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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 21, 2017)
Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC August 21, 2017 Patriotic Wolf Warrior 2 is China’s biggest domestic film BEIJING (AP) — A patriotic film reportedly inspired by evacuations of Chinese civilians in Libya and Yemen has become China’s biggest-ever grossing domestic movie. The action movie Wolf Warrior 2 overtook Hong Kong director Stephen Chow’s 2016 fantasy comedy The Mermaid in the record books. Wolf Warrior 2 depicts a former special forces soldier battling against insurgents and mercenaries in Africa to save trapped Chinese. Chinese media say it is based on the evacuations of Chinese civilians from Libya and Yemen that were assisted by the military. State media have reported that cinemas are sold out and audiences have given the film standing ovations. The official Xinhua News Agency said the film has “grabbed the heart of the nation.” Suspected WWII-era bomb dug up near nuclear plant TOKYO (AP) — A suspected World War II-era bomb was found during construction work near the wrecked Fukushima nuclear power plant. The plant’s operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), said a worker spotted it while digging at a parking lot just over a half-mile north of the reactors that were destroyed in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. The parking lot is part of the sprawling nuclear plant complex. TEPCO said a 650-foot area around the site was closed off. It’s far enough away not to affect the delicate plant decommissioning work, the utility said. The Defense Ministry said the rusty object was about 33 inches long and six inches wide. The area was home to a former military airport that was targeted by U.S. aerial bombardment in World War II, TEPCO said. Afghan robotics competitor’s dad killed in attack KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The manager of Afghanistan’s all-girl robotics team has reported that the father of a team member died in a horrific suicide assault on a Shiite mosque in western Herat. AliReza Mehraban told The Associated Press that Asif Qaderian, the father of Fatima Qaderian, died of his injuries in the Herat Hospital. The brutal attack on the Shiite mosque killed 33 worshippers as they prayed and wounded another 66, according to provincial officials. The all-girls robotics team won a silver medal in the U.S. competition. The team garnered attention after they were twice denied visas, but finally went to the United States to compete after U.S. President Donald Trump intervened. Mehraban said Fatima’s father was her biggest supporter. His death has devastated her and her family, he said. Thousands march for quota in government jobs in India MUMBAI, India (AP) — Tens of thousands of people waving saffron flags silently marched through Mumbai demanding quotas in government jobs and education for the Maratha community in western India. The marchers covered a distance of more than three miles with no speeches or slogans raised. The community accounts for nearly 35 percent of western Maharashtra state’s 123 million people. Virendra Pawar, a spokesman for the Maratha Kranti Morcha, or Maratha Revolutionary Front, said the protesters are also demanding higher prices for farm produce and loan waivers for poor farmers. The Maratha Revolutionary Front was launched last year by a group of Maratha organizations to protest the alleged rape and killing of a teenage Maratha girl in the Ahmednagar district of the state. It later took on other causes. Uber expands food delivery services to South Korea SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ride-hailing company Uber is expanding its food delivery service to South Korea. The San Francisco-based company’s launch of UberEats in Seoul occurred while it continues talks with local authorities to resume its flagship ride-hailing service. Before UberEats, Uber’s presence in South Korea was almost non-existent. It withdrew its flagship UberX ride-hailing service in 2015, facing protests from local taxi drivers and the Seoul city government. In April, a court fined Uber $8,756 for violating a transport law. With popular local startups offering various food delivery services already, the U.S. company will likely face an uphill battle to lure food delivery customers in the country, analysts said. ENDANGERED EELS. Shinji Hashimoto, the sixth-generation owner of a Michelin one-star unagi restaurant in To- kyo, grills Japanese eel that has been coated in a salty-sweet soy sauce marinade over hot charcoal. Japanese people cel- ebrate the Day of the Ox by indulging in the eel delicacy known as kabayaki. The endangered Japanese summer delicacy may get a new lease on life with commercial farming. (AP Photo/Sherry Zheng) New hope for endangered eels, Japanese summer delicacy By Sherry Zheng The Associated Press UJISAWA, Japan — The future of the Japanese summer delicacy of roasted eel, braised with a tangy sauce and sprinkled with prickly mountain pepper, is in question as the creatures with their mysterious migrations become increasingly endangered. Soaring demand for Japanese eel, or Anguilla japonica, helped put the creatures on the International Union of Conservation of Nature’s “Red List” of endangered species in 2014. It’s spurring poaching of similar species off the U.S. east coast. But Katsumi Tsukamoto, “Dr. Eel” of the only “Eel Science Laboratory” at Nihon University in Japan, thinks he’s unlocked the secrets to eventually farming the eels, known as unagi, sustainably and profitably. Tsukamoto found out where the eels are spawning, and that helped researchers study conditions needed to raise them from the egg stage to adulthood. The possibility of extinction, and soaring prices for grilled eel believed to help build stamina for enduring sweltering summer days, have dismayed many Japanese gourmands and the restaurants that specialize in the dish. Despite their important role in Japanese food culture, until recently very little was known about the life cycles of the eels, such as where they spawn and how tiny, nearly transparent glass eels manage to travel back to their freshwater habitats in Asia and elsewhere. Supplies depend on wild-catching the juveniles and farm-raising them until adult- hood, a practice that has spread from Japan to F Taiwan and mainland China as demand has surged. Tsukamoto said his discovery of Japanese eel larvae and spawning adults west of the Mariana Ridge, near Guam, in 2009 has enabled him and other researchers to figure out the right diet and environmental condi- tions for spawning eels and their offspring. Despite skepticism about the potential for such farming to work, Tsukamoto said three Japanese state-owned laboratories already are able to raise the eels from the larval stage and get them to spawn, completing their life cycle. But for now each lab can raise only about 3,000 to 4,000 per year. A lack of funds is hindering construction of the infrastructure needed to make such operations commercially viable by producing tens of thousands of eels per year. The complete farming of eels and some other endangered species is seen as a way to help them survive by relieving the pressure from soaring demand. Fisherman Masataka Uchida, who sells wild-caught “blue eel,” or ao-unagi, shrugs off any potential competition from farming. Depending on the environment, some eels have a tough texture and pungent, muddy taste that even unagi aficionados may find off-putting. Uchida’s eels, with their pale blue-gray skin and soft pink bellies, have a highly sought-after, light, and clean flavor that fetches premium prices even in the pricey unagi market. Depending on the restaurant, Yuta Maruyama, an intermediate wholesaler who handles wild blue eel at Tokyo’s famous Tsukiji Fish market, says a multi-course menu including grilled blue eel can cost up to 30,000 yen ($270) per person at exclusive restaurants, Continued on page 4 GRASS-FED BEEF FOR SALE Palm oil blobs cover Hong Kong beaches after sea crash HONG KONG (AP) — Cleanup efforts are under way in Hong Kong after white blobs of congealed palm oil washed up on the city’s shores following a collision between two ships. Authorities closed more than a dozen beaches, but the government said the substance isn’t dangerous. Marine officials say the ships collided in the Pearl River Delta estuary southwest of Hong Kong. The congealed palm oil resembles clumps of snow or pieces of Styrofoam and has a consistency similar to Play-Doh. It was spotted blanketing Hong Kong beaches and floating in the water. Helicopters and nine ships were deployed to find and collect the waste while workers at public beaches used absorbent blankets and strips to contain the mess. Palm oil is commonly used in food packaging and cosmetics. Environment undersecretary Tse Chin-wan told reporters that it’s non-toxic and there has been no sign of widespread impact on marine life. Tse said no more than 1,000 metric tons leaked from the stricken ship. Environmentalists worry about the harm the substance could pose to Hong Kong’s already polluted waters, and to fish and other animals that eat large amounts of it. Hong Kong is made up of a peninsula attached to mainland China’s southern coast as well as about 260 islands, many of them small and uninhabited. Call (503) 980-5900 for details GRASS-FED & GRASS-FINISHED BEEF Farm-raised in Newberg, Oregon Beef available as: q Quarter cow q Half cow q Whole cow Beef is processed by a Portland butcher. Pickup available September at N.E. Sandy Blvd. location. Asian Currency Exchange Rates Units per U.S. dollar as of 8/18 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 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 81.051 4110.1 6.6704 2.0188 7.8237 64.146 13362 32944 109.18 8397.3 4.29 102.6 105.37 3.1993 51.449 58.97 3.7502 1.3628 1141.4 153.3 30.345 33.218 22884