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.
Read more below.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a “zero click” Trojan horse attacking the phones of Thai activists; the heavy-handed tactics of Sri Lanka’s new government; the bleak picture for freedom of expression in Asia; and the fresh hell inflicted by Pyongyang on harried North Koreans.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: an app update that may increase state control in Hong Kong; the serious risk to Myanmar’s democracy activists; the depressing news in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report for 2022; and Afghanistan’s secret schools for girls.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a landmark ruling against modern slavery; a massive data breach that exposed the personal data of 1 billion Chinese; a faint glimmer of hope for Pakistan’s victims of enforced disappearances; and a contentious Indonesian draft law that would promote — not prevent — rights violations.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: India’s travel bans on journalists; South Korea’s bad bosses; Asia’s worst countries for workers in 2022; and a promising uptick in financial inclusion worldwide.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a historic wage hike for garment workers in Pakistan’s Sindh province; the U.S. law which bans the import of goods made with forced labor from China’s Xinjiang region; the Asian countries that keep their citizens in the dark; and Vietnam’s environmental activists under attack.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the twin victory of South Korean truckers; the spotty observance of the right of due process in the Philippines; the growing problem of elder abuse; and the burning issue of global warming — and the tools to cool down cities.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: how Mongolia brought digital rights to many citizens’ fingertips; a hidden lockdown for migrant workers in Singapore; the cross-cutting issue of food safety; and Bangladesh’s arbitrary cancellation of the license of a key human rights NGO.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a landmark settlement for sacked Thai garment workers; an ongoing battle for marriage equality in Taiwan; how attacks on schools worldwide jeopardize the future of children; period poverty and pain.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the palm oil that is tainted by corporate greed; a law that restricts rape victims in Nepal in their quest for justice; Japan’s controversial training of the Tamadaw; and the shroud of secrecy veiling Asia’s executing countries.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a shadow pandemic in Thailand; the Taliban’s dissolution of a key human rights body in Afghanistan; the doubtful outcome of the UN rights chief’s Xinjiang visit; and an invasive technology that may turn a lifeline app into a surveillance tool.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the decades-long struggle for disability rights in South Korea; a minimum wage law that excludes domestic helpers in Malaysia; India’s antiquated and arbitrary sedition law; and the glaring gaps in alcohol marketing regulations that put young people and heavy drinkers at risk.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the gloomy picture of press freedom in Asia; a heartbreaking polio outbreak in Pakistan; the turning of the tide for a prisoner of conscience in the Philippines; and North Korea’s fashion police.
In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the latest setback for a fallen democracy icon in Myanmar; hard-won progress for worker safety in Bangladesh; another nail in the coffin of press freedom in Hong Kong; and the human and environmental costs of sand mining.
Asia Democracy Chronicles (ADC), an online publication of the Asia Democracy Network, seeks to shine a spotlight on important but still untold stories from the ground tackling the state of human rights and democracy on the world’s largest, most diverse, and most populous continent.
ADC publishes narrative articles, op-eds, analytical pieces, essays, and other similarly oriented types of content on relevant themes to keep readers abreast of critical issues and challenges unfolding in the region. This, while seeking to inspire and support efforts from all across the region and the rest of the world toward a truly free and democratic Asia.
Have a story to tell, nuanced insights, or expert analysis to share with a regional (i.e. Asia), even global, audience? Want to weigh in on specific issues, including those disproportionately affecting specific segments of society, which run the gamut from poverty and inequality to human rights violations? We’d love to hear from you.
We run features, op-eds, analyses, among others, that probe issues around fundamental rights and civil liberties, and illuminate the challenges of governance in Asia.
