Asia by Blog is a twice weekly feature, usually posted on Monday and Thursday, providing links to Asian blogs and their views on the news in this fascinating region. Previous editions can be found here.

This edition contains MS spaces censored, Uyghurs and Islam, North Korean beauties, a bird drop in Thailand, dead Singaporean gamblers, the new Chinese IBM, the real meaning of 'Made in China', Christmas in China plus plenty more...

The 2004 Asia Blog Awards nominations have begun. There are plenty great Asian blogs, so get busy and get nominating. Also the voting has begun in the World Blog Awards, including the Asia section. You can vote once a day and I have been nominated amongst some elite company. So go nominate and vote; then check out the links below...

The round-up has four key areas of focus:

• China, Taiwan & Hong Kong
• Korea & Japan
• South-East & Other Asia
• Miscellany

China, Taiwan and Hong Kong

• Unsurprising news the new Microsoft blogging tool MSN Spaces censors certain Chinese characters (via Glenn)
• A very thorough look at the history and politics of Uyghurs and Islam in China's western province of Xinjiang.
• Dan Washburn rates the various gadgets he took on his pan-China adventure. These are in-the-field reviews of what works and what doesn't, plus Dan's slow drift away from all things electronic.
• Thomas Barnett says China is now similar to the US in the first two decades of the 1900s and the nexus between globalisation and Americanisation is nearing an end.
• Diplomatic it is not.
• It seems England is exporting whinging to Hong Kong.
• George Washington University has opened a Taiwan Studies research centre. It could help with Taiwan's nerd diplomacy.
• Chinese computer maker Lenovo is poised to takeover IBM's PC business. Money isn't a problem. Globalisation in action...although China also leads the world in less glamorous records.
• Brad Setser talks about China's non-manipulation of its currency and the consequences of an investment bust. There's plenty more, such as that China has missed its chance to move from a dollar peg to a basket - keep scrolling down. There's more on myths and facts on China's economy.
• The political economy of coal.
• An easy to use template for Western journos in China (via Jeremy). Andrea finds a journalist who changed her views of the country after visiting (the full survey is here).
• What really happened at Linyi Airport?
• Chinese probabilities explained.
• Has the one child policy been too effective?
• Rebecca MacKinnon looks at China, internet discussions and censorship and says not to place too much on the shoulders of the internet.
• What does Made in China really mean? Then read this.
• Beijing's suicide hotline is the wrong kind of busy.
• Down on his luck, Wanbro is having a bad day.
• As if Chinese wasn't difficult enough already...
• Use of torture is widespread within China.
• If you are thinking of teaching in China, read Hank and his adventures with Mr Happy.
• Chinese beer reviewed. It's a tough job but someone's gotta do it.
• The campaign against public intellectuals has begun.
• Andres has begun interviewing Asian bloggers, starting with Joel from the excellent Far Outliers.

Korea and Japan

• Mobile phones are a hot - if not illegal - item of subversion in NK.
• North Korea is using defection as a cover for spies.
• The handsome men are in the South but the beautiful women are in the North. Now there's a solid case for re-unification.
• Is Kim Jong-il's son South Korean?
• Joe Jones points to a Time story on the incredible life of Charles Jenkins.
• December 7th is the anniversary of Peal Harbour. Justin will always remember the day, and looks at the different perspective many Japanese remember.
• Josh talks about North Korea's guerrillas.
• Andy has more reports from the North Korea Human Rights conference.
• As if nukes and the North wasn't enough, Korea must deal with the menace of killer fans.

SE and Other Asia

• Thailand's origami bird drop didn't quite work out.
• First order of business for Jakarta's city councillors: their perks.
• Australia is boosting its funding for anti-terrorism measures in Indonesia.
• People are dying to gamble in Singapore.

Miscellany

• Is a tomato a fruit or vegetable? It depends if it's in English or Korean.
• There once was Hello Kitty, but now it's San-X.
• Jodi plans to bring Christmas to China.
• Hanzi Smatter is going strong, illustrating misuse of Chinese characters, for example tattoos "green rice". Tian asks if people ever wonder why Chinese or Japanese people don't usually have character tattoos?
• The world's best blog has gone to the dogs.
• WTF?