Kiana Duncan

Kiana Duncan

Kiana Duncan is a former reporter at Southeast Asia Globe based in Phnom Penh. She grew up in Ohio. After working in both China and Myanmar, she’s interested in stories on Sino-ASEAN relations, soft power and culture exchange, and development.

EMAIL kianaduncan096@gmail.com TWITTER @KianaDuncan_

Articles by Kiana Duncan

Sep 07, 2021 • 10 min read
Education

“I was really desperate”: Myanmar’s student exodus amidst military coup

With universities and schools stalled in post-coup Myanmar, students are looking to other countries for ways of continuing their education. But the road out is fraught with danger, a long list of difficult administrative tasks and a heavy financial burden
By Kiana Duncan - Sep 07, 2021

Aug 17, 2021 • 10 min read
Myanmar coup

Myanmar’s garment workers squeezed between boycotts, brands and junta

As large fashion brands begin placing garment orders once again in Myanmar, the sector's largely female workforce must balance diminished worker’s rights, threats to physical safety and post-coup political considerations with the need for a paycheque
By Kiana Duncan - Aug 17, 2021

Aug 02, 2021 • 12 min read
Myanmar coup

In Myanmar, activists battle to preserve ethnic languages following coup

Under the looming threat of violence since Myanmar's coup, activists in the country are working to ensure the highly-politicised programmes working to preserve ethnic languages don’t go missing for good, even if it means going into hiding
By Kiana Duncan - Aug 02, 2021

Jul 27, 2021 • 4 min read
Mini-documentary

Pushed to the streets: Phnom Penh’s sex workers during Covid-19

As KTVs and massage parlours continue to be interrupted, sex workers in Phnom Penh say they’re increasingly desperate for clients as debt piles up. With limited ability to change jobs and scant government aid, many have turned to the streets to find customers
By Kiana Duncan and Ines Sothea - Jul 27, 2021

Jun 28, 2021 • 13 min read
Fintech

The secret to advanced fintech in Southeast Asia’s poorest countries

In Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, three of Southeast Asia's least-developed and most unbanked nations, unique socio-economic contexts have contributed to the growth of fintech that wouldn't look out of place in some of the world's most developed economies
By Kiana Duncan - Jun 28, 2021

Jun 07, 2021 • 12 min read
Myanmar coup

The Tatmadaw has mass surveillance technology, but how well is it used?

Following Myanmar’s coup, the junta’s surveillance abilities have been touted based on Chinese and Russian tech imports. But experts say despite this equipment, a lack of capacity and infrastructure in the outdated institution keeps low-tech methods at the forefront
By Kiana Duncan and Allegra Mendelson - Jun 07, 2021

May 31, 2021 • 9 min read
Covid-19

In Cambodia, Siem Reap airport feels the full force of tourism downturn

As flights to Siem Reap airport dropped to an unprecedented zero last month, workers at the once-bustling entry point are facing reduced pay and layoffs. Like their tourism counterparts across the struggling city, many make ends meet with loans and ad hoc work
By Kiana Duncan - May 31, 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 10, 2021 • 9 min read
Myanmar coup

The portrait artists honouring Myanmar’s imprisoned and murdered

As violence worsens on Myanmar's streets, artists are making sure the fallen and imprisoned are known as more than just headlines. Through vibrant comics and portraits, their storytelling is bringing protesters' struggles and sacrifices to an international audience
By Kiana Duncan - May 10, 2021

Apr 27, 2021 • 11 min read
Myanmar coup

As journalists come under fire, Myanmar’s underground media grows

With internet shutdowns and journalists facing growing violence and censorship in the wake of Myanmar's military coup, a new band of citizen reporters are forming underground, grassroots media outlets to step in and fill the information void left behind
By Kiana Duncan - Apr 27, 2021

Apr 14, 2021 • 13 min read
Finance

Inside Cambodia’s CSX, one of the world’s smallest stock exchanges

Until last year, Cambodia’s stock exchange was the second smallest globally, behind only Myanmar. While a mega-listing in 2020 gave the bourse a much-needed boost, the success or stagnation of this tiny market hangs in the balance as firms remain hesitant to list
By Kiana Duncan - Apr 14, 2021

Apr 02, 2021 • 14 min read
Sex work

Criminals or victims? Cambodia’s sex workers suffer under legal limbo

In a country rife with anti-trafficking efforts, the Cambodian government’s failure to clearly define and distinguish between prostitution and trafficking creates loose standards for police and NGOs targeting sex workers, worsening exploitation in unsafe working conditions
By Kiana Duncan - Apr 02, 2021

Mar 18, 2021 • 10 min read
Publishing

Once a necessity, book piracy today holds Cambodian literature back

Book piracy was an essential act in the post-Khmer Rouge years, providing affordable literature to the masses. But today, lost revenue as a result of illegal counterfeiting is holding Cambodia back from developing a flourishing publishing scene of its own
By Kiana Duncan - Mar 18, 2021

Mar 10, 2021 • 8 min read
Migrant rights

The photography project empowering Rohingya refugees to tell their stories

Rohingya living in refugee camps in Bangladesh are deprived of basic services, most importantly their right to work and become self-sufficient. But through an ongoing photography and storytelling project, one documentary filmmaker is hoping to change that
By Kiana Duncan - Mar 10, 2021

Mar 01, 2021 • 10 min read
History

Photography book remembers Cambodian refugee resettlement in Chicago

Photographer Stuart Isett spent three years photographing Chicago's small Cambodian community in the early 90s. Thirty years later, his photos are resurfacing in a new book drawing attention back to a little-remembered generation of Cambodian-Americans in the US
By Kiana Duncan - Mar 01, 2021

Feb 25, 2021 • 5 min read
Myanmar coup

Over 100,000 Myanmar company registrations leaked: here’s why it matters

As the international community deliberates effective sanctions on Myanmar’s military-owned enterprises, a leaked file containing company registrations was made public to little fanfare this week, connecting the military to multiple industries and sectors
By Kiana Duncan - Feb 25, 2021

Feb 19, 2021 • 10 min read
Myanmar coup

Myanmar’s politics of disaster: How the coup could worsen the pandemic

Following Myanmar's military coup, observers have pointed to how Covid conditions created an opportune moment for the putsch. But with services interrupted, health professionals marching and mass gatherings in the streets, will the coup exacerbate the pandemic?
By Kiana Duncan - Feb 19, 2021

Feb 12, 2021 • 9 min read
Myanmar coup

How to squeeze Myanmar’s military without hurting its people

Boycotts are taking place across Myanmar as citizens attempt to hurt the military-affiliated firms embedded throughout the wider economy. But for those out of the country, the question now is how to hit the pockets of the Tatmadaw without harming the people
By Kiana Duncan - Feb 12, 2021

Feb 02, 2021 • 10 min read
Myanmar coup

Myanmar’s military coup: Why now, and where do we go from here?

As Myanmar grapples with the aftermath of the coup that unfolded in the early hours of February 1, observers are speculating as to the reasons behind the timing of the power grab, as well as the long-term impact that a military government could have on the country
By Kiana Duncan and Allegra Mendelson - Feb 02, 2021

May 12, 2020 • 4 min read
Social media

Facebook: The cause of and solution to Myanmar’s fake news problem?

Long closed off to the world, free engagement with the internet for Myanmar's citizens only began in the past decade. Today, media literacy remains low and fake news abounds on social media platforms like Facebook – but there are companies working to change that
By Kiana Duncan - May 12, 2020