Tag - rights

 
 

RIGHTS

Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 29, 2013
Pro-democracy protest plan splits Hong Kong
After a decade of negotiations, sociology professor Chan Kin-man realized the Chinese government was not going to grant Hong Kong genuine democracy — not without a struggle, anyway.
Japan Times
WORLD
Nov 23, 2013
ACLU seeks termination of NSA's call-records program
Civil liberties advocates on Friday asked a federal court in New York to end the National Security Agency counterterrorism program that collects data on billions of phone calls by Americans, arguing that it violates the Constitution and was not authorized by Congress.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Nov 16, 2013
China plans to ease 'one-child' policy and end labor camps
President Xi Jinping announced Friday the most sweeping package of economic, social and legal reforms in China in decades, including a relaxation of the country's "one-child" policy and the scrapping of its much-criticized system of labor camps,
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 26, 2013
Saudi driver's license protest kick-starts nation's women's rights movement
Women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia were set to get behind the wheel en masse Saturday to protest their government's refusal to allow women to have driver's licenses — a demonstration that comes just two years after a similar push. While the earlier effort was not successful, it did kick-start...
Japan Times
WORLD
Oct 24, 2013
U.S. keeps Pakistani officials in loop on drone strikes
Despite repeatedly denouncing the CIA's drone campaign, top officials in Pakistan's government have for years secretly endorsed the program and routinely received classified briefings on strikes and casualty counts, according to top-secret CIA documents and Pakistani diplomatic memos obtained by The...
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Society / ANALYSIS
Oct 3, 2013
As Xi tightens grip, hopes for China reforms vanish
After Xi Jinping took over as head of China's Communist Party in December, some liberals dared to hope that change was in store for the world's most populous nation.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC
Oct 3, 2013
Chinese dissident Chen gets backing from Catholic University, two institutes
A Chinese human rights activist whose dramatic escape from his homeland last year made him a celebrity appeared Wednesday in Washington with officials of Catholic University and two other institutions to announce they will sponsor his crusade against abuses by Beijing.
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Sep 16, 2013
Activist Chinese billionaire detained
Last month, Chinese police invited Wang Gongquan in for a "cup of tea," often a prelude to detention. He had launched a public petition calling for the release of arrested dissident Xu Zhiyong, and the authorities were not amused. But Wang effectively told the police to forget it — he had no time...
WORLD
Aug 19, 2013
Efforts to close 'Second Guantanamo' in Afghanistan prove problematic
Of all the challenges the U.S. faces as it winds down the Afghanistan war, the most difficult might be closing the prison nicknamed "The Second Guantanamo."
Japan Times
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Aug 19, 2013
Officials search for fortune of Chun Doo-hwan, South Korea's last dictator
South Korea's last dictator lives in an L-shaped mansion protected by 5-meter stone walls and a plainclothes security team. He almost never goes outside, his longtime lawyer says, given the scrutiny he would face. Highlighting the extent of change in the nation he once ruled, Chun Doo-hwan is whiling...
WORLD / Politics
Jul 14, 2013
Passage of strict abortion bill highlights Democrats' uphill fight in Texas
The politically charged battle over whether to restrict abortions in Texas ended late Friday night when the state Senate passed legislation and sent it on to Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, for his signature. In the end, the fight underscored the challenges Democrats face as they look to break the Republicans'...
Japan Times
WORLD
Jul 8, 2013
Repression surges in Putin's Russia
Last week was a busy one for Russian authorities, who arrested the only nationally known opposition mayor for bribery, sought six years in prison for crusading blogger Alexei Navalny and asked a court to find a long-dead attorney guilty of tax evasion.
ASIA PACIFIC / FOCUS
Jun 5, 2013
China constitution debate hits nerve with ruling party
After a country's new leader proclaims the overriding authority of the constitution — a document that guarantees freedom of speech and press — it's worth noting afterward when the same government heavily censors all discussion about that constitution.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
Apr 21, 2013
Saving Japan: promoting women's role in the workforce would help
Christine Lagarde, director of the International Monetary Fund, believes women can save Japan. Some would argue they already are, taking on as they do all sorts of responsibilities ranging from mother, wife and caregiver for elderly relatives to employee, volunteer and household finance minister.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Apr 19, 2013
Blood tests on drunk drivers limited
Police officers generally must try to get a warrant before forcing uncooperative drunken driving suspects to submit to a blood test, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 9, 2013
Japan's foreign trainee system said still plagued by rights abuses
Last month, a Chinese trainee went on a stabbing rampage at a Hiroshima Prefecture seafood company where he worked, killing the president and an employee and wounding six others.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 28, 2013
Myanmar's 'cronies' face spate of criticism
A new English word has entered the colloquial language in Myanmar, a word that could not even be uttered in public until recently. The word is "crony," and it describes the business elite who exploited their closeness to the country's military rulers to amass vast wealth in the past two decades.
ASIA PACIFIC
Mar 1, 2013
Seoul to support U.N. probe of North Korea's human rights abuses
South Korea's decision to support a United Nations investigation into human rights abuses by North Korea signals that Seoul's new conservative administration is willing to pressure its neighbor on such issues — even if it hurts the chances for engagement.

Longform

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What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji