Democracy Digest
Democracy Digest
A bite-sized weekly wrap-up of developments
across the region through a human rights and democratic lens
Democracy Digest

August 14, 2023

In this week’s edition, we look at China’s belligerence in the South China Sea, South Korea’s growing mental health problem, the Myanmar junta’s crimes against humanity, and the imminent implementation of Sharia law in Afghanistan.

Read below for more.

Myanmar
Unrelenting crimes against humanity
For close to three years, since the junta took power from the democratically elected government in February 2021, Myanmar has been embroiled in a bloody civil war. Not only does the violence show no signs of abating, but it just seems to grow worse as the conflict drags on.

The U.N.’s Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) confirmed this last week when it announced that it had evidence that Myanmar’s armed forces, along with allied militia groups, were “committing increasingly frequent and brazen war crimes,” as reported by Channel News Asia.

Synthesizing information from more than 700 sources and over 200 eyewitness accounts, as well as photos, videos, documents, and other similar evidence, the IIMM’s report pointed to indiscriminate aerial bombings that disproportionately targeted civilians, mass executions, large-scale burning of homes, and sexual abuse.

The report comes as conflict in Myanmar’s Sagaing Region escalates. Last week, after sustaining heavy losses in an ambush by resistance forces, regime troops flew a fighter jet and dropped bombs on the clash area. While the airstrike claimed no lives, it did force thousands to flee.

Between February 2021 and September 30, 2022, a total of 6,337 civilians were killed in Myanmar, reports Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in its paper released on June 12, 2023, “Counting Myanmar’s Dead: Reported Civilian Casualties since the 2021 Military Coup”. This number is significantly higher than what has been reported by international bodies, including the U.N., says PRIO. The police and affiliated militia were the main perpetrators of these murders, most of which were politically motivated. Armed groups opposing the junta and unspecified perpetrators also accounted for some of the killings, says the PRIO.

Lead author Dr. Min Zaw Oo, a Global Fellow at the PRIO and director of the Myanmar Institute of Peace and Security, warns:

"Civilians in Myanmar are bracing themselves for a steep escalation in violence. There is huge potential for politicide, with large-scale retaliatory killings, if the civil war escalates to a next level. This report should set off alarm bells to world bodies like the U.N. and ASEAN."
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Afghanistan
Sharia, imminent
In November 2022, around a year after the Taliban had regained control of Afghanistan, the extremist group announced that it wanted judges across the country to fully adopt the Sharia law.

Last week, the Taliban reaffirmed its commitment to implement the Islamic law. Acting Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani said to a gathering of religious and tribal leaders, as well as local authorities, that the current Jihad (struggle) is to implement Sharia law in Afghanistan, believing this move will strengthen the government and aid in the rebuilding of the country.

Loosely translated to sacred law, Sharia refers to divine guidance that Muslims follow to live moral and righteous lives. As with all religious doctrines, however, there are many different interpretations of Sharia, particularly as it becomes transcribed into actual law.

The Taliban’s reading, however, is known to be the most ruthless. The Taliban’s first rule over Afghanistan, which ran from 1996 to 2001, was marked by incredible repression as the Sunni Islamist nationalist group applied its most stringent implementation of Sharia. This was a particularly difficult time for women, who, according to the religious law, occupied a much lower status than men.

Women were unable to work outside the house, to study, to wear make-up or otherwise revealing clothes, or even just to take up considerable space in society. Punishments were also punitive and often included violence and even public executions.

In late 2021, when the Taliban filled the power vacuum left behind after U.S. forces withdrew, the extremist group promised a more moderate government that respected human rights, upheld democracy, and respected women as equals in society.

It readily became evident, however, that the Taliban did not intend to keep its word. Just a month after, the U.N. raised concerns that these promises were being broken as women were ordered to stay at home and girls were prohibited from going to school. These abuses have only ramped up since, and the Taliban’s first year in power was marked with extrajudicial executions and forced disappearances, clampdowns on protests, and even more restrictions on women’s participation in society.
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South Korea
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High stakes, low uptake
Trigger warning: suicide

Despite the existence of publicly funded mental health centers and related services in South Korea, very few people struggling with mental health issues are seeking treatment at these facilities.

In 2021 at least 650,000 people in the country were diagnosed severe mental illnesses, but only around 12 percent sought care at state-run mental health centers.

South Korea's National Mental Health Center released a report last week highlighting these data, according to the Korea Herald.

There are 260 government-run mental healthcare centers all over South Korea, which provide services to severely ill patients diagnosed with conditions such as severe depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, delusional disorder, and schizophrenia. Centers offer phone counselling and home visits, as well as mental rehabilitation training.

At best, these centers can only persuade people to avail themselves of their services, not having any legal power to do otherwise. In a statement following the report, the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association said that the government needs to have a more active hand in the treatment of people with severe mental health conditions, according to the Korea Herald article.

The National Mental Health Center’s findings come as South Korea struggles to control its rapidly escalating mental health problem – as well as its often-deadly consequences.

Earlier this month, for instance, a man who had been diagnosed with schizophrenia went on a stabbing rampage in the Bundang district, south of Seoul. The same week, another man, also diagnosed with schizophrenia, stabbed a teacher in the country’s central Daejeon city. Both culprits had stopped treatment prior to the incident.

South Korea also has the world’s highest suicide rate, according to data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which had flagged the growing mental health problem in the country as early as 2014.

In a report, the intergovernmental body found that while most OECD countries were shifting mental health care away from psychiatric beds and to the communities, South Korea buckled this trend. The country’s increasing numbers of psychiatric beds, along with lengthy average hospital stays, raise questions about the efficacy of its mental healthcare system.
Global/Regional
Unwarranted belligerence at sea
The South China Sea has for decades been at the center of territorial disputes from surrounding countries. But in recent years, China has postured more aggressively over the contested waters, often even sending armed forces and battle ships to enforce and expand its borders and claim islands.

The Northeast Asian giant upped its ante last week when a Chinese Coast Guard vessel blocked the path of a Philippine military supply boat, preventing it from delivering crucial food and water rations to troops posted further out in a grounded warship. The Chinese ship even used water cannons to keep the Philippine vessel at bay.

In response the Philippine government summoned China’s envoy to file a formal protest. Unfazed, Beijing insisted that the Filipino warship was within its territory. “China will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard its sovereignty,” its defense ministry said.

The area in question is called Ayungin Shoal in the Philippines and Ren’ai in China. The Philippines deliberately grounded a warship, named the BRP Sierra Madre, in Ayungin in 1999, to serve as an outpost and keep an eye on Chinese forces. The shoal lies squarely within waters that both the Philippines and China claim to be theirs.

The Philippines’ claim to Ayungin comes from a 2016 Hague arbitration, where a five-member tribunal unanimously took the country’s side. In a 479-page decision, the court invalidated Beijing’s vague nine-dash claim, which substantially eats into the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

Still, nearly seven years later, China has continued to disregard the ruling. Beijing has not only stood by its nine-dash claim, it has done so increasingly forcefully, often deploying military ships and fleets to guard its border and kick out Philippine troops from contested islands.

Other Southeast Asian countries have also been on the receiving end of China’s belligerence in the South China Sea, including Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei, all of which, like the Philippines, continue to protect their territories despite having no military prowess to stand up to China.
PHOTO: An AI-generated image of the BRP Sierra Madre. The Philippines is using the vessel, which is currently grounded at Ayungin Shoal, as an outpost to monitor its water territories. Military boats regularly bring rations out to the soldiers posted on the ship, but Chinese forces have recently upped their assaults on these deliveries. .
August 14, 2023
August 14, 2023

In this week’s edition, we look at China’s belligerence in the South China Sea, South Korea’s growing mental health problem, the Myanmar junta’s crimes against humanity, and the imminent implementation of Sharia law in Afghanistan.

August 7, 2023
August 7, 2023

In this week’s edition, we look at China’s newest round of internet restrictions, Pakistan kowtowing to the IMF’s demands, the Sedition Act in Malaysia, and the climate injustice drowning large swathes of Asia.

July 31, 2023
July 31, 2023

In this week’s edition, we look at youth extremism in Singapore, child sexual exploitation in Taiwan, Sri Lanka’s 40th year commemorations for Black July, and North Korea’s first foreign guest since the pandemic.

July 24, 2023
July 24, 2023

This week, we are looking at Cambodia’s sham elections, growing anti-trans hate in Japan, the royalist barrier stemming Thailand’s progressive wave, and Bangladesh’s worsening economic crisis.

July 17, 2023
July 17, 2023

In this week’s edition, we look at the precarious situation in Myanmar, India’s achievements against poverty, Hong Kong’s ongoing crackdown on dissent, and the state of population control across Asia.

July 10, 2023
July 10, 2023

In this edition, we look at domestic violence in South Korea, the deteriorating peace situation in Sri Lanka, Cambodia’s vindictive ban on Meta’s Oversight Board members, and Japan’s plan to dump treated radioactive water from the Fukushima incident into the Pacific Ocean.

July 3, 2023
July 3, 2023

In this week’s edition, we look at Laos’s environmental laws, the Philippines’ online casino-related human trafficking problem, Nepal’s recent ruling on same-sex marriage, and China’s new “education initiative” to sway public opinion toward reunification.

June 26, 2023
June 26, 2023

In this edition, we look at the ongoing U.N. Human Rights Council’s regular session, jail overcrowding in the Philippines, the formidable force of conservativism in Hong Kong, and online child sexual abuse in India.

June 19, 2023
June 19, 2023

In this edition, we look at Sri Lanka’s tightening grip on the media, Thailand’s growing tension with the throne, the dire state of migrant workers in Southeast Asia, and Japan’s dark history of eugenics.

June 12, 2023
June 12, 2023

In this week’s edition, we look at North Korea’s spiking suicide rate, Russia-China military drills, Afghanistan’s enduring and ironic dependence on international aid, and Vietnam’s energy crisis.

June 5, 2023
June 5, 2023

In this edition, we look at Pakistan’s tense negotiations with the International Monetary Fund, Indonesia’s crackdown on online speech, and China’s youth unemployment problem and unwillingness to engage in level-headed discussions over security matters in the region.

May 29, 2023
May 29, 2023

In this edition, we look at a contentious land use bill in the Philippines, a new mobile device management policy in Nepal, the growing support for gender equality in Taiwan, and what Thailand’s new progressive government might mean for Myanmar.

May 22, 2023
May 22, 2023

In this week’s edition, we look at the human rights agenda at the G7 Summit in Hiroshima, the commemoration of the Gwangju uprising’s 43rd anniversary, skyrocketing drug prices in South Asia, and the sex abuse case that shook Singapore to its core.

May 15, 2023
May 15, 2023

In this edition, we look at two oppressive detention policies in Northeast Asia: China’s unyielding arrest of foreign journalists and Japan’s harsh policies for immigrants. We also look at Thailand’s lese-majeste law in the context of its elections and Pakistan’s widespread internet shutdown.

May 8, 2023
May 8, 2023

In this edition, we look at the dire state of press freedom in Southeast Asia, a bubbling conflict between healthcare workers in South Korea, the dengue problem swarming South Asia, and Indonesia’s measures against the impending COVID-19 surge.

May 1, 2023
May 1, 2023

In this edition, we look at Singapore’s overly harsh approach to cannabis as the death penalty for drug-related offenses remains firmly in place, the political convenience of gender equality in India, the continued shrinking of civic space in Hong Kong, and the U.S.’s increased military presence in Asia, keeping tight tabs on its authoritarian adversary.

April 24, 2023
April 24, 2023

In this edition, we will look at the Philippines’ education crisis, Pakistan’s political turmoil, the United Nations’ impending withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the continued and fraught push for marriage equality in Japan.

April 17, 2023
April 17, 2023

In this edition, we look at the environmental crises sweeping through Southeast Asia, another Covid-19 outbreak threatening South Asia, a bird flu death in China, and the bloody consequences of an apathetic international community, alongside powerful benefactors, abetting amid the unyielding violence and tyranny of Myanmar’s junta.

March 20, 2023
March 20, 2023

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the sad truth about health staffing shortages; the impossible choice faced by the Rohingya in Bangladesh; Vietnam’s repressive Article 331; and the challenges of exposing Uyghur forced labor in supply chains.

March 13, 2023
March 13, 2023

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the few bright spots for democracy in Asia; the Northeast Asian country where feminism is a dirty word; the country known as the internet shutdown capital of the world; and a symbolic victory for World War II sex slaves in the Philippines.

February 27, 2023
February 27, 2023

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: Asia’s deadliest place for a woman to be a mother; Japan’s antiquated age of consent law; a hidden danger in Northeast Asia; and a sweet victory for people-oriented mobility in the Philippines.

February 20, 2023
February 20, 2023

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: an uphill battle against a stigmatizing disease in Bangladesh; the threat multiplier of rising sea levels; a heavy-handed attempt to silence an independent media outlet in Cambodia; and a landmark victory for trans men in Hong Kong.

February 13, 2023
February 13, 2023

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: forced assimilation in the guise of education in Tibet; the women-only buses in Karachi, Pakistan; the need to make the internet safer for children; and the Malaysian manufacturers reaping the rewards of responsible business.

February 6, 2023
February 6, 2023

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: Hong Kong’s long-simmering housing crisis; corruption’s vicious cycle; the ban barring Afghanistan women from giving lifesaving support to people in dire need of aid; and a tiny Indonesian island’s battle against a huge carbon-emitting cement maker.

December 12, 2022
December 12, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a railway that has brought few benefits to poor Laotians; why Pakistan’s coal mines are some of the most dangerous in the world; Hong Kong’s refugees in limbo; and the forced labor that taints the global auto supply chain.

December 5, 2022
December 5, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the persons with disabilities worldwide who are being left behind; the disinformation hampering polio vaccination in Indonesia and Pakistan; an opportunity for Sri Lanka’s women caught in twin crises; and the torture being inflicted on transgenders in Singapore and Japan.

November 28, 2022
November 28, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: Apple’s albatross; an unfolding catastrophe for Afghan children; the new UN treaty to end the age of pernicious plastics; and the good news for Singapore’s gig workers.

November 21, 2022
November 21, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the youth from the Global South who made the most of their seat at the table at COP27; the Thai police who show zero tolerance for peaceful protests; the attacks on press freedom in South Korea; and the too-few Nepali women in the political arena.

November 14, 2022
November 14, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the Philippines’ human rights in the spotlight; the modern slaves behind football’s biggest party; the harmful practice endured by women and girls in Asia; and the new mandatory disclosures that can close the gender pay gap in Japan.

November 7, 2022
November 7, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the shocking impunity of murderers of media workers; Pyongyang’s record-breaking missile barrage; a call to starve Myanmar’s military junta of fuel for its deadly air attacks; and the landmark ruling that banned a traumatic test in India.

October 31, 2022
October 31, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the return of a global killer; the appalling forced deportations in Malaysia and Thailand; China’s worldwide network of illegal police stations; and the future of farming in Bangladesh.

October 17, 2022
October 17, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a baby step forward for LGBTQ rights in Japan; a neglected epidemic in Cambodia; the countries in Asia that cling to the death penalty; and hope for mental health sufferers in India.

October 10, 2022
October 10, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the false narrative that endangers transgenders in Pakistan; why Indonesia is one of the most dangerous countries in which to attend a football game; education under attack in Asia; and the foiled debate on China’s widespread human rights abuses in Xinjiang.

October 3, 2022
October 3, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the construction workers in Hong Kong who are dying on the job; the South Asian country where many ferry passengers risk drowning and death; the human rights defenders who risk reprisals; and a sweet victory for an under-supported changemaker in the Philippines.

September 26, 2022
September 26, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: sobering statistics about women’s lives on the brink; the country where women are stalked and killed; a blocked citizenship law in Nepal; and the faint silver lining in Myanmar’s humanitarian crisis.

September 19, 2022
September 19, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the global rise in forced marriages; the risks brought about by digital identity systems such as India’s Aadhar; the Southeast Asian country that doesn’t deserve a seat in the UN Human Rights Council; and a ray of hope for foreigners detained in Japan’s immigration centers.

September 12, 2022
September 12, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the alarming spike in house arrests under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s rule; the community at risk of genocide in Afghanistan; the millions deprived of the right to read; and Cambodia’s learning gardens.

September 5, 2022
September 5, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: how extreme heat has led to occupational safety lapses worldwide; how North Korea used the coronavirus to increasingly repress the rights of its people; the weaponization of Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism Act against peaceful protesters; and Thailand’s innovative approach to curb teenage pregnancy.

August 29, 2022
August 29, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the real roadblocks to fair COVID-19 vaccine distribution; the first step to ending torture in Pakistan; a bittersweet victory for Singapore’s LGBT activists; and the campaign to combat China’s disinformation in Taiwan.

August 22, 2022
August 22, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: China’s chilling psywar tactic; the lowest-paid workers in Bangladesh; Cambodia’s ground zero for human trafficking; and why FIFA and Qatar owe abused migrant workers US$440 million in reparations.

August 15, 2022
August 15, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: Indonesia’s repressive hijab rules; the plight of Seoul’s basement dwellers; the Afghan evacuees trapped by red tape; and the crucial role of Indigenous women as keepers of knowledge.

August 8, 2022
August 8, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a setback in Malaysian mothers’ campaign against an unequal citizenship law; Japan’s flawed program that has become a breeding ground for abuse; the heavy toll of water scarcity in Bangladesh; and the women who eat last and least.

August 1, 2022
August 1, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a discriminatory lockdown in Taiwan; the endless wait for justice for victims of wartime atrocities in Nepal; a new law that is a betrayal of public health in the Philippines; and alarming news about the other deadly virus.

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