Human rights defenders this week urged Bangladesh to stop its relocation of Rohingya refugees to a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, warning of “grave concerns about independent human rights monitoring.”
The only museum about Taiwanese Comfort Women closed down this month after its four years of operating at a loss. The women’s rights foundation that runs the Ama Museum said that they would try again in a cheaper location beginning in April next year.
Activists have long called attention to the abusive working conditions that fishermen from Southeast Asia are subjected to aboard Taiwanese-owned fishing boats. Their campaign to improve life for the migrant workers has been boosted by recent moves by the United States to classify fish from Taiwan as a product of forced labor.
According to organizers, over 130,000 marched in the annual pride parade in Taipei on Saturday. Lower turnout had been expected due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, and in fact numbers were down from the record 200,000 participants in the October 2019 event.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the first half of September 2020.
For a time, Chi Chia-wei says many people thought he was the only gay person in Taiwan. He was the first Taiwanese to come out publicly on television, and for many the only gay person they could see.
Japan has become a formidable pillar in Zambia’s development, and its influence is felt in the fields of business investment, training, and technology. Some have argued, however, that the criteria for accepting trainees and awarding grants needs further clarification.
A roundup of the most significant news stories from Japan reported in the last half of June 2020.
There’s an oft-used expression in Japanese: sekinin tenka. Best translated as “passing the buck,” it’s a reflex of dodging blame for one’s own actions by transferring responsibility to others. For too long, Japan has done so on the world stage with impunity—even when it affects the world adversely.
The drama of cruise ship Diamond Princess, currently moored at Yokohama and quarantined by Japan’s Health Ministry due to some of the 3,700 passengers and crew testing positive for the coronavirus, is a human rights crisis.
