Set in Japanese-occupied Malaya during World War II, Chong Seck Chim’s Once Upon a Time in Malaya (2005, ISBN 981-4155-46-2) is the fascinating tale of the up-and-coming youth Ah Kiew and how he deftly juggles familial obligation, political realities, and romance. Chong is a master of character development, and introduces the reader to a number […]
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Foul Play Suspected in disappearance of journalist Dave Walker in Cambodia
As was reported in the Phnom Penh Post this week, noted Canadian journalist and filmmmaker Dave Walker has been reported missing from his Siem Reap guest house for five days. His passport, telephone, computer, and possessions were all left behind, and foul play is suspected. Walker reportedly left the Green Village Angkor guesthouse on February […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bangkok protests dealing massive financial blow to tourism businesses in Thailand
Although the PDRC (People’s Democratic Reform Committee) protests that have blocked major intersections in Bangkok is only ten days old, it has cost Thai businesses millions of dollars in tourist revenue. And it started being felt in early January. Talk to any business, like we here at WoWasis did, and you’ll hear a similar tale […]
Read the rest of this entry »Why rice is fueling the latest Bangkok protest
Regarding the series of beefs the 100,000 street protestors occupying Bangkok are voicing today, perhaps the most difficult for westerners to grasp is the rice pledging fiasco. Here are the salient issues simplified, from a WoWasis perspective. Traditionally, Thailand has been a major world exporter of rice. Wanting to raise the price by lowering the […]
Read the rest of this entry »Bangkok to be shut down Monday: another coup coming?
Although the major media appears reluctant to discuss it, Thailand may be in store for yet another government coup d’etat within days. All the signs seem to be leading to it, and it’s understandable that the media would be reluctant to fan the flames of revolt. Nevertheless, the situation could be ripe as events march […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘I-Boat Captain,’ by Zenji Orita with Joseph Harrington
We first became aware of Japanese submariner Zenji Orita in author Joseph D. Harrington’s book Yankee Samurai: the Secret Role of Nisei in America’s Pacific Victory (1979), which sent us scurrying to find Orita’s book I-Boat Captain: How Japanese Submarines Almost Defeated the U.S. Navy in the Pacific (1976). The book is alternately chilling and […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Stephen Leather’s ‘Hungry Ghost’ from Hong Kong
Stephen Leather never ceases to tantalize us. It’s not just the vicious murderers or the fetching murderesses, either. Hungry Ghost (ISBN 978-0-340-96072-1), originally published in 1992 and re-released in 2008, is replete with all the cerebral stuff we’ve grown to expect from the author. His “no stones unturned” approach is something we figure he picked […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: Kenzaburo Oé’s Japanese novel ‘A Silent Cry’
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Kenzaburo Oé’s novel A Silent Cry (1994) is a psychological thriller relating to the familial travails surrounding two brothers. As in much of the author’s writing, there are no heroes here, as all protagonists are enveloped by a deep-seated malaise that continues to descend as the book progresses. Oé is a master […]
Read the rest of this entry »Dunkin’ Donuts blackface poster in Thailand raises ire with NGO Human Rights Watch
Dunkin’ Donuts Thailand is being called on the carpet by the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) for creating an advertising poster showing the CEO’s daughter in blackface, advertising a “charcoal donut.” Blackface comedy has been a staple in Morlam shows all over Thailand for decades, but it seems that the venerable doughnut institution crossed the […]
Read the rest of this entry »WoWasis book review: ‘Yankee Samurai,’ Nisei working for the US in WWII, by Joseph Harrington
Author Joseph D. Harrington has written an informative and insightful history of the Nisei (Americans of Japanese Ancestry, or AJAs, the first generation to be born outside of Japan, and children of Issei, their Japanese-born parents living in the United States), working for the U.S. armed forces in the Pacific during World War II. Yankee […]
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