ASIA / PACIFIC
May 15, 2017
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 3
MILLION-DOLLAR MASK. Momoko Marutani, an employee at Tokyo gold jeweller Ginza Tanaka, looks
at a gold mask of Darth Vader at the jewelry shop in Tokyo. The life-size mask of Star Wars villain Darth Vader is
available for sale for the hefty price of 154 million yen ($1.4 million). The 24-karat gold mask was created by the
jeweller to mark the 40th anniversary of the release of the first Star Wars film. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
Tokyo jeweller offers gold Darth
Vader masks for $1.4 million
By Emily Wang
The Associated Press
OKYO — Star Wars fans with deep
pockets might consider it a golden
opportunity.
A Tokyo jewelry store is offering life-size
Darth Vader masks made of 24-karat gold
at the hefty price of 154 million yen ($1.4
million) to mark the 40th anniversary of
the release of the first Star Wars movie.
The creation measures 10.4 inches wide
and 11.8 inches high.
The Ginza Tanaka store says the masks
are not designed for wearing — at about 33
pounds, they would be too heavy, and they
have no opening for a head.
While the masks are its most expensive
Star Wars memorabilia, the jeweller has
made pricier products. In 2013, a gold
Disney-themed Christmas tree was priced
at 500 million yen ($4.5 million).
T
Marketing
manager
Hirotsugu
Tsuchiya said it took 10 goldsmiths three
months to mold and assemble the
prototype.
“The most difficult aspect was that each
section of the mask was created by a
different gold craftsman and then
assembled to make one Darth Vader
mask,” Tsuchiya said.
Orders for the mask can be made at its
main store in the glitzy Ginza shopping
area where the prototype is on display.
Customers will have to wait three months
after ordering.
For those looking for less expensive
options, gold coins engraved with Yoda or
Luke Skywalker are also available
starting at 132,300 yen ($1,200). They
went on sale May 4, celebrated by some
fans as Star Wars day because “May the
fourth” evokes the film’s iconic line, “May
the force be with you.”
China compiles its own Wikipedia, but public can’t edit it
By Louise Watt
The Associated Press
B
EIJING — China is compiling a
free online encyclopedia to rival
Wikipedia, but it will likely only
give Beijing’s official version of sensitive
historical events, and the public won’t be
able to write or edit it.
Instead,
scholars
and
experts
handpicked by Beijing say only they will be
able to make entries — the latest example
of the Chinese government’s efforts to
control information available on the
internet.
The effort to compile 300,000 entries is
being led by the ruling Communist Party’s
central propaganda department.
Senior editor Jiang Lijun said the online
Chinese Encyclopedia will focus primarily
on entries that are less likely to change
rather than recent events, and subjects
that have academic value.
Currently, the Chinese Wikipedia is
inaccessible on the mainland.
Court says Facebook must delete hate postings worldwide
VIENNA (AP) — An Austrian court has
ruled that Facebook must delete hate
speech postings worldwide and that
Austrian law can be applied to lawsuits
against the social-media website.
Maria Windhager, a lawyer for an
Austrian politician, said the ruling is a
rebuff to the social-media giant’s claims
that any court actions against it can be
heard only in California or Ireland, where
Facebook’s world and European head-
quarters are located.
Windhager represents Greens politician
Eva Glawischnig, who went to court over
comments about her posted on a fake pro-
file. The Austria Press Agency said the
decision arose from Facebook’s appeal of a
court ruling ordering posts be deleted.
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