From Our Friends at the influential Asia Media Information and Communication Centre in Singapore comes the announcement of the 2014 Asia media conference, to be held next year in Thailand (domestic events permitting…). The announcement: “Globally, the last decade has seen exponential growth in the use of mobile technologies and…
Month: December 2013
THAILAND: NO WAY TO TREAT A LADY
TOM PLATE WRITES IN HIS INTERNATIONALLY SYNDICATED COLUMN: – A country of beauty is in danger of turning into a beast. The Kingdom of Thailand, the land of the smiling people, the gorgeous countryside and a storied history as the once-upon-a-time Siam, now has a severe case of the political…
CHINA: Why Beijing Needs to Take It Slowly
A BOOK EXCERPT. Adapted from “In the Middle of The Future: Tom Plate on Asia,” to be published here in the U.S. next month by Marshall Cavendish International. TOM PLATE WRITES: Asia did not achieve its current status on the world stage as an overnight success. Hardly. But despite millennia…
WASHINGTON: Respect for Democracy in Thailand Deserves Support
The following comes courtesy of the Honorable Kurt Campbell, a former top State and Defense Department official, in his FaceBook posting 22 December: CommentShare 18 Shares 4 Posted by Andrew MacGregor Marshall on Sunday, December 22, 2013
SOUTH AFRICA: The Death of a Great Man
TOM PLATE WRITES – Moral stature is obviously a rare quality. So when it is very apparent and right in front of you, hitting you between the eyes without any ambiguity, it is unforgettable even as a transitory presence, and especially unforgettable due to its almost invariable absence. On two occasions…
BOOK REVIEW: Party Crasher
WRITES TOM PLATE (in his symdicated newspaper column) – Have I been wrong? Some critics suggest my newspaper columns since 1995 on the politics and economics of the Mainland have been (oh … ) overly sympathetic toward China. I just don’t know. But no one can afford to be…
INDIA & PAKISTAN: Female Journalists Face Dangers in the Field and Workplace
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – Though they’ve reported on floods, bombings, wars, and protests in some of the most dangerous places in the world, female journalists in Pakistan and India are still threatened and mistreated at home. Despite repeated calls for change from groups ranging from the United Nations to the Women’s…
‘Smokin’ Joe’ Jabs at China Treatment of U.S. Newsies
BEN SULLIVAN WRITES – U.S. journalists in China have long griped that the government picks on them. Specifically, they say, China retaliates against unfavorable coverage by withholding visas and access to top officials, barring reporters from important events, and even blocking the China editions of their employers’ web sites. The…
AUSTRALIA: You’ve Got Mail…Online
AMBER VERNETTI WRITES – The U.K.’s Daily Mail — surprisingly, the world’s most-read online English-language newspaper — will soon open an Australian edition. The move follows a similar down-under launch by rival The Guardian earlier this year. Mail Online, Daily Mail’s international online publication and the world’s most popular English-language newspaper,…
CAMBODIA: Cambodian National Rescue Party Breaks Free From CPP Control
ARACELI PALAFOX WRITES – With control over the nine television stations in the country, the Cambodian People’s Party (CPP) continues to be the head puppet master of Cambodia. Its success in the July election reminded the people of Cambodia who’s hands pull the strings. Yet, this same election came with…
JAPAN: New Bill a Bid for State Security or Gateway to Orwellian Dystopia?
JEREMIAH FAJARDO WRITES – As China works to impose (and handle blow back from) a controversial air defense zone, Japan’s parliament is tied up in its own controversy in the form of a divisive state secrets bill. Already passed by the Lower House in November, the contentious law aims, via…
VIETNAM: Guerrilla Warefare on the Internet
YVONNE EPPS WRITES- Just when you thought things couldn’t get worse, they just did. Vietnam’s war on peaceful protest has reached guerrilla warfare of the monetary kind. Hey, Uy’s atrocities were unforgivable, so why not take the rest of the Internet down, right? Two decrees have been posed against social…
NORTH KOREA: Public Executions Perpetuate Rumors
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – These days, public executions are all the rage in North Korea. Over the summer, twelve musicians were sent to the firing squad for producing porn. More recently, seven North Korean cities held public executions on the same day, killing approximately 80 people. What were the charges? The people…
HONG KONG: South China Morning Post–Captivating Readers for 110 Years
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Hong Kong’s premier English language newspaper, the South China Morning Post, celebrates 110 years of captivating Hong Kong’s most affluent readers. SCMP has reported on Hong Kong, China and the rest of the world “from the rickshaws and the start of the electric tram.” By the early 20th century,…
TAIWAN: Murder-Kidnap Creates a Flurry from Media
BRIAN CANAVE WRITES – Taiwanese people and media are outraged by the murder of a Taiwanese national and kidnapping of the victim’s wife in the Malaysian island of Pom Pom. Throughout late November, Taiwanese and Malaysian media covered the incident from all sides, ranging from international paper press, television news coverage…
SINGAPORE: Six Years a Stalker
STEPHANIE GARCIA WRITES – It has been said “imitation is the highest form of flattery.” Perhaps stalking is second highest? And the new frontier seems to be taking place on the cyber highways. Sure, stalkers may be a problem that has existed since the dawn of civilization, but Web avenues…