Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
February 1, 2016
Man who altered headline to ‘two-wife’ policy punished
BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese man was detained after he altered an image of a
newspaper front page to add a headline declaring the official adoption of a
“two-wife” policy, a joke on the country’s new “two-child” policy, the state-owned
Yangjiang Daily said. The newspaper from the southern province of Guangdong
fell victim to the prank and reported the incident to local police. The Yangjiang
Daily said the altered image spread quickly on social media, causing an “ill
impact.” Chinese authorities have been cracking down on rumors and false
information circulating online, saying they disrupt the proper flow of
information on the internet. The Yangjiang Daily said the man, identified only
by his family name, Lin, altered the image of the newspaper as a joke with
colleagues, but that it was shared online. Lin was detained on the charge of
fabricating a rumor, the newspaper said. It did not say how long he would be
held. The original headline was about the opening of a city meeting.
Architect of Tokyo 2020 stadium says his design not a copy
TOKYO (AP) — Kengo Kuma, the architect of Japan’s new 2020 Olympics
stadium, has refuted allegations by British-Iraqi designer Zaha Hadid that his
design borrowed from blueprints she made that organizers dropped last year.
“In the design, I would like to say there are no similarities at all,” Kuma told
reporters when asked about complaints by London-based Zaha Hadid Architects
over apparent similarities between her design and Kuma’s. Kuma noted,
however, that both architects had to meet strict specifications for the new,
80,000-seat structure in downtown Tokyo that will replace Japan’s old National
Stadium. “The conditions set for the competition mean that automatically some
similarities emerge,” he said. He added that “the concept is completely different,
so it is absolutely a different building, despite the similarities.” Hadid’s
company said the Japan Sport Council was withholding money owed for work on
the 2020 Tokyo stadium design, while demanding her company give up claims to
copyrights. After her original design was rejected as too costly, Hadid
complained the new design chosen by the sport council, made by Kuma in
collaboration with two companies that earlier worked with her team, was
similar.
Singapore deports 26 Bangladeshis as suspected militants
SINGAPORE (AP) — Singapore says it arrested and deported 26 Bangladeshi
construction workers for forming a religious study group that spread the
ideology of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State group. The workers were arrested in
November and detained without trial under the city-state’s rigorous Internal
Security Act, the Ministry of Home Affairs said. It said they held discreet weekly
meetings to share jihadi-related materials and discuss armed conflicts involv-
ing Muslims. It also said its members supported the teachings of U.S.-born
radical Islamic cleric Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, who was killed in a drone strike in
Yemen in September 2011. The Bangladeshis’ work passes had been revoked, it
said. Twenty-six of them have been repatriated to Bangladesh, where
authorities were informed of their circumstances. A remaining Bangladeshi is
currently serving a jail sentence for attempting to leave Singapore illegally after
hearing about the arrests of the others. He will be repatriated once he finishes
serving his sentence, the ministry said. While they were not planning attacks in
Singapore, an investigation showed several of them had considered carrying out
attacks overseas, the ministry said. The announcement of the arrests came after
the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for an attack in Jakarta that left
four civilians and four attackers dead.
Indonesian telecom provider blocks access to Netflix
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia’s state-owned telecommunications
company said it has blocked the internet video service Netflix in a possible
setback to the U.S. company’s expansion in Asia. PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia
said in a statement it blocked Netflix because it lacks a permit to operate in
Indonesia. The statement said PT Telekomunikasi was also protecting its
customers from inappropriate content such as pornography and depictions of
violence that are illegal in Indonesia. Netflix started operating in Indonesia in
January as part of a broad international expansion. It currently has nearly 75
million subscribers, including 30 million outside the U.S. A Netflix statement
said “services delivered over the internet present all sorts of novel questions for
policymakers,” but did not confirm it was blocked. It noted that only paying
customers can watch programs or films on Netflix. Indonesia, with a population
of more than 250 million people, is a potentially lucrative market for Netflix. It
wants to expand into China, too, but is still looking for a partner in that country,
where it will also have to tailor service to satisfy government regulators who ban
programming they consider objectionable or politically inflammatory.
Aquino gives red-carpet welcome to Japan emperor
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — President Benigno Aquino III gave a
red-carpet welcome to Japan’s emperor in a sign of the blossoming ties of the
Asian nations territorially at odds with China while further moving past painful
memories of Japan’s World War II aggression. Aquino and Emperor Akihito
held talks at Manila’s Malacanang presidential palace, where Philippine and
Japanese flags were displayed side by side and Filipino troops fired cannons in a
traditional salute. Aquino also hosted a state banquet for Akihito. Outside the
palace, six elderly Filipino women, who have accused Japanese occupation
forces of forcing them into wartime sex slavery, led a protest to demand an
apology and compensation from Japan.
ADDICTIVE ADDITIVE. A hostess walks through the door of a branch of the Hu Da hot-pot restaurant chain in
Beijing. Thirty-five restaurants across China, including the popular hot-pot chain, have been prosecuted or are under inves-
tigation for illegally using opium poppies as seasoning, one of the more unusual practices bedevilling the country’s food
regulators. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
China busts 35 restaurants using
opium poppies as seasoning
BEIJING (AP) — Thirty-five restaurants
across China, including a popular Beijing
hot-pot chain, have been found illegally using
opium poppies as seasoning, one of the more
unusual practices bedevilling the country’s
food regulators.
Five restaurants are being prosecuted
while 30 others, ranging from Shanghai
dumpling joints to noodle shops in
southwestern
Chongqing,
are
under
investigation, according to the China Food and
Drug Administration.
Cases of cooks sprinkling ground poppy
powder, which contains low amounts of opiates
like morphine and codeine, in soup and seafood
are not new in China, though it is unclear
whether they can effectively hook a customer
or deliver a noticeable buzz.
Shaanxi provincial police busted a noodle
seller in 2014 after being tipped off by a failed
drug test. Seven restaurants were closed in
Ningxia province in 2012 for using the additive
and Guizhou province shut down 215
restaurants in 2004.
Hu Ling, the general manager of Hu Da, a
popular chain with several adjacent locations
on the raucous Beijing nightlife strip known as
“Ghost Street,” confirmed the company was
under investigation, saying it may have
unknowingly sourced seasoning containing
opiates. She declined further comment.
Poppy powder, made from capsules and
shells that contain higher opiate content than
the seeds commonly seen on bagels, can be
easily purchased in markets in western China
for about $60 per kilogram, according to a 2014
report by the official Xinhua news agency. The
additives were commonly mixed with chili oil
and powders, making detection difficult
without laboratory equipment.
Despite pledges from the government to
improve enforcement, Chinese consumers
perennially face high-profile food scares,
ranging from tainted baby milk to fake meat
and fruits to seafood pumped with gelatin.
The country’s food-safety problems spilled
beyond its borders in 2014, when a Shanghai-
based supplier to companies including KFC,
Starbucks, and MacDonald’s was found selling
unsanitary and expired chicken meat.
China confirms missing Hong Kong publisher in mainland
HONG KONG (AP) — Hong Kong authori-
ties say they have received confirmation from
Chinese security officials that a bookseller
whose disappearance in January raised
international concern is in the mainland.
Hong Kong police said they received notice
from Guangdong province’s public security
department that Lee Bo was “understood” to
be in mainland China.
Guangdong officials were replying to a
request by Hong Kong police for information
about Lee.
He and four other people linked to a Hong
Kong publishing company and its bookshop
had gone missing in recent months.
The publishing firm specialized in books
banned in mainland China for being critical of
its communist leadership.
Lee’s case in particular raised alarm bells
because it raised suspicions that Chinese
security agents crossed into Hong Kong to
abduct him.
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78.505
4054.7
6.5761
2.1542
7.7863
67.793
13778
30187
121.14
8144.0
4.148
108.6
104.83
3.0349
47.742
75.547
3.7502
1.4243
1199.1
144.26
33.327
35.69
22230