Asia and the Pacific
Australian government’s citizenship cancellation sets anti-democratic precedent
By Mike Head, 8 December 2020
Benbrika has become a test case for police-state powers that can be invoked more broadly, including against anti-war and other political activists.
New Zealand housing crisis worsens under Labour
By John Braddock, 8 December 2020
The housing crisis, exacerbating the massive transfer of wealth from the working class to the rich, further exposes the pro-business agenda of the Ardern-led government,
8 December 2020
Modi maneuvers as support for Indian farmers’ protest swells
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 8 December 2020
Millions of people will join protests across India today to express support for a farmers’ agitation that has become a major challenge to the far-right BJP government and its social incendiary pro-investor policies.
999 SEP Australia online meeting report
8 December 2020
Karnataka chief minister plots with company to smash strike by Indian Toyota workers
By Arun Kumar, 8 December 2020
An article in the Economic Times cited a source who explained that the government could prosecute workers for obstructing manufacturing activity at the plant.
Strong response to Australian SEP meeting on COVID-19 and the lessons of 2020
By our reporter, 8 December 2020
SEP speakers detailed the global impact of COVID-19 on youth and workers and the revolutionary socialist program needed to combat the escalating social catastrophe created by the profit system.
Sri Lankan government activates lie machine to cover up prison killings
By Pradeep Ramanayake, 5 December 2020
Colombo has reacted to opposition to the shooting of unarmed protesting prisoners with increased repression.
Beijing intensifies crackdown on Hong Kong political opposition
By Peter Symonds, 5 December 2020
Three opposition activists in Hong Kong were sentenced to jail terms this week on trumped-up charges for their part in a so-called unauthorised assembly during large-scale protests in support of democratic rights last year.
999 US autoworkers respond to strikes in Korea
5 December 2020
Sri Lankan nurses and educators protest; Auto-parts workers strike for union rights in Tamil Nadu: Garbage truck drivers resume walkout in Queensland
Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia
5 December 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
New Zealand government denounces China’s condemnation of Australian war crimes
By Tom Peters, 5 December 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern did not condemn the murder of at least 39 unarmed people in Afghanistan by Australian special forces, but denounced a Chinese official’s tweet that drew attention to these war crimes.
999 Chinese defence minister visits Nepal to boost military ties
5 December 2020
ILO survey reveals COVID-19 impact on Bangladeshi women garment workers
By Wimal Perera, 4 December 2020
COVID-19 continues to rage through the country with the number of infections climbing to almost 470,000 and the death toll at 6,713.
New Zealand inquiry suppresses evidence about fascist terror attack
By Tom Peters, 3 December 2020
The royal commission’s report into the massacre of 51 people in Christchurch in March 2019 by fascist Brenton Tarrant is destined to be a whitewash, with crucial evidence being kept secret.
Australian court upholds sacking of academic for criticising US and Israeli militarism
By Mike Head, 3 December 2020
The court’s anti-democratic ruling further shreds academic freedom, as well as trade union claims to have protected it via enterprise bargaining agreements.
Australian ruling elite responds to Chinese condemnation of Afghan war crimes with nationalist hysteria
By Oscar Grenfell, 2 December 2020
Having covered up and downplayed the atrocities against Afghan civilians, Australia’s official parties and the corporate media are up in arms about a tweet condemning the war crimes.
Indian Toyota workers continue month-long strike against speedup
By Arun Kumar, 2 December 2020
Over 3,000 workers at two Toyota Kirloskar Motor-owned car assembly plants in Bidadi are continuing a four-week-long strike in defiance of the state government’s back-to-work order.
Strikes by Kia and GM workers continue in South Korea
By Peter Symonds, 2 December 2020
The strikes are part of far broader discontent, anger and unrest among auto workers internationally over job losses, deteriorating conditions and the health threats posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australian war crimes report: A damning indictment of the barbarity in Afghanistan
By Socialist Equality Party (Australia), 2 December 2020
The depraved abuses flowed inevitably from the nature of the war itself—a brutal operation to crush all resistance to the imposition of US control over the country.
Eight protesting inmates demanding COVID-19 protection shot dead in Sri Lankan prison
By Pradeep Ramanayake, 1 December 2020
The brutal Mahara Prison killings are not an aberration but are in line with the increasingly repressive methods being employed to suppress opposition to the government’s COVID-19 response.
COVID-19 and the lessons of 2020: A socialist perspective for the struggles ahead
1 December 2020
The Socialist Equality Party and International Youth and Students for Social Equality in Australia are holding an online public meeting to discuss the program the working class must adopt to fight the social, economic and political crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fiji and Australia to negotiate new military pact
By John Braddock, 1 December 2020
The move to establish closer Fiji-Australian military ties is part of the intensifying US-led build-up to counter China’s influence in the south west Pacific.
Rent debt “bomb” points to depth of social crisis in Australia
By Mike Head, 1 December 2020
Hundreds of thousands of working-class households could face eviction as temporary COVID-19 pandemic moratoriums end.
Workers from Turkey defend Dr. Scalice against the attacks by Jose Sison and the CPP
By our reporters, 30 November 2020
“Workers from all over the world, we must speak up to show our support for his efforts, especially in countries with a belated capitalist development such as Turkey or the Philippines.”
This week in history: November 30-December 6
30 November 2020
75 years ago: General Douglas MacArthur, the effective leader of US-occupied Japan, ordered the arrest of former Prime Minister Fumimaro Konoe and eight of the country’s other civilian and military leaders for war crimes, setting the stage for criminal prosecutions.
Migrants protest in India demanding right to return to New Zealand
By Tom Peters, 30 November 2020
An estimated 2,000 work NZ visa holders have been stuck in India for nine months, many of whom have lost their jobs and are in severe hardship.
Australia: Coles imposes three-month lockout on 350 warehouse workers
By our reporters, 30 November 2020
The attack by the supermarket chain is aimed at establishing a brutal precedent for other distribution centres and workers’ conditions more broadly.
Sri Lankan government orders schools to reopen, threatening thousands with COVID-19
By Pradeep Ramanayake, 30 November 2020
In line with its dangerous and irresponsible “new normal” coronavirus policies, the Rajapakse government is sending students and teachers back to school.
Bangladeshi garment workers demand unpaid wages; Sri Lankan hospital workers protest for better conditions; LNG platform workers in Western Australia continue strike
Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia
28 November 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Australian paramedics under mounting pressure
By Margaret Rees, 28 November 2020
Even before they were placed on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, paramedics reported the highest rates of workplace injury of any occupation.
Papua New Guinea embroiled in ongoing political turmoil
By John Braddock, 28 November 2020
With a deepening economic and social disaster, the defection of MPs to the opposition has pitched the James Marape-led government into crisis.
Australian PM seeks to protect revenue from China while reasserting US alliance
By Mike Head, 27 November 2020
Morrison pleaded that Australia should not have to choose between its “enduring alliance” with the US and a “beneficial relationship” with China.
Union official denounces WSWS, seeks to intimidate workers at Australia Post meeting
By Oscar Grenfell, 27 November 2020
At a meeting last week, a CEPU official responded to a workers’ call for collective action with a hysterical outburst against the World Socialist Web Site and the Socialist Equality Party.
‘Popoy’ Lagman: A Stalinist rival of the Communist Party of the Philippines
By John Malvar, 27 November 2020
While he rejected the armed struggle in the countryside, Lagman, like Sison, sought to subordinate Filipino workers to their class enemies, the bourgeoisie, in the name of national democracy.
Thai protesters defy threat of draconian lèse-majesté law
By Peter Symonds, 26 November 2020
Some 15,000 demonstrators joined the protest which was directed against the monarchy and the current King Maha Vajiralongkorn in particular, who has transferred crown assets worth an estimated $40 billion into his own hands.
Australian war crimes report points to history of military atrocities and coverups
By Mike Head, 26 November 2020
For all the mythology of heroic and honourable armed forces, the report outlines more than a century of illegal killings, massacres and other abuses.
Australia: Residents speak out against northern NSW school closures
By Kaye Tucker, 26 November 2020
“For families like mine, this is a real panic situation! I’m in social housing and very grateful to have a roof over our heads, but if I can’t give my son a quality education in the area, then I am going to have to move.”
India’s ruling elite welcomes Biden-Harris victory in US presidential election
By Deepal Jayasekera, 26 November 2020
The warm welcome for the President-elect is based on the calculation that a Biden administration will be no less committed than Trump’s to expanding the anti-China Indo-US “global strategic partnership.”
Surge in COVID-19 cases in Indonesia
By Robert Campion, 25 November 2020
Conscious of the growing opposition to his policies, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has been pinning hopes on an early vaccination program.
Further statements from Australia in defence of Dr. Scalice against the slanders of the CPP
By our reporters, 25 November 2020
“Presenting the truth, especially in history, is a dangerous activity because it exposes class interests, interests which the ruling class, and its supporters, will defend with all measures.”
Sri Lankan budget: Tax bonanza for big business and increased burdens on working people
By Saman Gunadasa, 25 November 2020
The Rajapakse government’s tax concessions for the rich and cuts to education and other vital social services will drastically hit workers and the poor struggling to deal with the impact of COVID-19.
University of Sydney staff hold walk-out, protest sackings of entire departments
By Jack Turner, 24 November 2020
The latest retrenchments include entire departments, taking the attack on jobs and conditions to a qualitatively new level.
Labor governments presided over most confirmed Australian war crimes in Afghanistan
By Oscar Grenfell, 24 November 2020
Many of the war crimes flowed out of Labor’s escalation of Australia’s role in the occupation of Afghanistan, including in US-led “kill or capture” operations.
New Zealand government, media downplay Australian war crimes in Afghanistan
By Tom Peters, 24 November 2020
Prime Minister Ardern did not condemn the Australian war crimes, as her government has sought to cover up similar atrocities committed by New Zealand special forces.
Australian university union blocks opposition as cuts to jobs and conditions intensify
By Mike Head, 24 November 2020
Every week brings new announcements of retrenchments as the managements exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to accelerate pro-business restructuring.
Embattled Australian Labor Party leader appeals for business support
By Mike Head, 23 November 2020
Albanese used a corporate fundraiser to declare Labor is “pro-aspiration, pro-entrepreneurship, pro-wealth creation and pro-growth.”
Australia: Union shuts down nurses’ strike at Sydney’s Blacktown Hospital
By Clare Bruderlin, 23 November 2020
Nurses and midwives walked out because of the deaths of five babies at the hospital in under two years, ongoing staffing shortages and concerns about patient safety.
Solomon Islands government to ban Facebook
By John Braddock, 23 November 2020
The ban follows moves by governments across the Pacific to attack freedom of speech and basic democratic rights amid escalating social crises and political instability.
This week in history: November 23-29
23 November 2020
On November 29, 1945, the Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia was proclaimed following the successful repulsion of Nazi Germany’s attempt to subjugate the country, and Germany’s defeat in World War II in May. The establishment of the republic involved the deposing of King Peter II and the end of the Karađorđević dynasty that he headed. It was the outcome of a mass partisan struggle against fascism.
Sri Lankan artists discuss COVID-19 and its impact on their creative work, living conditions
By Wasantha Rupasinghe, 21 November 2020
Musical performances, theatre, film and teledrama production, book exhibitions and similar activities have almost entirely come to a halt. Kapila Kumara Kalinga and Malaka Devapriya spoke to the WSWS about the situation.
CFPE online meeting: The global fight for educator and student safety in the COVID-19 pandemic
By The CFPE (Australia), 21 November 2020
The Committee for Public Education (CFPE) invites educators, students and working people in Australia and internationally to participate in an online meeting on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools, college, universities and other educational institutions.
India: Karnataka college staff strike over unpaid salaries; Tamil Nadu tea plantation workers protest; Australian supermarket warehouse workers locked out
Workers Struggles: Asia and Australia
21 November 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Pandemic-related surge of mental health issues continues in Australia
By John Mackay, 21 November 2020
A recent report found that the mental health of three out of four people has been negatively affected by COVID-19, while calls to crisis and suicide lines have soared.
War crimes report: Australian special forces murdered 39 Afghans
By Oscar Grenfell, 20 November 2020
The report whitewashes successive governments and the military command, but the killings it documents underscore the utter criminality of the 19-year occupation of Afghanistan.
India’s unprecedented economic contraction deepens mass social misery
By Kranti Kumara, 20 November 2020
So meager are the earnings of India’s workers and toilers, three-quarters of the population in rural areas would not be able to afford the cheapest possible nutritious diet even if they spent all of their earnings on food.
Toyota workers in India continue strike, defy state back-to-work order
By Shibu Vavara and Arun Kumar, 20 November 2020
Behind the state government’s strikebreaking order is the broader aim of the ruling class to make India a cheap-labor alternative to China.
Japan and Australia step up military partnership against China
By Mike Head, 19 November 2020
The two governments echoed the Trump administration’s accusations of Chinese aggression and aligned themselves with the expected intensification of the US confrontation under a Biden administration.
South Australian COVID-19 outbreak highlights dangers of “reopening” campaign
By Oscar Grenfell, 18 November 2020
The infections in Adelaide underscore the risk of a rapid spread of the virus as governments seek to lift all remaining safety restrictions.
COVID-19 drastically impacts Bangladesh students and youth
By Wimal Perera, 18 November 2020
Students, like other poor sections of the society, have been ignored by the Awami League government.
New Zealand government rejects calls to increase welfare payments
By John Braddock, 18 November 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern again repudiates her promise to eliminate child poverty and the housing affordability crisis.
New China-led trade bloc sets stage for further tensions with the US
By Peter Symonds, 17 November 2020
While relatively limited in scope, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership is a further blow to US ambitions for economic domination of the Asia-Pacific.
Australian governments impose wage freezes on public sector workers
By Mike Head, 17 November 2020
Coalition and Labor governments alike are exploiting the pandemic to deepen a decades-long attack on working class pay and conditions.
With Malabar exercise, Quad emerging as US-led, anti-China military alliance
By Shuvu Batta and Keith Jones, 17 November 2020
The Indian Ocean exercise is a clear signal that the US and its Quad allies—India, Japan and Australia—are now seeking to develop the capacity and expertise for joint military planning and action, including combat, against China.
Student strikers in the Philippines demand government action on COVID-19 and typhoon devastation
By John Malvar, 17 November 2020
A student petition declared that the “The national government must act now” to address the devastation caused by the pandemic and massive typhoons, “or step down from their positions. No compromises.”
Large COVID-19 outbreak in Xinjiang, China
By Jerry Zhang, 16 November 2020
Repeated flare-ups of coronavirus in different regions of China highlight the fact that the pandemic is a global issue that cannot be resolved on a national basis by locking down borders.
Union opposes worker’s call for a fight against pro-business Australia Post restructure
By Jim Franklin and Oscar Grenfell, 16 November 2020
At a meeting in Sydney, a union official shot down a worker’s demand for a political and industrial struggle against the pro-business restructure of the postal service that is creating intolerable conditions and clears the way for privatisation.
Sri Lankan government and opposition greet US president-elect Joe Biden
By K. Ratnayake, 14 November 2020
US governments are hostile to the cash-strapped Colombo regime increasingly looking for financial assistance from China.
Tropical storms continue to pound the Philippines
By Robert Campion, 14 November 2020
PAGASA, the national meteorological agency, announced on Thursday that it is expecting one or two storms to hit in November, and possibly three in December.
Strikes and protests develop across India, Pakistan and Indonesia, agreement disputes erupt in Australia and strikes break out in New Zealand
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
14 November 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Re-release of Bong Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (2003): A picture of South Korean society
By David Walsh, 14 November 2020
An early film by South Korean writer-director Bong Joon-ho (Parasite) has been released over the course of the past year in a number of countries—and now in the US. It is well worth seeing.
Australian Royal Commission covers up causes of aged care crisis
By Clare Bruderlin, 13 November 2020
The commission, while pointing to the dire conditions confronting aged care residents, recommended largely cosmetic “solutions,” which will not resolve the crisis and are not enforceable.
Socialist Equality Group webinar discusses New Zealand and US elections
By our reporter, 13 November 2020
Speakers debunked the claims of pseudo-left groups that the re-election of Jacinda Ardern’s Labour Party is a win for workers, and outlined the stronger military alliance between New Zealand and the US in the context of a crisis of democracy in Washington and preparations for war against China.
Sri Lankan government lifts limited lockdown despite rising infections
By W.A. Sunil, 12 November 2020
From the beginning of October, the grossly understated official number of cases has increased dramatically by more than 10,000, while the death toll has risen by 33, or more than tripled.
New Zealand government promises stronger US ties after Biden elected
By Tom Peters, 12 November 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern noted that New Zealand had strengthened its alliance with the US during the Trump administration and promised this would continue under a Biden administration.
Australia: Growing opposition to planned school closures in northern NSW
By Kaye Tucker and Oscar Grenfell, 12 November 2020
The plan to establish a “super-school” in Murwillumbah has provoked widespread opposition from parents and teachers who have warned of possible job cuts, land privatisation and school overcrowding.
Australian government slashes JobSeeker to force more workers into low-paid jobs
By Mike Head, 12 November 2020
Both major parties agree on using the mass unemployment and financial distress triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic to further restructure economic and social relations in the interests of the capitalist class.
Forty-five years since the Canberra Coup
By James Cogan, 11 November 2020
The WSWS is republishing our article posted 40 years after the November 11, 1975 removal of the Whitlam Labor government by the Governor-General John Kerr in what became known as the “Canberra Coup.”
Australian Senate passes motion acknowledging “alleged” persecution of Julian Assange
By Oscar Grenfell, 11 November 2020
The feckless motion did not demand Assange’s freedom, nor condemn his threatened extradition to the US.
Face-to-face teaching resumed at Australian universities, despite continuing COVID-19 cases
By Carolyn Kennett, 10 November 2020
Despite the clear dangers, the trade unions covering university workers—such as the National Tertiary Education Union—have mounted no opposition to the return to campuses.
Australian political elite rushes to salute Biden and re-affirm US alliance
By Mike Head, 10 November 2020
The statements of the government and opposition Labor Party signalled an unequivocal alignment with Washington’s escalating confrontation with China.
BP refinery closure threatens hundreds of jobs in Western Australia
By Terry Cook, 10 November 2020
The closure is part of a vicious global restructuring of the sector by the major oil companies, to cut costs and offset the impact of a slump in oil prices.
Australian university workers speak out on the destruction of their jobs and conditions
By our reporters, 10 November 2020
“It’s how the system is designed, it facilitates exploitation.”
SEP (Sri Lanka) outlines socialist alternative to pandemic and authoritarianism
By Our correspondents, 9 November 2020
The speakers stressed that the crisis in Sri Lanka and internationally could only be resolved through the independent political mobilisation of the working class=.
Australian bushfire report aids government whitewash on climate change and lack of resources
By Margaret Rees, 9 November 2020
First and foremost, the inquiry report holds no one, least of all the government, responsible for the catastrophe.
Indian Stalinists use Bihar elections to deepen their alliance with big-business Congress Party
By Arun Kumar, 7 November 2020
Under conditions of mounting social opposition, the Stalinists are doubling down on their efforts to harness the working class to the Congress and other right-wing parties.
More statements from Australian workers defending Dr. Scalice against Philippine Stalinist slanders
By our reporters, 7 November 2020
“I know a hatchet job when I see one!! As an older worker I have seen, in my time, the same type of double talk, lies and slanders of Stalinists, like Sison here in Australia.”
Protests in Inner Mongolia over Chinese government language policy
By Jerry Zhang, 7 November 2020
Just as it has latched onto “human rights” in Tibet, and among the Uighur population in Xinjiang, so Washington has sought to exploit discontent in Inner Mongolia to weaken China.
Australia’s first “foreign interference” arrest targets Liberal Party figure accused of links to China
By Mike Head, 7 November 2020
Duong’s prosecution is regarded by the corporate media in both Australia and the US as a test case for the “anti-influence” legislation.
Health and other workers across Asia fight for unpaid wages, COVID-19 allowances and PPE; strikes break out in Australia over new enterprise agreements
Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and the Pacific
7 November 2020
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.
Australian report reveals widespread food insecurity
By John Harris, 6 November 2020
Currently, 43 percent of all food insecure people are going a whole day without eating at least once a week, compared to 30 percent in 2019.
Chinese government blocks Jack Ma’s major IPO
By Nick Beams, 5 November 2020
The decision to block the listing of Ma’s fintech company Ant, which would have been the biggest initial public offering in history, was clearly taken at the highest levels in Beijing
Australian billionaires celebrate skyrocketing wealth while pandemic forces workers into poverty
By Max Boddy, 5 November 2020
The combined fortunes of Australia’s richest 200 individual and families increased by a staggering $82 billion during the past year.
Sri Lankan government rejects total lockdown amid surging COVID-19 infections
By Pradeep Ramanayake, 5 November 2020
The Rajapakse regime’s decisions are aimed at continuing corporate operations, particularly factory production for exports, forcing workers to stay on the job.
New Zealand to legalise euthanasia following referendum
By John Braddock, 4 November 2020
The move to legalise euthanasia was championed by the far-right ACT Party amid growing demands among ruling elites for the elderly to be sacrificed to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Typhoon Goni devastates the Philippines
By Robert Campion, 4 November 2020
The UN reported around 68.6 million, or roughly 65 percent of the population are affected by Typhoon Goni, with 24.3 million living in the worst affected areas.
Australian central bank joins “quantitative easing” as global crash deepens
By Mike Head, 4 November 2020
The Reserve Bank of Australia warned of a “downside risk to the outlook” because of the worsening COVID-19 pandemic, especially in Europe.
Australian government uses bushfire report to demand emergency powers
By Mike Head, 3 November 2020
The royal commission’s “legislative model” would give the prime minister the power to mobilise troops without any request by a state or territory.
Duterte administration launches “red-tagging” witchhunt
By John Malvar, 3 November 2020
The various mass organizations now being red-tagged by the Duterte administration—Bayan, Bayan Muna, Gabriela, the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU)—gave their enthusiastic support to him as he took office.
New Zealand Green Party joins right-wing Labour government
By Tom Peters, 3 November 2020
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s decision to form a de facto coalition with the Greens points to Labour’s nervousness about being a one-party government imposing historic attacks on workers and building up the military in preparation for war.
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