From News Service Reports — No sooner had after China signaled it would impose new national-security laws on Hong Kong than markets throughout the world trembled. By early afternoon Friday in Hong Kong (22 May), the Hang Seng Index had lost 5.6%, with property, financial and infrastructure stocks retreating between…
Full Article HONG-KONG-WATCH: SHAKEN MARKETS
While spring semester study abroad and global immersion trips have been canceled due to the ongoing pandemic, Tom Plate, clinical professor and Distinguished Scholar of Asian and Pacific studies, is continuing to facilitate cross-cultural learning experiences for Loyola Marymount University students. From opposite sides of the Pacific, LMU students collaborate with Yonsei University students…
Full Article NO ZOOM GLOOM: FROM LOS ANGELES TO SEOUL
FIONNA ANGELICA WIJAYA WRITES – The ongoing epidemic that is currently spreading across the globe becomes more threatening every single day. The government policy that requires us to be inside the house or apartment has become more challenging for me personally. This is my first time being quarantined during a…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: ‘THE SITUATION IN INDONESIA HAS NOT IMPROVED’
MANAAL ALI WRITES – During the current outbreak of COVID-19, many lives have been affected, from families not able to buy essentials such as hand sanitizer, water, and toilet paper to small businesses able to provide only limited services- or else closing down. My family has had almost no customers…
Full Article CORONAVIRUS CHRONICLES: ‘MY PARENTS HAVE BEEN SO COMPASSIONATE TO HOUSE MY FRIENDS IN NEED’
DANICA CREAHAN WRITES- In the new Blumhouse horror film “The Invisible Man,” released on February 28, 2020, the Australian-American filmmaker (best known for co-creating Saw and Insidious) Leigh Whannell, proves that in the #MeToo era, men can do right by female characters, and maybe could have been doing better all…
Full Article THE ‘INVISIBLE MAN’ MAKES WOMEN VISIBLE AGAIN IN HORROR FILMS
EXCERPTED FROM THE ‘BUSINESS INSIDER’ — Medical workers in Wuhan, China, removed their masks after the city closed the last temporary hospital, which was panic-built to accommodate the overflow patients from the coronavirus outbreak. The viral video, which has been viewed more than three million times, showed a number of workers…
Full Article WUHAN: THE HEROIC MEDICAL WORKERS OF A BESIEGED BUT NOW HAPPILY EMPTY HOSPITAL
OTHMAN ALOTHMAN WRITES- Nike-sponsored Kuwaiti athlete Yaqoub Alyouha brought back a gold medal in the World Athletics Indoor Championships on February 4, 2020 in Dusseldorf, Germany. His time, 7.54s in the 60m hurdle, makes him the second- fastest Asian ever to run it. This came as a shock to the…
Full Article PRO ATHLETICS IN KUWAIT: GREAT STRIDES, BUT STILL A PART- TIME JOB
STUART MULJADI WRITES–Earlier this year, it was announced that megastars Jay Z and Serena Williams would be investors in Kopi Kenangan (translation: “Coffee memories”), an ambitious, Jakarta- based, non-franchise coffee chain founded by CEO Edward Tirtanata in 2017. According to a local article profiling the CEO, Tirtanata was asked the…
Full Article INDONESIA: HIP-HOP, TENNIS & COFFEE – HOW KOPI KENANGAN ATTRACTED SUPERSTAR INVESTORS JAY Z AND SERENA WILLIAMS
SULAIMAN AL-ADSANI WRITES- Ever since the establishment of the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) in 1993, mixed martial arts has become one of the fastest growing and most popular sports worldwide. It started in the 1920’s, when Brazilian jiu jitsu founder Helio Gracie and his brother, Carlos Gracie, issued the “Gracie…
Full Article ASIA SPORTS: THE GROWTH OF MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
LILLY WEBBER WRITES – After sweeping the Oscars and finishing the night with four different awards, including Best Picture, the South Korean dark comedy thriller film Parasite by director Bong Joon-ho has surprised international audiences and film connoisseurs alike with its success. Parasite’s victory is unprecedented in the Oscars’ history…
Full Article SOUTH KOREAN CINEMA: ‘PARASITE’ THRIVES IN AMERICA DESPITE XENOPHOBIA
ASIAMEDIA WRITES — Whatever the actual degree of utility of the medical mask, there is no doubt in Asia of their current ubiquity. These sample shots below, in order, come from the world-famous Shanghai Ballet; a recent wedding in Seoul, South Korea; yet another anti-government protest in Hong Kong; and…
Full Article FROM ASIA: A MASK PARADE
ANNALISA DEL VECCHIO, ASIAN ART EDITOR, WRITES – Chong-II Woo – Women of the Joseon Dynasty Nude Woo, also known for his work as a photographer for Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar magazine, gives his interpretation of Korea’s modern history through this beautiful pigment print on Hanji paper. Sogen Chiba –…
Full Article 25TH ANNUAL LA ART SHOW: HIGHLIGHTING THE BEST ASIAN ART
JASEM ALQINAI WRITES-Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah recently celebrated his 14th year of rule. The fifteenth Emir of Kuwait was sworn in on the 29th of January 2006. He is the fourth son of Sheikh Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Prior to his rule he served as Prime Minister as well…
Full Article KUWAIT: NOT EVEN THE GREATEST EMIR CAN DO IT ALL
OTHMAN Al-OTHMAN WRITES– Online dating has taken the Asian region to heart, although not without consequence. Currently, online scams– in which perpetrators convince their online ‘partner’ to send them money or give them access to their data– have flooded the Philippines. Among the many who are affected: online love-seekers. Dating …
Full Article THE PHILIPPINES: ONLINE LOVE AFFAIRS CAN BREAK YOUR HEART…AND YOUR BANK ACCOUNT
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…
Full Article CONGRATULATIONS HONG KONG!