Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
February 17, 2014
Palau to ban commercial fishing, promote tourism
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The president of Palau has declared that his
Pacific island nation will ban commercial fishing and become a marine
sanctuary. President Tommy Remengesau Jr. said in a keynote address to a
U.N. meeting on “Healthy Oceans and Seas” that once current fishing contracts
expire, only fishing by island residents and tourists will be allowed in its
200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone. Remengesau said establishing “a
100 percent marine sanctuary” will enable Palau to preserve “a pristine
environment” and promote snorkelling, scuba diving, and ecotourism. “It will
make a difference if it’s just a matter of feeding ourselves and feeding the
tourists,” he told a news conference. “As it is right now, we’re feeding the
tourist[s] and ourselves plus millions of people outside the territory.”
Watchdog shows illicit money flows in Philippines
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — An anti-graft watchdog says the Philippine
government was cheated of $3.85 billion in tax revenues in 2011, part of massive
illicit money flows that totalled more than $400 billion in the past five decades.
Global Financial Integrity said in a report that illicit financial outflows
including proceeds from crime, corruption, and tax evasion totalled $132.9
billion in a 52-year period from 1960. Another $277.6 billion illegally entered the
country, predominantly through false invoicing of imports to evade tariffs. It
said the government has lost at least $23 billion in revenue from customs
evasion since 1990 and lost an average of $1.46 billion in tax revenue each year
since 2000. The report estimated that the underground economy was equal to
nearly 30 percent of gross domestic product in 2011.
Germany forgives half of Myanmar’s debt
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Germany has signed an agreement to forgive
half the 1.084 billion euro ($1.48 billion) debt it is owed by Myanmar (also known
as Burma), implementing a plan which Germany and other creditor nations
accepted a year ago. The state-owned Myanma Ahlin newspaper reported the
agreement was signed in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyitaw, during a state visit by
German President Joachim Gauck, the first by a German head of state in 26
years. Germany’s finance and development ministries confirmed the signing.
The Paris Club of 19 mostly western creditor countries agreed in January last
year on a debt forgiveness formula to help stabilize Myanmar’s economy as it
transitions to democracy after five decades of military rule.
Director Zhang Yimou pays $1.2M for having three kids
BEIJING (AP) — Famed film director Zhang Yimou and his wife have paid
more than $1.2 million in fines for having three children in violation of China’s
strict family-planning rules. A district of the eastern city of Wuxi said in an
online notice that its family-planning office had received the lump-sum payment
and the money was remitted to the state treasury. Rumors became public last
year that Zhang fathered more children than allowed by China’s family-size
policy that limits most urban families like his to one child. Zhang’s studio later
confirmed that Zhang, 63, has fathered two sons and one daughter with Chen
Ting, 32, and said the film director would cooperate with a government
investigation. The district government subsequently levied the $1.2 million fine
against Zhang and Chen. Fines are the usual punishment for exceeding China’s
family-size limits and are proportional to a person’s income. Zhang is one of
China’s best-known directors with films such as Hero, House of Flying Daggers,
and 2011’s The Flowers of War starring Christian Bale. Zhang also designed the
opulent opening and closing ceremonies for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Myanmar arrests five journalists from private journal
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar says it has arrested four reporters and
the head of a private weekly journal for disclosing what it says are “state secrets”
following publication of a story about the construction of a defense factory. Unity
journal quoted villagers as saying the factory in Pauk, a township in central
Myanmar, was for production of chemical weapons — a claim the government
decried as “totally baseless.” According to roadside vendors, police took all
January 25 editions of the journal off shelves. State-run television reported the
arrests, saying the detained had violated the 1923 State Secrets Act by entering
a prohibited area and disclosing state secrets. Deputy information minister Ye
Htut has acknowledged in local media that it was a Defense Ministry factory,
but denied links to chemical weapons.
Alleged Chinese ivory smuggler caught in Kenya
BEIJING (AP) — A suspected Chinese ivory smuggler has been apprehended
in Kenya and extradited in the first time that China has arrested a wildlife
crime suspect overseas, according to the country’s official news agency. Xinhua
News Agency said the countries worked together to catch the suspect who is
alleged to have led an ivory trafficking group in Kenya and hired couriers to
smuggle ivory into China. Kenyan authorities working with Chinese customs
officials and police apprehended the suspect with the surname Xue in Nairobi on
January 17 and extradited him a day later, Xinhua said, citing China’s
Endangered Species Import and Export Management Office. A man from the
office’s law enforcement branch said the Xinhua report was accurate, but
wouldn’t give further details. Xinhua said the final two suspects of the group
were arrested when entering China January 16 and 17. One was a man called
Zheng who allegedly helped buy ivory in Kenya and paid smugglers $820 to
$1,640 each time. The other, a woman called Li, is said to be Xue’s girlfriend, who
helped get the ivory through customs.
FLAWLESS FEAT. Gold medallist Sang-hwa Lee, left, of South Korea sets a new Olympic record in her second heat
race against China’s Beixing Wang during the women’s 500-meter speedskating race at the Adler Arena skating center
during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The South Korean lived up to the hype as the favorite in women’s
500-meter speedskating, zipping around the big oval with the two fastest runs to win her second straight Olympic gold
medal. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
South Korea’s Lee wins
gold in women’s 500 meters
By Paul Newberry
AP National Writer
S
OCHI, Russia — Sang-hwa Lee burst
off the line with a flawless start. She
built up speed with each stride on the
front straightway — her arms swinging
powerfully, her body low to the ice.
By the time Lee came around the final turn,
the gold medal was a formality.
“Right now,” said silver medallist Olga
Fatkulina, “she is almost Usain Bolt.”
The South Korean lived up to the hype as the
favorite in women’s 500-meter speedskating,
zipping around the big oval with the two fast-
est runs to win her second straight Olympic
gold medal.
Lee dominated the World Cup circuit this
season, winning every event she entered.
The 24-year-old kept up that form at Adler
Arena.
“It’s not easy to repeat that,” said Lee’s
Canadian coach, Kevin Crockett. “It was a lot
of pressure. She is a real champion.”
Lee led after the opening heat and went even
faster the second time, an Olympic-record time
of 37.28 seconds to beat the mark of 37.30 set
by Catriona Le May Doan at the 2002 Salt
Lake City Olympics.
Lee’s combined time of 1 minute, 14.70
seconds was also an Olympic mark, beating Le
May Doan’s record of 1:14.75 at the high-
altitude Utah Olympic Oval.
“She responds to the pressure of it,” Crockett
said. “Some people will cave and crumble, and
some people will step up. Sang-hwa steps up
every single time.”
When Lee saw the “1” beside her name on
the scoreboard, her head dropped back in
obvious relief. She slapped Crockett’s hand
and grabbed a South Korean flag, revelling in
a triumph that seemed assured the moment
she toed the line in Sochi.
“Let’s look at the last Olympic record,”
Crockett said. “It was set on extremely fast ice.
Altitude and everything. To be able to set an
Olympic record at sea level on ice that was
average today, it is extraordinary.”
The only real race was for second and third.
The Russian crowd roared when Fatkulina
took the host country’s second speedskating
medal, finishing in 1:15.06.
Margot Boer claimed bronze with a com-
bined time of 1:15.48, giving the Netherlands
its eighth speedskating medal in Sochi. It was
the first event they failed to win at Adler, but
was still a pleasant surprise for a team that
had never been a strong contender in the
all-out sprint.
Lee wasn’t so dominant four years ago,
edging Germany’s Jenny Wolf by a mere
five-hundredths of a second over two runs.
This time, there was never any doubt.
“Her technique is perfect,” said Wolf.
Lee shied away from all the accolades.
“I don’t like to be considered a phenomenon
in my country,” she said through a translator.
Continued on page 7
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77.625
3980.0
6.0662
1.8678
7.7553
61.93
11831
24721
101.88
8015.0
3.3064
99.061
104.83
2.4343
44.73
35.078
3.7503
1.2617
1063.4
130.84
30.316
32.334
21100