MARY GRACE COSTA WRITES – Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach may have won the 2015 Miss Universe crown, along with the hearts of her fellow countrymen and women, but she won’t be charming her way out of her taxes. Upon her homecoming on January 23, Pia received a warm welcome and friendly…
Tag: Asia Media
SOUTH KOREA: Northern Neighbors Don’t Appreciate K-Pop
SABRINA VERDUZCO WRITES – When that uptight next-door-neighbor yells at you about your music, sometimes the solution is to turn it up. South Korea took this advice to heart in response to North Korea’s most recent hydrogen bomb stunt in early January, countering the North’s explosive behavior by blasting K-pop…
JAPAN: Harvesting Technology for Sustainability
AMANDA KRETSCH WRITES – In a technology-saturated world, it seems no lettuce leaf is left untouched. Spread is a Kyoto-based Japanese company whose vision is to look for a sustainable way to bring fresh vegetables to the world, and they plan to open a robot-run farm in Kansai by 2017. CEO, Shinji…
CHINA: PLEASE DON’T SHORT US, SOROS!
TOM PLATE WRITES (in the South China Morning Post) — There are more than a few financial figures in PRC circles that no longer trust Western financial advice (or most advisers) any more than they have to. There is a rich, as it were, history, behind the mistrust. And in…
PAKISTAN: Is Trump Unnerving 453,000 Pakistani Immigrants in the U.S.?
LAMIYA SHABBIR WRITES – Leading Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump has called for a ban on Muslims entering the United States and proposed changes to the country’s immigration and visa policies. While millions of his supporters have cheered the proposal, most Democrats and even many top Republican figures have opposed…
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: BBC COMEDY LEGEND DOES ANGELA MERKEL
WRITES ASIA MEDIA – Imitation is not always the sincerest form of flattery. Like Tina Fey of ‘Saturday Night’ who pactically destroys Sarah Pallin with each satirical joust, BBC comic legend Tracey Ullman has now taken on Angela Merkel, the powerhouse German Chancellor. The result is pretty darn funny. …
SOUTHEAST ASIA: HOW THE ISIS SHADOW IS GROWING
ROHAN GUNARATNA WRITES FROM SINGAPORE (courtesy of the Pacific Forum CSIS) – The so-called Islamic State (IS) is likely to create IS branches in the Philippines and Indonesia in 2016. Although the Indonesian military pre-empted IS plans to declare a satellite state of the “caliphate” in eastern Indonesia, IS is…
CHINA AND TRUMP: HOW HE USES IT
TOM PLATE WRITES (IN THE SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST) – At times China and its ways are viewed from America as if little has changed. One of those times is now. This is our quadrennial U.S. presidential campaign season. Sometimes it is our silliest season. One spurious claim about China…
Asia Media: First ‘In Review’ Magazine Published
LMU student staffers have produced Asia Media International’s first magazine — a look back at the year past. Printed on the highest quality glossy stock, the 28-page magazine celebrates the journalism and photo-jounalism of its senior staffers during the 2014-2015 LMU year. The energetic, full-color design came courtesy of AM…
THE MAINLAND VS. TAIWAN: Good News, or Bad?
EMILY ROCHA WRITES – Media coverage of the recent monumental meeting between Chinese and Taiwanese presidents differs between the two states, as each attempts to push their own agenda. On November 7, in Singapore, a historic handshake between the Beijing and Taipai leaders occurred, the first since the declaration of…
India: The Rusty Spark into the Digital Revolution
ADRIAN NARAYAN WRITES– With the second highest number of internet users in the world, the Indian government’s new flagship program, ‘Digital India,’ has potential to become a great success. With Prime Minister Modi’s trip to Silicon Valley in early September, hype over this new government initiative has wooed the CEOs…
NORTH KOREA: Tensions Flare Over Annual Military Exercise (Again)
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Every summer, North Korea makes it known that they vehemently oppose the annual military exercises held by South Korea and the United States. This time, however, tensions may run slightly higher than they usually do during this time of the year. Last Monday, the armed forces…
K-POP KORNER: “Reality” Goes Virtual with Infinite’s 360VR Teaser
KELCEY LORENZO WRITES – There doesn’t seem to be a lot of options when it comes to making a music video teaser. Single-takes have been done. Multi-parts are a thing of the past. So what can K-Pop groups do to rope in a wider audience for their tracks? Seven-member boy…
NORTH KOREA: Pesticide Plant or Weapons Warehouse?
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Last month, a “biological weapons expert” known only as Lee allegedly defected from his native North Korea to Finland. Yonhap News states that he “held a data storage device with 15 gigabytes of information on human experiments” which may prove the existence of North Korea’s alleged…
NORTH KOREA: Kumdang-2 Cures Everything That Ails Ya
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Is impotence keeping you down? Tired of having bad skin? Suffering from cancer, Ebola, AIDS, MERS, or almost any other scary, life-threatening disease? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions and are able to visit North Korea, you may want to ask your physician…
JAPAN: A Vote With a Porpoise
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Zoos and aquariums have seemingly always been under fire by animal rights activists and others who believe that putting animals on display is cruel. To help ease tensions, the Japanese Association of Zoos and Aquariums (JAZA) voted to stay part of the World Association of Zoos…