Season 7 Plot
CNA's award-winning flagship investigative series returns for the seventh year to uncover the hard truths in the underbelly of Asia and shine the light on the plight of the disenfranchised and the displaced. This season, we investigate the unexpected fallout in Indonesia from China’s decision to ban plastic waste; the causes and consequences of South Korea’s massive household debt; the rise of non-consensual porn in Singapore; and the dark side of the quest for white skin in the Philippines.
Undercover Asia Season 7 aired on March 8th, 2020.
Season 7 Episodes
1. Caught In The Middle
What does it mean to fight an impossible battle in a city full of violence, fear and uncertainty? Undercover Asia examines the Hong Kong protests through the lens of those caught in the middle: The police force, once Asia's finest, now the most hated in Hong Kong. How does the prolonged violence and harassment affect them and their families?
2. Plastic Wasteland
In 2018 China stops importing recyclables, creating global chaos and flooding Southeast Asian countries with unwanted plastic. For Indonesia, battling its own waste problems, is this the last straw?
3. The Dark Side Of Skin Lightening
Many Filipinos desire to have a lighter skin tone, and they want it fast. Their go-to fix: creams and injections that are increasingly popular despite health warnings on their use.
4. Airpocalypse
In November 2019, India's capital city, Delhi plunges into an air pollution crisis. As winter 2020 approaches, can Delhi prevent another airpocalypse?
5. Household Debt Bomb
Every minute, South Korea's household debt rises by US$90,000. Korean households are the most indebted in Asia, but they're still splashing out. Will COVID-19 finally tip them over the edge?
6. Porn Without Permission
Non-consensual pornography is fast on the rise in Singapore. These private and intimate images are uploaded and shared on the Internet without consent, invading privacy and destroying lives. What will it take to stop the spread?
7. Cost Of The Crown
In the last decade, the Philippines won 9 international crowns, which triggered a surge in the number of beauty pageants and pageant hopefuls. But as more and more vie for attention in an increasingly crowded space, these pageants have become fertile hunting grounds for sexual predators. Undercover Asia strips away the glitz and glamour to expose how pageants are enabling exploitation to fester.
8. Dangerous Fakes
Counterfeiting syndicates are no longer just faking handbags and luxury items. They are now gunning for everyday products you use and consume - from health supplements to cosmetics, fever pills to hard liquor. Undercover Asia heads to Malaysia to investigate a spike in reports of these counterfeit products in the market.
9. Toxic Town
In March 2019, an industrial town in the southern Malaysian state of Johor was poisoned. An illegal dumping of toxic waste caused more than 4,000 people to fall ill. We look at what happened and meet the men, women and children who were directly affected by the pollution crisis.
10. Slavery At Sea
For decades, thousands of vulnerable migrants have been enslaved onboard untraceable Thai fishing boats lingering far out in international waters. Governments are now cracking down on this brutal industry with new rules being put in place. But as the world's insatiable appetite for low cost seafood persists, perpetrators are finding ways to navigate the restrictions.