This week on the Debrief we take a look at ASEAN’s summit meeting focusing on China’s territorial adventurism, Thailand’s ouster of its prime minister, national elections in South Africa, land development and animal rights in Taiwan.

  • The first summit this year of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of ASEAN, kicked off on Saturday in Naypyidaw, the capital city of Myanmar. This year, the issue of China’s territorial disputes in the East Sea, or South China Sea, was the top concern for the 10 ASEAN states…
  • Six months after political turmoil between the ruling party and its opposition, Thailand’s top court has ordered prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to step down, as she was found guilty of abusing her power in removing the Secretary General of the National Security Council, Thawil Pliensri, in 2011…
  • South Africa held its national parliamentary elections this past week, with results on Saturday showing the ruling African National Congress (ANC) taking 62.15% of total votes. The biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), took 22% and the more radical, far-left upstart Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) took 6% of the votes…
  • One of the largest land developers Farglory Group has come under fire for two ongoing projects in the greater Taipei area. The first project is the Taipei Dome project, which is a large scale redevelopment project on the site of the former manufacturing facilities for cigarettes by the Taiwan Monopoly Bureau…
  • On Saturday, animal protection and rights groups in Taiwan held a rally at the Ketagalan Boulevard calling for the government to trap, neuter and release stray animals as standard protocol…

(Feature photo of former Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, right, with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, CC BY-ND 2.0)

 

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