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…
Author: Asia Media Staff
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…