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More Than 120,000 Evacuated as Malaysia Hit by Worst Flooding in Decades · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

A man sits on a float tires in a flood affected area in Temerloh, 150 km (93 miles) outside of Kuala Lumpur, December 27, 2014. Photo by SAMMY FOO. Copyright Demotix
The northeastern states of peninsular Malaysia were hit by massive flooding, which residents described as the worst seen in the region in more than two decades.
At least 120,000 have been evacuated as floodwaters intensified in the past two days. Aside from heavy rainfall, scientists blamed the gravitational pull of the moon for the high tide that caused the flooding in many coastal areas.
Social media is being maximized to coordinate relief and rescue operations. The #mybanjir (Malaysian flood) website was created to allow flood victims to receive and send SMS about their status and location. Netizens are using the Twitter hashtags #mybanjir, #Banjir2014, #PrayForPantaiTimur, and #PrayForKelantan to monitor the flood situation.
Below are some photos that show the devastating impact of the flood:
The worst flood I ever experienced. Kota Bharu, Kelantan. #PrayForPantaiTimur #PrayForKelantan pic.twitter.com/rykMS2j1L4
— AMAR AMIRUL (@AmarAmirul_) December 25, 2014
Latest update from my cousin. #PrayForKelantan #PrayForPantaiTimur pic.twitter.com/uYDnnkMEqR
— NM (@NabilaMaliki) December 25, 2014
Thoughts and Prayers to the people of Kota Bharu. Hope the flood subsides soon. #PrayForPantaiTimur pic.twitter.com/t3WkqdauLG
— Reuben W.J Kang (@reubenkang) December 25, 2014
One of the hospital in Kelantan is half soaked by water. Please pray for their safety #PrayForPantaiTimur pic.twitter.com/JE1UJ3YCSe
— ï (@imanbaharun) December 25, 2014
The flood is getting worse . #PrayForPantaiTimur #PrayForMalaysia pic.twitter.com/ReoSlDQDY5
— delight (@perfyeols) December 25, 2014
Good Morning Chukai #PrayForPantaiTimur pic.twitter.com/IzFsWTkxYN
— ☆ (@AfifZakwan) December 27, 2014
Allahu let's just hope for the best T.T #PrayForPantaiTimur #PrayForKelantan pic.twitter.com/nBMji1UU6z
— 아들리나 (@youngminieoppar) December 26, 2014
#PrayForPantaiTimur and all those poor animals pic.twitter.com/oHf5KkI7t9
— pamy (@fahmyvevo) December 25, 2014
“@nadhirah_moffet: I just can't #PrayForPantaiTimur pic.twitter.com/NHhxaCZNRQ“
— Àdàm9À+ (@adamafiqqq) December 27, 2014
Google has uploaded a crisis map to show the areas threatened with flooding:
Prime Minister Najib Razak drew flak after he was seen playing golf with United States President Barack Obama while Malaysia was being battered by floodwaters:
President Obama playing golf with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Hawaii today pic.twitter.com/qul13Q09tW
— TheObamaDiary.com (@TheObamaDiary) December 25, 2014
In response, Najib cancelled his year-end vacation in the U.S. to lead the government’s disaster response:
I'm deeply concerned by the floods and am returning to see the situation for myself. My thoughts and prayers are with all who are suffering.
— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) December 26, 2014
Malaysian Insider has written an editorial criticizing the slow and inefficient disaster preparation of the government:
The authorities should be able to predict, prepare and inform people that floods are expected, and list out the relief centres and available food stock.
Yet neither those in affected areas or Malaysians elsewhere knew what hit them at the tail-end of one of the worst years in the country's history.
We need more than a transformation, we need reforms of attitudes and operating procedures.
The flood has inspired many Malaysians to help in the relief effort. But the flood has not yet receded and once the water is gone, the next challenge is the rehabilitation of damaged communities. It will be a very difficult new year for Malaysia’s eastern states.

author: Mong Palatino


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Meet the Kremlin’s Snitch · Global Voices
Aric Toler

Images edited by Kevin Rothrock.
The Russian Internet group known as “Shaltai Boltai” (also called “Anonymous International”) has struck again, this time following up on a promise to release more damaging information about Kristina Potupchik, the former spokesperson for the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi and a current member of Russia's Civic Chamber. Shaltai Boltai has leaked a trove of emails allegedly between Potupchik and officials inside the Kremlin, showing that she reported regularly on the political activities of influential bloggers and independent journalists.
These emails cover a wide range of topics, but focus primarily on figures in the anti-Putin opposition, as well as general political trends in Russian social media and political journalism.
The most recent email contained in the leak is just a few weeks old, dated December 16, when Potupchik—writing, for some reason, under the name Anna Veduta (the former press secretary of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny)—summarizes the general mood of the RuNet after the collapse of the ruble. In her summary, Potupchik includes some of the most popular memes of the day and draws attention to the opinions of particular figures, such as blogger Maksim Katz and opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
In her reports, Potupchik doesn't just summarize the goings-on on the Web and in the media—she also suggests new policies for the Kremlin's propaganda efforts. For instance, she proposes various coordinated campaigns for blog posts, tweets, and even hashtags. In that December 16 report about RuNet reactions to the ruble crisis, she recommended stressing “the emotional aspect” of Russia's current situation:
Также разумно сделать акцент на эмоциональном аспекте. А именно, следует утверждать, что паника и обвинения в адрес руководства страны в допущении сложившейся ситуации лишь ухудшают ее. Вместе с тем та часть населения, которая в свое время заявляла о готовности терпеть некоторые лишения после присоединения Крыма, сегодня должна отчетливо осознавать, что все происходящие на валютном рынке изменения – результат давления Запада, недовольного тем, что Россия – самостоятельное государство, “посмевшее” претендовать на роль лидера в Евразии и диктовать свое суверенное мнение международному сообществу. Перед лицом трудностей каждый из нас должен отбросить панику и начать больше работать, больше учиться и больше делать для своей страны. Вместе с тем стоит отметить, что Россией руководят не новички и не профаны, и все необходимое для решения ситуации будет сделано в ближайшее время.
It's also reasonable to focus on the emotional aspect. Namely, it's necessary to stress that panic and accusing the nation's leadership of allowing this situation will only make matters worse. At the same time, everyone that declared before that they'd be willing to tolerate some troubles to gain Crimea needs to understand plainly today that everything happening on the currency exchange market is the result of Western pressure—of the West's anger that Russia is an independent state that “dared” to play the role of a leader in Eurasia and dictate its own sovereign terms to the international community. In the face of such difficulties, each of us must reject panic and start to work even more, to study even more, and to do even more for our country. However, it is worth reminding people that Russia's leaders are no novices, and everything that needs to be done to solve the crisis will be done very soon.
An email from February 17 provides an account of the activities she directed for the previous week, including this record for Wednesday, February 12:
The ruble's crash is perhaps an atypical example of Potupchik's reports, given the gravity of Russia's current economic woes. A email dated in mid-February gives us an idea of what her regular work seems to have been:
1. Отработали в блогах и в твиттере тему критики Шендеровича и радиостанции “Эхо Москвы”. По данной теме вывели в мировые и российские тренды. хештег 2. Отработали в блогах и в твиттере тему критики партии Навального
3. На сайте о слухах вокруг Олимпиады в Сочи на русском и английском языке http://gossipsochi.ru http://gossipsochi.com
опубликованы 16 мифов с опровержениями. Русскоязычную версию сайта посмотрели более 130 000 раз, а английскую – 89 100 раз
Пост о проекте вышел в топ ЖЖ
1. In blogs and on Twitter, we produced various criticisms of Shenderovich and “Echo of Moscow.” We got into Twitter's global and Russian trends the hashtag #MattressRadio [referring to a bizarre sex scandal involving Echo columnist and opposition figure, Viktor Shenderovich].
2. In blogs and on Twitter, we produced several criticisms of Navalny's political party.
3. On a website about rumors surrounding the Sochi Olympics, in Russian and in English, we refuted 16 myths about the Games [that described Russia as a poor host]. The Russian version of the site was viewed more than 130,000 times, and the English version 89,100 times. A post about the project reached the top of Livejournal.
Shaltai Baltai has targeted Potupchik before, leaking of a photo of her posing next to a suspicious bag of cash. Additionally, Anonymous—the more traditional one, not Shaltai Boltai’s unrelated moniker of “Anonymous International”—targeted Potupchik in 2013, also leaking a cache of her emails.

source: news-globalvoices

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

author: Aric Toler


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Air Asia Plane Carrying 162 People from Indonesia to Singapore Reported Missing · Global Voices
Mong Palatino

An Air Asia Airbus A320-200 (PK-AZI) at Singapore Changi International airport on February 9, 2014. Photo by Flickr user Uwe Schwarzbach. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Air Asia has confirmed that it lost contact with flight QZ8501 which was on its way to Singapore from Surabaya in Indonesia. The plane was carrying 162 people: 155 passengers, 2 pilots and 5 cabin crew.
AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning.
The airline said that the missing plane requested to deviate from its flight plan before it lost contact:
The aircraft was on the submitted flight plan route and was requesting deviation due to enroute weather before communication with the aircraft was lost while it was still under the control of the Indonesian Air Traffic Control
Indonesian authorities are focusing on the Bangka Belitung islands off the east coast of South Sumatra to find the missing plane.
Air Asia changed the color of its Facebook logo after it announced that one of its planes went missing.
Here are other updates from the Twitter hashtag #QZ8501
Indonesian search & rescue team said the last known position of @AirAsia flight #QZ8501 was over the Gulf of Kumai. pic.twitter.com/OPb3sywPkN
— The Philippine Star (@PhilippineStar) December 28, 2014
Airport staff holds up a sign at Changi's T2 to direct family members & friends seeking info on @AirAsia #QZ8501. pic.twitter.com/m6gM8JcdMJ
— The Straits Times (@STcom) December 28, 2014
PRAY FOR #QZ8501 pic.twitter.com/czaqIR0siU
— Kata Bijak & Nasihat (@NasihatSahabat) December 28, 2014
Malaysia Airlines, which lost two planes this year, also expressed its solidarity to Air Asia:
#staystrong @AirAsia – Our thoughts and prayers are with all family and friends of those on board QZ8501.
— Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) December 28, 2014
The prime minister of Singapore said his country will assist in locating the plane:
Called Pres @jokowi_do2 to offer help. Two RSAF C-130 search & locate aircrafts are on standby. Our ministers will follow up. – LHL #QZ8501
— Lee Hsien Loong (@leehsienloong) December 28, 2014
The head of Air Asia thanked all those who showed support for the missing flight QZ8501:
On my way to Surabaya where most of the passangers are from as with my Indonesian management. Providing information as we get it.
— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) December 28, 2014
Air Asia is a popular budget airline in Southeast Asia. It started operations in 1996 and has not yet experienced any fatal air crash.


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Despite Appearances, 3 Reasons for Madagascar, Algeria and France to Be Cheerful in 2015 · Global Voices
Lova Rakotomalala

Countries in Africa are given a traffic-light score based on life expectancy, the level of well-being experienced and ecological footprint. From Movehub with permission
2014 is coming to an end on a rather despondent note given the global economic context and multiple social tensions worldwide. The ever-elusive rebound of the global economy has many wondering what is in store for 2015.
Still, a few countries will not let the general malaise dampen their spirits. The Happy Planet Index (HPI) is an index of human well-being and environmental impact that was created by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in the UK. It aims to rank countries on how well they fare with respect to three factors: life expectancy, the level of well-being experienced and ecological footprint.
The HP index for 2014 ranked 151 countries, with Costa Rica, Colombia and Vietnam topping the list. In Europe, Switzerland, the UK, Germany and France tops the ranking while Algeria and Madagascar are the happiest from the African continent. This result came as a surprise for many observers of African politics given the social turmoils in the two nations in recent years. Similarly, French citizens would be gobsmacked to see their nation ranking anywhere near the top of a happiness list as voters have grown increasingly upset with the direction of the country.
Instead of finding potential fault with the HP Index for those three countries, let's look at the reasons why these three countries should be looking forward to the year 2015.
Potential for reconciliation and recovery in Madagascar
Let's be blunt. With 90 percent of its population living with less than 2 US dollars per day, a rampant spread of Bubonic plague and failure to provide electricity to most of its citizens, there are very few reasons to be cheerful during the holiday seasons in Madagascar. Yet, things may not be as bleak as they seem.
One reason is that Madagascar is on the recovery path from one the most challenging political crises of its history, which began in 2009 and dropped the national economy into a deep hole. New President-elect Hery Rajaonarimampianina has commissioned a task force for reconciliation to mend the unresolved dissensions from the 2009 coup. To jump-start the initiative, the president met with four of his predecessors and former opponents, Zafy, Ratsiraka, Ravalomanana and Rajoelina, for the first time in a bid to restore national unity:
Madagascar president with four of his predecessors holding hands at a national unity meeting.
Madagascar history is rife in political backstabbing and sudden changes of heart, so one cannot be faulted for being cautious about the politicians’ genuine desire to let bygones be bygones. Yet, the economy cannot possibly withstand another political crisis.
Another reason to be optimistic is that economic outlook seems to be looking up for 2015, with economic growth projected at 5.5 percent by the African Development Bank. Now if only Madagascar could get its electricity running properly, the future would already look much brighter.
Citizen activism and rise of young politicians in Algeria
Algeria was the other surprise front-runner in Africa in the HP Index, ranking 26 out of 151 countries worldwide and ahead of countries such as Norway and Switzerland.
Not all is fine and dandy in Algeria. The latest presidential poll on April 2014 saw the re-election for a 4th term of barely functioning incumbent President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, with 81 percent of the vote facing allegations of fraud. Bouteflika is severely ill after suffering a stroke and now uses a wheelchair.
On top of the uneasy political atmosphere and an overbearing surveillance state, sectarian tensions flared following violent clashes between majority Muslim Sunni and minority Ibadite communities. Still the presidential elections witnessed a spirited campaign from the political opposition, led by former Prime Minister Ali Benflis. Other candidates, such as Abdelaziz Belaid, the youngest presidential candidate ever, and female candidate Louisa Hanoune also showed that there is a potential for new wave of politicians in Algeria.
Despite severe repression from the police, citizen media also had a strong impact on Algeria in 2014. Video reports from civilians such as the following uncovered brutal conflicts in the city of Ghardaïa that was mostly ignored by national media:
Political and free speech activists were jailed during the electoral campaign, but the Barakat! (enough in english) movement grew stronger during the elections, which bodes well for the future of democracy in Algeria.
French citizens united against French bashing
As clichés go, the forever-striking French workers is a tough one to let go of. Truth is, the political atmosphere has turned quite tense in France, a by-product of a stagnant economy, enduring high unemployment and the rise of far-right parties. If elections were held today, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen would be leading all potential presidential candidates.
The challenging context provoked a plethora of scathing remarks by foreign observers over the bleak future of the France, commonly known as French bashing.
No country wants to be painted with a broad brush or put down by outside observers. So when Nobel committees awarded not one but two Nobel Prizes in 2014 to two French citizens (the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences to Jean Tirole and the Nobel Prize in Literature for Jean Patrick Modiano), French Prime Minister Manuel Valls could not help but respond with “take that” against French bashing on Twitter:
Après Patrick Modiano, un autre Français au firmament : félicitations à Jean Tirole! Quel pied-de-nez au french bashing ! #FiersdelaFrance
— Manuel Valls (@manuelvalls) October 13, 2014
After Patrick Modiano, another French citizen on top of the world: Congratulations to Jean Tirole! Take that French bashing! #FiersdelaFrance (Proud to be french)
Beside the temporary gloating over the Nobel Prize awards, there are in fact reasons for the French to hold their heads high. The economy might be stagnant, but it must be noted that it has not plunged during one of the harshest economic crisis in Europe in decades. A reform to boost the economy called “Law on Growth and Activity” is in place. The business reform includes, among other measures, a plan for more flexibility on opening hours in tourist areas. In fact, tourism is one area in which France is doing quite well, as noted here by UK newspaper The Guardian.
A public forum over three days in December called “Osons la France” (loosely translated as “Daring to be French”) highlighted all the innovative services created by French start-ups in 2014, as shown in this video:
Not all is well in France, evidently. But naysayers might have been a bit premature with doomsday predictions, at least for 2015.
So here's to more hopeful, cheerful news worldwide in 2015:

author: Lova Rakotomalala


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A 17-Year-Old Rape Victim’s Demand for Justice Gains Momentum in Nepal · Global Voices
Narayan Adhikari

The students of National Medical College at Birgunj (Nepal) participating in a candlelight rally showing their solidarity in the ongoing agitation against gang rape in Birgunj, Nepal & New Delhi, India. Image by Manish Paudel. Copyright Demotix (24/12/2012)
A recent op-ed by a gang rape victim in Nepal has caused a stir in the mountainous country. Rape and other kinds of violence against women are prevalent in Nepal and many of the perpetrators get away.
Puja Bohara, a student in her final year of school, says she was drugged and raped by Sagar Bhatta, a book shop owner, and Amar Awasthi, a photographer, in March 2012 when she visited Bhatta's store to buy some papers. The two men were sentenced to 13 years in prison and fined Rs 50,000 (about 500 US dollars) each by the Baitadi District Court for the crime. But the following year on April 28, 2014, the Mahendranagar Appellate Court overturned the decision and acquitted them.
On December 16, 2014, Nepali-language newspaper Kantipur Daily published a touching open letter to Nepal's Law Minister Narahari Acharya by Puja, requesting that the men who raped her be punished:
अन्त्यमा माननीय मन्त्रीज्यू, मेरो किटानी जाहेरीले पक्राउ परी दोषी सावित भई १३ वर्षका लागि जेल चलान भएका ती बलात्कारीहरू छुट्नु भनेको के उनीहरू निर्दोष अनि मचाहिँ दोषी हुँ त ? यदि म दोषी हुँ भने मलाई तुरुन्तै कारबाही गरियोस्, हैन भने ती बलात्कारीहरूलाई पुनः पक्राउ गरी सजाय सुनाइयोस् ।
पूजा बोहरा
Before I end this letter, I would like to ask the law minister about those convicted who were sentenced to 13 years in prison and again set free into society. Are they innocent, those who ruined my life? It raises a moral question for society regarding the crime, and society is unsure of who is innocent and who is guilty. If you are convinced and have got enough evidence, than you can arrest me under the law. If not, then those rapists should face the consequences of the law and be rearrested — give me justice.
Regards,
Puja Bohara
17-year-old Puja comes from Baitadi district, the farthest western regional district of Nepal adjacent to Jhulaghat, India. Puja’s father, who is a farmer, doesn't have enough farmland on his own, so he has been working the farmlands of a rich man house to maintain his family. Puja struggled much to be in school, walking more than an hour and half to get to class, and was one of the brightest students of the school, securing first place in class every year.
Puja’s open letter became the talk of the town this week as people started raising questions about the appellate court's decision and voicing their support for her.
In an interview with Nepali-language Himalaya TV earlier this month, Puja asked, “Those who had raped me, are they deemed innocent after the court verdict?”
Puja also urged the law minister to make harsher laws for convicted rapists, including the death penalty. In current Nepalese law, there is no death penalty.
On December 17, 2014, Law Minister Narahari Acharya commented on the issue, assuring justice for Puja. Prominent politician and former Prime Minister Dr. Baburam Bhattarai commented, “Puja’s letter made me cry.”
Menuka Thapa, chairperson of Raksha Nepal, the NGO which is providing shelter for Puja, is also speaking out to demand justice for Puja.
People are using Twitter to voice their support as well:
Pooja Bohara's powerful letter reveals about our justice system, social security and governance. Let's raise voice! http://t.co/m9Qohp2lU9
— Guna Raj Luitel (@gunaraj) December 17, 2014
A touchy letter indeed: http://t.co/diJuhjhegl. #Rape sud have no place in 21st century. But sadly it continues in #Nepal. @ekantipur_com
— Ganga Thapa (@GulmiGanga) December 16, 2014
किन मौन छौँ सरकार ? छिटो न्याय चाहियो #JusticeForPuja pic.twitter.com/MPFIRM1I5M
— डेरावाल उपभोक्तामञ्च (@rnet_room) December 16, 2014
Why the government is silent? Quick justice needed # #JusticeForPuja
@tfscn Justice Campaign for Puja Bohara in IAAS, Paklihawa campus pic.twitter.com/bhLJ2J370k
— Hardik IAAS (@iaasagri42) December 18, 2014
I don't have sisters yet I believe that it would pain me a lot as if as ur brothers now puja. #justimagine #justiceforpuja
— CCर 1Mb!!! (@beingccr) December 16, 2014
#JusticeForPuja #CandleLightMarch #Chipledhunga #Pokhara Unity for Female Rights !!! #StopFemaleViolence pic.twitter.com/jxEsPEkD1z
— Cafe Coronary™  (@being_raam) December 17, 2014
After publishing of the open letter, civil society, rights organisations and media have escalated pressure on the government to act. The law minister has assured that Puja will get justice. Now Puja has hope, at least for now.

author: Narayan Adhikari


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Argentina: The Tourism Input in Economy · Global Voices
Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez

Blogging for Turytecnia, Adrián Martinez echoes the results of the survey published by the World Travel & Tourism Council, WTTC, where we can find and interactive infography with data from the tourism industry and its impact on the economy in different countries, where we can observe:
[…] la evolución que ha tenido en aspectos tales como la contribución económica del turismo, a puestos de trabajo, cantidades de turistas, e inversiones que se han realizado en esta actividad.
Suena interesante la evolución que ha tenido la Argentina en esta actividad, donde puede verse que la inversión se ve reflejada en resultados.
[…] the evolution in items such as economic contribution of tourism, jobs, number of tourists and investments made. it's interesting to note the evolution Argentina has had in this activity, where we can see that the investment gets reflected in results.
Captura de pantalla de la infografía interactiva por el WTTC, extraída del blog Turytecnia, utilizada con autorización
In Argentina, we can observe how just in 2013, 47,5 billion dollars entered the national chests thanks to the tourists that visited the country, which gets up tp 9,9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). On the other hand, according to the report, tourism industry generated 1.685 jobs, 9,5% of existing working force. The report claims also that in 2013, 7,2 billions were invested in tourism, about 6,4% of total investments, although it's expected to grow 4,1% in 2014.
You can follow @Turytecnia and Adrián Martinez on Twitter.

author: Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez


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Bicycling 2,930 Kilometers for a Selfie With Uruguay’s President José Mujica · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

After bicycling for 35 days accompanied only by his bike, 28-year old Brazilian Carlos Eduardo Lemos de Oliveira achieved his goal: he took a selfie with Uruguay's President José Mujica.
Brasileiro tira ‘selfie’ com Mujica após pedalar cerca de 3 mil km até Uruguai http://t.co/FsaNyGNAmK #G1 pic.twitter.com/Fla6rfqc3f
— G1 – Mundo (@g1mundo) noviembre 24, 2014
Brazilian guys takes a ‘selfie’ with Mujica after pedaling almost 3,000 km to Uruguay.
The loneliness of the journey from the city of Alfenas, in the state of Minas Gerais — in the center of Brazil — all the way to Mujica's home, on the outskirts of Uruguayan capital Montevideo, allowed him to reflect about some aspects of daily life that we usually take for granted, as summed up by G1 website:
Viajar sozinho tem suas vantagens. Você faz seus horários, impõe seu ritmo, decide quando partir e como chegar. Eu sempre digo aos amigos que para viajar assim, sem companhia, é preciso primeiramente estar aberto a fazer novas amizades.
[…]
No começo você desconfia de que as pessoas vão te achar louco por estar falando sozinho nas rodovias. Então você começa a perceber que não existem pessoas naqueles lugares e, num estalar de dedos, você se pega cantando no mais alto tom canções que você tem pavor de ouvir quando está em casa.
Traveling alone has its advantages. You make your schedules, you set the rythm, you decide when to leave and how to arrive. I always tell my friends that for an unaccompanied trip you first need to be open to making new friends.
[…]
At first, you mistrust that people will think you are insane as you talk to yourself on the roads. Then you start to notice there is nobody in those places and just like that, you are singing songs out loud that you would never sing while being at home.
The meeting with Mujica, which was the purpose of the trip, happened on November 21. Carlos Eduardo wrote:
De um lado, uma bicicleta, de outro, um fusquinha azul encardido. Não poderia haver um encontro mais apaixonante do que este que tive com o presidente do Uruguai, José Mujica. Aliás, foi tudo muito despretensioso e quase nada programado. “Pepe”, apelido de Mujica, é um homem de muita simplicidade.
On one side, a bike, on the other, a blue, dirty beetle. There probably won't exist a more passionate encounter than the one I had with Uruguay's President José Mujica. Furthermore, it all was very simple with nothing programmed. “Pepe”, Mujica's nickname, is a man full of simplicity.
Twitter also echoed Carlos Eduardo's journey:
Como é bom ter sonhos, projetos e poder realizá-los !! http://t.co/VxBH2Re0uk
— Dr. Marcio Aurelio (@DrMarcioAurelio) noviembre 24, 2014
It's good to have dreams, projects, and being able to accomplish them!!
ESSE SIM É UM PRESIDENTE DE VDD http://t.co/vMAdZBFYlj
— raylson maercio (@raylsonmaercio) noviembre 24, 2014
This is a real president.

author: Gabriela García Calderón Orbe


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COP20: Responsibilities of Capitalism On Climate Change · Global Voices
Patricia Carolina Saucedo Añez

The 20th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and 10th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP20/CMP10) was held in Lima between December 1 to 12, and was chaired by the host country, Peru. During the conference, Bolivian president Evo Morales, emphatically appealed to consider climate change as a direct consequence of capitalist system and urged industrialized countries to accept the consequences of their actions:
Evo Morales llama a escuchar a indígenas y a luchar contra el capitalismo en #COP20 → http://t.co/UIHPYmyBWN http://t.co/xc989EW9eG
— Noticias Indígenas (@Servindi) diciembre 9, 2014
Evo Morales urges to listen to indigenous people and to fight against capitalism during COP20.
Damián Profeta sums up the ten main points of Morales’ speech, and he highlisghts:
- ‘Hay que crear un Tribunal Internacional de Justicia Climática’ [encargada de] ‘juzgar a países que no cumplen sus compromisos y los tratados internacionales y a los que hacen mucho daño al ambiente’ […]
– ‘Que el sistema capitalista asuma su responsabilidad en el cambio climático’ […]
– ‘En la lucha contra el Cambio Climático los países del Norte nos han llevado a un terreno infecundo’ […]
– ‘El medio ambiente debe ser administrado comunitariamente porque la naturaleza misma es comunitaria’
- An International Court of Climate Justice [in charge of] judging countries that don't fulfil their obligations and international treaties and those who harm environment a lot must be implemented […]
– The capitalist systema should take responsibility on climate change […].
– In the fight against climate change, the Northern countries have taken us to a sterile ground […]
– Environment must be managed communally, as nature itself is communal
Some Twitter users answered reminding him his actions about the construction of a highway along the Isiboro Sécure National Park and Indigenous Territory (TIPNIS):
#Evo plantea prop.Comunitaria p salvar planeta? Ok Frenemos carretera x #TIPNIS y avance prop.individual cocaleros pic.twitter.com/QzeitUoMno
— Miguel Miranda (@MiguelMirandaBo) diciembre 9, 2014
Evo proposes community property to save the planet? OK, let's stop the highway across TIPNIS and individual property by coca growers.


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Paddington Bear Gets His Peruvian ID · Global Voices
Gabriela García Calderón Orbe

The National Registry of Identification and Civil Status (known as RENIEC) handed over a National Identity Document (DNI) to Paddington Bear, the popular British literary character whose biography says he is of Peruvian origin.
The identification card, which was given during a symbolic ceremony, is yellow, as it is with underage ID cards.
Oso Paddington recibió su DNI en la Reniec http://t.co/T1yynwKEYJ #osopaddington #cine #reniec #dni #lima #famosos pic.twitter.com/SIZo8MK9OX
— Perudalia (@perudalia) diciembre 12, 2014
Paddington Beat got his DNI at Reniec.
Not everybody is happy, however, with the character's presence on Peruvian soil:
Cuándo diablos se larga? Ugh RT @elcomercio: Oso #Paddington recibió su DNI amarillo en sede de Reniec ► http://t.co/KMJMeMmU0Q
— Claudia Manini (@ClaudiaManini) diciembre 13, 2014
When the hell does he leave? Paddington Bear got his yellow ID card at Reniec headquarters.
The popular literary character is visiting Peru, as part of a campaign to promote tourism in the South American country.


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Post-Umbrella Revolution’s Politics Reflected in the Newly Launched Stand News · Global Voices
inmediahk.net

The composition of the newly launched Stand News’ board members reflect the media's political positioning in post-Umbrella Revolution Hong Kong. Image from Stand News’ Facebook.
This article, written by inmediahk.net's editorial team, was originally published in Chinese on December 28 and was translated by Jennifer Cheung into English for Global Voices as part of a content-sharing partnership.
Two months before the Occupy Central movement brought about mass demonstrations demanding free and fair elections in Hong Kong, Tony Tsoi shuttered his popular alternative news site, House News. At the time, Tsoi claimed was terrified by Hong Kong's political environment.
But with tensions still sky-high in Hong Kong, Tsoi launched a new site just before Christmas, known as Stand News, or “Standpoint News” in Chinese. Given its peculiar origins, the site has thus far been met with both praise and criticism on social media.
Within one night, netizens made fun of the relaunch by setting up dozens of pages that copied the platform's name: including “Love Stand”, “Happiness Stand”, “Gambling Stand”, “Battle Stand”, “Football Stand”, and “Magnet Stand”. The flood of praise and condemnation following Stand News’ launch seemed to have ruined a great holiday.
Most of the skeptical comments centered on the fact that Tony Tsoi hasn't explained how he overcame his said fear, particularly after the Umbrella Revolution, as persecution and revenge have added to the chilling effects of Hong Kong's political atmosphere. In addition, the absence of Stand News during the Umbrella Movement, as it is also called, has been labeled as a certain type of original sin.
Apart from these initial reactions and speculations, we haven’t seen any analysis of the political positioning of Stand News after the Umbrella Revolution.
The launching statement of the Stand News said it takes Hong Kong as its home and thus Hong Kong is its “standpoint” or political position. Yet all political groups and parties in Hong Kong, including pro-establishment groups such as Caring Hong Kong Power and other pro-Beijing camps, take Hong Kong as their home and claim to speak for Hong Kong.
The political position of Stand News can be best reflected from its board members, half of whom are the original business managers of the former House News. The other half are new faces, including Margaret Ng, Christine Fang, Denise Ho and Joseph Lian.
Margaret Ng, a pro-democracy barrister, has long advocated for civil and political rights in China and Hong Kong. In 1998, in a legal case concerning the right of Hong Kong-born citizens to reside in mainland China, Ng chose to stand against dominant public opinion but with Hong Kongers’ mainland children, reflecting her belief that some values are more important than votes and applause.
Christine Fang, who is associated with Hong Kong Council of Social Services, represents local the NGO sector. Both Margaret Ng and Christine Fang are conventional democrats who contributed to Hong Kong's democratic reform in past decades.
Since the mid-2000s, a series of social movements have contributed to the rise of new political forces consisting of both youth and localist Hong Kongers who treasure local culture and identity. These two groups sometimes work with and sometimes are at odds with the conventional democrats. The increasing separation and inner conflicts among anti-establishment democrats have raised concerns as to whether the driving force for social and political changes in Hong Kong will be disintegrated.
The formation of the Stand News board has undoubtedly addressed the above concern. Denise Ho, a pop star and activist who was very active in the the umbrella movement, represents the new emerging youth force, while Joseph Liang, a current news commentator who advocates for Hong Kong's autonomy, represents the force of localists who want to safeguard Hong Kong as an autonomous space.
If older generation democrats and the new political forces can consolidate and unite with one another, they can surely mitigate the current conflicts and work from a new beginning. If Stand News were to position itself as the bridge between these groups, it would have to be operated and interpreted by its editorial and reporter team and its in-house bloggers.
The eleven staff members of Stand News all come from the former House News. At House News, they excelled in news judgment and visualisations and had been seen as a media that promote ‘localist’ agenda. But whether they can reset the political agenda amid the chaotic politics of the post-Umbrella Revolution Hong Kong depends on their political judgement beyond journalism senses.
Stand News also has adopted a non-profit model, which means in operation, it cannot repeat the same practices of House News, which was a for-profit entity model and thus had to win page views in order to sustain itself. In its new incarnation, the donation-centered model indicates the website has to win donors’ recognition over its core values. Certain conflicts will exist between an ad-dominated market and a value-dominated market. Also, if the website relies on small donors rather than big patrons, it would be more difficult to manage its values. The bigger the budget, the more pressure it would face.
At present many online media survive on donations. While some with obvious political agendas rely on big patrons, those who depend on small donors have two strategies. One is to attract loyal fans with famous celebrities, but interactions on social media, in particular Facebook, can easily turn the media outlet into an echo chambers. The second strategy of the small donor mode is to streamline its organizational structure in order to cut costs, and to recruit volunteers to share workload.
inmediahk.net (the independent, pro-human rights media site run by the authors of this article) belongs to the latter category. We have relied on small donations for the past decade. To date, we have garnered over 400,000 Facebook Likes, and our Alexa local ranking has climbed to the Top 300, but inmediahk.net currently only has two full-time editors charged with content management and coordination of volunteer news assignment in daily base.
Our greatest expectations for the non-profit Stand News is that it could change the news consumption habit of Hong Kong readers just like the way it thrived on Facebook several years ago, help readers understand that freedom of press has a price, and develop a culture of reader donations to support independent news platforms. This is what inmediahk.net has been striving to achieve, but it remains a perpetual task due to limited resources.


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Pro-Democracy News Site’s Relaunch After Umbrella Revolution Raises Eyebrows in Hong Kong · Global Voices
Oiwan Lam

House News has relaunched as Stand News, inspiring a flood of Facebook pages poking fun at the name. Image designed by Stand News as a humorous response to the netizens’ satirical works.
House News, a pro-democracy news site in Hong Kong that was shuttered earlier this year in the face of political pressure, was recently relaunched under the new name Stand News, implying that the platform would take a stand in local politics.
But the timing of the website's reappearance — after the months-long Umbrella Revolution calling for free and fair elections came to an end — has some observers skeptical.
Tony Tsoi, one of the co-founders of House News, abruptly shut down the site in July 2014, saying he was terrified by the political atmosphere in Hong Kong. At the time, the protest movement Occupy Central had yet to peacefully take over the city's center to demand that the Hong Kong and Beijing governments allow the people to choose the candidates for the city's next chief executive election.
Five months later on December 22, Tsoi relaunched the site under a new name, Stand News, this time as a non-profit organization. In addition to the site's founders and chief editors, the organization's board includes pro-democracy public figures Denise Ho, a Cantopop singer who was deeply involved in the Umbrella Revolution; Margaret Ng, a barrister and member of the pro-democracy Civic Party; and Josep Lian, a famous current affairs commentator.
In its relaunch statement, the site stressed the difference between House News and Stand News:
《立場新聞》與《主場新聞》最大的分別，是再沒有人實質擁有公司權益。為了確保《立場新聞》不受任何個人控制，可以持續發展，《立場新聞》三名發起人通過信託安排，放棄股權的經濟利益和處置股份的權利；信託安排將長期持有《立場新聞》股權，《立場新聞》發起人沒有轉讓公司股份的能力。
The biggest difference between Stand News and House News is that not a single individual could own the company. To make sure that Stand News can be sustainable and not a single individual can control the site, its three founders will give up their holdings and profit-sharing rights under a trust fund, which means the founders cannot transfer their company shares to others.
But not everyone was convinced of the site's intentions as the news platform was relaunched only after the sit-in sites were cleared and Tsoi has yet to disclose the full story of the alleged pressure that led to the site's shutter, skepticism arise. Many made fun of Stand News by creating a few dozen Facebook pages that echo the the site's Chinese name, which includes the spatial term 場, similar in meaning to the English word “field” and “hall”. Soccer News (球場), Lover News (情場), Magnetic News (磁場), Theatre News (劇場), Labour News (職場), Horse News (馬場), Battlefield News  (戰場), Bad News (墳場), Exam News (試場) were some of the pages that appeared.
Tang Lik Hang, a former blogger for House News, urged Tsoi to explain why he relaunched the news platform only after the Umbrella Revolution:
在「雨傘運動」落幕下不久的今天，《主場新聞》將名字改易一字，重新上陣。可是當天讓蔡東豪恐懼的壓力、讓蔡東豪誤判的社會和市場，卻依然存在。在「雨傘運動」下，這一切的負面形勢甚至是比起《主場新聞》結束的當天更顯而易見。蔡東豪何以覺今是而昨非，決定重新上路？大家有這個疑問，實在是非常合理。若果《立場新聞》要釋除大家的疑慮，這也是蔡東豪需要向大家交代的。
Soon after the Umbrella Movement ended, House News changed its name and relaunched. However, the kind of pressure that terrifies Tony Tsoi and leads him to misjudge the market still exists today. In the aftermath of Umbrella Movement, the political pressure is even more obvious than it was when House News shuttered. How come Tony Tsoi changed his mind and has gotten into the media business again? Such questions are very valid. If Stand News has to clear up everyone's doubts, Tony Tsoi should speak up and explain.
Aside from questioning the news platform's disappearance during the sit-in protests, other issues such as the abrupt shutdown of House News without leaving the content archive online were also raised. However, Au Kalun, who was a blogger for House News and will write for Stand News, expressed his full trust in the new board and editorial team:
我撐《立場新聞》，因為相信這個班底，有經驗，有能力；他們重新凝聚，我寄予厚望。[…]
我相信他們並非信口開河，因為，大家眼見，由董事會成員到編輯記者，都絕非「善類」，在新聞原則之上，他們都有自己的堅持，要干預他們的運作，談何容易。你不相信蔡東豪，也請相信這個班底[…]
I support Stand News because the team has the experience and the ability. They have come together again and I have huge expectations […] I believe that they are not signing an empty cheque. You can see that the composition of its board and its editing and reporting team is very strong. In term of news value, they will hold themselves up to their principles. It won't be easy to intervene in their operations. Even if you can't trust Tony Tsoi, please trust this team […]

author: Oiwan Lam


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New Protest Facebook Page Already in Place as Kremlin Moves Navalny Verdict Forward · Global Voices
Tanya Lokot

Alexey Navalny in a Russian court. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
As Russian opposition activists drew together masses of citizens for a protest on January 15 against the verdict in the trial of opposition leader Alexey Navalny, the court suddenly moved the announcement of the verdict to tomorrow, December 30. A new protest is already being organized online.
Приговор завтра в 9 утра https://t.co/1Wh1kx3Fnm pic.twitter.com/PI98QlY55e
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) 29 декабря 2014
The verdict is tomorrow at 9am.
The original protest, scheduled for January 15 when the verdict was supposed to be handed to Navalny, caused much controversy when the initial protest event page was blocked by Facebook at the request of Russia's prosecutor's office without any explanation or warning to the protest organizers. A new page soon sprang up, gathering dozens of thousands of RSVPs from RuNet users. Facebook and Twitter later said they would not block any protest pages in Russia.
On Monday, a Russian court that was supposed to hand down the verdict unexpectedly changed the date from January 15 to Tuesday, December 30, 9am Moscow time. The change came as a surprize to opposition activists, and many ridiculed the court for such an obvious reaction to the growing strength of the protests. Navalny explained on his website that it was possible to bend some rules for special cases like his.
Как вы знаете, приговор по «делу Ив Роше» был назначен на 15 января. Мне несколько человек сказали «как-то это выглядит странно, могут перенести, сделать раньше и внезапнее», но мы такой вариант не рассматривали, так как он вообще в принципе невозможен.
Но, как оказывается, нет таких исключений, которых нельзя устроить хорошим людям.
5 минут назад всех нас (адвокатов, меня и Олега) уведомили, что оглашение приговора состоится завтра, 30 декабря в 9 часов утра.
As you know, the “Yves Rocher case” verdict was scheduled for January 15. A few people told me “it looked strange, they could reschedule it, make it sooner and more unexpected,” but we did not consider this option, since it was practically impossible.
But apparently there are no exceptions that can't be made for good people.
5 minutes ago all of us (the lawyers, Oleg and I) were informed that the verdict will be announced tomorrow, December 30, at 9am.
In response to the court decision, Leonid Volkov, one of the organizers of the January 15 protest and the creator of the blocked Facebook event, has created a new event page on Facebook for another unsanctioned protest, now set for the evening of tomorrow's verdict announcement.
Over 13 thousand users have already signed up to participate in tomorrow's protest. Netizens have also been sharing photos of police activity around Manezhnaya square and exchanging advice on how to prepare for the protest in case Russian authorities tried to block the Internet or other communications. Navalny himself tweeted about using the FireChat app, a mesh-network based communication tool used by protesters in Hong Kong earlier this year. How far Russian law enforcement will go to prevent or block tomorrow's protest remains to be seen.
Navalny and his brother Oleg stand accused of defrauding a French cosmetics company, but claim the charges against them are politically motivated. Prosecutors have asked the judge to lock them up for 10 years and eight years, respectively.

author: Tanya Lokot


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The Christmas When the French City of Angoulême Built Cages Against Its Homeless People · Global Voices
Suzanne Lehn

Angoulême city hall. Photo by JLPC via Wikipedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0
On Christmas Eve, the residents of Angoulême in the southwest region of France found out that the downtown public benches were surrounded by metal fences so that homeless people “cannot come and lay there to get drunk” (as stipulated by a city hall memo).
French Internet users were outraged by the measures:
WTF RT @sudouest: #Angoulême : des grillages anti-SDF installés sur des bancs publics http://t.co/GjhpSmlJbv pic.twitter.com/Uk3rwo50vz
— fo0 (@fo0_) 24 Décembre 2014
WTF RT @sudouest: #Angoulême: barbed fences to prevent homeless people from sitting on public benches http://t.co/GjhpSmlJbv pic.twitter.com/Uk3rwo50vz
City hall is taking full responsibility for the decision, arguing that “the decision was taken with the approval of the local stores downtown”.
The outrage grew strong and was further amplified when news spread that the mayor has just given himself a raise:
Le maire d’ #Angoulème prend des mesures ANTI-SDF et s'augmente de …62% ! Et y'a des gens qui votent pr des mecs comme ça ?
— stefappriou (@stefappriou) 25 Décembre 2014
The Angoulême mayor takes measures against homeless people but gives himself a … 62% raise! And there are people who give their vote to such a politician?
A few Internet users suggested that cartoonists ought to boycott the renowned annual cartoon festival of Angoulême in protest:
Les dessinateurs boycotteront-il la ville qui met les bancs en cage pour éviter les SDF? #Angouleme
— Valérie de Saint-Do (@Val_Do) 25 Décembre 2014
Will cartoonists boycott the city that fenced out homeless people #Angoulême?
The France-Info website reported on the proposed boycott by a group of cartoonists. Denis Robert, a writer, cartoonist and member of the jury for the festival, was not in favor of a boycott. Instead, he posted a note on his Facebook page to encourage his fellow cartoonists to write to the mayor directly:
Je ne suis pas un dingue des pétitions, mais avec quelques amis nous avons écrit ce court texte et l’avons expédié à la mairie d’Angoulême à cette adresse : communication@mairie-angouleme.fr
A recopier, à diffuser largement et à expédier à fond les manettes…
Mr le Maire,
Au début, nous avons cru à un gag mais il a bien fallu nous rendre à cette évidence. Vous avez réellement fait grillager les bancs publics d'Angoulême pour éviter que les sdf et autres punks à chien ne s'y posent. Il est très délicat pour nous, dessinateurs, journalistes, éditeurs, amateurs de bandes dessinées ou simples passants d'accepter cette manifestation d'intolérance, de laideur et d'indignité sans broncher. Nous vous demandons donc de retirer ces grilles et de rendre aux bancs publics d'Angoulême leur fonctionnalité. Nous aimerions y poser nos fesses lors du prochain festival. Cela vous éviterait des embarras et des manifestations supplémentaires de notre désarroi.
I'm not crazy about petitions but with a few friends, we decided to write this short text and send it to the mayor of Angoulême at: communication@mairie-angouleme.fr
Here is a copy of the letter, to disseminate widely if you so wish:
Mr. Mayor,
At first we thought it was a joke, but sadly the reality is undeniable. You actually built fences around public benches in Angoulême to prevent homeless people and punks with dogs to use them. It is very difficult for us, designers, journalists, editors, fans of comic strips or simple passersby, to accept this decision rife with intolerance, ugliness and shame. We therefore ask you to remove the grids and give Angoulême's benches their roles back. We would like to have the freedom to sit our butts down on them at the next festival. This would save you the embarrassment and additional demonstrations of our outrage.
The parody Twitter account AgenceFrancePresque sarcastically suggested a more human decision:
#Angoulême: les SDF pourraient finalement utiliser les bancs publics mais les visiteurs auraient interdiction de leur jeter des cacahuètes.
— agencefrancePRESQUE (@afPRESQUE) 25 Décembre 2014
#Angoulême: Homeless people should be given access to public benches but tourists will not be allowed to feed them peanuts
Internet user @Nitro_Politic describes himself as an “activist against poverty, racism and lying politicians”; he identified the commercial brands that condoned the measure:
Les bancs grillagés anti #SDF d’#Angoulême avec les marques. Retrouvez les sur: http://t.co/wFoGpKm842 pic.twitter.com/vUUCaHfJMz
— DeNitro_Politic (@Nitro_Politic) 26 Décembre 2014
The anti-homeless fenced benches with the brands linked to the fences. Find them here: http://t.co/wFoGpKm842 pic.twitter.com/vUUCaHfJMz
A few teenagers showed signs of solidarity with homeless people:
Deux ados dans la cage anti-SDF à #Angoulême (vidéo) http://t.co/w7pNOkwjqA via @charentelibre pic.twitter.com/LecIR6b1Fq
— Pierre L. CONSTANT (@PLConstant) 26 Décembre 2014
Two teenagers seating inside the anti-homeless cages (video) http://t.co/w7pNOkwjqA via @charentelibre pic.twitter.com/LecIR6b1Fq
Given the viral nature of the outrage, the mayor decided to remove (temporarily or not) the cages on the night of December 25:
Honteux, le Maire d’#Angoulême démonte discrètement les #grillages anti-SDF dans la nuit… http://t.co/Y4WDOFziEu pic.twitter.com/uOd0RXUA50
— bembelly (@bembelly) 26 Décembre 2014
Ashamed, the mayor discreetly removed the fences last night http://t.co/Y4WDOFziEu pic.twitter.com/uOd0RXUA50
Angoulême is not an isolated case, though. Other larger French cities followed the same logic, like this measure in front of a bank in France:
Cages anti-#SDF à #Angouleme: pas beaucoup mieux à #Paris. Le législateur doit intervenir! http://t.co/NM3309fOOZ pic.twitter.com/utxRex810l
— Paul Denton (@paul_denton) 25 Décembre 2014
Caged fences in #Angouleme but it is not better in Paris. Lawmakers should take action: http://t.co/NM3309fOOZ pic.twitter.com/utxRex810l
Elsewhere in the world, more welcoming measures were taken, like this one in Canada:
“@alicecoffin: Au Canada, des bancs … pour les SDF http://t.co/o7HPxjZHGz via @KonbiniFR@fsoulabaillepic.twitter.com/6rizmAKVsm” #Angoulême
— Alain Rivet (@AlainsurTwit) 25 Décembre 2014
In Canada, public benches… welcoming homeless people http://t.co/o7HPxjZHGz via @KonbiniFR@fsoulabaillepic.twitter.com/6rizmAKVsm” #Angoulême

author: Suzanne Lehn


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Will Death of Cartoonist Prompt Introduction of Better Traffic Laws in Bermuda?   · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

A beloved Bermudian political cartoonist dies after being struck by a motorist's car while on his way to deliver his latest drawing to the newspaper where he worked. The Beach Lime blog notes that “the Corporation of Hamilton speedily acted to move the pedestrian crossing away from the roundabout, in the efforts of pedestrian safety.” Still, the blogger feels that more can be done, including the installation of proper signage and lighting, and even constructing an elevated crosswalk.
In a follow-up post, he recounts his own traffic experience and predicts that if the right measures are not taken quickly, the next road fatality will be just a matter of time:
Light turns green, car in front gets ready to go, then zoom, grey hatchback runs through [the] red light.
People here just don't care, because they know there's little risk of them getting into trouble. Other motorists and pedestrians have to take evasive action. Might is right. There may be cameras at the junction (who knows?) but there's no policy or presence for these scenarios.

author: Janine Mendes-Franco


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With Protesters Under Threat, Hong Kong Must Increase Transparency on Personal Data Requests · Global Voices
Jennifer Zhang

Hong Kong police have made at least four high-profile arrests of online forum users who posted messages encouraging people to take to the streets. Photo from inmediahk.net, used with permission.
The original version of this article was published in the opinion section of South China Morning Post. Jennifer is a Global Voices author and a researcher at Hong Kong Transparency Report, a project of the Journalism and Media Studies Centre at the University of Hong Kong.
During the months-long Occupy Central movement in Hong Kong, police made at least four high-profile arrests of online forum users who posted messages encouraging people to take to the streets or even attack the police. These arrests have not only raised the issue of freedom of speech, but also highlighted the opaque practices under which the city's law enforcement agencies and online service providers handle Internet user data.
Joe Lam, chief executive of the popular local forum HKGolden, told foreign media that police had demanded that he provide them with the IP addresses and messages associated with the account of one of its users, and he was obliged to comply. This user was subsequently arrested by the police and charged with “access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent.”
Another Hong Kong online forum, HKEPC, announced on its webpage that it had received requests from the Technology Crime Division of the Hong Kong police department to assist in investigating messages posted on its forum. The announcement read: “As the police's investigation is under way, HKEPC cannot disclose relevant details.”
It is common practice for the police to ask online service providers such as HKGolden Forum and Internet service providers such as PCCW to hand over their users’ contact information to detect and prevent technology crimes. But there are no adequate laws or regulations governing official requests for user data from service providers, except the broadly defined exemption section in the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance.
On at least two occasions, the Hong Kong government has refused to disclose its guidelines and relevant monitoring mechanisms for user data requests, claiming the existing mechanism functions effectively and that a public review is thus unnecessary. Therefore, a court order is the only way one can check the legitimacy of police requests and prevent them from invading users’ privacy or curbing online speech under the guise of a “criminal investigation”.
However, the truth is that the majority of government requests were issued without court orders. According to the Hong Kong Transparency Report for last year, five government agencies made a total of 5,511 requests for online user data. Out of these five agencies, the Companies Registry, Customs and Excise Department and Office of the Communications Authority all made requests without court orders, and the police only made “partial” disclosure of its requests under court orders, without disclosing the exact figures.
Beyond this, it is also important to ask: Are internet companies obliged to comply with police requests that are issued without court orders? Nick Chan, legal adviser to the Hong Kong Internet Service Providers Association and a partner at Squire Patton Boggs, says that unless there's a court order, Internet service providers won't be punished for not providing data to the police under Hong Kong's current laws. In other words, service providers have no legal obligation to comply with government requests that come without court orders.
Nevertheless, the Hong Kong Transparency Report found that in 2013, service providers granted 70 percent of the government's requests, even though most of them came without court orders. Internet companies in those cases handed over their clients’ data, and users had no idea whether those requests were “necessary” or “proportionate”.
Major internet companies such as Google, Yahoo and Facebook have legal guidelines on how to cope with government data requests. Google requires that requests be “made in writing, signed by an authorized official of the requesting agency and issued under an appropriate law.”
These leading companies also disclose the number of data requests they receive from governments and their compliance rates. They realize that transparency, including voluntary disclosure, holds the key to earning users’ trust in their service.
The Hong Kong Internet Service Providers Association has recognized this messy issue. It is working on a code of practice that provides clear guidelines for service providers and law enforcement agencies to follow regarding user data requests, and to provide immunity to service providers from any civil lawsuits for complying with the requests.
This code is a good move forward, but it is far from enough. To act responsibly on behalf of the more than five million internet users in Hong Kong, local Internet companies should start notifying users of their policies for handling government requests, and actively disclosing statistics of the requests they receive, including the number of requests they accede to.
Similarly, government agencies should reveal their data-requesting procedures as soon as possible, and make sure those requests are issued only with proper judicial reviews.
The original version of this article was published in the opinion section of South China Morning Post. Jennifer is Global Voices’ writer and a researcher at Hong Kong Transparency Report, a project under the Journalism and Media Studies Centre, University of Hong Kong.

author: Jennifer Zhang


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Can Trinidad & Tobago’s Government Win Political Goodwill from Christmas?  · Global Voices
Janine Mendes-Franco

The Hon Kamla Persad Bissessar; photo © Brooke Miles / Commonwealth Foundation, used under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.
Are politicians cashing in on Christmas? In Trinidad and Tobago, it appears — at least to some netizens — that the ruling party may be riding on Christmas’ coattails in a bid to generate some goodwill and warm feelings and, more importantly, translate them into votes come the country's general elections in 2015.
From early December, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar's Facebook page was chock-full of posts showing the country's leader traveling around the twin island republic on what has been officially called her Holiday Toy Drive. There were giveaways in the oft-forgotten sister isle of Tobago; in Couva, a traditional stronghold constituency for the ruling party; and in Arima and St. Joseph, the former an opposition-held voting area and the other a key seat for swing votes, both in the east of the country. But the many photo opportunities of a smiling leader, giving things away like Santa Claus while the country grapples with debilitating levels of crime and a precarious economic future based on the plummeting price of oil, has many social media users concerned.
Public relations expert-turned-blogger Dennise Demming kept thinking about the aftermath of all this spending:
Lurking in the shadows of my mind is the nagging question: What will it be like in January?
2014 will be remembered as the year of giveaway and freeness. Come 2015, the pensioners will have spent their extra $5,000.00 Christmas gift; the prices of staples would have crept up beyond their pre-Christmas-gift level; the price of oil and gas would be even lower and the ‘Kamla promotional giveaways’ would be laying around the house.
Putting her marketing acumen to work, Demming continued:
The Communication Gurus behind the UNC’s [the United National Congress, the main political party which forms the current coalition government] political campaign have invested their entire spend in the notion that good brand visibility signifies the ability of your products/services to attract the attention of your target audience and therefore stimulate re-sale. In this case, the feeling is that the more you see of the Prime Minister and the UNC, the more likely you are to vote for them at the appointed hour. The literature also suggests that there is a saturation point – that point at which the audience becomes numb to the message. There is no formula to prescribe that point. The decision is informed by data and a good dose of common sense. All that is happening in this Yuletide season can be summed up as ‘voter inducement’ and the society is paying a significant price.
Even mainstream media took notice and started to ask questions. Newspaper columnist Raffique Shah spoke of “the overnight appearance of billboards bearing the Santa-ific images of our esteemed Prime Minister, erected along the highways, wishing the nation a happy Christmas”:
There are several irregularities hovering over these billboards […] Communications Minister Vasant Bharath said they cost $60,000, small change really for today’s politicians. Fine. But who paid for them? Were they Government-funded, corporate-sponsored, or mysteriously materialised by hands as unseen as those that produced toys by the tonnes? The answer to these questions is of material interest to the nation. If it was public funds used, who authorised the expenditure, from what ministry?
Billboards were not the only aspect of the Christmas campaign, however — the prime minister's image also adorned gift bags and Facebook greetings. It was only a matter of time before the memes started. This one compared Persad-Bissessar's political approach with that of other global leaders, with the caption “Fine company to be in”:
One Facebook user, Rhoda Bharath, linked to U.S. President Barack Obama's holiday message and quipped:
No nationwide Billboard programme was harmed in sending these wishes.
In contrast, there were many commenters on the Prime Minister's Facebook page who approved of the giveaways. Some said she was doing a good job, others thought the toy drive was a kind gesture, and one commenter said that “the truth will not be told at the polls , but when these kids grow up and do the same for others.”
In terms of how the campaign was funded however, Dennise Demming was not impressed with the level of transparency displayed by the prime minister:
First the lady did not know where the toys or media gifts came from; then she didn’t know that there was money and food vouchers in the media gifts. Eventually sources revealed that some manufacturers provided the gifts and significant discounts. That’s good, except for the fact that the companies all manufacture foods, beverages and other consumables. The question remains, who imported the toys and at what cost? Were State funds utilised? Should the Government be accepting gifts from unknown donors? In any ‘two bit’ company you are required to operate within the boundaries of the gifting policy and for good reason. There would also be a register so that gifts would be recorded and known to all. Where is the transparency and accountability?
She ended her post with more questions than answers:
After the dust settles on the 2015 general elections some leader will be responsible for changing the way we do business in T&T and that culture change is probably the single biggest headache that will be experienced for years to come.
How will we move away from an attitude of entitlement? How will we recalibrate the society into remembering that work precedes success? How will we get our leaders to live the value that people do what you do and not what you say? How will we inspire our people to give a fair days work for their pay?
These are complicated questions with no silver bullet answers. Our single assurance is that these questions must be answered and provision made to ensure that they are answered in a way that will benefit our society.


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Can Women Be Sexy and Hold Public Office in Jamaica? · Global Voices
Matthew Hunte

Post Reggae marathon quick dip this morning. Congrats to Jamdammers Sonic Steppers my Spartan Crew Lime and all the other individuals from yard and abroad. Over 35 different countries came to our shores it was Awesome and such a beautiful event and flawless event. See you next year big shout outs to @patricebarstogo @jahtoworks @leancleanjamaica #welldoneeveryone #reggaemarathon #negril #jamaica #lisahanna PHOTOCREDIT to Alexander Panton caught me  @flypanton and no I didn't run today
A photo posted by Lisa Hanna (@lisahannamyc) on
Lisa Hanna, Jamaica's minister of youth and culture, has barely had time to recover from the response to her heated Instagram exchange with Reggae artiste Chronixx when social media users are up in arms again — this time over a photograph she posted of herself wearing a bikini on the beach.
Many people felt that it was inappropriate for Hanna, who won the Miss World title in 1993, to post such a picture, given the high-profile political office she now holds. One Facebook user, Neo Makeba, thought that Hanna was setting a bad example for children:
I think there needs to be some measure of restraint on her part, because she is responsible for driving policy on youth and CHILDREN. Now, I think she should take the photo off for that reason. Jamaica is an over-sexualised country with the type of tourism that makes our hair stand on the back of our necks in some cases, the nasty lyrics degrading women and young females and the whole permissiveness that has rapidly taken over our country. Lisa Hanna should appear to be a modest, dignified women with the image of someone who is SERIOUS […] Somehow, she does not realise there are very impressionable young people and showing her ‘assets’ like this is definitely NOT APPROPRIATE!!
Garnett Greene felt she should have toned it down:
Now I will say that a more modest swimsuit would have been more appropriate, considering that she is a minister of government, particularly one who champions the causes of young ladies victimized by sexual predators. Now if she were home in hew own swimming pool, then yes…wear what you like.
Michelle Graham Day strongly disagreed, making the point that dutiful women are wrongly expected to be non-sexual.
You can't have a normal balance… she is the minister of youth and CULTURE and happens to be a gorgeous one and a former Miss Jamaica WORLD on top of it, through no fault of her own, a nuh she tell God fi mek her beautiful! What is more associated with Jamaican CULTURE than BOB MARLEY, BEACH, AND BEAUTIFUL WOMAN?
A Letter to the Editor of the Jamaica Gleaner echoed this sentiment. The writer, Brian-Paul Welsh, referenced the “iconic 1970s Jamaica Tourist Board advertisement” in which model Sintra Arunte-Bronte wore a clingy wet T-shirt emblazoned with the word “Jamaica”, making the point that Hanna's bikini and T-shirt combination sparked a similar “firestorm of controversy among the faux modest and the sexually repressed”. Tongue firmly in cheek, Welsh said:
This could be remedied if we simply made burqas mandatory outerwear for females in public places. This might seem drastic, but it is perhaps the only way to stop hips and thighs from invading our imaginations. Women, give them an inch and they take it all off.
Some members of the Twitterati […] wish that Ms Hanna would pack her Gucci bags and go, taking her toned abdominals, gorgeous face, perfectly coiffed tresses, and stunning smile with her!
For she has committed the ultimate sin: outdressing most women and being alluring to most men.
In defence of Twitter users, some did not see what the big deal was:
Who exactly is in an uproar about Lisa Hanna's pics? No-one I know has said anything bad, nor do they care. What's the noise about?
— Geoffrey Marshall (@geoffmarsh) December 16, 2014
Another wondered if the swimsuit picture was a ploy to distract from other political shenanigans:
What if the beach pic that was posted on IG by Lisa Hanna was a ploy by the PNP administration to distract ppl from #OutameniNHTscandal
— Empire ▲ Rising (@fergie_spuds) December 16, 2014
Back on Facebook, Raggie Wynter turned the “inappropriate” argument on its head:
Lisa Hanna was inappropriately dressed! She has no business being on a beach in a t-shirt… a body like that shouldn't be covered with so much clothes
Humour aside, veteran journalist Dionne Jackson Miller felt that if Hanna was going to be scrutinised,  it should be over more substantive issues:
Here’s the thing. I’m far more concerned with the plans and policies emanating from Miss Hanna’s Ministry than anything I’ve ever seen her wear. During this year alone, Miss Hanna and her Ministry have been in the news over what appeared to have been bungled attempts to get rid of  Permanent Secretary Sydney Bartley (who’s taken the matter to court); the dismissal of the Director of Cultural Dahlia Harris, a dispute with Rastafarians over lands at Pinnacle; a sex education programme implemented by human rights group Jamaicans for Justice in some children’s homes; and her revelation of the decision of one children’s home to discontinue its residential programme, among other matters.
She raised in her budget presentation some of her portfolio issues that warrant more attention than we’ve given them: missing children, job training for young people, the nomination of the Blue/John Crow Mountains to the World Heritage List, and a proposal for the establishment of a Therapeutic Centre for abused children.
The discussion around Hanna is, in part, a reflection of the conservative nature of Caribbean society, particularly with regards to matters of sexuality. Adding fuel to the fire may be the fact that relatively few women have held high public office in the region, although both Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago currently have female prime ministers. As some of the social media comments indicate however, attitudes may be changing.
Social media itself, as a vehicle for communication, must also not be discounted as a contributor to the controversy. Perhaps part of the issue is the reasoning behind Hanna's decision to post the photograph in the first place, which speaks to Jamaican netizens’ idea of proper social media etiquette and the way in which people perceive Hanna's political role, rather than the fact that a government minister was looking good in a bikini.

author: Matthew Hunte


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Central Asia’s 2014: Lots of Alarms but only a Few Surprises · Global Voices
Chris Rickleton

For all the international news that came out of Central Asia this year Global Voices’ most read article from the region was about Sabina Altynbekova, a youth volleyball player from Kazakhstan. Image from freeartwallpapers.com.
In the Fund for Peace's Fragile States Index this year Afghanistan ranked 7th (high alert) Uzbekistan 48th, Tajikistan 55th, Kyrgyzstan 58th (very high warning), Turkmenistan 74th (high warning) and Kazakhstan 111th (warning).
Yet while the region produced a sufficient number of troubling stories to justify those placings it didn't blow up as some analysts continue to predict it will, and remains a place where ordinary people live out ordinary lives, albeit in circumstances that are not always that ideal.
Moreover, even in extreme situations, such as a dictator arresting his own daughter, the region's keenest observers — Central Asians themselves — always find an explanation for the seemingly unexplainable.
The following are the highlights of Global Voices Central Asia coverage for 2014. All links are to articles written by GV authors unless stated otherwise.
Afghanistan
Afghanistan is not always considered a part of the Central Asian region geographically, but the country holds the key to the region's future in important ways. This year was billed as a particularly significant one for the war-weary state as the bulk of Washington-led coalition forces stationed in the country since the 2001 invasion departed, and citizens elected a new president to replace the wily, charismatic politico Hamid Karzai.
Global Voices covered the pre-election hype — stretching back to 2013 — as well as the post-election fallout. In September, after Ashraf Ghani was “miraculously” declared winner of the vote ahead of bitter rival Abdullah Abdullah, Afghans used the 2014 ice bucket challenge to ask the hotheaded pair to “be cool” as they negotiated a political settlement. Once tensions subsided somewhat and Abdullah and Ghani reached a deal to accommodate the former in the latter's government, Afghans were left waving goodbye to Karzai, the man that had dominated their domestic politics for thirteen years. It was emotional.
The Afghan meme of 2014 was surely Afghan voters showing their inked middle fingers to the Taliban, who opposed the ballot and used their presence in large swathes of the country to intimidate the electorate. As Ghani and his government look to pin back the extremist group, they could probably use more people like Rezagul, a woman from the country's western Farah province, who became a hero by firing on a group of Taliban militants that had killed her son. Rezagul's story was the most shared Afghanistan story for Global Voices in 2014.
Kazakhstan
Oil-rich Kazakhstan's approach to independent media and the Internet has attracted it much criticism in recent years, and that trend continued in 2014. Global Voices’ coverage of Kazakhstan this year began with an event in which the Mayor of the country's largest city Almaty invited a carefully selected group of bloggers to lunch. More independent-minded bloggers tried to gatecrash the event and were sent to jail on ‘minor hooliganism’ charges.
Towards the end of the year, the government's fear of the Internet was on display again after footage of Kazakh children purportedly training in camps in the Middle East was released by the radical group ISIS. While Kazakh outlets were mostly silent on the footage, neighbouring Kyrgyzstan's Kloop.kg covered the video and almost instantly came under pressure from Kazakh authorities who demanded the website delete the reposted footage.
The biggest news of 2014 for most Kazakhs was probably the shock currency devaluation, wherein the government ordered a 20% plunge in the value of the Tenge without public consultation. Protests are rare in the authoritarian country, so the modest anti-devaluation demonstrations on February 15 and 16 were a big deal. In a bizarre coincidence, the devaluation was unveiled at around the same time the Russia-backed Customs Union, of which Kazakhstan is a member, placed a ban on lacy underwear import. Several protesters were arrested after they donned knickers on their heads and tried to foist them on a national monument at one of the demos.
For all its well-documented rights abuses, the Kazakh government remains extremely image conscious. So much so that it doles out millions of dollars annually to Western PR firms to massage its international reputation and actively debated dropping the -stan suffix in its name earlier in the year in order to rid itself of a bad brand. But perhaps the best publicity for the country this year came from an unintended source. Sabina Altynbekova, a beautiful, lanky 17-year-old female volleyball player became an online sensation in South East Asia during her performances at a youth tournament in Tapei, Taiwan in July. Although the Tenge devaluation had much bigger implications for ordinary Kazakhstanis, Sabina was the most read Global Voices story for the Central Asian region this year.
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan remains perhaps the most politically open society in the region but one full of problems. Gender-related conflict has been a key theme of Global Voices’ reporting on the country this year, beginning with coverage of what might be the first case of bride-kidnapping recounted on Twitter. The most read Global Voices story to emerge from Kyrgyzstan this year described a mob attack on women's rights activists in the country's capital Bishkek. A story reposted from Global Voices’ partner Eurasianet highlighted the harassment female journalists in the republic sometimes face from their male sources.
Kyrgyzstan's claims to being a democracy have also suffered this year. The parliament will likely pass an anti-gay bill that it has debated all year long in 2015. The Kyrgyz government also caved to pressure from its Kazakh counterpart by briefly blocking Kloop.kg, the website that reposted material of Kazakh children training with ISIS. In his End of the Year speech December 27 President Almazbek Atambayev told journalists they should learn to “love their country a little bit” — a bad sign for a country that has traditionally enjoyed greater media freedoms than its neighbours.
Tajikistan
Global Voices’ Tajikistan coverage this year was unusual only insofar as much of it was devoted to the wrongful arrest of our former Central Asia editor Alexander Sodiqov. Sodiqov was conducting academic research in the Tajik town of Khorog on June 16 when local security services detained him and held him on espionage charges. The absurdity of the case made it the biggest story to come out of Tajikistan in 2014 as international media and the global academic community shone a spotlight on the little-known country. In September, Alex was able to leave Tajikistan for Toronto, Canada, where he teaches and studies.
Elsewhere it was business as usual in Tajikistan. Halloween is still being celebrated in trepidation, as it was in 2013, while public debates rage about the Tajik-ness of the holiday and police school fancy dress ghouls, witches and vampires in public morals. Kidnappings to enforce military conscription statutes — oblava — is also a controversial topic, especially with the significant number of hazing-related deaths that conscripts suffer.
The most read Global Voices Tajikistan article this year that wasn't about Alex was Alex's own piece about the Russian commentator that confused Tajikistan for Uzbekistan at the Sochi Olympics, highlighting the country's unfortunate status as the stan people sometimes forget. Arresting academics is one way to become better known, but probably not the best.
Turkmenistan
Squeezing crowdsourced conversation out of totalitarian Turkmenistan is a challenge. Domestically registered forums and social media tend not to host newsworthy discussions  and there are few places where Turkmen expatriates with any connection to the country can feel comfortable discussing politics and social issues in the country. This year Global Voices looked at the country's failure to send athletes to the Sochi Olympics, the mysterious death of three Turkmen border guards at the frontier with Afghanistan and traditional Turkmen weddings. Also, nobody knows what Turkmen President Gurbanguly Berdymuhamedov's wife looks like. That should not be a shock.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is only marginally easier to get information out of than Turkmenistan, but it does help that the president's oldest daughter is (or was) on Twitter. The embarrassingly loud fall from grace of 42-year-old Gulnara Karimova, singer, perfume designer and daughter of 76-year-old President Islam Karimov — told partly in tweets — began at the tail end of 2013 and continued throughout this year, ensuring that the country got a fair amount of international attention during that period.
A powerful and allegedly very corrupt ‘princess‘, Gulnara was regularly in the public eye, jetting between the Uzbek capital Tashkent, international fashion shows and Geneva, where she has a multi-million dollar residence. Even if Karimova's sputtering pop career wasn't giving Lady Gaga sleepless nights, she had no obvious problems at home, and was seen by many as a likely successor to her father.
But Gulnara is now seemingly mired in trouble; under house arrest on vague fraud charges at home and in Europe, subject to a joint Swiss and Dutch criminal investigation concerning her alleged receipt of a bribe from a Swedish telecommunications company. Going on her past tweets she is on bad terms with both her mother, Tatiana, and her younger sister, Lola, and will almost certainly not be competing in Uzbekistan's presidential elections, scheduled for March next year. It might have been the succession moment Central Asia watchers were awaiting.
While the palace drama kept foreign observers of Uzbek politics entertained, life for most of the country's 30 million plus citizens is still an unrelenting grind. More than any other country in this cotton-producing region, Uzbekistan uses children, teachers, doctors and other public servants as free labor in the harvest of ‘white gold’. Medical patients in the country's hospitals, meanwhile, “have nobody to rely on except God”.
Since regional tradition dictates that you shouldn't badmouth the old year as you begin a new one, it makes sense to end on this round up on a positive note. Uzbekistan's most widely-shared article on Global Voices this year was about the country breaking a record to be proud of: Ravshan Irmatov, an Uzbek citizen and a representative of Uzbekistan Football Federation became the first referee in history to referee nine World Cup matches on July 5, 2014.

author: Chris Rickleton


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Chinese Authorities Weren’t Feeling the Christmas Spirit This Year · Global Voices
Jack Hu

College students in Hunan province held anti-Christmas pageant. Image from Sina Weibo.
The Christmas atmosphere this year in China was less than joyful, as online voices challenged local authorities who publicly boycotted and banned the Western festival.
Last Wednesday, university students in the central province of Hunan, where People's Republic of China founding father Mao Zedong was from, held an anti-Christmas pageant with banners declaring that “Chinese should not celebrate foreign festivals.” Some students later complained online that they actually were forced by the university authorities to wear traditional Chinese costumes and to display anti-Christmas banners. Education officials in the coastal city of Wenzhou issued a decree banning the celebration of Christmas-themed events at schools.
Students at a different university in northwestern China were forced to endure three hours of propaganda films, including one glorifying philosopher Confucius, as local media reported. Faculty members literally stood outside classrooms, making sure no one tried to sneak off to partake in illicit Christmas cheer.
“Be good Chinese boys and girls, and oppose adulation of foreign festivals,” read one banner strung across the campus of Modern College of Northwest University in Xi’an, home to the famed Terracotta Warriors.
Although controversies against increasingly popular western festivals have emerged from time to time, this surge of anti-Santa activities suggests that the Communist Party is continuing its campaign against Western values.
Christians in Wenzhou, a prosperous city with rapidly growing number of Christians in Zhejiang Province, have suffered regular crackdowns on church buildings. The policy statement issued by the local government suggests the campaign is actually aimed at regulating “overly popular” religious activities.
Christmas, nonetheless, has become big business in China, with retailers enjoying increasing sales in late December. Even if the holiday is largely devoid of its religious connotations, gift-giving among young Chinese is popular. For many young Chinese, Christmas is simply a lighthearted diversion that has little to do with religious faith.
But hard-line traditionalists and Communist doctrinaires say the growing prevalence of Christmas has been manipulated by outside forces to subvert the Party’s ruling and traditional Chinese culture.
News portal site Sina highlighted the story of a speech by the head of China’s State Bureau of Religious Affairs, who visited two churches in Beijing before Christmas and told the religious personnel that they should make sure that the content of Christianity is consistent with socialist core values as well as resist the infiltrative activities of outside forces through Christianity.
Celebrities with a Christian background have become the target of state media attacks. For example, military newspaper People Liberation Army Daily accused popular Christian actor Sun Haiying on its Twitter-like Weibo account of slandering Party founders like Mao Zedong and asked, “Can a Christian play the role of an excellent Communist?” Newspaper Global Times labelled Sun as “the third weapon” of disseminating American political ideas and values in the cloak of Christianity to topple China, following weapons of universal values and constitutionalism.
The anti-Christmas and anti-Christianity activities were quickly met with a wave of refutations and scorn on Weibo, including from some popular commentators and intellectuals.
Popular writer “Fat man Tian You” criticized that the anti-Christmas activities were essentially a politically ideological campaign aiming to continue brainwashing students:
年轻人过圣诞节都要管，仅仅是大学奇葩？不，这是政治意味颇浓的反潮流行动。其实，他们抵制的不是圣诞节，而是为了反西方思潮。因为一旦是“平等博爱”的基督教思想深入学生的灵魂，他们那套洗脑术就失去了效力，而学生一旦有独立思想，学生就不再是任他们指挥的工具，于是，他们的特权就会失去。
Is forbidding young people from enjoying Christmas just a weird university regulation? No, it’s the political movement against the trend. Actually what they want to boycott is not Christmas, but Western thinking. Because once the Christian thoughts of equality and fraternity are accepted by university students, the conservative power's brainwashing will lose its effect. Once the students have independent ideas, they will not be tools manipulated by conservative power. Then the conservative power will lose their privileges.
Zhao Xiao, a popular economist and a Christian, raised concerns over the material culture surrounding Christmas and spoke highly of missionaries disseminating modern civilization to China:
其实更应该探讨的是圣诞节该怎么过的问题。所有传统的节日其实都有一定的宗教性，而现在这些节日已经越来越物质化商业化，以致脱离了节日本身神圣的含义。但不管怎样，希望圣诞带给人们的不是狂欢，而是平安。
What should be more discussed is how Christmas should be spent. All of the traditional festivals have some meanings of religion. Now these festivals have become so materialistic and commercial that they stray far from their original holy meanings.
He further explained the history of Christianity in China:
基督教传入中国正值西方殖民主义扩张时期，从而和殖民主义、帝国主义的关系于「斩不断、理还乱」之中。总体来看，绝大多数传教士是抱着为了信仰而来中国的。公道地讲，正是这群“境外势力”因着对上帝的爱，对中国人的爱，不断地“渗透”，最终为中国带来了现代文明。
Christianity was introduced into China when Western colonialism expanded, so it has been connected with colonialism and imperialism. Overall, most of the missionaries came to China with beliefs. To be fair, it’s this group of ‘outside forces’ who have constantly penetrated into China for the love of God and of China that eventually brought modern civilization to China.
Lei Yi, a famous historian with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, mocked the anti-Western camp:
还真有些人不知道“星期天”原来是“礼拜天”。这根本不是中国传统，应坚决抵制，天天上班上课，对吧？呵呵。有兴趣者可写论文：从星期天的实行看西方文化对中国传统的侵入、殖民文化……
Some people even don’t know that ‘Sunday’ is originally ‘the day to go to church’. Let’s resist it because it’s not a Chinese tradition. We should go to work and school everyday, right? Some people interested in this could write a thesis: A study on the encroachment of Western culture and colonial culture: How the custom of ‘Sunday’ was introduced to China.
Zhang Ming, a well-known politician at Renmin University, questioned that authorities don't seem worried about some corrupt officials who could bring down China, and instead targeted an actor as a potential enemy:
扳倒中国的武器，不是周永康，也不是徐才厚，更不是令计划，却是一个演员孙海燕？他演的激情燃烧的岁月，不是主旋律吗？写了几条微博，就把中国扳倒了？你是在污蔑中国是弱不禁风的林黛玉？
Is it an actor who could be the weapon that topples China, and not [former security tsar] Zhou Yongkang, [former vice president of Liberation Army] Xu Caihou, or [aid to former General Secretary Hu Jingtao] Ling Jihua? Isn't the TV drama “The Passionate Times” in which he acted in line with the ideology of the current socialist regime? Could he bring down China just by posting some microblogs? Do you smear the Chinese government as too weak?

author: Jack Hu


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Indians Plead for #NetNeutrality as Airtel Raises Data Charges · Global Voices
Subhashish Panigrahi

Campaign poster saying “#BoycottAirtel Net Neutrality is Not Optional”. Copyright: #BoycottAirtel campaign page
After Indian mobile data service provider Airtel announced plans to introduce data charges for VoIP usage, it received a rash of criticism from customers and open web advocates alike.
With 192.22 million users (as of August 2013), Airtel is India's largest mobile telephony provider and Asia-Pacific's second largest mobile operator. Although plans are now on hold due to regulatory restrictions, advocates worry that the company may yet find a way impose the fee increase.
On December 26, company proposed to raise costs for mobile phone users who rely on services like WhatsApp, Skype, and Viber to communicate with their contacts, requiring them to pay Rs.0.04/10KB (0.063 USD, based on current conversion rate) for 3G and Rs. 0.10/10KB (0.158 USD) for 2G service where a local or national call will cost one third of this amount or less.
Mobile phone shop in Mumbai. Photo by Victorgrigas via Wikimedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
The charges would also threaten the principle of net neutrality, under which networks are designed to ensure that Internet and online service providers, along with the government, treat all data on the Internet equally. In other words, irrespective of the kind of data usage, network, user, platform, type of device, or mode of communication, all data will be carried through the network using the same system and under the same cost scheme.
The #BoycottAirtel hash tag gained traction on social media, and advocates have launched a website, Netneutrality.in, to educate people about net neutrality, circulate news about the issue, and support online campaign efforts with sample tweets and WhatsApp posts for sharing among followers and friends.
If you pay a fixed amount for internet data pack, Airtel will charge you extra for internet calls on Skype, Viber or any free calling app. How much? 4 paise for every 10 Kilo Bytes on 3G and 10 paise for every 10 Kilo Bytes on 2G.
- Netneutrality.in
The new plan to charge Rs. 75 for 75 MB of data usage over VoIP calls was heavily criticized on social media:
So let me get this straight. Airtel is worried about people using a mere 75 MB out of their data allowance? WTF? #BoycottAirtel
— Madhu Menon (@madmanweb) December 26, 2014
Messages against Airtel on Twitter and Facebook included hashtags such as #BoycottAirtel and #NetNeutrality.
If you dont agree with Airtel proposing to charge extra for VoIP and breaking Net Neutrality. RT this with hashtag #boycottairtel
— Vijay Anand (@vijayanands) December 26, 2014
In protest of Airtel India's violation of net neutrality principles, I disabled all data packs in my mobile number .
I am not using skype or viber usually . My usual video requirements arechatb.org and Google hangout. But a carrier breaking net neutrality is a very serious development . Raise your voice against this .
Read More about Airtel Breaking Net Neutrality here http://netneutrality.in/
I would like to port to some other services without gate keeping after a few weeks If airtel continues same path.
#netneutrality #india #airtel #fail
- Anivar Joshina (on Facebook)
In an op-ed, Indian online news portal Niti Central's CEO Shashi Shekhar said the move could put Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “Digital India” initiative in jeopardy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of a Digital India will be in jeopardy unless the larger mess in Telecom is fixed urgently on priority and “Net Neutrality” does not make that priority list.
- Shashi Shekhar, CEO, Niti Central
Reading @shashidigital’s piece on #Airtel and #NetNeutrality. Disagree with his market-will-fix-it position. http://t.co/tUKsLITOHB
— Gautam John (@gkjohn) December 26, 2014
Airtel has not released any further response on the issue of net neutrality since their initial announcement, which read as follows:
All Internet/data packs or plans (through which customer can avail discounted rate) shall only be valid for internet browsing and will exclude VoIP (Both incoming/ Outgoing). VoIP over data connectivity would be charged at standard data rates of 4p / 10 KB (3G service) and 10p / 10 KB (2G service).
- Published on Telecomtalk.info
Airtel's announcement for chargeable VoIP (screenshot from their website )
Reacting to the public outcry against Airtel, India's Union Minister of Communications Ravi Shankar Prasad pledged to look into matter. According to news portal First Post, telecom operators voiced opposition to “over-the-top” VoIP services like WhatsApp, Skype, and Viber for some time, but the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has thus far stood in the way of a price increase.
Airtel has started on plans to charge OTT users particularly using VOIP services like viber and skype. TRAI had earlier this year rejected such demands from Indian operators. Even after this Airtel has gone ahead and kickstarted this practice.
- Sandip Pillai (on Change.org)
Airtel has pushed for a policy level change to legitimize exceptional data charges and many other over-the-top services. But these were declined by TRAI who contended that Airtel's plans were “illegal and violation of net neutrality,” forcing Airtel to drop the plan — for now.
In view of the news reports that a consultation paper will be issued shortly by TRAI on issues relating to services offered by OTT players including VOIP, we have decided not to implement our proposed launch of VoIP packs.
We have no doubt that as a result of the consultation process a balanced outcome would emerge that would not only protect the interests of all stakeholders and viability of this important sector but would also encourage much needed investments in spectrum and roll out of data networks to fulfill the objective of digital India.
- Reported on MediaNama by Nikhil Pahwa

author: Subhashish Panigrahi


text:
Macedonians ‘Hug’ Skopje Shopping Centre to Protect It From Baroque-isation · Global Voices
Filip Stojanovski

People holding hands, forming a human chain to “warm up” the GTC – public trade center in Skopje, Macedonia. Photo by Vanco Dzambaski, CC BY-NC-SA
Macedonian citizens braved snow and ice on the evening of December 29, 2014, to protest the government's plan to cover the modernist landmark City Shopping Center, built in 1973 and known by the Macedonian acronym GTC, with a “baroque” facade. Activists, artists, and architects lead the “I love GTC” (FB, TW, #ГоСакамГТЦ) initiative, which for the second time organized a mass “hugging” of the complex.
The protest was part of a series of events starting in 2013 that have attempted to stall this aspect of the creeping Skopje 2014 project, a controversial and costly plan to give the city's buildings makeover in the neoclassical or baroque style. GTC is open, “public” space, owned by the government (97% of shares).
Photo-activist Vancho Dzhambaski documented the event, and wrote:
И покрај со снег затрупаните улици и непријатното време, граѓаните на Скопје повторно се собраа во голем број, овој пат да го стоплат саканиот ГТЦ.
Повеќе од 2000 луѓе на уште еден начин се обидоа да пратат порака на арогантната власт дека не можеш да залепиш шпански скали и барокни кулиси каде што ќе ти текне. Едноставно, не е секоја идеа за плагијат добиена на прошетките во странство туку така применлива. Дури ни во град кој веќе изгледа како Дизниленд.
In spite of the streets piled with snow and the unpleasant weather, the citizens of Skopje gathered again in large numbers, this time to warm up their beloved GTC.
More than 2,000 people attempted to send another message to the arrogant authorities that you cannot glue Spanish Steps and baroque scenery wherever you please. Simply, not every idea for plagiarism gained during visits abroad is applicable here. Even in a city that already looks like Disneyland.
Independent news portal A1on estimated the number to more than a thousand, and published a much-shared video of the creative protest.

author: Filip Stojanovski