UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Ambitious Experimental Course Coming to First Semester’s End
Must differing civilizations clash? Or can they sometimes combine to harmonious effect? The late Harvard Prof. Samuel Huntington took a dim view of the future with his provocative and possibly predictive “Clash of Civilizations.” The 1996 book posited a gloomy post- Cold War geopolitical world in which the Islamic world would…
Full Article UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: Ambitious Experimental Course Coming to First Semester’s EndSINGAPORE: The Asia Media Interview with Han Fook Kwang
For nine years, Han Fook Kwang was the top editor of The Straits Times – Singapore’s leading newspaper, regarded as one of the most complete English-language newspapers in Asia. Mr. Han is now an executive with Singapore Press Holdings, the giant parent corporation of The Straits Times. He joined the…
Full Article SINGAPORE: The Asia Media Interview with Han Fook KwangVIETNAM: A Rather Brutal Way to Create Real Estate Vacancy
On April 24, 2012, the Vietnamese Communist Government organized a force of more than 3,000 local, civilian, and riot police alongside a multitude of government officials. The purpose: to execute a mass land eviction. The area under siege was located across three small towns: Cuu Cao, Phung Cong and Xuan…
Full Article VIETNAM: A Rather Brutal Way to Create Real Estate VacancyBANGLADESH: Paper Skeptical of US Visit
A recent Bangladeshi magazine article posits that U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent visit to Bangladesh was not necessarily the sweet deal it might seem to be. Particularly if the two countries’ military and economic agreements prove lop-sided against Bangladesh’s interests. On the whole, the media went wild having…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Paper Skeptical of US VisitCHINA: Playing ‘Not Nice’ With Al Jazeera
How did a journalist wind up in the headline herself? Al Jazeera’s Beijing correspondent Melissa Chan has become the first foreign journalist to be expelled from China in 14 years. In her recent interview with the LA Times, Chan stated that she is ‘not exactly sure what prompted her expulsion after five…
Full Article CHINA: Playing ‘Not Nice’ With Al JazeeraNORTH KOREA: Media Helping Them to Get New Messages
“Illicit” and “smuggled” are two words that could easily describe goods making their way into North Korea. Many products, such as low-cost TVs, DVD players, and other equipment, are being smuggled into North Korea from China. A recent, excellent U.S. State Department-commissioned study, “A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment,” reveals…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: Media Helping Them to Get New MessagesCHINA: Cheap Brothels, Expensive Societal Bill
Sex trafficking is one of the most discussed topics in China today, but does prostitution fall under the same category? Sex trafficking is a form of business that illegally trades and sells human beings, predominantly women, for commercial sex exploitation. The victims of sex trafficking have no control over their fate. Prostitution, on the…
Full Article CHINA: Cheap Brothels, Expensive Societal BillTHAILAND: Tragic TEXT-book Case of Repression — and Death
Previously ASIA MEDIA highlighted an article about Thailand’s lese majeste law and its oppressive reach over media systems such as social networking sites like Facebook or text messaging. Recently, Amphon “Akong” Tangnoppakul died while serving a 20-year sentence for allegedly sending text messages “deemed defamatory to the Queen.” He was…
Full Article THAILAND: Tragic TEXT-book Case of Repression — and DeathSINGAPORE: Zuckerberg Has Facebook but Saverin’s Got Stock in Singapore
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal deftly described the “Kardashian-like” fame of one of Facebook’s early founders, Eduardo Saverin — now in Singapore. Despite his 33% stake in the social networking site being whittled down to 2%, Saverin seems to be doing just fine. His 2% of a…
Full Article SINGAPORE: Zuckerberg Has Facebook but Saverin’s Got Stock in SingaporeCHINA versus PHILIPPINES: Media Reports of Tension
Since April, China and the Philippines have been involved in a tense dispute over Huangyan Island in the South China Sea, and the Filipino media has been quick to defend its nation’s legitimacy in the region. The quarrel was initiated with the recent Philippine harassment of Chinese fishermen who sought harbor on the…
Full Article CHINA versus PHILIPPINES: Media Reports of TensionAUSTRALIA: Suddenly There’s Wiggle Room
Reports by the New Zealand Herald and Sydney Morning Herald have confirmed that after 21 years, the world famous children’s singing group, the Wiggles, with be losing the majority of its members following the conclusion of its Celebration Tour in December. The move announced by the group earlier this month…
Full Article AUSTRALIA: Suddenly There’s Wiggle RoomNORTH KOREA: Now Broadcasting Live
North Korea’s young new leader, Kim Jong-un, has embarked on yet another (relatively) shocking endeavor. The micro-managed state-controlled television company has initiated the occasional live broadcast. Under the late Kim Jong-il, such communication was nonexistent due to a high risk of technical difficulties and “mishaps.” Since his death four months…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: Now Broadcasting LiveSOUTH KOREA: Newspaper Retaliates After Being Denied Access to Press Meeting
The Korea Times, a major daily newspaper in South Korea, has been publishing less than favorable articles regarding Admiral Samuel Locklear, Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command. After being denied access to Locklear’s April 17th press meeting, the paper has released several “sensationalized” articles, such as “USFK Commander Too Media…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Newspaper Retaliates After Being Denied Access to Press MeetingNORTH KOREA: Should This Country Be Put on Trial?
“Dire” along with “absence of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights” are the words used by Marzuki Darusman, the current United Nations special rapporteur for North Korea, to describe this bleak facsimile of a real normal country. This was in a report Darusman gave to the General Assembly ‘s…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: Should This Country Be Put on Trial?