angeles, bring major international figures, academic experts and even spectacular artists into the spotlight of the community. ‘The New Asia Media’ is an…
VIETNAM: Opening the Gates to the Internet
The Internet is an apparatus of information, entertainment and communication- but is it utilized as it should be? We Are Social, a global independent social media agency, reports that Vietnam’s social, digital and mobile opportunities are evolving as the country reaches about 31 million Internet users. Although this is an…
HONOLULU: Major Journalists from Asia Visiting for U.S. Election
Eight accomplished journalists from various parts of Asia have begun the East-West Center’s special U.S. Presidential Election Reporting Seminar. On the 12-day tour immediately before, during and after the election, the journalists will visit Florida, Ohio and Washington, DC to gain perspectives on the American electoral system and the issues…
SINGAPORE: Advertising Restrictions Hard to Swallow
How much government really is too much? Singapore plans to follow in the footsteps of the UK, South Korea, Denmark, and Finland to encourage healthy lifestyles for citizens by regulating advertisements for fast food, soda, and other food high in sugar, salt, and fat. At the recent launch of the…
UNITED NATIONS, NEW YORK: UN Secretary General Issues Statement on ‘Conversations with Ban Ki-moon’ Book
November 7, 2012: From UN headquarters in New York, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon commented for the first time on the new book ‘Conversations with Ban Ki-moon: The View from the Top’: “I don’t agree with all of ‘Conversations with Ban Kim-moon’, but that is to be expected. But on the…
BANGLADESH: Mortal Danger for Journalists Continues
It took a serious Spanish media outlet to shine light on the latest anti-media atrocity in this country Recently Eurasia Review: News and Analysis, an independent news outlet based in Spain, has reported that yet another Bangladeshi journalist has been killed. Talhad Ahmed Kabid was a reporter with the Bangladeshi…
AUSTRALIA: Can’t Stand Graffiti? Now There’s an App for That.
Citizens of Queenslanders, Australia, now have the ability to report lost and damaged property, graffiti, and loitering via a newly developed mobile phone app. Mere hours after issuing their Annual Statistical Review, Police Commissioner Bob Atkinson and Police Minister Jack Dempsey released the PoliceLink app which enables citizens to contact…
CHINA: Ai Weiwei’s Gangnam Style Parody
If New York Times had not published the Wen article (see Lani Luo’s “CHINA: It’s All About Whom You Know, Reports New York Times”), Ai Weiwei’s Grass Mud Horse Style (a parody on Psy’s internet meme Gangnam Style) video would probably be the most popular news in China. Ai Weiwei…