This Year in Asia: from Thailand protests to ASMR in Singapore, here are 2020’s best stories as picked by our journalists

Through the coronavirus pandemic and including political chaos in Malaysia, we have run a vast array of stories from across the continent

Here are some of our favourites – we hope you enjoy them as much as we have

Reading Time:9 minutes

A protester flashes the three-finger protest gesture while reclining on an inflatable yellow duck, which has become a good-humoured symbol of resistance during the pro-democracy rallies in Thailand. Photo: AP

Published: 2:30pm, 29 Dec 2020Updated: 2:30pm, 29 Dec 2020

Over the course of the year that changed our lives forever, we have looked at how people from across Asia have lived and coped in turbulent times. Some are stories to be celebrated, while others are a reminder of how much work there is to be done – all while a pandemic roiled and nations collided in a tussle for influence. Here are some of our favourites from the year, picked by our own journalists.

Ly Thi My, poses with a photograph of her missing daughter Di at her house in Meo Vac, a border district between Vietnam's Ha Giang province and China. Photo: AFP

Raquel Carvalho, Asia correspondent

This story shows how girls and young women in places connected by Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative are now at greater risk of human trafficking and forced marriages to Chinese men. In addition to traditional hotspots in nations such as Vietnam and Myanmar, the practice seems to be emerging in new areas; the piece includes interviews with women from countries such as Laos and Pakistan. Experts say the rising number of trafficked women is due to a combination of enhanced regional connectivity and stronger business ties with China, along with factors such as a lack of opportunities in the women’s home countries, where powerful networks of marriage agencies and illegal brokers have extended their tentacles. Fuelling the demand, the experts say, is China’s gender imbalance.

Francine Chen, production editor

As King Maha Vajiralongkorn deals with some difficulties of his own, a separate scandal has been brewing inside the Thai palace’s gilded walls this year. The abrupt dismissal and equally unexpected return of royal consort Sineenat – the first to have this title in more than a century – has set tongues wagging of a queen’s gambit to depose her, once and for all.

The youthful Sineenat, better known as Koi, is believed to hold the role of endearing the royal family to the people of Thailand at a time the monarchy’s popularity is at its lowest, especially among young people impatient for political change. But a tussle between Koi and Queen Suthida for the King’s favour is sullying the mission, complete with a nude photo scandal to boot.