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East Asia
South Korea President’s Mourning
Whether to mourn or not the passing of Chairman Kim Jong-il of North Korea is a controversial issue in South Korea but the government seems have a rather flexible approach. In 1994, the head of the opposition party Lee Bu-young suggested official mourning in regard to the death of Kim…
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Politics
Mom’s power against nuclear power
Japan’s nuclear power industry, which once boasted of the world-class safety, now finds its existence threatened by women angered by the government’s opaqueness on radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after it was struck by an earthquake-driven tsunami in March. Aileen Miyoko Smith, head of Green Action said in…
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Politics
A Japanese Woman Kneels Down
A Japanse woman attracted people’s attention at the 1001st “Wednesday Demonstration” which was held on 21st in front of the Embassy of Japan in Seoul. ‘Wednesday Demonstration’ is holding every wednesday at noon to solve the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery Problem. She said “I’m Maria(50) and I aplogise elderly Korean women…
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How the World Sees Kim’s Death
The death of Kim Jong-il was front-page news all over the world. Breaking news, the headlines, the big story, hot topic or whatever it is called, the news came as swiftly as possible. However, different views and attitudes were found to present an account of the event. The Yomiuri Shimbun…
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East Asia
NGOs sharply divided
The NGOs of Korea have expressed different views about the death of Kim Jong-il. Especially, the issue of offering condolences is dealt in an extremely different way. Left-wing NGOs such as PSPD and Nanummunhwa gave condolences but right-wing NGOs such as NRU and CUBS had a fairly negative attitude…
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East Asia
Analyses of the Korean Media
<graphic=Cho Ha-neul> How do the Korean media view the news of Kim Jong-il’s death? We have looked at the features and analyses of the major media on 20th, the next day. Chosun Ilbo Former Minister of Foreign Affairs Han Sung-ju wrote a column titled ‘Leadership vacuum of North Korea’…
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Politics
Libyan Revolution and North Korea
So,Colonel Gaddafi is dead, and the Libyan revolution has succeeded. Its triumph is usually presented in the Western media as another great victory of democracy. It remains to be seen to what extent this optimism is warranted. But there is little doubt that news from Libya has further complicated the…
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Politics
Bush and Blair guilty of ‘Crimes against Peace’
The former US President George W. Bush and the former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair found guilty of ‘Crimes against Peace’ on 22 by a moot court in Malaysia. The former Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad set up the court in Kuala Lumpur in 2007 strongly criticizing…
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Politics
Portrait of Liu Shaoqi in Beijing
Liu Shaoqi, China’s head of state who died on 12 November 1969 in the middle of the Cultural Revolution(right). Portraits of Mao Zedong(centre) and Zhou Enlai(left) seen through the shop window at the Wangfujing Street. <Lee Ha-ryoung/The AsiaN aja_smile@asia-n.asia> The portrait of Chinese Communist Party’s Liu Shaoqi (1989~1969), China’s…
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The Mother and Son Reunited at the Graveyard in 41 Years
Jeon Tae-il, who burnt himself to death at the age of 22 in 1970 shouting “Keep the Labour Law!” and “We are humans, not machines!” At last, his mother Lee So-sun came to her son’s side in September, 41 years after his death. The mother and the son are now…
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