ASEAN News

Indonesia reported an extraordinary regular spike in the Covid-19 death toll with 160 deaths, raising the total count to 9,837.  The Central Java province recorded the largest number of deaths with 42, followed by Jakarta with 30, East Java with 25, Banten with 16 and West Java with 11, the initial epicentre of the coronavirus epidemic. On the same day, …

China ramped up its rhetoric about Taiwan, labeling any support for its independence as “doomed to fail,” and threatened retribution against US diplomatic visits to the island.  After the conclusion of a civil war in 1949, Taiwan has been administered independently from China, but Beijing considers the island part of its territories pending reunification. The island is Washington’s flashpoint, pledging …

Gravedigger Junaedi Bin Hakim toils in a Jakarta cemetery until almost midnight almost every day, arranging plots for fellow Indonesians in the midst of a renewed increase in coronavirus burials. They honestly shared that they are worried and terrified but this is part of their job and obligations said 43-year-old Junaedi, who regularly left work at 4 pm before the …

A Swiss photographer went to trial in Hong Kong on charges of public disorder, with prosecutors accusing him of allowing an assault on a Chinese mainlander during last year’s protests against democracy. Marc Progin, a long-time resident of Hong Kong, pleaded not guilty to “assisting and encouraging public disorder,” an accusation that could see him imprisoned for up to one …

Hong Kong had previously complained about the American move, which takes effect on Nov 9, 2020. The government of Hong Kong has officially complained about the decision by the Trump administration to mark goods from the city as “Made in China” rather than “Made in Hong Kong,” as the United States and China continue to spar on fronts ranging from …

Vietnam is seeking to resume back their international commercial flights to several Asian destinations starting tomorrow (Friday). The flights however are only reserved and limited to Vietnamese nationals, diplomats, skilled workers, investors and their families. The said flights are not available yet for tourists. According to a report on the government website, flights connecting Vietnam’s two largest cities — Hanoi …

Hong Kong demonstrators yelled out-of-court anti-government slogans as more than two dozen high-profile democracy campaigners gathered over a banned vigil to mark the attack on Tiananmen Square. Tens of thousands of Hong Kongers defied a ban on protests to mark the anniversary of the deadly repression of students calling for democracy by Beijing. The annual vigil has been held in …

South Korean prosecutors arrested the former head of an aid organization on allegations of bribery and embezzlement for victims of Japanese sexual harassment during war. Yoon Mee-hyang stepped down this year as president of Japan’s Korean Justice and Remembrance Council on Military Sexual Exploitation Problems, also known as Jungdaehyup, to make a strong campaign for a seat in Parliament, where …

South Korea relaxed its difficult social distancing campaign in the heavily populated metropolitan area of Seoul for the next two weeks, with new cases of regular novel coronavirus stubbornly lingering within triple digits. The government lifted a ban on on on-site dining after 9 pm, but restaurants and cafes are now expected to limit the names of the seats and …

Singapore and Japan recently agreed to open a green lane for important business and official travel for people from both countries. Through this, ministries of foreign affairs of both countries stated in a joint statement that the Business Track agreement would help restore relations and promote economic recovery for Japan and Singapore. Singapore has similar agreements with other countries but …