Asia Pacific – Catalyst

The Global Community’s Response to Japan’s Fukushima Water Release Plan

April 28, 2021April 27, 20216 min read Ruolan Ma

The Japanese government plans to release the tritium-tainted water into the Pacific Ocean in small amounts over the next 30 years. However, the plan has received an overflowing of criticism from Japanese citizens and those abroad.

China’s Five-Year Plan Provides the First Insights To What the Future Holds After the COVID-19 Pandemic

April 22, 2021April 22, 20213 min read Kibel Aker

The preview of the 14th 5-year plan has provided a first look into how the economic recovery from the pandemic will be projected, and how current changes in the socio-economic balance of the nation will continue to hold significance in the future.

The Myth of the Oriental Beauty: The History of the Hypersexualization of Asian Women

April 9, 2021April 8, 20214 min read Ruolan Ma

After nearly 200 years, Asian women are still not being given the respect and dignity that they deserve, all because of a sick and incorrect stereotype. When will the world stop seeing Asian women through this hypersexualizing and dehumanizing filter?

Slave Labour in the Fashion Industry: Xinjiang’s Cotton

April 7, 2021April 24, 20217 min read Sage Pothier

One of the world’s largest cotton producers is China; the Xinjiang province in western China is now the origin of 20% of the world’s raw cotton. Yet a recent report gives strong indication that labour transfer programs are being used to force Uyghurs into cotton harvesting.

Interview with Kai Scott

April 4, 2021April 25, 20212 min read The Catalyst Editorial Board

The Catalyst team met with Kai Scott to discuss his upcoming article “Between the Practical and the Discursive: Nation-Building in West Papua” in the upcoming Spring 2021 edition of Chrysalis.

Interview with Shannon Greisman

April 3, 2021April 25, 20212 min read The Catalyst Editorial Board

The Catalyst team met with Shannon Greisman to discuss her upcoming article “Land Grabbing in Laos: The Legacies of Conflict on Contemporary Political Decision-Making” in the upcoming Spring 2021 edition of Chrysalis.

The Consequences of Fast-Fashion in the Global South

April 3, 2021April 3, 20217 min read Juliana Malka

Today, eco-colonialism is a major consequence of fast fashion practices stemming from the fatal environmental and the social consequences.

Genocide As A “Cultural Norm”: U.S. Selective Intervention in Global Humanitarian Crises

March 24, 2021April 30, 20216 min read Aakanksha Mathur

The contradiction in both declaring the violence against Uyghur Muslims in China as genocide and then defending limited US involvement because of different “cultural norms” is a stark reminder of the Janus-faced developmental diplomacy that forefronts US interests and provides yet another convenient facade for non-interventionist policy.

The Myanmar Coup: An Interview With A Myanmar Citizen

March 23, 2021April 11, 20216 min read Ruolan Ma

To get a better sense of this incident on the ground, Catalyst interviewed a 28-year old Burmese citizen living in Yangon.

Rebuilding the Roof of the World: Tibetan Human Rights

March 17, 2021March 19, 20214 min read Penni Tenzin

Once nicknamed the “roof of the world” due to the Tibetan plateau being among the highest in the world, in 2020, Tibet received the lowest score on the annual Freedom in the World Report by Freedom House, making it the “least free country in the world” tied with Syria.