DANIELA GUEVARA WRITES – In an unusual case this month, South Korea has deported two North Koreans back to their home country. The ruling came after discovering that the two North Korean defectors had killed 16 fishermen on the boat they were working on as fishermen. The deportations of…
From Asia Media International in Los Angeles — Congratulations, Hong Kong! Under conditions of the greatest stress, you have pulled off a mainly spotless and brilliant territory-wide election whose results resonate worldwide. Clean and clear elections are not that easy to pull off. (We in the U.S. are learning more…
TALIN DEROHANESSIANS WRITES — It’s no surprise that women in Japan are held to strict beauty and dress standards. Now they have been banned from wearing glasses to work. Working women already must follow a strict dress code, including high heels, which sparked the #KuToo movement. According to the Vision Council…
JOSEPH LITTAUA WRITES — Asians have always held a somewhat contentious place in American pop culture, with caricatures of Asians in movies and TV shows (i.e. the Asian comedy sidekick, or exotic Asian vixen) and minimal Asian representations on the music scene at large. Except for considerable Asian Youtube stars…
LUCA FRANCINI WRITES — On the 26th of October, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was killed by US forces and Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces in northwest Syria. This was a massive win for democracy and freedom across the globe. Islamic extremism has caused widespread despair over the past 20 years, as groups like Al-Qaeda…
DANIEL ZAND WRITES- Thailand is known for its delicious street foods at cheap prices, yet this is changing. Food vendors have been forced to relocate to designated areas due to a government ban attempting to“return order to the capital city”. The ban was established shortly after the Thai military coup…
KATHERINE DOUGLAS WRITES — Earlier this month, following a report on an investigation, the EU threatened to pull trade preferences for Cambodia because it was “concerned about the human rights situation there [Cambodia]”. The government has yet to officially respond, despite the one-month time limit imposed in the report. Of note, the EU…
MATHEW ANDROVETT WRITES — Baseball has become massively popular in Asia over the past few decades. Nationally organized leagues, such as Japan’s Nippon Professional League, have grown into massive successes; and countries such as Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea churn out big-league prospects for U.S. baseball at a consistent rate.…
WEI WU WRITES — It has been three years since Ang Lee’s last movie “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk”; his latest movie “Gemini Man” was released last month. Audiences were looking forward to seeing how an Eastern director would break down this odd Western science fiction story, but it turns…
LORI DEMIRJIAN WRITES- Make way for women’s empowerment in Lebanon. Since October 17 they have been on the frontline of the revolutionary movement, keeping the peace between the military and protesters. Such empowerment is a true feat, considering women’s usual underrepresentation in government and politics. What’s more, the female heroines…
TIA CARR WRITES —For the past three years, US Middle Eastern policy has been unprecedentedly volatile. With ISIS leader Baghdadi now dead following a US military operation, the world, and especially the American public, is left confused — particularly considering America’s history of relatively low-involvement in the Syrian conflict. Clearly,…
DIANA CASTILLO WRITES- On November 5, leading opera artist Shang Changrong and the distinguished film and TV director Teng, presented their opera musical “Cao Cao and Yang Xiu” at LMU, followed by a riveting Q & A. What a duo! Mr. Shang, the protagonist of the film, plays the hero who convinces the emperor…
MALIK ADENIJI WRITES — Huge savings, unbelievable deals, and incredible sales. In the U.S. these words may be reminiscent of the (in)famous shopping holidays Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, in China, the world’s most populous country and the world’s leading exporter of goods since 2009, these words represent a…
POLITICO WRITES — The Veterans Administration is facing an existential question. The effort to bring electronic health records to the VA and a push to make it easier for veterans to see doctors outside the VA system are aimed at improving access to care. But some worry those changes will…
DW NEWS FROM GERMANY WRITES AND POSTS – Democracy activist and HK student leader Joey Siu still believes the movement, born on the streets of the Chinese Special Administrative Region this summer, needs to continue with demonstrations. “It is the government that forces us to take on the streets and…
NILE BROWN WRITES – A few months ago, I traveled to Beijing as part of a career discovery trip with my school. One of the excursions was to Weber Shandwick, one of the largest public relations firms in the world and the agency representing the upcoming Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Agency…
