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MIGHT AND RIGHT: THE POWER OF ONE MAN
(Published in the Bangkok Post, February 17, 2014)BY PHILIP J CUNNINGHAMChess maestro Garry Kasparov has made a small but meaningful contribution to free speech in journalistic circles by challenging...
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SUTHEP: WHEN HARD TALK IS HEART TALK
(first published in the Bangkok Post, March 3, 2014)By Philip J CunninghamTo borrow a formulation often used to describe democracy, a peaceful overthrow of a rotten regime is the worst possible option,...
View ArticleWATCHING THE WATCHDOGS WATCHING US
by Philip J CunninghamGood journalism has boundaries but it knows no borders. It is not without guidelines and a guiding spirit, but it is not beholden to any person or power. We live in an age of...
View ArticleSilver lines in thunder clouds
Note: There has been a predictable outcry from the international press about the most recent coup in Thailand. A coup is admittedly a less than ideal way for a nation to get its house in order....
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TIANANMEN LOCKDOWN
This is an account of a visit to Tiananmen Square in quiet commemoration of the events of 1989. On June 2, 2014 security was extremely tight, but it was possible to spend half a day on the Square. The...
View ArticleSLUMMING IN BANGKOK
(An excerpt from "Birds of Paradise" ) A European tour group nervously skitters by, rushing in the torrid heat to board the air-conditioned bus parked in front of the tourist emporium. Bun tugs John's...
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FACING HISTORY OR DEFACING HISTORY?
(scene from Canglang on Guizhou Satellite TV)Canglang, or "Blue Wolf," as it is known in English, is just one of many Chinese TV serial dramas that takes the contemporary viewer back into the thick of...
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CCTV NEWS COVERS THE "JAPAN THREAT"
Japan in the news, as seen on CCTV in China.China is rising, peacefully and with great confidence, and Japan is keeping the peace, despite talk of trashing the "Peace Constitution," but there's been...
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ENTERTAINING SINO-JAPANESE PREJUDICES
China has a long tradition of producing war movies for propaganda purposes; mostly good versus evil dramas drawn from the all-too-real and all-too-brutal war against the invading Japanese (kangri...
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WHEN GALAXIES COLLIDE, A NEW ERA IS BORN
(Cartoon about enjoying peaceful rally by cartoonists Bancha/Khamin, from Manager) THAILAND IN FLUX by Philip J CunninghamWhen galaxies collide, strange things happen. Collisions are not inevitable,...
View ArticleDEFT DIPLOMATIC TOUCH
BY PHILIP J CUNNINGHAMThe appointment of Caroline Kennedy as US Ambassador to Japan is about as inspired a choice as a non-merit based appointment can be, because the optics work for Americans and...
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CHINA AS SEEN FROM THE SHELVES OF A CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE BOOKSTORE
China is a topic of abiding interest in Japan for reasons that are both obvious and obscure. It's Japan's most powerful neighbor and biggest rival. It's the ancient home of Japan's formal culture and...
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KOYAMA: HIDDEN FORTRESS OF FANTASY JAPAN MANGA, ANIME AND SUSHI IN THE HEART...
A photo essay of a manga and anime themed restaurant in Sanlitun, Beijing
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LESSONS FROM THE FIRST SINO-JAPANESE WAR
Film poster for "Jiawudahaizhan" (2012) which examines the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5This coming August marks the 120th anniversary of the...
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CHINA'S TV WAR MACHINE
New York TimesThe Opinion Pages| OP-ED CONTRIBUTORChina's TV War MachineBy PHILIP J. CUNNINGHAM SEPT. 11, 2014China, the late 1930s. A village is under siege by Japanese troops. A band of Chinese...
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NANKIN MACHI: A FANTASY OF OLD CHINA LOST IN TIME
A stroll through Kobe's gated Chinatown gives the visitor not so much a glimpse of China as it gives a glimpse of a Japan-imagined China, replete with red lanterns, pigtailed dolls, kungfu heroes and...
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NHK: CITIZEN-FUNDED, ABE-CONTROLLED
"Let's take back Japan" is code for "Let's trash history to put Japan in best possible light"BY PHILIP J CUNNINGHAMNHK, Japan’s answer to BBC, is apparently mulling a ban on topics of historical...
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