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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (June 2, 2014)
Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC June 2, 2014 China rules out Windows 8 for government computers BEIJING (AP) — China’s government says it will avoid buying computer equipment that runs on Windows 8 in a setback for Microsoft’s efforts to promote the operating system. The announcement said desktop, laptop, and tablet personal computers bought for government use must use a different operating system. The brief statement gave no explanation. Microsoft wants customers to switch to Windows 8 after support for its 13-year-old Windows XP operating system ended in April. Some customers have avoided that, citing expense and inconvenience. The government is the biggest buyer of computer software in China, so its purchasing decisions can have a significant impact on sales. Ferguson earns $4 million in wine auction HONG KONG (AP) — Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has earned nearly $4 million by selling off part of his vintage wine collection at an auction in Hong Kong. Auction house Christie’s said on its website that British football’s most successful manager raised 29,316,087 Hong Kong dollars ($3.8 million) in 257 lots. The most expensive sale was a bottle of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti, which went for 1,225,000 HKD ($158,000). Ferguson’s wine cellar spans every year of his managerial career at United from 1986 to 2013, during which time he won 38 major trophies. The rest of Ferguson’s 5,000-bottle collection will be sold in two other auctions — in London on June 5 and online from June 9 to 23. Chinese woman scales Everest from Nepal side KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A Chinese woman and five Sherpa guides have scaled Mount Everest, becoming the first team to reach the peak from the Nepal side after a deadly avalanche sent climbers home. A Nepalese Tourism Ministry official, Dipendra Paudel, said 40-year-old Wang Zing reached the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) summit with her Nepalese guides. The April 18 avalanche that swept the route near the base camp killed 16 Sherpa guides. After the disaster, the guides refused to continue and teams cancelled their expeditions. Wang, however, scaled the peak with her own guides. Her team was the only one to scale Everest from the popular southern route from Nepal this season, which ended last week. Sri Lanka blocks two more independent news websites COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Media groups say Sri Lankan authorities have blocked access to two independent news websites in the latest crackdown on the media. Professional Web Journalists’ Association convener Freddy Gamage said <www.srilankamirror.com> and <www.theindependent.lk> were blocked by the authorities who have so far blocked eight news websites. He said it was done “without any legal basis.” Kelum Shivantha, the editor of the Sri Lanka Mirror’s website said he has been told by internet service providers that the blocking was done on a directive by the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC). TRC director general Anusha Palpita declined to comment. In 2012, police raided and sealed off the Sri Lanka Mirror’s office and arrested nine workers and seized computers and documents. Vietnamese woman self-immolates to protest China HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A 67-year-old woman died after setting herself on fire in a protest against China, according to Vietnamese state media. The report on a website of the Thanh Nien newspaper said the incident occurred in downtown Ho Chin Minh City in front of the former presidential palace. It quoted senior government official Le Truong Hai Hieu as saying the woman had banners protesting China’s recent deployment of an oil rig off the Paracel Islands in waters also claimed by Vietnam. The three-week standoff has raised fears of confrontation after Vietnam deployed ships in an effort to stop China’s drilling operations. Vietnam’s government has clamped down on street protests after they morphed into anti-Chinese riots that that left two dead and damaged factories. HISTORIC VISIT. South Korean Roman Catholic Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung arrives from an inter-Korean joint factory park in Kaesong, North Korea, at the Inter-Korean Transit Office near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju, north of Seoul, South Korea. Yeom visited North Korea for the first time despite rekindled animosity between the neighboring countries. (AP Photo/Yonhap, Im Byung-shik) South Korean Catholic cardinal makes first visit to North Korea The Associated Press S EOUL, South Korea — A Roman Catholic cardinal from South Korea visited North Korea for the first time last month, despite rekindled animosity between the neighboring countries. Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung and other South Korean priests travelled to a joint North-South industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea, to tour the complex and meet South Koreans working there. Yeom told reporters after his return from the one-day visit that seeing South and North Koreans working in harmony gave him hope that the two countries can “overcome their pain and sorrow.” The joint industrial park, located just north of the heavily armed border, is the last re- maining cross-border rapprochement project between the rival Koreas. It combines South Korean initiative, capital, and technology with cheap North Korean labor. Operations at the decade-old complex were suspended for months last year when tensions sharply rose over repeated North Korean threats of nuclear war. South Korean Catholic officials denied media speculation that Yeom’s trip might be q Nepal rally marks anniversary of Everest conquest KATMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Hundreds of people in Nepal’s capital held separate rallies to mark the 61st anniversary of the first conquest of Mount Everest and to remember the 16 Sherpa guides who died in an April avalanche on the world’s highest mountain. New Zealander Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay, became the Gun goes off in Chinese school during safety talk BEIJING (AP) — A handgun went off during a police safety talk at a kinder- garten in the central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, injuring four adults and one child, police said. The gun misfired during a demonstration and the bullet struck the ground, sending up sparks and cement that hit the arms and legs of by- standers, the city’s Zhengdong police post said on its microblog. The injuries were minor, the statement said. It said two police officers involved were confined as an internal punishment by the department, and that a deputy director, a squad chief, and an instructor were suspended. Police extended “heartfelt apologies,” it said. Until recently, few Chinese police carried guns, but the government announced in April more will be issued firearms. It said they need to respond faster to violent criminals and other emergencies. first climbers to reach the top of Everest on May 29, 1953. More than 500 people, including mountaineers and trekking guides, marched in Kathmandu May 29 to mark the day. A separate rally was held the evening before in memory of the 16 guides killed in an April 18 avalanche just above Everest’s base camp. Participants held candles and pictures of the guides who died in the disaster. Visit my website to search the Oregon Regional MLS for homes or request a free home value report: www.helenskau.johnlscott.com Japan beats Hong Kong for spot in Rugby World Cup TOKYO (AP) — Yoshikazu Fujita scored three tries as Japan beat Hong Kong 49-8 to qualify for next year’s Rugby World Cup. Fujita scored two of his three tries in the first half at the National Stadium when Japan took a commanding 27-3 lead. Fujita ran in his third try in the second half to widen the advantage to 37-8. As the top team in Asia, Japan will compete in Pool B against South Africa, Samoa, Scotland, and the United States at next year’s World Cup in England. Hong Kong, meanwhile, enters the repechage qualifying stage. It plays Uruguay on August 2, with the winner taking on either Russia or the runner-up of the African qualifying tournament for a place in Pool A. aimed at preparing for a possible visit by Pope Francis to North Korea when he visits South Korea in August. Father Hur Young-yup, who went to Kaesong with the cardinal, said Yeom didn’t meet any North Korean officials there. The pope plans to visit South Korea August 14 through 18 to participate in a Catholic youth festival, preside over a beatification ceremony for 124 Korean martyrs, and bring a message of peace to the war-divided peninsula. His visit will be the first in 25 years by a pope to the Korean Peninsula. Yeom is the third South Korean national who has become a Roman Catholic cardinal. His trip was the first by a South Korean cardinal to North Korea, according to Seoul’s Unification Ministry. North Korea’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but in practice only sanctioned religious services are tolerated by the government. Defectors from the country have said that distributing bibles and holding secret prayer services can result in banishment to a labor camp or execution. Tensions between the two Koreas have risen in recent months, with North Korea con- ducting a series of missile and rocket launches and resuming its use of harsh rhetoric against South Korea and the U.S. By Hyung-jin Kim Call, text, or e-mail me about Buyer’s Agent Representation Services (No cost to homebuyers) Helen Skau Chinese Real Estate Agent with (503) 926-3138 helenskau@johnlscott.com Languages spoken: English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Min Nan, and Indonesian. Asian Currency Exchange Rates Units per U.S. dollar as of 5/30 Bangladesh Taka· · Cambodian Riel · · China Renminbi · · Fijian Dollar · · · · Hong Kong Dollar · Indian Rupee · · · · Indonesian Rupiah · Iranian Rial · · · · Japanese Yen · · · Laos New Kip · · · Malaysian Ringgit · Nepal Rupee · · · · Pakistani Rupee · · Papua N.G. Kina · · Philippine Peso· · · Russian Ruble · · · Saudi Riyal· · · · · Singapore Dollar · · South Korean Won · Sri Lankan Rupee · Taiwan Dollar · · · Thai Baht · · · · · Vietnam Dong · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 77.425 4043.0 6.247 1.8433 7.7527 59.102 11676 25446 101.66 8072.9 3.213 94.803 98.704 2.7431 43.775 34.803 3.7506 1.2535 1020.2 130.4 30.018 32.847 21158