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More than half of those 27 million-plus smartphone owners in Myanmar are regular data users, who check into Facebook daily and the Viber messaging and VOIP app almost as frequently. How can so many people afford phones when the average wage is $3 a day?
Back home in Myanmar, fast-track citizenship is unlikely to be a panacea. After all, the 400 Rohingya who have managed to obtain full citizenship still face the same stigma and marginalization that the stateless Rohingya do in Rakhine state. They don't have the same access to jobs, education or housing that the Buddhists of Rakhine do. As long as these conditions persist, Rohingya will seek better lives overseas and take great risks to do so.
By John Koppisch Forbes Asia For the eighth straight year we spotlight notable philanthropists in the Asia-Pacific region, especially those who made news in the past year by launching new and innovative projects. The 48-member honor roll ranges from billionaires with expansive visions of how best to help society to less well-known business people whose... Continue Reading →
Others are famous singers or actors who are using their star power to promote their favorite causes. All are leaving the region a powerful legacy—whether it’s museums, symphony orchestras, a global project to eradicate polio, rural kindergartens, free health clinics or help for war refugees.
... donated more than $50 million to universities in China, Indonesia, Singapore and the U.S., primarily for scholarships. This year gave $24 million to the National University of Singapore for medical research. Plans to donate 10,000 laptops to needy Indonesian students at the top of their high school classes.
Susan J Cunningham 