VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

 The death this week of South Korea's last military dictator, Chun Doo-hwan, marks the end of a divisive chapter in the country's modern history but leaves survivors of his regime's violence no closer to reconciliation or resolution.

Chun died on Tuesday at the age of 90.

Hundreds of people are estimated to have died or gone missing when the South Korean government violently put down the Gwangju uprising by pro-democracy protesters in May 1980, when Chun was the de facto leader of the country after leading a military coup.

Years after the massacre, many details remain unconfirmed, including who gave the orders for troops to open fire on protesters. Many victims remain unidentified.

A lack of contrition and cooperation by former members of the regime, including Chun, has hampered efforts to find the full truth, victims said.

"I'm very worried that a lot of truth will be hidden with Chun Doo-hwan's death," said 57-year-old Kim Young-man, who still carries a scar on his head from where a police officer struck him with a baton.

Kim holds out hope that former members of the regime will come forward to shine light on the bloody crackdown, but like many other victims, was disheartened that Chun died without showing significant remorse.

Months after leaving office in 1988 amid growing calls for democracy, Chun offered a formal apology for abuses during his leadership, including Gwangju.

But later he appeared to walk back some of that contrition, prompting victims to doubt the sincerity of that apology as he embraced a defiant and defensive stance to the end.

"Chun Doo-hwan was not the type of person to apologise," Kim said. "Yet if he had apologised, I think there would have been a possibility that Gwangju citizens who have been heartbroken for 41 years feel a little better."

In 1996 Chun was sentenced to death on charges of corruption and treason, but the sentence was reduced to life in prison and later commuted.

More recently he was involved in other legal disputes, including being found guilty in 2020 of defaming a priest who claimed to have witnessed the Gwangju crackdown.

On Wednesday, a day after Chun's death, a group of 70 Gwangju survivors, including Kim, filed a lawsuit against the government seeking compensation for emotional damage.

Some victims have received compensation for their loss of work, but other claims for compensation for emotional and psychological trauma faced legal barriers until a Supreme Court ruling in September, said Lee Ki-bong, an official at the May 18 Memorial Foundation who works with the families.

A group of victims rallied on Thursday outside the hospital where Chun's body was taken, holding signs telling him to "go to hell". They condemned some of Chun's former aides who call the uprising a plot inspired by North Korean communists.

In November the main conservative party's presidential nominee, Yoon Suk-yeol, travelled to Gwangju to apologise after appearing to excuse or praise Chun by saying many people thought the former president "was really good at politics aside from the coup and the events of May 1980."

Chun will not be given a state funeral, and officials said his treason conviction made him ineligible to be buried in a national cemetery.

"Upon Chun Doo-hwan's death, South Korean news appear to be pure emotion, disbelief at how he never apologised," tweeted Korean-American author Suki Kim.

"It's an odd thing to want an apology from a ruthless dictator, decades later, as though expecting justice by (a) universe which had allowed that dictator." (reuters)

 Thailand was among the first countries in Asia to reopen for foreign arrivals, and it is seeing a slow recovery, including new hotels touting longer stays for individual travellers.

In the first 10 months of 2021, Thailand saw 106,117 foreign tourists, a drop from 6.7 million in 2020. Before the pandemic, Thailand saw about 40 million visitors a year. read more

Hospitality firms like Asset World Corporation Pcl (AWC.BK), which opened its 19th property this month, saw the majority of its bookings come from Western countries and the Middle East.

"About 70% of total bookings came from Europe, including Germany, UK, Scandinavian countries, followed by the U.S., Middle East, and Asia," chief executive Wallapa Traisorat told Reuters, adding that domestic travel helped. "For November, we should see 30% occupancy, and in the fourth quarter we hope to see better momentum from the reopening."

Thailand, one of the region's most popular destinations, is heavily dependent on tourism. In 2019, 40 million arrivals spent 1.91 trillion baht ($57.3 billion).

Centara Hotels and Resorts (CENTEL.BK) is moving ahead with plans to open a 1.1 billion baht hotel on the island of Samui in December.

Initially the property expects most guests to be locals on longer stays, said Centara Hotels chief financial officer Gun Srisompong.

"Demand patterns have changed. Individual travellers on longer stays and 'workations' need more personalisation," Srisompong said.

Thailand expects only 200,000 foreign tourists this year, and 5 million in 2022.

Thinner crowds and discounts made for a more pleasant experience, said German tourist Markus Klarer.

"It's a good time to come back to Thailand again," Klarer said.

Despite the reopening, some businesses said COVID rules still made some things hard.

"Tourists are not fully confident and still confused with government regulations," said Chitchai Senwong, a restaurant manager in Bangkok, citing a government rule that prohibits alcohol consumption after 9 p.m. (reuters)

 There is no room for compromise over Taiwan and the United States should not have any illusions about this, China's Defence Ministry said on Thursday, adding that Washington had of late made a series of "provocations" on several issues.

China says the issue of Taiwan, which it claims as Chinese territory, is the most sensitive in its ties with the United States, the country that is also Taiwan's most important international backer and arms supplier.

Sharp differences over Taiwan persisted during a virtual meeting earlier this month between U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Xi said that those in Taiwan who seek independence, and their supporters in the United States, were "playing with fire".

Asked at a monthly news briefing in Beijing to comment on Sino-U.S. military ties in the light to those talks, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said having a healthy and stable relationship was good for both and what the world expected.

China is willing to maintain exchanges and cooperation with the United States, he added.

"However, for a period of time, the U.S. side has said a lot of irresponsible things and done a lot of provocative things on Taiwan, the South China Sea, and close up reconnaissance by warships and aircraft," Wu said.

China has principles for the development of relations between the two militaries, which is to say its sovereignty, dignity, and core interests cannot be violated, he added.

"Especially on the Taiwan issue, China has no room for compromise, and the U.S. side should not have any illusions about this."

Democratically-rule Taiwan has denounced China for its stepped up diplomatic and military pressure to try and force the island into accepting Chinese sovereignty.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has vowed to defend the island, and says only its people can decide its future. (reuters)

 The Philippines will not remove a dilapidated navy ship grounded on an atoll in the South China Sea, its defence chief said on Thursday, rejecting a demand by China after it blocked a mission to resupply the vessel's crew.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana dismissed China's assertion on Wednesday that the Philippines had committed to remove the BRP Sierra Madre, which was intentionally grounded at the Second Thomas shoal in 1999 to reinforce Manila's sovereignty claims in the Spratly archipelago.

The 100 metre-long (330-ft) tank landing ship was built for the U.S. Navy during World War Two.

"That ship has been there since 1999. If there was commitment it would have been removed a long time ago," Lorenzana told reporters.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian on Wednesday said Beijing "demands the Philippine side honour its commitment and remove its illegally grounded vessel".

The Second Thomas Shoal, 105 nautical miles (195 km) off Palawan, is the temporary home of a small contingent of military aboard the rusty ship, which is stuck on a reef.

Lorenzana accused China of "trespassing" when its coast guard interrupted a resupply mission for the troops.

China claims the majority of the South China Sea as its own, using a "nine-dash line" on maps that an international arbitration ruling in 2016 said has no legal basis.

The Second Thomas Shoal is within the Philippines' 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), to which China is a signatory.

"We have two documents attesting that we have sovereign rights in our EEZ while they don't, and their claims have no basis," Lorenzana said.

"China should abide by its international obligations that it is part of."

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday told a summit hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping that he "abhors" China's recent actions at the shoal. (Reuters)