Asia Watch Archive

On March 28, Myanmar’s military junta dissolved 40 parties including the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of ousted former leader Aung San Suu Kyi. This move comes ahead of the yet-to-be-scheduled “elections” by the country's ruling military – elections that the UN and the U.S. have labelled a “sham.” The NLD won a landslide victory in 2020, but Suu Kyi was jailed three months later, following the February 2021 coup.

To resuscitate travel and boost consumption . . . 

The Japanese government is pushing forward with a travel subsidy program as part of its re-opening plans. In an attempt to revive the tourism industry, the ‘Go To Travel’ campaign covers up to half of the cost of travel and accommodation for domestic tourism trips. The campaign kicks off just as Japan heads into a four-day holiday this week for Marine and Sports Days, which were re-scheduled to boost travel at the start of the now-postponed Olympics.

Privacy concerns drive Naver out . . .

Naver is moving its back-up data storage centre out of Hong Kong due to privacy fears sparked by Hong Kong’s National Security Law. The South Korean tech giant, known as the ‘Korean Google,’ dominates web services in South Korea, and is one of the key players in its innovation sector with large stakes in artificial intelligence R&D. Naver is also the majority stakeholder of Line, a messaging app popular in Japan and various countries in Southeast Asia.

Eviction on short notice . . . 

U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the closure of the Chinese consulate in Houston today, with a deadline of this Friday. According to the U.S. State Department, the decision will “protect American intellectual property and Americans’ private information.” The move follows the U.S. Justice Department’s indictment of two Chinese individuals for allegedly working with the Chinese Ministry of State Security to hack into U.S. companies developing COVID-19 vaccines, testing technology, and treatments.

87 companies to shift manufacturing out of China . . .

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) announced on July 17 a list of 87 companies selected to receive subsidies to shift production out of China to Japan or Southeast Asia. In an effort to lower its overreliance on China and diversify supply chains, Tokyo will spend C$876 million to support 57 companies coming back to Japan and 30 moving to Southeast Asia.

A sudden spike in on-base cases . . . 

Japan’s government has asked U.S. military authorities to implement mandatory COVID-19 testing for all in-coming personnel following a spike in coronavirus cases at three installations in Okinawa.

A Māori social enterprise leads the way . . .

Aotearoa / New Zealand-based social enterprise 5000 Tribes has launched what is being called the world’s first global Indigenous online marketplace.

Strong support in South, Southeast Asia . . .

Asia varies widely in how people view the role of religion. That was one of the findings of a new Pew Research survey in which respondents were asked whether religion played an important role in their lives.

A brick-and-mortar courtroom for digital disputes . . . 

China’s newly-formed international e-commerce court, the Hangzhou Internet Court, located in Hangzhou, the capital of China’s Zhejiang province, will manage disputes over online deals, negotiations, and contracts.