Squid Game, the South Korean drama following debt-ridden participants risking their lives in a brutal series of challenges, has grabbed the world’s attention. But in Thailand, a stark reality echoes the despair and hopelessness portrayed in the television hit. Globe’s columnist Mark S. Cogan explores the crippling levels of debt that drive Thailand’s household debtors and migrant workers to acts of desperation, and the uncertain future that lies ahead even as economies recover.
#Thailand #Debt #MigrantWorkers #MarkSCogan

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/debt-thailand-squid-game/

Memory can be subjective. It can be fluid. It can also be immensely powerful, shaping perceptions and public narrative at national level. To mark the anniversary of Ferdinand Marcos’ election this month in 1965, Jocelyn Martin looks at how the Marcos family legacy has been embellished by carefully constructed nostalgia and how Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is building his own narrative as he aspires to presidential power.
#Philippines #Politics #Election #JocelynMartin

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/memory-marcos-dynasty-ferdinand-bongbong/

Vietnam is a regional leader in renewable energy. But lack of transmission line capacity and insufficient infrastructure pose problems. Utility scale battery storage presents a solution. In this opinion piece, Mark Barnes shines a light on the potential of a burgeoning battery ecosystem in Vietnam and what it will take to power a battery storage revolution which will benefit consumers, the domestic economy and the environment.
#Vietnam #Energy #Battery #MarkBarnes

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/vietnam-battery-storage-revolution/

Flyers around Vietnam’s economic centre are selling false hopes of financial security. In Ho Chi Minh City, these papers advertise loan sharks. But it is not just illegal lenders who are cashing in on vulnerable consumers. Formal lenders often mirror loan shark tactics, with lack of regulation and heavy-handed debt collection. Globe’s Govi Snell uncovers the dark underbelly of lending in the city that comes at high cost to residents’ businesses and lives.
#Vietnam #Debt #Loans #GoviSnell

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/loan-sharks-debt-credit-vietnam/

“Education is the only way that we can restore and advance the country,” El Sotheary, a partnership and advocacy specialist with Save the Children Cambodia, told Globe’s Anton L. Delgado. To mark this year’s World Children’s Day, which coincides with the reopening of schools in the Kingdom, our interview explores how remote learning that requires expensive technology excluded Cambodia’s most vulnerable, and why now is the time to invest in the education of the next generation.
#Cambodia #Education #Interview #Children #AntonLDelgado

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/save-the-children-cambodia-schools-reopening-interview/

Over the last two years, Cambodia’s cultural sector has struggled to preserve ancient, traditional arts. Now, as the Kingdom reopens to vaccinated tourists, Cambodia’s traditional Khmer artists are ready to come back with a bang. Globe’s Anton L. Delgado speaks to performers about the precarious journey of performing arts in the pandemic and how the revival of the industry will not only mean a boost to the economy but also a chance to reestablish an important cultural identity.
#Cambodia #Art #Culture #Covid19 #AntonLDelgado

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/khmer-performers-pandemic-traditional-arts/

The 1946 attack on the Vietnamese port city Haiphong was one of the bloodiest events of the French colonial empire. On the anniversary of this brutal massacre, Stein Tønnesson, author on Vietnamese history and research professor with the Peace Research Institute Oslo, reflects on how the French conquest of Haiphong was the trigger for a series of significant events that led to the First Indochina War and a prelude to the further massacres and tragedy that would shape the country’s history.
#Vietnam #History #Massacre #SteinTønnesson

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/haiphong-massacre-1946-empire-vietnam/

The world of Southeast Asian food writing is peppered with cultural appropriation and micro-aggressions towards a marginalised community of those who plant, trade and cook in the region. Now, one magazine editor is bringing new flavour to the industry with her periodical Plates, which aims to give a greater voice to people on the ground. Globe looks at the issues of racial disparity and exclusion on the international food scene and the voices who are pioneering alternative food narratives.
#Region #Culture #Food #HueiTing

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/magazine-southeast-asian-food-plates-dee-may-tan/

In the wake of widely covered international events, including COP26 and the ASEAN summit comes another, less high-profile gathering. Yet, the 13th Asia-Europe meeting, due to start virtually today on the 25 November, is an important platform of collaboration on critical global issues.

In this analysis, Christian Echle, director of Political Dialogue Asia at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAS), shares insights on the opportunities of investment, employment and trade between Asian and European countries and how host Cambodia can adopt the summit’s mission of strengthening international, multilateral cooperation when addressing its own responsibilities and influences.
#Cambodia #ASEM13 #Politics #Trade #ChristianEchle

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/asia-europe-asem-summit-opportunities-shared-growth/

Malaysia is considered one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, but in the nation’s urban jungles nature often goes unnoticed. Now the release of a renowned wildlife artist’s debut book aims to take appreciation and awareness of the country’s native birds to new heights. Globe’s Ashley Yeong spoke with Choo Beng Teong about how his hyperrealistic paintings are inspired by his lifelong love for the natural world and his fears for a future where lack of awareness will see Malaysia’s natural treasures, and the art of wildlife painting, forgotten.
#Malaysia #Wildlife #Art #AshleyYeong

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/choo-beng-teong-bird-illustration-book/

Every five years, each member state takes part in the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR). Its aim is to evaluate and ensure human rights obligations are met across all UN countries through an objective, constructive and transparent process. But in Thailand, the UPR has become an ineffective and frustrating system. As the country continues through its third UPR cycle, Globe’s columnist Mark S. Cogan delves into how the Kingdom’s precarious human rights environment dilutes the power of the UPR in the country and projects a false image of international standards.
#Thailand #UN #HumanRights #Reform #MarkSCogan

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/thailands-human-rights-review-reform-un/

Globe’s Anton L. Delgado is on a mission to dive deep into the issue of malnutrition in Cambodia. He spoke with residents of Okralanh village in Siem Reap province about how community fish refuges are providing vital nutrient support to rural communities and how aquaculture projects could be making waves in the journey towards food security.
#Cambodia #Fish #Food #AntonLDelgado

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/village-fish-refuge-malnutrition-cambodia/

Incubators, accelerators and government support help make the Lion City a hotbed for innovation. But the nation’s small businesses ecosystem relies on more than high-value, fast growth new enterprise. Globe’s Amanda Oon spoke to Singapore’s entrepreneurs and trade associations to explore the opportunities and challenges faced by small businesses in the city-state and why collaboration could be the ultimate solution to overall economic success.
#Singapore #Business #Startups #AmandaOon

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/singapore-sme-startup-unicorn-entrepreneurs-support/

Vietnam’s 2021 Legislative Election Day, the Festival of the People, was publicly lauded by state-owned media as a democratic success. But voters and community members tell a different story. Double voting, disregard for pandemic safety, and apathy over candidates contributed to confusion and corruption on the ground.

“The National Assembly and People’s Councils do not mean anything to me,” one Youth Union of the Communist Party member told the Globe. In this article, we look at the hidden failures behind the Festival of the People and the frustrated voters waiting for a genuine democracy.
#Vietnam #Election #Democracy #TabrezVardah

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/vietnams-festival-of-the-people-electoral-failures/

The Cambodian government has taken measures to ensure the safety of their domestic workers abroad. But those working in Cambodia are not granted the same protections. In this analysis, Dolphie Bou and Anju Mary Paul discuss the regulation gaps and shortfalls that leave these workers unprotected and without the rights to sustainable working hours, overtime pay or having their work formally recognised.
#Cambodia #Workers #Rights #DolphieBou #AnjuMaryPaul

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/cambodias-domestic-workers-law-regulation-unprotected/

The rise of a robust craft beer market over the last decade and the recent introduction of Hanuman’s industrial brewery are bringing new dynamics to Cambodia’s busy beer industry. Globe’s Jack Brook spoke to leaders in the sector about developing products, changing tastes and how new players are bringing a taste of competition as brands battle for beer supremacy.
#Cambodia #Culture #Beer #JackBrook

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/new-breweries-beer-brawl-competition-cambodia/

In crowded Kuala Lumpur, cars, trucks and motorcycles dominate and cyclists find themselves victims of poorly planned infrastructure and driver hostility. The swell of the e-commerce delivery market throughout the pandemic has further increased congestion, and Malaysia’s carbon footprint. Globe’s Ashley Yeong brings us up to speed with the need for a more inclusive urban transport ecosystem and the group of two-wheeled messengers who are calling for a safer, more sustainable way to travel.
#Malaysia #Cycling #Sustainability #Transportation #AshleyYeong

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/bike-couriers-malaysia-delivery/

Vietnam’s first metro finally rolled into action this November, following a decade of delays and rising costs that have prevented the project from arriving on schedule. Globe’s Govi Snell takes us on a journey of urban development, transport and city infrastructure that highlights the issues of budget inefficiency, public service and international funding that lie under the surface of this underground infrastructure initiative.
#Vietnam #Transportation #Infrastructure #GoviSnell

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/vietnam-metro-system-late-trains-urban-infrastructure-budget-delays/

Poetry is one of our oldest art forms. For millennia it has been around to help us pass on our histories, share stories and help us define a common cultural identity. In her new poetry collection, Singaporean writer Esther Vincent delves into her own memories to uncover both the personal impact and the shared eco-social issues of land redevelopment in a rapidly developing metropolis.
#Singapore #Poetry #EstherVincent #AmandaOon

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/singapore-writer-esther-vincent-eco-social-issues-through-poetry/

This year’s Human Rights Day on the 10th December arrives in an environment of deteriorating human rights and continuing police violence in Thailand. Globe’s columnist Mark S. Cogan untangles the turbulent relationship between democracy and human rights in the Kingdom and how its political regimes continue to squander opportunities to implement inherent UN values.
#Thailand #HumanRights #Democracy #MarkSCogan

https://southeastasiaglobe.com/human-rights-democracy-elusive-combination-thailand/