News in Asia

It’s News in Asia time!

[Trigger warning for discussion of rape.]

What I really love about comic books is that they are used as a means to comment and convey ideas relevant to the times. Now there is a comic book heroine whose origin story speaks directly to a major issue in India. An Indian rape survivor named Priya teams up with the Goddess Parvati, the Hindu goddess of love, fertility and devotion. Together they take on gender-based crimes.

The Hong Kong police have officially dismantled the protests camps that have been in place for months; however, the protesters have left messages for the police and the government: “We will be back.”

This week, two individuals from Asian countries were honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. The first, Kailash Satyarthi, is honored for his work ending child slave labor in India. The second, Malala Yousafzai, was the Pakistani girl targeted by the Taliban for her work promoting education for children, especially girls. At an exhibit honoring the two recipients, Malala burst into tears after seeing her bloodied school uniform on display. Honestly, I find that pretty not cool, displaying something so visceral to a child’s traumatic experience.

Chinese authorities are searching for 100 Vietnamese mail order brides who disappeared from a village in the Hebei province. According to reports, all the women disappeared at the same time.

Six Afghan soldiers were killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul over the week.

By now, everyone has heard of the report saying that the CIA used torture methods to try and gain information from suspected al Qaeda operatives.

Chinese legal advocate Pu Zhiqiang has denied all police charges against him, including “subversion against the state.”

The Philippines have urged industrialized nations to cut carbon emissions. The Philippines are particularly vulnerable to climate change as evidenced by getting pummeled by two major typhoons in one year.

The Indian army has asked veterans and current personnel to watch what they say on social media.

Finally, this article gives a brief look at the avant-garde film industry in Southeast Asia.