Showing 1 - 10 of 17
Japan's crucial moments after Abe murder
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 18/07/2022
» It was a bullet that some people said would change Japan forever, and it certainly had people outside taking a closer look at the world's third largest economy. For me, hearing the news that Shinzo Abe had been shot on July 8 was a shock similar to the events of Sept 11, 2001, which most people agree changed the world.
The fight for press freedom is local
Asia focus, Jos Midas Bartman, Published on 20/06/2022
» A macabre political thriller recently unfolded in the Philippine province of Palawan, an island known mostly for its rich biodiversity and pristine beaches.
Erasing the stain of racism
Asia focus, Nareerat Wiriyapong, Published on 15/02/2021
» When Rawiri Waititi got up to ask a question in the New Zealand parliament last Tuesday, he didn't get far. Speaker Trevor Mallard warned the Maori MP that (male) members could only do so if they were wearing a necktie.
Being an everyday woman
Asia focus, Pattama Kuentak, Published on 14/12/2020
» It's hard being a woman. We live in constant fear: fear of harassment, stalking, violence, abuse, assault, and even murder.
Our disappearing rights
Asia focus, Patpon Sabpaitoon, Published on 15/06/2020
» It's been over a week since the disappearance of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, an exiled Thai activist living in Cambodia, touched off a heated debate in Thai social media and beyond.
The virus of fear
Asia focus, Ian Buruma, Published on 30/03/2020
» In September 1923, the Great Kanto earthquake devastated large parts of Tokyo, mostly owing to firestorms. Rumours spread, and were often repeated in the press, accusing Koreans, a despised and poor minority, of planning to take advantage of the disaster by starting a violent rebellion.
It's news, but is it true?
Asia focus, Patpon Sabpaitoon, Published on 27/01/2020
» The mainstream news industry has been gasping for air for some time now; lying alongside it in the jaws of death is the truth. But there will always be news. The industry is the medium, while news is the matter. Truth exists at its heart, a stern and no-nonsense master.
Asia's century, China's year
Asia focus, Asia Focus team, Published on 30/12/2019
» Way back when 1999 was winding down, pundits were telling us that the Asian Century was about to dawn. That prediction has not yet been fully realised, but few would disagree that 2019 belonged to China. Over the past 12 months, the top headlines have been about the bruising trade war with America, defiant protests in Hong Kong against Beijing's tightening grip, and the rise of a surveillance state that is herding hundreds of thousands into "re-education" camps on its western fringes. Below, the Asia Focus team looks back on a busy and sometimes troubling 2019.
Duterte can run but he can't hide
Asia focus, Erich Parpart, Published on 25/03/2019
» Last week the Philippines became the second country in the world to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) after Burundi, which left in 2017. Many observers, myself included, see this as an attempt to evade an investigation into President Rodrigo Duterte's deadly war on drugs, but it is not going to work.
Silent violence
Asia focus, Tanyatorn Tongwaranan, Published on 23/07/2018
» Earlier this month, a secret marriage between an 11-year-old Thai girl and a 41-year-old Malaysian Muslim sparked a public outcry when a picture of the ceremony went viral.