LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – When a grudge is held between two countries, what sort of action is considered “crossing the line?” On July 3, the Chinese paper The Chongqing Youth News published a map of Japan with cartoony drawings of atomic mushroom clouds over Hiroshima and Nagasaki along with a…
Tag: Lexie Tucker
LOS ANGELES: A Stellar Showcasing of Soft Power
JEREMIAH FAJARDO WRITES – Despite lengthy lines and oppressive heat, L.A.’s annual Anime Expo broke its previous attendance records, embodying the growth and impact of Japan’s pop-culture diplomacy. Each Independence Day weekend thousands of passionate fans descend upon Southern California for North America’s largest convention for all things related to…
Asia Media’s New Editorial & Advisory Teams
ASIA MEDIA WRITES – For the soon-arriving academic year at The New ASIA MEDIA Center, publisher of the prominent international e-magazine ASIA MEDIA at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, our fall lineup has now been set, and so we are very happy to announce the following major appointments: 1.…
CHINA and JAPAN: Will the truth set them free?
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – The past continues to haunt Japan for its treatment of Chinese “comfort women” before and during World War II. On April 25, the archives in China’s Jilin province released 89 documents that include letters written by Japanese soldiers, newspaper articles, and military files that provide solid…
JAPAN: 21st Century Digital Girl Sings Herself to the Top
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Can you say a voice is auto-tuned if the singer isn’t even human? Hatsune Miku has “written” more than 180,000 songs and has a whopping 1.95 million Facebook followers, more than any other Japanese pop star. So what sets her apart from the Lady Gagas and…
CHINA: Watermelon-Man Death Prompts Micro Blog Uproar
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – It never occurred to Huang Xixi that selling watermelons would be a business endeavor that could cost her the life of her husband. On July 27, police apprehended six urban management officers who reportedly attacked a married couple selling watermelons. The result left the man dead…
CHINA: Novelists With Killer Instincts
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – On July 16, web fiction author Sollong passed away from literally working himself to death. Known only by his Internet pseudonym, which translates to “Snowfall for Ten Years,” Sollong’s real name is a mystery to everyone, except the management at Qidian.com, where he was employed as…
CHINA: 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…
AUSTRALIA: Crikey! Obama Wins Again
November 6th was an important day for the entire world and each country reacted differently to President Obama’s reelection. Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard commended the president by stating, “On behalf of the Government and people of Australia, I offer warm congratulations to President Barack Obama on his reelection and…
CHINA: Pollution Quarrel Fueled by Social Media
On June 5th, Chinese officials made clear that foreign embassies had better cease publishing their ownreports and estimates on the air quality of China. Beijing has been especially irritated by the increasingly high-profile U.S. Embassy Twitter feed, which tracks pollution in Beijing and has accumulated more than 19,000 followers. Such numbers have garnered much official…
CHINA: Cyber Crime Surveillance Increases with Internet Use
The Internet is extremely vast, virtually limitless. This fact makes cyberspace starkly different from the physical world, particularly when it comes to crime, and begs the question: Can a government successfully regulate the Internet? According to Shanghai police, the number of online crimes in China is growing quickly as online…
CHINA: Blogging Community Reaches Out, But Too Late
Wang Shanshan, a senior student at Nanjing Technology College hanged herself in her dorm on March 17. A frequent blogger on China’s popular Sina Weibo site, Shanshan left a suicide note on her blog that automatically uploaded 12 hours after her death. It stated: “I have depression, so I want to…
CHINA: Not “Lovin’ It”
In another major McDonald story: Chinese media outlets have pounced on a major McDonald’s slip-up. On March 16, a Chinese television station revealed that a branch of McDonald’s restaurants had been selling expired food products. The nation’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) “invited” executives of McDonald’s China to a “discussion”…
CHINA: People’s Blogs Push Authorities to Police Tourism Industry
The Chinese city of Sanya, in Hainan province, is catching heat from bloggers and critics alike due to the price-gouging occurring within its tourism market. Sanya received more than 500,000 tourists for this year’s Spring Festival. Tourists complained that they were overcharged “extremely irrationally” during the traditional Chinese holiday. Beijing-based…