Hello and happy New Year, Globe readers!
Southeast Asia Globe kicked off 2023 by welcoming Andrew Haffner as our new Editor-in-Chief. Andrew is an experienced journalist and former Globe managing editor with a background in daily newspaper reporting. His work has been featured in international publications including VICE, Al Jazeera English and others. His focus is on governance, corruption and human development.
What excites you the most about being the new lead editor?
So many things, but I’d say the prospect of helping to shape the vision of the publication is what most excites me. We have a really strong team at the moment, and I think we’ll be able to accomplish great things together across the region.
What is something about you that we wouldn’t know from your professional bio?
I love cats … like really love ‘em.
Who or what inspired you to pursue this career?
I always wanted to be a writer, even from an early age, but I think a serious inspiration for this particular path I’m on now might have been a set of very retro Time Life photo books and National Geographic magazines in the basement of my grandparents’ old house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Back when I was pretty young and we’d go out there for a visit, I’d pore over these musty books and magazines and imagine actually seeing the far-flung places they described, many of which were in Southeast Asia. Now it’s some 25 years later, and here we are!
As Andrew gets acclimated to his new editorial role, in this week’s features, Philippe Durant told the history of the three-wheeled trishaw carriage in Malaysia with a series of unique images backed up with text by Globe’s Managing Editor Amanda Oon.
While some traditions like the use of trishaws gain more prestige as they get older, some others become sources of growing concern as the years pass. Globe’s Beatrice Siviero reported the ongoing child abuse and violence in Timor-Leste, as the country’s violent past still haunts its people.
Old habits are hard to get rid of. While Timor-Leste is dealing with its demons from the past, the Philippines are once again face-to-face with old territorial disputes with China. Cherry Hitkari analysed how new President Marcos Jr. has been trying to find a balance over territorial sovereignty disputes in the South China Sea.
Marcos Jr.’s continuation of his predecessor’s war on drugs comes under scrutiny as data reveals no visible changes on Duterte’s war on drugs in the first seven months of his presidency. Chris Fitzgerald wrote about the broken promises of the new president to tackle the issue with a “less punitive approach.”
In the meantime, Vietnam’s wildlife is encountering further challenges. Globe contributor Govi Snell dove into the threats that a new online market of endangered turtles is posing to the country’s biodiversity.
Lastly, the Globe’s team invites you to celebrate the New Year by taking advantage of our limited 50% discount on annual Southeast Asia Globe memberships.
Enjoy the articles, have a good weekend and a wonderful 2023 ahead.
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