Tag Archives: East Asia

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Singapore News | Gay Men

Singaporean gay man denied adoption rights for biological child
  • A Singapore court ruled against a man seeking to adopt his biological son mothered by a surrogate in the U.S.
  • The man, currently in a same-sex relationship, pursued international surrogacy due to his remote chances at adoption in Singapore, where male same-sex relations are still illegal.
  • Surrogacy is prohibited and in-vitro services available only to married couples in Singapore, leading many Singaporean couples both same- and different-sex couples to seek assisted reproduction services abroad.
Read

“Singapore court rejects gay man’s bid to adopt biological son” (NBC News | December 2017)

“More Singapore couples seeking surrogacy services” (The Straits Times | December 2017)

“Gay Singaporean loses bid to adopt biological son fathered via surrogate” (Agence France-Presse, via AsiaOne | December 2017)

Gender

China Feature | Women

China’s Growing Body Art Movement

Changing economic and cultural conditions in socially conservative China have given birth to a burgeoning body art movement, and Chinese women are battling mores to ink up. Shanghai in particular has become the center of tattoo production in the country, with some estimates putting the number of tattoo artists in China’s largest city as high as 2,000. While several ethnic groups (including the Dulong, Dai, and Li) have had historical tattooing traditions, contemporary Chinese body art has emerged from the relaxation of legal and cultural prohibitions on tattooing in China and the resurgence of tattooing in global popular culture. For women in particular, body art has come to mark an assertion of both identity and bodily autonomy. Recent media coverage has chronicled the dismantling of the tattoo taboo and the uptake of body art among Chinese women.

Read

“Tattooed and proud: Chinese women peel away stigmas” (Agence France-Presse, via France 24 | December 2017)

“Good girls, not gangsters? Tattoos no longer taboo in China” (CNN | August 2015)

“Shanghai Inked: The Artists Redefining Tattoos in China” (That’s Shanghai | November 2015)

Additional

Wen Shen: The Vanishing Art of Chinese Tribal Culture

Ideology + Affiliation

Myanmar News | Journalists

Reporters arrested in Myanmar following Rohingya coverage
  • Reuters reporters Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo were arrested on the outskirts of Yangon after working on stories related to the military crackdown on the Rohingya community in Rakhine state.
  • The Ministry of Information said the reporters faced charges of violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act for having “illegally acquired information” for dissemination to foreign media.
  • The event has prompted international condemnation, including by the United Nations, foreign governments, international journalism organizations, and press freedom advocates.
Read

“Factbox: International reaction to arrest of Reuters reporters in Myanmar” (Reuters | December 2017)

“Analysis: Government Turning Back the Clock on Press Freedom” (The Irrawaddy | December 2017)

“UN chief calls on Myanmar to release Reuters journalists” (CNN | December 2017)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Myanmar & Bangladesh News | Rohingya Muslims

More than a half-million Rohingya flee violence in Myanmar
  • Since August, nearly 520,000 Rohingya have crossed the border from their homes in Myanmar into Bangladesh, and dozens—many of them children—have died attempting to reach Bangladesh by boat.
  • Refugees spoke of attacks by the military and Buddhist vigilantes, including the burning of villages and physical assaults throughout the state of Rakhine.
  • The U.N. has condemned the violence as “ethnic cleansing” on the part of the Burmese state, which targeted Rohingya communities following an attack by Rohingya militants on a military outpost.
Read

“‘I can’t take this any more:’ Rohingya Muslims flee Myanmar in new surge” (Reuters | October 2017)

“Rohingya crisis: Children die as boat capsizes off Bangladesh” (BBC News | October 2017)

“Bangladesh to build one of world’s largest refugee camps for 800,000 Rohingya” (The Guardian | October 2017)

Religion + Belief

Philippines News | Christians

Filipino Christians in Muslim-majority Marawi caught up in Mindanao violence
  • Clashes between Islamist militants and Philippine soldiers in Marawi City have displaced as much as 90% of the city’s population.
  • Militants have torched churches and reportedly taken hostages in the fight against the government, the extension of decades of conflict driven by increased Christian settlement in the region, the desire for more political autonomy by Moro (Muslim) liberation groups, and the rise of international terrorist organizations like the Islamic State.
  • While the Philippine population as a whole is 90% Christian, Muslims comprise the majority of the population in Marawi City, located on the Philippines’ second-largest island, Mindanao.
Read

“Christians caught up in Philippines’ urban battle with Islamists” (Reuters | May 2017)

“‘They kill defenceless people’: thousands flee Philippine city of Marawi” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Mindanao crisis: A city on fire” (Al Jazeera | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Erik De Castro/Reuters)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

South Korea News | Gay & Bisexual Men

South Korean soldier convicted of same-sex sexual activity
  • South Korea’s military court sentenced him to a six-month suspended prison sentence under the Military Criminal Act, which will lead to a dishonorable discharge.
  • While same-sex relations are not illegal for civilians, the South Korean military code criminalizes homosexual activity by military personnel, among which all able-bodied men must serve for two years.
  • Human rights organizations have reported that military leaders have ordered the revelation and tracking of gay military members, though the army has denied the allegations.
Read

“South Korean military court hands army captain suspended prison sentence for having gay sex with fellow soldier” (The Independent | May 2017)

“Korean soldier convicted of gay sex” (The Korea Times | May 2017)

“South Korean soldier given suspended jail term for gay sex” (BBC News | May 2017)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Indonesia News | Gay Men

More than 100 arrested and 2 publicly flogged as Indonesian authorities target gay men
  • Jakarta police confirmed that 141 men had been rounded up at a sauna party and jailed, subject to pornography charges.
  • In the conservative province of Aceh, two men, aged 20 and 23, were subject to public whippings after having been caught having sex, a new application of religious provincial law in a country that does not officially criminalize same-sex relations.
  • Increased anti-gay sentiment in the country is seen as part of a rising wave of hardline Islamism in the country, which has in recent years been praised for its secular, relatively liberal social gains.
Read

“Indonesian police arrest more than 140 men at alleged gay sauna party” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Two men publicly caned in Indonesia for having gay sex” (Reuters | May 2017)

“Indonesian men caned for gay sex in Aceh” (BBC News | May 2017)

(Image Credit: via BBC News)

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Indonesia News | Christian

Jakarta’s Christian governor of Chinese descent sentenced to prison for blasphemy
  • Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, popularly known as Ahok, was sentenced to two years in prison after having accused political opponents of using a verse from the Qur’an to mobilize opposition to his re-election.
  • His remarks drew massive protests in the Muslim-majority country and a religiously charged vote for the Jakarta governorship in April, where he lost to Muslim rival Anies Baswedan.
  • Judges cited fundamentalist religious groups in the ruling, shocking observers with a prison sentence for Ahok because he “did not feel guilt.”
Read

“Jakarta governor Ahok sentenced to two years in prison for blasphemy” (The Guardian | May 2017)

“Jakarta’s Christian Governor Ahok jailed for two years for blasphemy” (The Sydney Morning Herald | May 2017)

“Jakarta’s former governor Ahok dropping appeal against jail sentence for blasphemy” (ABC | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Antara/Pool/Sigid Kurniawan, via The Jakarta Post)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Taiwan News | LGBT

High court opens door to marriage equality in Taiwan
  • The Council of Grand Justices ruled that the section of the Taiwanese Civil Code banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
  • The decision compels the government to revise the Code in accordance with the ruling, though it leaves open the question as to how that will be done.
  • Once legally enshrined, the ruling will make Taiwan the first Asian country to secure marriage equality for its LGBT citizens.
Read

“Same-sex Marriage: Marriage restrictions ‘unconstitutional’” (The Taipei Times | May 2017)

“Taiwan Is Set To Become The First Asian Country To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage” (BuzzFeed News | May 2017)

“Court Ruling Could Make Taiwan First Place in Asia to Legalize Gay Marriage” (The New York Times | May 2017)

(Image Credit: Tyrone Siu/Reuters, via The New York Times)

Gender

China News | Women

First female chief executive chosen in Hong Kong
  • Carrie Lam was elected chief executive of Hong Kong by an electoral committee in the semi-autonomous Chinese city, inheriting growing divisions between a youth-led pro-democracy movement and increasing Beijing influence.
  • The election was mired in controversy as the committee is stacked with pro-China business and political figures, seen by critics as promoting more Communist Party control over Hong Kong affairs.
  • Lam led the failed effort to reform Hong Kong’s electoral process, in which Beijing sought to pre-screen candidates before presenting options for direct popular vote.
Read

“Carrie Lam Wins Vote to Become Hong Kong’s Next Leader” (The New York Times | March 2017)

“Hong Kong’s first female leader a ’tilted bridge’ over troubled water” (Reuters | March 2017)

“Newly elected Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam vows to unite sharply divided city” (South China Morning Post | March 2017)

(Image Credit: Bobby Yip/Reuters)

Nationality + Migration

Japan News | Migrants & Refugees

Death of Vietnamese man in Japanese immigration center renews concerns about immigration protocols
  • Van Huan Nguyen died in the East Japan Immigration Center in Ibaraki prefecture northeast of Tokyo.
  • Nguyen had originally come to Japan as one of more than 11,000 refugees the country took in in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, though the cause of his detention has not been stated.
  • Nguyen’s death is one of more than a dozen in immigration detention facilities since 2006 and comes as Japan’s at times suspicious and unwelcoming treatment of migrants and asylum-seekers—including poor medical care in detention, familial separation, and its provisional release conditions—has faced renewed international scrutiny.
Read

“Vietnamese detainee dies in Japan’s immigration center: sources” (Reuters | March 2017)

“Japan forces a harsh choice on children of migrant families” (Reuters | November 2016)

“Inmates on hunger strike at Japanese immigration detention centre” (Reuters | July 2016)

(Image Credit: Yuyu Shino/Reuters)

Nationality + Migration

North Korea & Malaysia News | Malaysians & North Koreans

North Korea and Malaysia institute exit bans on each other’s citizens
  • North Korea’s frustration at Malaysia’s handling of the investigation into the murder of the half-brother of leader Kim Jong Un led to the announcement of a ban on the departure of Malaysian nationals from the country.
  • Malaysian PM Najib Razak responded by initially banning the departure of North Korean diplomatic staff before extending it to all North Koreans.
  • Two people—an Indonesian woman and a Vietnamese woman—have been charged in the homicide, though they claim they believed to have been taking part in a prank.
Read

“Kim Jong-nam death: Malaysia and N Korea in tit-for-tat exit bans” (BBC News | March 2017)

“North Korea, Malaysia’s diplomatic ties frayed over Kim Jong Nam’s death” (CNN | March 2017)

“Malaysia says talks on with North Korea for return of nine citizens” (Reuters | March 2017)

(Image Credit: Lai Seng Sin/Reuters)

Nationality + Migration, Race + Color + Ethnicity

Japan News | Koreans & Chinese

Growing scandal over ultra-nationalist kindergarten exposes battle over education in Japan
  • The Tsukamoto Kindergarten has drawn attention for promoting notions of Japanese “purity” and “uniformity” and racist statements made about Koreans and Chinese.
  • Ideological education has become a growing point of contention between liberals and conservatives, with the former worrying that so-called “traditional education” indoctrinates young children with the same ultranationalist spirit that fueled Japanese imperial expansion and led to World War II.
  • The school sits at the center of an expanding political scandal involving Japan’s First Lady and a suspicious deal that allowed the land on which the school was built to be purchased from the government at a steep discount.
Read

“Nationalist Osaka preschool draws heat for distributing slurs against Koreans and Chinese” (The Japan Times | February 2017)

“Bigotry and Fraud Scandal at Kindergarten Linked to Japan’s First Lady” (The New York Times | February 2017)

“Shinzo Abe and wife under pressure over ties to ultra-nationalist school” (The Guardian | February 2017)

(Image Credit: Ha Kwiyeon/Reuters, via The New York Times)

Gender, Ideology + Affiliation

China News | Activist Women

Chinese feminist group’s social media accounts suspended
  • The Weibo account for prominent feminist group Feminist Voices was recently suspended, with the group’s social media editor suspecting posts about anti-Trump demonstrations in the U.S. having spurred the gag.
  • Weibo administrators indicated the group will be unable to post through the account for 30 days for “violating national laws.”
  • Beyond the suspension, activists reported broadening crackdowns on feminist activity, including social media attacks by commentators paid by the government to support the Chinese Communist Party on social media.
Read

“Chinese Feminist Group’s Social Media Account Suspended” (The New York Times | February 2017)

“Chinese Feminists Protest Gag Order on Social Media Account” (Radio Free Asia | February 2017)

“Women In China Are Protesting After A Feminist Account Was Shut Down For Posting About The Women’s March” (BuzzFeed News | February 2017)

(Image Credit: Feminist Voices, via The New York Times)

Religion + Belief

China News | Christians

Christians see restrictions on Christmas celebrations as crackdown by Chinese government continues
  • A hotel in Zhejiang province canceled plans to host two services by local churches after a warning from the government.
  • Zhejiang authorities have also moved to prevent informal “house churches” from operating and have banned all forms of religious activity in hospitals.
  • Officials have condemned many forms of religious expression in the name of national security, considering Christianity an example of the “infiltration of hostile Western forces.”

Read more:
“China Cracks Down on Christmas Celebrations, Bans Protestant Services” (Radio Free Asia)

Additional reads:
“China’s Zhejiang Bans Religious Activities in Hospitals as Crackdown Widens” (Radio Free Asia, August 2016)
“Decapitated Churches in China’s Christian Heartland” (The New York Times, May 2016)

(Image Credit: Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press, via The New York Times)