East Asia

| CHINA – TIBET

Tomorrow is the anniversary of the abduction by Chinese authorities of the child designated as the reincarnation of the second-highest Tibetan Buddhist authority. This comes as concerns grow about possible interference in the succession of the Dalai Lama who is set to celebrate his 90th birthday shortly. Meanwhile, Tibet Radio was born in exile to fill the void left by the closure of the Tibetan-language service at Radio Free Asia and Voice of America.

by Daniele Frison

The Archbishop Emeritus of Bangkok has led the Thai Catholic Church with a focus on mission and inter-religious dialogue. He had promoted the foundation of the Thai Missionary Society - supported by PIME missionary Fr. Adriano Pelosin - closeness to the poor and openness to the Buddhist majority. He will be among the cardinal electors at the next Conclave.

| 03/05/2025
| TOWARDS CONCLAVE/16

The former labour minister will challenge the favourite candidate, the liberal Lee Jae-myung, in the elections on 3 June. In his acceptance speech, he promised ‘a strong alliance with anyone’ to defeat his rivals. Among his priorities are support for businesses and a hard line against North Korea. However, polls still give Lee a clear lead.

| 03/05/2025
| SOUTH KOREA

From Turkey and Iran to the Philippines and Japan, International Workers’ Day saw thousands of people take to the streets for workers' rights, often faced with violent clampdowns. Key demands include higher wages, social equity, and peace as well as criticism of global economic policies, especially Trump's tariffs. In Istanbul, hundreds are arrested; in Iran, teachers are beaten, while in Hong Kong, labour protest is now a fading memory.

| 02/05/2025
| ASIA – MIDDLE EAST

This is the estimate by the government-funded Korea Institute for Defense Analysis for North Korea’s shipment of weapons, men and technology to Russia. The supplies include 21,000 containers of weapons sent by sea. Between late 2024 and the start of 2025, North Korea sent almost 127,000 phishing emails to South Korean officials, journalists and researchers.

| 16/04/2025
| KOREA – RUSSIA
by Andrew Law

The incident took place on 23 March in the Diocese of Lüliang, but the authorities tried to hush it up. The intervention of special forces attracted other Catholics from the nearby village of Xinli, home to an old Catholic community. An officer was also wounded in the incident. The parish priest and some parishioners were arrested. The community was forced to engage in "self-criticism", but the increasingly inflexible rules on religions are the real problem.

| 16/04/2025
| CHINA

According to the 2025 Global Happiness Index, happiness and satisfaction vary greatly among Asian countries. In India, 88 per cent say they are happy, while only 60 per cent say the same in Japan. In Southeast Asia, too, happiness and positive attitude towards the future are higher than in the more advanced economies of East Asia. Economic difficulties remain the first cause of unhappiness everywhere.

| 15/04/2025
| ASIA
Editor's choices
 
A source in mainland China spoke to AsiaNews about the election of a pontiff born in a country that, according to state propaganda, is its archfoe against whom to flaunt China’s superiority. Yet, the open gaze of Chinese Catholics towards Leo XIV ...
| 14/05/2025
| CHINA
 
The local government is asking the Legislative Council (which it controls) to approve a new regulation that would hand over jurisdiction to mainland China in "complex cases" involving foreign countries. The measure appears tailored to the case of Jimmy ...
| 12/05/2025
| HONG KONG - CHINA
 
by Gianni Criveller
Leo XIV experienced the mission for a long time, in Peru first, as a reason for being alive. This is something new for a pontiff. He has already spoken about authority that should “disappear so that Christ remains.” The choice of the name ...
| 11/05/2025
| EDITORIAL
 
by Oswald Gracias *
The archbishop emeritus of Bombay (Mumbai), representative of Asia on Pope Francis’s Council of Cardinals, wrote to AsiaNews about the new pope. “He brings hopes, expectations, understanding, openness and a missionary thrust,” the cardinal ...
| 10/05/2025
| VATICAN – ASIA
 
by Alessandra De Poli
Cardinal Prevost, a spiritual son of St Augustine, was elected pope on the very day the Church celebrated the liturgical feast of the martyrs of Algeria, among whom were two Augustinian nuns. And in the description of the “disarmed and disarming” ...
| 09/05/2025
| VATICAN /1
 
Born in Chicago, he is the first pontiff from North America who also served as bishop of Chiclayo and has Peruvian citizenship. For two terms he was prior general of the Augustinians, a religious order also present in many Asian countries. Pope Francis ...
| 08/05/2025
| VATICAN
 
by Nirmala Carvalho
The Indian military claims that Operation Sindoor against Pakistan was “focused, measured and non-escalatory in nature.” Pakistan’s response killed students at a Catholic school. Sadly, “two students lost their lives, and their ...
| 07/05/2025
| INDIA – PAKISTAN
 
by Nirmala Carvalho
In a town of just 8,000 inhabitants in the state of Goa lie the roots of both the Indian Filipe Neri Ferrão and the Pakistani Joseph Coutts, who from this afternoon are participating as electors in the selection of the new pontiff. A sign of the ...
| 07/05/2025
| TOWARDS CONCLAVE
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”