Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC May 2, 2016 China to ban stars’ children from reality shows BEIJING (AP) — Administrators plan to ban the children of famous enter- tainers from appearing on popular reality shows in order to prevent the manufacture of future child stars, according to Chinese state media. The official Xinhua News Agency said the ban from the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television also covers appearances on chat shows and reports about them on entertainment programs. Reality shows featuring stars and their children travelling or performing tasks together have grown hugely popular with Chinese viewers in recent years. Apparently concerned with the growth of celebrity culture, the administration ordered in July that producers of the dozens of reality shows on satellite channels cut back on appearances by minors and tamp down parts of the shows seen as attempting to make them stars on their own. Cambodian ruling party sues commentator for defamation PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia’s ruling party has filed a complaint charging a prominent social commentator with criminal defamation for saying the party was manipulating a sex scandal involving an opposition leader. The complaint filed by the spokesman of the Cambodian People’s Party charged that Ou Virak, who heads the Future Forum think tank, made a false allegation that damaged the party’s honor. Virak’s comments to the U.S.-backed Radio Free Asia referred to a complicated series of events that began two months ago when taped phone calls of Kem Sokha, deputy leader of the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party, speaking with at least two women were posted on the internet. The contents seemed to indicate Sokha was having an adulterous affair. Australian refugee detention camp ruled illegal SYDNEY (AP) — Papua New Guinea’s Supreme Court has ruled that Austra- lia’s detention of asylum seekers at a facility on the country’s Manus Island is unconstitutional. The Pacific island nation’s ruling could jeopardize Australia’s divisive policy of refusing to accept any asylum seekers who try to reach its shores by boat. The country pays Papua New Guinea and the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru to hold them in detention camps instead. The court dubbed the detention of the asylum seekers a violation of their constitutional right to personal liberty. The court ordered the Papua New Guinea and Australian governments to take immediate steps toward ending the detention of asylum seekers at the Manus Island facility. The center houses approximately 900 men. Media company greases wrong palm, flouts gift limit YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar’s new government has scolded a media group for flouting guidelines against corruption by presenting an envelope with more than $4,000 as a gift to an official. The limit to such gifts is 25,000 kyats ($21). The state Myanmar News Agency reported that the president’s office announced that the media company was notified of the violation when it gave 5 million kyats ($4,237) in cash to the personal assistant of an important official as a present during the Buddhist New Year festival. The announcement named neither party involved, saying no action would be pursued as it was the first violation and fell under a grace period. The money will be given to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief, and Resettlement for building water supply facilities, it said. The guidelines enacted in April also include a yearly limit of 100,000 kyats ($85) in gifts to civil servants. The new government, whose de facto head is Nobel Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has declared tackling the country’s serious corruption as a priority. Under the previous military-backed government, civil servants were allowed to accept gifts worth up to 300,000 kyats ($254). U.S. says piracy in Gulf of Guinea rising at alarming rate UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United States has warned that piracy and armed robbery are increasing at an alarming rate in the Gulf of Guinea, pointing to reports by industry experts of at least 32 attacks off the coast of Nigeria alone so far this year. U.S. Ambassador Michele Sison singled out two pirate attacks off the Nigerian coast on April 11 that led to the apparent kidnapping of a total of eight crew members including the captain of one vessel, a Turkish cargo ship. She told a U.N. Security Council meeting that “the economic consequences for the people of the region are devastating,” pointing to a report by the London think-tank Chatham House saying as much as 400,000 barrels of crude oil are stolen every day in the Gulf of Guinea. She said ineffective government operations, weak rule of law, and inadequate maritime law enforcement all contributed to the increase in piracy in the Gulf of Guinea, a major route for oil supplies shipped around the world. China human-rights campaigner Harry Wu passes away BEIJING (AP) — Longtime Chinese human-rights campaigner, author, and founder of the Laogai Research Foundation, Harry Wu, has died. He was 79 years old. Laogai Human Rights Organization administrator Ann Noonan told The Associated Press that Wu died while on vacation in Honduras. Wu was sentenced as a university student to 19 years in China’s prison camp system known as laogai, or “reform through labor.” After his release, Wu moved to the United States in 1985 but returned frequently to China to conduct research on the labor camp system. Having become a U.S. citizen, Wu was arrested during a visit to China in 1995 and sentenced to 15 years on espionage charges. He was immediately deported to the U.S. where he continued his work documenting Chinese human-rights abuses. TURTLE TROUBLES. A Cambodian Royal Turtle walks on the sand of Sre Ambel river bank, in Koh Kong province in western Phnom Penh, Cambodia, in this June 24, 2015 file photo. Cambodia’s Royal Turtle is nearly extinct, with fewer than 10 left in the wild because of increased sand dredging and the illegal clearance of flooded forest that has shrunk its habitat, according to a conservationist group. (Wildlife Conservation Society via AP, File) Cambodian Royal Turtle nearly extinct — less than 10 in wild PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Conservationists say Cambodia’s Royal Turtle is nearly extinct, with fewer than 10 left in the wild because increased sand dredging and the illegal clearance of flooded forest have lessened its habitat. The New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said in a statement that fewer than 10 turtles remain in the Sre Ambel river system where they were successfully protected by a joint project of the government’s Fishery Administration and WCS. The statement said commercial activities along the river in Koh Kong province resulted in a decline in the nesting of the turtles. The turtle, also known as the Southern River terrapin, is so named because in historical times only the royal family could consume its eggs. The species was designated as Cambodia’s national reptile in 2005. Tibetans in exile re-elect Lobsang Sangay as PM By Ashwini Bhatia The Associated Press HARMSALA, India — Lobsang Sangay has been re-elected prime minister of the Tibetan government- in-exile in voting, according to officials, with Sangay saying the election shows that Tibetans in exile “are practicing democracy, whereas China is not.” Tibetan election officials announced the result in April in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala, the headquarters of the government-in-exile. Sangay, 47, defeated his only rival, Penpa Tsering, receiving about 58 percent of the 58,740 votes cast. It was the second election since the Dalai Lama stepped down as head of the government-in-exile in 2011 to focus on his role as the Tibetans’ spiritual leader. Tibet- ans living in exile cast their votes in 40 countries. China says Tibet has historically been part of its territory since the mid-13th century, and D the Communist Party has governed the Himalayan region since 1951. But many Tibetans say they were effectively indepen- dent for most of their history, and that the Chinese government wants to exploit their resource-rich region while crushing their cultural identity. The Dalai Lama and his followers have been living in exile in Dharmsala since they fled Tibet after a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule. China doesn’t recognize the Tibetan government-in-exile, and hasn’t held any dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama since 2010. “This election sends a very clear and powerful message to the Chinese government and the country, China,” Sangay told reporters after the result was announced. “It is a clear statement that even exile Tibetans are practicing democracy, whereas China is not.” Sangay said his government would continue Continued on page 8 Black Pearl Acupuncture Asian Currency Exchange Rates Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine are great for: - Acute/Chronic Pain (i.e. neck, back, sciatica & shoulder) - Treating & Preventing the flu and colds - Stress Relief - Headaches/Migraines www.blackpearlacupuncture.com Units per U.S. dollar as of 4/29 Sita Symonette Licensed Acupuncturist seasymonettea@gmail.com Call to schedule an appointment: (503) 308-9363 505 N.W. Ninth Ave., Portland, OR 97209 SPiLt ink Gallery Acrylic Colour Pencil Graphite Oil Pen & Ink Watercolour Pets w Holidays w Special Occasions w Just for Fun www.spiltinkgallery.com (503) 442-6427 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 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 78.375 4060.0 6.484 2.0619 7.7589 66.33 13180 30304 107.19 8113.5 3.9045 106.13 104.78 3.1496 46.913 64.305 3.7503 1.3435 1139.4 146.25 32.27 34.93 22293