Asia in 3 minutes: Facebook killing in Thailand, Facebook literature in India – and a stir over HD porn in Myanmar
China bans Xinjiang Muslims from giving babies ‘overly religious names’
Killing of baby on Facebook sparks Thai police review of social media
Two videos available for nearly a day that were broadcast on Facebook Live showed Wuttisan Wongtalay killing his 11-month-old daughter by hanging her by the neck from a building on Phuket island. He then killed himself in what police said was murder-suicide fuelled by jealousy, as Wuttisan believed his wife was going to leave him. The videos drew nearly half a million views before they were taken down and sparked outrage among internet users angry at how a flagged Facebook video could stay online for so long.
What next? “In the future we will discuss inappropriate online content, whether on Facebook or YouTube or Instagram, and how we can speed up taking this content down,” deputy national police spokesman Kissana Phatanacharoen said. Kissana blamed the delay partly on the time difference between the US, where Facebook is based, and Thailand. “We did the best we could but there’s the time difference issue.” A cousin of the baby’s mother told Reuters the family was too traumatised to think about removing the video from Facebook.
Indian university may add Facebook posts to English literature class
University of Delhi appears to want to improve both the enormous ocean of inane social media posts and the number of “likes” its students get by making “Facebook post writing” part of its English literature courses. “Writing does not necessarily mean writing heavyweight non-fiction books or highly dramatised fiction. It also includes writing generic but important content properly, such as that for blog posts, cover letters or, for that matter, Facebook posts,” said an English department employee, according to Indian media. Colleges teaching the university’s honours course in literature studies have been sent a proposal for feedback.
What next? The notion that social media can create aspiring writers is not new. Salford University in northern England has offered similar course since 2009. The course leaders said it was designed for students interested in PR. Delhi University is among India’s premier colleges, with alumni including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Myanmar’s state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. “The final framework will be decided after receiving feedback from colleges,” a spokesperson for Delhi University said.
‘First High definition home-grown porn flick’ creates a stir in Myanmar
Police in Myanmar have launched a criminal investigation into what local filmmakers claim is the first high-definition pornographic film ever made in the country. In a post on Facebook, production company Art of Myanmar said it “launched Burma’s first ever HD” pornographic film and promised to bring more hardcore action soon. It later said its Viber account crashed after it received more than 2,000 messages in 24 hours from eager customers. The actress in The Violet of Myanmar wears a surgical mask and has her face blurred throughout. Art of Myanmar said it cost them 400,000 kyat (HK$2,250) to make the film, which was inspired by the protagonist’s bright purple traditional skirt.