Asia in 3 minutes: No civilian rule in Mindanao, no condom ads in India and 7,000 noes to a Chinese dog circus in Singapore
Australian senator quits over links to China, English kindergartens face crackdown in South Korea
Duterte gets landslide legislative victory to extend martial law
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte won another year of martial law for Mindanao after the country’s congress voted overwhelmingly to approve the control until December 2018. It came after the military warned that terrorist threats continue in the region where pro-Islamic State militants staged a bloody five-month siege, which left the city of Marawi devastated. Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said militants were now trying to recover from their defeat and were plotting new attacks. The vote on Wednesday passed with a majority in the Senate and the House of Representatives – with 240 voting to approve and 27 opposing.
What next: Opponents feared the extension in the south raised the prospect of martial law being rolled out across the Philippines. President Duterte said such a scenario could not be ruled out if the country’s survival was at stake. “You threaten the existence of the Republic of the Philippines, I am sure that everybody will react and do what he must do to prevent it,” he said. Officials said it could take at least three years to rebuild Marawi.
Dog circus in Singapore axed after 7,000 people sign petition
A Chinese circus featuring performing dogs cancelled its Singapore show after it was criticised for being “cruel and unethical”. Scheduled for February at Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa – to coincide with the Lunar New Year – the Chinese New Year Dog Circus 2018 advertised pink-dyed poodles doing acrobatics and clapping. But a Change.org petition quickly attracted more than 7,000 signatures, and branded the use of animals in circuses as an “archaic” and “outdated practice”.
What next: Louis Ng, a lawmaker and founder of Acres, a local animal welfare group, said he hoped organisers would “get the message that using animals for entertainment is something outdated and it’s not something that Singaporeans want”.
Australian senator Dastyari quits over links to Chinese interests
High-profile Australian opposition Senator Sam Dastyari quit this week amid allegations of close links with Chinese-aligned interests in Australia. Dastyari, from the centre-left Labor Party, has come under fire since it was revealed he had tried to encourage the party’s deputy leader not to meet a Chinese activist opposed to Beijing’s rule in Hong Kong in 2015. The 34-year-old had previously resigned from leadership roles over scandals involving Sydney-based Chinese businessman and political donor Huang Xiangmo. The scandal prompted Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to accuse China of buying influence and ban foreign political donations.