Free speech advocate gets ten months behind bars for posting online? This sounds close to ridiculous in a democracy like South Korea. However, Park Jung-geun, a South Korean photographer and a supporter of free speech, suffered this exact fate recently. He is accused of supporting North Korea, an act that is illegal under the National [...]
Archive | November, 2012
CHINA: A New Fashion Model In Town
Heels, lace, and mini-skirts! These are some of our favorite things. By “our,” I mean the possessive term for females. China’s new clothing line, Yuekou, is marketing these pieces to young Chinese fashionistas in a brand new way that is shocking to their audience, as well as the rest of the Chinese world. Yuekou’s new [...]
SOUTH KOREA: Famed Daily Reviews New Book on UN Secretary General
The headline in the book review in the Korea Times, a massive circulation Seoul-based newspaper, read: “Heart-felt talks reveal Ban’s leadership style, dreams.” The review, by Chung Ah-young, read: “The United Nations is often criticized for its bloated bureaucracy and inefficiency. The position of U.N. secretary-general is no doubt daunting, responsible to maintain peace and [...]
PAKISTAN: True Story in ‘Zero Dark Thirty’?
The new movie about the successful hunt to find and kill Osama bin Laden will surely cop a few Academy Awards. It is well done and worth seeing. But this is not intended to be a movie review. Rather, ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ raises difficult issues about the morality of America’s campaign against violent Islamic radicalism. [...]
VIETNAM: Kissing for Charity Was Almost the Kiss of Death
Raising money for charity is a Samaritan thing to do, but male pop singer Dam Vinh Hung may have gone too far in his pursuit for monetary justice. Recently, Hung kissed two monks on the lips and hands at a charity auction in Ho Chi Minh City. In order to raise funds for a sick [...]
PHILIPPINES: A Revered Lady Journalist Dies
After a six-month battle with cancer the renowned Filipino journalist Zenaida Silva has died. Silva was instrumental in covering the famous “people power” revolt, as well as many other important political events in the Philippines. Journalism is in the family for Silva – she and her late husband, newspaper writer and TV journalist Manuel Silva, [...]
SINGAPORE: High Expectations and False Advertising Leave Tourists Unimpressed
As Singapore becomes a hot vacation spot, tourists’ expectations increase as they hear of its booming economy and luxury resorts. But can Singapore keep up with these higher demands? Vacationers weighed in, seeming unimpressed. Recently, the Institute of Service Excellence at Singapore Management University released the results of its tourism satisfaction survey, revealing a declining [...]
INDIA: China’s Passport to Trouble
China is at it again! Existing territorial conflict between New Delhi and Beijing over Arunchal Pradesh is no concern of the past. The controversial issue has been revived as China recently took matters into its own hands, launching new e-passports in which it showed the regions of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin in J & [...]
MYANMAR: Our Tongue-Tied American President
Though the media in Asia and the rest of the world mainly applauded President Obama’s historic visit to Myanmar (Burma), some in the media nonetheless felt compelled to draw attention to his linguistic shortcomings. Oh well…and, really, they did have a point. What happened was that Obama had to deal with both Thein Sein as [...]
ASIA INSIGHT VIDEO NO. FOUR: STEPHANIE GARCIA AND HER VIEW ON AMERICAN JOURNALISM AND SINGAPORE
