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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 2014)
Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC September 1, 2014 Pacquiao to help set up boxing academy in China MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao says he will help train boxers in China and expressed confidence that the country’s 1.4 billion people can produce world champions. Pacquiao says he partnered with a Chinese company and the Chinese government to set up a boxing institute in his name to share his knowledge about the sport where the 35-year-old has won eight world titles. Pacquiao, who is also a congressman, told ABS-CBN television in Manila that his new venture will also help promote good ties between the Philippines and China, whose territorial dispute in the South China Sea has intensified in recent months. Pacquiao was in Shanghai to promote his November 22 fight against Chris Algieri for a World Boxing Organization welterweight title in Macau. Japan sees first local dengue case in more than 60 years TOKYO (AP) — Japanese health authorities have reported the first locally transmitted case of dengue fever in the country in more than 60 years. The ministry said the case occurred in Saitama, a prefecture adjacent to Tokyo. Local media reports said the patient was a teenage girl who has since recovered. Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga, in confirming the report, said the news was not cause for alarm because the illness is not transmitted directly from person to person. Japan sees dozens of imported cases of dengue fever each year, mostly tourists who catch the illness while travelling in tropical regions. The disease, which is transmitted by mosquito, was common in Japan during World War II, but was locally eradicated for decades. Dengue causes symptoms including fever, severe joint pain, and headaches. There is no treatment. Dengue has spread in recent years, with 50 million to 100 million dengue infections per year in more than 100 countries. According to the World Health Organization, before 1970 only nine countries had experienced dengue epidemics. Japan reported 249 cases last year. Tibet puts 20-person limit on tour busses BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities are limiting the number of passengers aboard tour busses on the mountain roads of Tibet, following two fatal accidents involving such busses, according to two travel agencies and a man at the official Tibet Regional Tourism Bureau. “It’s for safety,” said the man who answered the phone at the tourism bureau, but refused to give his name, a common practice among Chinese bureaucrats. He confirmed the new rule that puts a 20-person limit on any tour vehicle, including a driver, a guide, and a police officer, in Tibet. Tourism has been booming in the Himalayan region, also home to some treacherous roads that wind and dip amid steep mountains. A tour bus carrying about 50 people plunged into a ravine on August 9 after crashing with a pickup truck and a sport utility vehicle in southern Tibet. Forty-four people died. More recently, a 45-person tour bus fell into a river in southeastern Tibet, killing three and leaving 13 others missing. A man at the Lhasa Youth Travel Service, who gave only his last name Wang, said he received a notice announcing the limit. A woman at the Lhasa International Travel Service also confirmed the same directive, saying the recent accidents prompted the size restriction on travelling groups. Li Simin, an expert on tourism, said the measures, including the addition of a police officer on board, will improve safety. Sony network hit by attack, exec’s flight diverted TOKYO (AP) — Sony says its PlayStation Network service for video games was unusable for two days after being flooded by an online attack. Sony Computer Entertainment spokesman Satoshi Nakajima has since said the problems were fixed. Separately, he said an American Airlines flight carrying Sony Online Entertainment President John Smedley from Dallas to San Diego was diverted to Phoenix about the same time as the attack. An individual or group called Lizard Squad claimed through a Twitter account that there might be explosives on the plane. The account also claimed responsibility for the attack on PlayStation Network. Sony’s network was compromised for about a month in 2011, including the personal data of 77 million accounts. Sony says there was no breach of personal information in the latest incident. HOPE FROM THE HOLY SEE. Faithful sing a reunification song during a mass for peace and reconciliation out- side Myeongdong cathedral in Seoul, South Korea. Pope Francis wrapped up his first trip to Asia by challenging Koreans — from the North and the South — to reject the “mindset of suspicion and confrontation” that clouds their relations and find new ways to forge peace on the war-divided peninsula. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) Pope leaves South Korea after urging peace By Nicole Winfield and Jung-yoon Choi The Associated Press S EOUL, South Korea — Pope Francis wrapped up his first trip to Asia by challenging Koreans — from the North and the South — to reject the “mindset of suspicion and confrontation” that clouds their relations and find new ways to forge peace on the war-divided peninsula. Before boarding a plane back to Rome, the pope held a mass of reconciliation at Seoul’s main cathedral, attended by South Korean President Park Geun-hye as well as some North Korean defectors. It was the final event of a five-day trip that confirmed the impor- tance of Asia for the papacy and for the Catholic Church as a whole, given the church in Asia is young and growing whereas it is withering in traditionally Christian lands in Europe. A plea for peace from the pope came as the United States and South Korea started a joint military drill that North Korea warned would result in a “merciless pre-emptive strike” against the allies. In a poignant moment at the start of the mass, Francis bent down and greeted seven women, many sitting in wheelchairs, who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World War II. One gave him a pin of a butterfly — a symbol of these “comfort women’s” plight — which he immediately pinned to his vestments and wore throughout the mass. Francis said in his homily that reconcilia- tion can be brought about only by forgiveness, even if it seems “impossible, impractical, and even at times repugnant.” “Let us pray, then, for the emergence of new State Farm ® Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Liane Nishimura Ins. Agency Inc. KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian golfer Mohd Nazri Zain had a rare hole-in-one on a par-4 hole during the SapuraKencana National Qualifier tournament. Zain holed out on the water-lined 289-yard 16th hole on the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club’s west course during the tournament, which awards the winner a place in the $7 million CIMB Classic. There has been only one hole-in-one on a par-4 on the PGA Tour, by American golfer Andrew Magee at the TPC Scottsdale during the FBR Open, now called the Phoenix Open, in 2001. Liane B. Nishimura, Agent BEIJING (AP) — Action star Jackie Chan says he’s ashamed and saddened over his son’s arrest on drug charges and has apologized to the public. In a microblog posting, Chan said his actor son Jaycee Chan would have to face the consequences of his actions, but promised that the two would face the future together. Jaycee Chan was detained with Taiwanese movie star Kai Ko. They are the latest high-profile celebrities to be ensnared in one of China’s biggest anti-drug crackdowns in two decades. Police said both actors tested positive for marijuana and admitted using the drug, and that 3.53 ounces of it were taken from Chan’s home. China named the elder Chan as an anti-drug ambassador in 2009. Asian Currency Exchange Rates Units per U.S. dollar as of 8/29 Golfer aces par-4 hole in Kuala Lumpur tournament Jackie Chan expressed shame over son’s drug arrest opportunities for dialogue, encounter and the resolution of differences, for continued gener- osity in providing humanitarian assistance to those in need, and for an ever greater recogni- tion that all Koreans are brothers and sisters, members of one family, one people,” he said. During his trip the pope reached out to China, North Korea, and a host of other countries that have no relations with the Holy See. The pope will visit the Philippines in January, along with Sri Lanka. In Seoul, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the archbishop of Manila, said Francis is offering “a friendly hand to the other countries, and assuring the countries we are not here for any worldly ambition, we are not here as conquerors, we are here as brothers and sisters.” Francis laid out these themes from the start of his visit, which was clouded by the firing of five rockets from Pyongyang into the sea. North Korea later said the test firings had nothing to do with Francis’ arrival but rather commemorated the 69th anniversary of Ko- rea’s independence from Japanese occupation. The U.S.-South Korean military exercises, involving tens of thousands of troops, are described by the allies as routine and defensive, but Pyongyang sees them as invasion preparation. A spokesman for the North Korean army’s general staff said in a statement carried by state media that a “most powerful and advanced merciless pre-emptive strike will start any time chosen by us.” Such rhetoric is typical from the North and direct strikes by Pyongyang are rare, although attacks blamed on the North in 2010 killed 50 South Koreans. Before the mass, Seoul Cardinal Andrew Continued on page 7 14780 SW Osprey Drive, Suite 246 Beaverton, OR 97007-8424 Bus.: (503) 579-3005 w Toll-free: 1-800-555-6802 liane.nishimura.gh18@statefarm.com The greatest compliment you can give is a referral. 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 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 77.42 4074.0 6.1436 1.8639 7.7501 60.515 11690 26448 103.97 8056.2 3.152 96.843 101.78 2.4597 43.59 36.993 3.7504 1.2478 1013.9 130.23 29.93 31.951 21195