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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 2015)
Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC December 7, 2015 China gloats over Obama’s turkey named Abe — not Ah-bey BEIJING (AP) — President Barack Obama’s pardoning of a turkey named “Abe” this Thanksgiving led some Chinese to gloat at the Japanese prime minister’s expense. As part of a peculiar annual tradition at the White House, Obama granted amnesty from the dinner table to two turkeys named “Honest” and “Abe” — from the nickname for former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. But a translation glitch in Chinese media replaced the character for “Abe” with the surname of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (pronounced “Ah-bey”). Several commenters on Chinese social media focused on comparing the prime minister to an animal. Many Chinese harbor animosity toward Japan because of its occupation of much of China during World War II. The faulty translation of Abe was published by state-run China Radio International and picked up by other outlets. South Korea considers opt out for child monitoring app SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea is deciding whether it will allow parents to opt out of installing a monitoring app on their children’s smartphones. Korea Communications Commission chairman Choi Sungjoon said parliament is considering the issue. Enacted in April, the law requires mobile companies and parents to install one of about a dozen apps that filter objectionable material when people 18 years old or younger purchase a smartphone. Critics say the law legalized surveillance of children and jeopardized privacy. The commission faced heavy criticism when government- sponsored Smart Sheriff, the most popular of the apps, was revealed to have serious security flaws. New analysis backs search area for Flight 370 CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australian authorities have said new analysis confirms they’ve likely been searching in the right place for a missing Malaysian airliner. Searchers have been combing a 46,000-square-mile part of the Indian Ocean since last year but have yet to turn up any trace of Flight 370. A wing flap was found in July washed up on remote Reunion Island. New analysis by an agency of the Defence Department confirmed “the highest probability” the final resting place for the plane is within the current search area, the government said in a statement. Warren Truss, Australia’s deputy prime minister, said the new analysis pointed to the aircraft most likely coming to rest in the southern part of the current search area, so searchers would focus on that location and slightly widen the boundaries of the search area. The Boeing 777 vanished with 239 people aboard on March 8, 2014 during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Authorities are baffled by how and why it disappeared. The current seabed search more than 1,100 miles southwest of Australia began in October last year. Ships using side-scan sonar and an underwater drone fitted with a video camera have so far scoured more than 27,000 square miles of rugged terrain. The search area is based on analysis of scant satellite information that tracked the final hours of Flight 370. China tries to register estimated 13 million not documented BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities are trying to register an estimated 13 million people who are without documents, most of whom were babies born in violation of the country’s strict family-size rules. China announced it would loosen family-planning restrictions to allow all couples to have two children, instead of one. The registration campaign described in a statement from the Public Security Ministry was reported by Chinese news media. A national law says all newborns must be registered, but many Chinese regions require local officials to withhold registration documents for children born in violation of one-child rules until their parents pay fines to family planning officials. The ministry said it is seeking input on how to deal with the estimated 13 million who are undocumented. It remains unclear whether any amnesty from fines will be considered. Without registration documentation, a Chinese person has no access to public education, subsidized healthcare, and employment that offers proper benefits. LEVITY FOR UNITY. In this November 25, 1996 file photo (L-R), Koo Chen-fu of Taiwan, Thai Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton wear traditional barong tagalog from the Philippines while doing the “wave” during a group photo outside the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Subic Bay, the Philippines. APEC summits, which draw the U.S. president and other heads of state, are sometimes memorable for just one moment: leaders posing for a group photo in unexpected attire. The tradition, started by Clinton in 1993 when he handed out leather bomber jackets similar to those worn by American fighter pilots, was apparently to let his fellow VIPs feel relaxed amid the formalities of their meetings. (AP Photo/David Longstreath, File) Shirt photos offer sometimes awkward moments of APEC unity elegant silken tunics in which several of the leaders were visibly ill at ease — in 2006. The tradition had a three-year hiatus — in Yokohama, Japan in 2010, Hawaii in 2011, and Vladivostok, Russia in 2012 — when the leaders donned regular western business attire. Then Indonesia and China revived the native costume photo op at the last two APEC summits. The barong tagalog of the Philippines — a partially see-through, embroidered shirt sewn from pineapple fiber and silk that was used at the 1996 summit — received a re-run when Manila hosted APEC in November. Local designer Paul Cabral took months to craft the shirts for the leaders and their spouses, using different hand-embroidered themes. It was bamboo and leaves for Chinese President Xi Jinping, a Sarawak shield design for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, and cherry blossoms for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife, Akie. By Teresa Cerojano The Associated Press M ANILA, The Philippines — The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summits, which draw the U.S. president and 20 other regional leaders, are sometimes memorable for just one moment: the leaders posing for a group photo in unexpected attire. Former President Bill Clinton started the tradition in 1993, when he handed out leather bomber jackets similar to those worn by American fighter pilots. The U.S. leader apparently wanted his fellow VIPs to feel relaxed at the meetings. Dubbed the “silly shirts” photo by some, the occasionally awkward ceremony became a signature event at most annual APEC gatherings, elevating native garb of the host countries to a brief moment of world fame. The 21 APEC leaders have posed together in batik shirts (Malaysia in 1998), Chinese jackets (Shanghai in 2001), flowing ponchos (Chile in 2004), and in Vietnamese ao dai — q First Japanese rocket with commercial payload launched TOKYO (AP) — The first Japanese rocket with a commercial payload is heading into space. The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries rocket recently launched from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launch pad on the island of Tanegashima, off Japan’s southernmost main island of Kyushu. It is carrying a broadcast and telecommu- nications satellite for Canadian company Telesat. The launch, which was delayed for about 30 minutes because a boat entered a restricted zone, took place November 24. Asian Currency Exchange Rates PSY releases first album since smash hit “Gangnam Style” Units per U.S. dollar as of 12/05 SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean rapper PSY, who has released his first album since becoming an international sensation more than three years ago with the smash hit “Gangnam Style,” says the pressure to live up to that success caused him to take his time with his latest project. “There were many thoughts going around in my head, including thoughts like, ‘If I write like this, it would be not as good as Gangnam Style,’ and ‘If I write like this, the international audience will not understand,’ so it took me a very long time to organize all those thoughts into one,” PSY said at a news conference in Seoul a day before Chiljip PSY-Da debuted. Chiljip PSY-Da — which means “This Is PSY’s Seventh Album” in Korean — comes about a year-and-a-half after the release of his single “Gentleman.” It’s his first album since 2012, when “Gangnam Style” swept the world with addictive music and dance moves and made PSY a global superstar. “Gangnam Style,” featured on the album PSY 6, recorded 2.46 billion views on YouTube, becoming the most-viewed YouTube video ever. PSY’s new album includes songs of various genres, including dance music, hip-hop, and punk. He said he tried to include many emotions, including happiness, anger, sadness, joy, love, hatred, and greed, as he had done in his past albums. “Because this is an album that retains my continued desire as a lyric writer who wants to try things other than love songs in a movie-like way, there are several genres,” he said. 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 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 79.025 4049.9 6.4027 2.1209 7.7501 66.688 13834 29980 123.11 8160.0 4.2242 103.26 105.27 2.9851 47.04 68.041 3.7523 1.3981 1156.5 143.25 32.697 35.77 22480
