Best of 2023: Editor's Choice Asia Pacific

2021 has been a busy year in the Asia-Pacific region, from the deepening conflict in Myanmar following a coup to the record of North Korean weapons tests and confrontations in the South China Sea. Here are the highlights and must-reads from the original 2023 report:

Myanmar

More than two years after generals seized power in a February 2021 coup, civilians have been caught up in the growing conflict and targeted by an army known for its brutality. Zaheena Rasheed and Nu Nu Luzan pieced together what happened by gathering evidence from villagers and witnesses, starting with satellite images of five villages that were reduced to ashes in the Sagaing region.

“We have worked hard for generations to build this house and own this land. "But they burned our house and crops in one day." The farmer said to them: “They want us to be so poor that we can't handle them. I think they believe that if we are left with nothing, we will not protest. But they were wrong."

Read more in Burnt Bodies, Burnt Houses: The Story of Myanmar's 'Campaign of Terror'. There is also a video of the incident. In late October, three armed ethnic groups formed a coalition and launched a major offensive in northern Shan State, which borders China.

Emily Fishbein, Jaw Tu Hkawng, and Zaw Myet Awng found that the so-called offensive, Operation 1027, sparked new optimism among the counterinsurgency as armed groups made early gains. Since then, they have gone to West Rakhin, West Rakhin, Shan.

Martial arts strengthen the humanitarian situation of many citizens who provide help when local support groups do not have international reactions. In Minbiya, Rakhine State, a Rohingya woman told Voice of Urdu that she lives in fear amid constant bombing and shelling.

“We cannot leave Minbia now. "There are fights everywhere," he said last November. "Every day you hear explosions and gunfire, but you don't know where the fighting is happening. There is no internet and phones often don't work. "I worry about everything."

Rakhine has long been a troubled state. It is home to the Muslim-majority Rohingya people, where the military began a brutal crackdown in 2017, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee to neighboring Bangladesh.

Most of those left behind are forced to live in camps with limited freedom of movement. This line from May was hit by a cyclone in May. This is because Narges Cyclone killed thousands of people in 2008, so the strongest cyclone storm took place.

Khan Ban Ja Bruung was first selected for the first time on the international media, especially on the Campus of International Destruction with Emily Fishb. You can read the report here.

increase in human trafficking

The crisis in Myanmar has also extended its impact locally. Not only have the generals refused to fulfill their promises to end violence against fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but instability has also increased. Driving violation. Kevin Doyle went to a golden triangle due to methodstamine and heroin, including drug attacks, including drug attacks.

You can find out more about what you found here. Meanwhile, Hanoi resident Chris Humphrey pointed out that the number of Vietnamese trafficked to Myanmar and forced to work as sex slaves or in fraudulent call centers is increasing.

Alastair McCready went to Laos and found that the supply of methamphetamine was so plentiful that it was cheaper than beer.

Vietnam

Chris Humphrey in Hanoi has heard stories of foreigners being held in Vietnamese prisons for long periods after serving their sentences. because? Unpaid court fines and compensation for victims of crime.

At the time of publication, citizens from countries such as Malaysia, Cambodia, South Africa, and Nigeria were facing sometimes appalling conditions outside prison. "It's terrible. Prison after prison," Ezeigwe Evaristus Chukwuebuka, a Nigerian, told Urdu Voice. "I was severely abused, locked in a small, dark, smelly room with no bathroom, and had my legs tied for two weeks."

Indonesia

For 30 years, until May 1998, Indonesia was ruled by the powerful Suharto.

His departure, amid mass protests, brought new freedoms to Indonesia's more than 200 million people, particularly the Chinese, an ethnic minority who have long suffered state-backed discrimination and are often targeted for wealth. Randy Mulianto and Charlene Kayla Rosley spoke to five Chinese Indonesians to learn more about that time and how things have changed.

Iskander Salim said he struggles with his identity. He considered himself neither Indonesian nor fully Chinese. Now it defines itself with pride.

"I can simply say, 'I am Indonesian, or rather Chinese-Indonesian,'" Iskander told Urdu Voice. "Ultimately, it's up to us to define and define who we are."

Aisia Llewellyn remains in Indonesia after learning that police fired tear gas at protesters on Rempang Island, not far from Singapore.

He discovered the Chinese factory's controversial plans to make glass for solar panels and develop a huge green city. The problem is that? Thousands of residents will have to travel for this to happen.

"This is my home and I want to die here," 80-year-old Halima told Urdu Voice. "I love this place more than anything."

You can learn more about the villagers and their decision to stop the project here.

A year after the tragedy at the Kanjuruhan football stadium in Malang, Llewelyn flew to the city to speak to the families of some of the 135 people who died. The stadium will be demolished and rebuilt, but the fight to reform Indonesian football will not be easy. You can read this article here. Finally, the kidnapping of New Zealand pilot Phillip Mehrtens by an armed group fighting for independence from Papua has brought the resource-rich region's long-running conflict back into focus.

Military development

Military events have been in the spotlight this year, including North Korea's biggest-ever weapons test as it steps up efforts to modernize its military. Last September, President Kim Jong-un made a rare trip abroad, including visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in an armored train.

Putin agreed to help Kim build a satellite, and officials showed off Russian military technology. Last November, North Korea launched its first reconnaissance satellite after three failed launches and promised more by 2024. Experts say these activities continue to be illegally funded, from hacking to money laundering. (You can read more about North Korean ghost restaurants still trading in Laos here.) The biggest question is what North Korea will offer Russia in return. Probably a gun.

Chairman Kim believes that as the United States deepens its military and political ties with South Korea, it must also develop its arsenal. He said the United States must work closely with South Korea and its allies because of the threat from North Korea.

There is a similar story in the South China Sea, where China has repeatedly clashed with Manila at the Thomas II Shoal and Scarborough Shoal. The situation that worried China brought the Philippines closer to the United States. Zahina Rashid went to the countryside to find out why. You can read this story here.

China

2023 was the year China emerged from years of isolation as a result of its zero-corona strategy. This policy meant brutal trials, isolation or quarantine camps. Erin Hale found that many large camps still existed months after the policy was lifted. Frederik Kelter also reported that many Chinese people at the event were trying to make a sudden decision to quit after unprecedented protests without any injuries caused by COVID-19.

"Many people were hurt by the zero-corona policy and many people died when it ended," Evelyn Ma told Urdu Voice. We also took a closer look at China's growing influence in the Solomon Islands and the interesting circumstances surrounding shipments of so-called "copycat" weapons from China.

John Power and Erin Hale received American cables indicating that the weapon was real. This incident prompted Solomon Island MPs to demand answers and a police withdrawal.

Religion

The Asia Pacific region is home to a variety of religions, from Buddhism to Christianity and Islam. Rafael Rashid watched as the plan to build a small mosque in Daegu, South Korea sparked a serious wave of Islamophobia, with protesters holding rotting pig heads and pork skewers outside the building.

We also reported on China's control of religions, from Catholicism to Islam. "The government is trying to control everything about our religion: what the church is, who the priests are, how we pray," Teresa Liu, a Chinese Catholic who attends the Church of Rome, told Urdu Voice. "I do it. ," he said. "I think different religious groups in China have problems with the government," he said.

In Malaysia, Ramadan is now famous for its unique cuisine that can only be tasted during the Islamic fasting month. One of them is Bubur Lambuk at Jamek Kampung Baru Mosque.

Ushar Daniele and Bhavya Vemulapalli join the mosque's volunteer chefs to reveal the secret behind the popularity of creamy porridge.