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 · · · ·
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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 · · ·
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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