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

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.

Global/Regional
Prisoned press
Last week, Australian journalist Cheng Lei marked 1,000 days of detention in China.

Cheng, a 48-year-old business reporter, was taken by authorities in August 2020 and was subsequently charged with “illegally supplying state securities overseas,” according to a report by the BBC. She was working for the government-run CGTN at the time.

For the first six months since her arrest, Cheng was kept in solitary confinement and subjected to distressing interrogations without access to a lawyer.

Beijing finally gave Cheng her day in court in March 2022, but kept the proceedings behind tightly closed doors. The courtroom was also heavily guarded by police, both uniformed and plain-clothed, who paid particular attention to the foreign press, checking their identification and asking them to move keep their distance.

Even Australia’s ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher, had not been allowed into the courtroom, a move that he called “deeply concerning.”

“We have no confidence in the validity of a process that is conducted in secret,” Fletcher said at the time.

In the same situation as Cheng is Taiwanese Li Yanhe, editor-in-chief of Gusa Press, who was arrested by Chinese authorities in late April while he was visiting family in Shanghai.

According to Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman of China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, Li is being detained and investigated under “suspicion of engaging in activities endangering national security,” according to a report by Taipei Times.

Human rights groups, along with friends, family and colleagues, have pressed Beijing to let both Cheng and Li go, pointing out that keeping them detained without a formal sentence is in violation of their human rights.

Cheng and Li are just two recent examples of China’s unrelenting, unforgiving, and near-complete systemic repression of the media that stretches even beyond its borders. Similarly languishing in prison is citizen journalist Zhang Zhan while state media journalist Dong Yuyu was detained for over a year following his arrest in February 2022 and faces trial for espionage.

According to Reporters Without Borders, China is the second-worst country in the world for press freedom, bested only by the dictatorship of North Korea. The Northeast Asian giant is the world’s most prolific jailer of journalists. In 2022 China was “the biggest global jailer of journalists,” according to Associated Press, with more than 100 in prison,  based on data from Reporters Without Borders.
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Southeast Asia
Electing to amend an archaic law
Over the weekend, Thailand’s election culminated in a dazzling victory for its opposition parties. The progressive Move Forward Party and the populist Pheu Thai Party are expected to claim a cumulative of 286 seats in the House of Representatives, which counts a total of 500 members.

Royalist-military parties, in comparison, trailed far behind. Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha’s United Thai Nation Party was the polls’ fifth placer, winning only 36 seats.

The election results reflect a growing discontent among Thai youth and might be an indicator of the country’s swing toward more progressive politics. In the run-up to the polls, Thailand was ablaze with fierce public discussions regarding several hot-button issues – many of which likely spelled victory for the progressive candidates.

Chief of these is the country’s infamous lese-majeste law, which imposes strict limits on language directed at the country’s monarchy. Also known as Section 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, the lese-majeste criminalizes any defamatory language against the king, queen, their heir-apparent, and the regent. Offenders can face imprisonment of three up to 15 years.

Historically, the harsh penalties that the lese-majeste law carries have discouraged critical discussions of it. After all, under the law’s ambiguous terms, any statement could be misconstrued as an insult by the monarchy and could be used to send critics to jail.

Things started to change in 2020, however, when youth-led pro-democracy protests washed over Thailand and took aim at its royal institution. The demonstrators have used their movement to voice out a wide variety of concerns, from the government’s poor handling of the pandemic to its tyrannical crackdown on rallies.

Crucially, the protests also targeted the lese-majeste law and sought for its repeal, as outlined in the demonstrators’ 10-point manifesto, which had the over-arching theme of cutting back the monarchy’s power and budget.

These calls have now materialized through Thailand’s 2023 election in the most impressive way. Youth-led and progressive candidates were able to leverage this pervasive discontent and desire for change to deliver massive political wins not only for their parties, but also for Thai society at large.
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Northeast Asia
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Japan’s dark detention policies
Backed by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Japan is advancing a contentious bill – dubbed the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law – that purportedly seeks to “provide equitable control” over who enters and exits the country, as well as consolidate the criteria for recognizing refugees.

The bill cleared Japan’s Lower House last week and will go before its upper chamber for further deliberations.

Currently, many foreigners abuse the protection afforded by a refugee application to stay in the country indefinitely. In the proposed legislation, Japan’s government will clamp down on these illegal overstayers by empowering its immigration authorities to deport asylum-seekers who have applied for refugee status more than once.

Under the current system, Japanese authorities are unable to deport these individuals “even if they are offenders of serious crimes or are terrorists,” Hiromichi Kumada, an LDP lawmaker, said during the parliamentary hearing, according to a report by The Japan Times.

Critics, however, caution that the bill could be applied overly broadly and be used to easily deport foreign nationals and turn genuine asylum-seekers away.

Opposition lawmakers, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, the Japanese Communist Party, and the Reiwa Shinsengumi, have filed a counter bill which requires a judge’s warrant regarding immigration decisions pertaining to foreign nationals.

Japan has long been on the receiving end of international ire for its harsh, borderline abusive detention policies, under which several immigrants have been held for several years and in dire living conditions, according to a report by Amnesty International. In some cases, immigrants are even driven to hold hunger strikes or attempt suicide as a result of their detention.

Whereas international human rights laws stipulate that migrants, especially refugees and asylum-seekers, must be welcomed into the country with the presumption of liberty, Japan maintains a system of detention by default.
South Asia
Plunged into (cyber) darkness
When Pakistan’s government arrested former Prime Minister Imran Khan, it knew that it would have to find a way to deal with an impending flood of his supporters that would take to the street to protest his detainment.

The government’s solution was broad, indiscriminate – and ineffective: To prevent demonstrators from communicating with each other and organizing their mass movement, Pakistan’s government shut down the internet across the country and restricted access to the most widely used social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter.

This, ultimately, did not work. Protests continued to erupt all over the country sparking violent clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement.

For young and more tech-savvy Pakistanis – which constitutes a huge part of Khan’s supporter base – the shutdown was of little consequence as they could just turn to their VPNs, a form of service that cloaks a user’s online identity, and still access the cyberspace.

The vast majority of Pakistanis, however, are neither knowledgeable of this workaround nor are invested in the political spectacle that is Khan. For them, the internet shutdown meant days of lost productivity. In a report by Reuters, a food delivery rider detailed how he lost three days’ worth of income because he couldn’t access the WhatsApp messaging service to receive and track his orders.

Shutting down the internet comes right out of a despot’s playbook and is unfortunately not a rare occurrence in South Asia. India, for example, turned off the internet 84 times in 2022, the highest number of any country that year, according to a report by digital rights non-profit Access Now.

India was also responsible for the most internet shutdowns in 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018. Since 2016, the South Asian superpower has accounted for nearly 60% of all documented internet shutdowns.

Other countries in South Asia also resort to this measure, including Bangladesh, which throttled the internet in late 2022 to curtail public protests, and Sri Lanka, which clamped down on social media in April 2022 amid growing protests over the country’s economic meltdown.
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.

April 25, 2022
April 25, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a landmark legal victory for gay soldiers in South Korea; an assault on education and an ethnic community in Afghanistan; the return of an independence leader in Timor-Leste; and ASEAN’s failed five-point consensus on the Myanmar crisis.

April 18, 2022
April 18, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a landmark victory for Indonesian women; Hong Kong’s forgotten elderly; a proposed law that raises fears of a surveillance state in India; and the freedom that is at risk worldwide.

April 11, 2022
April 11, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the Filipina politician who is in the crosshairs of trolls and haters; Sri Lanka’s heavy-handed tactics; a horrifying new discovery about forced organ harvesting in China; and the major global problem of toxic air.

April 4, 2022
April 4, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: “delayed” justice for street sleepers in Hong Kong; a problematic draft law that could shut down Thailand’s vibrant civil society; India’s appalling apathy toward Rohingya refugees; and the “crucial weakness” in the governance of global health organizations.

March 28, 2022
March 28, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a watershed moment for lesbian and bisexual women everywhere; the other devastating pandemic; a victory for young voters in Taiwan; and Vietnam’s repressive Article 88.

March 21, 2022
March 21, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a baby step forward for women’s rights in Bangladesh; Singapore’s addiction to the death penalty; China’s unsafe food and how it threatens the ruling party; and the Qatari dream that has become the migrant workers’ nightmare.

March 14, 2022
March 14, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: South Korea’s “anti-feminist” president-elect; the tiny Southeast Asian country that is standing up to Russia; a call to end the Taliban’s crackdown on Afghan women’s rights; and the prescription for a full pandemic recovery.

March 7, 2022
March 7, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: ASEAN’s fence-sitting on the Ukraine crisis; the “shocking abuses” against indigenous Papuans; scant support for the backbone of Hong Kong’s economy; and lessons from an adaptation role model.

February 28, 2022
February 28, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the misleading marketing of formula milk to women worldwide; the guilty verdict that should be a watershed moment for Pakistan’s women; North Korea’s Supreme Leader’s focus on launching missiles over administering COVID-19 vaccines; and “a historic win” for grassroots activists.

February 21, 2022
February 21, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the pernicious practice of “red-tagging” in the Philippines; firewall fears in Hong Kong; a crackdown against journalists in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir; and a harmful and unnecessary rite of passage for girls.

February 14, 2022
February 14, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a horrifying hijab ban in India; an alarming spate of custodial deaths in Malaysia; the bullies hiding behind keyboards in South Korea; and the high toll of Japan’s strict entry ban.

February 7, 2022
February 7, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the “burner phone Olympics” in Beijing; Myanmar’s annus horribilis; the steep price Sri Lankans are paying for botched schemes; and the mountain of pandemic-induced medical waste that threatens health and the environment.

January 31, 2022
January 31, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a report that shows how, across the globe, corruption and human rights violations go hand in hand; a “shamelessly scandalous” scheme that threatens media freedom in the Philippines; the living hell of the Afghan LGBT community under Taliban rule; and the “positive endings” Chinese censors impose on Hollywood movies and even a local show.

January 24, 2022
January 24, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: an anti-poor “no vaccination, no ride” policy in the Philippines; a “sportswashing opportunity” for China; the bogus charges against a Cambodian opposition leader; and two rays of hope for Pakistan’s women.

January 17, 2022
January 17, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a cautiously positive report from Human Rights Watch; the math of misogyny in Indonesia; India’s draconian anti-terror law; how Cambodia keeps a lid on dissent; and the fight for the rights of migrant workers in Taiwan.

January 10, 2022
January 10, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: Cambodia’s strongman playing “rogue diplomat”; a welcome ban on child marriage in the Philippines; North Korea’s “boomerang defector”; and the weaponization of technology against Muslim women.

January 3, 2022
January 3, 2022

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a wave of hate speech and violence against India’s religious minorities; press freedom in tatters in Hong Kong; a horrifying Christmas massacre in Myanmar; and how the Taliban have revoked Afghan women’s hard-won rights.

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