LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Mainland authorities continue to usurp Hong Kong press freedom by silencing dissenting voices. Publisher Yao Wentian was arrested on what appear to be bogus charges of smuggling prohibited items, and has been detained for almost three months. Wentian is head of Morning Bell Press, a Hong Kong…
Author: Asia Media Staff
NORTH KOREA: That Time of the Year
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Nothing says “stop it” like a country threatening to nuke its neighbor for taking part in a military drill. This is how North Korea responded to this year’s Foal Eagle exercise, which is an annual military drill held in South Korea between its forces and those from…
QATAR: The UAE is NOT Happy
ALEXANDRE GUIRAUD-COINTREAU WRITES – The United Arab Emirates has been insulted and demands the offender stop: Egyptian-born Muslim cleric and head of the Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated International Federation of Muslim Scholars (IFMS), Yousuf Al Qaradawi, who resides in Doha. According to Gulf Times, the clash began over the topic of the…
LEBANON: A ‘Selfie’ Protest to Stop the Violence
NICOLE SABA WRITES – It all started with a series of deadly car bombings that happened in December. Other than the target of the initial explosion – Mohammed Chatah, former Finance Minister of Lebanon – four others lost their lives that day. Among them was Mohammed Chaar, a sixteen-year-old boy,…
THAILAND: A Clean Sweep
ELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – A Yellow-shirt “boy’s club” has Thailand’s Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, in its cross hairs. Democrat party leaders and public spokespersons air Yingluck’s dirty laundry as a further attempt to delegitimize her and undermine the February 2nd snap election. Khao Sod daily newspaper released a video of Somchai…
THAILAND: Blue Bloods Versus New Bloods
ELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – The “Bangkok shutdown” is drawing a darker, deeper line between the country’s rural, poor, pro-government Red Shirts, and the reform-oriented Yellow Shirts. While strong influences of sadkina (ศักดินา) – Thai feudalism – make corruption an old friend in Thailand’s national politics, reform is still a new beast…
PHILIPPINES: Poverty Contributes to Child Pornography
TREVOR ISBELL WRITES – The sexual abuse of young Filipino children has long been an income source for some of the country’s poorest inhabitants. The country’s National Crime Agency (NCA) stated that “Extreme poverty, the increasing availability of high-speed Internet and the existence of a vast and comparatively wealthy overseas…
WOMEN OF ASIA: Can “Dragon Ladies” be Taken Seriously?
ELODIE INTROIA WRITES – Today, 23 of the 100 most powerful women in the world are Asian. Among that group are political leaders, heads of large corporations and philanthropists. Yet, despite their different backgrounds, they all work towards redefining the role of the modern Asian woman. Although Asian women have won political…
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: UAE Presents “The W*** of W*** S*****”
AMBER VERNETTI WRITES – The Wolf of Wall Street, the contentious, prize-winning film directed by Martin Scorsese, was released in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with significant scene deletions and other adjustments. Due to the film’s abundant use of derogative language (over 500 curse words) and lurid scenes of drug abuse…
BANGLADESH: Journalists Under Arrest
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – Three Bangladeshi journalists were arrested January 16 for publishing what Information Minister Hansanul Huq Inu called a “baseless” story. The story in question was a report in the online and print editions of the pro-opposition Daily Inqilab that Indian security forces had helped Bangladeshi officials contain…
HONG KONG: Chinese Communist Party Supporter as Chief Newspaper Editor?
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Kevin Lau Chun, editor in chief of the Ming Pao newspaper, transferred suddenly to the parent company’s new unit for electronic books and teaching materials. This action has been perceived as a threat to editorial independence. Word on the street is that Lau’s replacement will be Chong Tien-siong, Malaysian journalist and…
PAKISTAN: Death of Tribune Staffers Underscores Dangers of Reporting
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – The deaths of three reporters at the hands of Taliban gunmen Jan. 17 is the latest in a series of terrorist attacks designed to silence anti-Taliban reporting in the afflicted country. On Friday, a group of gunmen on motorcycles shot into the van of three Express Tribune…
JAPAN: Finally Facing A Touchy Subject
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Social conduct dictates that people should avoid discussions of religion and politics, but should the media abide by these social laws too? This year will mark the 19th anniversary of the the Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth) doomsday cult’s toxic nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.…
MALAYSIA: ‘Allah’ is a no-go for Non-Muslims
MARLENA NIP WRITES – Imagine not being able to use a certain word because your ideals don’t match those of the ruling party. Then imagine being under investigation by your government for using said word. That’s the case for a Catholic priest in Malaysia after saying the word “Allah” at…
VIETNAM: Paracel Islands for the Silenced People
YVONNE EPPS WRITES — It’s a new year and with Tet rounding the final corner, Vietnam can finally turn over a new leaf. Or it can indulge in more media constriction, give or take. This week marked the 40th anniversary of China’s invasion of Vietnam and its taking of the…
CAMBODIA: Lights, Camera, Oscar Nomination!
ARACELI PALAFOX WRITES – Amid political conflict and social uprising, Cambodia finds a sense of solidarity in the nation’s first Oscar nomination. Cambodian director Rithy Panh’s “The Missing Picture” is among the five final nominations in the “Best Foreign Language” film category. Panh’s “The Missing Picture” is a largely autobiographical work, telling the story…