TAIWAN: Cross-strait cooperation – Be careful how you use it?
Publishing representatives in Taiwan are encouraging bilateral exchanges between their island democracy and mainland China, as a means of increasing readership and producing quality Chinese-language publications. According to the Taipei Times, the head of Taiwan’s Planter Press Co., Lee Ho states that one measure would be reducing taxes on books…
Full Article TAIWAN: Cross-strait cooperation – Be careful how you use it?SRI LANKA: Official History Versus Credited Reality
It’s possible to make history but much harder to rewrite it. On February 4th, the government of Sri Lanka celebrated the country’s 64th year of independence from Great Britain with a festive ceremony, including a moment of silence, a parade, and a speech given by current Sri Lankan President Mahinda…
Full Article SRI LANKA: Official History Versus Credited RealityJAPAN: How to Protect User Information Without Harming Social Media
According to The Daily Yomiuri, Japan’s leading English daily, some e-book apps have allegedly been compiling private information on their users, many without consent. In response, industry experts and one Japanese government ministry have called for the drafting of strict guidelines. Two of the apps accused of gathering information are…
Full Article JAPAN: How to Protect User Information Without Harming Social MediaINDONESIA: Internet Usage Rises—and So Do Tempers and Worries
The Communications and Information Ministry in Indonesia claims that it has effectively blocked nearly 1 million pornographic websites, and vows to continue its mass censorship of unfavorable Internet publications. According to the Jakarta Post, the nation’s leading English-language newspaper, “censorship on porn sites was in line with the government’s commitment…
Full Article INDONESIA: Internet Usage Rises—and So Do Tempers and WorriesCHINA: Professor’s Suggested China Course Calls for Increased Understanding
It’s been said that people fear that which they do not understand. As China continues to grow in power and becomes increasingly important on a global scale, it is increasingly viewed as a “threat.” However, Hugo de Burgh, a professor of journalism and director of the China Media Center at…
Full Article CHINA: Professor’s Suggested China Course Calls for Increased UnderstandingSINGAPORE: Blogger Hoax Stirs Controversy
Recent activity in Singapore’s blogosphere has caught the attention of the nation’s lawyers – not to mention parents of armed services personnel. According the Sumita Sreedhan of Today, the lively English-language daily, a hoax about the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) was posted on January 27th on both a blog and…
Full Article SINGAPORE: Blogger Hoax Stirs ControversyBANGLADESH: Witnesses Disappear – International Crimes Tribunal Case Halted
On February 5th, 2012, the weekly Blitz, which is the only anti-jihadist newspaper of Bangladesh, reported that Delwar Hossain Sayedee, the leader of the extremist Islamist movement Jamaat-e-Islami, had testimonial evidence brought against him in the International Crimes Tribunal. One of the prosecution’s witnesses told the court that Sayedee and…
Full Article BANGLADESH: Witnesses Disappear – International Crimes Tribunal Case HaltedMALAYSIA: The Poster Boys Were Not Happy at All
The popular social networking sites Facebook and Twitter were full of pictures and gossip items that triggered the scandal. In the end, ten people were nabbed for displaying offensive posters of Malaysian big-shots. They were Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and the two co-chairmen of the Bersih 2.0 coalition…
Full Article MALAYSIA: The Poster Boys Were Not Happy at AllNEW ZEALAND: Reverberations over TV Station Collapse
A Department of Building and Housing investigation has found the Canterbury TV building that collapsed in the February earthquake did not meet building standards when it was built in 1986. This finding has led to numerous calls for justice by family and friends of the 115 people who died in…
Full Article NEW ZEALAND: Reverberations over TV Station CollapseNORTH KOREA: The Young Kim Shocks By Shirking Tradition
In Korean tradition, a soul is believed to stay in this world for 49 days before departing to another world, a period traditionally reserved for mourning. So when Kim Jong-un is caught smiling and being friendly in recent pictures taken within the 49 day period following his father’s death, many…
Full Article NORTH KOREA: The Young Kim Shocks By Shirking TraditionUNITED ARAB EMIRATES: World’s Largest Book (Literally) Debuts in Dubai
The world’s largest book entitled “This is Mohammad” (Peace Be Upon Him) written by Dr. Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al Musleh, the Secretary General of the Commission on Scientific Signs in the Quran and Sunnah in Riyadh, is set to hit the bookstores in late February in Dubai, as reported by the…
Full Article UNITED ARAB EMIRATES: World’s Largest Book (Literally) Debuts in DubaiAUSTRALIA: Newspaper Puts Politicians In Deep Water
Water Utilities Cabinet Minister Stephen Robertson and Premier Anna Bligh face fresh criticism from the newspaper, The Australian, following the alleged mismanagement of Brisbane’s main dam, the Wivenhoe Dam, during a disaster 13 months ago. According to reports, in January 2011, engineers were forced to release water in large bursts…
Full Article AUSTRALIA: Newspaper Puts Politicians In Deep WaterSOUTH KOREA: Director Locates the Future Hope of North Korea
South Korean director Jung Sung-san’s film, Ryanggang Children, portraying the lives of children in North Korea, is finally being released big-time. The director finished filming in 2006, but it would be nearly six years before the film found a distributor. According to The Chosun Ilbo, a widely circulated newspaper, Jung…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: Director Locates the Future Hope of North KoreaBOOK EXCERPT: The Enigma of Thailand’s Thaksin
The Following Excerpt from the New Book ‘Conversations with Thaksin’ Appeared First – and Recently — in The Japan Times daily newspaper in Tokyo. It is reprinted in its entirety below. CONVERSATIONS WITH THAKSIN OF THAILAND: PORTRAIT OF A PRIME MINISTER WHO BECAME THE PRIME SUSPECT IN HIS OWN LAND…
Full Article BOOK EXCERPT: The Enigma of Thailand’s ThaksinCHINA COLUMN: Front Page Treatment For Uncle Wen
On February 5, 2012, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Guangdong, a southern province in China, and pledged to push for suffrage rights for farmers. The China Daily reports this on the front page of the online English site, making it very obvious for readers to see.…
Full Article CHINA COLUMN: Front Page Treatment For Uncle WenWE ASK/THEY ANSWER: ‘JOURNALISM IS A FABULOUS PROFESSION’ An Exclusive interview with Financial Times Asia Editor and Columnist David Pilling
“Journalism is about finding out things and then telling the audience what you have learnt – it doesn’t really matter whether it is about the human genome or the Chinese shadow banking system. Once you find out what is interesting about a subject, the rest is easy.” Asia Media discovered…
Full Article WE ASK/THEY ANSWER: ‘JOURNALISM IS A FABULOUS PROFESSION’ An Exclusive interview with Financial Times Asia Editor and Columnist David Pilling