This week’s readings/links include a look at activist funds in Asia, an interview with the author of “In Putin’s Footsteps,” Symphony’s 2018 annual report, Vietnam’s wildlife conservation challenges and some takeaways from the recent Melon Sci-Fi conference in Hong Kong.

• Activist funds take aim at Asia Inc’s complacent boardrooms: Rising number of Asian companies under pressure over governance.
• Searching for the soul of Russia under Putin: A new book from Nina Khrushcheva and Jeffrey Tayler takes readers on a tour of Russia under President Putin.
• Symphony Asia: Annual report 2018.
• Vietnam’s empty forests: The Asian nation is a hot spot of biological diversity, but local and international conservation groups are struggling to halt what amounts to animal genocide.
• Lessons from aliens on the galactic silk road: Space tourism, creating experiences and dreaming of AI with empathy.