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

This edition contains Hong Kong's changing of the guard, China's internet crackdown, bird flu, Koera's independence day, North Korean nukes, Malacca Straits pirates, Japan in space plus much more...

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

• Tung Che-hwa, Hong Kong's Chief Executive, is going to resign. Both links have plenty of further links with views and analysis.
• China's NPC (parliament is overstating things) is meeting, which means it is internet crackdown season, although there was a partial unblocking of the BBC site. They may want to rethink the gambling crackdown.
• An official report on China's ethnic minorities exposes just how disadvantaged many of these groups are. Chez Nadezhda looks at the Uyghurs of Xinjiang.
• China doesn't want details an economic study released because it shows China would gain from eliminating its own agricultural trade barriers.
• The case of the Zhengzhou Four.
• What role are intellectuals playing in China's growing anti-Japan sentiments?
• Sticky rice helped build the Great Wall of China.
• Deposit insurance for China's banks will be unveiled in April 2005.
• Taiwan's media: check on authority or embodiment of chaos?
• The December WTO meeting in Hong Kong will bring the usual gang of trouble makers together, all under the simple slogan of "no care, no responsibility." Meanwhile Hong Kong played host to the USS Kitty Hawk.
• A Chinese think-tank suggests broadening the yuan's trading band.
• Why is China growing so slowly? Does China's economy lag the United States by 100 years?
• Although it's an older post, ALN's post of workers rioting in Dongguan for longer hours is getting more notice.
• Most Chinese respect America.
• The China Blog List has been upgraded.
• Is China contemplating a flat income tax?
• A new site offering English translations of Chinese newspapers.
• Howard French wonders whether China's war with Vietnam was pointless?
• Running Dog laughs in the face of bird flu.
• Joel hopes Lebanon's 2-28 moment has better results than Taiwan's 2-28 incident.
• China apparently offered a "North Korea for Taiwan" formula to resolve both problems. The NPC is due to pass the anti-succession law, but does it help or hinder matters?
• Thomas Barnett again says America's approach to China is wrong.

Korea and Japan

• March 1st was Korean Indepedence Day. Marmot searches for an English translation of the Proclamation of Independence. It was also an excuse for some political point scoring at Japan's expense.
• A great animated mapped history of Korea in the first millenium AD.
• Ari Sharp travelled through North Korea recently and has made plenty of observations. Danwei has an interview with Nicholas Bonner, who organises tours to North Korea.
• If you're going to mistakenly fire a bullet, don't do it at the DMZ.
• The North Korean abductions of South Koreans. The US State Department's Human Rights Practices in North Korea give a consise summary of everything wrong with the Hermit Kingdom.
• You have the right to remain silent in 8 different languages.
• Japan is finally putting some teeth into its North Korea policy. And South Korea's President Roh is angry with the Norks too.
• Some major but quiet changes in Japan's criminal law.
• Creeping capitalism in the DPRK: advertisements in newspapers. Could it be a further sign of changes in the North Korean leadership?
• One person wasn't surprised by North Korea's nuclear declaration.
• Japnese women then and now. Spot the differences.
• Japan successfully launched a rocket and is planning a manned moon base. Tourists were getting sick of the same old Earth based spots.

SE and Other Asia

• Setting aside the religious angle, here is a collection of photo essays on the Tsunami.
• Malaysian blogger Jeff Ooi was questioned by the police over comments made on his blog.
• Indonesian Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir has gotten off lightly.
• Mixing religion and sex in the Philippines is a recipie for ignorance.
• The threat of terror attacks in the Malacca Straits and the implications. Terrorists are recruiting pirates.
• Malaysia's clampdown on illegal workers has begun.
• The bind of Asian central bankers.
• More fall-out over the Singapore Times paid online content. Singapore Ink wonders how blogs will be affected by the change and if they can fill the gap. The Police State takes a broader look at the Straits Times and has suggestions on coping with the change. Singapore Angle also contemplates the effects on bloggers and if blogs could rival MSM.
• Do Singaporeans suffer from a colonial mentality? The same question could be asked of Hong Kong.
• While defamation suits work for Singapore's PAP, they don't for the opposition.

Miscellany

• Geriatric Confucian hip-hop. More seriously Jodi wonders if Confucianism is compatible with modern Asia.
• Everything you wanted to know about Pachinko.
• There are better alternatives than cutting it off.
• It's going to be even harder to tell which models are real or fake.