I'm a writer for the World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) covering news and events in the Asia-Pacific region from the perspective of Marxism, Leninism, and Trotskyism.
I also write on historical issues typically related to China, Korea, and Japan.
Coup prospects overshadow Thailand elections
Amid widespread social discontent, Thailand is holding a general election this Sunday. Whatever the outcome, none of the parties taking part in the contest has any progressive solutions to the crisis facing the country’s working class and youth. All of the parties represent the interests of rival factions of the country’s ruling class.
4일 한국에서 2만146명의 코로나19 확진자가 추가됐다. 코로나19 팬데믹이 끝지 않는다.
On May 4th, 20,146 new COVID19 cases were confirmed in South Korea. The pandemic is not over.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida recently concluded a tour of Africa, which included stops in Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique. His trip was aimed at undercutting Chinese and Russian influence in the region while expanding Japan’s presence, as well as rallying support for the US/NATO-instigated war against Russia in Ukraine.
Japan exploits Chinese balloon incident to justify war plans
The Japanese government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has seized on the so-called Chinese spy balloon incident in the United States to step up its own plans for war and remilitarization. In doing so, Tokyo is marching in lockstep with Washington, which is demonizing Beijing in order to carry out its imperialist agenda in East Asia.
US exploits North Korea’s missile test to flex military muscle
Amid increasing US provocations in East Asia, North Korea test fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Saturday. The launch was in response to upcoming US-South Korea joint war games and was quickly seized on by Washington to flex its military might around the Korean Peninsula as it prepares for war with China.
Malaysian workers face intensifying economic and social crisis
Like the rest of the world, Malaysia’s workers and poor are confronting record levels of inflation. Food inflation in particular has compounded longstanding social problems such as poor wages and unaffordable housing.
The East Palestine rail disaster and the case for workers’ power
The train derailment and release of huge amounts of toxic chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio, is the type of catastrophe that reveals certain fundamental features about the society that produced it.The scale of the disaster is shocking. That it happened, however, is not.
#trainderailment #derailment #Ohio #EastPalestine #railway #NorfolkSouthern
Biden admitted that the balloons he'd ordered shot down were most likely harmless. So why destroy them? He gave no explanation, but his threats against China gave away his attempt to create an anti-Chinese panic. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/02/17/fxdv-f17.html
Railroad workers confirm “nasty” toxic train “broke down” two days prior to crash in East Palestine, Ohio
Two weeks after a massive Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals derailed and burst into flames just outside East Palestine, Ohio, railroad workers have confirmed to CBS News that the train, which originated in Madison, Illinois, “broke down” the evening of February 1, two days prior to the crash.
East Palestine, Ohio, residents demand answers after release of toxic chemicals
“We are told there is nothing in the water and the air is fine, so why are people getting sick?” one worker, Linda Murphy, demanded to know. “That is why people are upset. We can’t get answers, all we get is a run-around.”
South Korean opposition leader under investigation
The leader of South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party of Korea is under investigation on corruption-related charges as well as claims he is connected to the transfer of a money to North Korea in 2019.
The charges against him are not simply about corruption but point to growing social tensions as the government targets opposition figures while reviving old autocratic methods of rule.
The toxic rail disaster in Ohio: The homicidal indifference of the ruling class
The conscious exposure of the residents of East Palestine, Ohio, and the surrounding area to a toxic brew of chemicals in a “controlled burn” last week has once again laid bare the homicidal indifference of the capitalist ruling elite to the lives and well-being of the working class in its ruthless pursuit of profit.
US defense secretary in South Korea to further war preparations against China
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visited South Korea January 30 and 31 for talks with President Yoon Suk-yeol and Defense Minister Lee Jong-seop. The trip was part of Washington’s efforts to consolidate alliances in the region in preparation for a US-instigated war against China.
Despite Biden’s lies, the COVID emergency continues
On Monday, the Biden administration announced its intention to formally end the COVID-19 national emergency and public health emergency declarations on May 11. This is a deeply reactionary and unscientific policy change, which will have vast consequences for the American and international working class.
Biotechnology professor Greg Foley dies after bravely documenting impact of his COVID infection
On January 12, just days before his death, Greg made the brave decision to chronicle his illness as a vulnerable patient on Twitter as a warning to others, and to oppose those, including in academia, who downplayed the severity of COVID. He also opposed anti-vaxxers and others seeking to minimize the danger of COVID infection.
China’s massive COVID-19 death toll: Social murder at the behest of imperialism
Acting in direct response to demands from giant corporations and imperialist governments, the Beijing bureaucracy has unleashed a wave of infection and death.
World leaders recently met at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Those assembled did not treat COVID-19 as a thing of the past, but were exceedingly vigilant in protecting themselves.
The hypocrisy couldn’t be more vivid as many of those in attendance have been openly declaring an end to the pandemic and calling for the elimination of any public health measures to protect the population.
South Korean government lifts indoor mask mandate while COVID-19 continues to run rampant
The South Korean government of President Yoon Suk-yeol has announced that it will lift the indoor mask mandate to limit the spread of COVID-19 on Monday, January 30. This is despite the fact that the virus continues to run rampant throughout the country, with the official number of cases in the tens of thousands daily.
The shooting in Monterey Park, California, took place within the context of a wave of violence against Asian Americans, and Chinese Americans in particular. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2023/01/23/czst-j23.html
