Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
August 4, 2014
Philippines welcomes 100 millionth citizen
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials welcomed the birth of
the country’s 100 millionth citizen last month with a cake, hope, and concerns
about how the poor Southeast Asian nation can help ensure a decent life for its
swelling population. A baby girl named Chonalyn was born shortly after
midnight on July 27 at the government-run Jose Fabella hospital in Manila,
pushing the country’s estimated population to the milestone figure, according to
Juan Antonio Perez III, executive director of the Commission on Population.
Wrapped in a blanket and pink bonnet and cradled by her beaming mother,
Chonalyn was showered with a cake, infant clothes, and other gifts by health
and population commission officials at a hospital ceremony. The United Nations
Population Fund said the milestone offers both challenges and opportunities to
the Philippines, which is the world’s 12th most populous country and has one of
Asia’s fastest-growing populations.
South Korean ruling party wins by-elections
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s ruling party has won most of the
seats at stake in legislative by-elections, cementing its majority and giving a
boost to President Park Geun-hye’s embattled conservative government after
April’s ferry disaster. The National Election Commission said Park’s Saenuri
Party won 10 of the 15 vacant seats in the National Assembly and has a
comfortable lead in one other district. The elections were considered a gauge of
public sentiment toward Park’s administration after her approval rating
plummeted over the government’s handling of the ferry sinking, which left more
than 300 people dead or missing.
Kiribati boxer makes ring debut at Commonwealth Games
GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — By the roadside, Taoriba Biniati spends her
days whacking a punching bag that hangs from a breadfruit free in the Pacific
island nation of Kiribati. The 18-year-old Biniati said: “I spar with the boys, but
the boys will not hit me.” Living on Tabiteuea, one of Kiribati’s impoverished
strings of 33 coral atolls, finding a female sparring partner has proved
impossible. It has taken a journey to the other side of the world — at the
Commonwealth Games — for Biniati to enter a ring for the first time to fight a
woman. With hundreds watching in an arena in Glasgow and the fight being
broadcast globally, Biniati faced fellow novice Isabelle Ratna. The 24-year-old
from Mauritius won the four-round bout to move on to the quarterfinals, but was
later defeated.
Nepal allows cremation of Tibetan Buddhist monk
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The body of a revered Tibetan Buddhist monk
was cremated at his monastery in the hills outside Nepal’s capital, after the
government reversed its earlier objections to bringing the body into the country.
Nepal had initially said Shamar Rinpoche’s body could not enter Nepal because
he was a citizen of the nearby Himalayan nation of Bhutan. Some accused the
government, however, of fearing anti-China protests by Tibetans during the
funeral procession, which was attended by thousands of Rinpoche’s followers.
The cabinet decided to allow the cremation, information minister Minendra
Risal said, out of recognition for the monk’s contribution to Buddhism in the
country. Rinpoche — who has followers in Nepal, India, Bhutan, and Europe —
built his monastery in the hills northwest of Kathmandu and preached there for
several years. His followers said he wished to be cremated there. After the
62-year-old Rinpoche died of a heart attack in Germany, his body was flown to
India for his followers there to pay their last respects. The body had remained in
Kalingpong in northeast India. Risal said the Nepalese government’s approval
was delayed until Prime Minister Sushil Koirala returned from a medical trip to
the United States, where he was receiving cancer treatment. The cremation took
place late last month. Nepal does not allow Tibetan exiles to protest against
China, and police are quick to break up any demonstrations.
Amazon to invest $2 billion to expand in India
MUMBAI, India (AP) — The world’s largest online retailer is facing off in
India against a new name in e-commerce that was founded by former Amazon
employees. Amazon.com Inc. said it will invest $2 billion to expand its Indian
business, a day after local rival Flipkart raised $1 billion to fund its own
expansion. Launched last year, Amazon’s India division has been making a big
push into the country’s small but fast-growing online retail market. It has been
running front-page advertisements in newspapers and touting one-day
delivery. Gearing up to fight the online giant, Indian e-commerce company
Flipkart raised $1 billion in new capital. Both companies claim they are the
largest online retailer in India, though neither releases its sales numbers.
Online retailing accounted for $2.3 billion of India’s $400 billion retail market in
2013, but Crisil Research estimated in a February report that sales are growing
at more than 50 percent annually and are on track to reach $8.3 billion by 2016.
Amazon is limited by Indian law to providing products through third-party
merchants. Despite that, Amazon India has expanded to 17 million products, it
said. Flipkart, founded in 2007, has at times been called the Amazon of India. It
was founded by Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, who worked at Amazon before
returning home to India to start their online business. Among the investors in
Flipkart’s recent $1 billion fundraising round are Singapore’s sovereign wealth
fund, GIC, along with existing investors Accel Partners, DST Blobal, and
Morgan Stanley Investment Management, the company said. The company said
the funds will be used to invest in expansion, especially in mobile technology.
MCNUGGETS MCPULLED. Customers in Hong Kong sit at a McDonald’s restaurant. McDonald’s restaurants in
Hong Kong have taken chicken nuggets and chicken filet sandwiches off the menu after a U.S.-owned supplier in mainland
China was accused of selling expired meat. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
McNuggets pulled from
sale in HK after meat scare
By Kelvin Chan
AP Business Writer
ONG KONG — McDonald’s restau-
rants in Hong Kong have taken
chicken nuggets and chicken filet
sandwiches off the menu after a U.S.-owned
supplier in mainland China was accused of
selling expired meat.
The fast-food chain said it “suspended
relevant food ingredients” at Hong Kong
outlets in light of the scandal surrounding
Shanghai Husi Food Co.
Chinese authorities detained five Husi
employees after a television station reported
that the company repackaged and sold meat
past its use-by date. Investigators seized
hundreds of tons of material but had yet to
confirm finding expired meat.
McDonald’s in Hong Kong said it stopped
serving nuggets and McSpicy chicken filet
sandwiches, which were made with meat from
a Husi factory in Hebei province, not the
Shanghai factory at the center of the initial
allegations against the company.
But the chain also said that records showed
its restaurants previously used meat imported
H
from Shanghai Husi, including pork from July
2013 to February 2014 and thigh patties for
chicken filet burgers in May and June. All the
meat in those two batches conformed to Hong
Kong safety standards and were sold to
customers, with none left in stock, the
company said in a statement.
McDonald’s is also halting the sale in Hong
Kong of green salad, chicken salad, lemon tea,
and fresh corn cup because they used fruits
and vegetables from another Husi factory in
southern Guangzhou province.
The government of Hong Kong, a
semiautonomous Chinese territory, said
imports of Husi products would be suspended
as the investigation on the mainland
continued and local food-safety inspectors
carried out their own tests.
McDonald’s Corp. restaurants in mainland
China had already withdrawn products made
with meat from Husi, which is owned by
Aurora, Illinois-based OSI Group. So have
other chains including KFC and Pizza Hut,
which are owned by Yum Brands Inc.; pizza
chain Papa John’s International Inc.; Star-
bucks Corp.; Burger King Corp.; and Taiwan
sandwich chain Dicos.
McDonald’s Japan to strengthen checks on chicken
By Yuri Kageyama
AP Business Writer
OKYO — McDonald’s in Japan is
increasing its checks on chicken from
vendors in China and Thailand after
allegations a Chinese supplier sold expired
chicken. It says the scare will hurt its
earnings.
The U.S. fast-food chain’s Japan unit has
withdrawn this year’s earnings and sales
forecasts, citing uncertainties from the food
T
scandal.
The Chinese food safety agency is investi-
gating allegations Shanghai Husi Food Co., a
McDonald’s supplier, sold expired meat.
McDonald’s Japan has stopped using chicken
from Husi.
Other restaurant operators in China have
withdrawn products made with meat from
Husi.
Some of McDonald’s Japan outlets, mostly
those in the Tokyo area, have stopped serving
Continued on page 3
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25985
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8061.1
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