December, 2013

Stories from December, 2013

Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia

  31 December 2013

The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development has published a policy briefer that tackled the extent of human trafficking in Southeast Asia. Many Southeast Asian countries are at the bottom of a lot of the world's supply chains, including for food, garments, and technology. Yet few countries in...

South Korean Pres. Vows Pre-emptive Strikes on Social Media Rumors

  31 December 2013

Is South Korea government gearing up toward social media censorship? The latest official remark by President Park (full transcript [ko]) had Korean net users worried. Park, addressing “those rumors spreading via social media”, said “if the government let these things happen, it will bring chaos nationwide” and added “bear in mind that...

PHOTOS: Humans of Southeast Asia

  30 December 2013

Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York Facebook page has inspired many photographers in Southeast Asia to share photos and stories of ordinary people in the streets in their respective countries

Mandela's lesson for Hong Kong

  30 December 2013

Sa Law from left21 wrote a piece on Nelson Mandela and his lesson for Hong Kong, a city where migrant workers are living in apartheid. Due to their long working hours for six days a week, they lack the chance to socialize and mingle with the rest of Hong Kong...

Ukrainian Protesters Play Lennon's “Imagine” Live to Riot Police

  29 December 2013

On December 18, 2013, American musician and composer Sean Lennon (son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono) shared a photo on his Facebook wall, depicting a pianist playing John Lennon's famous song “Imagine” to the rows of Ukrainian riot police. In a week, the photo has gathered over 16,900 likes...

Iran: Two Poets Arrested

  29 December 2013

Poets Mehdi Mousavi and Fatemeh Ekhtesari disappeared in Iran. News reported that the two have been detained since early December. More than two hundred people signed an online petition and called on the UN to take action about the situation of cultural activists particularly the case of these two young...

Chinese President Xi Jinping Eats Steam Buns

  29 December 2013

The news about Chinese President Xi Jingping in a small restaurant eating steam buns with common people was first appeared in Weibo and spread through mainstream media outlets. ChinaSMACK translated the news and netizens’ comments.

An Open Letter to Arvind Kejriwal

  28 December 2013

Satire blog AmreekanDesi writes an open letter to the newly elected chief minister of Delhi, anti-corruption crusader Arvind Kejriwal: Now that you’ve given us this hope, please don’t let us down. Please don’t become another party that goes giddy with the prospect of power. Please don’t become a party that...

South Korea: Reason Behind Movie ‘The Attorney's Box Office Smash

  28 December 2013

South Korean movie ‘The Attorney’ which depicts the early life of ex-President Roh who started as a civil rights lawyer resisting against dictatorial regimes, has drawn over 4 million admissions in just ten days of screening. Movie critics even comment [ko] that its popularity in Korea is more explosive than that...