Data Ethics: Why TikTok Faces Unequal Scrutiny – OpEd

 May 6, 2024  

By Altaf Moti

The recent push to ban TikTok in the United States has ignited a heated debate about the delicate balance between national security concerns and individual civil liberties. As lawmakers grapple with the implications of this decision, it is essential to examine the broader context and consider the potential consequences for free speech, privacy, and the rights of American citizens. 

The Racial Dimension of Surveillance

American domestic surveillance has a troubling history of targeting marginalized communities. In the 1960s, Black activists faced intense scrutiny, and in the post-9/11 era, Muslim Americans were disproportionately surveilled. The latest move to ban TikTok continues this pattern. President Biden recently signed a bill into law that gives ByteDance nine months (or up to a year, under certain conditions) to divest itself of its US business. If ByteDance fails to do so, it will become illegal for US entities to provide web-hosting services to TikTok, effectively banning the app in 2025. ByteDance intends to challenge this law in court arguing that it is unconstitutional. The company aims to protect its interests and prevent the forced sale or complete ban of TikTok in the US. 

In August 2020, then-President Donald Trump issued an executive order to effectively ban the app in the United States by prohibiting US entities from making transactions with ByteDance. That order was initially set to go into effect in late September. However, the legal battle continued, and TikTok remained operational in the US. 

The Rise of TikTok

TikTok, a short-form video platform, has taken the world by storm. With over a billion users globally, it has become a cultural phenomenon, allowing people to express themselves through music, comedy, and other creative content. However, its rapid rise has also raised eyebrows among policymakers particularly due to its Chinese ownership. 

Beyond TikTok: Data Exploitation and Vulnerability

While acknowledging TikTok’s flaws, it’s essential to recognize that the entire data ecosystem is exploitative and vulnerable, regardless of an app’s ownership nationality. The rush to ban TikTok seems motivated by a desire to protect user data from foreign governments. Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers express concerns about TikTok potentially sharing Americans’ data with the Chinese government. This “national security threat” is often framed through vague references to the company’s potential connections with the Chinese Communist Party. 

WhatsApp, Meta, and Israeli Military Surveillance

Yet, we have not seen the same outrage from US politicians over reports that data from WhatsApp, owned by the American company Meta, might have been used by the Israeli military in targeting Palestinians. WhatsApp has denied these reports, stating that they are not accurate. However, according to Meta’s last available Transparency Report, the government of Israel made 1,088 requests of the company between January and June 2023. More than half of these requests were categorized as emergency disclosure requests, for which Meta may “voluntarily disclose information to law enforcement” if there is a “good faith reason to believe that the matter involves imminent risk of serious physical injury or death.” Meta produced user data in response to a majority of requests from the Israeli government—78 percent. 

Interestingly, there hasn’t been the same level of outrage from U.S. politicians over reports that data from WhatsApp (owned by the American company Meta) might have been used by the Israeli military in targeting Palestinians. WhatsApp has denied these reports, but the issue remains. Meta’s Transparency Reports do not disclose the citizenship of users whose information is requested by foreign governments. The U.S. government’s decision to single out TikTok while ignoring American tech companies’ data-sharing practices suggests that American data and surveillance policy is driven, in part, by racism. 

The National Security Argument

The primary argument against TikTok centers on national security. Critics claim that the app’s parent company, ByteDance, could potentially share user data with the Chinese government. While there is no concrete evidence to support this claim, the fear of foreign influence has led to calls for a ban. 

The Role of Big Tech

As we grapple with the TikTok ban, we must also examine the role of big tech companies in shaping our digital landscape. Facebook, Twitter, and other platforms wield immense power over public discourse, often making editorial decisions that impact millions of users. The concentration of this power in the hands of a few corporations raises concerns about censorship, bias, and the erosion of democratic values. 

The Global Context

It’s hard not to conclude that the TikTok ban is being pursued at this moment because of its impact in empowering voices that were previously marginalized, a situation that is detrimental to the official US narrative. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has also hinted at the possibility of a TikTok ban in the EU, mirroring steps already taken against the platform on Commission corporate phones. The global debate around TikTok highlights the tension between national security and individual rights. Governments worldwide are grappling with how to regulate digital platforms without stifling free expression. 

The Double Standard

Ironically, the focus on TikTok’s data practices highlights a double standard. American tech companies routinely collect vast amounts of user data, often without explicit consent. Social media giants like Facebook and Google have faced scrutiny for their data-sharing practices, yet they continue to operate freely. The selective outrage over TikTok’s potential data sharing reveals a bias that undermines the principles of equal treatment and fairness. 

The Impact on Free Speech

Beyond the data privacy debate, banning TikTok raises serious questions about free speech. The app has become a platform for marginalized voices, allowing users to share their experiences, opinions, and creativity. By stifling TikTok, we risk silencing these voices and limiting the diversity of expression in the digital sphere. The First Amendment protects our right to speak freely, even when that speech challenges the status quo or makes us uncomfortable. 

The Legal Precedent

The TikTok ban sets a legal precedent for regulating social media platforms. If the government can ban an app based on national security concerns, what other platforms might face similar scrutiny? The delicate balance between security and individual rights requires thoughtful legislation and judicial oversight. The TikTok case will shape future debates on tech regulation. 

As we delve deeper into the complexities of the TikTok ban, we must consider these additional facets. The decision transcends a single app; it reflects broader societal tensions around technology, freedom and governance. Let us engage in informed discussions that safeguard civil liberties while addressing legitimate concerns.

The Israel-Palestinian media disconnect

MAY 5, 2024
HEARD ON NPR

ALL THINGS CONSIDERED
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Transcript


There is a split-screen of media coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. Israeli channels focus on the Oct. 7 attack, the soldiers and the hostages, while Palestinian media highlights daily suffering.

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

In an ongoing war, information is often viewed as an important weapon - information about what the other side is doing, but also what the people in a country and war see and know about the conflict. This is the sound of a video clip from Al Jazeera English posted earlier today on the social media platform X.


(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)



UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: If you're watching this prerecorded report, then Al Jazeera has been banned in the territory of Israel.



DETROW: Israel has banned the Qatari news channel from its airwaves and online in the country, saying its coverage of the war in Gaza threatens national security. The move comes as critics accuse both Israeli and Palestinian media of failing to cover the suffering on the other side of the conflict. And each side is quick to discredit the other's point of view. NPR's Carrie Kahn talked with news consumers and journalists on both sides of the ongoing war and brings us this report.



(CROSSTALK)



CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: At a convenience store in Tel Aviv's working-class Hatikva neighborhood, a group of men are filling out lottery tickets, smoking cigarettes and occasionally glancing up at the TV playing the evening news. Shahaf Simantov, a 20-year-old driver for a food delivery app, says he gets almost all his news from TV.



SHAHAF SIMANTOV: What's up in my country, I see. What I need to see, I see. Hamas from Gaza, fake news.



KAHN: He doesn't believe people are going hungry in Gaza or the high Palestinian death toll - more than 34,000, according to the health ministry, which Israelis emphasize is run by Hamas.



(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)



UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Non-English language spoken).



KAHN: The TV is set to Channel 14, which was launched 10 years ago and is now Israel's No. 2 station. With its steady stream of conservative and favorable coverage of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, it's been dubbed Israel's Fox News. Alon Harazy is 44 years old. He works for a moving company.



ALON HARAZY: (Non-English language spoken).



KAHN: He says he likes Channel 14 stories about Israel's military, which he says motivates young people to join the army. Most Israeli TV coverage focuses on soldier profiles and Hamas' brutal attack on Israel on October 7 that killed about 1,200 people, according to Israel. There are also frequent updates on the more than 100 hostages still held in Gaza and their relatives' agonizing wait for their release. However, Rutie Poltal, a 63-year-old retiree, says she seldom sees what's happening to the people of Gaza on Israeli TV. She watches TikTok.



RUTIE POLTAL: (Non-English language spoken).



KAHN: It breaks my heart to see their destroyed hospitals, all the children without fathers, mothers crying, she says.



(SOUNDBITE OF HAIRCLIPPERS BUZZING)



KAHN: Across the street at a small hair salon, 33-year-old Schlomi Rachamino is getting his weekly trim. Channel 14 is also on the TV above his chair. He says he has no need to watch anything else.



SCHLOMI RACHAMINO: (Through interpreter) I don't need to see anyone in Gaza. We need to erase them all.



KAHN: Almost half of Israelis over the age of 20 watch TV news, and almost a fifth say they'll only watch Channel 14, says Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, a media expert at the Israel Democracy Institute.



TEHILLA SHWARTZ ALTSHULER: Just like what happens in America these days, our media is very, very polarized.



KAHN: And just like in other countries, she says, Israeli and media budgets have been slashed as advertisers shift to social media. At the same time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues his campaign against critical media. He's facing criminal charges for allegedly giving favors to media tycoons to get better coverage. He denies any wrongdoing. Israelis are getting their news in a bubble, says Shwartz Altshuler.



SHWARTZ ALTSHULER: And this creates crazy blind spots for the Israeli public, as well as a gap between the world's understanding of what is happening in the territories or in Gaza and the Israeli public's understanding.



KAHN: Israelis view themselves as victims after October 7 and don't understand why the world sees them as the aggressors in this fight, says Meron Rapoport, an Israeli journalist. And they were stunned when accused of genocide in the International Court of Justice, he adds.



MERON RAPOPORT: The Israeli public deserves that at least you will get a wider picture of what's going on.



KAHN: Rapoport, who works at the independent news site +972, says Israelis are being fed a steady diet of patriotism and victimhood.



UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: (Non-English language spoken).



KAHN: In the control room of Watan television in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, a man directs a nightly call-in show. Palestinian media faces scrutiny too, like reporters calling Hamas militants resistance fighters. General director Muamar Orabi says Watan tries to cover both sides fairly.



MUAMAR ORABI: All of us, we saw what's happening in the 7 of October when Hamas attacked, but today they're killing everything in Gaza. This is our children, our fathers, our mothers. So we need to highlight the suffering.



KAHN: Watan's offices in Gaza were destroyed in an Israeli airstrike. At least 97 journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Ramallah resident and avid news consumer, 38-year-old Mohammad Quasam Ali, says Palestinians know all they need to know about October 7. He gets most of his news from Telegram and Al Jazeera, the Qatari-based news channel.



MOHAMMAD QUASAM ALI: (Non-English language spoken).



KAHN: We cannot forget which side is responsible for October 7, he says. The international community and Israel has trapped Gaza for decades, leaving little hope, he adds. He doesn't believe what is on Israeli media. A recent poll by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey showed that 90% of Palestinians do not believe Hamas committed atrocities on October 7. As Palestinian media continues to report what they view as an extreme and intolerable manmade humanitarian crisis, Israeli media presses its coverage of what it reflects as a just and existential fight for security and survival.



(SOUNDBITE OF HAIR PRODUCT SPRAYING)



KAHN: Outside Tel Aviv, in the makeup room at Channel 13's studios, Raviv Drucker, one of Israel's best-known investigative journalists, gets last-minute hairstyling. His weeknight news show is about to go live.



RAVIV DRUCKER: I need to go in.



KAHN: You have a good show.



He, too, criticizes Israeli media for not showing what is happening to Gaza's population. But he says journalists are people too, and like society, they're traumatized by Hamas' vicious attack.



DRUCKER: It's really easy to ask them to be - to aspire to the highest standards, but it's very difficult to implement.



KAHN: He recently put an image of a Palestinian baby with blood on his face on a show, and was criticized as being too provocative by panelists. Israel's public doesn't want to see that side of the story, he says, and most of Israeli journalism doesn't want to show it. Carrie Kahn, NPR News, Tel Aviv.



(SOUNDBITE OF TRACEY CHATTAWAY'S "EMBERS")



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NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Invasive Termites Dining In Our Homes: Soon A Reality In Most Cities

 May 6, 2024  

By Eurasia Review

With climate change continuing its relentless march, the world faces not only rising temperatures and extreme weather, but also an insidious threat to our homes: invasive termites. And the bill could be steep – invasive termites currently cost over 40 billion USD annually.

In a new study published in the open-access journal Neobiota, PhD student Edouard Duquesne and Professor Denis Fournier from the Evolutionary Biology & Ecology lab (Université libre de Bruxelles) unveil the unsettling reality of invasive termites’ potential expansion into new territories.

Their research reveals that as temperatures rise and climate patterns shift, cities worldwide, from tropical hotspots like Miami, Sao Paulo, Lagos, Jakarta or Darwin to temperate metropolises like Paris, Brussels, London, New York or Tokyo, could soon find themselves under siege by these tiny yet destructive pests.

But how do termites, typically associated with tropical climates, find their way into cities far beyond their natural habitat? The answer lies in the interconnectedness of our modern world. Urbanisation, with its dense populations and bustling trade networks, provides the perfect breeding ground for termite invasions.

Moreover, the global movement of goods, including wooden furniture transported by private vessels, offers unsuspecting pathways for these silent invaders to hitch a ride into our homes.

“A solitary termite colony, nestled within a small piece of wood, could clandestinely voyage from the West Indies to your Cannes apartment. It might lurk within furniture aboard a yacht moored at the Cannes Film Festival marina,” say the researchers.

“Mating is coming. Termite queens and kings, attracted by lights, may initiate reproduction, laying the groundwork for new colonies to conquer dry land,” they continue.

Duquesne and Fournier’s research emphasises the need for a paradigm shift in how we approach invasive species modelling. By integrating connectivity variables like trade, transport, and population density, their study highlights the importance of understanding the intricate interactions that facilitate termite spread.

In light of these findings, the researchers urge swift action from policymakers and citizens alike. Major cities, regardless of their climate zone, must implement strict termite control measures to protect homes and infrastructure.

“Citizens can play a crucial role by leveraging technology, such as AI-assisted apps like iNaturalist, to detect and report potential termite sightings, turning ordinary residents into vigilant guardians of their environment,” say the researchers.

“As we confront the challenges of a rapidly changing climate, awareness and proactive measures are our best defence against the creeping menace of invasive termites,” they conclude.

Workers and soldiers of the invasive termite Reticulitermes. Credit: David Mora (https://www.pasiontermitas.com/). CC-BY4.0

Study Explores Biology, Impact, Management And Potential Distribution Of Destructive Longhorn Beetle

 May 6, 2024  

By Eurasia Review

A new study, published in the Journal of Pest Science, explores the biology, impact, management, and potential distribution of the invasive, red-necked longhorn beetle (Aromia bungii) which has recently invaded Japan, Germany, and Italy.

The review is mainly based on Chinese literature and intended to reveal the rather concealed but present knowledge to a wider audience, especially for those countries that were recently invaded or are at threat to be invaded.

The insect is regarded as one of the most destructive longhorn beetle pests of fruit trees in lowland areas of China where economic losses to Prunus species, such as apricot and peach, can be substantial and threaten economic development and food security.

In Italy, the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) states, Aromia bungii has severely damaged or killed several hundred apricot, cherry and plum trees that have succumbed to larval attack that leads them to become more susceptible to disease.

Aromia bungii is native to the south-eastern Palaearctic and Oriental regions. It is recorded from China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Russian far East.

Sustainable control tools are needed

Scientists from the MARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Biosafety and European Laboratory joined colleagues from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agroscope and the Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) on the study which highlights that sustainable control tools are needed for the management of this emerging pest.

The study further demonstrates the great international, intercontinental collaboration for this review involving scientists from China, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Canada.

Dr Tim Haye, Head Arthropod Biological Control at CABI, and an author of the paper, said, “The pest exhibits an adaptable lifecycle, a high reproductive output, and the larvae live concealed under the bark of invested trees, which are traits that promote its invasiveness.

“Detection and monitoring of A. bungii currently rely upon visual identification of infested trees that are usually already damaged, which is inefficient and not target-specific.”

Dr Haye said current control methods rely upon the labour-intensive physical removal of infested trees. Although native parasitoid natural enemies of A. bungii provide control in Chinese orchards, none are appropriate for classical biological control in invaded areas due to biosafety concerns surrounding their broad host ranges. However, entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes may provide viable options for biological control in invaded ranges.

Targeted natural enemy surveys

Dr Jinping Zhang, of the MARA-CABI Joint Laboratory for Biosafety, said, “Recent advancements in semiochemical baited traps may provide sustainable, target-specific, and efficacious methods to monitor and control A. bungii.

“There remains much to learn about the biology and control of A. bungii, and continued advancements in the study of sustainable control tools are needed for the management of this emerging pest.”

The scientists argue that classical biological control against A. bungii may not be viable due to biosafety risks, but targeted natural enemy surveys would provide greater clarity on the potential for this approach.

Dr Haye added, “This review ultimately provides a source of reference for A. bungii that can be used by scientists, regulatory agencies, and industry to direct future research and implementation of management options.”

Aromia bungii is regarded as one of the most destructive longhorn beetle pests of fruit trees (Credit: Tim Haye).

OPINION
In the dock: Pivotal climate change testimonies in US

BY ANASTASIA MOLONEY/BOGOTA

LAST EDITED MAY 06, 2024 | 01:14 AM

A resident of El Bosque cries in front of what is left of her house as rising sea levels are destroying homes built on the shoreline and forcing villagers to relocate, in El Bosque, Mexico. (Reuters)

From Mexicans left homeless by rising seas to Colombians affected by coral bleaching, hundreds of people are telling the top human rights court in the Americas what climate change means to them in an historic case that could shape international law.

Environmental lawyers also hope the hearings at the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), which were requested by Colombia and Chile, will define the duties of states to confront the climate crisis and stop it infringing on human rights.

As well as receiving submissions from climate victims, the Costa Rica-based court, which started its inquiry in Barbados in April, will hear from UN agencies, legal experts, grassroots environmental campaign groups, and youth groups.

The next sessions are due to be held in Brasilia and then Manaus, Brazil at the end of May, and an advisory opinion is expected by May 2025.

“We’re hoping that the court’s legal opinion is a guide and reference for Mexico, and other states, to develop public policies from a climate justice perspective,” said Nora Cabrera, a lawyer and head of Our Future, a Mexico-based youth climate justice campaign group.

“And that it includes loss and damage compensation for affected communities, and adaptation policies for those not yet directly affected by climate change,” said Cabrera, who will be speaking at the next hearing in Manaus.

In January, Colombia and Chile asked the IACHR to issue the advisory opinion, saying that they were experiencing the “daily challenge of dealing with the consequences of the climate emergency,” including fires, landslides, droughts and floods.

“These events reveal the need for an urgent response based on the principles of equity, justice, co-operation and sustainability, with a human rights-based approach,” they said in their petition.

“There is a close relationship between the climate emergency and the violation of human rights,” they added.

It is this link between climate change and human rights that the IACHR will seek to define, while also examining how climate change affects migration and looking at the disproportionate effect on children, women and Indigenous people.

Chile and Colombia also asked the court for clarification on a state’s duties to protect environmental activists.

Latin America is the most dangerous place in the world for environmental and land defenders, according to advocacy group Global Witness. Around 90% of the 177 killings of environmental activists recorded in 2022 took place in the region.

“The hearing aims to ask for clarity about human rights obligations and the climate crisis,” said Jacob Kopas, senior attorney at the Earthjustice environmental group, one of a group of lawyers who spoke at the Barbados hearing on April 26.

“It will help to create a more concise framework to guide state behaviour and policy to confront the climate crisis and protect human rights,” said Kopas.

Among those submitting testimonies will be the residents of the El Bosque fishing community in Tabasco, Mexico, where rising sea levels caused by climate change have swept away about 200 meters of coastline.

Since 2019, the school and more than 50 homes have been destroyed, forcing about 200 people to leave.

El Bosque community leader, Guadalupe Cobos, said she and 10 neighbours will probably have to leave within a year and resettle in an area about 12km away, where new homes are being built by the government.

“We depend on the sea but coastal erosion has affected our way of life. It’s important for the court to know that we’re living climate change now and that this isn’t something that will happen in the future in 20 or 50 years’ time,” said Cobos.

“We want the court to hear our experiences and to know that our rights have been violated, that we have been forced to migrate,” Cobos told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The court’s advisory opinion could have important implications for climate litigation across Latin America and the Caribbean and make it easier for communities living with the effects of global warming to take legal action.

The opinion will apply to all signatories of the American Convention on Human Rights, most of whom are members of the Organization of American States. The United States and Canada have not ratified the treaty however.

The advisory opinion will help shape the region’s legal systems as many countries incorporate its jurisprudence into their laws and constitutions.

“We’re hoping that the court makes the link between the climate crisis and human rights violations and that it recognises climate displacement,” said Cabrera, whose organisation has been supporting the El Bosque community.

The IACHR is known for its progressive stance on climate justice and human rights.
In March, it recognised that citizens in Peru have the right to a healthy environment when it ruled in favor of people living in the Andean mining town of La Oroya, who had suffered from decades of environmental pollution.

Other courts are also breaking new ground in this sphere.

In Colombia in April, in response to a lawsuit filed by a farming couple who were driven out of their home by flooding caused by heavy rains, the country’s constitutional court recognised the links between environmental disasters and climate change and people being forcibly displaced.

Across the world, other top courts are also examining the connection between human rights and climate change. On April 9, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the Swiss government had violated the human rights of its citizens by failing to do enough to combat climate change.

Two other courts - the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS) — are also expected to give advisory opinions on international legal obligations of states regarding climate change.

Kopas said the IACHR ruling could lead the way by delivering a “forward-reaching and progressive” advisory opinion.

“It’s historic because of the climate crisis we are in. This is the crisis of our lifetime and of all future generations.” 

— Thomson Reuters Foundation

Malaysia’s Michelle Yeoh Awarded US Presidential Medal Of Freedom

 May 6, 2024  

By BenarNews

Oscar-winning Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh was among 19 people who were awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom here on Friday for their “exemplary contributions” to the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.

U.S. President Joe Biden, presented Yeoh, 61, and her 18 fellow honorees with the medal – the nation’s highest civilian honor – during a ceremony at the White House in the late afternoon.

“Over four decades and on and off the screen, [Michelle] Yeoh … has shattered stereotypes and glass ceilings to enrich, enhance American culture,” the president said in introducing the Malaysia-born film star. 

“Her roles transcend gender, cultures and languages, from martial arts to romantic comedies to science fiction, to show us what we all have in common. As the first Asian actor to win an Oscar as Best Actress, she bridges cultures, not only to entertain but also inspire and open hearts. And that’s what she keeps doing,” Biden said. 

As he introduced her, he fumbled Yeoh’s first name and referred to her as “Michael” before quickly correcting his error. Moments later, Biden draped the blue-ribboned medal around Yeoh, who was dressed in black. 

With all 19 recipients honored in alphabetical order, she was the last to receive the medal. 

Last year, Yeoh, who was born in Ipoh, won the Oscar for best actress for her starring role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which also won Best Picture and Best Director honors at the 95th Academy Awards.

It took Yeoh only a little under 40 years of perseverance to shatter the stereotypes that President Biden mentioned. 

During a period in the late 1990s, she refused so many films – all the roles offered were of stereotypical Asian characters – that she found herself out of work for two years, Yeoh has said in interviews.

“At that point, people in the industry couldn’t really tell the difference between whether I was Chinese or Japanese or Korean or if I even spoke English,” she told People magazine in March 2023.

“They would talk very loudly and very slow,” she said. 

This was after her international breakthrough role in a James Bond franchise film, “Tomorrow Never Dies.” In it, she plays Wai Lin, an action-oriented Chinese spy who speaks English. Yeoh is fluent in English, Malay and Cantonese.

The actress didn’t just buck Asian stereotypes, she also refused to be cast in films in which an actress was just a pretty prop, or a damsel in distress. And she did this at the start of her career, not after she had established herself.

The roster of 19 who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Friday featured pioneers and record breakers from the fields of arts and entertainment, education, civil rights, sports, and aerospace.

Apart from a bevy of big-name American politicians, Yeoh’s fellow honorees included TV talk show personality Phil Donohue; Ellen Ochoa, the first Hispanic woman to travel into space; Medgar Evers, an icon of the civil rights movement who was assassinated in 1963; Swimmer Katie Ledecky, a 21-time gold medalist at the world championships; and the late Jim Thorpe, an athlete who excelled at multiple sports and was the first Native American to win a gold medal at the Olympics.

From Hong Kong to Hollywood    

A former Miss Malaysia, Michelle Yeoh got her break in a Hong Kong film with international action and martial arts superstar Jackie Chan – they would work in about a dozen more films together. In her debut movie, Yeoh told People magazine, she did play a woman who needed to be saved.

However, that was probably the last time she took a role of that nature. A year later, in 1985, she was offered her first lead role, an action-oriented one, as a cop in Hong Kong. She barely knew any Cantonese, so she learned the language. And she did her own stunts – another stereotype broken.

Yeoh soon established herself as a top regional star with her Hong Kong films. Then Hollywood came calling in 1997, with the Bond film, after which she didn’t work for two years.

Director Ang Lee, who had made a name for himself in Hollywood with “Sense & Sensibility,” offered Yeoh the role of a warrior – one of the three main roles – in the martial arts film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

The film was a massive hit and for Yeoh, a landmark in her career – she won a best actress nomination from BAFTA (The British Academy of Film and Television Arts). In February 2023, when the movie was released in a restored 4k version, Time magazine declared that “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon proves Michelle Yeoh has always been criminally underrated.”

This martial arts film led to offers from Hollywood, again, but this time the roles were worlds better than before. Yeo then starred in several notable films, such as “Memoirs a Geisha,” “Sunshine,” and “Crazy Rich Asians.”

Finally, sometime in 2018, the Daniels – the director duo of Daniel Scheiner and Daniel Kwan – offered her the lead role in “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” a film set in a multiverse.

The whacky film was the one that had been eluding Yeoh – the one with an Oscar-winning role. 

Playing a Chinese-American immigrant owner of a laundromat who alone could save existence, Yeoh became the first Asian woman to win the best actress Oscar.

She referred to her historic feat in her acceptance speech.

“For all the little boys and girls who look like me watching tonight, this is a beacon of hope and possibilities,” she said.

“This is proof that … dream big, and dreams do come true.”

U.S. President Joe Biden awards the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to Malaysia-born actress Michelle Yeoh. Photo Credit: White House video screenshot

BenarNews mission is to provide readers with accurate news and information that reflects the complex and ever-changing world around them. With homepages in Bengali, Thai, Bahasa Malaysia, Bahasa Indonesia and English, BenarNews brings timely news to its diverse audience. Copyright BenarNews. Used with the permission of BenarNews