Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
May 5, 2014
China frees Japanese boat after owner pays up
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese court released a seized Japanese freight ship
after owner Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. agreed to pay about $39 million to resolve
a dispute dating back more than seven decades. The Shanghai Maritime Court
said it freed Mitsui’s Baosteel Emotion after the company paid more than 2.92
billion yen ($28 million) in compensation for two leased Chinese ships it lost in
1938 and 1944 and also court costs. Including interest payments, Mitsui O.S.K.
agreed to pay 4 billion yen ($39 million), the Kyodo News Service and other
Japanese media said. Chinese authorities seized the container vessel, as or-
dered by the court, after Mitsui failed to pay compensation as ruled in an earlier
lawsuit. The Shanghai court said it levied the judgement against Mitsui based
on the lease costs, operating loss, and damage to the two Chinese vessels, which
sank while in the hands of Mitsui’s predecessor Daido Kaiun. The seizure and
release of the boat came at a time of tense relations between Beijing and Tokyo
over sovereignty claims over a chain of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea.
Anti-junta journalist Win Tin dies at 85
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Win Tin, a prominent journalist who became
Myanmar’s longest-serving political prisoner after challenging military rule by
co-founding the National League for Democracy (NLD), has died. He was 85
years old. He died of renal failure, according to family. A feisty former
newspaper editor, Win Tin was a close aide to opposition leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, another founder in 1988 of the pro-democracy party. In 1989, she was put
under house arrest and Win Tin was sent to prison for his political activities. His
sentence was extended twice for various pretexts. Freed in 2008, he continued
working with the NLD through the country’s transition from military rule to an
elected — though army-dominated — government in 2011. He also started a
foundation to give assistance to current and former political prisoners.
Last appeal bid rejected in Hong Kong ‘Milkshake Murder’
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong’s top court has rejected a final bid for an
appeal by an American convicted of drugging her wealthy banker husband and
bashing him to death. A three-judge panel at the Court of Final Appeal
dismissed Nancy Kissel’s application. Kissel was convicted twice for the 2003
murder of her husband, Robert Kissel, who worked for Merrill Lynch and
Goldman Sachs. The case, dubbed the “Milkshake Murder,” grabbed world
headlines with its lurid tale of the breakdown of a wealthy expatriate marriage
in the southern Chinese financial hub. She was sentenced to life imprisonment
in 2012, matching the result of an earlier trial that was overturned. Prosecutors
said that Kissel, a native of Adrian, Michigan, gave her husband a sedative-
laced milkshake and then bludgeoned him with a metal ornament before
wrapping his body up in a carpet. The defense had argued she was suffering from
clinical depression and was acting under diminished responsibility.
Vietnam pulls out of hosting Asian Games
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam has withdrawn as the host of the 2019
Asian Games, saying it lacks funds and the country’s reputation could be at risk
if the event flops. The government’s initial decision to host the games had gener-
ated little excitement domestically, and there had been increasing opposition in
the media and on blogs. Many questioned whether the cost — in the hundreds of
millions of dollars — was worth it given the country was still struggling to
emerge from the global financial crisis. The Olympic Council of Asia said it was
“surprised” by the decision, which leaves it scrambling to find a new host.
Vietnam’s sports ministry had budgeted $150 million for the event, the largest
in terms of participant numbers outside of the Summer Olympics. But econo-
mists and others had said the bill could be five times higher, and possibly reach
the spending levels for this year’s Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, which
could reportedly top $1 billion. Vietnam’s authoritarian government is highly
adverse to domestic criticism, and an explosion in internet use in recent years
has given its opponents many hard-to-control avenues to express opposition. As
Russia found during the Winter Games, hosting a major event also brings
international and social media scrutiny, something Vietnam’s secretive leaders
generally seek to avoid. Surabaya, Indonesia, had been the other serious bidder
for 2019, while Dubai, United Arab Emirates, expressed initial interest but
withdrew. The Asian Games features similar events to the Summer Olympics
but also include sports popular in Asia. More than 40 nations take part.
Sina suspends book site after pornography reported
BEIJING (AP) — Chinese web giant Sina.com temporarily closed its
literature site after reports it would lose two crucial publication licenses for
hosting pornography. Sina decided to take books off its site while it undergoes “a
self-correction action” to screen their content, according to a notice on its reading
channel. Book reviews, cultural news, author biographies, and interviews were
still available. State media reported that broadcasting authorities decided to
revoke Sina’s licenses on internet publishing and online audiovisual broad-
casting and impose “a large number of fines” while some of its employees were
being investigated by police. This came after authorities allegedly found porno-
graphic content on its literature and video sites. The high-profile announcement
is part of China’s latest anti-pornography campaign amid a wider crackdown on
online expression that has seen individual microblogs closed and punishments
for spreading rumors online. While the government periodically launches
campaigns targeting obscene or improper content, this was the first time a major
internet company faced such a heavy punishment, which will likely serve as a
warning to other big players. Sina has the right to appeal the decision.
CLIMBING CONUNDRUM. Family members of Nepalese mountaineer Ang Kaji Sherpa, who was killed in an ava-
lanche on Mount Everest last month, offer prayers at the Sherpa Monastery in Kathmandu, Nepal. With Mount Everest’s
climbing season in disarray, Sherpa guides who decided to abandon the mountain this year after a deadly avalanche said
they would struggle to make ends meet. The avalanche on April 18 was the deadliest ever recorded on Everest, killing 16 of
the guides and exposing long-simmering resentment by Sherpas who say they face disproportionate risks ushering foreign
tourists up the highest mountain in the world. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Sherpas struggle with
climbing season in disarray
By Binaj Gurubacharya
The Associated Press
ATHMANDU, Nepal — With Mount
Everest’s climbing season in disarray,
the Sherpa guides who decided to
abandon the mountain this year after a deadly
avalanche say they will struggle to make ends
meet.
The avalanche last month was the deadliest
ever recorded on Everest, killing 16 of the
guides and exposing long-simmering resent-
ment by Sherpas who say they face dispropor-
tionate risks ushering foreign tourists up the
highest mountain in the world.
While the work on Everest is dangerous, it
has also become the most sought-after source
of income for many in Nepal’s ethnic Sherpa
community. A top high-altitude guide can earn
$6,000 in a three-month climbing season —
nearly 10 times Nepal’s $700 average annual
salary.
“I have children and a family to take care of.
I got some money and don’t know if I will get
the rest or not,” said Ang Sherpa, who was
trekking back to his village. “Mountain
climbing was the main chunk of our income,
but we have a small tea store on the side of the
trail near Namche village, where we serve
snacks for the trekkers.”
Many of those who left the mountain said
the risks and respect for those killed in the
April 18 avalanche outweighed the money
they would make.
“I got about half the pay for what I would
have earned this season, but that’s enough for
now,” said Dawa, who is among those who
K
declared 2014 a “black year” on Everest and
will be returning home.
“There is always going to be another season.
The mountain is always there. There will al-
ways be mountaineering and mountaineers,”
said Dawa, who uses one name.
Most attempts to reach Everest’s summit
are made in mid-May, when a brief window
normally offers better weather. Many Sherpas
have other, less lucrative jobs during the
off-season, including farming and running
hotels and restaurants.
While the climbing season has not been
officially cancelled, guides and Sherpas said it
appeared increasingly unlikely that any
summit attempts would be made from the
Nepal side of the mountain. Several expedition
companies have cancelled their climbs for the
season, although Nepal’s Tourism Ministry
has announced that those teams can try again
over the next five years, without having to pay
the permit fees.
Teams pay an average of $100,000 for a
permit.
While the major expedition companies can
survive a cancelled season, smaller groups say
they will struggle. Temba Tsheri, 28, who runs
the Dreamers Destination Treks and Expedi-
tion company in Kathmandu, said he had 20
Chinese climbers at Everest’s base camp still
deciding whether to call off their climb.
“Some of the big companies have already
said they are returning and are packing up
their camp. But smaller companies like mine
are still undecided,” he said. “We have spent
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