<div>Four women are living under the same roof, but each of them has a husband elsewhere who they are not living with.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The documentary film called “Our Marriages”, describing how LGBT minorities suffer from the conventional Chinese concept of marriage, was shown at a screening event held at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre (QSNCC) on Thursday 21.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<div>It has been almost two years since the US has shifted its orientation back to Asia. Its foreign policy’s motive is clear: containing the rise of China. The Obama administration has initiated a number of strategies to reassure the stability of the Asia-Pacific region, for instance, stationing 2,500 marines in the northern part of Australia and pushing forward the Trans-Pacific Partnership to assert its influence in the region.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Despite the return of the US in this region, China has designed a strategy to respond to its American counterpart. </div>

<p>China has desperately attempted to reinvent its new image in Southeast Asia, a region long considered as the Chinese sphere of influence. As part of this effort, it recently proposed “the Chinese Dream” policy which stressed on China’s peaceful and civilised way to achieve national prosperity, national rejuvenation and the happiness of people in the region.</p> <p></p>

<div>Taiwan - the other China - invited our group of journalists from some 30 countries to witness its marvels, but instead we found ourselves embroiled in a row with the Philippines.</div> <p></p>

<p>China and Thailand have forged even closer ties with the recent exchanges of visits of key policy makers. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, during his Bangkok trip early this month, extolled Thailand for playing a “significant” role in promoting relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).</p> <p></p>

<p>Forced Return of Kachin to Burma Violates International Law</p> <p>(Bangkok, September 6, 2012) – In late August 2012, the Chinese government forcibly returned at least 4,000 ethnic Kachin refugees to a conflict zone in northern Burma in violation of international law, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.</p>

<p>A special lecture &quot;The Coming Clash with China?&quot; by Professor Christopher Coker from London School of Economics (LSE) and a panel Discussion on &quot;The South China Sea Controversy: The Role of ASEAN, China and the United States&quot;, organized by the Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) at Chulalongkorn University on 30 Aug.</p> <p>Panelists include: Kavi Chongkittavorn, Senior Fellow, ISIS Thailand; Robert W. Fitts, Director, American Studies Program; Dr. Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Director, ISIS Thailand.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>Thousands of Kachin at Risk From Conflict, Abuses, Aid Shortages</em></p> <p>(New York, August 24, 2012) &ndash; China should stop its forced returns of thousands of ethnic Kachin refugees to northern Burma, where they are at risk from armed hostilities, Burmese army abuses, and lack of aid, Human Rights Watch said today.</p>

<p><em>Detentions, Re-education on a Scale not Seen Since Late 1970s</em></p> <p>(New York, February 16, 2012) &ndash; The Chinese government should immediately release Tibetans who have been detained by local police and are being forced to undergo political re-education after travelling to India to listen to religious teachings there, Human Rights Watch said today.</p>

<p><em>Nobel Laureate Remains Jailed Despite Global Condemnation</em></p> <p>(New York, December 9, 2011) &ndash; The Chinese government&rsquo;s increasing intransigence on high-profile human rights cases requires governments to make progress on such cases a benchmark for closer relations and high-level visits, Human Rights Watch said. Imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia are high-profile examples of cases of concern to the international community.</p>

<p>On September 3, 2011, the Economist published an <a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21528262">article</a> which criticizes the role of the Chinese state in China&rsquo;s privatization.&nbsp; In essence, the article asserts that shareholdings by the Chinese government and its influence on corporate decision-making stymies the efficiency of private enterprises and has encouraged corruption among state officials. The Economist thus implicitly urges the Chinese state to refrain from exerting its influence on private enterprises, i.e. colossally privatize state enterprises.</p>

<p><em>New Thai Government Demonstrates Disregard for Rights</em></p> <p>(New York, August 10, 2011) &ndash; The Chinese government should immediately allow access to Nur Muhammed, an ethnic Uighur who was handed over to Chinese officials in Bangkok on August 6, 2011, Human Rights Watch said today. China&rsquo;s record of torture, disappearance, and arbitrary detention of Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority, puts Muhammed at grave risk of torture, Human Rights Watch said.</p>