@mongster is a Manila-based activist, former Philippine legislator, and blogger/analyst of Asia-Pacific affairs.
Written for IFEX Internet restrictions, AI-driven disinformation, and mass arrests have intensified ahead of major elections across Asia. These attacks undermine freedom of expression at a time when elections are supposed to restore or strengthen democratic rule and counter authoritarianism in the region. A key takeaway from Asia’s election experience is the need to revisit […]
October 2023: Elusive justice: Combatting election disinformation and impunity; journalists freed in China and Afghanistan. As the world prepares to mark another International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, on 2 November, the fight against impunity continues in the Philippines and Pakistan. Cheng Lei returns home to Australia, Mortaza Behboudi walks free in […]
July 2023: Journalists and activists from China and Pakistan targeted by transnational repression, prolonged internet shutdown in Manipur hides extent of communal violence, Cambodia blocked websites after disqualifying the opposition, and defiant Afghan women protested against repressive Taliban policies. Read more August 2023. Taliban marks its second year in power amid worsening repression targeting women […]
Published by Bayan Metro Manila Myanmar’s junta and the Philippines’ Duterte government are among the worst violators of human rights today. After grabbing power on February 1, the Tatmadaw (armed forces) detained the country’s duly elected leaders and brutally suppressed the anti-coup resistance. The Philippines is among the many countries which expressed concern over the […]
April 2023. Fiji’s media victory, Vietnam’s “Kafkaesque trial”, and World Press Freedom Day in the Asia-Pacific: A historic win for the media in Fiji, a “Kafkaesque trial” in Vietnam, a Taiwanese publisher detained in China, a new law threatens free speech in India, and IFEX members across Asia-Pacific mark World Press Freedom Day. Read more […]
New Year: A cruel carousel in Myanmar, Ressa’s acquittal “in the upside down”, a quiet crackdown in China, and censored videos. A tax court acquitted journalist Maria Ressa, China has quietly launched a crackdown on anti-lockdown protesters, India ordered YouTube and Twitter to block a BBC documentary, and Fiji’s new government has promised to restore […]
The continuing pandemic exacerbated the suffering of many in 2022, but we also witnessed how resistance emerged in a context of intensified political crisis and government repression across the region. Protesters demanding the ouster of corrupt regimes, journalists exposing abuse, women resisting tyranny, and civil society groups promoting solidarity – below, we share examples of […]
Impunity persists across Asia, as states fail to provide adequate protection to journalists. This was the common message of Asia-based civil society groups that marked the International Day to End Impunity (IDEI) for Crimes Against Journalists on 2 November by highlighting the efforts of so many stakeholders to counter attacks against the media and hold […]
‘Environment of fear’, court convictions across Asia, and a new mandate for China’s Xi Jinping. Pakistani journalists attacked in and out of the country, 100 days of media freedom decline in the Philippines, court convictions and harassment across the region, and the human rights implication of Xi Jinping’s re-election as China’s supreme leader. Read more… […]
July 2022: “Lethal force behind a veil of legality”: Executions, repressive media laws, and protests across Asia. Attacks against the media did not stop even after a change in government in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and the Philippines. Meanwhile, the junta in Myanmar has resorted to executing anti-coup activists. August 2022: Women’s rights crisis in Afghanistan, […]
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