The artist Ai Weiwei’s outspoken views are gaining currency. Simon Kirbyreflects on a change of mood in China as people lose faith in the Party
Ai Wei Wei’s arrest changed China’s political landscape
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CATEGORY: Asia and Pacific
India: University professor arrested over anti-Mamata cartoons
A university protester has been arrested for allegedly spreading derogatory cartoons against "respectable persons" in India. Ambikesh Mahapatra, a chemistry professor at Jadavpur University in Bengal, was arrested on Friday (13 April) for...
Vietnam: New online censorship rules drafted
Google, Facebook, and other internet companies may be required cooperate with Vietnamese authorities in removing content from their sites, based on draft regulations that have been released by the Ministry of Information. Foreign businesses...
Pakistan web users force government backtrack on internet filtering
The past few months have seen the rise of a vocal and sophisticated anti-censorship campaign in Pakistan that has effectively shamed the government into shelving its plans for a national internet filtering system. The Pakistan government's ICT...
Malaysia: “Cartoon-o-phobia” case against government, police, continues
The case of a political cartoonist who was arrested and detained in 2010, and took the government to court as a result, continued last week. Malaysian cartoonist Zulkiflee Awar Ulhaque, known as Zunar, lodged his complaint of unlawful detention...
India: BlackBerry snooping system underway
BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) has given Indian security forces access to private instant messages. The move follows the setting up of a BlackBerry service centre in Mumbai last February, with official sources reporting that the...
China cuts nude Kate Winslet from 3D Titanic release
Like the rest of the world, China’s gone Titanic crazy again. The 3D version of James Cameron’s Titanic hit cinemas here today but Chinese theatre-goers excited about the chance to see Kate Winslet’s nude scene in glorious 3D will be disappointed....
China coup rumours trigger web crackdown
It has emerged that the Chinese government has closed 16 websites and detained six people for “fabricating or disseminating online rumours” in recent weeks. On 19 March, rumours began spreading on Chinese microblogs that claimed "military vehicles"...
Burma’s media workers dare to dream of free expression
The election of Aung San Suu Kyi was another step in Burma’s advance to democracy. But journalists are aware that the small gains made by the media could be taken back.
Tom Fawthrop reports
China: Detained human rights lawyer ‘alive and well’
A Chinese human rights lawyer has been visited in prison by his family for the first time since he disappeared over two years ago. Gao Zhisheng, China's best known human rights lawyer, was sentenced to three years in jail in 2006 for "inciting...