Published daily by the Lowy Institute

Digital Asia links: ISIS in Indonesia, South China Sea hacks, WeChat in Africa and more

Digital Asia links: ISIS in Indonesia, South China Sea hacks, WeChat in Africa and more

The Asia Pacific is the most dynamic digital landscape in the world, home to the fastest adopters of new technologies and the largest concentration of mobile and social media users. An escalation in online activism, changing cyber dynamics, developments in digital diplomacy and the exploitation of big data are shaping the region's engagement with the world.

  • Fairfax reports that an ANU PhD student is behind an ultra-nationalist viral video posted on Weibo by the Chinese Government this week. The topic being studied by the PhD scholar? Chinese e-diplomacy.
  • Stitching together satellite imagery from a variety of sources, The Phnom Penh Post shows readers how the city has dramatically transformed over the last 15 years.
  • New documentary Jihad Selfie outlines the role of social media in inspiring potential ISIS recruits in Indonesia.
  • Facebook contest in Taiwan to satirically 'apologise to China' (started after a series of Taiwanese actors and pop stars posted online apologies to the mainland) has attracted a response from Chinese netizens on Weibo.
  • Fiji's Prime Minister has called on citizens to expose cyber thugs who he alleges are misusing social media.
  • Does the sale of Uber's China division to hailing app Didi Chuxing signal the end for US tech companies in China?
  • Inside the Singapore Government's lab of the future.
  • Africa's mobile market is booming and China's largest messaging platform WeChat (currently 5 million users across the continent) is hoping its suite of features will make it an attractive alternative to the more dominant WhatsApp.
  • How Prime Minister Hun Sen became Cambodia's Facebooker-in-Chief.
  • A great piece in the NY Times on how Cantonese cuisine helped this journalist's parents become YouTube Stars.
  • Chinese hacker group 1937CN has denied it launched cyber-attacks at two major airports in Vietnam last week, in the wake of the 12 July Hague ruling. The hacks, which distorted flight information and posted insulting messages about Vietnam and the Philippines online, also took over the airport's loudspeaker system (h/t Peter):

 




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