At the beginning of March, the Rohingya and Somali refugees housed at the Pelangi Hotel in Medan, in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra, received a visit from an International Organisation for Migration (IOM) representative. There was a deadly virus on the loose, the representative said, one which was already strangling China, Iran and Italy. Good hand washing was essential, the refugees were told, as was social distancing. The refugees, many of whom came to Indonesia more than nine…
‘Children in a dog cage’: how coronavirus puts Asia’s most vulnerable at greater risk of homelessness, human trafficking
In Ha Giang, on Northern Vietnam’s border with China, dozens of ethnic minority communities live untouched by modernity, scattered between limestone pinnacles, snaking roads and dramatic valleys.In more normal times, many of the children born into these communities are cared for in government-run boarding schools. But, since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus these schools have shut, forcing the children to return to their homes, where many find broken families, domestic violence and little…
Coronavirus is paving the way for a return to military rule in Asia
As governments in Southeast Asia struggle to contain the spread of Covid-19, poor leadership, weak institutions and high levels of public mistrust have exposed the fragility of countries that made a transition to more democratic government over the past two decades. The worry is that coping with Covid-19 will mean a return to authoritarian habits, backed by military power. Two trends are discernible. The first is the tendency in those countries that have experienced either direct military rule…
Coronavirus: food security, Asia’s next battle in a post-Covid world
In the mist-covered Cameron Highlands of Malaysia, vegetable and fruit farmers are struggling to package and transport their produce as they face a logistical nightmare caused by a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.In the Philippines, farmers’ rights activists are worrying more than ever about malnutrition among smallholders who – also faced with movement restrictions – are turning to subsisting on their own crops as money needed to buy vegetables and meat dries up.In Singapore – one of the world…
North Korea insists it has no coronavirus cases, thanks to shutting borders, containment
North Korea remains totally free of the coronavirus, a senior health official in Pyongyang has insisted, despite mounting scepticism overseas as known cases of infection topped 1 million worldwide.The already isolated, nuclear-armed North quickly shut down its borders after the virus was first detected in neighbouring China, and imposed strict containment measures.Pak Myong Su, director of the anti-epidemic department of the North’s Central Emergency Anti-epidemic Headquarters, insisted that…
How Southeast Asia’s Chinese diaspora could play a leading role in defusing Sino-US rivalry
The row over The Wall Street Journal’s “Sick Man of Asia” headline was the latest in what Beijing has bemoaned as the West’s sustained smearing of China’s character. But the long Chinese history of indifference towards the outside world is partly to blame for these mischaracterisations. With the exception of Admiral Zheng He’s short-lived maritime expeditions during the Ming dynasty, imperial China rarely ventured beyond its borders. The Middle Kingdom, however, was not devoid of foreign…
Coronavirus: in India, after violence police try humour to enforce lockdown
One minute they’re dancing in the street in comical coronavirus helmets, the next they’re seen beating people for flouting a nationwide lockdown – Indian police have played “good cop, bad cop” in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus.The streets of India’s cities have been largely deserted for more than a week of the government’s 21-day lockdown – no mean feat in a country of 1.3 billion people famed for their flexible attitude towards authority.Police admit it has been hard work to keep…
Animals in Thailand’s private parks at risk of hunger as coronavirus pandemic keeps tourists away
Every year during Thailand’s Songkran festival, about 75 elephants at Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal entertain visitors by scooping up water with their trunks and splashing it on the crowds as part of the water fight the celebration is known for. The camp also draws tourists all year round for its elephant rides around the ruins of the old city of Ayutthaya.But this year, the elephants will be foraging for food in fields near the Unesco World Heritage Site as the Thai New Year…
Singapore house prices fall, central bank offers homeowners mortgage relief
House prices in Singapore fell this year as the coronavirus outbreak sent the economy into its steepest contraction in a decade.Property values declined 1.2 per cent in the three months ended March 31, according to a preliminary estimate from the Urban Redevelopment Authority released on Wednesday. That compares to a 0.5 per cent gain in the fourth quarter.Singapore’s new social distancing laws send needed signal, experts sayWith the city state limiting gatherings to a maximum 10 people, the…