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Chinese President Xi Jinping Eats Steam Buns · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

The news about Chinese President Xi Jingping in a small restaurant eating steam buns with common people was first appeared in Weibo and spread through mainstream media outlets. ChinaSMACK translated the news and netizens’ comments.


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Contemplating Nelson Mandela’s Legacy in South Asia · Global Voices
Rezwan

This post is part of Global Voices special coverage Remembering Nelson Mandela.
Nelson Mandela 1918-2013. Cartoon by Bryant Arnold. Free for use.
Earlier this month, Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s anti-apartheid hero and first black president, died at age 95, leaving the world in mourning. People in South Asian countries also remembered the beloved statesman in their own way.
Nepal, after long years of political turmoil, has recently completed an election. But the leadership remains an apprehension for many. Satire Nepali blogger Guffadi wrote:
In the past sixty years, we have seen hundreds of clowns who have been offered opportunities to govern this country. But they all turned out to be false prophets who only enriched themselves and their families instead of helping the common folks.
How long will we have to wait for honest leaders to lead us to the Promised Land?
We are still waiting for our Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Why is it difficult for our Emperor and his courtiers to admit their crimes publicly and ask for forgiveness? Our security forces should do the same as well.
Indra highlighted Gopi Chandra Kharel's article in International Business Times, who tried to link connection of Mandela with Nepal, a country 5,725 miles away from South Africa:
Nepali leaders have a lot to learn from Mandela's statesmanship, integrity, and lack of political ambition. His ability to cooperate with even his opponents is a pointer to us during the constitution making process. – Jayaraj Acharya, Nepal's former ambassador to the United Nations
Blogger Passu from Bhutan compared Mandela to Zhabdrung Rinpoche, the founder of the Bhutanese state:
Zhabdrung lived four hundred years before Mandela yet there is something so common between the two- Zhabdrung unified Bhutan as a nation state while Mandela unified different races to make South Africa one strong nation. Zhabdrung fled to Bhutan to escape arrest in Tibet where he was supposed to be the rightful leader. But after he became powerful in Bhutan he never sought vengeance against people in Tibet who wronged him, just as Mandela reconciled with people who imprisoned him 27 years.
Today, when Mandela dies I am reminded of Zhabdrung's death.
From Sri Lanka, Asanga Welikala wrote on Groundviews:
The freedom from fear imbued Nelson Mandela’s personal conduct and political creed throughout his life, and it is the leadership attribute that ensured a plural and inclusive constitutional democracy in his motherland. It is unfortunately not an example that many Asian and African leaders have had the will, the capacity or the character to follow.
Also on Groundviews, Sunanda Deshapriya drafted an imaginary open letter to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse by Mandela of what is expected of him:
At times I wonder what do you have to learn form us when you have become a strong defender and a close friend of President Mugabe of Zimbabwe, who has made himself president for life, in practice. His path was completely different to ours and laden with violence. Another disappointing news is your close relationship with the king of the Swaziland, a most backward country in Africa. If you have chosen to follow the examples of Zimbabwe and Swaziland, there is nothing we can offer you.
Teeth Maestro from Pakistan thought that not many leaders can extract peace in the face of adversity:
Surprisingly as similar to Mandela being labelled by his right-wingers as Terrorist Mandela, Khan is similarly painted as Taliban Khan mostly by his opponents, predominantly settled on the left-wing. Such resistance, is in my opinion, merely because driven by his opponents who see these “peace talks” attempts to disrupt their own established control on Pakistan. The name calling will never stop true genuine leaders, in fact, it is in the face of such adversity that actually drives them harder to continue their struggle for whats best for their country – Peace
In 1990, the Indian government granted Mandela its highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna (Jewel of India). Upon his death, India declared five days of national mourning for Mandela. He is widely revered in the country, but it seems some have never seen his photo. Poet, blogger and satirist Farrukh Hossaini tweeted:
This Billboard in Tamil Nadu #India pays respect to Morgan Freeman instead of #NelsonMandela . . . . . . . pic.twitter.com/Xpqrt4SKce
— Che ™ (@FarrukhHussaini) December 19, 2013
This post is part of Global Voices special coverage Remembering Nelson Mandela.

source: news-globalvoices

license: Creative Commons - Attribution - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

author: Rezwan


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Iran: Two Poets Arrested · Global Voices
Farid

Poets Mehdi Mousavi and Fatemeh Ekhtesari disappeared in Iran. News reported that the two have been detained since early December. More than two hundred people signed an online petition and called on the UN to take action about the situation of cultural activists particularly the case of these two young poets in Iran.

author: Farid


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The Challenges And The Future Of Microcredit In Bangladesh · Global Voices
Rezwan

Scott MacMillan and Priom Ahmed at BRAC blog cites a report from the World Bank’s Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) which identifies five trends that will define the next phase of Bangladeshi microfinance.


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Ukrainian Protesters Play Lennon’s “Imagine” Live to Riot Police · Global Voices
Tetyana Bohdanova

On December 18, 2013, American musician and composer Sean Lennon (son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono) shared a photo on his Facebook wall, depicting a pianist playing John Lennon's famous song “Imagine” to the rows of Ukrainian riot police. In a week, the photo has gathered over 16,900 likes and has been shared over 6,100 times.
A screenshot of Sean Lennon's Facebook Mobile uploads picture. The photo depicts a man playing “Imagine” in front of riot police in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The artistic action that took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, during ongoing EuroMaidan rallies. It was conceptualised and implemented by non-partisan activists of the group called Euromaidan's Civic Sector [uk].

author: Tetyana Bohdanova


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Art in the Trolley – Invading Public Spaces in Quito · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The game of the unexpected. Selected project in Art in the Trolley.
The time spent moving from one place to another in a large city tends to take up lost time, so much so that some consider the interconnected systems’ train cars or buses as non-places, much like the stations that make up the systems. But in Quito, Ecuador, Arte en el Trole (Art in the Trolley) [es] decided to bring a bit of art and culture to these civic spaces, which in Quito are represented by the Trolleybus or integrated bus transportation system.
Art in the Trolley began in 2006 and according [es] to their own words:
es un proyecto independiente que desde la práctica, ha posibilitado la democratización de la cultura a través del arte y sus diversas formas de expresión llevando propuestas de artistas locales, nacionales y extranjeros a presentar sus obras en nuevos espacios, beneficiando de forma directa a quienes lo habitan y que se encotraban excluidos de la riqueza cultural y artisticas que se desarrolla en el Ecuador y el mundo.
It is an independent project that, since its practice, has enabled the democratization of culture through art and its diverse forms of expressions, taking proposals from local, national, and foreign artists to present their works in new spaces, directly benefiting those who live here and find themselves excluded from the artistic and culture richness that is developing in Ecuador and the world.
In May of this year, I had the opportunity to visit them and speak with Daniel Pazmiño, who was kind enough to tell us about the history and activities of Art in the Trolley.
Art in the Trolley's objective, again in their own words, is “to establish a platform that spreads art and culture within the reach of those who live in the city. The artistic interventions carried out in the stations are proposals from multiple artists, creators, managers, leaders, organizations, etc., where they demonstrate mastery of the art that they practice, as the characteristics of the system requires it (the trolley mobilizes over 250,000 people per day)”.
In the following video, Daniel tells us about some of the speeches and performances carried out by the organization in the Trolleybuses or their stations:
Currently, Art in the Trolley has expanded [es] its activities beyond the Trolleybus system and “works in conjunction with students and representatives from high schools, universities, neighborhoods, etc., thereby promoting and strengthening the creation, production, spreading, and circulation of cultural property and allowing for the construction of superb spaces for an intercultural dialogue that aims to strengthen an inclusive cultural policy.”
In the last video with Daniel, he talks to us about the democratization of public spaces in Quito via the Art in the Trolley project.
To get an idea of Art in the Trolley's activities and involvement, we are sharing two videos below. The first is a collection of photos of the organization's main activities in 2013:
The second video is entitled “Dream raid on the Trolleybus” and was recorded live in one of the Quito trolleybus cars during one of Art in the Trolley's artistic interventions.
Before concluding, it is worth remembering what Daniel mentioned — that Art in the Trolley's call for artistic and cultural projects is open and ongoing, so groups in Latin America now know. You can see more videos from Art in the Trolley [es] on their YouTube [es] channel and by following them on Facebook [es] and Twitter [es].

author: Juan Arellano


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China’s Hunan Province: “96.6% Complete on Democracy and Rule of Law” · Global Voices
Abby Liu

China's Hunan Party Secretary  Xu Shousheng published a report on Hunan Daily that says “Hunan province is 96.6% complete on democracy and rule of law.” The statement has been ridiculed by many netizens online.

author: Abby Liu


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Mandela’s lesson for Hong Kong · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

Sa Law from left21 wrote a piece on Nelson Mandela and his lesson for Hong Kong, a city where migrant workers are living in apartheid.
Due to their long working hours for six days a week, they lack the chance to socialize and mingle with the rest of Hong Kong society as others; they also generally lack ability to speak, read and write Chinese. Thus, they end up spatially and linguistically separated from the majority of Hong Kong people; and despite forming a large community of 320,000 workers, they are never considered part of the greater Hong Kong community, and their demands for equality or better rights are often greeted with deep outrage, as if they do not know their place.

author: Oiwan Lam


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Nude Twitter Calendar Promotes Sex Education and Gender Equality in Macedonia · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

Avid Twitter user and freelance photojournalist Ivana Batev has joined forces with other Macedonian Twitter users for the second year in a row to create and publish a calendar that promotes sexual education and gender equality through nude subjects and interior design concepts.
After the successful first run in 2013, the 2014 charity calendar with artistic nude photos of Macedonian Twitter users, who volunteered their time and bodies, was launched on Sunday, December 29, 2013 in Skopje. While last year's edition promoted breast cancer awareness, the topic for this year's Twitter calendar is sex education with a secondary focus on interior design. The current edition also introduced a much wider diversity of models, including males, while last year's calendar featured a brave all female cast.
Macedonian Twitter Calendar 2014, message for November: “Gender equality is not a threat to family.”
All Twitter Calendar photos are published under Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial NoDerivatives license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
The driving force behind the 2014 calendar, Ivana Batev, known as @ref on Twitter, tweeted:
Nemam kirilica, ama koj misli deka da se soblechesh ne e revolucionerno ne zzivee vo istoto opshestvo i mu ljubomoram.
— Ивана Батев (@Ref) December 29, 2013
…Whoever thinks that to undress in Macedonia is not revolutionary doesn't live in the same society as me, and I envy them.
The tweet was also quoted by Novica Nakov in his English-language post about the calendar. He wrote:
I agree with this and I think that this is the strongest statement we can send with the photographs today. Kudos for all the people who were audacious enough to undress before her.
Also, big thanks to HERA who provided sex education tips in 140 characters twitter format and to everyone who bought photographs. The money will be used to help marginalized communities in Macedonia.
Macedonian Twitter Calendar 2014, message for January: “No always means No! Nakedness is not a substitute for consent.”
Ana Vasileva, who is a member of the initiative “Fight like a woman” (@borisezenski), which supported the callendar with direct participation, wrote on her blog [mk]:
On daily basis, thousands of women around the world are subject to persuasion that they are too fat, too wide, too hairy, that their skin is too dark, that they are not beautiful enough, smart enough, good enough. Thousands of women around the world constantly buy countless cosmetic products and clothes to make themselves more beautiful, to hide themselves, to cover their “flaws.”
Facing this, we say: “We like our bodies just the way they are. Our legs carry us where we want to go, our hands create miracles, our breast fill us with admiration, our heads build towers and break walls. Our bodies are not objects to be punished or forced to fulfill certain societal standards, our bodies serve for our pleasure – and for no one else, our bodies are ours only!”
Aside from the social change and awareness that the authors and participants of the calendar intend to raise, there is also a charitable aspect to this unique project. Namely, funds gathered from the sale of the hard copy calendars will be donated to people from marginalized communities in Macedonia.
The Twitter discussion around the hashtag #твитеркалендар (#Twittercalendar) included many positive reactions, from applauding the courage of its participants to praises of the characteristics of some of the models, who went by their Twitter handles or anonymously in some of the more revealing photos. The few nagging trolls that spoke up on Twitter were soon directly contradicted with tweets like this one by Macedonian Twitter user @ordanoskiv:
Наместо (неоправдано) да го критикувате #ТвитерКалендар, распалете по кичерајот од кеј на Вардар.
— Vanco Ordanoski (@ordanoskiv) December 30, 2013
Instead of (unjustified) criticism of the Twitter calendar, you should aim your weapons at the kitsch on the Vardar Quay.
[Referring to the construction Skopje 2014 project which resulted in world media such AP and Spiegel deeming Skopje “capital of kitsch.”]
According to local news aggregator Time.mk, some 40 online media in Macedonia reported on the calendar. However, only a few of them included links to the entire calendar and, even though it isn't labeled as pornographic, some of them labeled the articles and its images as “18+” material.

author: Filip Stojanovski


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PHOTOS: Humans of Southeast Asia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Brandon Stanton’s Humans of New York Facebook page has inspired many photographers around the world to share photos and stories of ordinary people in the streets in their respective countries. Let us review similar initiatives in Southeast Asia.
The Humans of Brunei page was created on May 17, 2013. Below is a photo of Brunei students
Photo from Humans of Brunei Facebook page
Meanwhile, the Humans of Indonesia page was created on August 16, 2013. Below is a photo of Indonesians in the Harau valley waterfalls in the Bukittinggi area:
“It was a very special experience … these pristine waterfalls were turned into some kind of public bathing area. So if I would zoom out you would see kids riding inflatable ducks, souvenirs, people selling noodles & bunch of other activities …” Photo from Humans of Indonesia Facebook page
“Those young coconuts look fresh?”
“Oh, please take one if you like”
“Thank you so much. Why don’t you just drop them down? Seems heavy to carry like that”
“Don’t you see that few kids play under these trees? I am worry these coconuts would hit them.” Photo from Humans of Indonesia Facebook page
There is also a Humans of Jakarta page. Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia
Photo from Humans of Jakarta Facebook page
Check the Humans of Bali page. Bali is a popular island in Indonesia.
In Malaysia, Avinash explains the idea of creating the Humans of Malaysia page:
…firstly its because I want those people know that there are people out there who care, for their opinions, for their stories, for their time, for their attention, for their thinking, for their views on life, on every issue, on everything, and that these people make Malaysia home. Second, i like to listen. and ask questions of course. And thirdly, well because I was at a point of my life where i really just needed to talk to someone, i needed someone to not help, but to just listen, no one was there for me then. I always have this thing in my mind, thinking that i might come across someone today who really just need someone who would listen. Thats why I do this
“What scares you the most?”
“Being poor. Having no money. Everything is about money nowadays. Supporting my family, food, transport, bills. Its everywhere.” Photo from Humans of Malaysia Facebook page
There is a separate page for the Humans of Kuala Lumpur. Kuala Lumpur is Malaysia’s capital.
“Abang (brotherly term for a guy) Hafiz washes and arranges the fish and vegetables at one of the agricultural grocery stores in KL. It is late at night and people are still coming in.” Photo from Facebook page Humans of Kuala Lumpur
The Humans of Thailand page has not been updated regularly but the Humans of Bangkok page seems active. Bangkok is the capital of Thailand. Zon explains the project:
The page is a small urban project that I've just started about the people and their everyday lives in Bangkok, which has become a much more hybrid-society than ever. Revealing lives of the city inhabitants would make us better aware that everyone is interconnected.
“My daily challenge is riding. I have to manage to ride through the gaps between big cars. And actually it's extremely dangerous. I've been a taxi rider for a year but honestly I don't know how long I could continue with this job, or either know what I want to do next with my life.” Photo from Humans of Bangkok Facebook page
Bangkok police. Photo from Humans of Bangkok Facebook page
As the political crisis deepens in Thailand, Bangkok residents are calling for a ‘peaceful Sunday’
“Political conflict in Thailand now. We hope for #peacefulsunday and that no violence will take place tomorrow.” Photo from Humans of Bangkok Facebook page
Check also the Humans of Chiang Mai page. Chiang Mai is located north of Thailand.
“No texts, no calls, nothing. Cause I'm still thinking abt my Painting!” Photo from Humans of Chiang Mai Facebook page
In Vietnam, we’d like to feature the Humans of Saigon and Humans of Hanoi:
Photo from Humans of Saigon Facebook page
Photo from Humans of Hanoi Facebook page
In Laos, there is a Humans of Vientiane page. Vientiane is the country’s capital.
“Local law enforcement in Luang Namtha enjoying a game of petangue.” Photo from Humans of Vientiane Facebook page
Below is a photo of Stacy from Singapore relaxing at Clarke Quay. Photo from the Humans of Singapore page:
“I've been sitting here because it's quite breezy. And you can watch the boats passing by too. They've been doing a tour of the entire river all the way till Marina Bay Sands, where they tell you about the history of these places and Singapore. It's quite interesting, you hear all sorts of things which you didn't know and it's always a bit of a surprise.” Photo from Humans of Singapore Facebook page
Visit Humans of the Philippines and Humans of Manila. Manila is the capital of the Philippines.
Children of Tondo in Manila. Tondo is a working class district. Photo from Humans of Manila Facebook page
The People of Yangon page created by Chris James White was also inspired by the Humans of New York idea. Yangon is major city in Myanmar.
People of Yangon Facebook page

author: Mong Palatino


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The Amazon, a Story of Destruction in the Name of Development  · Global Voices
Pública - Agência de jornalismo investigativo

The book “Amazônia Pública” (Public Amazon) is available for download in Portuguese.
This post was originally published on Agência Pública's website on 17 December, 2013.
Under a tarpaulin tent specially designed to bring the Amazon forest to a public square in downtown São Paulo, experts in the fields of energy, environment and communication, as well as representatives of grassroots movements and NGOs, gathered to debate the dilemmas of the Amazon region, caught between the pressures for development and the need of preservation — essential to provide quality of life to the people of the region.
Approximately 100 enthusiasts attended the debate – and everyone received a copy of the book “Public Amazon”, written in Portuguese. The book is composed of three series of stories covering the impacts of mega-projects in Carajás National Forest and the Tapajós river in state of Pará, and in the Madeira river, state of Rondônia. Verification was carried out on-site by six reporters.
Three videos produced by the reporting teams were shown before the debate, capturing the words of famous people who were born or work in the Amazon region. People such as writer Milton Hatoum and filmmaker Aurélio Michelis, both from the city of Manaus, who talked about their relationship with the city and the forest, as they shared their own expectations for the region's future.
Open debate on Roosevelt Square, in São Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Agência Pública (14 December, 2013).
The energy issue
The debate was triggered with a question that has been frequently asked ever since riverside settlers and indigenous populations of the Xingu area in the Amazon made Brazilians aware of the construction of the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam: All in all, is it worth it to build hydroelectric dams in the Amazon rivers? Who will benefit from the energy produced from hydroelectric dams on the Xingu and Madeira rivers (where the Jirau and Santo Antônio dams are under construction)? There are more dams planned for the beautiful Tapajós river, where traditional settlers and Munduruku indigenous communities live, on the west part of the state of Pará.
Célio Bermann, a professor at the Institute of Energy and Environment at the University of São Paulo (IEE/USP), was categorical:
É mentira a necessidade de energia elétrica para o desenvolvimento.
The electricity demand for development is a lie.
Bermann added that it is not the new middle classes’ growing consumption that puts pressure on electricity demand. According to the professor, 30 percent of the electricity generated in the country is solely consumed by six areas of the industrial sector: steelmaking, non-ferrous metals industry, ferro-alloys, petrochemical, pulp and paper, and cement. Referring to the priority given to the production of energy instead of the preservation of natural resources, he said:
Nós estamos vivendo no país uma autocracia energética
In this country we are living an autocracy based on electricity.
Working on energy issues across the Amazon for more than 20 years, Bermann presented the alternatives listed by a research report of the Institute of Energy and Environment. Among the alternatives, it argues for the possibility of supplying Brazilians’ demand over the next 10 years with the construction of 66 wind farms of 30 megawatts capacity, which are cleaner and have less of an impact in terms of territory than hydroelectric plants. Besides, also according to the professor, wind farms could be built closer to the urban areas to avoid loss of power while transporting electricity through transmission lines. He also called attention to the fact that construction companies are the largest beneficiaries of the current projects and the biggest donors during elections:
[A usina hidrelétrica de] Belo Monte não está sendo construída para gerar energia elétrica. Está sendo construída porque em cinco anos as empresas que hoje dominam o governo vão embolsar R$ 17 bilhões
The construction of Belo Monte [hydropower plant] isn't under way to generate electricity. The reason for its construction is that in five years the companies that currently control the government will earn a profit 8 billion US dollars.
Professor Bermann highlighted another focus of criticism: the absence of public consultation by the government and private companies to universities – to discuss the need and best way of carrying out construction works – and to the traditional and indigenous communities. Even though the latter are the most affected by the megaprojects, their right to veto has been neglected in these discussions:
As consequências sociais e ambientais são irreversíveis. Mitigação é um belo nome para dizer nada.
The social and environmental consequences are irreversible. Mitigation is a beautiful word to say nothing.
Marcelo Salazar, representing the Instituto Socioambiental (ISA), based in the city of Altamira, where the Belo Monte dam is located – believes the project is “the largest symbol of social and environmental default”. He talked about what's going on in the region since he moved there in 2007:
O que estou vivenciando em Altamira é um verdadeiro rolo compressor. A pressão social parece não ter força.
What I see in Altamira is the effect of a bulldozer. Social pressure seems powerless.
Salazar explained that along with the impact on the communities near the hydropower plant, it also caused conflicts that echoed through an area larger than the dam itself. It has led to a rise in illegal logging and, in the town, residents are facing a higher cost of living and an alarming increase in violence:
Uma em cada três pessoas tem um parente ou conhecido que foi assassinado.
One in three residents has a relative or acquaintance who was murdered.
Plus, Salazar criticized the government's position towards indigenous communities: “The government isn't funding the National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), and uses [state-run electricity companies] Eletrobrás and Eletronorte instead to perform their indigenist policy throughout the region”. The local indigenous peoples are paid a financial compensation through both companies, however, being the institution responsible for their protection, FUNAI was supposed to mediate the compensations.


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The Best of Infoactivism LATAM 2013 · Global Voices
Juan Arellano

The following article was originally published in SocialTIC and written by Indira Cornelio (@IndiraCornelio) and Juan Manuel (@jm_casanueva) with the support of the SocialTIC team. It is republished with permission. SocialTIC is a non-profit organization committed to promoting and preparing social groups in order to strengthen their activities through technology. You can follow them on Facebook and Twitter: @socialtic.
[All links are to Spanish-language pages.]
Coming from many hours in the making and an interest in the “best of 2013″ lists that usually saturate communication channels; a light chat between the members of SocialTIC following a meal ended in our first “The Year's Best of Latin American Infoactivism” list.  Below, we've recounted sporadically and subjectively what inspired us to use TIC to generate social impact this year.
We hope that the projects highlighted here inspire the entire continent and that at the end of 2014 we repeat this same process in a larger and more collective way.  All comments, thoughts and reflections are welcome and we'll happily share all inspirational projects with our networks.
The Best Advocacy Campaign LATAM 2013
We're pleased and excited to declare a winning campaign and two special mentions.  In Mexico, La Alianza por la Salud [The Health Alliance] launched the campaign “12 cucharadas” [12 teaspoons] to alert the public to the risks of the excessive consumption of sugar from drinking soft drinks.  Its efforts resulted in an historic tax on junk food and sugary drinks.  The combination of street marches, performances in public spaces and activism in online communities was key in forming the now-existing citizen presence in favor of good nutrition.
In Uruguay, Proderechos [“Pro Rights,” a Uruguayan collective] reached its challenge of many years of direct advocacy and digital communication by promoting, along with other social stakeholders, the legalization of marijuana, setting an international and historic precedent.  We also give a special mention to the NGO Derechos Digitales [Digital Rights], which has lead the circulation of information and actions against the Acuerdo Transpacífico (TPP) [Transpacific Agreement] through TPP Abierto.  Unfortunately, this cause is still very much alive and in 2014 the NGO will continue working to diffuse the threats posed by the TPP in Mexico, Colombia, Peru and Chile.
The Best Campaign in Civic Betterment
Without a doubt, Revolución Jigote [the Jigote Revolution] has given us a lesson in infoactivism and civic betterment this year.  From Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the jigotes have inspired thousands of young Bolivians to take up a civic position – that of being jigote (translating as cool, rad, awesome etc) – by being citizens who get involved in their city's problems and participate in their community.  With six months of planning and definition of tactics, Revolución Jigote quickly reached its goal of positioning its action both on and offline.  Now, alongside more than 30,000 followers in social networks, the project motivates and gives direction to Santa Cruz's youth.  http://jigote.com/
The Best Combined On/Offline Action
This year, campaigns in Argentina and Costa Rica have inspired us to take a combined action both on and offline have an impact on social problems.  Martes Rojos [Red Tuesdays] is a Buenos Aires-based project in which groups of people get together each Tuesday to remove propaganda promoting to the sex trade.  This civic action has grown as a result of strengthening ties between participants in social networks, and they'll end the year with a platform, currently in its beta stage, allowing people to report sexual exploitation and trade.
In Costa Rica, civil actions in resistance  to the concession of the west-bound highway ended well.  A neighborhood group was formed in order to argue the project's deficiencies and encourage popular support.  In an example of organization and strategy, the group was able to ground the project and exert enough pressure to detain it.
The Best Project Linking Citizens to Government
A ground-breaking Latin American project is El Partido de la Red [the Network Party].  Motivated by the idea to “hack democracy,” this group of young Argentinians aims to form a political party that works on the foundation of direct representation, and that when they have a representative in the local Congress of Buenos Aires would only vote based on what citizens indicated on their website.  Currently this online platform, DemocraciaOS, is in the beta stage and has served as a way to group together citizens’ discussions about the situation and decisions made by their city.
The Most Inspiring Technology Project
In rural Mexican communities, a project started by Rhizomatica worked deliberately and in a refreshing manner to develop autonomous celular telephone networks.  With their first community now connected in Talea de Castro, Oaxaca, Mexico, they've demonstrated that members of society and groups of hackers are able to endow the most disconnected people with cellphone network infrastructure.  They are now working with volunteers to repeat the process and bring cell phone coverage to other communities as well as review the process of adoption of this new technology working under community autonomy.
In addition, we make a special mention of the groups of cycling-activists in the continent for their energy, tactics for civil participation and consistent activism.  These cycling groups are transforming civil habits, public policy and conversing directly with the inhabitants of our complicated Latin American cities.  They are an example to follow.
The Best Latin American Event
2013 hosted events which will be a watershed moment for social change in TIC communities.  We'll highlight the open data “unconference” AbreLATAM that, in a horizontal format, encourages the exchange of experiences relating to open data between dozens of “techies,” community representatives and public servants in Latin America.  AbreLATAM not only premiered an event that will be repeated annually, but also started a dynamic reflection between those who work with data in a more purposeful and shared way than that of traditional conferences.
We make a special mention of the Media Party de Hacks and Hackers Buenos Aires [Buenos Aires Hacks and Hackers Media Party] that in its 2013 edition, apart from having high level of data references, has generated civil and journalistic projects of great potential.  In the region's north, they carried out the first Encuentro de video para el Cambio #V4C [Video for Change Meeting, hashtag #V4C], bringing together video-activists from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
The Best Video for Change
This year showed many examples of audiovisual production and protest.  We noted that a lot of what we considered as reference points for activism on the Internet this year were produced in the second half of 2012 (we remember the campaign No Temas a Internet [Don't be Scared of the Internet] in Chile or No te Engoriles [Don't Get Angry] in Venezuela).  However, in the face of Mexico's Energy Reform, the video Frack U is not only an entertaining parody, but also explains fracking didactically and shows evidence of the position of some members of the Mexican Congress.
The Best Electoral Tool
In the electoral context, digital media is key to encouraging both an informed vote and electoral vigilance.  This year, we highlight the consolidation of Ciudadano Inteligente's [Intelligent Citizen] electoral products in the Argentinian and Chilean elections.   Democracia en Red (Argentina) and Voto Inteligente (Chile) permitted users to compare the declarations of candidates, see how their campaigns were financed, identify where to vote and divulge information about key themes en an election.
We make a special mention of the involvement of the project Chequeado [Checking] in the Argentinian elections to verify the truth of public declarations.  And in a pre-electoral context, the Costa Rican site Ojo al Voto [Eye on the Vote] is one to watch for the next elections in 2014.
The Best Data Visualization
We must admit that it was difficult to find data visualizations of a high level, and a use of visualization technology coming from citizen and societal groups.  We hope that this tendency reverts throughout 2014.  This time, the work of Andy Tow stood out, who had a prolific data year, coining in Argentina the phrase “another Andy Tow project.”  With CIPPEC, Andy carried out the separate CIPPEC Data in which you can view and analyze data associated with Argentinian public policy making as well as a visual comparison between provinces.  Andy also consolidated a data work of several years with “Línea Votada” [Voted Line], visualization of the past 10 years of nominal votes in the Argentinian lower and upper houses.
We make a special mention of two Argentinian projects, that for their management of themes and data are inspirational for Latin American infoactivists: “Cargografías” is a visual timeline of Argentinian public servants complemented by a provocative quote: “No es una historia, pero sí un recorrido. No es una denuncia, pero sí un dato,” [It isn't a story, but a tour.  It isn't an accusation, but data].   We also mention the data map about “Represión Financiera y Terrorismo de Estado” [Financial Repression and State Terrorism].
The Best Civic App (Prototype)
After a year with the largest number of hackathons and app challenges in Latin American history, there are dozens of civic apps in the prototype stage that look to engage detail and be used by citizens and change agents to improve and resolve many of the distressing situations in our region.  Right now, it's very difficult to highlight a single civic app and we hope that each one of them generates the value and social impact that it set out to do from the start.
Despite the competition, the app that most inspired us through both its concept and prototype is Bikestorming in Argentina which aims to engage the cycling population to participate in a network combining online gaming and useful information for all urban bike routes.  We hope that Bikestorming will be supported by the public in 2014 as well as continuing to learn in this new crossroads that we face in improving life and civic interaction, supported by new technologies.
* You can read other Global Voices coverage of Abre Latam:
Abre Latam, an Open Conference for an Open Region
Abre Latam: Developers and Solutions for the Region
VIDEO: Los rostros detrás de Abre Latam. [es] [The Faces Behind Abre Latam]


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The Return of Chairman Mao Worship in China · Global Voices
Jack Hu

Political propaganda poster depicting Chairman Mao as the Sun during the Cultural Revolution in China.
During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong, one of the founders of the People's Republic of China, was portrayed as a god-like figure. The cult of personality worship has been repressed since the downfall of Gang of Four and the advocacy of pragmatism by the Chinese Communist Party new leader Deng Xiaoping in 1970s.
However, with Chinese President and Communist Party Chief Xi Jinping and other players from the second red generation coming into power, the Chinese Red Culture is reemerging. The latest wave of the Red Cult was the celebration of Chair Mao's 120th birthday, last week on 26 December 2013.
As part of the official ceremony, Xi among other top leaders paid tribute to the founder of the communist state with a visit on Mao's birthday to his embalmed body in a mausoleum in Tiananmen Square in the heart of Beijing. Other commemorating activities held by the government and party authorities included photo exhibitions, gold and stone statues, concerts, seminars and a TV gala.
Changsha, where Chairman Mao was born, was painted in red on his 120th birthday. Photo uploaded by “Speaking from the heart of a calm sea”.
The most eye-catching scene so far happened in Mao's hometown Shaoshan where thousands of ordinary Chinese bowed to Mao's status and rallied in the street to commemorate the then leader, who is still a symbol for social equality. On China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo, many have expressed their excitement on the return of Red Culture. Weibo user “Speaking from the heart of a calm sea” posted a number of rally photos from Changsha and exclaimed:
橘子洲头，看万山红遍！全国各地红色网友齐聚长沙，唱响红歌！纪念伟大领袖毛主席诞辰120周年！
By the Islet of Orange, see all the hills are painted red! The red netizens across the country get together in Changsha, singing red songs! In memory of the 120th birthday of great leader Mao!
Tens of thousands gathered in Shaoshan to commemorate Mao's birthday. Photo taken by Weibo user “Shaoshan Carpenter”.
“Shaoshan carpenter” took photos from the midnight assembly in Mao's hometown Shaoshan and described the scene on his Weibo account:
26日零时，毛泽东广场。还有更多人堵在路上或已离去。热泪盈眶。
At the zero hour on 26th, Mao Zedong Plaza. Many people are still stuck on the road or have just left. Tears in their eyes.
One of the public activities in Shaoshan village on Mao's birthday was eating noodles – a traditional practice to express the wish for longevity. Huang Zhiyuan, a journalist of Phoenix Television, reported on the scene:
Shaoshan villagers offered free noodles to visitors. Photo uploaded by Huang Zhiyuan on Weibo.
毛诞120周年，韶山村村民按传统，免费向前来纪念毛泽东的人派长寿面。不过面未送到就被一抢而空，据说很多人相信吃了纪念毛泽东的长寿面就会长寿，所以能拿几碗就吃几碗！场面相当壮观！
To mark Mao’s 120th birthday, Shaoshan villagers offer free longevity noodles for visitors according to tradition. The noodles have been quickly snatched up because many people believe eating this kind of commemorative noodle will lead to longevity. What a spectacular event!
Meanwhile, some activists and netizens expressed their worries about the return of the cult of personality worship. For example,
famous writer Li Chengpeng described the leaders’ visit to Mao’s mausoleum as “Worship of a Ghost”. The post has been removed from Weibo, but was backed up on Twitter by @scgxzlx:
RT @李承鹏:不顾中国人民的感情，不顾历史的正义，掩埋屠杀的真相，去跑去拜鬼以弥补心虚。可是，数千万国人被杀死、饿死、家破人亡的悲剧是那么轻易可以抹杀的吗？痴心妄想！SO，坚决反对政客任何形式的拜鬼。坚决反对。
— 醉酒的马儿 (@scgxzlx) December 26, 2013
[Leaders] worship ghosts in order to fill their emptiness [referring to the lack of concrete reform] regardless of Chinese people's feelings about the justice of history and covering up the truth of the slaughter [referring to persecution of people during various political campaigns such as the anti-Rightist and the Cultural Revolution.]
Coincidentally, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited the notorious Yasukuni Shrine about the same time and attracted strong Chinese media criticism. Cultural commentator Zhu Dake took the opportunity to review and quote from state-run newspaper People’s Daily’s commentary criticizing Japanese politicians, turning the criticism over to Chinese leaders who visited Mao's embalmed body mausoleum:
在今天这个日子里，人们纷纷重温人民日报今年8月17日的署名文章，文中称，“政客拜鬼，只因心中有鬼，急于拜鬼，以求心安。”人民日报的文章还表示：“（国家领导人）真应该思考国家强盛之源，切忌以‘鬼’求补，最终会被吸了阳气，不治而亡。”人民日报的文章，值得众人重温的，大约仅此一篇。
Today, many people review an article published on August 17 in the People’s Daily. It said, “politicians tend to visit shrines because they have evil ideas in mind. So they are eager to do that to reassure themselves.” “(National leaders) should think about the source of national prosperity and be alert to resorting to the dead, which will finally steal the living’s vigor and take a toll.” This might be the only article which deserves reviewing.
Zhang Ming, a famous political scholar, believed that the return of scenes of Mao worship reflects the legacy the that Cultural Revolution has passed on to the Chinese political system:
对文革的暧昧，说明文革的血液至今还流淌在我们的机体中，体制的机体中。
The ambiguous attitude about the Cultural Revolution suggests its blood still flows in the political system.
As ancestor worship is a significant part of Chinese culture, instead of directly criticizing the phenomena of Mao worship, some netizens chose to commemorate other respectable figures on social media.
For example, as the wife of former top leader Zhao Ziyang passed away on December 25, a day before Mao's 120th birthday, “Rong Jian 2009″ republished the news from Zhao's children, and in turn, Rong's post had been republished more than 10,000 times, with many adding candlelight icons:
转:赵紫阳先生夫人，我们亲爱的母亲梁伯琪，在家人的伴护下和庄严的祝念中，于2013年12月25日22时15分在北京医院辞世，宁静安详。享年九十五岁。根据遗愿，母亲后亊从简，以家庭方式送别老人。
Retweet: The wife of Mr. Zhao Ziyang, our dear mother Liang Boqi, peacefully passed away in the presence of family and solemn wishes at 22:15 on Dec. 25, 2013 in Beijing Hospital at the age of 95. According to her wish, her funeral will be simple among family members.
Current affairs commentator Fan Yi chose to commemorate the anniversary of the death of prestigious Chinese historian Gao Hua, whose masterpiece “How Did The Red Sun Rise” discloses Mao’s manipulation of political movements to build his party's authority in the 1930s:
12月26日是一个令人深感痛惜的日子。2011年12月26日，当代著名历史学家高华教授不幸去世。今天是他去世两周年，我们深深怀念这位当代史学界的翘楚，他以自己的执着、深刻、严谨，为我们留下了一部《红太阳是怎样升起来的》。写作这部史著，给他带来了旁人难以想象的压力和困难，历史终将铭记他的贡献。
December 26 is an anguishing day. The famous contemporary historian, professor Gao Hua, unfortunately passed away on December 26, 2011. We deeply miss this elite historian on the second anniversary of his death. With persistence, profoundness and rigor, he left us the book “How Did The Red Sun Rise”. He bore unimaginable pressure and difficulties to write the work. His contribution will be marked in history.

author: Jack Hu


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Widespread Power Outages Leave Argentines Dying of Heat · Global Voices
Laura Schneider

[Links are to Spanish-language pages.]
Since the middle of December 2013, many Argentine provinces have been experiencing power outages, aggravating the discomfort caused by unusually high temperatures. Buenos Aires is the province hardest hit, but the heat wave is affecting the whole country, with record highs that have led to an increase in energy consumption.
Following explanations about the deficiencies of Argentina's energy grid and the privatization of public services that took place during the 1990s, the average citizen is complaining and demanding better. Even Christmas Eve was not immune to power outages.
The government's response to the situation is inadequate according to Gerardo Fernandez‘s blog:
como que da cosita que a esta altura de los acontecimientos salgan el jefe de gabinete o el ministro de Planificación a hacerse los cojudos con amenazas a las empresas distribuidoras que, la verdad, nadie toma en serio y que si llegaran transformarse en una quita de licencia no cambiarían en mucho el panorama que estamos padeciendo.
It is nauseating that under the circumstances, the chief of staff or the Minister of Planning can come out at this point and act like cretins threatening the companies that distribute power, which in truth nobody takes seriously, and that even if their licenses were actually revoked, the outlook of the situation we are suffering through would not change much.
On 28 December, the hashtag #RenuncieCFK [Resign Cristina Fernández de Kirchner] became a trending topic for Argentines voicing their complaints about the lack of response to the lack of electricity, as evidenced by Robsten:
#RenuncieCFK Increible que no tengamos luz, pais mas tercermundista imposible!
— Robsten (@LaChotaDeRob) diciembre 29, 2013
#RenuncieCFK Incredible that we have no light, it doesn't get more Third World than this!
There was also anger at government officials away on holiday:
#RenuncieCFK Mientras la gente sufre por los cortes de luz, el secretario de Energía juega al golf http://t.co/lsCxHWIAJU
— L-ARGO YUDA. (@ohsamaisalive) diciembre 28, 2013
#RenuncieCFK While people suffer in the dark, the Energy Secretary is playing golf http://t.co/lsCxHWIAJU
And the power outages in seniors’ homes, as tweeted by Vale Anti K:
#30Dcacerolazo #RenuncieCFK #RenuncieCFK LOS GERIATRICOS NO TIENEN NI LUZ NI AGUA .A la calle
— Vale Anti k (@Valeriasol26) diciembre 29, 2013
Retirement homes have neither light nor water. Take it to the streets.
Meanwhile, those who support the government, created the hashtag #CFKTieneAguante [CFK TrueGrit] where Moni AKD approved of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner's administration:
Cristina sos única, los ignorantes que hoy piden tu renuncia en tres años van a pedir a gritos que vuelvas. #CFKTieneAguante !!!!!
— Moni AKD (@AKDMoni) diciembre 29, 2013
Cristina you are unique, the ignoramuses that today call for your resignation in three years will be begging you to come back. #CFKTieneAguante !!!!!
Or as Daniel wrote, continuing to support President Kirchner's handling of things despite the power outages:
#CFKtieneAguante hace 3 dias q estoy sin luz y si es para bancar este modelo puedo estar 200 dias mas sin luz viva cfk, nestor y viva peron
— daniel (@tetrapampa) diciembre 29, 2013
#CFKtieneAguante it's been 3 days without light and if this is what it takes to support the model I can go 200 days more without light long live cfk, Nestor and long live Peron.
The high temperaturas will continue until January 1, 2014, according to the National Meteorological Service‘s forecast. Will the power outages continue until then?
For her part, Luciano Lugo tweets a fake Christmas card from the Provincial Energy Company of Santa Fe (known as EPE):
La EPE les deja un saludito para las fiestas a todos! #OlaDeCalor pic.twitter.com/B48zeG4aAx
— Luciano Lugo (@Luciano434) diciembre 16, 2013
The EPE wishes you all happy holidays! #OlaDeCalor pic.twitter.com/B48zeG4aAx
(Small image by El Cipayo.)

author: Laura Schneider


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Beer Looting Ignited Internet Meme in Vietnam · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

One of the companies which pledged assistance to the truck driver: “Let’s join hands to help the beer looting victim and save the Vietnamese people’s honor.” Photo from Facebook page of Wegreen Vietnam.
The public looting of an overturned beer truck in Vietnam early this month generated an Internet meme. Many criticized the looters for stealing beer instead of helping the truck driver.


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Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

The Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development has published a policy briefer that tackled the extent of human trafficking in Southeast Asia.
Many Southeast Asian countries are at the bottom of a lot of the world's supply chains, including for food, garments, and technology. Yet few countries in the region have adequate laws for addressing corporate responsibility for human trafficking, including in their supply chains.
The primer also provides country-specific recommendations on how to best address the human trafficking issue in the region


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Hundreds of Local Chinese Lawmakers Dismissed Over Massive Bribery Scandal · Global Voices
Abby Liu

China's southern Hengyang city has dismissed most members of its legislature after they were found to have taken millions of dollars in bribes in a massive election fraud.
According to the report from Hunan Daily published on December 28, 3013, 518 Hengyang lawmakers and 68 staff members were found to have accepted bribes, and 512 lawmakers were dismissed. Provincial authorities disqualified 56 delegates who were found to have paid more than 18 million US dollars in bribes to gain entry to the provincial body.
According to Qiao Mu, director of the Center for International Communication Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University, becoming a member of the congress opens up a network for contact with politicians and business people. The cash-for-vote problem has become more widespread since the party introduced competitive elections at the local level a few years ago.
Photo by cartoonist Zhao Guoping from Sina Weibo
State media Xinhua wrote:
Thorough investigations and severe punishment must be done to maintain the party's reverence and the people's trust in the country's fundamental political system.
China Daily explained the significance of authorities’ reaction:
Bribery scandal in Hengyang shows strengthened efforts to build a clean and transparent election system are necessary.
The bribery scandal has many web users asking, is the bribery limited to Hengyang alone?
Lawyer Huang Leping wondered [zh]:
钱从何而来？当选后究竟有多少回报？ 衡阳贿选实践，将现行选举制度的根子问题彻底曝光，支撑选举的两大力量来源，一个是money，一个是power。
Where does the money come from? How much benefit does one receive after the election? Hengyang's bribery scandal has exposed the problems at the root of the existing electoral system, two sources support the elections: one is money, one is power.
Journalist Shi Shusi raised a few questions:
湖南此次对衡阳贿选案不遮不掩，痛下重拳，严厉追究，无疑是次值得称道的亡羊补牢，也是对各地人大选举敲响警钟。但一根本问题是：这样的贿选案产生的根源是什么？今后如何有效从制度上彻底防范？怎样保障人大代表的选举公开公正地进行？
Hunan did cover the Hengyang bribery scandal this time, which is worth applauding, it serves as an alarm for the election throughout the NPC. However, the fundamental question is: What's the main source of the bribery? How can it be effectively prevented from happening in the future? How can an open and fair election be guaranteed?
TV host Zhang Liyuan echoed:
这种贿选在全国不会是个例，如果不赋予人民真正的选举权，选举最后就是官员暗箱操作的一场秀。规范民主选举制度，不是惩治了几个贿选干部就解决的事！
This is by no means an individual bribery case, if you do not give people the real right to vote, elections are just a show performed by the officials. Regulating a democratic electoral system is the key, it's not just about punishing a few bribery cadres.
User “Hong Jingtian” thought the election itself is far from ordinary people's lives:
其实湖南贿选事件只是冰山一角而已。看看全国的村委会选举，贿选是普遍现象。对于老百姓来说，谁当官跟自己没有任何关系。你给我钱我就收着，选谁都一样。
In fact, the Hunan bribery case is just the tip of the iceberg. Look at nationwide village elections, bribery is a common phenomenon. For ordinary people, whoever becomes the official doesn't make any difference, whoever gives them money will get the vote. After all, the people elected are all the same.
According to social media, the Hengyang bribery scandal was not a secret. Earlier this year, the case was circulated among some investigative journalists in China, but they weren't able to publish due to pressure and censorship. Doctor Liu Yun from the Haikou College of Economics wrote:
湖南衡阳人大代表贿选案值得注意的是除了大面积大规模贿选暴露的人大选举制度的弊端，还有此案是在中央最高层的多次直接干预下才得以查清并做出处理的。
In addition to exposing the drawbacks of the electoral system, it's worth noting that such a large-scale bribery case was only able to be identified and exposed with the highest level of direct intervention from the central government.


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Malagasy Genius Seeking Happiness off the Grid   · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Arthur at 11 via Dinosoria CC-License-BY
Arthur Ramiandrisoa has been under the spotlight his life. That comes with the territory when you hold the record as the youngest french high school graduate ever [fr] at the tender age of 11. The precocious boy whose father is from Madagascar and mother from France obtained his Masters in Mathematics at 15 from the University of Paris VI. Books were written about him, and TV and radio channels wanted to know the teaching method that got him so successful early on. He seemed destined for great achievements when he decided that what he wanted more than anything is a normal life, away from all the public attention he garnered early on, as E. Pineau explains [fr]:
Présenté comme le “champion des surdoués français”, l'étiquette se révélera trop encombrante. Depuis son doctorat, obtenu à 19 ans, Arthur Ramiandrisoa n'a qu'un souhait : se faire oublier. Contactés à plusieurs reprises, ses proches n'ont pas donné suite à nos sollicitations. Se contentant de nous indiquer qu’“Arthur a gardé un très mauvais souvenir de plusieurs reportages” et “souhaite conserver l'anonymat dans lequel il vit actuellement”.
Billed as the French “champion of the gifted children“, this label will prove too cumbersome in the end. Since he obtained his PhD at 19, Arthur Ramiandrisoa has only one wish: to be forgotten. Contacted several times, his family did not respond to any requests for interviews. They say that “Arthur has bad memories from several reports about him” and “wishes to remain anonymous from now on.“
A Ramiandrisoa, now an IT architect, was also a pioneer of XML modeling for urban planning.

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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South Korean Pres. Vows Pre-emptive Strikes on Social Media Rumors · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Is South Korea government gearing up toward social media censorship? The latest official remark by President Park (full transcript [ko]) had Korean net users worried. Park, addressing “those rumors spreading via social media”, said “if the government let these things happen, it will bring chaos nationwide” and added “bear in mind that the authorities need to react fast and aggressively, and preemptively against those groups trying to distort the situations”. Many twitter users voiced concerns and pointed out the fact (such as @ppsskr's tweet [ko] which has been retweeted over 500 times) that the government bodies sent out over 24 million tweets to tip the scale in favor of Park in the latest presidential election.

author: Lee Yoo Eun


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Twin Acts of Terror for Russia’s New Year · Global Voices
Nina Jobe

Volgograd's central train station billowing smoke after Sunday's deadly explosion. The iconic white fountain in the front is a replica of the one that was damaged during the battle for Stalingrad (Volgograd's former name). YouTube screenshot.
Two terror attacks in Volgograd within less than 24 hours have put a dampener on Russia's New Year celebration. These twin bombings follow an October attack that killed 7 [Global Voices report]. The first bomb went off inside the doors of Volgograd’s main train station on Sunday afternoon, and killed 17 people. The second destroyed a trolley bus on Monday morning, as people were commuting to work, and killed at least 14.
Little information about the perpetrators is known, but as usual the RuNet is rife with speculation. After Sunday’s suicide bomber was identified as one “Aksana Aslanova”, the wife of a dead Dagestani warlord, some bloggers claimed to have found her Vkontakte page and spammed it with hateful comments. Of course, it turned out to be the wrong Aslanova — leading her to post a status update [ru]:
Уважаемые россияне, я не понимаю зачем вы мне пишете всякую ерунду, я жива и здорова, никакой терак не совершала, оставьте меня в покое.
Dear Russians, I don't understand why you keep writing such nonsense to me, I am alive and well, haven't committed any acts of terror, leave me alone.
After the second explosion, many bloggers compared the attacks to the multiple acts of terror which took place prior to Vladimir Putin first coming to power in 1999. The writer Sergei Minaev tweeted:
Атмосфера напоминает ту осень, когда в Москве взрывали дома. Кажется, будто нам опять войну объявили
— Сергей Минаев (@SergeiMinaev) December 30, 2013
The atmosphere reminds me of that autumn when they were blowing up apartment buildings in Moscow. It seems as if war has been declared again.
Publicist Dmitry Olshansky similarly wrote [ru] in a Facebook post:
Итак, новая осень 1999 года наступила.
And so, the new autumn of 1999 has come.
Olshansky went on to blame Saudi-funded groups resentful of Putin's foreign policy successes in Syria for the attacks.
Oddly, President Putin did not address the nation either after the first or the second bombing, leading to much online speculation and criticism. Natalia Shavshukova, for example, thought [ru] Putin’s refusal to speak to the nation’s citizens showed a distinct lack of leadership:
Почему молчит Путин? Где он? Где обращение к нации? Если он не хочет портить всем новогоднее настроение, то за кого он он нас держит, за кого он держит граждан страны? За зажравшееся быдло? Он президент или кто?
Why is Putin silent? Where is he? Where is his message to the nation? If he doesn't want to spoil the New Year holiday mood for everyone, then what does he take us for, what does he take our citizens for? Does he take us for pigs with our faces in the trough? Is he the President or what?
President Putin's actions took place behind the scenes — he met with Prime Minister Medvedev and sent the head of the FSB, Alexander Bortnikov, to Volgograd. 24 hours after the first attack, the Kremlin’s website posted a statement [ru] saying Putin “would receive daily reports from the National Anti-Terrorism Committee about the measures being taken, along with regular reports about the situation.”
This was small solace for Mikhail Roskin, who wrote a blog post [ru] on Echo of Moscow’s website, noting that Russia now ranks 9th in The Global Terrorism Index, alongside countries like Iraq and Afghanistan:
9 место в мире для страны с самым высоким в мире соотношением силовых структур к гражданскому населению – это провал.
9th place in the world for a country with the world’s highest ratio of security forces to the civilian population is an utter failure.
Detective novel writer Boris Akunin also thought [ru] that the twin incidents spoke of a complete failure of Putinism. He urged an overhaul of the system, with a real division of power between the executive, the legislative and the judiciary, and an independent media. While as a long term plan Akunin’s prescription may solve the problem of terrorism, it is unlikely that anything can be done before the the Sochi Winter Olympics, less than a month and a half away.
Olympic authorities, however, appear to be unconcerned. The head of Russia’s Olympic Committee, Alexander Zhukov, was quoted by RIA Novosti as saying “all necessary security measures are provided for, and extra security measures in light of the act of terrorism in Volgograd will not be taken, because everything needed is done.” The International Olympic Committee Chief, Thomas Bach, also expressed confidence “in the Russian authorities to deliver safe and secure games in Sochi.”
In the meantime Russia has ushered in the New Year with no further incident — with a traditional fireworks display on the Red Square.

author: Nina Jobe


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China 2013 in Review  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

2013 is a year of transition for China, politically, economically and socially. Offbeat China has reviewed important news and events that have happened in China in the past 12 months.


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China’s Six Trends in 2014  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

TeaLeafNation has analyzed six trends in 2013 that will continue to transform China in 2014 both socially and economically. There are:
1 Political discussions are retreating back into private sphere such as WeChat.
2 Mainland Chinese shows and products have become popular in Taiwan.
3 Fewer Chinese people will learn English.
4 China’s massive urbanization project is shifting its focus.
5 China’s domestic film industry is fighting Hollywood competitors — and winning.
6 China’s small town folk are changing e-commerce.


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Ecuadorian Authorities Raid Dissident Lawyer’s Home · Global Voices
Gina Yauri

[All links lead to Spanish language web pages, except when otherwise noted.]
On the morning of December 26, 2013, members of Ecuador’s elite police force (GIR) raided the home of Fernando Villavicencio following a court order from the Attorney General.
Villavicencio is a legal adviser to Clever Jiménez, an assembly member from the Pachakutik [en] party. Earlier in 2013, Jiménez and the activist, Carlos Figueroa, were sentenced to 18 months in prison for slander against the President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa. In 2011, the three men accused the head of state of having allegedly ordered the armed attack at the Hospital de la Policía (Police Hospital) during the September 2010 [en] uprising [en].
The operation at the home of Villavicencio -authorised by National Court judge Jorge Blum- lasted until 3:00 a.m. The district attorney’s office had been looking for information held on personal computers and cellphones, which were confiscated as part of an investigation into suspected espionage in relation to emails sent by high ranking government officials.
The investigation also involves the assembly member Clever Jiménez, whose office at the National Assembly was also raided. Jiménez had publicly admitted to possessing numerous emails from both the President and the Vice President, Jorge Glas, in relation to the Chevron case [en].
Social media has been inundated with reactions to the incident, including that of Alfredo Velazco (@alfredovelazco) who tweeted and commented on Facebook about the contradictions and double standards in the country:
#Ecuador da asilo a #Assange por publicar emails de funcionarios de #EEUU pero allanan casa de #Villavicencio… http://t.co/MTpzhXj6al
— Alfredo Velazco (@alfredovelazco) diciembre 27, 2013
#Ecuador gives asylum to #Assange for publishing emails by officials from #EEUU (USA) but raids home of #Villavicencio… http://t.co/MTpzhXj6al
Verónica Potes (@veropotes) stressed that justice was not a game:
con el debido proceso no se juega, @Galo_Chiriboga @ppsesa, eso lo deberían saber como abogados q creo q alguna vez fueron #Villavicencio
— verónica potes (@veropotes) diciembre 29, 2013
You don’t mess with due process, @Galo_Chiriboga @ppsesa, you should know this having once been lawyers #Villavicencio
The film maker Carlos Andrés Vera (@Polificcion) considered the incident an abuse of power which will most likely be covered up by a media campaign against Villavicencio:
11.- Todo esto constituye un abuso más del Estado, que se tapará con una campaña infame contra Villavicencio en medios públicos y cadenas.
— Carlos Andrés Vera (@Polificcion) diciembre 27, 2013
11.- All of this constitutes yet another abuse by the state which will be covered up with a vile campaign against Villavicencio in the mainstream media.
Diana Amores Moreno (@Diana_Amores) tweeted an ironic comment about the National Secretary for Communication (SECOM) regarding the raid:
¡Buenos días Revolución de lobotomías televisivas! ¿Ya les dijo la SECOM que opinar sobre el atropello a #Villavicencio ? ¡Excelente!
— Diana Amores Moreno (@Diana_Amores) diciembre 30, 2013
Good morning Revolution of televisual lobotomies! Has SECOM already told you what to think about the attack on #Villavicencio? Excellent!
Plan V, a website dedicated to producing its own reports alongside contributions from established journalists from the Ecuadorian press, published the article “Cuando el terror llama a tu puerta…” (When terror knocks at your door…”). The article speaks about the experiences of Fernando Villavicencio, his wife Verónica and his two young children and has been shared on numerous social networks.
Pablo Jaramillo Viteri published the following photo on his Twitter account:
Diez agentes del GIR armados allanaron la casa de Fernando Villavicencio, por orden del juez nacional Jorge Blum pic.twitter.com/KJSh3HpXDL
— PabloJaramilloViteri (@JaramilloViteri) diciembre 27, 2013
Ten armed GIR officers have raided the home of Fernando Villavicencio, acting on orders from national judge Jorge Blum.
The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, posted on his Facebook account and on Twitter (@MashiRafael) that there was a recording of the raid and that it would be made public in due course:
Hace meses hackeo de cuentas del Presidente y altos funcionarios. Investigaciones llevaron a Cléver Jiménez y su “asesor”, Fernando…
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) diciembre 28, 2013
A few months ago, he hacked into accounts belonging to the President and other high ranking officials. Investigations were filed against Cléver Jiménez and his “adviser”, Fernando…
…Villavicencio. Con orden judicial se han hecho allanamientos. Descubrimientos sorprendentes. Tenemos todo filmado, así que no les…
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) diciembre 28, 2013
…Villavicencio. The raids were carried out under court order. Surprising discoveries. We have it all filmed, so playing the…
…servirá de mucho victimizarse como de costumbre. Se han descubierto cosas realmente graves, que en su momento y de acuerdo al debido…
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) diciembre 28, 2013
…victim as they tend to will not help them. Very serious things have been found. At the right time and in accordance with…
…proceso en su momento las sabrá el país. ¡Es terrible lo que ha estado haciendo esa gente!
— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) diciembre 28, 2013
…due process the country will know all about it. It's terrible what these guys have been up to!

author: Gina Yauri


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Malaysia’s New Year Protest Against Price Hikes · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Big crowd at #TURUN pic.twitter.com/RMkpJEsOn6
— malaysiakini.com (@malaysiakini) December 31, 2013
A New Year’s Eve party in Kuala Lumpur was turned into a protest event as thousands of Malaysians voiced their opposition to looming price hikes in several basic goods and services.
Organized mainly by students, the Reduce Cost of Living Movement (Gerakan Turun Kos Sara Hidup), or Turun mobilized thousands to join the annual New Year countdown at Dataran Merdeka park and use the occasion to protest against the rising cost of living in the country.
The government has announced that it will be cutting fuel and sugar subsidies to rationalize public spending. On the other hand, there will be price increases in electricity tariffs, petrol, sugar, assessment rates for Kuala Lumpur properties, public transport fees and toll rates for highways.
The police allowed the protesters to go near the venue but they accused the protesting youth of disrupting the event. Fireworks were cancelled and the concert was stopped which disappointed many people.
anilnetto noticed that most of the protesters were young:
Many of the protesters appeared to be youths who will be hard-pressed to cope with the rising cost of living.
… salute to the brave Malaysians who defied warnings and claimed their democratic right to assemble peacefully last night.
Alternative news group Malaysiakini covered the event and observed the following:
The majority of the protesters are youths. The atmosphere is boisterous with the singing of the national anthem, speeches and slogan chanting throughout the entire procession.
Interestingly, the traffic police who were directing traffic at the nearby intersections have left their posts.
This video shows several scenes of the New Year protest:
But the police believes the rally received minimal public support:
Actually, they are only a small group trying to ride on the wave of the New Year celebration to give an impression that the rally received a widespread support with the visuals downloaded onto social websites.
Meanwhile, the protesters denied they were unruly during the activity and they cited the community singing of the national anthem before the dispersal of the protest as proof that ordinary Malaysians were supportive of the protest.
Using the Twitter hashtag #turun, Malaysian netizens shared their reactions about the protest. Some expressed admiration for the bravery of the protesters but others urged the group to air their grievances at a proper time and venue.
It is not that our prices went sky-high that we need a #Turun. It's our bloody purchasing power have been systematically eroded.
— Salahdin (@saladinMY) December 31, 2013
honestly i have nothing but respect to those who joined the #turun rally (as long as it's peaceful)
— not typical. (@JustinTWJ) December 31, 2013
We are not asking u to cut ur allowances, we are asking u to cut corruptions, wastages and leakages! #turun #fb
— Chang Lih Kang (@changlihkang) January 1, 2014
"Mom, I'm here" BEST SIGN OF 2013 RT @AdrianNCF: THIS is the crowd in front of Panggung Bandaraya #turun #rpdm31d pic.twitter.com/LVAy6ctR1d
— not typical. (@JustinTWJ) December 31, 2013
A few days ago, the government announced that it will implement 11 austerity measures in an apparent bid to quell the rising public dissatisfaction over the price hikes. But despite this announcement, the Turun protest continued to pushed through.
Zurairi AR analyzed why the Turun protest quickly gathered momentum in the past few days:
In a way, the group made its point: 2014 is “the year people suffer” from price and rate hikes, it claimed. There is nothing to be happy about the New Year.
The objective of the rally had been made very clear from the beginning by its organisers: to protest against a number of price and rate hikes, and the spiralling cost of living.
Perhaps there is another lesson here for activists: that the issues most dear to the people and capable of spurring massive turnouts are about civil liberties and bread-and-butter issues.
And Turun was about the falling value of money in our wallets, and just like the others they attracted people from all walks of life.
The Turun protest was perhaps a preview of what will happen in Malaysia in the next few months if the government fails to reverse the economic hardships experienced by its citizens.


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Peru: The Most Popular on Social Networks · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

The blog Útero.pe presents the list of the ten Peruvian most talked about events [es] on social networks during 2013, made up thanks to votes by the readers:
Sinceramente estábamos esperando que alguien más haga este ránking. Pero como nadie lo hizo, aquí vamos nosotros.
La idea fue elaborar una lista con los fenómenos/incidentes más sonados que hayan nacido en las redes sociales de nuestro rico Perú.
We were honestly expecting that someone else would make this list. But as no one did, here we go.
The idea was to prepare a list with the phenomena/incidents most taled about orginated on social networks in our rich Peru.
The list is diverse and includes politicians, artists and common citizens [es] who became famous due to its impact on the networks.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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10 Stories and Photos That Capture 2013 in Spain · Global Voices
Lourdes Sada

1. Princess Cristina de Borbón, charged
Princess Cristina. Image from Diego Armario's blog.
In April, Princess Cristina was summoned to appear in court by the judge hearing the Palma Arena case. The Spanish population watched the first accusation of a member of the royal family on a corruption charge with a mixture of surprise and incredulity. Their incredulity [es] was born out by the almost immediate lifting of the charges against the Princess. The anti-corruption prosecutor himself, Pedro Horrach was, ironically, Cristina de Borbón's best defence attorney [es]. The affair did irreparable damage to the royal family, increasingly isolated from a population which observes time and again that the King's declaration last Christmas that “justice is equal for everyone” was merely empty words.
2. The Prestige disaster, without convictions
Oil spill on a Galician beach. Photo from Wikimedia Commons under CC licence by SA 3.0
The shipwreck of the Prestige oil tanker off the coast of Galicia and subsequent oil spill which caused the worst ecological disaster ever seen in Spain and prompted one of the largest popular mobilisations in the country's history was settled without convictions following ten years of legal proceedings and a nine month long trial. The politicians implicated in the case, whose decisions were broadly criticised, did not even reach the dock. The Spanish citizens will have to foot the 4,328 million euro bill which this disaster has cost – so far.
3. The Parot Doctrine, annulled
View of the Plaza Colón in Madrid occupied by a protest organised by the Association of Victims of Terrorism. Photo uploaded to Twitter by Isabel Durán (@IsabelDuran_).
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg issued its final decision on the so-called “Parot doctrine” [es] on October 21st, ruling that the increase in prison sentences could not be applied retroactively. This ruling had the immediate effect of liberating several ETA terrorists and dangerous common criminals, which prompted furious reactions on the social networks both in support of and in opposition to the European Court. The Association of Victims of Terrorism (ATV) organised a protest march [es] on October 27th.
4. The Citizens’ Security Law
Greenpeace activists unfurl a banner from the top of a building in Plaza de España in Madrid. Photo uploaded to Twitter by @thomsh1.
The end of November brought to light the new Citizens’ Security Law which the government intends to pass. This law reclassifies certain misdemeanours as offences, allowing the government to fine citizens directly without taking them to court, thus avoiding a process which frequently decides in favour of the accused. If the law is passed, attending certain unauthorised protests could result in fines of up to 600 000 € and “offences” against Spain would be punished with fines of up to 30 000 €. Various political parties and lawyers’ associations have questioned the constitutionality of the new law.
5. The “escrache” protests
PAH escrache protest in Zaragoza. Photo from the blog El ventano.
In March and April, the Platform of People Affected by Mortgages (PAH) carried out a campaign of “escraches” [a type of direct action protest] targeting politicians, banks and party headquarters while the mortgages law was being debated in Parliament. The escraches were angrily criticised by politicians from the PP and like-minded media outlets, which went as far as to accuse the PAH of being “nazis” and “pro-ETA”. However, in June the European Parliament awarded the 2013 European Citizens’ prize to the PAH.
6. Wert, against the world
The Spanish Minister for Education, José Ignacio Wert. Photo from the blog Cinereverso.org.
The education minister is implementing the worst campaign of cuts in education which the country has ever seen. But he also has time to anger the entire population with his mottos, which have become something of a classic on the social networks. In October, the minister was on the verge of leaving hundreds of students “stranded” in Europe when he drastically reduced the Erasmus scholarships, and shortly afterwards he was publicly discredited by the European Commission, whose education spokesperson described as “rubbish” declarations made by Wert in which he claimed that the funds designated by the EC to Spain for Erasmus scholarships would see a significant reduction in 2014.
7. The right to be forgotten
EU statistics on internet privacy. Image from the European Parliament website, used with permission. Source: European Parliament.
Spain took Google to the EU Court of Justice to defend the right to be forgotten, which would give European citizens the option to demand that any personal information which they do not wish to be made public be deleted from the Internet. This right to privacy clashes frequently with the right to information, creating controversy between those who support access to information and those who support privacy. In the end, the court ruled in Google's favour.
8. The advance of the far right
Far right protest in Spain. Photo from Xavier Casals‘ blog.
With the approach of the European Parliament elections, many European citizens are worried about the resurgence of far right groups and political parties, which take advantage of the economic crisis to launch their aggressively populist and xenophobic discourses. The Greek group Golden Dawn was banned following the death of a young man, allegedly at the hands of its members, but in some European countries, far right parties are reaching levels of power unseen since World War II. In Spain, the governing People's Party systematically justifies its members’ behaviour each time the media demonstrates that they have links to the far right.
9. Eurovegas
Protest opposing the Eurovegas project. Picture taken by Valentin Sama-Rojo, dated January 26, 2013. Copyright: Demotix.
In a country with almost 5 million unemployed, the overambitious Eurovegas project, which promised the creation of more than 300 000 jobs, arrived in Madrid like a true panacea. But alarm bells soon began to ring: Las Vegas Sands, the company owned by Sheldon Adelson, the project's architect, demanded numerous exemptions with regard to labour rights, taxation and even public health, attempting to create a bubble of alegality within Spanish territory. Although some politicians appeared ready to grant LVS's every desire, the armour-plating of the investment which Adelson intended to impose and poor forecasts by the ratings agencies meant that the project ground to a halt and was definitively abandoned in December.
10. «A relaxing cup of café con leche»
Madrid made a bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games. In order to argue the city's case, a huge delegation – more than 200 people – travelled to Buenos Aires in September. Although the bid was rejected [es] in the first round, the lamentable English spoken by Ana Botella, mayor of Madrid, and the theatrical nature of her speech prompted a collective outburst of laughter around the country and left us with a phrase for posterity: «a relaxing cup of café con leche in Plaza Mayor».
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aT0BqONBgNsAna Botella's speech to the IOC. Video uploaded to YouTube by BEGO DANGER

author: Lourdes Sada


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10 Vintage Photos That Take You Back to 1897 in Burma  · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

Through its Flickr account, the British Library has opened to the public its various collections featuring historic photos, maps, and other illustrations of many countries around the world. We found two books published in 1897 which contained vintage travel photos of Burma (Myanmar). They provide an interesting glimpse of life in Burmese society during the late 19th century.
Below are five photos we selected from the book ‘Wanderings in Burma’ authored by George W Bird:
Alguada Lighthouse
Sagaing Hills
A steamer at Irrawaddy River
Cargo steamers
A pagoda in Rangoon
Alice Hart published the book ‘Picturesque Burma’ also in 1897. Below are some photos from this collection:
Taming a wild elephant
Net fishing
Bamboo houses


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3 Suggestions for Good Governance in the Central African Republic, Madagascar and Mali · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Three countries in francophone Africa are fighting to exit prolonged social crises that stem from broken political systems. Over the past five years, the Central African Republic, Madagascar and Mali went through political takeovers that involved the participation of armed factions:
All three nations face similar long odds before a sustainable political system can be stabilized. Here are three conditions that civil societies in these respective countries have identified in order to start the reconstruction of the political system.
Madagascar
Emmanuel Jovelin, a lecturer at the Université of Lille, and Lala Rarivomanantsoa, a professor at the University of Antananarivo, wrote a book called “Opinion publique et bonne gouvernance à Madagascar” [Public opinion and good governance in Madagascar]. The authors addressed a multitude of issues pertaining to Malagasy citizens’ perception of their political representatives. One of their most outstanding chapters is the proposed framework for evaluating governance in Madagascar. They opine [fr]:
Le gouverné n'est pas, comme on a toujours tendance à le croire, une masse informe que le gouvernant pourrait modeler à sa guise. L'opinion qu'il se fait de la gouvernance prend des formes variées parfois contradictoires pour mettre en place une administration efficace. […] Mais l'ensemble des opinions recensées dans cette étude peut constituer la base d'une gouvernance respectant les règles de la démocratie […] La succession des différents régimes depuis l'Indépendance peut s'expliquer par une faiblesse des structures intermédiaires de dialogue (à travers l'administration et au sein de la société civile) qui n'ont pas fonctionné comme on aurait pu le souhaiter.
Citizens are not, as one tends to believe, a shapeless mass that could be shaped as rulers would wish. Citizens’ opinion of governance takes various forms sometimes contradictory to the establishment of an effective administration. […] Still, all opinions identified in this study can form the basis of a governance that respects the rules of democracy […] The succession of different regimes since independence can be explained by a weakly structures intermediate dialogue (through government and within civil society) that did not work as one might wish.
Below is the matrix they propose to evaluate the performance of the governing administration:
Screenshot of the framework to evaluate governance in Madagascar from an extract of the book by Jovelin, Rarivomanantsoa – CC-license-BY
The first two lines details the skills/competence that any governing bodies should showcase and provide a scoring chart  :
1. Scoring for “Academic Achievement” : primary school: 1; secondary school: 2 ; higher education: 3.
2. Scoring  for the feasability of development programmes : weak : 1; medium: 2; strong: 3.
Central African Republic
The conflict in the Central African Republic has escalated to an alarming level of victims: the death toll has now reached at least 500, according to the local Red Cross.
Map of the battles in late 2012 in the CAR Civil War via Wikipedia CC License-BY
The following video illustrates the level of fear and insecurity across the country:
The OCBG blog based in Bangui reports on the proceedings meeting on good governance [fr] in the CAR:
En Centrafrique ou ailleurs, par crainte ou par méfiance et quelquefois désintérêt à la chose politique, nombreux sont ceux qui se cachent [..] Notre pays a été marqué par des mutineries successives, des coups d’état et des rebellions ce qui affecte sa stabilité et son développement économique [..] En effet, les centrafricains attendent des gouvernants de demain : L’organisation d’une véritable armée nationale ; la garantie sécuritaire des populations sur toute l’étendue du pays ; l création des infrastructures (écoles, routes, hôpitaux, bâtiments administratifs etc.,) les accords de Libreville ne peuvent résoudre les problématiques récurrentes à notre pays, dans la mesure où Libreville a été qu’une course à l’échalote et des maroquins, aucun des protagonistes n’a posé la question relative à l’urgence sociale qui prévaut
In CAR and the greater region, many people are hiding because of fear, distrust and disinterest towards politics […] Our country has been marked by successive mutinies, coups and rebellions which affects its stability and economic development […] In fact, the CAR expect the following from their leaders: the establishment of a truly national army, the guaranteed safety of populations throughout the country, the creation of infrastructure (schools, roads, hospitals, administrative buildings etc.). The Libreville agreement cannot solve the recurrent problems of our country because the Libreville agreement [a ceasefire agreement signed in January 2013 that stipulated the integration of the opposition in the government] was a race for money and power, neither side even addressed the question of social emergency that prevails.
Mali
The Malian crisis was partly resolved by the French military intervention in 2013, but despite the presence of the peace forces, unrest is still prominent in the northern territory.
A Tuareg rebel in northern Mali on Wikipedia CC-license-BY
In light of many still unresolved issue of governance, Michael Bratton, Massa Coulibaly and Fabiana Machado report on the survey they conducted with Malian citizens on what they expect in a good governance [PDF] :
Malians prefer democracy to other political regimes but their perception of democracy is culturally distinct. Malian satisfaction with democracy is often seen in terms of the personal performance of individual political leaders. They judge the legitimacy of the state based on popular trust in public institutions and perceptions that public officials are not corrupt [..] Malians continue to regard the State as the most reliable provider of employment. They prefer cosnensus and unity to political and economic competition.


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China’s Top Searches in 2013 · Global Voices
Abby Liu

China's search engine Baidu releases an annual list of their most searched terms. Here are the top searches this year:
For a more complete list, check China Internet Watch.


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Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2014 New Year Message · Global Voices
Abby Liu

Chinese President Xi Jinping has delivered a New Year speech to domestic and overseas audience via China Radio International(with English translation), China National Radio and China Central Television.


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Innovation: A Solar Energy-Powered PC Made in Mali · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Limmorgal, a solar energy-powered PC made in Mali via Tech of Africa with permission
As part of our series on innovation made in Africa, we recently showcased the 3D printer made from E-waste in Togo and a spell checker for Bambara language. Today, we present the first low-power PC made in Mali. The PC called Limmorgal (Calculator in Peul language) is the brainchild of two Malian groups, Internet society Mali (ISOC Mali) and Intelec 3. Mamadou Iam Diallo, president of ISOC Mali, explains the needs they want to fulfill with this PC [fr] to Bamako Blog:
Nous avons conçu cette machine pour contribuer à la réduction du fossé numérique, mais également à la vulgarisation de l’outil informatique surtout en milieu scolaire. Limmorgal est aussi un ordinateur adapté à l’alimentation par l’énergie solaire grâce à sa faible consommation d’énergie.
We designed this PC to help reduce the digital divide, but also the expansion of the use of computers in schools. Limmorgal is a computer adapted to be powered by solar energy and requires low energy consumption (24 Watts required).
The basic specifications of the PC are:


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Political Unrest in Bangladesh – an Observation  · Global Voices
Rezwan

Millions of Bangladeshis are going through tense days and nights. The deepening political crisis, the extreme rigid stance taken by the polarized political parties and the pending general election coming up on January 5, 2014 that the main opposition parties have boycotted, all point to another vicious cycles of bloody confrontations between the current government and its oppositions.
Mahbubul Karim Sohel explains the background of the political unrest in Bangladesh and the hope for the future.


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South Korean Authorities Discredit Dissenting Voices as ‘Not-Real’ News · Global Voices
Lee Yoo Eun

Who gets to decide what is real news or not? It seems the South Korean government thinks they have enough authority to do so.
The country's media regulation authorities have discredited several news programs, calling them “not real news”. Among many programs that found themselves a target were Newstapa, an investigative news site which made groundbreaking revelations in 2013; Gobal News, a young news site runs by an independent citizen-funded station, just like Newstapa; and several news shows aired by the Christian Broadcasting System (CBS) radio.
The Korean Communications Commission (KCC) released its report on the media landscape on December 30 and disqualified some as “non-real news” (or “not legit” news) and vowed [ko] to send warnings to those broadcasters in order to push them to make major adjustments in their formats. The government's explanation was that it is illegal for special-purpose stations (i.e. traffic or religion channels) to adopt the form of “news, news anchors, and journalists” and for local channels (which air in a specific province or city) to report on general, state-level social issues – in other words, they can't use the format of news when covering any subjects that are deemed outside of their area of coverage.
Journalists and media workers lambasted the decision, commenting [ko] that the current journalism environment has turned as hostile as that of the 1980s when notorious military dictator Chun Doo-hwan brutally cracked down on any forms of dissent and stifled journalism.
A media industry veteran and currently investigative reporter at Newstapa, Choi Kyung-young (@kyung0), wrote [ko] as below. Newstapa (English name: Korea Center for Investigative Journalism) made stunning feats of journalism last year by disclosing critical facts about the election manipulation scandal and elite tax haven scheme, but was discredited by authorities as “not real news”.
[…] 어디서 유사언론학을 들었는지 모르겠으나 “정부가 무엇이 보도인지를 규정하면 그 나라에는 보도는 사라지고 선전만 남게된다” http://t.co/Ww3nIpXUUT
[…] I dont know where they learnt about the definition on “non-legit news”, but bear in mind that once the government gets to decide what is news or not, news reports in that nation disappears and only propaganda is left.
CBS (Christian Broadcasting System, not related to the US media company of the same name) is a non-profit organization that has a history of being the first independent radio station in the country. Although it has a Christian background, some of CBS's news programs have been praised for unbiased reports.
One of the hosts for CBS's news program, Kim Eung-gyo, wrote that the only comparable crackdown on media to this current one is the 1980's shutdown when the military regime forced CBS to shutter by merging them and other independent broadcasters with state-run TV. The station reopened seven years later:
예상대로 방통위에서 CBS를 건드렸다. CBS뉴스, 시사자키 정관용, 김현정의 뉴스쇼 등 허가없이 해온 ‘유사보도'란다. 1954년 개국이래 계속해온 CBS뉴스를 강제로 중단시킨 전두환의 망령이 부활했다 http://t.co/aGTmwU7AHa — 김응교 KIM EUNG GYO (@Sinenmul) December 30, 2013
As suspected, they provoked CBS. They branded these programs – CBS News, Jeong Kwan-yong's Current Issues, Kim Hyun-jeong's News Show – “not real news” done without proper permission. It seems like the ghost of [military dictator] Chun Doo-hwan – who halted CBS which has aired news since 1954 – has returned to this era.
Media critic Yoo Chang-seon (@changseon) criticized [ko] authorities’ guidelines as outdated:
방송통신위원회의 이러한 발상, 참 낡고 낡았다 하는 생각이 듭니다. 종교채널이든 경제채널이든 교통채널이든, 그 방송을 듣고 보는 사람들 모두 세상 돌아가는 일을 알아야 합니다. 어느 분야 하나 서로 연결되지 않는 것이 없는 세상입니다[…]
Korea Communications Commission's decision reveals that their thinking cannot be more outdated. Whether it is a religious channel, an economic channel or a traffic channel, the audience should be able get information on what is happening now in the world by watching those channels. Moreover, everything, every industry are closely connected with each other[…]
Image by Free Press Pics (CC BY NC SA 2.0)
Gobal news and Newstapa both belong to RTV, [ko] an independent TV station that heavily depends on citizen contributions and donations. RTV tweeted as below right after the news about “not-real news” broke. Gobal news revealed [ko] that while the move was made against them, the government provides generous benefits to TV stations run by major newspapers who strongly support the government and its policies:
비판적 언론에 재갈물리기가 본격적으로 시작됐습니다. 보도는 종편과 공중파만 보라는 뜻이기도 하지요. http://t.co/u1b7sYaeD6 http://t.co/d2OErTwTiA http://t.co/jNQrlNOvz5
— (재)시민방송 RTV (@RTVfoundation) December 31, 2013
This signals the start of muzzling media critical of the government. It means that they will allow people to watch only the network TVs and those TV stations run by conservative newspaper companies [referring to Chosun, Joonang and Donga Newspaper]
RTV's journalists said that they will resist against [ko] authorities’ guidelines, and many citizens expressed the same. Pyo Chang-won, a former professor at the National Police University and now influential talk show host, tweeted as below.
늘 정확한 사실과 날카로운 분석으로 청취자들에게 꼭 필요한 바른 언론 역할을 해 준 CBS 라디오와 ‘김현정의 뉴스쇼'를 지지하고 응원합니다. 방통위의 독재적 구시대적 언론탄압시도에 온몸으로 반대합니다. 힘 내세요. @newsnme
— 표창원 (Changwon Pyo) (@DrPyo) December 31, 2013
CBS radio and its program “Kim Hyun-jeong's News Show” have played the role of real journalism program by delivering facts and sharp analyses to audiences. I fully support and want to encourage them, and every fiber of my body will be resisting against the KCC's anachronistic oppression of the media – which would be more befitting of a dictatorial era. Cheer up.


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VIDEO: Your Dreams Are the Chinese Communist Party’s Dreams · Global Voices
Abby Liu

On the heels of the success of their video “How to become a top leader?” comparing Chinese top leaders to Kungfu masters, the production team Road to Revival has uploaded another video, “Chinese Communist Party with you along the way” on major Chinese social media website youku.
The three-minute video appears to be an advertising campaign for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), an effort to invoke soft power through the video. Like the first video, this one also talks about the hopes of Chinese people:
It starts with a short introduction about modern China, and then goes on to show ordinary Chinese people talking about what they wish for:
I want more pension, I want blue sky and cleaner water. I want a world free of wars.
In the end, the video emphasizes that the hopes and dreams of ordinary Chinese are also the goals of the Chinese Communist Party. The video, with English narration, says:
A screenshot of the video “With You Along the Way” from youku
On the road chasing our dreams, we walk side by side, sharing weal and woe, transcending differences and shaping the future together, the Communist Party of China is with you along the way.
Both two videos come as President Xi Jinping puts emphasis on the importance of increasing China’s soft power and connecting with ordinary people, including the recent news about him eating buns at a regular restaurant.
This approach seems to be effective, and many netizens like the video, as they think it's a good start that the government has realized the importance of promoting their image. One netizen “huyong210” wrote:
绝对国际范儿的中共对外形象片！话说中共就该这么对外推广下，让老外看看当下的中共在干什么想什么为什么，别老以为中共就是原来的苏共！
Absolutely international-level ad campaign about CCP! CCP should promote itself outside of China, so the foreigners will know what they are doing and thinking and why they are doing it, instead of still considering CCP as the communist party in the former Soviet Union.


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Video:One Billion Stories  · Global Voices
Abby Liu

One Billion Stories is a series of short films set in Shanghai about the people we pass by every day. In this video, the BBQ street vendor Steven talks about his life as a migrant worker in Shanghai, his view on freedom and independence and his ideal China. He says:
In my ideal China, people don't have to struggle, don't have to be so busy making a living, don't have to live so tired everyday, no tough life, then we will have more time to spend with others, and to do what we like. When China develops to a certain level, we don't have to struggle that hard, we don't have to only focus on making a living everyday, and neglect other things. When people don't have to worry about making a living, people will get along better. You don't have to play tricks any more. So you can do things you really like.
Watch the video below with English subtitle: