Stories about East Asia from November, 2016
Alipay’s New App Abuses Personal Data and Reinforces China's Class Divisions, Critics Say
"Even if the company needs to expand into social media, it should use a better means rather than being so shameless."
Complaint of Moldy Buns Triggers Wave of Harassment at Chinese University
A student was forced to make a public apology after accusing his school cafeteria of selling moldy buns. He has now left Weibo, after receiving a flood of harassing comments.
No Surprise: Backdoors and Spyware on Smartphones is the Norm in China
"We are so used to the leaking of personal data. We don’t care about government surveillance anymore. We are nobody."
Despite Suppression, Founder of Prize-winning Chinese Citizen Journalism Website Remains Optimistic
This post was written by Catherine Lai and originally published on Hong Kong Free Press on November 12, 2016. The version below is published on Global Voices under a partnership agreement. Despite the continued detention of his reporters and having been imprisoned twice, the founder of the citizen news site…
Chinese State Media CEO Challenges Tencent’s Power Over Online News
Xu, who has 33 years of experience working in media, is now openly expressing concern that Internet corporates may soon be more powerful than the state and the party.
Chinese Activist Who Wore ‘Xitler’ T-Shirt Goes Missing in Detention
"He’s one of a very small number of young Chinese who have been outspoken in criticising the Chinese government on Twitter using their real names."
Netizen Report: Will Indonesians Enjoy the ‘Right to Be Forgotten’?
As Indonesians question a broad-reaching Right to Be Forgotten, Turkey blocks the Internet in Kurdistan, Vodafone lands in Iran, and Sweden takes a swipe at drone cameras.