Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
August 15, 2016
Indonesia to sink dozens of foreign illegal fishing vessels
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia will mark its Independence Day this
month by sinking as many as 71 foreign vessels that were seized for fishing
illegally in the country’s waters. Maritime and Fisheries minister Susi
Pudjiastuti said boats from the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and China will
be sunk simultaneously at several locations on the August 17 national holiday.
Many of the boats were captured off Indonesia’s Natuna Islands in the southern
reaches of the South China Sea. Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago
nation, has taken a hardline stance against illegal fishing since President Joko
“Jokowi” Widodo took office in 2014. Pudjiastuti has overseen the destruction of
more than 170 illegal fishing boats from several countries. Indonesia blew up
more than 20 foreign vessels in April, but Pudjiastuti said the method won’t be
used for the upcoming sinkings. The ships will be kept intact and will form
artificial reefs, she said. In March, Indonesia destroyed the Nigeria-flagged
Viking with explosives. The ship was wanted around the world for illegally
taking toothfish from southern waters.
Uber’s Chinese rival acquiring its China operations
BEIJING (AP) — Uber Technology Ltd.’s main Chinese rival, Didi Chuxing,
says it is acquiring the U.S. ride-hailing service’s China operations, linking the
companies in a business alliance after a costly battle for market share. The
announcement marked a surrender by another foreign technology brand to
intense competition in China. Yahoo and eBay also turned over local operations
to Chinese partners or shut down. Didi Chuxing said it would take over all of
Uber China and operate it as a separate brand. In exchange, the company said,
Uber will receive a stake in Didi Chuxing and Uber founder Travis Kalanick will
join the Chinese company’s board. The two companies have suffered heavy
losses as they fought to attract customers.
False alert of massive earthquake triggers panic in Japan
TOKYO (AP) — An erroneous alert that a massive earthquake had hit the
Tokyo area sent many in Japan into a brief panic and disrupted some train
service. The Japanese Meteorological Agency sent the alert just after 5:00pm,
saying a magnitude-9.1 quake had struck. Some people who have smartphone
apps that alert them to quakes received warnings that popped up on their
screens. The agency’s alert, which was cancelled within seconds, set off alarmed
chatter on Twitter. The meteorological agency said it was investigating why the
alert was sent. An agency official, who spoke on customary condition of
anonymity, said the reason may have been lightning hitting a seismograph, an
instrument that monitors quakes. Following the alert, some Tokyo trains shut
down temporarily. Japan is among the most quake-prone nations in the world. A
magnitude-9 quake off the country’s northeast coast in March 2011 set off a
giant tsunami that killed more than 18,000 people and sent three nuclear
reactors into meltdown.
Groups oppose Marcos burial at heroes’ cemetery
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — A Philippine historical commission, former
human-rights victims, and left-wing groups are opposing President Rodrigo
Duterte’s approval of a plan to bury late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in a heroes’
cemetery, reigniting a politically divisive and emotional debate. A coalition of
groups opposed to the plan said Marcos was a plunderer who ordered the torture
and deaths of thousands of his critics. Duterte gave the go-ahead for the burial,
which is expected in September. He said Marcos, who was ousted in a 1986
“people power” revolt, is qualified to be buried at the military-run cemetery as a
former soldier and president. The National Historical Commission of the
Philippines, meanwhile, said it opposes Marcos’ burial because his military
record is “fraught with myth, factual inconsistencies, and lies.”
SHIN GODZILLA. A scaled-down model of Godzilla is displayed at a movie theater in Tokyo. Godzilla is back in its
homeland of Japan after a 12-year absence, still breathing fire and mercilessly stomping everything in its way. The latest in
the giant reptile Godzilla movies, Shin Godzilla, or New Godzilla, is now showing in theaters in Japan and is promised for
the U.S. and other countries later this year. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Godzilla comes back to Japan,
in ways fresh and familiar
By Yuri Kageyama
The Associated Press
OKYO — Godzilla is back in its
homeland of Japan after a 12-year
absence, still breathing fire and
mercilessly stomping everything in its way.
The Associated Press noted four ways the new
film Shin Godzilla, or New Godzilla, breaks
from its past, and other ways it is reassuringly
familiar. It’s now showing in theaters in Japan
and is promised for the U.S. and other
countries later this year.
What’s different
The Americans: Japan’s most important
ally sends scientists and other advisers, their
participation depicted at times as a nuisance.
A Japanese-American special envoy, played
impudently by Satomi Ishihara, asks where
the nearest Zara store is, but mainly mediates
between Japan and the U.S., which is worried
Godzilla might reach its shores. She resists a
U.S. proposal to nuke Godzilla. “Is Japan going
to have the atomic bomb dropped for the third
time?” she asks mournfully. Given that the
2014 Hollywood Godzilla helped Toho film
studio decide to revive the series it originated,
the U.S. has proved a true ally for Godzilla’s
silver screen survival.
The man behind the monster: Godzilla is
not a man wearing a rubber suit, like in the
1954 original. Toho used motion-capture
technology based on the movements of Mansai
Nomura, an actor in traditional kyogen theater
whose casting was a secret until opening day.
The center of gravity is kept low during kyogen
moves, similar to noh dance, except that
kyogen specializes in comedy. Nomura said he
was honored to be chosen for the role, stressing
T
China ridicules Trump’s criticism of its trade practices
BEIJING (AP) — China’s official news agency is accusing Republican
presidential candidate Donald Trump of playing the “China-bashing card” in an
attempt to rescue his falling poll numbers. Xinhua News Agency ridiculed the
accusations he made in a speech that China was breaking trade rules “in every
way imaginable.” Xinhua called such rhetoric inflammatory and said while his
intent was to appeal to blue-collar Midwestern voters, the remarks were
dangerous and offered nothing of substance to improve bilateral relations.
Trump in his speech accused China of illegally subsidizing exports, mani-
pulating its currency, and stealing intellectual property. His criticism of Beijing
during the campaign has focused almost exclusively on trade practices with few
mentions of its authoritarian political system and human-rights abuses.
Malaysia confirms Flight 370 course was on pilot’s simulator
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia has confirmed one of the pilots
of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 had plotted a course on his home flight simulator
to the southern Indian Ocean, where the missing jet is believed to have crashed.
It’s the first time Malaysia has acknowledged the route was on captain Zaharie
Ahmad Shah’s simulator. Australian officials overseeing the search for the
plane said data recovered from the simulator included a flight path to the
southern Indian Ocean. Transport minister Liow Tiong Lai, who made the
comments, also cautioned there were “thousands” of destinations on the
simulator and no evidence to confirm that Zaharie flew the plane in that area. A
recording of the news conference for local media was made available to The
Associated Press.
that he hoped to communicate the spiritual
and the ghostly in Godzilla. “I am thrilled that
the DNA of kyogen, which has more than 650
years of history, will now be part of the DNA of
the pride of Japanese cinema — that life called
Godzilla,” he said in a statement.
The 2011 Fukushima disaster: Godzilla is
no longer a result of nuclear testing. Instead,
the monster recalls the March 2011 quake,
tsunami, and nuclear disaster that devastated
northeastern Japan. In the film, people
measure the radiation around them and share
information on social media, as they did five
years ago. News conferences and meetings are
filled with confusion and jargon, and
government officials on screen even use the
same word that was used to describe how
unprepared Japan had been for the tsunami,
soteigai, or “beyond expectations.” Scenes of
people fleeing from torrents of water, and later
huddled in gymnasiums, bring back heart-
breaking memories of the 2011 disaster.
Defending itself: Post-World War II Japan
has repeatedly stressed it will abide by
pacifism. When Godzilla crashes onto its
shores, Japan debates how far it can go in
defending itself. That reflects a modern debate
over using Japan’s military beyond its self-
defense role. Bureaucrats try their best to find
Japanese-based solutions, treating Godzilla as
a crisis requiring military might and vowing
the nation can be rebuilt from scratch — as it
was after World War II. The original monster
symbolized the tragedy of nuclear power and,
through it, the ability of humankind to destroy
itself. Now the threat we perceive could be
anything, but is almost certainly a horror we
brought on ourselves.
Continued on page 4
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78.322
4096.2
6.6362
2.0538
7.7562
66.889
13118
31065
101.3
8088.7
4.0275
106.97
104.63
3.1696
46.63
64.758
3.7504
1.3451
1098.0
145.35
31.433
34.775
22301