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

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.

Read below for more.

Southeast Asia
Taking tyranny online
Indonesia is still months away from its 2024 general election cycle, yet democracy defenders and human rights campaigners are already flagging potential violations of civic freedoms – particularly on the internet.

In a statement last week, the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), a regional network of current and former parliamentarians, urged the Indonesian government to uphold and respect the rights and liberties of its people in the digital space.

Following a fact-finding mission – which involved meetings with civil society organizations, tech companies, journalists, and government agencies – the APHR concluded that often, Indonesia’s Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law was being used by those in power to clamp down on online speech and expression of dissent, even if these were peaceful in nature.

Passed in 2008, Indonesia’s ITE Law specifically prohibits the distribution, creation, or transmission of online content that affronts or defames, or those that inflict hatred against certain groups due to their ethnicity, race, religion, or other such categories.

It is this broad and ambiguous defamation clause that opens the ITE Law up for abuse by authorities, leading to more than 300 victims of intimidation between January 2019 and May 2022, according to an analysis by Amnesty International.

Among these victims are Haris Azhar and Fatia Maulidiyanti, both human rights defenders. On August 2021, Azhar uploaded a talk show video to his YouTube channel where he and Maulidiyanti had mentioned that Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister for Indonesia’s Maritime and Investment Affairs and a retired army general, was indirectly involved in a mining company operating in one of the country’s largest gold stores.

In response to the video, Pandjaitan filed a subpoena against Azhar and Maulidiyanti, requiring them to explain their video and to post a public apology to the retired general. Both human rights defenders have refused to do so and are now facing criminal charges and a potential four-year prison sentence.
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Northeast Asia
Not enough jobs
Despite touting itself as the world’s second strongest economy, China is suffering from record levels of youth unemployment.

Last week, in an attempt to help new graduates find jobs, the local government of Henan province launched a 100-day campaign, particularly targeting low-income families, graduates who had been unemployed for a long time, and those who are physically handicapped. China’s third most populous province, Henan is an important economic center for the country and is home to many smartphone factories and agricultural businesses.

As part of the campaign, universities are being directed to conducted “at least three sessions of heart-to-heart talks” with their graduates, according to the document from the province’s education department, as reported by the South China Morning Post. Schools are also being asked to consider offering a second undergraduate degree and to engage at least 100 employers to provide jobs.

Henan’s employment push is set to run through August.

Though only a province-wide initiative, Henan’s employment campaign is part of a larger, nationwide effort. China’s central government released its latest economic data last month showing that in April, the Northeast Asian largely fell short of analysts’ expectations.

Most glaringly, among young people aged 16 to 24 years, at least one in five did not have a job.

China’s soaring youth unemployment rate is a direct result of its draconian and overly strict zero-COVID policy, which led to the closure of many factories and a massive economic slowdown. However, now that the government has eased its pandemic restrictions, the job market remains laggard and the number of openings has failed to keep up with the number of jobseekers.

According to an analysis by Goldman Sachs, this problem is being compounded by the growing mismatch between available jobs and the programs that students are taking up in college.

As the graduation season in China is fast approaching, the country is expecting to welcome nearly 12 million graduates into the workforce this year, raising the specter of mass unemployment.
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South Asia
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Catch-22 dilemma
Pakistan’s political turmoil has left its economy in a steep downward spiral and very few options to turn things around.

In 2019, the South Asian nation secured a USD 6.5 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which was meant to salvage the country from an economic meltdown at the time. Disbursement of this money has stalled and in recent months, Pakistan has been trying to restart the payout, including a USD 1.1 billion tranche.

The international lender, however, has imposed loan conditions that could further worsen the social and economic difficulties in Pakistan, according to Human Rights Watch. For instance, the IMF is asking the Pakistani government to cut back on energy and fuel subsidies in favor of a market-based exchange rate, as well as increase its general sales tax rates.

Taken together, these conditions could make it even harder for those already hit hardest by the economic crisis to secure their basic needs.

Adding to the lending dilemma are allegations that the Fund is interfering with Pakistan’s internal matters.

Amid these tensions, the IMF last week also denied Pakistan’s appeal to lower its requirement for a new loan, leaving the country with “no plan B” but to try and meet the Fund’s conditions to restart the 2019 program, Pasha said during a National Assembly meeting.

Pakistan’s latest IMF bailout woes throw into sharp relief the militancy-plagued South Asian country’s decades of mismanaged economy alongside political instability and corruption – a surefire formula for social unrest whose consequences are expected to have cross-border spillovers.
Global/Regional
Ditching dialogue amid tensions
Amid growing tensions over the South China Sea and across the Taiwan Strait, China last week rejected the U.S.’s offer to hold defense talks at a security forum in Singapore.

Last weekend in Singapore, the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier defense summit, brought together government ministers and officials from all over the world to discuss the most pressing security challenges in the region.

An important feature of the Shangri-La Dialogue are the bilateral talks that it fosters, allowing countries to sit down and address cross-border problems, shared issues – and bubbling tensions.

Both the U.S. and Singapore wanted to engage China in one of these bilateral talks between the world’s two most powerful economies. Singaporean defense minister Ng Eng Hen, speaking to reporters at the Dialogue, said that an open line of communication between adversaries is particularly important, and that the current freeze between the U.S. and China will only be to the detriment of the region.

In response to China’s refusal to hold talks, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin blasted the Northeast Asian giant for its unwillingness “to engage more seriously on better mechanisms of crisis management between our two militaries,” acknowledging that the relationship between the two superpowers is the worst it’s been in decades.

China hit back at the U.S. for “bullying” smaller countries in the region and “forcing its rules on others,” said Chinese defense minister Li Shangfu during the Dialogue, though he did not explicitly name the Western superpower.

Li accused the U.S. of organizing “NATO-like military alliances” in the region and for being the “root cause of chaos and instability.”

The lack of level-headed resolution at the Shangri-La Dialogue came after months of continued military escalation between the two countries. In recent months, the U.S. has held joint military exercises with its allies, including South Korea, the Philippines, Japan, and Thailand.

China, meanwhile, has ramped up its military presence in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, with one of its ships almost colliding with a U.S. destroyer.
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.

July 25, 2022
July 25, 2022

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.

July 18, 2022
July 18, 2022

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.

July 11, 2022
July 11, 2022

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.

July 4, 2022
July 4, 2022

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.

June 27, 2022
June 27, 2022

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.

June 20, 2022
June 20, 2022

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.

June 13, 2022
June 13, 2022

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.

June 6, 2022
June 6, 2022

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.

May 30, 2022
May 30, 2022

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.

May 23, 2022
May 23, 2022

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.

May 16, 2022
May 16, 2022

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.

May 9, 2022
May 9, 2022

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.

May 2, 2022
May 2, 2022

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.

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