(ORIGINALLY POSTED ON SCMP) COLUMNIST TOM PLATE WRITES — For no self-respecting ‘superpower’ is failure an option. But history’s guarantees for nations are few: For big as well as small, survival can prove a struggle. And so, while humility might not be ranked as the first virtue of prudent superpower-ing,…
Full Article US PROTESTS: TRUMP AND US SHOULD FOCUS ON GEORGE FLOYD RATHER THAN HK AND TIANANMEN
MANAGING EDITOR SENAY EMMANUEL WRITES — From Minneapolis to Miami, Boston to Berlin, and even as far as Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the world is expressing its dismay and revulsion at the seemingly lawless and brutal nature of American police. The senseless murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor by Minneapolis…
Full Article FROM HK TO THE US: SOLIDARITY AMONG PROTESTERS
SARA ALTUWAIJIRI WRITES — The sad saga of the Uyghur controversy proceeds apace. The Chinese government has one million Uyghurs detained in re-education camps, some of whom have been utilized for organ harvesting to treat patients who have the coronavirus. Uyghurs have been sent to industrial factories in Hunan, Jiangsu, Jiangzi…
Full Article UYGHUR CRY: SERIOUSLY INHUMANE
AMHERST COLLEGE PRESIDENT BIDDY MARTIN TO HER FACULTY, STUDENTS, STAFF, ALUMNI, AND FAMILIES — “I am writing to provide you with some reflections at the end of our second week of remote learning.… We are living through an extraordinarily difficult and frightening time. In addition to the ravages of the…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CRISIS CAUTION: GUARDING AGAINST AN EPIDEMIC OF BIAS
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…
Full Article CAMBODIA: THE HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS NEVER SEEM TO END
MICHELLE DOR WRITES– For as much as $50,000, Vietnamese migrants can get the “VIP package” to Britain– a flight, fake passport and even an attorney. Too good to be true? This deal, although unlawful, is regarded as the cheaper and safer alternative to land routes by smugglers, where migrants are…
Full Article OUT OF VIETNAM: FIRST-CLASS ‘VEXIT’, OR NO EXIT AT ALL?
IMMANUEL PORTUS WRITES — On May 2 the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival opened its first night with a film that took home the Grand Jury Prize soon after: “Yellow Rose,” helmed by director Diane Paragas and starring Tony winner Lea Salonga and Tony nominee Eva Noblezada— all prominent…
Full Article MOVIE REVIEW: ‘YELLOW ROSE’ BLOSSOMS BEYOND THE PHILIPPINES
SENAY EMMANUEL WRITES—Last weekend, a delegation of Burmese representatives traveled to neighboring Bangladesh to speak with some of the 1.2 million Rohingya refugees situated there. Their goal was to confront this humanitarian crisis and somehow convince these beleaguered refugees to return to Myanmar. This isn’t the first time the…
Full Article MYANMAR: IF MERE TALK WAS CONVERTIBLE TO RICHES, THE ROHINGYA WOULD SURE BE IN THE CHIPS
TOM PLATE WRITES — How should citizens react when Big Government does a bad thing that screams out for correction? One approach is to slip into denial and imagine nothing at all happened, because leaders are apt to err, so the best thing for your mental health is to look…
Full Article HONG KONG: WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN BIG GOVERNMENT MAKES A BIG MISTAKE?
NICOLE ALAVERDIAN WRITES – A roar of happiness and tears erupted around Taiwan – and in many communities around the world – as the Taiwanese parliament approved same-sex marriage. This is a historic win as Taiwan becomes the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage – proving to be more socially…
Full Article TAIWAN: A Historic Moment for Asia as Parliament Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
NAWAF Al-SABAH WRITES– Rahaf Al-Qunun captured international attention at the beginning of the year as she sought to escape her allegedly abusive family. Rahaf, who is Arabian, barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room to prevent Thai authorities from deporting her. She had been detained at the Bangkok airport…
Full Article SAUDI ARABIA: The Unending Labyrinth of Male Guardianship
LAMA AL-TAHER WRITES– The central government in China, led by President Xi Jinping, recently warned citizens not to fall for ‘spiritual anesthesia,’ or in other words, religion. Despite their condemnation, faith-based worship appears to be on the rise. With a surge in religious observance, the country is projected to have…
Full Article CHINA: A TIGHTENING CONTROL ON (ALL) RELIGIONS
ROBERT BORN WRITES– Sunday, March 3, marked a national holiday in Japan called Hinamatsuri, otherwise known as Girls’ Day or Dolls’ Day. The holiday serves to hope for the health and happiness of young girls. Yet in reality, Japanese culture still shows a brazen unwillingness to support women in the…
Full Article JAPAN: On the Need for MANY More Women in Politics
ROBERT BORN WRITES– Sunday, March 24, marked the first time in five years that the Thai government allowed an election years after promising one. In 2014, a military coup removed the government of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s party–then headed by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. Since then, the military junta…
Full Article THAILAND: Free and Fair Elections? Not So Fast – OR TOO SLOW?
AN ASIA MEDIA INTERNATIONAL SPECIAL REPORT: BY LMU STUDENTS– Salem AlSabah, Mohammed AlSabah, Saud K AlRashed, Saud F AlRashed, Bader Bahman, Ali AlKhater, and Mohammed AlShehri. Managing Editors’ Note: One of the dominant news stories of this past year concerns the murder of Saudi Arabian journalist and Washington Post columnist…
Full Article LOOKING BACK AT JOURNALIST JAMAL KHASHOGGI’S BRUTAL END