Asia Pacific Topics

China setting up first university campuses abroad

| Jun 12, 2013

China setting up first university campuses abroad

In the capital of tropical Laos, two dozen students who see their future in trade ties with neighboring China spent their school year attending Mandarin classes in a no-frills, rented room. It’s the start of China’s first, and almost certainly not its last, university ...

Plan to fine unmarried mothers stirs criticism

Jun 5, 2013

Plan to fine unmarried mothers stirs criticism

A Chinese city’s plan to fine mothers who have a child out of wedlock has sparked criticism that the policy is discriminatory and could lead to an increase in abandoned babies. One expert said Monday that it was the first time that out-of-wedlock children ...

North Koreans' hand-over 'dismays' U.N.

Jun 2, 2013

North Koreans' hand-over 'dismays' U.N.

The United Nations and the United States on Friday took Laos and China to task for forcing nine young asylum seekers back to North Korea, warning that the countries were flouting international commitments.

Fears dog China's rising middle class

May 29, 2013

Fears dog China's rising middle class

With two cars, foreign holidays and a cook for their apartment, one Beijing family epitomizes the new middle class created by China’s decades of rapid economic growth — and its resulting worries. Li Na, 42, a caterer at the capital’s zoo, and her husband, ...

Suu Kyi opposes two-child limit for Muslim minority

May 29, 2013

Suu Kyi opposes two-child limit for Muslim minority

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Islamic leaders expressed dismay over decisions by authorities in western Myanmar to restore a two-child limit on a Muslim minority group, a policy that does not apply to Buddhists and follows accusations of “ethnic cleansing.” The order ...

May 27, 2013

Spotlight shines on China's labor camps

When she refused to sign a document renouncing her faith, Wang Chunying said she was handcuffed between two bunk beds for 16 hours, deprived of food, water and sleep as she felt her wrists bleeding. “The police would kick the beds apart to the ...

China pilgrims barred from Catholic parade

May 27, 2013

China pilgrims barred from Catholic parade

Police surrounded a Chinese village on Sunday to prevent pilgrims from joining a Catholic parade to honor the Virgin Mary, who locals say appeared in the village a century ago. Authorities placed roadblocks on main roads leading to the small village of Donglu, in ...

Spotlight falls on S. Korea's gender divide

| May 17, 2013

Spotlight falls on S. Korea's gender divide

A South Korean presidential spokesman who was fired after inappropriately touching a woman during a U.S. trip blames a “cultural difference” with America. Other South Koreans say the fault for such incidents lies with a society that lets powerful men get away with harassment. ...

Chinese prostitutes 'routinely extorted, abused'

May 15, 2013

Chinese prostitutes 'routinely extorted, abused'

Police raids on brothels in China have a pattern, sex workers say, often occurring a few days ahead of politically sensitive events or whenever someone in government orders an antipornography campaign to please the leadership. It is during these times, the workers say, that ...

May 15, 2013

Plan to put neglected Aboriginal kids up for adoption sparks fears

Politicians in northern Australia said Tuesday they are considering putting neglected Aboriginal children up for adoption, sparking fears of a new “stolen generation.” Northern Territory Chief Minister Adam Giles, Australia’s first indigenous state or territory leader, said he is advocating the plan on a ...