ASIA / PACIFIC
Page 4 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
March 21, 2016
Tokyo zoo to work on changing
living conditions for elephant
By Yuri Kageyama
The Associated Press
T
POPULAR POE PREVAILS. Philippine presidential candidate
senator Grace Poe is greeted by supporters after addressing a rally to
mark International Women’s Day, on March 8, 2016 in Manila, the Philip-
pines. The Philippine Supreme Court has ruled that Poe is eligible to run
for president in May 9 elections, overturning an elections commission
decision to disqualify her and removing a long-hanging legal question
over a tightly fought race to lead the Southeast Asian nation. (AP Photo/
Bullit Marquez)
Court rules Philippine
senator Grace Poe
can run for president
By Jim Gomez
The Associated Press
M
ANILA, The Philippines — The Philippine
Supreme Court has ruled that senator Grace
Poe can run for president in May 9 elections,
overturning an elections commission decision to disqual-
ify her and removing a long-hanging legal question over a
tightly fought race to lead the Southeast Asian nation.
The justices voted 9-6 to favor Poe’s petitions against
the Commission on Elections decision last December to
disqualify her on the grounds that she was not a
natural-born citizen and did not have the required 10-year
Philippine residency required of presidential candidates,
said Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te.
The decision can be appealed, according to Te.
The decision will provide a major boost to the campaign
of Poe, who has already been leading in popularity polls,
and removes a legal question over what has been shaping
into a closely contested four-way race to succeed President
Benigno Aquino III, whose six-year term ends June 30.
“This victory isn’t only mine,” a triumphant Poe told
hundreds of people, who joined an International Women’s
Day rally by a left-wing group in a Manila square. “This is
a victory for all of us.”
Poe, 47, has seen her popularity soar since she first ran
for office three years ago. She is the adopted daughter of
one of the country’s most famous movie couples. Her late
father mostly played roles as a defender of the down-
trodden in a country still plagued by widespread poverty
and corruption.
But the Commission on Elections ruled in December
that Poe was not a natural-born Filipino as required by
the constitution because she was abandoned as a baby by
her unknown parents at a Roman Catholic church.
The U.S.-educated Poe, who renounced her Philippine
citizenship for about five years to live with her family in
America, also lacked the required 10-year Philippine
residency ahead of the vote, the commission said. That
prompted Poe to bring her case to the Supreme Court,
which she asked to thrash her disqualification.
OKYO — A Tokyo zoo says it
will work on improving living
conditions for its 69-year-old
elephant after an animal-welfare
expert
recommended
simple
additions such as infrared heaters
and new toys instead of moving her to
a sanctuary.
“The zoo has done a lot of good,”
said Carol Buckley, who was invited
to the zoo by the “Help Hanako”
campaign that sought to improve the
elephant’s situation or move it to a
Thai sanctuary.
Hanako was among the healthiest
elephants, for her age, she has ever
seen, she added. Their usual lifespan
is about 70 years.
Inokashira Park Zoo has said
moving Hanako would be too stress-
ful. A gift from Thailand in 1949,
Hanako, or “flower child,” has lived in
a zoo since she was two years old.
Buckley said Hanako is happy and
loves her zookeepers. Instead of
moving her, Buckley recommends
infrared heaters and rubber mats to
make her small concrete pen more
livable. She suggested playing music
and adding more toys, such as frozen
fruit inside a tire. Tires and a tube are
Hanako’s favorite toys now.
Buckley, an American who founded
an animal sanctuary and has worked
with other captive elephants, said
renovating or enlarging Hanako’s
pen would require noisy construction
that might stress the animal. And
introducing other elephants and even
foliage could bewilder Hanako.
ELDERLY ELEPHANT ENRICHMENT. A woman waves to Hanako the elephant at
Inokashira Park Zoo on the outskirts of Tokyo, in this photo taken on January 27, 2016. The zoo
said it will work on improving living conditions for the 69-year-old elephant after an animal-
welfare expert recommended against moving her. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
Zoo curator Hidemasa Hori, who
met with Buckley during her visit,
said the zoo will work on making the
“environmental
enrichment”
changes, although some bureaucratic
procedures would be required. The
city of Tokyo runs the zoo.
Ulara Nakagawa, whose blog
inspired the campaign, says funds
can be raised to help make changes
for Hanako.
It was unclear whether those who
were behind the petition drive to
move Hanako out of the zoo would be
convinced by Buckley’s findings.
Buckley noted animal activists
need to be educated, regardless of
their good intentions.
“You think she should be put on a
plane or a boat and go to Thailand?
What are you thinking?” she said.
Buckley noted Hanako was clearly
Bhutan celebrates royal baby by planting 108,000 trees
By Wasbir Hussain
The Associated Press
AUHATI, India — Citizens in Bhutan are
anxious to ensure the survival of groves of trees
that have been planted across the Himalayan
nation to honor the beloved king and queen’s new baby
boy.
Many people in the Buddhist country stop during daily
walks or drives to water some of the 108,000 saplings
placed on hillsides and in valleys. In Buddhism, trees are
considered divine for their role in providing and
nourishing all life forms.
“We are now nurturing the plants as if we are nurturing
the little prince,” said Dasho Karma Raydi, who is among
those helping to care for the new trees. “We are committed
to take care of the plants because so much emotion is at-
tached to this unique way of celebrating the new arrival.”
Raydi, who heads a government-run company, had
driven his car to a small hill near a huge Buddha statue on
the outskirts of the capital, Thimphu, to water a pine he
planted in mid-March. He said he saw dozens of others
G
Prince Harry visiting Nepal, touring quake-hit areas
By Binaj Gurubacharya
The Associated Press
ATHMANDU, Nepal — Ordinary people hope
Britain’s Prince Harry’s visit to Nepal and tour of
earthquake-hit areas draws attention to the
country’s struggle to recover from last year’s disaster.
Rebuilding is slow and tens of thousands remain home-
less.
“Hopefully when a big prince comes to these alleys and
the world’s media will see how miserable our lives are, we
will get some help,” said Ram Kaji, who was selling
potatoes on the street near his damaged home in Patan, a
historic district near the capital of Kathmandu.
The April 25, 2015 quake killed nearly 9,000 people,
destroyed about 1 million homes, and damaged many old
temples, palaces, and other old structures in Patan and
the capital.
During his five-day trip, the 31-year-old prince is
visiting a camp for displaced survivors and staying with a
K
bored and needs more toys as well as
more time with the zookeepers.
“When her keepers let her in the
barn, she just lit up. Her eyes got big,
and her body relaxed, and she came in
and her ears were flapping,” she said.
“She came right over to the bars
where they were and solicited their
petting the entire time and didn’t
stop talking.”
Hori said the zoo was open to
Buckley’s ideas. He was happy the
meeting had not been confrontational
and was hopeful some of the easier
changes might be completed soon.
“They agreed Hanako should not be
moved,” he said in a telephone
interview,
acknowledging
that
perhaps the zookeepers had too
readily assumed Hanako did not
want change. “This is just a
beginning.”
family whose men served in the famed Gurkha regiments
in the British army — units that Harry served with in
Afghanistan.
“He has a huge amount of admiration for the resilience
of the people of the country, particularly in response to the
earthquakes last year,” Kensington Palace said in a
statement.
Harry is the first British royal to visit the Himalayan
country since the monarchy was abolished in 2008
following street protests. Since then, Nepal has turned
into a republic, with a president chosen by a parliament.
The prince is scheduled to meet with President Bidhya
Devi Bhandari.
Authorities, however, have been slow to push ahead
with rebuilding efforts. A government reconstruction
agency was finally appointed in December but has yet to
provide promised aid money to displaced families or
guidelines to build new houses and structures.
People who live around the shiny Golden Temple in
Continued on page 13
ROYAL TRIBUTE. Bhutanese people are seen planting saplings on
a hillside in Thimpu, Bhutan. Citizens in Bhutan are anxious to ensure the
survival of groves of trees recently planted across the Himalayan nation to
honor the beloved king and queen’s new baby boy. (Tendrel Initiatives via
AP)
doing the same.
Prime Minister Tschering Tobgay joined tens of
thousands of volunteers in planting the trees to honor the
newest member of the royal family, who was born a month
ago. King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck and Queen
Jetsun Pema are wildly popular in the nation of 800,000.
In Buddhism, trees are symbols of longevity, health,
beauty, and compassion. The number of saplings was also
symbolic, as Buddhists believe each person is required to
overcome 108 defilements in order to achieve enlighten-
ment.
“The trees will serve as a constant reminder to all of us
about the importance of the Wangchuck Dynasty,” said
Tenzin Lekphell, the head of a private company that
organized the tree planting.
The species of trees planted range from teak to oak, and
dogwood to pine, depending on the altitude at which they
were planted, Lekphell said.
Bhutan prizes environmental initiatives highly,
enshrining conservation in a constitution that also
declares that 60 percent of the country must always be
under forest cover.
“Tree planting is a part of Bhutanese culture. His
Majesty the King also loves planting. He, too, may have
planted saplings inside the palace complex,” said palace
secretariat official Kunzang Wangdi.