Recently I attended a presentation at the University of Southern California’s US-China Institute about the play Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers, which last year debuted in China. Afterward, I had an opportunity to talk with Geoffrey Cowan, the distinguished co–author of the play (along with the late…
Full Article WE ASK / THEY ANSWER: Getting to the Bottom of the Top SecretsThe iPad is one of the most recognizable pieces of consumer technology on the market today, changing the way people get information on a daily basis. But was Apple really the first company to develop such a device? Some Chinese say no. On February 17th, the Chinese Proview Technology Company…
Full Article CHINA: They’re Taking a Bite out of Our Apple!On Sunday, February 19th, the UNB Connect, the first fully computerized wire-service news source for Bangladesh, reported that third generation (3G) compatible mobile phones will be initially introduced in Bangladesh in April. The post and telecommunications minister, Razjuddin Ahmed Raju, told reporters that subscribers of Teletalk will be the first…
Full Article BANGLADESH: All Wild and Wireless from DhakaControversy over a proposed high-speed railway, known as the Linear Chuo Shikansen, has erupted after the head of Nara prefecture’s general affairs department posted a scandalous comment on Facebook earlier this month. According to the Mainichi Daily News, Japan’s highly-respected second leading daily, the official, whose identity hasn’t been disclosed,…
Full Article JAPAN: Facebook Comment Sparks ControversyThe Democratic Action Party (DAP) of Malaysia’s national election publicity bureau chief Hew Kuan Yau apologized this week for posting remarks on Facebook in which he likened journalists to prostitutes. Hew allegedly claimed that his post, which was originally in Mandarin, never compared journalists to “prostitutes” but instead used the…
Full Article MALAYSIA: Journalists Accused of Prostitution… Or is it “Compensated Dating?”Public Radio International’s The World reported on February 21st, that two viral videos depicting a verbal altercation between a Hong Kong native and a mother from Mainland China have fueled further animosity between the island and the Mainland. The controversy began on a subway train when a Hong Kong man…
Full Article HONG KONG: Mainland Professor Says Hong Kongers Have Gone to the DogsThanks to the advent of social media sites, so-called “citizen journalism” is on the rise. Myra Martin of The Straits Times, Singapore’s largest and most influential daily, reports that a recent survey found a majority of these casual writers are between the ages of 15 to 24. Conducted by students…
Full Article SINGAPORE: Citizen Journalists Get Their Facts RightTwenty writers claim they are ready to use their “pens, which are mightier than swords, to lead the spread of democracy in North Korea,” reports the Chosun Ilbo, a widely circulated South Korean daily newspaper. These writers, once considered among the elite in North Korea before they defected and continued…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: A Happier ‘Pen’ for Defected North Korean WritersOn February 13, 2012, Mainland China’s State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) announced an official restriction on imported TV series. So exactly how is this partial-ban going to work? Pretty exactly, it would seem! The SARFT have issued no less than seven detailed ordinances for television broadcasters. One,…
Full Article CHINA BLOG BLOTTER: Beijing Puts On A Serious Face Against Foreign TV Series
Three ministers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are being forced to resign by BJP president Nitin Gadkari due to the recent porn scandal that blew up in the Indian media on February 7th.
Full Article INDIA: Ministers Involved in Porn Scandal to ResignOn Sunday, February 12th, the Daily Star, which is the first Bangladeshi Internet daily, reported that a journalist couple was murdered in their residency building in Dhaka. The couple’s five year old son found Sagar Sarowar and his wife, Meherun Runi, stabbed to death in their bedroom early Saturday morning.
Full Article BANGLADESH: Frightened Journalists Threaten RetaliationAlthough the exceptionally long and bloody civil war in Sri Lanka has ended, an extension of the conflict is playing out in the world media. Until recently, world opinion seemed considerably anti-government. But Colombo is mounting a media counter-attack.
Full Article SRI LANKA: Government Periodical Endorses the State’s Documentary “Ruthless”