Archive: May 2021



STORY OF THE DAY • May 24, 2021 • 9 min read
In Partnership with 1

In Laos, schools tackle much-needed education change amid virus outbreak

By Christine Redmond • May 24, 2021
Laos has long struggled with low standards among its teachers, resulting in very poor educational attainment among its youngest students. The recent Covid-19 outbreak has shuttered schools once more, pausing a much-needed shake up in the country’s approach to learning

STORY OF THE DAY • May 24, 2021 • 3 min read

Myanmar coup Myanmar’s Suu Kyi defiant in first comments since coup

By Agence France-Presse • May 24, 2021
Detained Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi voiced defiance on May 24 in her first public comments since being arrested following a military coup in February, vowing her ousted political party would "exist as long as the people exist"

STORY OF THE DAY • May 22, 2021 • 3 min read

Editorial Thai gastrodiplomacy and visions of Phnom Penh

By Andrew Haffner • May 22, 2021
This week we also covered the trust issues complicating Myanmar’s proposed civilian-led federal army and May’s dark history in Thailand

May 21, 2021 • 8 min read
Analysis

In Thailand, May is the month for coups, crackdowns, and villains

May is a month with a dark recent history in Thailand, from the 1992 Black May events that would see 52 people lose their lives in protests against strongman Suchinda Kraprayoon, to the 2014 coup d'etat that brought Prayut Chan-o-cha to power
By Mark S. Cogan • May 21, 2021

May 20, 2021 • 8 min read
Opinion

‘Phnom Penh should be a city designed for humans, not cars’

Phnom Penh is at a development crossroads – not yet carved up by major expressways, but with the potential to move in that direction. Future Forum researcher Aronsakda Ses urges authorities to stop and consider a more human-focused urban plan, before it's too late
By Ses Aronsakda • May 20, 2021

May 19, 2021 • 10 min read
Myanmar coup

Shan EAOs crucial to a federal army, but distrust and disunity reign

With continued talk of a federal army within Myanmar’s anti-coup opposition, ethnic armed organisations in Shan state, among the country's most powerful and potentially vital to a successful resistance force, are held back by mistrust of the unity government and one another
By Allegra Mendelson • May 19, 2021

May 18, 2021 • 4 min read
History

The evolution of Phnom Penh, as seen through maps

The capital’s growth has been centuries in the making. In this compilation sourced from libraries and other digitised collections, cartographers mapped the expansion of the city from a riverside settlement to a modern metropolis
By Andrew Haffner • May 18, 2021

May 17, 2021 • 11 min read
Cuisine

How Thailand pioneered food diplomacy across the globe

Thai restaurants are up there with Indian, Chinese and Italian as among the most common worldwide. This is no accident, with Thailand a pioneer in one of the most successful and subtle soft power cultural programmes ever implemented – culinary diplomacy
By Kiana Duncan • May 17, 2021

May 17, 2021 • 2 min read
Business

Indonesian unicorns to merge, creating tech giant

Two of Indonesia's most successful start-ups, ride-hailing giant Gojek and e-commerce firm Tokopedia, are to merge, the companies announced on May 17, creating the largest tech firm in the world's fourth most populous country
By Agence France-Presse • May 17, 2021

May 15, 2021 • 3 min read
Editorial

Our big fundraiser has officially begun

Plus: Inside Myanmar’s art protests, the feminist view of Vietnam’s new pro-family directives, the perils of negotiating with the Tatmadaw and a very intimate view of modern Cambodian history
By Andrew Haffner • May 15, 2021