Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2017)
ASIA / PACIFIC November 20, 2017 THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5 Indonesia museum removes Hitler display after protests By Stephen Wright The Associated Press AKARTA, Indonesia — An Indonesian visual effects museum that encouraged visitors to take selfies with a waxwork of Hitler against a giant image of the Auschwitz exter- mination camp removed the exhibit after protests. The De Mata Trick Eye Museum’s marketing officer said the statue was removed following an Associated Press story highlighting outrage from Jewish and rights groups. Human Rights Watch denounced the exhibit as “sickening” and the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, which campaigns against Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism, demanded its immediate removal. The museum, which has waxworks of about 80 famous people, had the Hitler figure on display since 2014. It initially defended the exhibit as “fun” and said it was one of the most popular waxworks with visitors to the infotainment-style museum in the central Java city of Yogyakarta. The space at the museum occupied by Hitler is now empty and the image of Auschwitz, where more than 1 J FISHERMEN RETURNED. The Japanese coast guard approaches a capsized wooden vessel, top, for a rescue operation in the water off Noto Peninsula, Japan. Three crew members rescued from the capsized boat were North Koreans. The area is a rich fishing ground where poach- ers from North Korea and China have been spotted. (Photo/9th Regional Japan Coast Guard Headquarters via AP) Japan sends home three North Koreans rescued from capsized boat By Mari Yamaguchi The Associated Press OKYO — Japan has handed over three North Korean crew members who were rescued from a capsized fishing boat to a North Korean vessel that will return them home, officials said. The three men were rescued by Japan’s coast guard while floating on the small wooden vessel off the northern coast of the Noto Peninsula, chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. The men expressed their wish to return home when interviewed on a Japanese coast guard boat and were handed over to another North Korean fishing vessel at sea, said coast guard spokesman Satoru Nanjo. Coast guard rescuers were still searching for their fellow crew members believed to be missing. The three told Japanese officials they came with 12 other crew members from North Korea to fish and their boat capsized just as they were heading home, Nanjo said. The area, about 216 miles north of the peninsula, is in waters where Japan’s exclusive economic zone overlaps with those of neighboring countries. It’s a rich fishing ground where poachers from North Korea and China have been spotted. Japan and North Korea have no diplomatic ties. The incident happened as Japan steps up pressure on the North over Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear threats. Boats believed to be from North Korea often wash up on Japan’s northern coast during the winter because of the seasonal wind from the northwest. Three North Korean boats with 10 bodies inside washed up on the peninsula in 2015. This year, 13 cases of wreckages were reported in three northern prefectures facing the Sea of Japan, but no bodies have been found, according to the coast guard. T Bangkok firefighters on front line of city’s snake scourge Continued from page 2 truckloads of snakes caught in the city into the jungle. City authorities say the number of snakes caught in Bangkok homes has risen exponentially in recent years, from 16,000 report- ed cases in 2013 to about 29,000 in 2016. Figures for the first half of 2017 are more than 30 percent higher than last year. Penchom Saetang, direc- tor of the environmental foundation Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand, said Bangkok is producing more trash each year because the city is quickly expanding under an insuf- ficient waste management system. A July 2017 Greenpeace report said that in Thailand “there are 2,490 waste management centers around the country and only 466 of them manage waste accordingly ...” Piya’s advice to Bangkok’s residents is to keep the city clean in order to keep the snakes away. He said most snakes found in Bangkok homes and apartments are harmless, “but if you spot a venomous one, firemen will be there to help.” Associated Press writer Kaweewit Kaewjinda con- tributed to this report. DISPLAY DISMAY. A visitor walks past the wax figure of Adolf Hitler, left, displayed against the backdrop of a giant image of the Auschwitz extermination camp next to Star Wars character Darth Vader, right, at De Mata Trick Eye Museum in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Rights groups expressed out- rage over the display of Hitler, calling it “sickening” and saying “it mocks the victims who went in and never came out.” (AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi) million people were exterminated by Bandung where waiters wore SS uniforms caused anger abroad for the Nazi regime, was gone. It was not the first time Nazism several years until reportedly closing and its symbols have been its doors at the beginning of this year. In 2014, a music video made by normalized or even idealized in Indo- nesia, the world’s most populous Indonesian pop stars as a tribute to Muslim nation and home to a tiny presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto stirred outrage with its Jewish community. A Nazi-themed café in the city of Nazi overtones. Japanese tug boat scrapes U.S. Navy ship during exercise TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese tug boat lost propulsion and drifted into a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer during a towing exercise, according to the Navy. The USS Benfold sustained minimal damage, including scrapes on its side, the Navy said in a statement. No one was injured on either vessel. The commercial tug boat was towed to a port in Yokosuka, the home of the Navy’s Japan-based 7th Fleet. The collision occurred in Sagami Bay, which is q Sri Lankan police arrest 19 over racial violence COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankan police say 19 people were arrested following racial violence in the country’s south that started over a dispute between majority Buddhists and minority Muslims. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said four people were injured in attacks that took place in areas surrounding the southern town of Galle. Homes, shops, and vehicles were damaged in the violence, though the extent was not immediately known. A curfew imposed overnight was lifted in the morning. Law and Order minister Sagala Ratnayake said in a statement that the elite police riot squads and the military were brought in to prevent an escalation of the violence and the situation was brought under control. He thanked everyone who “acted with responsibility to avoid a bloodbath.” Ratnayake also warned of stern action against those carrying out racial propaganda and spreading rumors. Sinhalese Buddhists make up 75 percent of Sri Lanka’s population of 20 million, while Muslims make up nine percent. Even though relations between the communities have been generally cordial, Muslims have been victims of hate speech and their businesses attacked by radical Sinhalese groups in recent years. Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace SIGN UP FOR HEALTH INSURANCE November 1 to December 15 If you don’t get health insurance through your job or the Oregon Health Plan, you may qualify for coverage at HealthCare.gov . You might also get help paying for your insurance. Sign up for a plan at HealthCare.gov or find someone to help you enroll at www.OregonHealthCare.gov/gethelp Act soon! The deadline is December 15. www.OregonHealthCare.gov southwest of Tokyo. The Navy said the Benfold remained at sea under its own power, and that the incident would be investigated. The 7th Fleet has had two fatal accidents in Asian waters this year, leaving 17 sailors dead and prompting the removal of eight top Navy officers from their posts, including the 7th Fleet commander. The USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker collided near Singapore in August, leaving 10 U.S. sailors dead. Seven sailors died in June when the USS Fitzgerald and a container ship collided off Japan. The Navy has concluded that the collisions were avoidable and resulted from widespread failures by the crews and commanders, who did not quickly recognize and respond to unfolding emergencies. A Navy report recommended numerous changes to address the problems, ranging from improved training to increasing sleep and stress management for sailors. 2 4 7 8 6 5 6 4 1 2 9 3 8 9 3 4 5 8 3 6 9 7 1 8 5 6 7 2 4 8 Difficulty EASY level: Easy #24786 # 29 Instructions: Fill in the grid so that the digits 1 through 9 appear one time each in every row, col- umn, and 3x3 box. Solution to last issue’s puzzle Puzzle #37127 (Hard) All solutions available at <www.sudoku.com>. 4 2 1 3 8 7 9 6 5 5 8 6 2 1 9 4 3 7 3 7 9 6 5 4 2 1 8 7 9 4 1 3 2 5 8 6 1 5 3 8 9 6 7 4 2 8 6 2 4 7 5 3 9 1 2 4 7 9 6 1 8 5 3 6 3 5 7 4 8 1 2 9 9 1 8 5 2 3 6 7 4