SOUTH KOREA: Looking Past the Gossip
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Stories about celebrity love lives are often more speculation than fact. But in South Korea, this may be changing thanks to Dispatch, a web site that’s made its name telling the truth. Though just two years old, Dispatch has already gained a reputation for both breaking…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Looking Past the GossipCHINA: Media Helps Spread Environmental Awareness
LEXIE TUCKER WRITER – Even as all eyes were on Singapore and the blanket of Sumatran smoke choking the island, mainland China’s State Council was taking steps to help clear that country’s air. According to local media reports, the council approved several specific measures to fight further air pollution, a…
Full Article CHINA: Media Helps Spread Environmental AwarenessQUESTIONS ABOUT THE LADY: WHY IS SHE NOT SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE ROHINGYA?
ELODIE INTROIA WRITES – In view of recent events, journalists and activists have come together to call on Aung San Suu Kyi to raise awareness and be the voice of what the United Nations has called the world’s most persecuted people – The Rohingya.
Full Article QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LADY: WHY IS SHE NOT SPEAKING OUT ABOUT THE ROHINGYA?TAIWAN: Modelling After China’s Great Firewall?
BRIAN CANAVE WRITES – Will Taiwan follow suit in building its own version of China’s unique Internet censorship policy known as the “Great Firewall”? China is infamous for its Internet services blocking international websites. For Taiwan, the country’s Intellectual Property Office says for now it will only target international websites…
Full Article TAIWAN: Modelling After China’s Great Firewall?PHILIPPINES: Bright Future with Broadened Media Freedom
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Gone is the fear of being imprisoned for liking an offensive photo on Facebook. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is revising the currently suspended 2012 Cybercrime Law and in the process has dropped the provision penalizing online libel. According to Geronimo Sy, head of the DOJ…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Bright Future with Broadened Media FreedomSINGAPORE: New MDA Regulations Have Web Users Up in Arms
STEPHANIE GARCIA WRITES -The Singapore government just made it a lot harder for small news outfits to do their jobs. But netizens refuse to go down without a fight. On May 28 the Media Development Agency (MDA) enacted new Internet regulations on news sites. Under the rules, sites that regularly…
Full Article SINGAPORE: New MDA Regulations Have Web Users Up in ArmsVIETNAM: Free Wi-Fi, but a Wired Outcome
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – Today, life and the Internet are synonymous, so free Wi-Fi is to be expected, but what’s the benefit if citizens aren’t the intended users? Residents and tourists in Hue City, Vietnam’s former Royal Capital, are scheduled to receive free Wi-Fi in major public areas such as…
Full Article VIETNAM: Free Wi-Fi, but a Wired OutcomeTHAILAND: Social Media Enlightens Locals who were Left in the Dark
ELIZABETH NAAI WRITES – On Tuesday, May 21st Thailand’s largest blackout to date engulfed fourteen southern provinces, including major business industries and tourist destinations in Hat Yai, Koh Sumai, and Phuket. After losing power at 6:30 p.m., many residents and businesses did not recover electricity until 9:30 p.m. that night.…
Full Article THAILAND: Social Media Enlightens Locals who were Left in the DarkJAPAN: Cosplay Summit Promotes Japan’s Soft Power
JEREMIAH FAJARDO WRITES – When it comes to making friends abroad, sometimes a pink-haired manga fan beats officially-sanctioned cultural exchanges. That’s proving to be the case in Japan with this summer’s 11th annual World Cosplay Summit (WCS) in Nagoya’s Osu district. Since the 1950s, anime and manga have been core…
Full Article JAPAN: Cosplay Summit Promotes Japan’s Soft PowerCHINA: Local Media Demands Justice for Angel of Death
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Nurses. We trust them to take care of the sick and, as their name suggests, nurture their patients back to health. But what happens when they shirk their duties and instead harm the very people they are supposed to be watching over? On May 31, local…
Full Article CHINA: Local Media Demands Justice for Angel of DeathSOUTH KOREA: Just Short of Wedding Bells
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – The South Korean LGBT community has struggled with discrimination throughout the country’s history, but there are some signs that the tide is changing. In May, South Korean film director Kim Jho Gwang-soo revealed plans to hold a ceremony in September to celebrate the commitment between him…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Just Short of Wedding BellsJAPAN: Mayor’s ‘Comfort Women’ Remarks Shock Facebook
JEREMIAH FAJARDO WRITES – When hasty, controversial remarks find their way onto social media the result is rarely good for politicians. That’s a lesson Osaka Mayor Tōru Hashimoto has come to learn. According to publications like The Japan Times and Mainichi Daily, two of Japan’s prominent dailies, Hashimoto recently made flippant…
Full Article JAPAN: Mayor’s ‘Comfort Women’ Remarks Shock FacebookVIETNAM: A Win for LGBT, but a Loss for Activism
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – Vietnam’s LGBT community got a morale boost on International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia May 17, but the big picture of social freedoms in the country is uneven. Viet Nam News reported that the United Nations praised the country for cutting anti-gay discrimination through local media’s spread…
Full Article VIETNAM: A Win for LGBT, but a Loss for ActivismSINGAPORE: Supervisor’s Temper Tantrum Goes Viral
STEPHANIE GARCIA WRITES – Temper tantrums are only socially acceptable during childhood. After that, they tend to draw police involvement and viral disapproval. A YouTube video posted May 17 of a supervisor physically abusing an intern sparked a media frenzy over the weekend, ultimately compelling the 29-year-old victim to come…
Full Article SINGAPORE: Supervisor’s Temper Tantrum Goes ViralTAIWAN: Death of Fisherman Sparks Tension with Philippines
BRIAN CANAVE WRITES – A tide of anger is rising between the Philippines and Taiwan after the Filipino Coast Guard shot and killed a Taiwanese fisherman in the strait of the South China Sea separating the two nations. Since the shooting in the middle of May, media in the Philippines,…
Full Article TAIWAN: Death of Fisherman Sparks Tension with PhilippinesNORTH KOREA: One Click from the Internet
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES -Simple lack of Internet access is one of the biggest obstacles to solving some of North Korea’s myriad woes. The hermit state has a computer network of its own, but citizens can only access those sites the government has OK’d. Further, the nation’s computers are designed to…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: One Click from the Internet