The Taiwanese government has been providing less support for ASEAN countries either in political loans or other support, using the excuse of financial crisis and modifications on external policies. But due to the strong support provided by other countries, Taiwan has become increasingly less visible in ASEAN.

“Take these punishments as a lesson. What has been done by these convicts should not be taken as an example,” said Banda Aceh Deputy Mayor Zainal Arifin, according to the Antara news agency.

Last month, a landslide in the same mountainous area in Kachin State killed 114 people. The landslide occurred in Hpakant, an area where lies the source of virtually all of the world's finest jadeite, a near-translucent green stone that is enormously prized in neighboring China and attracts the poor-stricken workers to risk their lives mining over the place.

China also emphasized the need to boost people-to-people exchange between the two countries to further foster comprehensive cooperation, especially in economics and trade, hoping to solve the current imbalanced economic relationship between the two nations.

French journalist of L'Obs magazine, Ursula Gauthier, which was published on November 18, accused the Chinese authorities of using the Paris attacks to justify the repression in Xinjiang. She believes the reason Beijing claims to stand with Paris is to win international support to justify crackdowns on the Uighur people.

Japanese government hopes to put an end to the comfort women issue and that South Korea will never bring up the issue again. Meanwhile, it also asked to remove the comfort women statue in front of its embassy in Seoul and to promise to stop setting up statues of comfort women in the US.

The Malaysian government says the bill will help tackle violent extremism, but critics fear it gives authorities and the government too much power.

Brunei introduced its ban on Christmas last year over fear that celebrating it excessively and openly could lead its Muslim population astray. Local Islamic religious leaders have promoted the ban, warning that celebrating Christmas is tantamount to imitation of another faith and is prohibited in some interpretations of Islam.

Australian Attorney George Brandis said IS intends to establish a caliphate state outside of the Middle East, and Indonesia is one of the potential locations. Brandis believes that this would be a major threat to Australia and the West.

Shenzhen is located in southern China, where hills and mountains account for more than 70% of the area, in which typhoons and heavy rains happen frequently. But the government has developed the mountains at large scale since the special economic zone was established. This has destroyed the landscape and caused several geological disasters.

Spokesperson of the Indonesian Directorate General of Immigration, Heru Santoso, says that 49 Taiwanese, including 17 women and 32 men, are regarded as middlemen of the online fraud ring.

Although the law does not request wives to take their husbands' surnames, but since the Japanese society is deeply influenced by a male-dominant mindset, 96% of married women have given up their maiden names after getting married.

Oil Price columnist, Gaurav Agnihotri, notes that Indonesia needs more foreign investment, and OPEC also has to access new markets. Therefore, Indonesia's return is a win-win strategy.

This year, the total number of imprisoned journalists in the world is 199 and a quarter of them are in China. Daily Mail reports, currently China has imprisoned 49 journalists. This is a record high since the Committee to Protect Journalists started the annual report in 1990.