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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2014)
Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC November 3, 2014 Pacquiao makes professional basketball debut MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Manny Pacquiao made his professional basketball debut October 19, roughly a month before he is set to defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown. Pacquiao started the game for the newly formed KIA Sorento of the Philippine Basketball Associa- tion, but played only seven minutes and committed two turnovers in his team’s 80-66 win over the Blackwater Elite at Philippine Arena. The boxing icon, who joined the pro league team as a player-coach, also played in a preseason game, finishing with one point and two turnovers after a 10-minute stint. Pacquiao said after the game that he would take a break from his KIA duties to focus on the defense of his WBO welterweight crown on November 22 in Macau against undefeated junior welterweight champion Chris Algieri. At 5’6” tall, Pacquiao does not have the typical stature of a basketball player, but is a big fan of the sport. High schooler Anraku first in Japan baseball draft TOKYO (AP) — High school pitching star Tomohiro Anraku was chosen first overall in Nippon Professional Baseball’s amateur draft and is headed to the former team of New York Yankees pitcher Masahiro Tanaka. The Yakult Swallows and Rakuten Eagles selected Anraku with the first and second picks respectively, and the Eagles won a lottery for the highly touted 17-year-old right-hander. “One of my dreams was to be taken first in the draft,” Anraku said. “When Tanaka was with the team they won the championship so they are a proven winner, and I will do everything I can to help them win again.” Anraku, who is 6’2” and 187 pounds, has a fastball that has been clocked as high as 97 mph. He has generated interest on both sides of the Pacific. In 2013, Anraku threw 183 pitches in one game at the Koshien high school tournament after a 137-pitch complete game the previous day. The Rakuten Eagles won the Japan Series in 2013 but finished last this season after 24-game winner Tanaka signed with the Yankees. Australia says missing plane hunt will take months KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Australian officials say the hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in a remote patch of the Indian Ocean is progressing well but is likely to take many months because of the huge area involved. An Australian search coordinator, Peter Foley, said there is optimism with two ships using high-tech sonar devices to search for the Boeing 777, which disappeared in March while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. He said weather is improving and they hope to cover as much area as possible. Foley said that given the size of the search area, “we are in for the long haul. It will take many months.” Despite a massive air and sea search, not a single piece of debris from the plane has been found. Reality TV show ‘Big Brother’ to debut in China BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese online video site says it is bringing the “Big Brother” reality TV show to China. Youku Tudou Inc. said a Chinese version of the program will run for 10 weeks early next year and production is due to start soon. It is collaborating with Endemol China, a new operation that has been established in Beijing, according to a statement by both companies. In “Big Brother,” people are filmed living together in a large house in which they have no contact with the outside world. The program began 15 years ago and has been made in Europe, North America, Latin America, Africa, and elsewhere in Asia. Youku Tudou runs two of China’s private online streaming sites that attract a young audience and have operated with fewer of the restrictions that state-run TV broadcasters face, allowing them to introduce more varied and foreign content. However, regulators have signalled in recent months a tightening of control over the industry, including future mandatory approval for foreign TV shows and movies shown online. Tokyo university loses record 86th straight game TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese university baseball team has extended its own record of futility, losing its 86th straight game while finishing a fourth consecutive year winless. The University of Tokyo was beaten 5-0 by Hosei University at Tokyo’s Jingu Stadium to prolong a losing streak that dates back to October of 2010. The result means players who started playing for the team in 2011 will graduate without ever having experienced a single win. The University of Tokyo, or Todai as it is more commonly known, is Japan’s premier university and produces many of the country’s top politicians, lawyers, and doctors. But unlike rivals in the Tokyo Big 6 Baseball League, Todai does not offer sports scholarships or scout high school players. Since World War II, the team has never finished in the top half of the six-team league. FROM SHACK TO PALACE. Indonesian President Joko Widodo gestures to the crowd during a street parade fol- lowing his inauguration in Jakarta, Indonesia. Widodo completed a journey from a riverside shack to the presidential palace last month. The 53-year-old must make tough decisions soon to stand a chance of boosting economic growth in Indone- sia, a sprawling nation of 250 million people. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibraham) Joko Widodo sworn in as Indonesia’s new president By Niniek Karmini and Ali Kotarumalos The Associated Press AKARTA, Indonesia — Joko Widodo completed a journey from a riverside shack to the presidential palace last month. Widodo was cheered through the streets following his inauguration by tens of thousands of ordinary Indonesians — a reminder to the opposition-controlled parlia- ment of the strong grassroots support that swept him to power. The 53-year-old must make tough decisions, and soon, to stand a chance of boosting economic growth in Indonesia, a sprawling nation of 250 million people. Supporters have already expressed concerns any reforms he tries to enact could be blocked by a hostile opposition led by the Suharto-era general he defeated in July’s election. But those thoughts were put aside momen- tarily when Widodo and his deputy travelled from the parliament building to the presiden- tial palace in an organized public party, the first in the country’s history following an inauguration. After a few miles, he left his car and took a horse and cart, flashing victory signs and shaking countless hands. “To the fishermen, the workers, the farmers, the merchants, the meatball soup sellers, the hawkers, the drivers, the academics, the laborers, the soldiers, the police, the entrepreneurs, and the professionals, I say let us all work hard, together, shoulder to shoulder, because this is a historic moment,” Widodo said in his inauguration speech, witnessed by regional leaders and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Widodo, better known by his nickname of J “Jokowi,” was elected with 53 percent of the vote, with most of his support coming from poor, non-urban Indonesians attracted by his simple demeanor and record of hard work as Jakarta governor. The son of a furniture maker, he grew up in a rented bamboo shack on the banks of the river Kalianyar in Solo, a town on Java Island. He is the first Indonesian leader not to come from the country’s super rich — and often corrupt — political, business, and military elite. “I was moved by Jokowi’s inauguration speech … it was so beautiful,” said Rukasih Wanti, standing under a blue umbrella with her two kids waiting for the president. “He deserves to get the people’s respect and a celebration the likes of which has never happened in the past.” Police estimate 50,000 people attended the street party, which brought traffic to a standstill. Around twice that many attended an evening concert where Widodo made a speech and cut the top of a traditional cone of rice before returning to the palace for meetings with visiting leaders. Indonesia is the biggest economy in Southeast Asia, and about 90 percent of its people are Muslims. After years of dictator- ship, the country was convulsed by political, ethnic, and religious unrest in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since then, it has consoli- dated its democratic transition. While most of the country remains poor and inequality is rising, it is home to a rapidly expanding middle class. Outgoing President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s two terms in office saw Continued on page 4 Asian Currency Exchange Rates State Farm ® Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Units per U.S. dollar as of 10/31 Wayne Nishimura Ins. Agency Inc. 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Kina · · Philippine Peso· · · Russian Ruble · · · Saudi Riyal· · · · · Singapore Dollar · · South Korean Won · Sri Lankan Rupee · Taiwan Dollar · · · Thai Baht · · · · · Vietnam Dong · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 77.385 4082.0 6.1131 1.9472 7.7552 61.365 12085 26570 111.92 8061.6 3.2895 98.679 102.79 2.5091 44.88 43.037 3.7515 1.2864 1068.8 130.78 30.453 32.59 21280
