Blogging in Asia
Cases of New Media Suppression and Blogger Arrests in the Region
A recent MSN survey conducted over the Internet across several regions in Asia— Hong Kong, India, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand— concluded that Asians turn to blogs primarily for self-expression and social connection.
While more than half of the respondents suggested that they blog initially to share photos and personal journals, few dissenting voices within the Asian blogosphere caught the attention of their respective authorities.
In countries where the media is restrained from reporting adversarial news, blogs continued to be the only source of information. Some bloggers leaking subversive data online have been subjected to punishment by the state.
Burmese Bloggers
In the autumn of 2007, when only a few international journalists manage to enter Burma, monks along with Burmese citizens leaked information against the military junta online. Burmese authorities immediately crack down on its opponents for the release of anti-government data.
The authorities closed Internet cafes and apparently slowed down the speed of Internet connections through the state-affiliated Internet service provider, Bagan Cybertech. Consequently, journalist and bloggers had difficulty in transferring and accessing large-file-size photos and video clips.
Despite of the abundance of grammatically flawed blogs in English, bloggers—composed of Buddhist monks, pro-democracy activists, and residents— provided text, photos, and video updates to the international stage. Data gathering was made through first-hand accounts, mobile phones, online chat, and word of mouth.
Typing in Tibet
Under Beijing rule, blogging in Tibet becomes a perilous task to be undertaken by a writer. Tibet’s most famous writer and blogger, Woeser, who goes by a single name like most Tibetans, was detained for allegedly taking pictures of military installations.
Woeser was held eight hours for interrogation by police officers. Wang Lixiong, Woeser’s husband and author, told The Times: “They had used the wrong name on the document so I insisted that they correct the name before they could take her away. I reminded them that they had to bring her home within the stipulated 12 hours,” said Wang Lixiong, Woeser’s husband, in an interview with The Times:
Malaysia and the New Media
When Malaysian authorities imposed the Internal Security Act (ISA), Raja Petra Kamaruddin, blogger and editor of website Malaysia Today, became one of the casualties detained without trial.
The ISA allows detention without charge for at least two years, which can be indefinitely extended by the Malaysian government. Kamaruddin was held for eight weeks under the ISA. He faced charges of sedition after publishing an article linking Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak to the case of Altantuya Shaariibuu, a Mongolian woman murdered in 2006.
Blogging Beyond Asia
Arrest of bloggers in Asia continues to be a compelling issue to date. The University of Washington annual report recorded a total of 64 bloggers arrested for criticizing governments.
Statistics gathered since 2003 show that more than half of the arrests have been made in China, Egypt, and Iran— two of which are to be found in Asia. According to the World Information Access (WIA) report, bloggers were arrested for posting blog entries of varying issues. It cannot be denied though that such bloggers highlighted political misconduct by public officials and exposed corruption in government.
While the WIA had not yet confirmed all reports coming from Burma, around 344 people arrested in Burma were thought to be bloggers. Blogger arrest is not only exclusive in the Middle East and East Asia. In the recent years, bloggers from Canada, America, and parts of Europe have also been arrested.
The average period of imprisonment was set at 15 months although the WIA fixed the longest sentence at eight years.
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