Tag Archives: East Asia

Ideology + Affiliation

China News | Academics

2,000 march in silent protest against rejection of Hong Kong professor for top leadership position
  • In a controversial decision, University of Hong Kong law professor Johannes Chan was rejected for the university’s pro-vice-chancellor post.
  • Supporters viewed the denial as an encroachment of the Chinese government and Hong Kong’s chief executive on academic freedom in Hong Kong, with some calling for a judicial review of university governance structures.
  • Students, professors, and staff gathered in a massive silent march through the HKU campus before student leaders and academics spoke out against the decision.

Read more:
“Thousands protest at HKU to defend academic freedom” (Hong Kong Free Press)
“Hong Kong Academics in Silent Protest Over ‘Political’ Row Over Top Job” (Radio Free Asia)
“Hong Kong university protests over academic freedoms” (ChannelFree Asia)

(Image Credit: Hong Kong Free Press)

Religion + Belief

South Korea Feature | Jehovah’s Witnesses

South Korea’s Prisoners of Conscience

South Korea leads the world in the incarceration of conscientious objectors, jailing hundreds each year who refuse the country’s manditory military service on the basis of conscience and belief. The vast majority of the imprisoned are Jehovah’s Witnesses, members of a Christian sect that has seen tens of thousands jailed in the half-century following the 1953 truce that ended the Korean War. The New York Times profiles the ongoing struggles of the community and recent developments that could finally see movement in the fight for their freedom of conscience.

Read more:
“South Korean Jehovah’s Witnesses Face Stigma of Not Serving in Army” (The New York Times)

Other coverage:
“South Korean conscientious objectors keep up fight against military service” (The Los Angeles Times)
“South Korea, world’s top jailer of conscientious objectors, resists giving them alternatives” (Fox News)

(Image Credit: Jean Chung/The New York Times )

Nationality + Migration

Japan Research | Foreigners

Japan’s Tourist Chase

As the Japanese government works to make Japan a more tourist-friendly nation, it undertook an opinion poll to survey citizens’ attitudes about the societal impact of tourism. Respondents were asked to provide their opinions about the benefits and drawbacks of tourism as well as ways to increase tourism and tourist integration.

50% (economic benefit) / 46.3% (mutual, intercultural understanding)

Positive attitudes towards tourism cited by Japanese nationals (multiple answers allowed)

29.5% (security fears) / 25.5% (culture clash) / 20.0% (communication difficulties)

Negative attitudes towards tourism cited by Japanese nationals

Sample: 3,000 adults

Read more:
“Japanese expect tourism boom to lift economy, but some fear culture clash: survey” (The Japan Times)

Nationality + Migration

Japan News | Refugees

Japan PM shuts down prospect of Japan taking in refugees after announcing humanitarian aid
  • Following his speech at the U.N. General Assembly, PM Shinzo Abe stated that Japan would be focusing on domestic issues in lieu of taking in refugees.
  • Citing the need to focus on the birthrate, gender inclusiveness, and the elderly, Abe framed the issue as one of “demography.”
  • At the General Assembly, Abe announced that Japan would provide $810 million in assistance for those affected by the Syrian and Iraqi conflicts, with an additional $750 million going to infrastructure and other peace-building projects.

Read more:
“Abe says Japan must solve its own problems before accepting any Syria refugees” (Reuters)
“Japan’s Leader Shinzo Abe Triples Aid to Address Mideast Refugee Crisis” (New York Times)
“Abe: Japan ready to help refugees, but not take them in” (AP)

(Image Credit: Carlo Allegri/Reuters, via The New York Times)

Ideology + Affiliation

China News | Dissidents

Protesters gather in demonstration on anniversary of Hong Kong Occupy protests
  • Around 100 rallied near Hong Kong government headquarters on the one-year anniversary of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy Occupy Central mass demonstrations.
  • No plans for the restart of mass protests have been made despite unfulfilled demands for the shoring up of the Hong Kong democratic process.

View the Radio Free Asia video on YouTube.

Nationality + Migration

Philippines News | Foreign Visitors

Developing: Tourists in the Philippines abducted at gunpoint
  • Two Canadians, a Norweigian, and a Filipina were taken from the popular Holiday Oceanview Samal Resort near Davao City on the island of Mindanao Island.
  • Though the gunmen have not been identified, peace with Islamist rebels was reached only in 2014, leading to worries of renewed conflict.
  • Authorities indicated that the foreigners had been targeted rather than randomly taken, and police and coast guard operations have been activated to find the abductees.

Read the full story at BuzzFeed News.

Age

China News | Children

Abducted or abandoned children in China see greater adoption opportunity under new rules
  • Authorities have capped the search for abandoned and trafficked children’s biological families at a year, allowing for them to be adopted from orphanages after that period.
  • Previously, children were left in indefinite limbo as long as their cases were active with search authorities.
  • More than 13,000 children were abducted last year alone according to the government, with the U.S. State Department estimating as many as 20,000 a year falling prey to traffickers and other kidnappers.

Read the full story at Reuters.

Race + Color + Ethnicity

Malaysia News | Chinese & Indian

Pro-Malay, pro-government rally targets ethnic Chinese and Indian Malaysians
  • Thousands of Malays took to the streets in Kuala Lumpur, drawing fire from police water cannons after voicing anti-Chinese and anti-Indian sentiment and trying to break through barricades to the city’s Chinatown.
  • The demonstration took place in support of embattled Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has lost support from most of the ethnic minority communities after coming under fire for allegedly embezzling $700 million.
  • Malays make up 60% of Malaysian society, with ethnic Chinese comprising 25% and ethnic Indians 10%.

“I am here to defend Malay dignity and dominance. … We must not let others take over our country.”

Read the full AP story at Yahoo! News.

(Image Credit: AP Photo, via Yahoo! News)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Japan Research | Gay & Bisexual Male Youth

Bullying among Gay & Bisexual Teenage Males in Japan

A research team at Takarazuka University in Japan conducted a wide-ranging study on the experiences of gay and bisexual men in Japan, with participants ranging in age from 11 to 71.  Researchers found high levels of identity-driven bullying experienced by teenage boys, which they connected to negative reactive behaviors including truancy and self-harm.

1,096

Number of gay and bisexual teenage boys in the study

44%

Percent of teenagers reporting having been bullied for their sexual identity

23%

Percent of teenagers who engaged in truancy

18%

Percent of teenagers who engaged in self-harm

41% (2015) vs. 63% (2005)

Percent of teenagers who reported never having learned about homosexuality in school

30% (2015) vs. 23% (2005)

Percent of teenagers who reported being taught negative information about sexual minorities

Full survey sample: ~20,000
Survey conductor: Takarazuka University

Read the news story at The Ashai Shimbun.

Health + Ability

Singapore News | HIV+

Singapore repeals ban on short-term stays for HIV+ visitors
  • Singapore lifted a two-decade-long prohibition on HIV+ visitors in the country.
  • While visitors will be able to stay for up to three months on one of Singapore’s short-term visas, those with HIV will be ineligible for long-term or work visas.
  • Singapore, which has 5,000 of its own citizens afflicted with the illness, began repatriating and blocking the entrance of HIV+ travelers through immigration policies similar to those held by Australia and New Zealand.

“While things have improved slightly, we cannot forget that many are still being asked to leave their jobs and are ostracised by friends and family because of HIV infection. Many still suffer alone, and have trouble securing jobs and health insurance.”

Read the full story at the Guardian.

(Image Credit: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images, via the Guardian)

Nationality + Migration

South Korea Research | International

South Korean Dating Preferences

Marriage agency DUO surveyed attitudes of South Koreans towards dating foreigners and found that the vast majority were open to dating non-Koreans and that a significant proportion even prefer to do so.

88.9% (men) / 85.8% (women)

South Koreans who are open to relationships with foreigners

30% (men) / 37.2% (women)

South Koreans who prefer pursuing relationships with foreigners rather than other South Koreans

Research by: DUO
Sample size: 425

Read the results at The Korea Times.

Other, Religion + Belief

Myanmar News | Muslims, Interfaith & the Unmarried

Myanmar president signs bills perceived as targeting Muslim minorities, interfaith couples, and the unmarried into law
  • President Thein Sein signed four “Race and Religious Protection Laws” into being in the lead-up to November elections.
  • The laws include one criminalizing polygamy and unmarried cohabitation and two laws restricting religious conversion and interfaith marriage.
  • Buddhist nationalists in the country have promoted the laws as the latest in a series of measures restricting the activities and practices of the country’s Muslim minority.

“They set out the potential for discrimination on religious grounds and pose the possibility for serious communal tension.”

Read the full story at Reuters.

(Image Credit: Toru Hanai/Reuters)

Age, Ideology + Affiliation

China News | Incarcerated Seniors & Veterans

China announces rare prisoner amnesities ahead of WWII anniversary
  • Four groups, including seniors and war veterans, will receive amnesty.
  • The decision marks only the eighth time China has granted incarceration relief in Communist Party history.
  • Those convicted of violent crimes such as rape, murder, or terror will remain incarcerated.

Read the full story at Reuters.

Race + Color + Ethnicity, Religion + Belief

Myanmar News | Rohingya

Rohingya politician barred from re-election as hundreds of thousands find themselves struck from voting rolls
  • Lawmaker U Shwe Maung, a member of Myanmar’s governing party, was informed by the country’s electoral commission of his ineligibility to run for re-election.
  • The commission claimed Shwe Maung was not a citizen, the result of Myanmar’s recent invalidation of the identity cards held by the majority of the country’s Rohingya population.
  • The mass disenfranchisement of Rohingya has compromised the integrity of the upcoming November elections, which will be the first to include a democratically led party to compete with the military-backed governing party.

“This is the government really stripping them of their last right. … It suits the government’s long-term plan of compelling them to leave.”

Read the full story at The New York Times.

Uncategorized

ClimateWatch: East Asia

ClimateWatch periodically analyzes the security climates of the world’s regions, focusing on conditions and developments affecting the most vulnerable identity communities while highlighting meaningful political and social steps towards security and integration. This week’s East Asian report summarizes developments in identity security from late July through mid-August.

Continue reading ClimateWatch: East Asia →