Reuters • 29th December 2022

FEATURE-Rising online crackdowns across Asia target citizens, Big Tech

* Asian countries tighten rules on social media content * Laws impact privacy, freedom of expression, activists say * Authorities say laws needed for security, safety purposes

South China Morning Post • 24th September 2022

As Iran’s anti-hijab protests escalate, diaspora reflects on ‘terrible memories’

The death of Mahsa Amini while in custody by Tehran’s morality police has outraged not just people in the country but overseas Iranians. Some say the event has triggered painful memories for them, while others note women like Amini are doubly oppressed because ‘as a Kurd, you are always a second-class citizen’

VOD • 26th August 2022

Behind a Slave Rescue From a Cambodian Scam Operation

A Vietnamese family took out loans against their family home to help their son escape enslavement in Cambodia. They scrambled to organize a cross-border rescue from a scam syndicate accused of torture and trafficking, asking VOD for assistance.

news.trust.org • 25th July 2022

Heatwave bonus does little to keep Asia’s delivery drivers safe

Food delivery and motorcycle taxi firms are levying heatwave and rain surcharges as extreme weather events rise, but gig workers need more protection, say experts

VOD • 7th July 2022

White-Hat Hacker Infiltrates Cambodian Scam Operations

After linking up with dozens of workers “asking to be saved” and breaking into scammers’ computers, a notorious ex-hacker now working for the Vietnamese state cybersecurity agency called for “prompt intervention” to get thousands of victims out of Cambodian compounds. A report compiled mostly last year by Ngo Minh Hieu — previously jailed in the U.S. for a massive identity-theft scheme involving the personal data of 200 million people — documented familiar allegations that have been raised by C

VOD • 4th May 2022

Behind Closed Gates: 200 Vietnamese Quietly Removed From S'ville Compound

Cambodian authorities were tight-lipped last week over an operation at Sihanoukville’s Jin Gang hotel compound, acknowledging only that there was an “administrative measure” against illegal Vietnamese immigrants. But for more than a week, the property, just off Ochheuteal Beach, was busy with official activity as a string of social media videos emerged from inside telling of hope that they would “soon to be free.” “Goodbye Sihanoukville and see you never again,” one of the TikTok videos said i

South China Morning Post • 16th March 2022

Vietnamese migrants fill Romania’s worker crunch but face risk of exploitation

Romania’s labour shortage offers jobs for Vietnamese in welding, meatpacking and house painting but they are exposed to harsh conditions and even human smuggling. Advocates say Bucharest authorities have to fix its labour rights laws, especially if it now wants to take in Ukrainian refugees as workers

South China Morning Post • 23rd November 2021

Vietnamese workers in Serbia cite pressure from Chinese tyre firm in dispute

Migrant workers say they face long hours in the cold and substandard living conditions for a job some were allegedly duped into after paying thousands of dollars Activists and members of the European Parliament have raised concerns about the workers, whose predicament highlights a darker side of the global supply chain

South China Morning Post • 26th June 2021

Asean’s developing nations are getting old before getting rich

Families have traditionally provided for the elderly in Southeast Asia but as they become smaller a greater burden will fall on the state.

South China Morning Post • 18th June 2021

Vietnamese being trafficked by Chinese nationals to work in Cambodian casinos

After being offered jobs online, Vietnamese have been forced to work 16-hour shifts and were physically assaulted when they tried to escape. Sihanoukville, which has received massive Chinese investment in recent years, has emerged as one of the primary destinations for labour trafficking

South China Morning Post • 8th June 2021

Asia could face ‘double burden’ of dengue and Covid-19

A small study in Brazil suggests coronavirus patients who previously had dengue are twice as likely to display Covid-19 symptoms. Analysts say there’s no other evidence of a link, but recommend countries where dengue is endemic conduct their own studies to prevent ‘future crises’

South China Morning Post • 19th May 2021

As Biden pledges 80 million vaccines for world, US expats ask ‘what about us?’

In a bid to counter China and Russia, the US president has vowed to donate 20 million Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson shots and 60 million AstraZeneca jabs to countries around the world. With nearly half of all Americans jabbed, the country has excess doses to give away. Some expats hope these shots will find their way into American arms, overseas.

South China Morning Post • 18th April 2021

Southeast Asia mirrors China with generation of left-behind children

From Vietnam to Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia, millions of children are being raised by extended family members as their parents migrate to find work. Many parents accept separation as the price they pay for working. And while there are fears for the effects on children, places like the Philippines have come to view migrant workers as heroes.

South China Morning Post • 23rd February 2021

Cambodia to get back artefacts worth US$50 million from late British collector’s estate

The antiquities were taken during the Khmer Rouge regime and are being returned by the daughter of controversial art collector Douglas Latchford. But scores of items were also removed during French colonial rule, and with many sites undiscovered or improperly documented, there is much work to be done

South China Morning Post • 12th December 2020

Southeast Asia braces for trash dump as China’s door shuts

On January 1, China will no longer be accepting waste from other countries, with Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia likely to feel the brunt of the new policy. Although the three countries have taken steps to deal with mounting trash, corruption and weak policies could doom them to remain buried in refuse

South China Morning Post • 20th August 2020

Asian-Americans divided on Yale affirmative action case

US Justice Department calling Yale biased against white and Asian-American applicants has won fans but also critics. Ethnicity and background affects outcomes, some say, while others point to ‘anti-black’ privilege

South China Morning Post • 6th August 2020

Cambodians cheer Thai ruling to allow lawsuit against sugar firm

A Bangkok court ruled that about 3,000 Cambodians could proceed with a class-action suit against Mitr Phol, the world’s fourth-largest sugar producer. Farmers in Oddar Meanchey province are seeking compensation after the Cambodian government allocated land to the company for sugar plantations.

South China Morning Post • 27th July 2020

IFC watchdog investigates Chinese bank’s Indonesian mine loan

Postal Savings Bank of China’s loan to a mining group was in apparent contravention of IFC environmental standards, complainants say. The probe marks the first time that the International Finance Corporation’s independent watchdog has investigated a Chinese financial institution

South China Morning Post • 9th July 2020

Students from India, Vietnam fear ‘cruel’ new US university rule

The Trump administration has threatened to revoke the visas of hundreds of thousands of students whose courses are completely online amid the Covid-19 pandemic. They see themselves as collateral damage in the president’s re-election campaign, while many cannot afford health care – or even to go home.

South China Morning Post • 24th June 2020

Anglicising Asian names: another form of racism? Just ask Phuc Bui

‘If names like Trump and Schwarzenegger and Obama and Kissinger have become American names, then all our Vietnamese names – including Phuc Bui – can be American names too’.