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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2014)
Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC July 21, 2014 Cambodia to build memorial at genocide museum PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia will build a memorial at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum to remember at least 12,000 people tortured and killed there during the radical Khmer Rouge regime, according to officials. The museum, formerly a high school in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, was turned into S-21 prison after the Khmer Rouge took power in 1975. Of the estimated 16,000 men, women, and children who passed through its gates, only a handful survived. The construction of the memorial will “ease the mind” of the survivors of the genocide and serve as an educational tool for the next generation to remember and prevent the return of such a dark regime, said Kranh Tony, an official attached to the special tribunal for the genocide crimes. An estimated 1.7 million people died as a result of the Khmer Rouge’s radical policies from 1975 to 1979. The Buddhist stupa will replace a similar memorial that disintegrated inside the Tuol Sleng complex. It will be completed in nine months. The museum’s renovation began in 2010. Singapore backs call to destroy gay-themed books SINGAPORE (AP) — A children’s book inspired by a real-life story of two male penguins raising a baby chick in New York’s zoo has been deemed inappropriate by state-run Singapore libraries. The conservative city-state’s information minister, Yaacob Ibrahim, said he supports the decision to destroy all copies alongside two other titles because he said the prevailing norms in Singapore support teaching children about conventional families. The National Library Board, which runs 26 public libraries in Singapore, said it plans to destroy the books. They include And Tango Makes Three, about a male-male penguin couple in the Central Park Zoo; The White Swan Express: A Story About Adoption, which involves a lesbian couple; and Who’s In My Family: All About Our Families. The decision has triggered online petitions to spare the books. Amid China spat, Vietnam to build 32 patrol ships HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam says it plans to build 32 new coastal patrol vessels to help defend its maritime sovereignty. Hanoi is locked in a territorial dispute with its much larger neighbor China in the South China Sea that has exposed its lack of maritime muscle and surveillance capabilities. Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the government would spend $540 million on 32 new coast guard and fishery patrol vessels. Vietnam and China have sparred for years over who owns what in the South China Sea, but tensions escalated sharply in early May when Beijing deployed a large oil rig near the disputed Paracel islands. Myanmar journalist freed after sentence reduced YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — A journalist and his assistant who were imprisoned for filming inside a government office were freed after an appeals court reduced their sentences from one year to three months. Zaw Pe, a video reporter for the independent Democratic Voice of Burma media group, and Win Myint Hlaing were convicted in April of trespassing and obstructing a civil servant after filming inside an education department office while investigating the selection process for a Japanese scholarship program in 2012. Their sentences were reduced because the appeals court agreed with their lawyer that they had acted in their capacity as journalists. The nominally civilian government that replaced military rule has eased censorship and other measures limiting press freedom, but reporters and publishers still face intimidation through lawsuits. In April, after the two were originally sentenced, several private newspapers printed black front pages to protest the cases against them and other journalists. Chinese officials will buy more electric cars BEIJING (AP) — China says at least 30 percent of newly purchased govern- ment cars will be electric and other types of “new energy vehicles” as it attempts to tackle air pollution and encourage the electric car market. The official Xinhua News Agency was quoting a joint plan from government departments that says about a third of newly bought cars for official use from 2014 to 2016 will rely on clean energy and the percentage will be raised year by year after that. They include electric cars, plug-in hybrids, and fuel-cell and solar-powered cars. China is the world’s biggest auto market by number of vehicles sold. North Korea threatens to boycott Asian Games SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea has threatened to review its deci- sion to enter the coming Asian Games in South Korea after talks on the games broke down. North Korea had said it would send athletes and cheerleaders to the games as part of measures aimed at reducing tension. Many in South Korea doubt the North’s sincerity, citing its recent series of missile and rocket tests. The games are scheduled for September 19 through October 4 in Incheon. Nepal teenager commits suicide after Brazil defeat KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A teenager in eastern Nepal committed suicide after her favorite team, Brazil, lost badly to Germany in the World Cup semifinals, according to police. Police said the 10th-grader was depressed and hanged herself from the ceiling in Bharaul village located 250 miles east of the capital of Kathmandu. The teenager was identified as Pragya Thapa. Her mother found her hanging from the ceiling in her room. She was living with her mother and grandparents while her father was abroad working. Police said they were investigating and the body had been sent for autopsy. Germany defeated Brazil 7-1 in the semifinal earlier this month. GODZILLA COMES HOME. Film director Gareth Edwards, left, chats with Japanese actor Ken Watanabe while pos- ing for photographers during the Japan premiere of the movie Godzilla in Tokyo. Tokyo rolled out the red carpet for Holly- wood’s Godzilla remake although the nation that gave birth to the fire-breathing monster is seeing the latest movie after it opened everywhere else. Trepidation remains, however, about its reception in Japan because of the intense loyalty fans feel toward the original. The film opens in Japan on July 25. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi) Hollywood ‘Godzilla’ finally stomps home to Japan By Yuri Kageyama The Associated Press T OKYO — Tokyo rolled out the red car- pet for Hollywood’s Godzilla remake although the nation that gave birth to the fire-breathing monster is seeing the latest movie after it opened everywhere else. Godzilla, which opened in the U.S. on May 16, has grossed more than $490 million globally. But trepidation remains about its reception in Japan because of the intense loyalty fans feel toward the original. The film opens in Japan on July 25. Director Gareth Edwards, present in Tokyo for the mid-July gala, stressed he had merely parented what was the child of Japan. “It feels like a homecoming,” said Edwards. “His home is Japan.” Ken Watanabe, whose Godzilla role is one of several appearances in Hollywood films, acknowledged pressure was high for how the film may be received in Japan. “It might be a challenge for Japanese to accept this movie,” he said after posing with a figure of Godzilla on the red carpet. He said some scenes show the wreckage of a giant tsunami, evoking painful memories of the March 2011 disaster in northeastern Japan, which killed nearly 19,000 people and set off the worst nuclear catastrophe since Chernobyl. “I have a special feeling for this film because of the disaster,” Watanabe said. Edwards’ 3-D Godzilla, complete with glistening scales, spikes down its back, and a terrifying roar, pays homage to the original, tracing the theme of the threat of radiation, following America’s atomic attacks on Japan in World War II. Although Godzilla has grown to be one of Japan’s most iconic exports, along with sushi and geisha, its status in mainstream entertainment has waned here. Toho Co., the creators of Godzilla movies since the first one in 1954, stopped making them after the 28th in a series in 2004. Officials say times have changed and an actor thrashing about in a rubber suit, smashing miniature models of buildings, just doesn’t cut it anymore. Watanabe said the film’s late opening in Japan was because of technical reasons about summer vacations coming later, and denied it was intentional to avoid jinxing it by having it possibly fail in the land of Godzilla’s birth. But he laughed and shook his head when asked whether the best was being saved for last. Hard-core Godzilla fans think nothing can live up to the charm and pathos of the original, and scoff at computer graphics and other modern filmmaking technology. Akira Takarada, who played the young diver in the first Godzilla and appeared in many sequels, said he burst into tears when he watched the new Godzilla in the U.S., and the crowd began stomping on the floor, and then gave Godzilla a standing ovation when it finally appeared about an hour into the movie. “A giant hero they had been waiting for had arrived,” he said with emotion in his voice. Edwards appeared confident his movie would win over Japanese fans. “They’re the best fans in the world,” he said. “They’re crazy.” Asian Currency Exchange Rates Units per U.S. dollar as of 7/18 Where collaborative instruction and personalized learning equals success! Schedule your private tour today! Open House: Friday, August 1, 9:00am-11:00am www.TouchstoneElementary.com K-6th w (503) 635-4486 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 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 77.515 4051.0 6.208 1.8369 7.7512 60.288 11615 25480 101.33 8065.1 3.1833 96.296 98.721 2.4474 43.51 35.055 3.7504 1.2415 1029.3 130.26 30.012 32.136 21215