NewsTrust - Asia - Most Recent Stories: Opinion (Mainstream)

Myanmar loosens restrictions on press freedom

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 17:31:34 -0800

Public Radio International - By PRI's The World - Mar. 02 - It’s an exciting time to be a journalist in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. Censorship is easing, taboos on what can be covered are lifting, and the current president, Thein Sein, has even talked about the importance of the Fourth Estate as a social watchdog and a conduit between the government and the people. Quite a change from almost half a century of consistently authoritarian military rule. In the back hallways of the second floor of a down-at-the-heels Yangon hotel, there’s a cramped, bare-bones newsroom. But the news and commentary that comes out of here is sharp, widely read and respected. “I’m a fan of the Voice Journal,” said a young doctor named Si Thura. “Most of the issues the Journal mentions are political issues and social impact, which is different from the past.” The Voice, and its companion monthly newsletter “Living Color,” were among the first to try pushing the boundaries, when they started publishing about seven years ago. Ze Ya Thu, deputy editor of both publications, said things started loosening up around the 2010 elections, but have accelerated over the six months since pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi — who spent all but 7 of the past 23 years under house arrest — met with President Thein Sein. “Before the election, we wrote about Aung San Suu Kyi and put her photo on the front page, and we were banned. But a couple of months later, we could put her picture anywhere in any size. She has become the cover girl,” Ze said. Ze said there’s a feeling now of wanting to write everything they can. “Of course, we have to be responsible for our content. But we want to report on everything. That is a new-found freedom, and I think that has been unheard of in our country for maybe 50 years,” Ze said. It was 50 years ago Friday, March 2, 1962, that a military coup brought Ne Win to power and started decades of repressive military rule. For much of that time, all of Burma’s media were government-run — and most of the broadcast media still are. Thi Ha Saw, now 60, served as the foreign news desk editor for the government wire service. He got kicked out after supporting the 1988 pro-democracy movement. But by then, the government was starting to give licenses to privately owned publications. He joined a monthly business magazine, and is now chief editor of a political newsweekly called Open News. He said things are more open now, but censorship still exists. “You must submit your paper or at least computer print-outs to the Press Scrutiny Office. The junior officers will take a look at all these pages, including advertisements and pictures, and they scrutinize every single page. When they saw something they don’t like, we were told to take it out, change it and reformat the pages,” Thi said. What’s different now, he said, is that fewer publications need to submit to pre-publication censorship, though political magazines like his still do. He said about 10 percent of his content still gets spiked, which is better than when whole editions were scrapped. And articles now make it through that are critical of some government policies. Moreover, Thi said the government recently told editors it’s considering a new media law that would abolish pre-publication censorship completely. That’s great, he said, but there are still way too many laws on the books limiting free expression, especially in electronic and social media. He cites Koko Gyi, a student leader from the 1988 pro-democracy movement, who was jailed again for participating in the 2007 pro-democracy demonstrations, and was one of hundreds of political prisoners released last month. “He got 65 years in 2007. For what? The first part was six-month imprisonment for contempt of the court. He got another five years for being within an unlawful association. So what about the rest, the 60 years? Fifteen years each for four emails. So the law is a tool to publish people they don’t like,” Thi said. Of course, most people in Burma who send emails, or post on Facebook or Twitter, don’t have this problem, nor – usually – do publications with an online presence. Still, journalists have been imprisoned for what they write. Nine were released with other political prisoners in January; three remain in prison. Reporters Without Borders last year ranked Burma 169 out of 179 countries in terms of press freedom. But things are changing fast, Ze said. “Now the line is hazier, you know? You don’t know where the line is. In the past, you knew. You can’t write about human rights, and you can’t write about Aung San Suu Kyi. But now, you don’t know,” he said. “So maybe they delete some part of the news pieces. But you don’t know which part they will cut out. You just cover.” Now, Ze said, the journalists here are busier, because there’s more to cover, more issues that are acceptable. The challenge now, he said, is to train them up, so they better understand how to cover issues like human rights, politics, economics, and how to report rigorously, fairly and ethically. Journalism is a young profession in Myanmar, and these are early stages of what Ze hopes will be a new era. News media like his are pushing, through their reporting, to try to ensure it is.

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Is America still a serious nation?

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Week - By Robert Shrum - Apr. 22 (Opinion) - Are Americans still capable of making this country serious? That is the question — the real and fundamental issue — that spans all the bitter debates now raging in Washington, and everywhere in a decidedly unhappy land.

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Don't swallow this pill

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Times of India - By Unni Karunakara - Jan. 21 (Opinion) - MSF's International President urges India not to cut off access to crucial low-cost medicines.

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The 'dish' Boehner will miss

Wed, 19 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Jena McGregor - Jan. 19 (Opinion) - Political pundits have been abuzz in recent days over John Boehner's decision to skip President Obama's state dinner for Chinese president Hu Jintao.

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Barack Obama in Asia: Glaring omission

Sun, 14 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Economist - By Banyan - Nov. 14 (Opinion) - Mr Obama’s four-country tour of Asia might have been designed to play on Chinese fears of American encirclement. Of course, it was not. Two of the four are on the itinerary as hosts of important international summits—the G20 in South Korea and APEC (Asia-Pacific Co-operation) in Japan.

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China's prosperity anxiety

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - By Doyle McManus - Sep. 30 (Opinion) - Its newfound wealth brings worries about the high cost of housing, conspicuous consumption and a growing generation gap.Its newfound wealth brings worries about the high cost of housing, conspicuous consumption and a growing generation gap.

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China rethinks its controversial one-child policy

Sat, 11 Sep 2010 19:17:59 -0700

The Independent - Sep. 11 - China's one-child policy, probably the most audacious exercise in social engineering the world has ever seen, could be up for review, as Beijing policymakers worry about the effects of a population ageing fast, with insufficient numbers of youngsters to support them.

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The Indian tribe that took on a mining giant – and won

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 17:33:49 -0700

The Independent - Aug. 24 - They said they considered the mountain their god, a living deity that provided them with everything they required to sustain their lives. They said they would fight to the death before seeing the pristine mountain destroyed. Remarkably, they won their battle.

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Kyrgyzstan Referendum Held Under Tight Security

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Voice of America - By Gabe Joselow - Jun. 27 () - Kyrgyz citizens are voting in a constitutional referendum weeks after deadly inter-ethnic clashes sent parts of the country into a state of emergency. Under the close watch of soldiers and police, Kyrgyz voters came out in large numbers to cast ballots at polling stations around the country.

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Afghanistan: A war we're winning

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Independent - By Lt Col Nick Kitson - Jun. 09 (Editorial) - I'm writing this from the comfort of home, the tour in Afghanistan now over. How do I feel? A sense of release, of course, but a little nostalgia too. The final two months of the Battalion's tour was a very hard period – but we know for sure that it has been harder for the insurgents. We continued to bring more security to the population, both through establishing more small patrol bases in their midst and through targeted operations into insurgent safe havens. We know our comrades from 40 Commando Royal Marines, who relieved us at the end of our tour in March, will have wasted no time in carrying this forward.

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Afghans believe US is funding Taliban | Daniella Peled

Tue, 25 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Daniella Peled - May. 25 (Opinion) - It's near-impossible to find anyone in Afghanistan who doesn't believe the US are funding the Taliban: and it's the highly educated Afghan professionals, those employed by ISAF, USAID, international media organisations – and even advising US diplomats – who seem the most convinced.

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Moonshine or the Kids?

Sun, 23 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Nicholas D. Kristof - May. 23 (Opinion) - On the annual win-a-trip journey, finding families without enough money to pay school fees, but with plenty for booze and cigarettes.

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Secret lives

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

BBC News - Apr. 25 - Young Arab women wait in an upmarket medical clinic for an operation that will not only change their lives, but quite possibly save it. Yet the operation a mater of choice and not necessity. It costs about 2,000 euros (£1,700) and carries very little

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Vietnam Economy Has ‘Substantial’ Challenges in 2010

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Bloomberg - By Van Nguyen, Jason Folkmanis - Apr. 22 (Interview) - Vietnam is “clearly still intent on keeping policy conditions easy until the recovery is assured,” wrote Robert Prior-Wandesforde, a senior economist at HSBC in Singapore, in a Nov. 12 note. Still, “further policy action will be triggered as inflation continues to move higher,” he wrote.

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Imbalances in global economy present dangers

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel - By Tom Saler - Apr. 18 (Opinion) - In 1997, the collapse of Asian currencies triggered a policy response in the U.S. that a decade later contributed to the near-meltdown of the world financial system and the worst recession since the 1930s. But now, nineteen months after the Lehman bankruptcy and more than a year after the equity markets correctly sniffed out a surprisingly robust economic recovery, incremental changes in a dangerously imbalanced global economy seem near - even if the improvements are unfolding at a glacial pace. Ironically, some of the rebalancing involves reversing declines in those same Asian currencies that spooked the Federal Reserve into assuming its easy money stance in the late 1990s. Setting U.S. interest rates far below nominal economic growth for a prolonged period played a role in inflating destructive bubbles in stock and house prices. Currencies function as the tectonic plates of the world financial system. Their grinding and abrupt slippage rearranges the global economic landscape. Which brings up the next "big thing" on the currency front - the long overdue appreciation of the Chinese yuan.

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Kyrgyzstan: The not so great game

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - Apr. 09 (Editorial) - America's collusion with corruption and Russia's cheerleading have played out in the unravelling chaos of Kyrgyzstan

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Malaysian Loggers Try to Improve Their Image

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Liz Gooch - Apr. 09 - In an effort to attract more buyers, Malaysia is taking steps to convince European importers that its timber is harvested legally and sustainably.

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Southern China turning into arid plain

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Jonathan Watts - Apr. 07 (Opinion) - The government has embarked on a massive rain-making operation, firing thousands of cloud-seeding rockets into the sky In pictures: Drought in south-west China and the Mekong basin It is hard to imagine a less fitting environment for a mollusc than the arid plain of Damoguzhen in south-west China. There is not a drop of water in sight. The baked and fissured earth resembles an ancient desert. Yet shellfish are scattered here in their thousands; all so recently perished that shriveled, blackened bodies are still visible inside cracked, opened shells. Far out of water, the aquatic animals are not the advance guard of evolutionary progress; but the victims of a drought that has devastated their habitat and now threatens the livelihoods ...

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Obama expands U.S. military ops in Africa

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:12:21 -0700

United Press International - Apr. 06 - NAIROBI, Kenya, April 6 (UPI) -- Amid a surge in big oil strikes in Africa and the threat of growing al-Qaida penetration in the north and east, President Barack Obama is expanding U.S. military involvement across the continent. This has given weight

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Singapore death sentences challenged

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

The Guardian - By Afua Hirsch - Mar. 15 - Lawyers for Yong Vui Kong argue country?s policy of mandatory execution in drug cases is a breach of human rights Automatic execution for drug smugglers is inhumane and disproportionate, a court in Singapore has heard, as a 21-year-old challenged his death sentence for bringing heroin into the country. Lawyers representing Yong Vui Kong, a 22-year old Malaysian, argued that the mandatory death sentence violates international standards and human rights laws. Singapore executes anyone found guilty of importing more than 15g of drugs. It is one of the few countries in the world to impose mandatory death sentences for drug offences. "This is a young man, only 22, who committed a non-violent offence," said Saul Lehrfreund, co-founder of the ...

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Obama delays Asia trip to focus on health care

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Michael D. Shear, Lori Montgomery - Mar. 12 - President Obama has delayed his upcoming trip to Asia by three days to remain in Washington for what could be the climax of his year-long battle for health-care reform, his press secretary announced via Twitter this morning.

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China threat can heal US-Japan rift | Simon Tisdall

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Simon Tisdall - Mar. 09 (Opinion) - A long-running row about relocating a US Marine Corps base on Okinawa is threatening to boil over, with Yukio Hatoyama, Japan's prime minister, admitting at the weekend that failure to resolve the dispute could force his resignation. Given that his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) swept to a watershed election victory only last August, such an outcome could be deeply embarrassing for the US and deeply resented in Japan.

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The science behind the Chile earthquake

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 04:40:06 -0800

The Times - Feb. 27 - The catastrophic earthquake which hit Chile today was caused by the Pacific ocean floor gradually sliding under the continent of South America. The 8.8 magnitude quake, which struck at 6:34am GMT about 115km (70 miles) north-east of the city of

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The Joy of Stats

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

BBC News - By Hans Rosling - Jan. 09 (Editorial) - Hans Rosling's famous lectures combine enormous quantities of public data with a sport's commentator's style to reveal the story of the world's past, present and future development. Now he explores stats in a way he has never done before - using augmented reality animation. In this spectacular section of 'The Joy of Stats' he tells the story of the world in 200 countries over 200 years using 120,000 numbers - in just four minutes. Plotting life expectancy against income for every country since 1810, Hans shows how the world we live in is radically different from the world most of us imagine.

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Renouncing Islamism: To the brink and back again

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Independent - By Johann Hari - Nov. 16 (Opinion) - In the mosques across the city, I hear a fringe of young men talk dreamily of flocking to Afghanistan to "resist". Yet this whisper never has an immigrant accent. It shares my pronunciations, my cultural references, and my national anthem. Beneath the beards and the burqas, there is an English voice.

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