MAP: Southeast Asia's Highways Stretch for DaysThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Morley J WestonOn May 28, newly-elected Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad announced that he would cancel a high-speed rail project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project
NORTH KOREA: Meet Kim's Controversial Right-hand ManThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - TIMEHe was on both Kim Jong-un’s trips to China. He sat beside the North Korean leader during his meetings with South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the DMZ. And he held meetings with U.S. Secretary of State
Indian PM Modi Acts East with Indonesian Strategic PactThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Sumit KumarIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi sealed a critical new strategic partnership aimed at providing a counterbalance to China during his recently concluded visit to Indonesia. Modi stopped by in Jakarta
Amid Domestic Strife, Maldives' Military Takes to International StageThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Dr. Vasabjit Banerjee and Dr. Prashant Hosur SuhasThe recent political crisis in the Indian Ocean island nation of the Maldives has attracted the international community’s attention due to its diplomatic and military-strategic implications for India and
ANALYSIS: A Financial Crisis Looms over ChinaThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - The InterpreterGovernor of the Reserve Bank of Australia Philip Lowe’s May 23, 2018 speech highlighting the risks to the Chinese financial system from shadow banks – non-bank financial institutions often operating in
Southeast Asia's Road Building Spree Splinters EcosystemsThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - MongabaySoutheast Asia is a global biodiversity hotspot, and Indonesia and Malaysia are no exception, harboring some of the highest levels of species diversity in the world. Yet those two countries also supply
Chinese Human Rights Defender Huang Yan Claims Asylum in TaiwanThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - David GreenUpdating at 16:43 with news that Huang Yan has been granted leave to remain in Taiwan for three months, and at 18:15 with additional comments. Huang Yan, 48, a Chinese human rights activist who was granted
INDONESIA: Fighting Radicalism in Islamic SchoolsThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - The ConversationA series of terrorist acts has rocked Indonesia in May of 2018. Starting from a clash in a detention center at the Police Mobile Brigade headquarters in Depok, West Java, attackers then bombed three churches
ANALYSIS: The Broken Promise of Tsai Ing-wenThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Taiwan InsightBefore the 2016 election brought them to power, Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) pledged to pursue political reforms that would address fundamental, long-standing weaknesses
OPINION: America Is Playing Defense vs China on Tech InnovationThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - East Asia ForumThe high-tech rivalry between the United States and China is getting ugly. So far in 2018, the Trump administration has blocked high-tech acquisitions by Chinese firms, complained about Chinese technology
How Taiwan’s Seafood Sector Can Steer Toward Ethical Labor StandardsThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Nick AspinwallTaiwan’s lucrative deep-water fishing industry has found itself under immense pressure – as detailed in a Greenpeace investigation and a report by The News Lens last week – for its permissive attitude
HONG KONG: China Frets over Protest Marches and District Council PollsThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Suzanne PepperNewly elected legislator Au Nok-hin (區諾軒) is looking at no end of trouble. He’s not alone. But he already has three major political strikes against him and he was only just elected in the special Legislative
REVIEW: 'Divergent Paths' Explains Changing Fates of Myanmar and North KoreaThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - New MandalaBefore 2011, when political reforms started by Myanmar’s generals prompted a switch in Western policy, the country occupied the same berth in global politics as North Korea. Both were outliers, not only
Can Australia Help Indonesia Kick Cigarettes?The News Lens 關鍵評論網 - The InterpreterAustralia is an undisputed world leader in tobacco control. From massive wins with plain packaging to widely enforced bans on smoking in public places, it is easy to see why. Australia is successfully
Taiwan Seafood Trader FCF Faces Financial Pressure on Links to Rights AbusesThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Nick AspinwallA shocking Greenpeace report released last week details forced labor and physical abuse at sea, including the death of Indonesian fisherman Supriyanto. It also makes disturbing connections between human
US Takes First Steps on New Pro-Taiwan LegislationThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Morley J WestonU.S. Senators Cory Gardner of Colorado and Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts on Friday introduced the "Taiwan International Participation Act of 2018," a bill that the senators say would "instruct U.S.
Data, Propaganda and Cambridge Analytica in TaiwanThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Morley J WestonLook down any Taipei Metro car during rush hour, and it is immediately obvious that Facebook is a fact of daily life in Taiwan; 77 percent of the country claims to use the service, according to data-analysis
Taiwan 'Outraged' as Burkina Faso Signs Communique with ChinaThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - David GreenTaiwan's Ministry of Affairs (MoFA) issued a statement early Sunday expressing its disappointment at the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Burkina Faso, just two days after the
Week in Focus: North Korea Destroys Nuclear Sites, Taiwan Loses Another AllyThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Kuan ChenNorth Korea claimed Thursday (May 24) it destroyed its key nuclear weapons testing site, setting off explosions to collapse underground tunnels hours before President Trump called off a planned June 12
Taiwan's GDP Is Three Times Larger than Its Diplomatic Allies' CombinedThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Morley J WestonWith Burkina Faso now departed as a diplomatic ally, Taiwan is one step closer to becoming a pariah state. But those who cling on and recognize Taiwan as the One True China form a motley crew, and Taiwan
OPINION: Malaysia's House of Cards and 2-Party DemocracyThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Dr. Amir F.N. Abdul MananIt has been more than two weeks now. It is happening, and it is happening fast. The Malaysian house of cards is being dismantled and disrupted from within. Raided at the dawn of Ramadan, and taken back
Japan's Hot Springs Open Up to LGBT CommunityThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Global VoicesJapan's “hot spring capital” is trying to find ways to make one of the country's most popular pastimes more inclusive for people who identify as LGBT, when most public baths are segregated according to
Confronting Coldstore: Why Singapore Must Face Its PastThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - The InterpreterThe unassuming storefront sits in an old-school complex next to Singapore’s National Library, and is easily overlooked in the building full of bookstores and stationery shops. Inside, Xinhua Cultural is
TAIWAN: After 2 Years of Tsai, Voters Shun Partisan PoliticsThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Taiwan InsightIn the past two years, one of the most important phenomenon in Taiwan politics is the emergence of non-partisans. For the first time since democratization, more than half of Taiwanese voters do not support
Malaysia's Real Political Struggle Is Just BeginningThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - The ConversationThe euphoria over the change of government in Malaysia is unlikely to die down soon. In fact, the honeymoon period for Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and his new government will probably last until the
Chinese Piracy: A Crime of DesperationThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Ian MildenWhen people think of piracy and China, they are most likely to think of intellectual pirates, but maritime piracy still is a modern problem which threatens international shipping. But while China has engaged
Taiwan’s Diplomatic Space Shrinks Further as Burkina Faso Breaks TiesThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Courtney Donovan Smith (石東文)Only three days after joining with 14 other nations to propose to the United Nation's World Health Organization (WHO) that Taiwan be allowed as an observer in the international health body and its largest
Taiwan and the GDPR: Are We Ready?The News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Taiwan Business TOPICS MagazineThe European Union (EU)’s new data protection regime, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), will come into force on May 25, with huge implications for how global businesses, including those in
'Metal Politics Taiwan': Dual Lenses, Dueling PerspectivesThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Darice D. Chang"Metal Politics Taiwan," a film by director Marco Wilms of "Art War" (2014) fame, follows Taiwan’s most storied politician – metal vocalist turned legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐) – during his campaign and
Kaohsiung Builds but People May Need a Nudge Before They ComeThe News Lens 關鍵評論網 - Eryk SmithThis October, the planet’s largest concert venue under one roof officially opens in Kaohsiung, built on the site of an old military base. It’s an impressive building. Impressive, too, is what’s planned
