Asia - Saigoneer

Pride Fest, Cambodia's Most Ambitious LGBT Event to Date, Is Coming This Week

2023-05-22T10:00:00+07:00

On a steamy evening in downtown Phnom Penh, Rebecca Chan takes the stage. The crowd — mostly Cambodian millennials and Gen Z's — is riled up from previous performances, but Chan’s composure tames their energy. She prowls around the raised platform in knee-high boots. Her skin-thin dress flaunts the contours of her body. She circles calmly and seductively to tantalize the hushed audience below. They track her every move in anticipation of what’s to come.

The moment Rihanna’s ‘Stay’ flows from the speakers, the crowd erupts in a frenzy. Chan raises her hand to calm them. Her other hand gingerly lifts the mic to her painted face, framed by cascading brown curls. Chan’s mouth opens, her lips begin to move, and, for the next few minutes, her performance transfixes the audience. Her quivering lips intensify her vibrato. She clenches her fists to channel the intensity of the chorus. The crowd sways, sings and snaps when she nails the song’s iconic fermata notes. Chan is lip-syncing, of course, so she’s not nailing any notes at all, at least not vocally. But this detail takes nothing from the performance.

Rebecca Chan performing at Pride Fest 2022.

“My favorite thing about doing drag is being on stage and performing my heart out,” says Chan. “Every time I’m on the stage, I actually feel like… everything is possible. It is a feeling I’ll never be tired of.”

Chan, a trans woman from Phnom Penh, is part of an ensemble of Cambodian drag queens that, after years of experience, know precisely how to work a crowd. Their performances oscillate between emotive singalong ballads — like Chan’s rendition of ‘Stay’ — to terpsichorean pop anthems embellished with sexualized acrobatics, including death drops, split jumps and high-heeled kicklines. In between acts, wicked banter in English and Khmer ensues, with the queens playfully hurling shade at one another. Three nights a week (Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays), the troupe begins here in Blue Chilli, Phnom Penh’s first drag bar, before moving to Heart of Darkness, the city’s infamous afterhours nightclub.

Pride Fest 2022.

The entire ensemble unites for a grand finale to end the set at Blue Chilli. The queens ascend the stage to perform Little Mix’s ‘Shout Out to My Ex’ and theatrically, often hilariously, fight over the lyrics. It’s long past midnight and Blue Chilli is about to close, but the show is far from over. The crowd’s energy is maxed out and they are itching to get to the next spot, but not before a final message from Chan. She grabs the mic and offers her heartfelt thanks for supporting the trans community. The audience responds with clapping, snapping and hoots of appreciation. Chan also reminds the crowd about Reajiny Pride, a gender-inclusive multi-stage drag pageant. The final takes place on May 27 during Pride Fest, Cambodia’s most ambitious queer celebration to date.

“This year is going to be very special,” says Phnom Penh native Rattanack Ath, or Nack, who leads the team organizing Pride Fest this year. “Pride started as a western concept, but we are tweaking it to focus on changing the hearts and souls of people — not politics. We are trying to communicate to Cambodian people the way they know how.” According to Nack, that means learning from the successes of previous pride events, working with celebrities who are willing to support the cause and organizing a compelling schedule of activities to appeal to broad swaths of the population.

Scenes from Pride Fest 2022.

Instead of throwing a parade to demand equal rights, which would be logistically and legally complicated in Cambodia, Nack and his team have arranged a fun run and tuk tuk race. The 5km Rainbow Run kicks off the day with buckets of powder paint and prizes for the winners. The Remork Race involves commandeering tuk tuks and embarking on a citywide scavenger hunt to find hidden clues and solve puzzles. Participants are encouraged to decorate their tuk tuks in the spirit of pride so that the race will be visible across the city. A kind of parade, but in disguise.

2019's tuk tuk race.

Reajiny Pride, the drag pageant, is another important activity. Showcasing drag at Pride Fest gives visibility to the trans community, a group that is sometimes sidelined in pride events elsewhere. But as drag becomes more popular with both queer and non-queer people alike, Reajiny Pride is also a way to appeal to Phnom Penh’s broader community. “This year, we have people from across the LGBTQIA+ community and its allies,” says Rebecca Chan, who has taken the lead in organizing Reajiny Pride. “This will make the festival bigger, more inclusive and help everyone feel the love.”

Pride Fest this year will see a wealth of activities, but perhaps the location will leave the greatest impression. Nack and his team piggybacked on the Southeast Asia (SEA) Games and received permission to arrange the bulk of the event at the National Olympic Stadium. This iconic 1960s modernist structure, designed by Cambodian architect Vann Molyvann, will be spectacularly lit in rainbow colors to celebrate Pride Fest. Securing the stadium also spurred the Pride Fest team to include a sporting dimension, the Asia Pride Games, with volleyball, badminton, bowling and running competitions. “It’s the first time for Cambodia to host an international LGBTQ+ sports event,” says Nack. “We’ve even had the games approved by the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth.”

Editor's note: Over the weekend we received news that due to unforeseen circumstances, the event location has changed from the National Olympic Stadium to Diamond Island.

Physical feats on display at Pride Fest 2022.

Holding Pride Fest at the National Olympic Stadium is also of personal importance for Nack, as this is where, 20 years ago, he witnessed a hate crime. “I was playing volleyball when a group of boys yelled ‘Let's go beat up a gay!’” He recounts. “Back then, gay men were meeting in the bathroom of the stadium. I watched from afar as two young men were beaten up. Now, 20 years later, I’m able to arrange a pride celebration here.” For some attendees, the event will be cathartic: a place where closeted gay men once came to connect will transform into a venue celebrating queer people and promoting acceptance.

Pride Fest 2022.

Although Cambodia is making strides when it comes to queer acceptance, there is still some way to go, argues Punnavit Hantitipart, or Tum, co-owner of Rambutan, a pair of queer-friendly hotels in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. Bangkok-born Tum moved to Cambodia in 2007 and says that he has witnessed the big cities gradually become more open.

“I hope [Pride Fest] will show that the society is more accepting in them and… make people feel more confident to come out to themselves and society,” he says. Rambutan Resort, Pride Fest’s unofficial afterparty venue, will be wrapping up the event with a raucous celebration around its tree-fringed swimming pool on May 28. These famous — or perhaps infamous — pool parties are a reminder that, although Pride Fest is doing important work, the event can also provide an excuse to have fun and go a little wild.

Pride Fest 2022.

If you want to attend Pride Fest, it’s not too late to start planning. The Asia Pride Games run from May 25-28. Most pride events, including the Rainbow Run, Tuk Tuk Race and Reajiny Pride drag pageant final take place on May 27. Visit the official website for more information, a full schedule and accommodation recommendations.

On Finding Flavors of Home in Takadanobaba, Tokyo's 'Vietnam Town'

2023-04-14T15:00:00+07:00

A bánh mì stand to the left, signs for Bích Karaoke above an alley across the street, an open shopfront lined with bottles of Chin-Su chili sauce and G7 coffee sachets, a laid back restaurant where waiters dish out steaming bowls of noodles to customers perched on plastic stools.

No, this is not a description of Hanoi Old Quarter, but a bustling street outside Takadanobaba Station in central Tokyo — a slice of Vietnamese flair in the heart of a foreign city. This small cluster of streets boasts so many Vietnam flags that some local residents jokingly refer to it as Takadanobaba’s very own “Vietnam Town.” Yet, if the area continues to develop as it has been doing, that expression won’t seem like a joke for much longer.

Takadanobaba Station serves three lines and is the ninth-busiest station in the Tokyo Metro Network.

When the COVID-19 Pandemic hit in 2020, Vietnamese nationals made up the second-largest number of foreign students in Japan after China, up to a pre-pandemic record of 73,389. That number now looks set to continue growing after a small pandemic-induced lull. And that’s just the students. The number of Vietnamese nationals in Japan rose from around 52,000 in 2012, to a staggering 476,000 in 2022. This number is second only to China. It is exciting to imagine what effects this could have on both Vietnamese and Japanese culture.

Flags and Vietnamese-language signs are common in the neighborhood.

Indeed, it is tempting to imagine this movement might boost Japanese interest in Vietnamese art, music, and fashion. But first comes the food. Takadanobaba boasts several bánh mì shops, from the incredibly popular Bánh Mì Xin Chào to Bánh Mì Sandwich, the latter of which claims to have started the recent bánh mì craze in Tokyo. The neighborhood is also home to two Vietnamese-style karaoke bars, Vietnamese shops that make their own spring rolls on site, and countless sit-down restaurants serving everything from cao lầu to bún bò Nam Bộ.

A pork bánh mì and cà phê sữa đá in Takadanobaba.

Bích Khoang, a local business owner who lives in the district, kindly let me explore his imports shop, Việt Shop. Khoang’s staff uses the ground floor to prepare Vietnamese bento boxes and food for his nearby restaurant, Nón Lá. A narrow staircase leads to a small room brimming with Vietnamese food products, from Bia Hà Nội to Oishi potato chips.

“There’s quite a lot,” this is the first thing Khoang says when I question him about Vietnamese businesses in the area, and he repeats the statement with a clear sense of pride throughout our conversation. And he is right. The sheer number of Vietnamese flags on show is not only arresting, but evidently empowering. This is a corner of a vast, sometimes alienating city that clearly feels like a home-away-from-home for many Vietnamese nationals.

Vietnamese businesses bring a touch of home to those living in Tokyo.

Diệu Linh, an International Relations student at a Tokyo-based university, backs up this sentiment: “Of course, it feels great when I see so many Vietnam flags, and to know that Vietnamese culture is getting so popular here. Sometimes, in that kind of area in Takadanobaba, it even feels like I’m back in Hanoi or something.”

It’s not only the home-away-from-home aspects that excite Diệu Linh, but also the understandable sense of pride in seeing a foreign country so clearly enjoying the culture of her birthplace.

Ka-ra-ô-kê and chili sauce, reportedly two of Vietnam's essential exports.

“When I go to a Vietnamese restaurant with my Japanese friends, or hear Japanese people talking about Vietnam or enjoying Vietnamese food, there’s a kind of feeling of pride around Takadanobaba and also at the annual Vietnam Festival in Yoyogi Park,” she explains. “It makes me feel more relaxed here to know there’s goodwill towards Vietnamese culture.”

A shop selling "bánh mì sandwich."

Meiko Tamura, a graphic designer who has lived in Takadanobaba for over ten years, believes Vietnam has the potential to become a cultural powerhouse in Japan. “Why not? Japanese people obviously seem to love Vietnamese food and culture,” she shares. “There are Vietnamese people everywhere and they seem to adapt really well to the culture here, too. To be honest, with all the Vietnamese flags and signs around, it [Takadanobaba] already feels like a ‘Vietnam Town.’”

Whether or not this scattering of Vietnamese shops and restaurants ever turns into a full-fledged “Vietnam Town” remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that Takadanobaba has already established itself as the place to be for Vietnamese food, which, right now, makes it a place that a lot of Japanese people want to go.

Inside Cambodia's Floating Village, Where 40% of People Are Ethnic Vietnamese

2021-09-17T11:15:15+07:00

Chong Kneas floating village, only 15 kilometers south of Siem Reap, is one of hundreds that line Tonle Sap Lake. Tens of thousands of families live in these clustered homes, around 40% of whom are Vietnamese living as undocumented migrants.

Editor's note: This photo essay was created before the pandemic. In June 2021, the Cambodian government started evicting floating communities from their home, citing security and pandemic concerns.

During a visit in March 2019, the sun held all firmly in its grip, forcing villagers inside. Rarely have so many people been so close to water yet so desperate to stay cool. Nonetheless, a small number paddled around in flat-bottomed sampans, rowboats or, for the more adventurous kids, plastic tubs.

The only way to access the village is by boat.

Many children were studying in the floating primary school or waiting outside for their parents to pick them up and boat them back home. Others played in the water as we passed, splashing around and calling out to us, evidently not too concerned about the pythons.

Kids play and swim to keep cool.

It was dry, searing-heat season, so the water level was far lower than just a few months before. During such times, the village relocates far out into the lake. In the rainy season, the nearby river is high enough for everyone to live along the more manageable stretches of Tonle Sap River.

Some villagers earn money by giving boat rides to tourists.

Yet these floating villages can be turbulent places to live, especially for Vietnamese. They live here as they are not allowed anything else: to live on land, buy property or even get a factory job. What's more, the settlements are technically illegal, making it difficult for those living here to avoid eviction if authorities choose to move them on, especially if they are not ethnically Cambodian.

A lady sells coffee and drinks in a scene reminiscent of Can Tho's floating market.

Thankfully, however, despite racial tension across the nation, Chong Kneas remains a peaceful medley of cultures, with Cambodian, Vietnamese and ethnic Cham Muslims living together, and often forming mixed marriages. In addition to the floating primary school, there is a market, temple and police station. There was once a floating basketball court as well.

A floating garden.

Som Borak, who grew up in the village and learned English from tourists, said there is "no problem living together. There's not Vietnam, Cambodia, Muslim separate. We all live together. Some people are moving to live on the land now. But for fishing, you are going to live on the water. Because living on the water is free for living."

Take a look at the village below:

A Vietnamese Buddhist temple in the village.

A Vietnamese family comes to visit the temple.

A raised platform for repairing boats.

A monkey, kept as a pet, tries to keep cool.

Ducks drink lake water to help cope with the heat.

Tiny shrimp drying in the sun.

Som Borak has lived in the village since he was born.

Pandemic Pushes 80m People in Asia Into Extreme Poverty, ADB Data Shows

2021-08-25T12:00:00+07:00

The global pandemic has undone decades of economic improvement in some nations.

Nikkei Asia reports that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has estimated that the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed up to 80 million people in developing economies across the continent into extreme poverty.

The ADB's latest research covered 35 economies and defined extreme poverty as living with less than US$1.90 per day.

Back in 2017, around 203 million people in Asia — 5.2% of the region's population — were under this line. The ADB believes that, without the pandemic, these figures would have fallen to 104 million and 2.6% in 2020. Instead, tens of millions of people continue to face dire situations, while efforts to alleviate hunger and improve access to healthcare and education have stalled.

The overall economy of developing nations in Asia contracted by 0.1% last year, the first time this figure had fallen in almost 60 years, the news source adds. Some countries witnessed particularly pronounced recessions, including the Philippines (9.6%) and India (7.3%). These dramatic economic losses had huge knock-on effects throughout society.

The ADB had predicted a rosier economic picture this year, with regional growth of 7.2% forecast, but ongoing Delta outbreaks across numerous major economies is putting this in peril.

Just today, the World Bank lowered its 2021 growth forecast for Vietnam from 6.8% to 4.8% amid the country's severe COVID-19 outbreak and ensuing social distancing regulations.

[Photo via Blue Dragon Children's Foundation]

Uniqlo Parent Company Becomes World's Most Valuable Fashion Retailer

2021-02-17T10:53:00+07:00

Although still lagging behind Zara's parent company, Inditex, in revenue and profits, Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, hit a higher market capitalization this week.

Nikkei Asia reported that Fast Retailing reached US$103 billion in market capitalization, while Inditex sits at US$99 billion. Fast Retailing is in the third spot for annual revenue with US$18.9 billion, which places it behind H&M at US$22.5 billion and Inditex at US$34.1 billion from November 2019 - November 2021.

Experts credit the success to the quick economic recovery following the initial COVID-19 outbreak in Asian nations where Uniqlo has a strong presence, particularly China. They also say the increase in remote work has led people to prefer the type of casual clothing the brand specializes in.

Fast Retailing's biggest brand is Uniqlo but it also owns J Brand, Theory and six more brands. There are currently 2,298 Uniqlo stores around the world; 815 are in Japan and 791 are in China. Vietnam has recently gotten in on the action and opened several stores in the past year and a half.

Fast Retailing also recently released their sustainability report which documents various efforts to improve the environmental sustainability of their products and operations as well as human rights efforts. Highlights of the report include new feather-recycling technology, the donation of clothing to refugee camps, and the donation of 16.73 million masks and 1.43 million isolation gowns during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fast Fashion, a category of clothing retail that Uniqlo, Zara and H&M belong to, has been criticized for relying on labor with poor working conditions and producing an inordinate amount of waste and pollution.

Thailand Reopens for Tourists From 56 Countries, Albeit With Compulsory Quarantine

2020-12-18T15:00:00+07:00

It is not confirmed yet whether Vietnam is part of the list of countries eligible for the scheme.

The Bangkok Post reports that the Thai government has decided to ease restrictions on visitors from 56 countries in an effort to help Thailand's ailing tourism sector.

However, arrivals will still have to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks before being allowed to move around the country. Taweesilp Visanuyothin, the spokesman for Thailand's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, told the news source that tourists from places such as Australia, France and the United States will be able to visit, but must provide a certificate showing that they don't have COVID-19 72 hours before booking a quarantine hotel.

Given the two-week quarantine requirements, the normal 30-day visa-on-arrival would be extended to 45 days. While in quarantine, visitors must undergo three COVID-19 tests, while in the future, additional tests could potentially mean shorter quarantine periods.

Specifically, Thai officials will pilot the three-test process from January 1 to 15, and then assess the possibility of shortening quarantine to 10 days for those who test negative. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on the global tourism industry, and Thailand received almost 40 million tourists in 2019, making it one of the most popular destinations in the region.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha also announced that New Year events can be canceled if organizers don't follow health regulations: "Strict measures must be in place while people enjoy themselves during the New Year celebrations. I don't want people to suffer from COVID-19 after New Year. Everyone must cooperate for the sake of the country's safety."

However, the list of nationalities included in this list does not appear to be publicly available.

Vietnam, Singapore Agree to Create Travel Bubble Next Year

2020-12-16T13:00:00+07:00

Don't get your tourism hopes up though.

Straits Times reports that the governments of Vietnam and Singapore plan to create a "green lane" between the two countries for business and official travel next year.

Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday, December 15, that Foreign Minister Chee Wee Kiong and Nguyễn Quốc Dũng, Vietnam's vice minister of foreign affairs, have agreed to resume commercial flights, though specifics on dates and quarantine regulations still need to be worked out.

Both parties also agreed to continue the facilitation of repatriation flights for Vietnamese nationals in Singapore and vice versa, while also ensuring that supply chain links between the two nations are maintained.

Like Vietnam, Singapore has handled the COVID-19 pandemic well, with the exception of buildings where migrant workers live, where tens of thousands of cases have been detected. The island state's death toll, however, is only 29, and the government is further loosening social distancing regulations on December 28, according to Channel News Asia.

Singapore and Hong Kong had planned to launch a quarantine-free travel bubble at the start of December, but this initiative was delayed until 2021 due to a resurgence of the virus in the latter.

Vietnam has also struggled to resume inbound commercial flights due to confusion over quarantine costs and regulations for passengers.

[Top photos by Alberto Prieto and via Flickr user J. Philipp Krone]

Japan Plans to Ban Sale of Gasoline Cars by Next Decade

2020-12-07T13:00:00+07:00

By the mid-2030s, all new cars sold in Japan will need to be hybrid gasoline-electric or fully electric.

Earlier this fall, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the ambitious goal of the nation becoming carbon-neutral by 2050, though no clear roadmaps were provided for how this would be achieved. Transportation contributes 17% of the nation's total carbon output.

Japanese carmakers such as Toyota and Honda are some of the global leaders in electric and hybrid vehicles, as exemplified by the popular Toyota Prius model. The companies' upcoming product lines include more hybrid vehicles, yet they constitute only 29% of the country’s 5.2 million new motor vehicle registrations. Last year, registrations for both plug-in hybrid and EV cars fell compared to the previous year. If sales of gasoline-engine cars were banned in the 2030s, experts predict that the vehicles will disappear from the roads by 2050.

Japan's announcement is in line with declarations made by other nations in recent months. China said that by 2035, half of all new cars must be electric-only, while the other half can be hybrid gasoline-electric. The nation aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, although in 2019, only 5% of cars sold there were of the "new-energy" variety.

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom set a target to ban gasoline and diesel cars by 2030, while France aims to have a ban in place by 2040. The state of California in the United States has set the deadline in 2035, though no nation-wide plan has been proposed.

Vietnam has not announced similar plans for its vehicles, although it has partnered with Mitsubishi to explore ways to get more electric vehicles on the road. Ambitious proposals to ban motorbikes in major cities have been decided against, with regulations and increased public transportation alternatives pursued.

World's Largest Trade Bloc Created During Vietnam-Led ASEAN Summit

2020-11-16T11:00:00+07:00

Vietnam is now part of the world's largest trade bloc.

Al Jazeera reports that on Sunday, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), a massive 15-country trade deal, was signed during the 37^th annual ASEAN Summit, which Hanoi hosted remotely.

The pact includes the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, accounting for about 30% of global GDP and population. It will become the world's largest trade bloc.

The leaders of the signatories were present in a group video call, creating a new normal of trade diplomacy.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, who led the signing ceremony, said: "RCEP will soon be ratified by signatory countries and take effect, contributing to the post-COVID pandemic economic recovery."

The trade deal, which took eight years to negotiate, will gradually lower tariffs between the member states. India had initially been part of the deal, but dropped out due to domestic opposition to requirements related to open markets, the news source adds.

The RCEP is not as stringent as trade deals signed with the European Union, such as the one that Vietnam ratified earlier this year that sets standards on labor and environmental issues.

Vietnam's membership in RCEP adds to its role in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPPTP), both of which exclude the United States due to President Donald Trump's views on multilateral trade.

[Photo: Asia-Pacific leaders pose for a photo at the RCEP summit held in Bangkok last November/CNBC]

Singapore to Lift Restrictions on Travelers From Australia, Vietnam Next Week

2020-10-01T12:00:00+07:00

Starting October 8, the nation will lift arrival restrictions in light of the two country's successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced yesterday that Vietnam and Australia, with the exception of Victoria state, will join New Zealand and Brunei as the only locations foreign travelers can arrive from. Visitors from the four nations will not have to serve the mandatory seven-day stay-home notice, although they are required to take a COVID-19 swab test upon landing.

Additionally, all people coming from abroad will need to download and keep active the TraceTogether app on their phones to allow for contact tracing. They must also pay for the cost of the tests.

Singapore is eager to jumpstart its important tourism industry and an official noted: "The risk of importation from these countries is low." Vietnam hasn't had a new community-spread case in 28 days and the infection rate in Australia is down to 0.02 cases per 100,000 people.

The move is seen as an important step in resuscitating Singapore's Changi Airport which accounts for 5% of Singapore's gross domestic product and employed 192,000 workers before the global pandemic.

Meanwhile, Vietnam and Australia both remain closed to foreign travelers. Tào Thị Thanh Hương, Vietnam's ambassador to Singapore, and Michael McCormack, Australia’s deputy prime minister both spoke with Singapore Transport Minister Ong Ye Kung. He posted on Facebook: "They were appreciative of Singapore’s decision, and when conditions are right, I believe they will consider reciprocating the lifting of restrictions to travelers from Singapore."

[Photo via Flickr user David Russo]

Indonesian Town Forces Those With No Masks to Dig Graves for Covid-19 Victims

2020-09-16T13:00:00+07:00

Officials in one part of Indonesia are not messing around when it comes to face masks.

The Jakarta Post reports that as punishment for not wearing a mask in public, eight residents of Gresik regency in East Java have been ordered to dig graves for people who died from COVID-19.

"There are only three available gravediggers at the moment, so I thought I might as well put these people to work with them, Suyono, head of the district the graveyard is located in, told local media. "Hopefully this can create a deterrent effect against violations."

From the group of eight, teams of two were created, one to dig a grave, and the other to put wooden boards in the grave to support the corpse that would eventually be buried in it.

According to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard, Indonesia is battling the worst coronavirus outbreak in Southeast Asia. The country of 268 million has reported 225,030 cases and 8,965 deaths.

Last month, Reuters reported in a longform feature on the country's many struggles to contain the virus, including poor contact tracing, extremely low testing rates and official resistance to lockdowns. Just today, September 16, Indonesia reported the biggest daily increase in COVID-19 cases, with 3,963 new infections.

Masks, meanwhile, have become an odd flashpoint in the global response to the pandemic, with countries such as Vietnam, China and South Korea adopting widespread usage with ease, while other nations such as the United States and Germany have seen massive public protests about the fabric face coverings.

[Photo by P. J. Leo via Jakarta Post]

Thai Cabinet Approves Bill to Legalize Same-Sex Partnerships

2020-07-10T13:00:00+07:00

Thailand is on its way to allowing same-sex unions.

The New York Times reports that the Thai cabinet approved the Civil Partnership Bill this week. The bill still needs to make it through parliament to become law, and it does not actually mention the word "marriage," but it is an important step.

If passed, same-sex couples would be able to jointly own property, adopt children, and pass on an inheritance. Both individuals in a couple would need to be at least 17 years old, and one must be a Thai citizen.

Ratchada Dhnadirek, a deputy government spokesperson, told the newspaper: "The Civil Partnership Bill is a milestone for Thai society in promoting equality among people of all genders. This strengthens the families of people with sexual diversity and is appropriate for the present social circumstances."

While Thai culture is conservative at times, it has long been considered relatively open to LGBTQ people, though discrimination remains, as is true around the world.

Critics have also noted the lack of "marriage" in the bill. "The foundation of the same-sex union law draft isn't based on equality," said Pauline Ngarmpring, a transgender woman who ran for prime minister in 2019. "But it's better than nothing. This is not a fight that can be finished in our generation."

If parliament passes the bill, Thailand would become the second country in Asia to offer some sort of legal equality for same-sex couples. Last year, Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage, becoming a regional pioneer in equality.

The Thai bill would not be as comprehensive as Taiwan's, but it would still place Thailand well ahead of Southeast Asian neighbors such as Singapore and Malaysia, where gay sex is considered a criminal offense.

Vietnam, meanwhile, eliminated a ban on same-sex marriages on January 1, 2015, but the country does not provide any legal protection for such unions.

[Photo via Flickr page Stock Catalog]

China Removes Pangolin Scales From Official Traditional Medicine List

2020-06-11T15:00:00+07:00

The move has given conservationists hope in the fight to save the world's most-trafficked animal.

The Guardian reports that pangolin scales have been removed from an official list of ingredients approved by the Chinese government for use in traditional medicine. This comes after a decision last week by the State Forestry and Grassland Administration to raise the protected status of pangolins to the agency's highest level in China.

An estimated 200,000 pangolins are consumed annually in Asia, while over 130 tons of scales, live and dead animals were uncovered in trafficking busts in the region last year.

According to the news source, all eight species of pangolin are protected under international law, while three of the four endemic to Asia are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This includes the Chinese pangolin, which is functionally extinct.

Zhao Jinfeng, secretary general of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, told the paper: "I am very encouraged. Our continuous efforts for several years have not been in vain."

"We highly applaud this announcement, made in recognition of the need to protect critically endangered pangolins," Steve Blake, chief representative of the NGO WildAid in Beijing, shared with The Guardian. "Along with upgrading pangolins to a national level 1 protected species, these two actions are crucial to help curb illegal trade."

Pangolin trafficking remains an immense problem in Vietnam as well. Last year, Vietnam had the largest volume of seized pangolin scales in the world, overtaking Nigeria. Huge shipments of pangolin parts have been discovered transiting from Africa to Vietnam for consumption both in the domestic market and for further shipment to China.

The pangolin decisions in China follow the country's announcement earlier this year to ban the trade and consumption of wildlife in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which is believed to have started at a market in Wuhan which sold live wild animals.

Exact details of the ban are still being worked out, but the move has been hailed as a major step both for wildlife conservation and for the prevention of future pandemics.

[Photo via USAID Asia's Flickr account]

11 Nests of Rare Sea Turtles Found in Thailand Amid Lockdown

2020-04-24T12:00:00+07:00

When the cat's away, the mice will play; or in this case, during pandemic lockdown, animals will reclaim the spaces once bustling with human activity.

In Thailand, authorities have found the largest number of nests of rare leatherback sea turtles in two decades. In an effort to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand has banned international flights and is urging citizens to stay home. This has freed up the beaches for female leatherback sea turtles to lay their eggs in dark and quiet stretches of sand.

No nests of the species, considered vulnerable globally, had been found in Thailand in the past five years. The director of the Phuket Marine Biological Center, Kongkiat Kittiwatanawong, said 11 nests have been found since November of last year. Compared to procreation the year before, "we didn't have this many spawn, because turtles have a high risk of getting killed by fishing gear and humans disturbing the beach," he said. Further, in late March, 84 hatchlings were found at a national park in the southern province of Phang Nga, which borders the Andaman Sea.

Some interesting tidbits about these creatures include: their hefty size (weighing in at 400 kilograms), their lack of a hard shell, which is replaced by a thick layer of cartilage, their impressive swimming abilities, as they are the fastest swimmers and deepest divers in the turtle community, that they can eat their weight in jellyfish in one day, and that they spend as little as 0.1% of the day resting.

These turtles aren't the only animals thriving in human-free environments. Also in Thailand, a herd of dugong were seen off the coast of Libong Island. The vulnerable species can be seen in aerial images clearly enjoying the lack of tourists in another show of coastal wildlife revival.

In Vietnam in early April, there were sightings of dolphins swimming off the coasts of the popular beach destinations of Nha Trang and Binh Thuan in what has been described as a "strange," "rare" and "surprising" phenomenon.

Land animals seem to like lockdown, too. In California's Yosemite National Park, officials have described wild bears as "having a party," since the park closed to the public on March 20. On March 26 in Haridwar, India, a herd of wild deer were videoed strolling the streets during the 21-day nationwide lockdown. These are only a few of the many sightings of animals reclaiming urban areas and tourist destinations.

Check out this video of David Attenborough lounging next to a leatherback sea turtle who is preparing to nest as he discusses the plight of the species in hushed tones.

[Photo via Pxhere/Image is only for illustration purposes and doesn't depict leatherback turtles.]

Singapore to Introduce Vietnamese Language to School Curriculum

2020-03-11T15:51:56+07:00

Singapore's Ministry of Education (MoE) will introduce Vietnamese and Thai studies alongside increased attention to Malay and Chinese.

In a press release issued last week, the MoE released plans to refresh curriculum in response to "an increasingly complex, interconnected and tech-driven world." Students aged 12–18 will be provided "age-appropriate digital resources" to learn Vietnamese along with a number of other initiatives to increase digital competencies and a focus on the history, geography, culture and economies of ASEAN countries.

VnExpress notes that the new curriculum will facilitate study-abroad trips with important pre-departure preparations. The newspaper cites Vo Thi Thanh Binh, director of the Saigon-based Vietnamese Language Studies, as noticing more and more foreign students coming to study the language for work and research purposes.

The announced plans coincide with Singapore's aim to strengthen its multi-faceted relationship with Vietnam. Singapore’s foreign minister, Vivian Balakrishnan, invited a delegation from the Vietnamese government to discuss the importance of their partnership on a variety of issues including regional and global politics, the East Sea, security and national defense, the economy and trade, anti-corruption initiatives as well as legal frameworks and crime prevention.

With Vietnam's economy predicted to surpass that of Singapore's by 2029, the Southeast Asian city-state seems to be taking deeper interest in Vietnam, including cultural showcases, inviting Vietnamese artists to display their works and embracing Vietnamese cuisine. Singaporean culture is alive and well in Vietnam as well, as exemplified by Singaporean restaurants and events such as a recent film festival focusing on works from the country.

[Photo via Straits Express]

China to Release Dam Water in Upper Mekong to Aid Droughts

2020-02-26T10:00:00+07:00

Severe droughts in the Mekong Delta region are being exacerbated by the building and storage of water in dams.

Reuters reports that on February 20, China said that it will release more water from its dams along the upper Mekong River and will consider providing hydrology information in the future.

China currently has 11 dams along the upper Mekong River. This northern portion of the meandering Mekong is referred to as the Lancang River in China, and its waters flow downstream into Vietnam's agricultural center.

Speaking to the Lancang-Mekong Grouping (LMC), Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi stated that the drought has been caused by the lack of rain this year, as reported by the same Reuters piece. He expanded, stating that "China has overcome its own difficulty and increased water outflow from the Lancang River to help Mekong countries mitigate the drought."

Five countries are reliant on the Mekong River: Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar. Reuters further reported on analysis by Fitch Solutions Macro Research on February 20. This analysis stated that the building of dams has already changed people's livelihoods and will continue to have drastic impacts in the next decade.

This report cited the Mekong River Commission which has projected that there will be substantial losses to fishing and farming. These losses would force these countries to import more food, likely leading to inflation, and currency depreciation.

In Vietnam, farmers are facing the effects of the drought and its intensification due to dams. VnExpress reported that the El Nino phenomenon caused a lack of rainfall in the delta from January to September of last year. Nguyen Huu Thien, an expert on the Mekong Delta ecosystem, told the news source that this water shortage has been worsened by upstream hydroelectric dams.

The same article went into detail on the situation of farmers and citizens in drought-affected areas. For example, Hai Phuong, a farmer in Tran Van Thoi District in Ca Mau Province, lost thousands of watermelon plants. His crops failed to produce after his canal completely dried up earlier this month.

In the same province, 16,000 hectares of paddy have been damaged, 30–70% of which can be attributed to drought and salination of water sources. A further 340 hectares of other crops are projected to face the same fate in Tran Van Thoi.

In Tan Hung Commune, Nguyen Thi Nhien's paddy fields are suffering due to the drought. Her rice crops have not sprouted 40 days after being sown because there simply isn't enough water. She told the newspaper that she had invested VND150 million into her crops.

Tan Thanh Commune in Tien Giang Province, meanwhile, has little water left in its largest channel. The water that is left has become too polluted for household use, and residents of this area have become dependent on public taps.

[Photos: China's Three Gorges Dam in Hubei Province/Flickr user Marshall Segal]

Indonesia Minister Proposes Taxes to Sugary Drinks, Polluting Vehicles, Plastic Bags

2020-02-21T11:00:00+07:00

There is a new proposal to tax sugary drinks, plastic bags and cars that release high amounts of carbon dioxide emissions in Indonesia.

Reuters reports that this tax proposal introduced by Indonesia's Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati is intended to curb the negative impacts of the consumption of these products, as well as to boost the country's weak tax collection.

The tax targets the consumption of sweet drinks that are considered a serious contributor to the country's growing health concerns, such as obesity and diabetes. The number of obese adults in Indonesia has risen from 10.5% in 2007 to 21.8% in 2018.

The percentage of people with type 2 diabetes in Indonesia has doubled in the past 30 years, as detailed by the South China Morning Post. It is estimated that 16 million adults live with diabetes in the country. Hari Kusnanto, a medical professor at Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta, attributes this to the lack of routine exercise and healthy diets, and in particular the increase in sugary products. He told the news source: "Now in the diet we have more sugar, and sugar is less expensive than in years past."

Indrawati's proposed tariff would put excise taxes on sugary beverages per liter. The tax would be IDR1,500–2,500 (US$0.11–0.18) on beverages such as sodas, energy drinks, and bottled teas and coffees.

Indonesia's parliament has yet to approve Indrawati's 2017 proposed excise tax of IDR200 per plastic bag. According to the World Bank, Indonesia generates 24,500 tons of plastic waste per day. Indrawati argued that if the tax were to be approved, it could cut Indonesia's consumption of plastic bags in half, bringing it down to 53,533 metric tons per year.

Jakarta Post, meanwhile, reports on Indrawati's explanation of the proposed vehicle tariff. According to the minister, all vehicles will be taxed if the proposal moves forward, except for mass transit, state-owned, and electric vehicles.

The same Reuters piece details how Indonesia is experiencing a low tax collection period. Indonesia's economic growth rate in 2019 was its slowest in three years. If the proposal to tax sugary beverages, plastic bags and cars were to be put into place, the expected revenue windfall is estimated at IDR23.56 trillion (US$1.7 billion) per fiscal year.

Vietnam has proposed similar taxes on plastic bags and sugary drinks. In 2017, Tuoi Tre reported that the Ministry of Finance was considering increasing their tax on plastic bags by 400%. Similarly, in 2018 Dan Tri reported that the finance ministry considered adding sugary drinks to their list of taxed goods, also with the aim of decreasing obesity and diabetes. It is unclear where these proposals currently stand.

Japan Imposes Stricter Visa Process for Foreign Students, Including Vietnam, From April

2020-02-12T10:00:00+07:00

Due to the increasing number of visa overstays, Japan's Immigration Services Agency will tighten the issuing process for student visas for dozens of countries from April.

According to Nikkei Asian Review, Japan will also expand its list of countries subject to stricter visa checks. Currently, only students from seven countries, including China (excluding Hong Kong and other regions), Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Mongolia are under strict visa screening processes. Vietnam currently has the highest number of people overstaying their student visas, 3,065 in total.

The list will now include 80 countries, with China removed, as the number of Chinese nationals overstaying their student visas has dropped. China will then join the ranks of 117 other countries that are exempted from a strict screening process for student visas.

Nationals subject to stricter checks are required to submit multiple certificates displaying their highest academic level, the account balance of a relative who will pay for their living expenses, and proof of the student’s relationship to said relative.

According to the news source, the move is also part of Japan’s effort to promote their specified-skill work visa program, which requires applicants to pass a skills test for the sector they want to work in and sit through a Japanese-language proficiency exam.

The program was introduced in April last year, and aims to grant 340,000 visas to foreign workers over five years. However, it’s failing to attract non-Japanese workers. As of September last year, only 219 foreign nationals recieved the specified-skill visa.

Outside of Japan, skills and language exams held before visa programs begin are only held in six countries. Despite having the largest number of workers in the Japanese internship program, Vietnam has held none.

Singaporean Scientists Find New Way to Break Down Plastic

2020-01-07T09:21:35+07:00

It's a brave new world.

According to Mothership, a group of scientists at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore have pioneered a new method of breaking down plastic waste.

Led by Assistant Professor Soo Han Sen, a team figured out over the last two years how to use a catalyst to dissolve plastics in a solvent over a period of just six days. This is far less time than it usually takes for plastic to break down. And what makes this breakthrough even more impressive is the fact that the broken-down plastic can be used for fuel.

In a press release, NTU explains: "In lab experiments, the research team mixed plastics with their catalyst in a solvent, which allows the solution to harness light energy and convert the dissolved plastics into formic acid - a chemical used in fuel cells to provide electricity."

The catalyst was made out of vanadium, a cheap metal commonly used in steel alloys for vehicles and aluminum alloys for aircraft.

The press release went on: "When the vanadium-based catalyst was dissolved in a solution containing a non-biodegradable consumer plastic like polyethylene and exposed to artificial sunlight, it broke down the carbon-carbon bond within the plastic in six days."

The resulting formic acid could, in theory, be used by power plants or in hydrogen fuel cells for vehicles.

NTU quoted Professor Soo as saying, "We aimed to develop sustainable and cost-effective methods to harness sunlight to manufacture fuels and other chemical products. This new chemical treatment is the first reported process that can completely break down a non-biodegradable plastic such as polyethylene using visible light and a catalyst that does not contain heavy metals."

Currently, the bulk of Singapore's plastic waste is incinerated, a process that produces harmful greenhouse gases, while the resulting ash is taken to the Semakau landfill, which is expected to run out of space by 2035.

Soo and his team are now refining the process to determine whether plastics can be broken down into other useful fuels, such as hydrogen gas.

While such research is still in the experiment phase, it is an exciting development for a world plagued by plastic waste. Vietnam, for example, is struggling to find ways to efficiently recycle the massive amounts of plastic waste produced every day.

After Thailand Bans Plastic Bags, Shoppers Turn to Buckets, Pots and Pans

2020-01-05T09:00:00+07:00

On New Year's Day, tens of thousands of stores throughout Thailand stopped giving out plastic bags free of charge.

According to the Bangkok Post, 75 department stores, convenience stores and shops with over 24,500 locations nationwide began charging for single-use plastic bags on January 1.

The move is part of Thailand's effort to reduce plastic waste in the country, as it is no exception to the scourge of plastic currently plaguing the world.

Thai customers have responded in some creative ways, as evidenced by a series of photos posted on i3siam. If Vietnam were to implement a fee for plastic bags, what inventive bag alternative would you use? Check out some inspiration from Thailand below: