Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
July 6, 2015
Thai ice cream company apologizes for gay slur
BANGKOK (AP) — A Thai ice cream company owned by Unilever has
apologized for using a derogatory term for gay men in a Facebook posting
marking the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage, according to a
spokeswoman. The post on the Facebook page of Wall’s Thailand, which was
quickly removed, showed black-bean-flavored ice cream with the caption
#LOVEWINS — the hashtag used by supporters of the court verdict. “Black
beans” is a demeaning slang term for gay men that originated from a famous
pedophilia case in Thailand. The illustration, posted a day after the U.S.
Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages, caused an online uproar in
Thailand, with some commentators calling it “low” and “discriminatory.” On
Twitter, some users condemning the illustration included the hashtag
#RIPWallsThailand in their tweets. Wall’s Thailand replaced the post with a
new picture of rainbow-colored ice cream and issued an apology, saying they
were “sorry if the post created some misunderstanding” and that they “did not
mean to cause discomfort to anyone.” Unilever Thai spokeswoman Aranya
Luepradid confirmed that the apology came from the company. Wall’s Thailand
is part of Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods conglomerate that also
makes Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Thailand is one of the most tolerant countries in
Asia for gays and a top gay tourist destination.
North Korea says drought is worst in 100 years
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea says it has been hit by its worst drought
in a century, resulting in extensive damage to agriculture. The official Korean
Central News Agency said the drought has caused about 30 percent of its rice
paddies to dry up. Rice plants normally need to be partially submerged in water
during the early summer. “Recently in our country, there has been a severe
drought with sudden extremely high temperatures and nearly no rain,” Ri Yong
Nam, a senior North Korean weather official, told The Associated Press. “Now
the drought is causing a water shortage and great damage to agriculture, and we
foresee this drought will continue for a while.” He said temperatures in May
were 9º-12º Fahrenheit higher than normal. Both North and South Korea have
had unusually dry weather this year. South Korea’s Unification Ministry said
precipitation in North Korea was abnormally low in May, and food production
could decline significantly if the shortage continues. However, a ministry official
said he couldn’t confirm North Korea’s claim that it was experiencing its worst
drought in a century. The United Nations said in a report in April that about 70
percent of North Korea’s people face food insecurity, and more than a quarter of
children under age five experience chronic malnutrition.
Vietnam waives visas for five countries to boost tourism
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Under a decision by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan
Dung that was posted on the government’s website, visitors from Britain,
Germany, France, Italy, and Spain will no longer need a visa to visit Vietnam for
stays up to 15 days. The decision was welcomed by tour operators. “This is very
good news,” Hoang Le Quyen of PeaceTours said by telephone from the southern
commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh City. “It will definitely help bring foreign
tourists to Vietnam.” Quyen said it would be better if the visa-free period was
extended to 30 days, as Vietnam competes in tourism with regional countries,
such as Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, which do offer the longer period for
visitors from many countries. Currently, Vietnam gives reciprocal visa exemp-
tions to nine countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and
unilaterally gives visa-free entrance to visitors from four Nordic countries, plus
Russia, Belarus, Japan, and South Korea. The communist government is consid-
ering giving visa exemptions to more countries. Last year, nearly 8 million
foreigners visited Vietnam, but arrivals dropped by nearly 13 percent in the first
five months of this year to about 3.3 million, according to government figures.
Visitors from China saw a big drop of 30 percent after the parking of a giant
Chinese oil rig near the Paracel islands last summer sparked widespread anti-
China protests in Vietnam. The number of tourists from Russia declined by 16
percent while arrivals from other European countries dropped by seven percent.
North Korea claims it has cure for MERS, Ebola, and AIDS
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it has succeeded where the
greatest minds in science have failed. The authoritarian, impoverished nation
better known for pursuing a nuclear program despite global criticism has
announced it has a drug that can prevent and cure MERS, Ebola, SARS, and
AIDS. The secretive state did not provide proof, and the claim is likely to provoke
widespread skepticism. The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said
scientists developed Kumdang-2 from ginseng grown from fertilizer mixed with
rare-earth elements. According to the pro-North Korea website Minjok
Tongshin, the drug was originally produced in 1996. “Malicious virus infections
like SARS, Ebola, and MERS are diseases that are related to immune systems,
so they can be easily treated by Kumdang-2 injection drug, which is a strong
immune reviver,” KCNA said. North Korea shut out foreign tourists for half a
year with some of the world’s strictest Ebola controls, even though no cases of
the disease were reported anywhere near the country, before lifting the
restrictions earlier this year. It is believed to be struggling to combat diseases
such as tuberculosis, and respiratory infections are among its most common
causes of death, according to the World Health Organization. North Korea
trumpeted the same drug during deadly bird flu outbreaks in 2006 and 2013.
The North’s claim comes as rival South Korea fights an outbreak of MERS that
has killed at least two dozen people and sickened more than 160 since May.
QUAKE AFTERMATH. Nepalese people sit on a bench in front of damaged buildings at Basantapur Durbar Square
in Kathmandu, Nepal. Nepal has reopened most of the cultural heritage sites that were damaged in a pair of devastating
earthquakes, hoping to lure back foreign tourists. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha)
Quake-hit Nepal reopens
damaged heritage sites for tourists
By Binaj Gurubacharya
The Associated Press
HAKTAPUR, Nepal — Nepal has
reopened most of the cultural heritage
sites that were damaged in a pair of
devastating earthquakes, hoping to lure back
foreign tourists.
The April 25 and May 12 quakes killed more
than 8,700 people and damaged hundreds of
thousands of buildings in Nepal, including old
temples, palaces, and other historical
structures that are popular with tourists.
Six of the seven UNESCO World Heritage
sites closed after the quakes were reopened
last month, tourism minister Kripasur Sherpa
said.
“We are urging people to come to Nepal for
holiday to help Nepal rebuild,” Sherpa said in
Bhaktapur, a city outside of Kathmandu filled
with ancient temples, and which is among the
reopened heritage sites.
The sites were closed due to the damage
from the quakes, but also over concerns about
the safety of tourists.
Bhesh Narayan Dahal, chief of Nepal’s
B
Department of Archaeology, said that mea-
sures have been taken to ensure that tourists
are safe, and that there are plans to provide
safety helmets for visitors in some places.
Some 741 heritage structures were damaged
in the quakes, and it will take at least $18
million to rebuild and restore them, Dahal
said.
Nepal is hosting an international donors’
meeting in Kathmandu, the capital, to seek
money to help rebuild the Himalayan country
following the quakes.
About 800,000 foreign tourists visit Nepal
every year and the government is worried that
a fear of earthquakes will stop many from
visiting.
UNESCO, the United Nations’ cultural
heritage organization, had raised concerns
about the reopening of the heritage sites,
urging tourists to be extra cautious and
reconsider visiting them.
The agency also asked the government to
restrict tourists’ access to locations where
structures had collapsed and that were still
considered unsafe.
Japan aims to resume Antarctic whaling later this year
By Mari Yamaguchi
The Associated Press
OKYO — Japan says it plans to resume
whale hunts in the Antarctic later this
year, even though the International
Whaling Commission (IWC) says Tokyo hasn’t
proven that the mammals need to be killed for
research.
The IWC’s Scientific Committee said in a
report that it wasn’t able to determine whether
lethal sampling is necessary for whale stock
management and conservation. In April, an
IWC experts’ panel made similar comments
T
Retirement
about a revised Japanese Antarctic whaling
plan submitted after the International Court
of Justice (ICJ) ruled last year that Japan’s
earlier hunts were not truly scientific.
The IWC banned commercial whaling in
1986, but Japan continued killing whales
under an exemption for research. After the
ICJ’s ruling, Japan sent a nonlethal expedi-
tion to the Antarctic for the 2014 season.
Japanese officials said they will submit
additional data to support their argument.
They said Japan still plans to resume whaling
Living
Continued on page 4
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77.775
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6.2055
2.0899
7.7524
63.439
13320
29160
122.82
8118.5
3.7795
101.93
101.74
2.751
45.046
55.783
3.7504
1.3477
1123.0
133.65
30.883
33.781
21805