Lani Luo and Selina Swatek, LMU seniors, have been promoted to the positions of managing editors of this site. The decision was made by acclamation — and to loud applause — at the regular ASIA MEDIA staff meeting recently in University Hall 3319, located on the university’s main campus. Commented…
Month: October 2012
TOM PLATE: Japan Bashing by China Will Not Help
Syndicated Asia columnist Tom Plate writes from Los Angeles – America still has much to decide. Among major issues, the U.S. presidential campaign did not (and without comprehensive national review could not) clear up the daunting question of China. The policy differences between the two parties and their candidates, exaggerated…
PAKISTAN: World Condemnation of Taliban Bullies’ Attack on a 14-Year-Old Girl Education Crusader
SPECIAL FROM LATIFAH RAHMDEL AT UNITED ARAB EMIRATES UNIVERSITY IN AL AIN, ABU DHABI — Not only in Pakistan, but from all over the world people have been following the case and sending prayers for Malala Yousafzai, the brave 14-year-old girl targeted and shot in the head last week by…
MYANMAR-BURMA: The Color of Change
Ask, and you shall receive. The people of Burma are undergoing a progressive change in their state-run media that is slow to start- but has nonetheless begun. The military coup of 1962 has reduced the reading of state-run newspapers for the mundane purpose of the obituary page. The new leader…
SINGAPORE: Malay Marriage Critique Gets Amy Cheong Fired or Worse
Recently, Amy Cheong, assistant director at the National Trades Union Congress, posted an offensive rant on her Facebook about Malay weddings, using explicit language to claim that cheap weddings on void decks (the first floor of many Singaporean apartment buildings) are responsible for the high divorce rate among Malays. Just…
BANGLADESH: Accurate or Bologna? Survey Reveals a Corrupt Parliamentary
So how much corruption can people handle before they call for a change? Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) is an independent, non-partisan, and non-profit organization whose mission is to create social movements that will lead to the reduction and eradication of corruption in Bangladesh. Recently, TIB conducted a survey among Bangladesh’s…
HONG KONG: Homophobic Chao Offers Inspiration
Cecil Chao, Hong Kong’s notoriously homophobic billionaire playboy, has recently become the  inspiration for the outrageous Sacha Baron Cohen’s next movie. Famous for being absurdly offensive yet comical, Cohen’s last mockumentary, “The Dictator”, parodied the late Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Similarly, Cohen and his production company has made plans with…
China Blotter: Basketball Grandma’s Story
China may be world’s second largest economy, but it is still nowhere close to utopia. Today, the world is dazzled by China’s booming financial freedom. However, there is not enough attention given to those who are still suffering. The government, of course, is working on pulling as many people out…
AUSTRALIA: To Sext or Not to Sext?
Anti-sexting laws in Australia might end up wrongly accusing teenagers who send each other nude pictures of themselves via text message as sex offenders. According to the new submission by the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre of Australia to the Victorian parliamentary, laws originally created to protect children from…
SOUTH KOREA: Telling It Like It Is
The Korea Times appears to be taking a very unbiased approach when reporting current events. In an article discussing a North Korean soldier’s desertion and a recent leak of military secrets, South Korea’s newspaper maintained a very neutral stance, focusing on stating concrete facts instead of relying on opinion-based writing…
BANGKOK BY NIGHT: SURVIVAL STRUGGLE
BANGKOK BY NIGHT: SURVIVAL STRUGGLE
BANGKOK BY NIGHT: SURVIVAL STRUGGLE
THE DEMISE OF NEWSWEEK: When a Magazine Stands for Nothing
The Following Syndicated Column Is Reprinted from The Jakarta Post of Indonesia: One way or the other, a magazine needs to stand for something special — otherwise, who cares? As a once-young journalist I took in this maxim of magazining from the late Clay Felker, who in the seventies pushed…
Asia Insight: Our First Video
(A note from ASIA MEDIA: This is a new feature that offers a spotlight to staffers or editors about their special project. The staff of ASIA MEDIA works as a team to produce this periodic site. Its founder, Tom Plate, a member of the LMU faculty, has recently completed a…
China Blotter: Think of the Children!
China is not known for its relaxed rules, and neither are its schools. When I attended pre-school and elementary school in China, I often came home crying. There was always something to get in trouble for: I vividly remember being scolded by teachers for eating my lunch too slowly or…