NORTH KOREA: International Drama Queen.
North Korea has been, and is increasingly becoming, a topic of heightened concern within the international community. In December, their government tested long-range rockets, violating international law. Although the North Korean government claims that the rockets were carrying satellites for their space program, the U.N. increased sanctions against North Korea…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: International Drama Queen.PHILIPPINES: Violation of Press Freedom? You decide.
Bobby Nalzaro, columnist of the Sun.Star, the first Filipino community newspaper to go online, has recently returned from his “sabbatical”. Approximately a month ago, the Sun Star board of directors suspended Nalzaro and discontinued his 15-year-old column because he wrote critically about the suspended governor of the Philippine province of…
Full Article PHILIPPINES: Violation of Press Freedom? You decide.PAKISTAN: The Debate Drones On
Debates concerning the use of drones in Pakistan, and other countries, by the CIA are not new. Recently US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, in an AFP interview, was forced to defend the policy and practice; “The whole purpose of our operations were aimed at those who attacked this country and…
Full Article PAKISTAN: The Debate Drones OnCHINA: Better Brace Yourself!
Fake it til’ you make it. Teens in Asia are taking that concept literally as they apply fake braces on their teeth as a fashion trend. This curious fad first started in Southeast Asia, and it is now taking Asia by storm, making its way into many Chinese teenagers’ mouth.…
Full Article CHINA: Better Brace Yourself!INDONESIA: Overcoming the Media Conglomerate Wall
Since the 1998 Asian financial and political crisis, the media industry in Indonesia has been opened up fully, and is now freer from government control than ever. The media inarguably plays a crucial role in Indonesian democracy by educating its citizens and informing them of government activity. However, Indonesia’s media…
Full Article INDONESIA: Overcoming the Media Conglomerate WallTHAILAND: Less Majesty for Foreign Journalists
Andrew MacGregor Marshall- author of the Zenjournalist blog, former Reuter’s staffer and an internationally respected journalist – has never been one to jeopardize his integrity to appease the status quo. And so we have the case with his quarrel with the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT). This club has…
Full Article THAILAND: Less Majesty for Foreign Journalists
SINGAPORE: ‘Tom Plate on Asia’
Marshall Cavendish, one of Asia’s preeminent English-language book publishers, has announced contract agreement to bring out a major new nonfiction book by American journalist Tom Plate this Fall. The book – which is tentatively titled TOM PLATE ON ASIA: Tracing Asia’s Phenomenal Rise Through an American Journalist’s Eyes – will…
Full Article SINGAPORE: ‘Tom Plate on Asia’LEBANON: A Failure?
Freedom of the press seems to be growing across the Middle East, as the SHSU Global Center for Journalism and Democracy co-hosted the “Media Coverage of International Justice” conference in Lebanon this past week. The conference welcomed journalists and non-governmental organizations from across the world. While revolutions have been on…
Full Article LEBANON: A Failure?MYANMAR: True or False? But Who’s Behind the Game?
False news made its way across Myanmar recently, as the state-owned newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, was forced to issue an official and public apology for misleading its many readers by using a picture of a motorcycle crash and claiming it to be the result of mines. The picture…
Full Article MYANMAR: True or False? But Who’s Behind the Game?LAOS: When the Governments Says It Knows Nothing …
In the past two months, the disappearance of Sombath Somphone, a well-known activist and NGO leader, has garnered international media attention. The Laos government is being urged to do a more extensive search on the whereabouts of the missing activist. It’s a very good thing the world media is so…
Full Article LAOS: When the Governments Says It Knows Nothing …CHINA: Always a Villain, Never the Hero
Chinese authorities once praised him; now he’s being condemned. Back in November, Zhu Ruifeng, a blogger from Beijing, released image stills of a tape exposing a sex scandal featuring Chongqing district party chief Lei Zhengfu. At first, China Daily newspaper received independent bloggers who used the Internet as a “tool…
Full Article CHINA: Always a Villain, Never the HeroJAPAN: Japanese Politics Welcomes Modernity …. a Little, Bit, Anyway
After years of restrictions, the use of the Internet will likely be liberalized for use in election campaigns. According to the Daily Yomiuri, one of Japan’s leading dailies, the nation’s major political parties have jointly agreed to allow the use of services, like Twitter, during future campaigns. Drafted by the…
Full Article JAPAN: Japanese Politics Welcomes Modernity …. a Little, Bit, AnywayBANGLADESH: Money On The Go
Mobile Money has been making its way through Bangladesh. bKash Limited company is a subsidiary of BRAC Bank (a private commercial bank in Bangladesh) that has helped launch a new service that allows Bangladeshis to transfer money through their mobile phones. According to a report in The Economist,…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Money On The GoTAIWAN: Barbie Gets Sweeter
Elementary school teacher. Nurse. Lifeguard. Since her 1959 introduction, Barbie has served many roles. The Barbie that was both a bakery chef and a regular chef, has come to life in Taiwan. Barbie’s Cafe in Taiwan caused a media frenzy last week when it opened in Taipei. Media sources from…
Full Article TAIWAN: Barbie Gets SweeterVIETNAM: Bloggers Equal Terrorists … Again?
With the drop of a dime (or with a simple substitution) bloggers can become terrorists! Wait, really? They’ve done it again- the rights of anti-corruption Vietnamese netizens have been violated. Earlier this month, 14 democracy activists and bloggers were arrested and given long jail sentences because they were trying to…
Full Article VIETNAM: Bloggers Equal Terrorists … Again?LMU LOS ANGELES: Prof. David Kang Explains East Asia
East Asia, for so long a seeming model of geopolitical stability, has become dangerously tense. Territorial disputes involving Korea, China and Japan over the Dokdo/Takeshima and Senkaku/Diaoyu islands comprise just the top layer of the troubles. To explain what is driving the current tension, LMU’s Center for Asian Business has…
Full Article LMU LOS ANGELES: Prof. David Kang Explains East Asia