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
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A Malaysian man seriously injured in a
car accident crawled through a jungle for three days before happening upon an
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Andrew, showed up at a village after the car he was driving sped off a highway in
central Malaysia into a ravine, said police chief Som Sak Din Keliaw. Andrew
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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