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

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.

China
Apple’s albatross
Violent workers’ protests erupted in the world’s largest iPhone factory in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou on Nov. 23. CNN obtained videos showing hazmat-suited security officers kicking a worker lying on the ground and workers throwing parts of metal barriers at the police.

Hundreds of workers protested the strict zero-COVID policies, poor working conditions, and mismanaged contracts at the facility owned by Taiwan contract manufacturing firm Foxconn. The facility houses about 200,000 workers.

The troubles started last month when a surge in COVID-19 infections at the facility prompted panicked workers to flee the site on foot. They complained of insufficient protection against the virus and lack of support for those who caught it.

Short on staff, Foxconn launched a massive recruitment drive and offered new hires “a 3,000-yuan (about US$418) bonus after 30 days on the job, with another 3,000 yuan to be paid after a total of 60 days,” reports CNN. However, according to a worker, Foxconn told the new recruits they would only receive the first bonus on March 15, 2023, and the second installment in May, reports CNN.

The rare workers’ protest in Zhengzhou led human rights organizations to urge international companies like Apple to respect human rights in their operations, regardless of China’s willingness to respect and protect those rights.

William Nee, the research and advocacy coordinator at China Human Rights Defender, told CNN: “This incident should be a red flag to Apple that they need to be conducting extra human rights due diligence to make sure that they are taking account of any human rights abuses that may be taking place.”

This isn’t the first time this year that workers at an Apple supplier in China have vented their anger over poor working conditions. In May, hundreds of workers at an Apple supplier called Quanta Computer clashed with guards and broke through isolation barriers after a two-month-long COVID-19 lockdown and disputes over pay, reports Fortune magazine.
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Afghanistan
An unfolding catastrophe for children
Afghanistan’s children are bearing the brunt of a worsening economic crisis and the climate crisis.

A year after the Taliban returned to power, two-thirds of Afghan households struggle to meet basic food and non-food needs, says a World Bank survey published on Nov. 22. According to the World Food Programme, 3.9 million children are acutely malnourished.

About 13.2 million Afghan children will be affected by extreme weather events including droughts and floods, says Save the Children. The ongoing drought and unseasonal summer floods have wiped out crops, killed livestock, and depleted vital food supplies.

The result: Afghan children like Omid are reduced to skin and bones. At the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) feeding center in Herat, the 14-month boy weighs just 4kg — about the same as a newborn baby, reports the BBC.

The statistics are grim. MSF says that the rate of admissions at its facilities treating malnutrition across the country increased by as much as 47% this year over last year. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says that at 33 ICRC-supported hospitals across the country, child malnutrition cases are rising to over 63,000 so far this year. This figure is already 90% higher than the 33,000 cases for all of 2021.

As Afghan children waste away, they become more prone to diseases other than malnutrition. Omid has hernia and sepsis, while the ICRC is seeing a spike in cases of childhood pneumonia.

Afghan children face a long, harsh winter as temperatures drop and food stores decrease. Their families are hanging on by a thread and face “an impossible choice: To eat or to buy heat,” says Martin Schüepp, ICRC’s director of operations. The next few months would be critical for Afghan children.
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Global
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A treaty to end the age of pernicious plastics
Plastic pollution has negatively affected nearly 90% of studied species according to the WWF. It is often framed as an environmental issue. For example, Southeast Asia is a hot spot for plastic pollution, according to the World Bank. Five of the top 10 countries contributing to plastic leakage to rivers and seas are located here.

However, the production, use, and disposal of plastics also have serious impacts on human beings and their rights, as Human Rights Watch (HRW) details in a newly published Q&A document. Every stage of the life cycle of plastics — from the extraction of fossil fuel to disposal — negatively affects human rights, reports the Geneva Environment Network.

According to the global hub for environmental governance, “Plastics greatly impact the enjoyment of various human rights, notably the right to health. Additionally, the right to … information [is] infringed upon, as misinformation campaigns led by some actors of the plastic industry have hidden the true cost of plastics.” By contributing to long-lasting environmental degradation and climate change, plastics also “infringe on the rights of future generations.”

In Indonesia, the plastic waste dumped by Australia, Europe, and North America has infringed upon the Indonesian people’s right to health. According to the World Economic Forum, the waste, which is burned as fuel by local communities, has polluted the air and caused health problems for the local people who inhale the polluted smoke.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Philippines is one of the biggest recipients of plastic waste from all over the world, says Marian Ledesma, zero waste campaigner at Greenpeace Philippines. Ledesma told Al Jazeera, “Our communities disproportionately bear the brunt of environmental degradation caused by pollution with plastics.”

These human rights concerns should be top of mind as governments sit down in Uruguay on Nov. 28 to begin their first round of negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty, the U.N.’s new treaty to end plastic pollution. Katharina Rall, a senior environment researcher at HRW, said, “Governments should seize this chance to protect the rights of communities around the globe that are harmed by plastic pollution.”

In a 2021 report by Marcos Orellana, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, he said: “Addressing the negative impacts of the plastics cycle on human rights and integrating a human rights-based approach to plastics policy are indispensable for effective and legitimate solutions to the global plastics problem.” 

Ahead of the Global Plastics Treaty, an online poll of 23,000 people across 34 countries shows “overwhelming support for world’s first ever plastics treaty to create binding global rules that apply to all countries rather than a voluntary global agreement where governments can choose whether or not to take action,” says WWF. The poll has found that “seven in 10 people want world leaders to deliver a strong agreement with binding rules that cover all parts of the plastic lifecycle,” reports the online site edie.

The plastics treaty will entail a two-year negotiating process. Eirik Lindebjerg, global plastics policy lead, WWF International, said, “By 2025, we must have a treaty with teeth that is effective in ending plastic pollution.”

Otherwise, both people and the planet risk drowning in a plastic tsunami.

“By 2060, … carbon emissions from the full life cycle of plastics are expected to more than double, according to a report this year from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Paris,” reports Nature. “By mid-century, nearly half of the growth in demand for oil could be driven by plastics.”
Singapore
A Silver Lining
Wheels of change turning for gig workers
Singapore’s platform workers have transformed the way Singaporeans eat, shop, and move. In the rush to fulfill orders to meet targets or gain incentives, though, the workers toil for long hours, suffer fatigue, and risk serious injuries in road crashes — all for little pay.

A report released by the Institute of Policy Studies in Singapore early this month found that 16.1% of 1,002 food delivery riders it surveyed had been in “an accident serious enough to require medical treatment.” Citing the same study, CNA reports that not even 4% of food delivery riders earn more than S$5,000 (about US$$3,600) a month while those who earn more face greater risks of getting into accidents. As of July, five delivery riders had died in work-related road crashes since January 2021, reports Today.

The wheels of change are turning for Singapore’s gig workers. The Advisory Committee on Platform Workers has proposed that from late 2024, this labor sector enjoy better job protections — such as coverage under Singapore’s national pension system; work injury insurance covering medical expenses, income loss, and lump sum compensation for permanent disability or death; and improved formal representation. These were among the 12 key recommendations by the Committee, which were approved by the government on Nov. 23.

The new rules will benefit more than 73,000 gig workers who deliver food or drive passengers for companies such as Grab, Gojek, Deliveroo, and Foodpanda. However, the workers would not be considered full-time employees entitled to paid leave and other benefits.

Still, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy’s Terence Ho hails the ambitious recommendations, reports CNA. He says, “When fully implemented, they will put platform workers on an equal footing with employees in two areas where they are particularly vulnerable: work injury protection and adequacy of savings for housing and retirement.”
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.

December 27, 2021
December 27, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: Myanmar’s blood gemstones; Hong Kong’s “selection”; the failed talks on killer bots; and the need for safe, legal migration options for workers.

December 20, 2021
December 20, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the seamy side of a Chinese ultra-fast fashion leader; the “silencing of a Laotian son”; Kim Jong Un’s decade of abusive rule; and calls for change in a country where sexual violence regularly goes unpunished

December 13, 2021
December 13, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: the widespread condemnation following Aung San Suu Kyi’s conviction; the Nagaland killings that have revived debate about a controversial decades-old law; the other global infection; and Pakistan’s deadly blasphemy laws.

December 6, 2021
December 6, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: a high point for China’s struggling #MeToo movement; confusion over a perplexing court ruling in Indonesia; growing awareness of the rights of the hijra in Bangladesh; and the price Pakistan’s children pay for dirty needles.

November 29, 2021
November 29, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: three women journalists who have held those in power to account and have paid a high price; why Thailand is no Land of Smiles for refugees; the plight of the “marriage migrants” in Taiwan; and another victory for Mother Nature Cambodia.

November 22, 2021
November 22, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: Modi’s volte-face on India’s contentious farm laws; the wealthy country where hunger hides behind closed doors; Pakistan’s “living ghosts”; and the life-saving importance of the porcelain throne.

November 15, 2021
November 15, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the following: how China’s “gray zone” strategy seems to be backfiring in Taiwan; the Asian countries clinging to capital punishment; the lethal weapons still claiming thousands of victims, often long after hostilities have ceased; and the “unconstitutional” calls for royal reform in Thailand.

November 8, 2021
November 8, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the possible end of China’s relentless 996 work hours, the killing and chilling of journalists, the urgent need to stamp out child labor in Asian farms, and the Burmese military’s history of arson attacks.

November 1, 2021
November 1, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about a lifeline for Afghan female students, the end of an unconstitutional ban in the Philippines, the plight of North Korean defectors in the South, and India’s cool roofs.

October 25, 2021
October 25, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about China’s continuing crackdown on peaceful religious practice, a small step for LGBTI people in India, the closure of a human rights watchdog’s operations in Hong Kong, and how the Greater Mekong Subregion and India offer a glimmer of hope for malaria elimination.

October 18, 2021
October 18, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about a simple yet powerful tool that is beyond the reach of many, Asia’s starving millions, the urgent need to revise Japan’s regressive transgender law, and a low-cost, low-input, and climate-resilient type of farming in India.

October 11, 2021
October 11, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the early impact of an offshore data tsunami, why girl children deserve a better normal, the Asian gig workers fighting for their rights, and the rain harvesters in a Nepalese town.

October 4, 2021
October 4, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the right to information laws across the region, Malaysia’s youth power, Filipino advocates pushing back against a proposed road to ruin, and the Indian lawyer who won the “alternative Nobel Prize.”

September 27, 2021
September 27, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the resiliency of LQBTQ activists in South Korea and Taiwan, the gatecrashing Cambodian prime minister, the Malaysian mothers fighting for their children’s citizenship rights, and China’s shadowy solar industry.

September 20, 2021
September 20, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the urgent need for safe childbirth, the dangers of “kinetic impact projectiles,” the never-ending battle for democracy and human rights, and a game-changing procurement system.

September 13, 2021
September 13, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about “the anaconda in the chandelier,” a spyware scandal, a dangerous place to stand up for the environment, and how people power scored a win for a Malaysian forest.

September 6, 2021
September 6, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the other global health threat that cuts life expectancies in the Asian region, the forgotten Afghan refugees in Indonesia, period poverty, and a study that shows how better pay for truck drivers in South Korea made the drivers — and the general public — safer.

August 30, 2021
August 30, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the pursuit of justice for the forcibly disappeared in Asia, the Rohingya’s quest for safe havens, lawbreaking law enforcers, and a doctor-entrepreneur who is retelling the story of health in Pakistan.

August 23, 2021
August 23, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the South Asian countries where children face extreme risk from climate change, how arbitrary detentions have fueled COVID-19 surges in Myanmar and Thai jails, China’s problematic family planning policies, and the Afghan women fighting the return to the dark days of harsh limits on their freedoms.

August 16, 2021
August 16, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the trail of rights violations that follows China’s Belt and Road projects, the two South Asian countries that are failing their daughters, how the Rohingya risk being left behind in the global COVID-19 vaccination race, and the raft of repressive measures that are keeping journalists in the region from their doing their jobs.

August 10, 2021
August 10, 2021

As the Delta variant spreads like wildfire in parts of Asia, we highlight news about Afghanistan’s swift descent into catastrophe, ASEAN Special Envoy Erywan Yusof’s tough assignment in defusing the Myanmar crisis, the severe challenges faced by indigenous peoples, a rare legal victory for online freedom in Thailand, the refusal of Taiwanese Olympians to use a name that exists on no map, and the Asian women athletes who are changing the game.

August 3, 2021
August 3, 2021

In this edition, we highlight news about the slogan that landed a Hong Kong protester in jail, the attacks and arrests Myanmar’s doctors face amid the pandemic, the factory fire that spotlights child labor and safety lapses in Bangladesh, and the marginalized Indian girls who are fighting child marriage.

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