Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: Thailand's marriage equality milestone

Hello from Hong Kong, where last night I attended the annual awards ceremony run by the Society of Publishers in Asia. Our "Asia's Age of Hydropolitics" series won the explanatory reporting award for Editorial Excellence. We are extremely pleased to have won the top prize for the second year in a row in the global category, where the competition included major international media outlets.

Looking at the list of winning stories, I was reminded of the region's enormous diversity and the wide range of challenges it faces. Many people speak of the headwinds confronting the media industry in Asia -- especially here in Hong Kong -- but it is encouraging to see so many journalists working harder than ever in this region.

Our Big Story this week is about one of those challenges, one that is not reported on nearly enough: LGBTQ rights. On Tuesday, Thailand, which has been relatively tolerant of LGBTQ people within the ASEAN region, became the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.

This is a major milestone, but we cannot take it as a sign that the East is making the same steady progress as the West in understanding LGBTQ issues. The story, written in collaboration with our reporters across the region, points out that this is still a very difficult issue for countries in Asia, given their social and religious diversity.

Among the award-winning stories, one of the most popular topics was the fierce competition between two major powers, China and the U.S. The topic itself has been widely covered for some time, but I think there is still much to be told. The Business Spotlight feature in this week's magazine highlights a tricky reality: the heavy dependence in the U.S. on Chinese drones.

Speaking of the tech