Stories from 26 May 2013
President of Mozambique's Medical Association Under Arrest
After a week-long strike by medical professionals in Mozambique, Dr. Jorge Arroz, the President of Associação Médica de Moçambique, was arrested on Sunday night, May 26, 2013, under accusation of “sedition” (incitement of discontent or rebellion against a government). On Twitter and Facebook, @verdademz, @canal_moz and other netizens report.
A Thin Line Between Democracy and Independence in French Polynesia
On the heels of French Polynesian anti-independence politician Gaston Flosse's victory in the islands' presidential elections earlier this month, the United Nations has adopted a resolution calling on France to grant its territory of French Polynesia full independence.
Copyright Amendment Could Bring Web Filter System to Taiwan
Many Taiwanese believe that the recent proposed copyright amendment put forward by the government is a setback for democracy. The amendment will provide legal ground for an ISP-level blocking of websites under a black list system.
Chinese Social Web Defends US Vice President Biden
United States Vice President Joe Biden has faced a firestorm of criticism from Chinese international students after he referred to China as a nation that cannot "think different" or "breathe freely" during his commencement speech at the University of Pennsylvania. But mainland Chinese Web users have hit back, reproaching the students abroad for their behavior and defending Biden's speech as worthy of reflection.
Jamaica's Blog Action Day: What Police Can Do
Jamaican bloggers marked their own version of Blog Action Day (dubbed JA Blog Day), on May 23. Netizens discussed the disturbing issue of police brutality, state security abuses and extra judicial killings - particularly fitting as the date for the event was the third anniversary of the "Tivoli Gardens Massacre", which took place during the country's state of emergency in 2010.
Activists Protest Monsanto Offices in Tokyo
Activists in Tokyo demonstrated against agricultural giant Monsanto in front of their local offices, joining 279,723 protesters in 57 other countries around the world for March Against Monsanto day on May 25, 2013. Project 99% [ja], an anti-nuclear power and anti-Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement [so called TPP] coalition of activists and groups in Japan...
South Koreans Petition to Throw out Active X
Over 6,200 South Koreans have joined a online petition calling [ko] on the government to stop employing Active X control. A long-term monopoly of Active X and digital certificate-based authentication system have been accused for meddling with the user's privacy setting and making the entire nation vulnerable to hacking attacks.