Top North Korean Army Unit Officers Axed After Shooting Incident
They are held responsible for the brigade’s lack of discipline.
Myanmar Parliament Agrees to Debate Controversial Electoral System
The ruling USDP pushes for a proportional representation plan despite opposition from NLD and ethnic parties.
Cambodian Opposition Leader Set to Join Parliament
Sam Rainsy now waits for approval from the National Election Committee.
'A Fable About The Quest For Freedom' Reflects Contemporary China
A novel about a not-so-utopian future recalls the democracy movement of 1989.
Lies, Damned Lies and Maps
Cartography helps set the parameters within which debates over policy and strategy unfold. By James R. Holmes We mathematicians often stand accused of skullduggery, but we’ve got nothing on cartographers. Mark Twain jested that there were lies, damned lies, and statistics . An old book from the 1950s instructs readers How to Lie with Statistics . So fraught is the situation that University of Wisconsin math professor Jordan Ellenberg wrote an entire book — and a laugh-out-lo...
In China, Calls Grow For New Legislation on Domestic Violence
A death sentence is overturned as support grows for laws to protect abuse victims.
Why China’s hunt for tigers and flies is bound to fail
The anti-corruption campaign appears to have taken on the characteristics of a Maoist purge By David Pilling CCTV anchor Rui Chenggang In his crackdown on corruption, Xi Jinping , China’s president, promised to take down lofty officials as well as lowly bureaucrats, “tigers” as well as “flies”. In detaining Rui Chenggang , the flashy, self-confident star anchor of state-owned CCTV, however, the Chinese authorities have gone for a strutting peacock. Mr Rui was apprehended last week short...
China Conducts Third Anti-Missile Test
China’s military conducted a successful land-based anti-missile test this week, following similar ones in 2010 and 2013. By Zachary Keck China’s military has conducted its third anti-missile test, according to state-run media. On Wednesday the People’s Liberation Army conducted a “land-based anti-missile technology experiment,” Xinhua reported , citing China’s Ministry of Defense. The report said that the Defense Ministry also said that the test “achieved the desired objectives,” withou...
China's Trade War
The Factory in the China Food Scandal Is Foreign-Owned. That Has Made It a Target. By Michael Schuman A 24-hour McDonalds restaurant in a shopping mall. KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and other Western brands are suffering food safety crises in the Chinese market. The harsh spotlight shone on multinational enterprises in China is part of an effort to undermine them in favor of local businesses. Another day in China, another food scandal. This time the accused is a meat supplier to KFC a...
4 Reasons China Removed Oil Rig HYSY-981 Sooner Than Planned
The reasons China withdrew oil rig HYSY-981 sooner than planned are complex but revealing about its intentions . By Carl Thayer On July 15 China announced that its mega oil-drilling platform Hai Yang Shi You 981 had completed its commercial exploration operations and would be towed back to Hainan Island. China’s withdrawal of its drilling platform came a full month before its original deadline of August 15. The HYSY-981 conducted its operations in disputed waters lying within Vietnam’s Exclus...
Sam Rainsy Defends Opposition Deal with Cambodia’s Ruling Party
He says electoral reform must be made through parliament.
UN Rights Envoy Visits Troubled Spots in Myanmar
She calls for ‘a frank and open exchange of views’ in her first trip to the nation.
Chinese Blogger Jailed on 'Illegal Business' Charges
He had repeatedly challenged government policies and actions in Yunnan.
Myanmar Opposition Eyes 10 Million Signatures For Charter Petition
It plans to double its current number by the end of the tally.
China's One-Child Policy 'Reform' Won't End Abuses: US Group
Minor adjustments to the policy will not reduce abortions or human smuggling, rights group says.
How China Dismantled the Uyghur Internet
In a 10 month period, China destroyed 80% of the Uyghur Internet in a massive digital book burning. By Henryk Szadziewski & Greg Fay In the early 2000s, Dilshat Perhat , a media studies student in China’s northwestern Uyghur region, launched a new kind of website called Diyarim. Describing Perhat as an innate entrepreneur, a friend said he was propelled by a keen interest in offering Uyghurs online services common on websites elsewhere in the world. Perhat built novel technologies i...
Giant Yellow Toad Shrinks Online After Resemblance to Leader Is Noted
By AUSTIN RAMZY Visitors to Yuyuantan Park in Beijing riding boats near the giant inflatable toad created by the Chinese artist Guo Yongyao. There was something familiar about the giant yellow inflatable toad, some Chinese noted online, shortly after it appeared in a Beijing park. Part of the recognition stemmed from its similarity to the big rubber duck created by the Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman , which attracted huge crowds in Hong Kong and Beijing last year and triggered knockoffs...
Shanghai Petitioners' Champion Turns Petitioner Himself
The Shanghai-based activist says the police owe him 17 computers.
China's EximBank Suspends Loans For Roads, Bridges in Laos
Beijing appears concerned over its communist ally's ability to repay loans.
Myanmar to Try Former Religion Minister on National Security Charges
A court withdraws an earlier charge of corruption.
Cambodia’s Ruling, Opposition Parties Agree to End Year-Long Deadlock
Under the agreement, the opposition will end a boycott of parliament in return for electoral reforms by the government.
For China's Newly Rich, The More Endangered, The Better
Animal rights campaigners say the public is confused over the law on trade in endangered animal parts.
Twitter Acts Quickly on Pro-China Accounts
By ANDREW JACOBS A screen grab of a since-suspended Twitter account that Free Tibet identified as fake. Talk about prompt customer service. Just hours after The New York Times posted an article about bogus Twitter accounts dedicated to spreading pro-China propaganda — and a Tibetan advocacy group demanded that the company take action — Twitter appears to have hit the kill switch on a score of the suspect accounts. By late Monday night, the accounts of Tom Hugo, Felix James, Alayna Newark and ...
It’s Another Perfect Day in Tibet!
By ANDREW JACOBS BEIJING — There’s a lot to admire about Tom Hugo, and not just the washboard abs that are a glaring feature of his Twitter account profile photo . For starters, Tom Hugo seems to be well-versed in Chinese, and he evidently cares deeply about the Tibetan people, judging from the profusion of messages he has posted on Twitter in recent months: There are photographs of Tibetans in “unique exotic dress,” articles showcasing the Tibetan people’s deep appreciation for China’s gover...
China food scandal spreads, drags in Starbucks, Burger King and McNuggets in Japan
BY ADAM JOURDAN Employees work at a production line prior to a seizure conducted by officers from the Shanghai Food and Drug Administration, at the Husi Food factory in Shanghai, July 20, 2014. The latest food scandal in China is spreading fast, dragging in U.S. coffee chain Starbucks, Burger King Worldwide Inc and others, as well as McDonald's products as far away as Japan. McDonald's Corp and KFC's parent Yum Brands Inc apologized to Chinese customers on Monday after it emerged that Shangha...
China Pushes Limits to Closer Ties With U.S. Military
Beijing's Navy Chief Seeks Greater Access to U.S. Aircraft Carriers By JEREMY PAGE China's first aircraft carrier, built on a hull bought from Ukraine, is seen docked at Dalian Port, Liaoning province, in a September 2012 photo. DALIAN, China—China is seeking greater access to U.S. aircraft carriers and guidance on how to operate its own first carrier, the Liaoning , testing the limits of a newly cooperative military relationship the two sides have tried to cultivate in the past year. T...
China Tensions Choke Off Tourism to Vietnam
By MIKE IVES DA NANG, Vietnam — The year began well for Mai Thanh Trung , newly employed at a travel company here that caters to Chinese tour groups. Mr. Trung said he regularly greeted charter flights from the Chinese mainland and pocketed an average monthly commission of about $600. But then came May, when a state-owned Chinese company parked an oil rig near Vietnam’s central coast in a part of the South China Sea that both countries claim. Two days of anti-Chinese riots followe...
Asia's Most Dangerous Rivalry Heats Up: China vs. Japan
With China rising and Japan seeking to become a "normal nation," the stage is set for increased tensions. By Richard Javad Heydarian Japan has taken a fateful step toward becoming a “normal” power by adopting the doctrine of “collective self-defense” , paving the way for Tokyo to play a more direct role in ensuring stability in international waters as well as in aiding allies in times of crisis. It took a combination of iron-willed leadership , under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe , an...
Can a Japan-Led Alliance Contain China?
By Rich Smith It's official. Japan is a global military power again. More importantly, it just might become a counterweight to an aggressive China. China's famous "nine-dash line," which claims as China's exclusive province nearly all of the South China Sea. Boxed areas indicate areas of ongoing conflict with Vietnam and the Philippines. Spooked by recent Chinese moves to lay claim to sovereignty within its "nine-dash line" (pictured above), Japan's government has been debating a ...
Axis of Evil
China’s Response to the MH17 Tragedy? Condemn the West Despite memories of decades of Cold War frostiness, Beijing is now quite chummy with Moscow By Hannah Beech Search and rescue specialists inspect the crash area of Malaysia Airlines flight 17, carrying nearly 300 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was downed close to Russia's border with Ukraine on July 17, near Grabovo. On July 18, shortly after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed over eastern Ukraine, extinguishing 298 l...
Beijing sinks South China Sea code of conduct
Beijing leaders are acutely aware that China has much to gain and little to lose from indefinitely deferring the conclusion of the Code of Conduct negotiations. China knows that submitting to the strictures of a CoC would sabotage its so far successful strategy of expanding its de facto sovereignty through intimidation and coercion. By BENJAMIN HERSCOVITCH Beyond being a shrewd military strategist, the ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu was also a great advocate of legal equality....
China’s meaningless GDP figures
Bloated Chinese economy needs austerity diet By Craig Stephen HONG KONG — Last week, China again matched its GDP forecast on the button . But this didn’t really tell us much, other than that Beijing will keep credit rolling to make its number. If we are going to start with the numbers as a given, we really need another way of making some sense of this giant economy. What would help is to remember the starting point. Think of China’s economy as a large, overweight person who just c...
China is reneging on its Hong Kong promises
Democrats in Hong Kong and the Chinese government are at odds. If Beijing is not careful, there could be street violence and serious consequences for China's international relations The Guardian A protester carries a placard during a mass protest in Hong Kong demanding greater democracy from Communist party rulers in Beijing. China is headed for a bruising clash with democrats in Hong Kong over its increasingly routine interference in the city's affairs, its new emphasis on the limitati...
Interview: Louisa Lim
The Diplomat ’s Justin McDonnell speaks with award-winning China-based journalist Louisa Lim , about her new book The People’s Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited , censorship, and why the events of 1989 still have resonance today. Xi Jinping has been very aggressive on censorship, cracking down on activists, and any form of dissent that threatens the ruling position of the party, including Tiananmen. When you decided to write this book, were you fearful that you and those ...
Inside a Beijing Interrogation Room
By MURONG XUECUN BEIJING — Chinese writers like me often face difficult choices. What should we do when friends are arrested for no good reason? Keep our mouths closed? Should we speak out in protest and risk being dragged away to prison? Is it fair to our families and friends to risk rotting away in jail because we refuse to shut up? After several months away from China for an academic residency and vacation, I returned to my home in Beijing on July 2 prepared to...
Britain Urged to Live Up to Responsibilities in Hong Kong
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said that the British government would mobilize the international community and pursue every legal and other avenue available if China violated the Joint Declaration. By ALAN WONG Martin Lee, right, a founder of the Democracy Party, who spoke before a British parliamentary committee this week, joined Cardinal Joseph Zen, center, the former head of the Roman Catholic Church in Hong Kong, and others in a walk for universal suffrage on June 14. “Time of Uncertain...
If you lie down with China...
Targeting multinationals poses little risk but offers much in domestic political gain By Zhiwu Chen Eighteen months into China’s anti-corruption campaign, officials are still being removed from positions of power every day – and corporations and business people are increasingly caught up in the investigations, too. GlaxoSmithKline was caught in the middle of this campaign a year ago, with evidence emerging that the UK drugmaker’s managers bribed doctors and officials with large sums of money....
With Allies Like These, Who Needs Enemies?
Germany and South Korea readjust their relationships with Russia and China By Yuriko Koike During the Cold War, the Soviet Union used every imaginable threat and inducement — including the ultimate prize of reunification — to bring about a neutral Germany. But German leaders of both the left and the right, from Konrad Adenauer to Willy Brandt , spurned every Soviet offer. Will authoritarian mercantilism now succeed where communism failed? Countries join alliances, or entities such...
Chinese Ship Spies on U.S.-Led Drills
Beijing Shadows Naval Exercises in Which It Is Already Participating By JEREMY PAGE BEIJING—China has sent an uninvited surveillance ship to international waters off Hawaii to monitor U.S.-led naval exercises, even though the Chinese navy is participating in the biennial drills, the U.S. Pacific Fleet said Saturday. China's debut at the monthlong Rim of the Pacific , or Rimpac, exercises has been hailed by Chinese and U.S. officials as evidence of an improving military relationship, despite e...
Waitress at restaurant in China scarfs down cockroach in front of diners after complaint
By Evan Bleier A waitress in China shocked customers at her restaurant by swallowing an entire cockroach off a customer's plate on purpose. A businessman, Zhang Yen , who was dining at a hotel restaurant in Chengdu was not pleased when he found a cockroach in his salad and he made his opinion known. His server, Jin Kuo , informed him that finding the bug in his food was "completely normal." To show that she meant what she said, the 39-year-old snatched up the roach and swallowed it whole. Tha...
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Appreciation of Patient’s Family In Midwest Gives Faith In Humanity (Doctor-Patient Relation)
I believe that patient’s appreciation is better than any highest award that can be bestowed on a physician or healthcare provider. The ideals of aspiring physicians are to help and serve the patients. However, the healthcare system’s demands and regulations continue … Continue reading → From: Tây Sơn News Wire
Hieu Van Le, From Communist Political Refugee To Be Governor Of South Australia
Commentary: Hieu Van Le or Lê Văn Hiếu was recently appointed to become the next Governor General of South Australia. He will assume the new post in September. He has been serving as a Lieutenant-Governor since 2007. This new appointment shows the … Continue reading → From: Tây Sơn News Wire
Final Farewell To Nguyen Duy Hai, The Man With 200 Lb Tumor Removed.
In less than one year of 200 lb tumor resection, Nguyen Duy Hai, who had made worldwide news thanks to his optimism, he succumbed to a mysterious and fatal disease in October 2013. He died at 33. It has been speculated that the … Continue reading → From: Tây Sơn News Wire
UN pledges to support Vietnam in guaranteeing human rights - GlobalPost
UN pledges to support Vietnam in guaranteeing human rights GlobalPost 3 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations (UN) pledged to support Vietnam in ensuring and promoting human rights through the 2012-2016 UN One Plan, said UN Resident Coordinator Pratibha Mehta on Tuesday. Addressing the launching of the Universal Periodic ...
UN Experts Condemn Detention of Vietnamese Blogger Le Quoc Quan - Global Voices Online
Global Voices Online UN Experts Condemn Detention of Vietnamese Blogger Le Quoc Quan Global Voices Online A UN group of human rights experts has found that the detention of Vietnamese blogger and human rights defender Le Quoc Quan stands in violation of his right to freedom of expression and a fair trial. Le Quoc Quan was arrested in December 2012 on ...
Kindness One: Motorcycle causes a heap of travel trouble in Vietnam - Los Angeles Times
Kindness One: Motorcycle causes a heap of travel trouble in Vietnam Los Angeles Times As I tried to enter Vietnam from Cambodia, things were not looking good. I had encountered border troubles before. The Thai border guards didn't seem to know what to make of me and my bright yellow motorcycle. I spent six hours at the border trying to ...
Children in Vietnamese commune received beans instead of vitamin A - UPI.com
Children in Vietnamese commune received beans instead of vitamin A UPI.com CAM TRUNG, Vietnam, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- A population coordinator in a rural Vietnamese commune distributed beans to children he claimed to be vitamin A, health officials said. Parents brought their young children to a Cam Trung commune clubhouse Sunday ...
Vietnam Vet Wins $12 Million Malpractice Settlement From VA Hospital - CBS Local
Vietnam Vet Wins $12 Million Malpractice Settlement From VA Hospital CBS Local CHICAGO (CBS) — A Chicago-area Vietnam veteran will get a $12 million medical malpractice settlement from the federal government. John Johnson was a Vietnam Veteran and heart patient. He went in for oral surgery at the Hines V.A. Hospital in 2007, ...