Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC February 3, 2014 “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” now shown in China BEIJING (AP) — Ellen DeGeneres’s talk show is getting a new audience — viewers in China. The lighthearted, celebrity-focused show is now available in China on video site Sohu, with Chinese subtitles and within 48 hours of its original U.S. broadcast. It is the first U.S. daily talk show to be carried in China, according to a statement by distributor Warner Brothers and Sohu.com Inc. Sohu Video, like other Chinese online video sites, licenses many hit American television shows. Last month it unveiled the late-night U.S. comedy sketch show “Saturday Night Live” as an addition to its lineup. “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” is in its eleventh season and has won many U.S. awards. Sohu CEO Charles Zhang said the company believes “it could also have strong appeal and relevance with the Chinese audience.” South Korean credit card data theft highlights lapses SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A massive theft of customer data from three major credit card firms in South Korea has shown security lapses in the financial industry. Financial Services Commission chairman Shin Je-yoon said the credit card companies failed to ensure adequate security. The chief financial regulator urged credit companies to be vigilant about data theft not only by hackers, but also by employees and contractors. Prosecutors said an employee of a contractor stole the data of 80 million credit card customers beginning in 2012 by copying data to a USB device. Another official said the stolen data from Lotte Card Co. and the credit card units of KB Financial Group and NongHyup Bank was unencrypted. He said the companies were unaware of the theft until prosecutors began an investigation. 113 Filipino military men test positive for drugs MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — The Philippine military says more than 100 of its troops were found to have used illegal drugs during random testing last year. Military spokesman Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said 113 mostly young and low-ranking personnel tested positive on tests involving 20,000 troops in the 120,000-strong armed forces. If follow-up tests and an investigation confirm the initial findings, they may be discharged from service. A military statement did not say if the findings marked an increase in the number of drug users in the military, but said that the army and navy, particularly the marines, have consistently registered the most number of personnel who tested positive in past years. The Philippine military, one of Asia’s most ill-equipped, has been working to improve its equipment and training. Nepal doctors end strike after promise of reform KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Doctors in Nepal ended a five-day strike after the government assured them there would be changes in the country’s medical education system. Mukit Ram Shrestha of the Nepal Medical Association said hospitals across the country reopened last month. The protest was triggered by a physician who went on a 15-day hunger strike to demand the removal of the government-appointed head of Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital. The protesters said political appointees should not hold top positions at government hospitals, and that schools must be independent. The strike caused major slowdowns at hospitals across Nepal, a poor country where people often travel long distances from rural areas to seek medical care. Chinese police find 790,000 fake ID records BEIJING (AP) — Police in China have discovered 790,000 fake ID records in their system, which can be used to gain benefits, hide assets, and circumvent property ownership restrictions. The fake records that included the same people registering with different details came to light when police used image matching technology, the Ministry of Public Security said. The IDs have been nullified and those involved in the forgeries punished, according to the statement from the public security ministry, which did not give details. It also said any police officers found to have been involved would be fired. In China, citizens have to register their residency with police. This gives them access to housing and education benefits and an ID card. People with multiple IDs can gain access to additional benefits. In a high-profile case last year, a former vice president of a rural bank, Gong Ai’Ai, was found to have acquired multiple identities and more than 40 pricey Beijing apartments. Dubbed “Sister House,” she was sentenced to three years imprisonment for forging and trading official documents. The official Xinhua News Agency reported that a former police officer was sentenced to one year in prison for helping Gong to obtain the fake IDs. TURTLE TROUBLES. This undated photo released by the University of Queensland shows a green sea turtle at the bottom of the sea in the waters off Derawan Island, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Green sea turtles remain a rare sight in many parts of the world, but one Indonesian island tasked with protecting them is now being overrun by far too many. New research suggests the gentle endangered creatures are crowding into a marine reserve in numbers never recorded anywhere, gobbling seagrass to the point that they risk destroying the food source that’s vital to their survival. (AP Photo/ University of Queensland, Marjolijn Christianen) Endangered turtles face new threat in Indonesia By Margie Mason The Associated Press AKARTA, Indonesia — Green sea turtles remain a rare sight in many parts of the world, but one Indonesian island tasked with protecting them is being overrun by far too many. New research suggests the gentle endan- gered creatures are crowding into a marine reserve in numbers never recorded anywhere, gobbling seagrass to the point that they risk destroying the food source that’s vital to their survival. Up to 20 turtles were spotted in an area covering about two U.S. football fields at Derawan Island off Indonesia’s part of Borneo in 2011. That means snorkellers are almost guaranteed to see a turtle every moment they’re in the water. The rate was four times higher than non-protected areas elsewhere and also topped historic numbers reported before the reptile was hunted by humans. The graceful creatures with heart-shaped shells usually just munch on seagrass much like cows grazing in a field. But the increasing population has pushed them to desperation: With no top leaves left, they now claw at the plants with their flippers and use their mouths to violently rip the seagrass out by the roots, leaving patches of white sandy ocean floor. Such behavior has not been seen elsewhere, according to findings published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. They are “creating sort of piles of mud in the seagrass bed where they’ve eaten the underlying root matter, and it can take a hell J of a long time for that to come back,” said co-author Peter Mumby, a marine ecologist at the University of Queensland in Australia. “So essentially, they’re going to eat themselves out of house and home.” Using modelling, the research team, led from 2008 to 2011 by Marjolijn Christianen of Radboud University Nijmegen in the Netherlands, found that nearly all turtles would need to be removed from the area in order for the seagrass to recover. If they are not stopped, the beds could be destroyed within the next five to 10 years, the study suggests. Mumby said a short-term solution may be to try to relocate the turtles to less populated reserves, but he added that larger conserva- tion issues must be addressed by the govern- ment. Pesticide, fertilizer, and sediment run- off from nearby mining and agriculture operations, including rapidly expanded palm oil plantations, are smothering seagrass beds in areas outside the decade-old reserve. The turtles are also congregating in the protected area for safety because they are being poached outside. The heavy hunting of sharks, a major turtle predator, could be another factor contributing to the rising numbers. Many of the turtles feeding off Derawan do not nest there and instead come from outside areas including Malaysia and the Philippines, said Windia Adnyana, a turtle expert from Udayana University in Bali who has worked for years in the marine reserve. And while there are more turtles coming to eat, he said the number nesting on the island continues to decline with an estimated 10,000 turtles Continued on page 7 Asian Currency Exchange Rates Units per U.S. dollar as of 2/01 Vietnam sentences 30 people to death for drugs HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A Vietnamese court has sentenced 30 people to death for trafficking heroin at the conclusion of a mass trial. State media reported the 21 men and nine women were convicted of being part of four connected rings that smuggled nearly 2 tons of heroin from Laos into Vietnam and then on to China. The 20-day trial in the northern province of Quang Ninh involved the largest number of defendants sentenced to death in a single trial in Vietnamese court history, according to provincial court chief Ngo Duc. The fairness of Vietnam’s criminal-justice system has been questioned by human-rights groups and foreign governments. Vietnam has tough drug laws and possessing or trafficking 600 grams (21.16 ounces) of heroin can result in a death sentence. There are currently nearly 700 people on death row. In 2011, the country switched from firing squads to lethal injection on humanitarian grounds. Since then it has only executed a handful of people because of the difficulty in acquiring the required drugs. Experienced Business and Family Attorney Since 1985 (503) 226-4644 Business Setup s Buy-Sell s Leases s Real Estate Foreclosures Real Estate - Sales and Disputes s Family Law and Guardianship www.woodworthlaw.com www.portlanddivorcelawyer.com 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 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 77.675 3995.0 6.0612 1.8982 7.765 62.657 12213 24721 102.03 8035.0 3.3433 100.04 105.47 2.424 45.32 35.154 3.7504 1.2767 1081.0 130.75 30.326 33.02 21060