SACRAMENTO – American activist Dr. Nguyen Quoc Quan has been released after 9 months of detention in Ho Chi Minh City by the Vietnamese government. Vietnamese authorities claimed the California software engineer and former teacher was engaged in terrorist activities due to his association with Viet Tan, a pro-democracy group that works “inside Vietnam […]
Tag: southeast asia
Assorted thoughts on Malacca
I like Portuguese settlements, I suppose—not that I have visited them often, but there is something to the concept. They do not have the buttoned-down nature of British colonies, perhaps: there is a sort of wild Catholicism to them, the sort you might see in Spanish and Portuguese streets during a major religious celebration. Malacca […]
Blogfest Asia 2012: Noisy, fractious ASEAN bloggers, ignore at own peril
Bloggers are about the same everywhere, I guess. Fractious and noisy. Exuberant, opinionated, occasionally make questionable clothing choices. Might have been considered “weird” in school. Vanguards of social revolution and change—that too. You ignore them at your own peril. This particular motley pack of Asia bloggers convened at Build Bright University, a small college of […]
Why Are So Many Cambodian Protesters Being Shot These Days? – UN Dispatch
Why Are So Many Cambodian Protesters Being Shot These Days? – UN Dispatch It’s becoming increasingly dangerous to be a peaceful protester in many parts of the world, and impoverished, corrupt Cambodia is no exception. Since November 2011, gun violence against peaceful protesters has been on the rise in this troubled Southeast Asian nation. Local […]
Sex Work and Dignity in Cambodia – Not Everyone’s a Victim at That Girly Bar
Sex work is still stigmatized in Cambodia, a largely conservative nation, despite what Street 51s more than healthy hostess bar trade may lead you to believe. A group of sex workers has decided to create a union and ask for the right to work—and most interestingly, they want to let people know that they don’t […]
Thais Worry About International Image in Wake of Bangkok Bomb Scare
Thai Bombing Vs Thai Tourist Industry – UN Dispatch Thailand is circling the wagons after a recent terrorist bomb scare in the heart of Bangkok—and some Thais are questioning if their nation’s relatively laissez-faire approach towards international visitors is the right one. The swift police response hasn’t been mirrored by the Thai government, however, which appears […]
Human Rights Go From Bad to Worse in Cambodia: UN Dispatch
Borei Keila evictee Art Samnang spoke to me yesterday after her second arrest. Land Grabs in Cambodia Human rights in Cambodia have gone from bad to worse in January, prompting Human Rights Watch to issue a damning report on the Southeast Asian nation’s rights slide. The Cambodian government has been especially rough on protesters demonstrating […]
Weird Wednesday in Phnom Penh: 4 Villagers Shot, 22 Escape Detention Center
The news cycle got weirder yesterday, as 22 Borei Keila evictees made an escape from an Orwellian “social affairs” center after a visit from Mu Sochua, and 4 protesting villagers near Snoul were shot in cold blood by hired security hands. The common theme in these examples of extreme government force? A total lack of […]
Phnom Penh Municipality Claims Evictees Aren’t Being “Detained” at “Social Affairs Center”
The Phnom Penh Municipality issued another poor explanation for its detention of 30 women and children at the Prey Speu Social Detention Center Friday. I’m here once again to break it down for you. Claiming to have “investigated” the 22 families detained at the center, the City found….. “14 families illegally bought the house on […]
Borei Keila: Phan Imex Chief Calls Evictees “Greedy Cheaters”
What was left of Borei Keila as of last Friday. According to Phnom Penh’s English-language papers, 100 Borei Keila families have been denied land at the Ponhea Leu relocation site, after they made the 45-km trek outside the city to the desolate “housing” area. Why were these families denied? According to Phan Imex development company […]