By Tom Plate, reprinted from the South China Morning Post (27 March) — You’d have to say that US first lady Michelle Obama handled herself pretty well during her trip to China. Perhaps it was no surprise that she seemed undaunted by the political complexity of the assignment, didn’t cower…
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HONG KONG: Asia’s Largest Film Market in the Midst of Media Turmoil
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Hong Kongers mourn yet another shameless assault on two media executives just as the Hong Kong Film and Television Market (FILMART) and the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) kick off. Business executives from over 760 companies and 30 countries gathered to attend FILMART, Asia’s largest film market, which promotes Hong…
NEW ZEALAND: New Media Rule Sparks Controversy
E.J. DE LARA WRITES – Imagine giving popular blog sites such as Perez Hilton and Just Jared the same legitimacy as newspapers. The New Zealand Press Council, the self-regulatory body that resolves complaints involving the press, has made this idea a reality by announcing its decision to allow digital media,…
MALAYSIA: The Mystery of Flight MH370
MARLENA NIP WRITES – Update after update and still the families and friends of flight MH370 passengers have been given no hope. Media outlets around the world have provided constant coverage since the commercial plane went missing March 8. Some even provide live, update feeds to keep readers and viewers…
HONG KONG: One Country, One System?
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Media censorship in Hong Kong is on the rise, but it’s not just press freedom that’s at stake. Instead, say Samson Yuen and Kitty Ho of The Diplomat, at risk are the core values that have until now let the “Pearl of the Orient” shine. And it begs…
AFGHANISTAN: Taliban Causes Trouble for Presidential Elections
VITTO BANEZ WRITES – With Afghan elections around the corner, it’s no surprise that the Taliban have something to say. On March 10, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Afghans should sit out the elections, because they’re “an American conspiracy” cooked up by the U.S. for its own evil purposes. Evil…
HONG KONG: Taking a Meat Cleaver to Press Freedom
LAUREN CHEN WRITES — This is difficult to believe, but here it is: Recently, in broad daylight, two men attacked former Ming Pao chief editor Kevin Lau Chun-to with a meat-cleaver and fled the scene. The attackers remain unidentified and, at this writing, Lau was recovering and in critical condition. Leading…
WE BEG TO DIFFER: … With Professor Jay Rosen of NYU
ASIA MEDIA WRITES: NYU’S Jay Rosen has been analyzing the American media for decades. He may be the best mind the U.S. has on this important beat. A recent post by Professor Rosen, however, raised our eyebrows. It praised the New York Times for ‘flooding’ the Ukraine story, calling the…
AFGHANISTAN: U.S. Paints a Positive Picture of its Presence
VITTO BANEZ WRITES – Because of its unique, soap-box position, the media has an outsized ability to influence. But when it stops objectively calling things as it sees them, it becomes a propaganda tool for the powers that be. Recently, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) proposed paying journalists…
CAMBODIA: Something’s Fishy About Cambodian Authorities
ARACELI PALAFOX WRITES – There’s something fishy about the recent murder of journalist Suon Chon, and it’s not his series of reports on illegal fishing. Earlier this month, The Phnom Penh Post reported the death of the forty-four year old Cambodian, who wrote for The Meakea Kampuchea Newspaper. It said Chon…
BANGLADESH: From Blog to Arrest
KIARA BRAMASCO WRITES – On February 18, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), an anti-crime and anti-terrorism unit of the Bangladeshi Police force, arrested 21-year-old Rasel Bin Sattar Khan for circulating an audiovisual message online. According to The Hindu, the message is believed to be from al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri who…
TAIWAN: News Media is a Bit too Starry Eyed
BRIAN CANAVE WRITES — The English-language newspaper The China Post recently criticized local news media in Taiwan. At Asia Media, we couldn’t agree more with what it had to say. In a recent editorial, the Post laments over local coverage of the second Taipei International Comics & Animation Festival. Their complaint centers…
WOMEN IN ASIA: A Game Changer for Saudi Women- Wadjda
ANGELINA PRAT, LAUREN SAYLOR, AND ELODIE INTROIA WRITE – In a patriarchal society that has fought to keep women unheard, Haifaa al-Mansour has found her voice. The film Wadjda was not only the first Saudi film to be written and directed by a woman, but also was the first to be…
MALAYSIA: Valentine’s Day is a Bust
MARLENA NIP WRITES – Bitter officials did their best again this year to turn Malaysian youth against the tradition of Valentine’s Day. While in the West we poke fun at February 14 as a ‘Hallmark holiday,’ turn it into a femme-positive ‘Galentine’s Day,’ or throw anti-Valentine’s Day parties to celebrate being single,…
WOMEN IN ASIA: The Plea for President Karzai to Defend Women’s Rights!
ELODIE INTROIA WITH LIZ MURRAY WRITE — President Hamid Karzai holds the destiny of women in his hands. A few days ago, the Afghan parliament passed a law banning women from seeking any sort of legal recourse in the face of domestic abuses. President Karzai is unequivocally under tremendous international…
LOS ANGELES: USC PRESENTS ON THE ‘FORGOTTEN CHINA’
ASIA MEDIA IS HAPPY TO PASS ON TO YOU THIS INVITATION FROM OUR HARD-WORKING COLLEAGUES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: “USC’s East Asian Studies Center invites you to our upcoming event entitled Taiwan in the World on March 3, 2014: Taiwan in the World Monday | March 3 |…