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In Laos, price of free speech a heavy one
BANGKOK [OP-ED] – The imprisonment of Houayheuang “Muay” Xayabouly, a young, female Lao environmentalist turned internet activist who simply asked for help for flood victims, should be a matter of deep concern to the international community. On Sept 5, 2018, Muay used her 17-minute-long Facebook Live broadcast to counter the official narrative of the government…
Adam Bemma
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Thailand Election Drama Unfolds – Southeast Asia Dispatches
BANGKOK – Almost five years since the military seized power in a coup, Thailand is finally gearing up for its general election March 24 – the first in eight years. Many Thais fear the election will not be free and fair as the military junta has founded its own political party to keep former General…
Adam Bemma
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Mai Khoi vs. Vietnam’s Cyber Law – CBC The World This Weekend
HANOI – Mai Khoi is a Vietnamese dissident artist, activist and musician. She’s been called Vietnam’s Lady Gaga for her pop star persona. But recently her music and art has become more like Pussy Riot, the Russian punk protest band. Mai Khoi is protesting against Vietnam’s new cybersecurity law that would allow authorities to monitor…
Adam Bemma
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Weaponising the Internet in Thailand
BANGKOK – Thailand’s ruling regime, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), looks ready to set aside its whistle and zebra stripes amid chatter that the country is about to take tentative steps towards limited democracy, with an election looming as early as next February. Former Royal Thai Army General and Thailand’s current Prime…
Adam Bemma
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Vietnam’s rap queen and traditional society’s changing voice
Emerging star Suboi ‘pushing the limits’ as one of the few female rappers in socially conservative Vietnam. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – “Life is happy, so what?” sings Vietnamese artist Suboi in her new hit single N-sao. The song has resonated with disaffected young Vietnamese and can be heard on smartphones and laptop speakers…
Adam Bemma
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Overcoming a government crackdown on social media in Laos
Influential Facebook users, pejoratively referred to as net idols, are facing retribution for their online posts. Vientiane, Laos – Inside a packed lecture hall at the American Centre in the capital Vientiane, 60 National University of Laos students sit surrounded by framed posters featuring inspirational quotes by American icons Martin Luther King Jr, Maya Angelou…
Adam Bemma
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Syrian Stuck at Airport Turns to Social Media – Southeast Asia Dispatches
KUALA LUMPUR – Thirty-seven year-old Syrian asylum seeker Hassan Al Kontar uses social media to share his story of life at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. Because of Hassan’s posts, volunteers from Malaysia to Canada have taken up his cause. Adam Bemma met with Hassan at KLIA2. He’s been stuck in limbo hoping to be resettled…
Adam Bemma
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‘I used to talk about politics on Facebook, but now it’s scary’
As Cambodian critics are targeted online, an offline forum provides space to discuss issues such as a cybercrime law. PHNOM PENH, Cambodia – Samoeurth Seavmeng sits at a conference table wearing black horn-rimmed glasses. Meng – as she’s known online and to friends – glances at her smartphone and begins to speak to 10 other…
Adam Bemma
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Cambodia 2018 Election Report: ‘The Crackdown Continues’ – CBC The World this Hour
PHNOM PENH – July 29, 2018 was Cambodia’s sixth general election since the UN organized the country’s first free and fair elections in 1993. For the last 25 years, Cambodia’s Prime Minister Hun Sen has used elections as a way to legitimize his rule (33 years and counting). In 2017, the main opposition party was dissolved…
Adam Bemma
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Cambodia’s Election Targets Social Media – CBC The World this Weekend
PHNOM PENH – The government of Cambodia’s new ministerial decree bans “fake news” from social media. Prime Minister Hun Sen has vowed police will arrest and prosecute Cambodians spreading false information online – such as members of the banned opposition party’s plan to boycott the July 29th elections: dubbed “the clean finger” campaign. Now it’s…
Adam Bemma
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In Laos, price of free speech a heavy one
BANGKOK [OP-ED] – The imprisonment of Houayheuang “Muay” Xayabouly, a young, female Lao environmentalist turned internet activist who simply asked for help for flood victims, should be a matter of deep concern to the international community. On Sept 5, 2018, Muay used her 17-minute-long Facebook Live broadcast to counter the official narrative of the government…
Adam Bemma 