Fun in Taiwan

Published on Nov 1, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — One could be forgiven for thinking everyone in Taipei was at this weekend’s gay pride parade. Fifty-thousand rainbow-colored revelers snaked their way through the center of the city on Saturday, waving flags and wearing costumes, together marking Asia’s largest gay and transgender parade. But there were some glaring absences — namely, the island’s politicians, who didn’t show despite the free TV time on offer during an election season. Read more from Cain Nunns in the Global Post. .

Bali Bombing on Show

Published on Oct 31, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Much has changed around Bali’s famed Kuta district. About 25 years ago, travellers could be seen hopping on a horse and cart. Now, suburban tourists from Australia and Europe grab a taxi. The population has grown markedly over this period, with the island’s homogenous Hindus giving ground to Java’s Muslims. People are educated, the wealth here is undeniable. Throughout the area, enormous changes have been sustained by a feel good factor that was born out of the local culture – from the countryside to the districts of Sanur, Kuta, Legian and Seminyak down to Echo Beach. But in the past decade, the mood has been challenged by Islamic militancy and deadly bombings. And it was again....

Vietnam War Sting

Published on Oct 28, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Australia’s relations with Vietnam have been solid for many years. Canberra was among the first to open a Western mission in Hanoi after the Vietnam War ended in 1975. This was despite Australia’s absolute support for the United States and its Cold War battlegrounds in Indochina. These days, two-way trade is worth in excess of $5 billion, and regional political power plays are helping both countries to forge strategic relations. But the sting in the tail of the Vietnam War remains. Read more in The Diplomat. .

Freedom in Numbers

Published on Oct 27, 2011 by Luke Hunt

FAR EAST CORRESPONDENT — Vietnam’s media is state-owned, its blogs and bloggers monitored and its occasional protests attended by uniformed officers while being filmed by plain-clothes ones. However, if you want a SIM card, and thus a new number, for your mobile phone it is no harder than handing over a few dollars. Unlike much of the rest of the world, including neighbouring Cambodia, no photo ID is required. One international telecommunications expert was amazed at how free Vietnam is compared to other nations, in this one respect at least. Read more in The Economist. .

Cambodia’s Snow Alive

Published on Oct 25, 2011 by Luke Hunt

AsiaWATCH — Well-known Phnom Penh bar owner Ian Woodford, better known as Snow to his customers, said yesterday that news of his death in Australia had been greatly exaggerated, the Cambodia Daily reports. The newspaper said false rumors accompanied by short epitaphs and eulogies to Snow, the former owner of Maxine’s bar, which was situated on the Chroy Changva peninsula and was a site of pilgrimage for those wanting to see the sun set over Phnom Penh’s skyline, began circulating on social media sites and blogs early last week. “I’m sitting on a balcony listening to INXS on a new sound system, sipping wine and looking at the sun set over Sydney, mate,” Mr Woodford, who turned 54 on Sunday,....