Digital Asia links: #Tianjin, Myanmar flood app, Tinder in North Korea & 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.

• Follow Twitter hashtag #Tianjin for updates on Wednesday's terrible explosion in northeast China.
• Associate Professor Guobin Yang has shared this drawing, popular on Weibo, portraying the Tianjin explosions.
• Does popular mobile dating app Tinder really have users in North Korea?
• The 2013 science-fiction movie 'Her' is playing out in China, with Microsoft's 'girlfriend' chatbot (called Xiaoice) proving a huge hit with smartphone users.
• Taiwanese independence supporters are re-designing their passports and uploading them to social media.
• A handy backgrounder on how to get the most out of WeChat.
• Tech developers in Myanmar have built an app and website to track flooded locations, donations and news.
• Chinese actress Xu Jinglei has sparked a widespread social media debate about Chinese state control of women's reproductive rights after admitting to traveling to the US in 2013 to freeze her eggs.
• It's only a matter of time before taxi and ride-sharing apps make it big in Pakistan.
• Indian rapper Sofia Ashraf has parodied the popular Nicky Minaj song 'Anaconda' to draw attention to the alleged mercury poisoning of workers in the city of Kodaikanal. Three million views later, it's safe to say it has gone viral (h/t Asia Digital Life Project) :

Danielle Cave