Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
April 7, 2014
Vietnam state-run paper fined for critical article
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam’s government has fined a state-run
newspaper 40 million dong ($1,900) for an article that said four of history’s most
famous communist leaders were also among the “most notorious dictators,”
according to state media. The online version of Law and Society was fined last
month for “untrue information” in the January 11 article, the Journalists and
Public Opinion newspaper reported. Among the “most notorious dictators in
history” mentioned in the article were former Soviet leaders Vladimir Lenin and
Joseph Stalin, Cuba’s Fidel Castro, and China’s Mao Zedong. Vietnam — a
communist, one-party country — adopted Marxism and Leninism as its official
ideology. Lenin was described in the article as sending those who opposed
communist rule to labor camps where a “series of executions” took place. “Most of
Cuba’s people consider Fidel as a monster that destroyed Cuba,” the article said.
It also said that Mao’s policies caused the deaths of millions of Chinese. “Some of
the most famous figures in history were remembered for their bad acts and the
dictatorship they created during their rule,” it said. “We have known many
brutal leaders who conducted the most brutal acts that mankind has ever
witnessed.” The other dictators included in the article were Germany’s Adolf
Hitler, Italy’s Benito Mussolini, Spain’s Francisco Franco, Cambodia’s Pol Pot,
Uganda’s Idi Amin, and Mexico’s Porfirio Diaz. The article was removed from
Law and Society’s online version, but is still available on some dissident blogs.
All media outlets in Vietnam are state-controlled.
Myanmar’s first census in decades bars name Rohingya
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Enumerators fanned out across Myanmar last
month for a census that has been widely criticized for stoking religious and eth-
nic tensions after the government denied members of a long-persecuted Muslim
minority the right to identify themselves as “Rohingya.” And administrators in
some parts of the country — including rebel controlled areas in Kachin and Wa
states — said they were barring census takers because they worry it will be used
for political purposes. Myanmar only recently emerged from a half-century of
military rule and self-imposed isolation. No one knows how many people live in
the predominantly Buddhist nation. The most accepted estimate, around 60
million, is based on extrapolations from the last count in 1983 that experts say
was hugely flawed, leaving out many religious and ethnic minorities. More than
100,000 enumerators — most of them school teachers wearing white blouses,
green traditional lounge, and khaki waistcoats — are going door-to-door hoping
to reach 12 million households by the time they finish their job on April 10.
South Korea filing complaint over Olympic judging
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean sports officials are preparing to
file a formal complaint with the International Skating Union over the judging of
the women’s figure skating competitions at the Sochi Olympics. Many South
Koreans allege that questionable judging denied Yuna Kim a second straight
figure-skating gold medal. Kim, the 2010 Olympic champion, settled for silver
behind Russian teenager Adelina Sotnikova. Officials at the Korean Olympic
Committee and the Korea Skating Union say the complaint will be filed with the
International Skating Union’s disciplinary committee. They say the Korea
Skating Union is gathering necessary documents. A joint statement by the two
organizations says the judging was “unreadable and unfair.” Kim’s office has
said she respects the decision.
ANA orders jets worth $17B from Airbus and Boeing
TOKYO (AP) — ANA is ordering 70 aircraft with a list price of $17 billion from
Boeing Co. and Airbus, in the largest order in the Japanese carrier’s history. The
orders underline ANA’s ambition to become one of the world’s leading airlines as
well as Japan’s tourism drive leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The
country is aiming to boost overseas visitors to 20 million a year. Boeing is the
major beneficiary of the deal, but Airbus said the latest orders show it is making
inroads in an important market. The Japanese government and manufacturers
have historically had a close relationship with Boeing, and Europe’s Airbus did
not score a major order with ANA rival Japan Airlines until last year. ANA
ordered 40 new Boeing jets that will be used mostly for international flights,
while 30 new Airbus planes will be for domestic routes. Boeing welcomed its
orders, which total about $13 billion at list prices. The jets, being delivered over
11 years from 2016, will increase the ANA fleet to 250 aircraft.
Myanmar bans export of logs
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar has banned the export of logs to
reduce deforestation and boost its wood-based industry by exporting only
value-added products. A statement from the state Myanma Timber Enterprise
said the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry prohibited the
export of logs starting April 1. According to the most recent available official
data, Myanmar’s forest cover shrank from 57.9 percent of its total land area in
1990 to 47.6 percent in 2005. The sale of teak and hardwood logs has climbed
since a nominally civilian government succeeded military rule in 2011 and
liberalized the economy. The government says it earned about $569 million from
export of 1.24 million cubic ton of wood in the 2012-2013 fiscal year, with China,
India, and Thailand as major buyers. Chinese demand for wood has been driven
by its prosperity and growth as a global manufacturer. China banned the felling
of its own old-growth trees in 1998, fuelling the illegal export of wood from
Myanmar to China, especially high-end varieties such as rosewood and teak.
However, efforts in recent years to curb the smuggling are believed to have
succeeded in reducing the volume.
DOGGONE EXPENSIVE. A Chinese man working for a dog breeder bids farewell to two Tibetan mastiffs he had
been caring for, outside a hotel in Tongxiang city in east China’s Zhejiang province. A Chinese dog breeder said a property
developer paid him 18 million yuan ($3 million) for the Tibetan mastiff twins, highlighting how the breed has become a sta-
tus symbol for China’s rich. (AP Photo)
Chinese breeder sells two
Tibetan mastiffs for $3M
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese dog breeder
said a property developer paid him 18 million
yuan ($3 million) for Tibetan mastiff twins,
highlighting how the breed has become a
status symbol for China’s rich.
The large, slobbery dog with massive
amounts of hair used to be best known for
herding sheep in Tibet, but has now become a
luxury for the ultra-rich who want to spread
their wealth beyond stocks and real estate.
Breeder Zhang Gengyun said he sold the
one-year-old twin male dogs to a single buyer
at a luxury dog fair in wealthy Zhejiang
province, located on China’s east coast. The
sales were reported by the local Qianjiang
Evening News.
One of the twins — a golden-haired Tibetan
mastiff — was sold for $12 million yuan, and
his red-haired brother went for $6 million
yuan.
Zhang said the buyer, from eastern
Shandong province, paid him the 18 million
yuan with his credit card.
Zhang denied the sale was a ploy by breeders
to hype the price of Tibetan mastiffs and said
he was reluctant to sell the twins. “It’s a real
deal,” he said.
The more expensive golden-haired dog was
31.5 inches tall and weighed 200 pounds.
“His hair is bright and he has a dead-drop
gorgeous face,” said the breeder. “Usually he’s
quiet and gentle, but when a stranger shows
up, he could bark endlessly and bite.”
Zhang said the unnamed buyer might start
breeding Tibetan mastiffs himself.
“The Tibetan mastiff is as treasured in
China as the giant panda, so people consider it
a symbol of higher social status,” he said.
Liu Na, organizer of a Tibetan mastiff fair in
Beijing, said the average price for one of the
dogs is several hundreds of thousands of
dollars. The price tag usually depends on the
breeder’s expectations, the buyer’s apprecia-
tion of the dog, and the bargaining between the
two, she said.
“It’s just like deals done when buying
antiques,” Liu said. “But it isn’t uncommon for
a breeder to hype a price in order to raise his
profile in the industry, just like a celebrity can
inflate his or her appearance fee.”
Disaster film about jet crash at sea put on hold
HONG KONG (AP) — A disaster movie
about a jet that crashes into the ocean on its
way to Beijing has been put on hold because of
its similarities to the missing Malaysian
Airlines plane. Arclight Films, the company
behind Deep Water, said the pre-production
has been halted for the time being.
“We’re delaying it out of respect for what’s
going on,” managing director Gary Hamilton
said.
An international search effort is scouring
part of the southern Indian Ocean for the jet
that disappeared March 8 en route from Kuala
Lumpur to Beijing. Malaysian officials last
month said the jet likely crashed in the sea,
taking the lives of all 239 people on board.
The film is about a flight from Sydney to
Beijing that goes down in the ocean, leaving an
air marshal and a handful of surviving
passengers and crew to fight off giant tiger
sharks and other dangers. The movie is a loose
follow-up to the 2012 film Bait, about a shark
terrorizing shoppers in an Australian
supermarket flooded by a tsunami.
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Asian Currency
Exchange Rates
Units per U.S. dollar as of 4/05
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Saudi Riyal· · · · ·
Singapore Dollar · ·
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Sri Lankan Rupee ·
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Vietnam Dong · · ·
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77.6
4011.1
6.2123
1.8501
7.757
60.085
11317
24897
103.3
8046.5
3.2802
95.85
98.195
2.6663
44.935
35.272
3.7515
1.2588
1053.7
130.59
30.287
32.47
21093