The pan-Asian housing market is broken, and the dream of owning a home is increasingly out of reach for young Asians. There are two major things that contribute to the high housing prices around Asia. First, the rapid urbanization of people migrating from the country to the city. By 2030, 66% of East Asians will live in urban areas. Lastly, Foreign investors are purchasing land and building high rise buildings that cater to high income people. Cities like Hong Kong have the highest rent prices in the world, and in Taiwan housing prices are 2x more than homes in New York and London. In Singapore, the housing development board offers subsidized housing to residents, but these programs often neglect working immigrants and non-hetrosexual couples. Young people are working hard and disheartened by their limited options.
In January 2022, protests in Kazakhstan became violent in response to social inequality largely stemming the government's decision to raise gas and oil prices. During this civil unrest, the Kazakh government shut its Internet down, simultaneously shutting down its flourishing bitcoin market. What's going to happen to the crypto mining industry in Kazakstanis uncertain, even while the voices of Kazakstan's people shouts louder. This is part 2 of how Kazakhstan went from a bitcoin paradise to a miner's limbo.
Kazakhstan became the world's No.2 centre for bitcoin mining after the United States last year. WHY? Cryptocurrency mining requires massive amounts of electricity and because it's so cheap in Kazakhstan, the country saw an opportunity to capture the growing market when China outlawed crypto mining in June 2021. However, this growing market was put on hold when the Kazakh government shut its Internet down during a time of unrest. This is part 1 of how Kazakhstan went from a bitcoin paradise to a miner's limbo.
Beauty standards in Asia stem from biases based on class systems and are deeply rooted in colonization. Classist and Eurocentric beauty standards can be tools to dictate how Asians think and feel - inferior to those with lighter complexions, and thus worthy of self-hate. It’s time we decolonize beauty by celebrating all of our features (our more melanated friends, Asian eyes, body hair, and noses) and define what beauty means on our terms.
Asia has a multi-billion dollar skin lightening market and these beauty standards have lived in our culture since the beginning. Upholding these beauty standards have real life consequences from earning potential, marital prospects, and social status in Asian cultures. Here’s Keshia Hannam on where the obsession with lighter skin comes from in different regions of Asia and why are we still pursuing these Eurocentric lighter complexions?
Jakarta, home to over 11 million people, has been steadily sinking into the Java Sea due to the #climatecrisis. Overpopulation and the sinking capital are the main reasons President Joko Widodo has decided to relocate the country’s capital to East Kalimantan, Borneo. It’s an ambitious project that may take 20 years, and Indonesians have voiced concerns about how quickly this decision was made. What does a new capital mean for Indonesia's citizens, the environment and cash? Here’s @stephtangk with everything you need to know about this $32 billion dollar capital move.