Since the partition of India in 1947, India stood as a multicultural beacon in a culturally divisive region. While the Sinhalese fought the Tamils in Sri Lanka, and the then Burmese government fought a range of different ethnic groups, Nehru’s…
Category: Asia
IFLRY Online Meeting on the Philippines
In this 6th IFLRY Online seminar, Celito Arlegue, Executive Director of the Council of Asian Liberals Democrats (CALD) discuss the political situation in the Philippines. Celito discusses the liberal conundrum that is posed by populist president Rodrigo Duterte. Who is fighting…
Where is South Korea at in Terms of LGBTQ Rights?
In this article, I am going to talk about where South Korea is with regards to LGBTQ rights, and how accepted queer people are. I am going to briefly introduce some of the work I have done as a queer…
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Two Years On: the Impact of the Panama Papers on Pakistan
In 2015, the Panama Papers revelation came as a shock to the whole world. The leaked documents revealed the information about the offshore financial assets and companies of politicians, celebrities and government officials everywhere. The revelations triggered mass protests against…
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My Thoughts on Conscription
The following post was written on my personal blog, the day before I enlisted into National Service (NS), a two year conscription military service every male citizen of Singapore has to go through. Exactly two years later, and recently out…
What the Lee Family Dispute Says About Singapore’s Politics
Singapore has been hit by political scandal. Yes, that clean, quiet, stable, protest-free city state; the one that’s supposedly good for business because there’s no political unrest and no independent trade unions. That Singapore. Yet, if you listened to the…
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When is a country not a country?
A primer on Taiwan/Republic of China/People’s Republic of China/One China Policy… That might sound like a bit of a stupid question – the definition for a country tends to be quite simple: “a nation with its own government, occupying a…
Taiwan’s Constitutional Court Rules in Favour of Gay Marriage
以下請見中文版 Two days ago, the constitutional court of Taiwan, the Judicial Yuan, ruled that the same-sex couples should have the right to get married – making Taiwan potentially the first country in Asia to legalise gay marriage. The court ruled that a stipulation…
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Corruption and mismanagement: a threat to democracy in South Asia
Citizens always expect the best from their leaders. They hope that their leaders will provide them with food, security, health and other basic necessities. However, if they fail to deliver, public sentiment will gradually start to change, which could result…
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How the Determination of Asian Liberals Inspired Me
My route to the CYPA was a little different from most, both practically and ideologically. Firstly, coming from the UK meant a marathon journey, hopping from Newcastle to Amsterdam, onwards to Beijing and then finally to the destination, and as…
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