ASIA / PACIFIC
June 6, 2016
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3
Golden urn holding Buddha
relics returned to Cambodia shrine
By Sopheng Cheang
The Associated Press
HNOM PENH, Cambodia —
Thousands of Cambodians
joined a procession to return
what they believe are Buddha’s relics
to the mountaintop shrine from
where they were stolen three years
ago.
The golden urn containing the
relics was placed in a decorated car
and driven some 25 miles from the
Royal Palace in Phnom Penh to the
Oudong mountain shrine.
The reinstallation took place on a
national
holiday
to
celebrate
Buddhism’s holiest day marking the
birth, enlightenment, and death of
Buddha. Monks, government offi-
cials, students, and laypeople joined
the procession.
The urn was stolen from the shrine
in 2013 and recovered a year later,
but was temporarily placed at the
Royal Palace. Four guards at the
shrine and one more person were
arrested.
P
PROOF OF LIFE. Tuan Tuan, an 11-year-old panda from China, is
seen sitting upright in his cage behind recent local newspaper front pages
at the Taipei Zoo, in Taipei, Taiwan. The photo of Tuan Tuan alive and with
the newspapers was accompanied by a statement from zoo director Chin
Shih-chien saying Tuan Tuan, his partner Yuan Yuan, and their cub Yuan
Zai were all fine, despite rumors first appearing on Chinese websites that
Tuan Tuan had died. (Taipei Zoo via AP)
Taiwan panda’s ‘proof of life’
photo debunks death rumors
BEIJING (AP) — The subject of the photo looks out from
behind bars, with newspapers arranged in front of him to
prove what day it is. This “proof of life” shot is not a scene
from a kidnapping, but an effort by the Taipei Zoo to
debunk rumors that a prized panda recently died.
Photos released by the zoo show 11-year-old Tuan Tuan
looking at the papers laid out in front of his inner
enclosure. The zoo’s director said in a statement that
Tuan Tuan, his partner Yuan Yuan, and their cub Yuan
Zai, are all fine.
“We welcome everyone to visit them at the zoo,” said
director Chin Shih-chien.
The website of China’s official Communist Party
newspaper, the Global Times, had reported the panda
died of canine distemper, sending the story racing across
the Chinese-language internet. The paper later retracted
the story and apologized for not checking its facts, a
potentially egregious error given the political sensitivity
surrounding the panda pair.
Giant pandas exist only in China and Beijing has often
used overseas gifts of the animals to make political
statements about its relationship with other
governments. Beijing claims the self-governing island of
Taiwan as its own territory, to be brought under its
control by force if necessary.
Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, whose combined names
translate as “Reunion,” were sent by Beijing to Taiwan in
December 2008 following the election of China-friendly
President Ma Ying-jeou as the island’s leader.
The rumors of Tuan Tuan’s death came just days before
the inauguration of Ma’s successor, Tsai Ing-wen, whose
party supports Taiwan’s formal independence from
China.
RELIC REINSTALLATION. Cambodian Cult and Religion minister Him Chhem, right, holds
a golden urn during a procession in Oudong, Kandal province, northwest of Phnom Penh, Cambo-
dia. Thousands of Cambodians joined the procession to return what they believe are Buddha’s relics
to a mountain-top shrine from where they were stolen three years ago. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)
Sherpa from Connecticut climbs Everest for seventh time
By Binaj Gurubacharya
The Associated Press
ATHMANDU, Nepal — A
convenience store worker
from Connecticut has scaled
Mount Everest for a seventh time,
breaking her own record as the most
successful female climber of the
world’s highest peak, according to
expedition organizers.
Lhakpa Sherpa was among 18
climbers who reached the peak from
the northern side in Tibet, said
Rajeeb Shrestha of the 7 Summits
Adventure agency based in Nepal’s
capital, Kathmandu.
K
She climbed Everest six times
between 2000 and 2006 before
moving to the United States where
she is a permanent resident.
Sherpa, 42, was born in Nepal and
took up mountaineering as a profes-
sion like most members of her ethnic
group in the region. Her brother,
Mingma Gelu, has already climbed
Everest eight times and her sister,
Ming Kipa, was once the youngest
female Everest climber. She has a son
and two daughters.
Two Sherpa men have scaled
Everest 21 times to hold the record for
the most climbs of Everest.
Favorable weather has allowed
hundreds of climbers to scale the
29,035-foot mountain. More than 400
climbers reached the summit from
Nepal. Several more climbers have
done the same from northern routes
in Tibet.
The number of successful climbs
this year is good news for the moun-
taineering community after the past
two climbing seasons were hit by
disasters. Nepal’s devastating earth-
quake last year caused an avalanche
that killed 19 people at base camp,
and in 2014, an avalanche above base
camp killed 16 Sherpa guides.
Tu Phan
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