Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
April 17, 2017
Thriller Trivisa wins big at Hong Kong Film Awards
HONG KONG (AP) — Crime thriller Trivisa was the big winner at the Hong
Kong Film Awards, taking home five awards including the prize for best film.
The movie, which takes place on the eve of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover from
Britain, also took home awards for best director and best actor. News sites in
mainland China downplayed the coverage, which Hong Kong media speculated
was because one of its directors worked on 2016’s Ten Years, about Beijing’s
tightening grip on the semiautonomous city. Best actress went to Happiness star
Kara Hui. She won her fourth Hong Kong Film Award for playing a middle-aged
recluse suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. Family-themed movie Mad World
was another big winner, receiving trophies for best supporting actor and actress
and best new director.
Coldplay vocalist visits sick fan in Manila hospital
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Coldplay’s lead vocalist visited a fan with
cancer hours before the group played a packed concert at Manila’s seaside Mall
of Asia Arena Concert Grounds. Chris Martin visited Ken Valiant Santiago in a
hospital where the medical student is battling cancer and spends much of the
time listening to favorite Coldplay songs. Concert organizer Rhiza Pascua
tweeted a picture of the meeting. “Chris Martin, you are an angel! Thank you for
making Ken very happy!!” she added. Santiago’s brother, Kheil, earlier posted
an appeal on Facebook for help in relaying a request to the band to say hello or
send a short message to his brother, who bought a ticket but could not make it to
the concert. He was diagnosed with advanced cancer in February, Kheil said. In
a tweet, Ken thanked Pascua for making Martin’s visit possible. “Words can’t
even begin to describe how thankful I am,” he said. “You’ve made my heart full of
joy. Thank you so much!”
Man who bought orangutan, leopard, and bear arrested
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian police say they saved a sun bear, a
clouded leopard, and a baby orangutan from the wildlife trade after receiving a
tip from conservationists who tracked the illegal activities through Instagram.
Jakarta police spokesman Prabowo Argo Yuwono said Abdul Malik was
arrested in a raid on his southern Jakarta house where the animals were found
caged. The 42-year-old Malik told police he arranged for the purchase of the
animals through Instagram messages and paid 25 million rupiah ($1,900) for
the orangutan, 15 million rupiah ($1,125) for the sun bear, and 60 million rupiah
($4,500) for the leopard. Yuwono said the police were helped by conservationists
who were tracking an Instagram account they believed to be a front for the
illegal trade in threatened species.
Construction starts on China-funded Cambodian stadium
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia has begun construction of a new
$157 million football stadium funded by China, the Southeast Asian country’s
most important ally. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said at the
groundbreaking ceremony that China’s support for the stadium, to be used for
hosting the Southeast Asian Games in 2023, is evidence of the close cooperation
of the two countries. Beijing has provided millions of dollars in aid and
investment for Cambodia over the past decade, and in return has secured its
political support in international forums. The new stadium is six miles north of
Phnom Penh and will have a capacity of 60,000, second only to Phnom Penh’s
Olympic Stadium, constructed in 1964 to hold 70,000 spectators.
Poachers kill rare one-horned rhino in southern Nepal forest
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — Authorities are searching for poachers who
killed a rare one-horned rhinoceros in the forests of southern Nepal and cut off
its horn, according to officials. Forest officer Nurendra Aryal said it was the first
killing of a rhino in the Chitwan National Forest in nearly three years. Soldiers
and forest rangers were scouring the forests and nearby areas for the people who
shot the rhino. Aryal said the night the animal died was a stormy night, so forest
officers did not hear a gunshot or spot the poachers enter the area. The forest,
located about 100 miles south of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, and bordering
India, is protected by the government and guarded by armed soldiers. Nepal has
been working to increase the number of one-horned rhinos in Chitwan National
Forest, where the population has reached 605.
Bombs bring down scores of power poles in Thailand
HAT YAI, Thailand (AP) — Suspected Muslim insurgents set off dozens of
bombs in southern Thailand, bringing down power lines and setting tires on fire
to block roads. Security officials said there were no reports of deaths or injuries.
Most of the attacks occurred in Muslim-majority provinces in Buddhist-domi-
nated Thailand’s deep south, where about 7,000 people have been killed in a
separatist insurgency that flared in 2004. Thai media speculated the actions
were in response to the ratification of Thailand’s new constitution, but officials
say no information connecting the events. Military spokesman Pramote Prom-in
said 52 electric poles were damaged by explosives in the provinces of Pattani,
Yala, Narathiwat, and Songkhla, causing scattered minor blackouts. He said
officials also discovered burnt tires and more explosives, but reported no injuries
or deaths. Men with grenade launchers and other heavy weapons attacked a
police checkpoint in Yala, injuring six officers. Three previous attacks killed an
army ranger and a policeman. Don Pathan, a security analyst specializing in
southern Thailand, said he believed the incidents were not related to the new
constitution but were meant to discredit the security apparatus in response to a
police shooting that killed two people whom friends said were unarmed.
METING OUT T.P. A man tries out a facial recognition toilet paper dispenser in a restroom at the Temple of Heaven
park in Beijing, China. At Beijing’s 600-year-old temple, administrators recognized the need to stock the public bathrooms
with toilet paper, a requirement for obtaining a top rating from the National Tourism Authority. But they needed a means of
preventing patrons from stripping them bare for personal use — hence the introduction of new technology that dispenses
just one two-foot section of paper every nine minutes following a face scan. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
Using technology, China
continues its ‘toilet revolution’
By Zhang Weiqun
The Associated Press
EIJING — Fed up with the theft of
toilet paper from public bathrooms,
tourist authorities in China’s capital
have begun using facial recognition technology
to limit how much paper a person can take.
The unusual move — part of a “toilet
revolution” — is another step in China’s vast
upgrading of public facilities.
Bathrooms at tourist sites, notorious for
their primitive conditions and nasty odors, are
a special focus of the campaign, a response to a
vast expansion in domestic travel and
demands for better-quality facilities from a
more affluent public.
“Today in China, people are highly enthu-
siastic about tourism, and we have entered a
new era of public tourism,” said Zhan Dong-
mei, a researcher with the China Tourism
Academy. “The expectation of the public for
the toilet is becoming higher.”
At Beijing’s 600-year-old Temple of Heaven,
administrators recognized the need to stock
the public bathrooms with toilet paper, a re-
quirement for obtaining a top rating from the
National Tourism Authority. But they needed
a means of preventing patrons from stripping
them bare for personal use — hence the
introduction of new technology that dispenses
just one two-foot section of paper every nine
minutes following a face scan.
“People take away the paper mostly because
they are worried they can’t find any when they
want to use it the next time. But if we can
provide it in every toilet, most people will not
do it anymore,” Zhan said.
Launched two years ago, the revolution calls
B
Retirement
for at least 34,000 new public bathrooms to be
constructed in Beijing and 23,000 renovated
by the end of this year. Authorities are also
encouraging the installation of western-style
sit-down commodes rather than the more
common squat toilets. Around $3.6 billion has
already been spent on the program, according
to the National Tourism Administration.
The ultimate target, Zhan said, “is to have a
sufficient amount of toilets which are clean
and odorless and free to use.”
At Happy Valley, the largest amusement
park in Beijing, around 4 million annual
visitors rely on 18 bathrooms, each of which is
assigned one or two cleaners who must make
their rounds every 10 minutes on busy days.
“People come here to have fun, but if the
toilets are disgusting, how can they have a
good time here?” said vice general manager Li
Xiangyang. “It is the least we should do to offer
a clean and tidy environment for tourists to
enjoy both the tour of the park and the
experience of using our toilets.”
Going a step further, the financial hub of
Shanghai even opened its first gender-neutral
public toilet in November in order to boost
convenience and efficiency.
“Women are stuck waiting in longer lines for
stalls than men, and it is fair for men and
women to wait in line together,” Shanghai
resident Zhu Jingyi said after using the
facility.
Zhan said the toilet revolution is about 90
percent complete, but warned that it has yet to
be won.
“We can’t accept the situation that a lot of
investments have been made to build toilets
and they turn out to be unsanitary and poorly
managed,” he said.
Living
Asian Currency
Exchange Rates
Units per U.S. dollar as of 4/14
S mith T ower
515 Washington Street
Vancouver, Washington
360.695.3474
• Studio & One-Bedroom Apartments
• Federal Rent Subsidies Available
• No Buy-In or Application Fees
• Affordable Rent includes all Utilities
except telephone & cable television
• Ideal urban location near shopping,
bus lines, restaurants, and much more!
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 · · ·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
·
80.87
4001.0
6.8909
2.0746
7.7739
64.456
13265
32472
109.27
8210.0
4.4128
103.05
104.78
3.279
49.422
56.255
3.7323
1.3975
1134.7
152.17
30.334
34.33
22871