Mekong Review

@mekongreview.com

A quarterly magazine of arts, literature, culture, politics, the environment and society in Asia, written by people from the region or those who know it well.

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Newsletter: https://bit.ly/mekongreviewweekly

@mekongreview.com Oct 7, 2026, 4:25 AM

In contexts where public narratives are written and rewritten according to the whims of those in power, and selective amnesia is imposed upon the population, remembering becomes a political act.

📖: mekongreview.com/rem...

@mekongreview.com Sep 30, 2026, 1:50 AM

The General: Vietnam in the Age of Tô Lâm shows that not even foreigners or non-Vietnamese speakers have immunity from the iron fist Tô Lâm, the Communist Party of Vietnam’s general secretary.

📖: mekongreview.com/pow...

@mekongreview.com Sep 28, 2026, 2:56 AM

We're going to the Ubud Writers & Readers Festival! 21–25 October in Ubud, Bali ✨

Our editor-in-chief, Kirsten Han, will be speaking on a panel and moderating another. And our magazine will be in the festival bookstore!

Get your tickets: www.ubudwritersfesti...

@mekongreview.com Sep 25, 2026, 10:23 AM

Would you like to see Mekong Review in your library? Institutional subscriptions are available, covering our entire archive as well as upcoming issues.

Recommend us to your librarian or reach out for more information: institutions.exacted...

@mekongreview.com Sep 23, 2026, 10:03 AM

A father and son travel to experience Vietnam through the birds that call it home, even if only for a little while.

📖: mekongreview.com/let...

Letter from the mudflats
by Hai-Dang Phan

Read more at
mekongreview.com

For the past few days, Ba and I have been on a meandering road trip through the Mekong Delta. He wanted to show me some of the places where he was stationed and fought during the war, some fifty years ago, as an officer of a patrol boat unit in the South Vietnamese Navy.

Today, we return to our primary mission: to experience Vietnam through its birds. Whenever we returned to Vietnam in the past, we usually spent all our time visiting family. For once, I wanted to see the country itself. On this matter, Ba and I found common ground. While he’s no avid birdwatcher like me, Ba likes a good challenge and wants to see as much of Vietnam as he still can.

Just over a decade ago, the spoon-billed sandpiper was on the brink of extinction, their global population plummeting to an estimated 100 breeding pairs in 2011. Ongoing international conservation efforts are slowing steep population declines caused by habitat loss, illegal trapping, and climate change. But they still remain critically endangered.

Before the idea of this trip took hold, I didn’t even know this bird existed. Now, I’m searching for this rare thing on the dull edge of extinction, as if it might show me a way back to a country I might have called my homeland, had life not taken us altogether elsewhere.

@mekongreview.com Sep 22, 2026, 4:23 AM

Get a copy of our August–October 2026 issue on our webstore—and maybe pick up some back issues, too!

ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...

@mekongreview.com Sep 17, 2026, 8:17 AM

Don't miss your chance to own some of the original artwork from Mekong Review's past covers. We only have one of each of these watercolours by Erica Eng available on our webstore: ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...

@mekongreview.com Sep 16, 2026, 1:45 AM

For the Tibetan community in London, the upcoming Chinese mega-embassy at Royal Mint Court is just another physical manifestation of the surveillance and climate of fear they have to navigate.

📖: mekongreview.com/the...

The cost of visibility
by Nathalie Chi

Read more at
mekongreview.com

Face covered, recognisable features hidden. A back-up phone in hand, location services disabled. No recent travel plans. No recent contact with family members in Tibet. Avoid cameras. Avoid interviews. At political protests against the Chinese government, including recent demonstrations against the planned Chinese mega-embassy in London, some Tibetan participants arrive with these calculations already made.

In January 2026, the UK government approved China’s plan to redevelop the Royal Mint Court in central London into its largest diplomatic mission in Europe. The plan has faced sustained opposition from local residents, campaign groups, and politicians, who have raised concerns over national security, surveillance, protest safety, and the impact on surrounding areas.

For the Tibetan community, the
mega-embassy is a concrete reminder that the state they fled, or inherited exile from, can still feel close. Their activism in Britain is shaped by political protests and cultural preservation, with the constant fear that visibility can lead to repercussions elsewhere.

@nithincoca.com Sep 11, 2026, 7:50 AMReposted by @mekongreview.com

The Chinese government relies on dancing ethnic minorities to project normalcy. Last year, it brought dancing #Uyghurs to #Japan.

For the wonderful @mekongreview.com, I unpack the bizarre propaganda of 'Xinjiang Week' mekongreview.com/xinjiang-week/

@badiucao.bsky.social Sep 10, 2026, 2:13 AMReposted by @mekongreview.com

1/ My cover design for @mekongreview.com for August - October Look closer where AI is leading to us to. I think its a right time to post it following jacob Coxton ‘s AI doom warning tweet after resigining from Anthopic.

@mekongreview.com Sep 9, 2026, 6:44 AM

The three volumes of Eiji Yoshikawa’s Musashi: The Novel contain a rollicking yarn with a cast of colourful characters that swirls about its nucleus, Musashi, with curious and often calamitous results.

📖: mekongreview.com/the...

Musashi: The Novel
Reviewed by Simon Rowe
Mekong Review August–October 2026

Miyamoto Musashi was a real person who lived from 1594 to 1645. His name is known to all Japanese—if not as ‘Kensei (sword saint)’, then as a folk hero whose legendary strength and skill are still revered. Kids emulate his Niten Ichi-ryū (Two Heavens as One) style of swordsmanship with chanbara foam swords; brands of kitchen knives, health supplements, home security systems, and even automotive parts are named after him. My local hardware store is called “Musashi”.

Eiji Yoshikawa has been instrumental in all of this, of course, popularising historical fiction with his reimagining of the lives of famous samurai figures in works like Taiko and The Heike Story—inspiring countless movies, TV dramas, and manga.

Told over three volumes, Musashi: The Novel comes in at a hefty 1,696 pages. But there are plenty of reasons to make the commitment. For one, it is a rollicking
yarn with a cast of colourful characters. The settings are ever-changing; from rural hamlets, snowy mountain passes, and bamboo forests, to hectic city streets with brothels, boozy taverns, temples, and dojos, the reader is whisked along at a lively clip. This is feudal Japan in the early Edo Period—about 400 years ago—a time when the country was transitioning from civil war to an era of peace, order, and artistic freedom. Alongside martial arts, Yoshikawa also gives us cultural practices such as tea ceremonies, calligraphy, and flower arrangement—arts which samurai of yore engaged in to strengthen their mental discipline and build character.

@ncoca.social.coop.ap.brid.gy Sep 7, 2026, 1:00 PMReposted by @mekongreview.com

The Chinese government relies on dancing ethnic minorities to project normalcy. Last year, it brought dancing #Uyghurs to #Japan.

For #MekongReview, my latest unpacks the propaganda of '#Xinjiang Week' https://mekongreview.com/xinjiang-week/ #China

@mekongreview.com Sep 3, 2026, 2:07 AM

Get a copy of our August–October 2026 issue on our webstore—and maybe pick up some back issues, too!

ko-fi.com/mekongrevi...

@mekongreview.com Sep 2, 2026, 4:44 AM

A former teacher turned resistance medic supports civilians and fighters in the revolution against the Myanmar military junta.

📖: mekongreview.com/a-f...

@mekongreview.com Aug 28, 2026, 8:50 AM

What's happened in Tibet and Nepal is devastating. Our hearts break for the families who have lost loved ones and for those who will need to rebuild their lives completely. Many tragic stories will be told, and we hope the artists and journalists who tell them will speak the truth bravely.

@mekongreview.com Aug 28, 2026, 6:50 AM

Here's a snippet from our last Writers Room series, in which writer Jamyang Phuntsok explains how Tibetan books reach the Tibetan diaspora worldwide. Find the full conversation on our YouTube channel through the link in our bio.

@mekongreview.com Aug 27, 2026, 7:12 AM

Would you like to see Mekong Review in your library? Institutional subscriptions are available, covering our entire archive as well as upcoming issues.

Recommend us to your librarian or reach out for more information: institutions.exacted...

@mekongreview.com Jul 29, 2026, 11:12 AM

This is what you have to do to navigate life in Vietnam: accept that things are precarious and constantly vulnerable to change.

📖: mekongreview.com/mou...

@mekongreview.com Jul 24, 2026, 3:52 PM

If you’re based in Singapore, come check out our booth at the Singapore Independent Media Fair on Saturday (25 July) from 1–7pm at Golden Village Cineleisure! Our latest issue will be available at a discounted price, and a selection of back issues will also be available for a suggested donation ⭐️

@mekongreview.com Jun 17, 2026, 4:18 AM

'Arnold Is A Model Student', a film by Sorayos Prapapan, shines a light on unfairness within the Thai education system, challenging the notion of what it means to be a “model” within broken structures.

📖: mekongreview.com/flo...

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