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☆ Same-sex marriage was on a roll in Asia. Not anymore
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-13 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

The winning formulaMore than 30 jurisdictions worldwide now recognize same-sex marriage, according to the Pew Research Center. Since the first same-sex marriage law was passed in the Netherlands in 2001, progress has been made mostly in Europe, the Americas and Australasia. Gay couples cut a wedding cake in Amsterdam on April 1, 2001 after the first same-sex marriage law was passed in the Netherlands. But on the national level, Japan does not recognize same-sex marriage and local courts have returned conflicting verdicts on the issue. Up to 68% of Japan’s adults support same-sex marriage, the highest share in Asia, according to the Pew Research Center.

Persons: Pokpong Jitjaiyai, ”, Pokpong, Watit Benjamonkolchai, Suen, Nadia Rahman, Marcel Antonisse, Kangwan Fongkaew, ” Kangwan, Jennifer Lu, ” Lu, Taiwan’s, Tsai Ing, Sanjit, Chanakarn Laosarakham, Carl Court, Asia’s, Anish Gawande, Narendra Modi, Gawande, Kazuhiro Nogi, –, Hiroshima’s, Scuffles, Andrew Kim, Roslan Rahman, Shawna Tang, Hong Kong’s, Peter Newman, ” Suen, CNN’s Samra, Yoonjung Seo, Aishwarya Iyer Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Thailand’s Senate, CNN, Chinese University of Hong, Pew Research, Amnesty, Racial Justice, Refugees, Migrants, Getty, Burapha University, Presidential, List, Court, Japan, Seoul Queer Culture, Christian, Korea University’s College of International Studies, University of Sydney, Appeal, University of Toronto’s, Inwentash, Social Locations: Hong Kong, Bangkok’s, Siam, Thailand’s, Bangkok, Thailand, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Nepal, Asia, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Netherlands, Europe, Americas, Australasia, Myanmar, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Bangladesh, Indonesia’s ultraconservative, Aceh, United Kingdom, Amsterdam, China, Kathmandu, AFP, Taiwan's, Taipei, India, List India, India’s, Delhi, Tokyo, Japan, South Korea, Daegu, Seoul, Korea, Singapore, aren’t, –, Beijing, Indonesia

☆ China’s LGBTQ+ community celebrates rare scenes from Paris Olympics but internet is divided
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-30 | by ( Chris Lau | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

These are among the images that France, the organizer of the Paris 2024 Olympics, presented to the world during the opening ceremony last week. The clampdown has made it all the more striking when scenes of gay men and drag queens from the Paris Olympics opening ceremony made it onto Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. On social media site Weibo, the “#Paris opening ceremony is really cool# hashtag has generated more than 600 million views over the past four days. “Those who didn’t stay up late to watch the Olympic opening ceremony tonight missed out big time. #Paris opening ceremony is really cool#The ceremony remained the top trending topic on Weibo for more than 15 hours starting Saturday.

Persons: Xi Jinping, Ken Huang, ”, Jeremy Goupille, Natacha, Leonardo da Vinci’s, Christian, French, Suen, Aritists, Athena de Martel, ” Suen, Netizens Organizations: Hong Kong CNN, Paris, Weibo, Pride House, Paris Olympics, Communist Party, Chinese University of Hong, House, ” Locations: China, Hong Kong, France, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Weibo

☆ Hong Kong Court Convicts Four for Rioting After 2019 Legislature Storming
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-31 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +2 min

Hundreds of protesters stormed Hong Kong's Legislative Council building on July 1, 2019, after a protest march against a proposed extradition bill that would have allowed authorities to send individuals to mainland China for trial. District Court Judge Li Chi-ho found four people including Ho Chun-yin, actor Gregory Wong, Ng Chi-yung and Lam Kam-kwan guilty of rioting. During the trial, Gregory Wong told the court he entered the legislative council solely to deliver two chargers to reporters who were covering the break-in by protesters. Three Hong Kong police officers met him in Shenzhen and said he had to cooperate or else he would not be able to return to Hong Kong. Hong Kong's district court sets a maximum of seven years in prison for rioting.

Persons: Jessie Pang, Edward Cho HONG, Li Chi, Ho Chun, Gregory Wong, Ng Chi, Lam Kam, kwan, Lam, Wong Ka, Ma Kai, Wong, Althea Suen, Ventus Lau, Owen Chow, Edward Cho, Farah Master, Lincoln Organizations: Reuters, Hong, Legislative, Hong Kong, Hong Kong . Police, University of Hong Locations: Edward Cho HONG KONG, Hong Kong, China, Legco, Shenzhen, Hong Kong's

[1/2] Natthawaree Mulkan, embraces her family as she arrived back home after losing touch for nearly two months when she was taken hostage by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Khon Kaen, Thailand November 30, 2023 . Let’s go back home," she told her mother at an airport in Khon Kaen province in northeastern Thailand. A relative tied holy threads on Natthawaree's wrist and on the wrist of her partner Boonthoom Phankhongwas in a Thai homecoming ritual. The two were among the first 10 Thai hostages freed by Hamas during the first truce of the war in Gaza. Natthawaree, 35 and a mother of two, was seen hugging her daughter before the family got into a van to go home.

Persons: Napat, Natthawaree Mulkan, we're, ” Natthawaree, clasped, Let’s, Boonthoom Phankhongwas, Thais, Chayut Setboonsarng, Raju Gopalakrishnan Organizations: Hamas, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Palestinian, Khon Kaen, Thailand, Gaza

☆ Thais give digital spin to ancient 'floating basket' festival
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Over the centuries, people have sent 'krathongs' - small, baskets made from plants and loaded with flowers, candles and bamboo - down waterways to make wishes and pay their respects to water spirits. The beautiful 'floating basket' or Loy Krathong festival lights up Bangkok's canals and rivers at night - but often leaves organisers scrabbling to clear canals clogged up with hundreds of thousands of soggy vessels the next morning. This will help reduce waste," said 11-year-old Jirayada Surapant, showing off her design by a Bangkok canal on Monday evening. Across the capital, monks set out in row boats to scoop up the physical krathongs and recycle them into animal feed. Reporting by Napat Wesshasartar, Artorn Pookasook and Thomas Suen; Writing by Chayut Setboonsarng, Edited by Andrew HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Loy Krathong, Loy, scrabbling, Mathee Vatchara Prachatorn, Napat Wesshasartar, Artorn Pookasook, Thomas Suen, Chayut Setboonsarng, Andrew Heavens Organizations: Thomson Locations: Samut Songkram, Thailand, BANGKOK, Bangkok

[1/3] Noopar Pansa-ard, 63, prays for her son, Somkuan Pansa-ard, 39, a Thai labour who was killed in Israel in the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, at a temple in Kalasin province, Thailand, October 11, 2023. "I told him - don't talk like that ... My heart will shatter if you don't return," Noopar said. A day later, her son Somkuan Pansa-ard, 39, was killed during an attack by Hamas militants on Israel, where he had gone to work in a fruit plantation to send money back to help his family repay a loan. It was not clear where in Israel Somkuan had been killed. So far, 20 Thai nationals have been killed and 14 taken hostage in the conflict, the Thai foreign ministry says.

Persons: Somkuan, Thomas Suen, Noopar Pansa, Noopar, Somkuan Pansa, Israel Somkuan, Khraboan Pansa, Khraboan, Chayut Setboonsarng, Miral Organizations: ard, Hamas, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Thai, Israel, Palestinian, Kalasin province, Thailand, Somkuan's

Oct 10 (Reuters) - When 26-year-old Natthaporn Onkaew headed for Israel two years ago to join thousands of fellow Thai migrants and take a job as a farm worker, his father warned him not to go. Now his words have come hauntingly true: Natthaporn is among 11 Thais and scores of other hostages taken by Hamas militants in their unprecedented assault on Israel at the weekend. He is one of 30,000 Thais working in Israel, mainly in the agricultural sector. Among numerous nations with citizens caught up in the conflagration, 18 Thais have also been killed and nine injured. Thailand and the Philippines are among the largest sources of migrant workers for Israel, the Filipinos mainly in healthcare.

Persons: Natthaporn, Onkaew, Thawatchai Onkaew, Thongkoon Onkaew, I'm, Thais, Napat Wesshasartar, Thomas Suen, Chayut, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: Hamas, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Israel, Palestinian, Nakhon Phanom, Thailand, SAENG, Baan, Philippines

People flee following shots fired at the luxury Siam Paragon shopping mall, in Bangkok, Thailand, October 3, 2023. China is vital to that effort as the biggest source of foreign visitors to Thailand in pre-COVID years. 'SHOCKED'Chinese visitors accounted for 11 million of a record 39.9 million foreign tourists to Thailand in 2019, before the pandemic. Thailand recorded 20 million foreign tourist arrivals in the January to October period, who spent 839 billion baht ($22.58 billion). At the re-opened Siam Paragon mall, on a typically gridlocked thoroughfare, crowds were trickling back.

Persons: Devjyot, Srettha Thavisin, Thapanee Kiatphaibool, Somsong Sachaphimukh, Dong Peijian, Napat Wesshasartar, Thomas Suen, Robert Birsel Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Police, Siam Paragon, Tourism Authority of, Tourism Council, Thomson Locations: Siam, Bangkok, Thailand, Rights BANGKOK, China, Myanmar, Asia's, Tourism Authority of Thailand, Thai, Southeast Asia

[1/5] A Chinese tourist is welcomed by Thai traditional puppets during a welcome ceremony of the first batch of Chinese tourists under a five-month visa-free entry scheme at Bangkok's International Airport, Thailand, September 25, 2023. The visa waiver programme runs from Sept. 25 until February next year. The government expects 2.88 million Chinese visitors during that 5-month period, slightly higher than the 2.34 million Chinese who have visited this year. "More Chinese tourists come to Thailand for holiday, because it is indeed very convenient," he said. Chinese tourists say they are drawn to Thailand for its beaches and food.

Persons: Athit, Srettha Thavisin, Srettha, Gu, ”, Ye Weihe, Panarat Thepgumpanat, Miral Fahmy, Gerry Doyle Organizations: Bangkok's International, REUTERS, Rights, Thomson Locations: Thai, Thailand, Rights BANGKOK, Bangkok, Shanghai, Srettha, Tourism, Suvarnabhumi, China, Pattaya

☆ As the sea warms, struggling Cambodian fishermen seek to preserve crab stocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Thomas Suen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Fisherman Ung Bun, 39, sits in his boat out at sea off the coast of Cambodia's southern Kep province, Cambodia August 18, 2023. Ung Bun dropped the crab - a male that was too small - back into the sea. The Cambodia government's crab releasing campaign dates back to 2010 but this year it began working with Wild Earth Allies, a non-profit organisation. I can hardly afford to buy gasoline to go out to fish or pay for my children's school fees, and so I face problems with my family," Ung Bun said. "If the villagers see my work, many would not understand what I'm doing," Ung Bun said.

Persons: Bun, Thomas Suen, Ung Bun, Ung, hasn't, Kay Johnson, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, University of Maine's, Allies, Thomson Locations: Kep province, Cambodia, Kep, Kampot

☆ Hong Kong Must Have Framework to Recognize Same-Sex Unions, Court Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( Derrick Bryson Taylor | More About Derrick Bryson Taylor | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Mr. Sham, who is gay, married his partner in New York in 2013, court documents showed. As part of Tuesday’s ruling, the court also unanimously dismissed appeals on the constitutional right to same-sex marriage and whether the lack of recognition of foreign same-sex marriages violated rights. “This time, the court case is about the so-called wholesale recognition of same sex relationships,” he said by phone. Kelley Loper, the director of the Human Rights Program at the University of Hong Kong, said that the ruling was a “step forward” for L.G.B.T.Q. “I’d say it’s more than a small victory in Hong Kong,” Ms. Loper said.

Persons: Jimmy Sham, Sham, Yiu, ”, Kelley Loper, “, Ms, Loper Organizations: Associated Press, Mr, Chinese University of Hong, Human, University of Hong Locations: New York, Hong Kong, Chinese University of Hong Kong, University of Hong Kong, L.G.B.T.Q

CHONBURI, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Thai farmers marked the beginning of rice cultivation during the monsoon season on Sunday with their annual water buffaloes race which dates back to the 1800s. More than 60 buffaloes took part in the race along a 200-meter dirt track in the Napa sub-district of Chonburi province, some 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of the capital Bangkok. Samart Suksawang, mayor of Napa, said the event honours the buffalo's traditional role as beast of burden in rice farming. Though many farmers now use tractors for rice ploughing, water buffaloes are still kept for other duties like carrying. The race took place in hot dry weather, with a 5% drop in rainfall forecast for the July-October monsoon, according to the country's Meteorological Department.

Persons: Samart Suksawang, we've, Noppadorn Ponpaiparn, it's, We're, Napat Wesshasartar, Thomas Suen, Panu, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: CHONBURI, country's Meteorological Department, Thomson Locations: Napa, Chonburi, Bangkok

☆ Hong Kong transgender protesters say government is not abiding by landmark ruling
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Jessie Pang | Thomson Reuters | Jessie Pang Joined Reuters In After An Internship. She Covers Hong Kong With A Focus On Politics | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Tyrone SiuHONG KONG, March 31 (Reuters) - A group of Hong Kong transgender people staged a small protest on Friday against a delay by authorities in changing the gender indicated on their identity documents, saying they have yet to be fully recognised despite a landmark court ruling in February. "The government is using administrative tactics to deliberately delay the whole process," Tse told Reuters. Another protester, Emery Fung, 28, who has a gender marker change application pending, said he had not been given a timeline despite trying to ask the authorities numerous times. The department would not confirm whether it had suspended applications for gender marker changes since the ruling, as reported by media, nor say how many people were affected. 'HUGE PRESSURE'Kelley Loper, an expert in human rights law at the University of Hong Kong, criticised the government's failure to implement the decision swiftly.

REUTERS/Thomas Suen/File PhotoJOHANNESBURG, March 28 (Reuters) - China spent $240 billion bailing out 22 developing countries between 2008 and 2021, with the amount soaring in recent years as more have struggled to repay loans spent building "Belt & Road" infrastructure, according to a study published Tuesday. People's Bank of China (PBOC) swap lines accounted for $170 billion of the rescue financing, including in Suriname, Sri Lanka and Egypt. China's rescue lending is "opaque and uncoordinated," said Brad Parks, one of the report's authors, and director of AidData, a research lab at William & Mary College in the United States. China is negotiating debt restructurings with countries including Zambia, Ghana and Sri Lanka and has been criticised for holding up the processes. In response, it has called on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to also offer debt relief.

CNN —Nearly two-and-a-half years after the Trump administration threatened to ban TikTok in the United States if it didn’t divest from its Chinese owners, the Biden administration is now doing the same. The new directive comes from the multiagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), following years of negotiations between TikTok and the government body. “If protecting national security is the objective, divestment doesn’t solve the problem,” TikTok spokesperson Maureen Shanahan said in a statement. TikTok is really only a national security risk insofar as the Chinese government may have leverage over TikTok or its parent company. China has national security laws that require companies under its jurisdiction to cooperate with a broad range of security activities.

☆ Tourism is roaring back in China. But the $6 trillion consumer market is digging itself out of a deep slump
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

He's hopeful business improves this year – and allows Rêver to recoup the roughly 35% in revenue it lost last year. Within a retail sales slump of 0.2% to 43.97 trillion yuan ($6.28 trillion), catering sales dropped by a steeper 6.3%. He expects 7% year-on-year growth in retail sales. Hainan's recovery plansHainan, a tropical province aiming to be a duty free shopping destination, announced a goal for 10% growth in retail sales this year. That's after its retail sales fell by 9.2% last year.

In a last minute U-turn, two days before the tournament's opening match, international soccer governing body FIFA said on Friday that alcoholic beer would not be sold at Qatar's World Cup stadiums. Now fans can only consume beer at the FIFA Fan Festival in Doha. "Not having alcohol is not good because the World Cup it's a party of the world," said Brazilian fan Julio Cesar, wearing a felt hat in his country's colours. The 2022 World Cup is the first edition of the tournament held in a conservative Muslim country with strict controls on alcohol, the consumption of which is banned in public. For the fans unfazed by Qatar's dire human rights record, the absence of beer at World Cup venues has proven a major disappointment.

☆ Exclusive: Kaisa delays offshore debt revamp talks on uncertain sector outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The second-largest U.S. dollar bond issuer among Chinese developers after China Evergrande Group (3333.HK), Kaisa has been in the process of restructuring its $12 billion offshore debt after defaulting on some bonds last year. Kaisa is among a growing number of Chinese developers to have defaulted on offshore debt obligations in the past year, including Evergrande, which is also working to firm up terms of debt restructuring negotiations with its bondholders. UNCERTAIN OUTLOOKThe delay in Shenzhen-based Kaisa's debt restructuring negotiations comes as many of its defaulting peers face growing pressure from bondholders to hasten revamp plans before the end of the year. Kaisa is "struggling with" a factor that also affects other developers, as the outlook for the property sector is not too clear, said one of the sources. Bondholders have grown impatient after Kaisa struggled to make repayments, and offered several financing solutions, aiming to advance talks.

☆ As world population hits 8 billion, China frets over too few babies
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Such decisions by countless people like Tang will determine the course not only of China's population but that of the world, which the United Nations says is projected to reach 8 billion on Tuesday. Tang, 39, said many of his married friends have only one child and, like him, they are not planning any more. But now the United Nations expects China's population will start shrinking from next year, when India will likely become the world’s most populous country. China's fertility rate of 1.16 in 2021 was below the 2.1 OECD standard for a stable population and among the lowest in the world. The proportion of the population over the age of 65 is now about 13% but is set to rise sharply.

BEIJING, Oct 14 (Reuters) - China's ultra-strict COVID-19 curbs are taking a toll on businesses and jobseekers as Beijing stresses again and again the need to maintain its zero-tolerance approach to the virus, to save lives, if not livelihoods. Keeping a lid on China's COVID death toll has come at a cost to its economy. Business was disrupted at first by temporary closures to comply with COVID policies. In January-March, China's economy barely grew as authorities battled with the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Since July, Zheng Mili, 30, has sent hundreds of job applications and done dozens of interviews in Beijing.

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