Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
February 5, 2018
Not all S. Koreans are happy about unified hockey team
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Koreans seem generally happy they’ll see
the North Koreans at their Olympics, but aren’t as pleased about sharing a team
with them. The agreement to field a unified women’s ice hockey team at the
Winter Olympics triggered a debate in South Korea, where there’s no longer
strong public clamor for reunification or for using sports to make political
statements. President Moon Jae-in, who views the games as an opportunity to
improve ties after a year of tension over the North’s nuclear weapons program,
says the unified team will provide a “historically grand moment” once it appears
on the ice. Not all South Koreans are in the mood. There are few objections to the
North’s presence at the Olympics, which some hope will ensure a respite from
new weapons test.
Woman dies in Nepal village because of menstrual exile
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — A woman has died in a remote village in Nepal
because of a tradition in which women are exiled from their homes and forced to
live in huts during menstruation, according to the government. The 21-year-old
is believed to have died from smoke inhalation from a fire she lit in the hut to
keep warm in the freezing temperatures in the mountain village, said
government administrator Tul Bahadur Kawcha. Kawcha said the tradition is
still practiced in some remote villages despite a government ban on the practice
and a law introduced last year to punish people who force women to follow the
custom. The new law goes into effect in August this year, with violators who
force women into exile during menstruation facing up to three months in prison
or a fine of 3,000 Nepalese rupees ($29). Many menstruating women are still
forced to leave their homes and take shelter in unhygienic or insecure huts or
cow sheds until their cycle ends, though the practice — called Chhaupadi — was
actually outlawed a decade ago. But without any penalties, the custom
continued in many parts of the majority Hindu Himalayan country, especially in
the western hills. While exiled in isolation, some women face bitter cold or
attacks by wild animals. Unclean conditions can also cause infections.
China’s birthrate drops despite allowing two-child families
BEIJING (AP) — The birthrate in China fell last year despite the country
easing its family planning policies and allowing all couples to have two children,
a result parents say of the stresses of urban life. There were 17.2 million births
in the country last year, down from 17.9 million in 2016, the National Bureau of
Statistics reported. With almost 1.4 billion people, China has the world’s largest
population, but it is aging fast even before reaching its expected peak of 1.45
billion in 2029. China changed its longstanding one-child policy in 2015 in hopes
of increasing the size of the younger working population that will eventually
have to support their elders. The number of births rose nearly eight percent in
2016, with nearly half of the babies born to couples who already had a child. That
appears to have been a one-time increase, however, with the decision of couples
to not have a second child affected by the trend toward later marriage, the desire
for smaller families, and concerns about the high cost of raising children.
Studies predicted the loosening of the one-child policy would bring only a
relatively small increase in population growth. Experts recommend that the
country increase its retirement age to address an expected labor shortage and
declining economic vitality. China enacted its one-child policy in 1979, enforced
with fines and in some cases state-mandated abortions. The expected future re-
duction in the working-age population is exacerbated by a skewed male-female
birth ratio resulting from the traditional preference for male offspring.
Philippines to back U.S. fight vs. terror, if efforts coincide
MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — The Philippine defense chief reacted
guardedly to U.S. President Donald Trump’s remarks on fighting terrorism in
his first State of the Union address, saying Manila would lend its support
whenever the efforts of the two nations coincide. Defense secretary Delfin
Lorenzana told The Associated Press it did not really matter that Trump failed
to mention U.S. policy on the South China Sea disputes involving China, the
Philippines, and four other governments, saying “that’s his call.” He continued:
“If our efforts against terrorists coincide, well and good, we cooperate. But in
reality, each country will be addressing its own security problems by any legal
means at its disposal.” The U.S. deployed surveillance aircraft to help Philippine
forces quell an Islamic State group-linked siege in southern Marawi city last
year. Lorenzana did not comment on Trump’s order to the Pentagon to keep the
Guantanamo Bay detention center open in contrast to the failed efforts of former
U.S. President Barack Obama to shut down the prison for high-profile terrorism
suspects.
MEET SNOW & SNOWFALL. One of two giant pandas, four-year-old male Hua Bao and three-year old female
Jin Baobao, arrive at the Helsinki airport in Vantaa, Finland. Finnish panda keeper Anna Palmroth said the 4,000-mile flight
from Chengdu, China went smoothly, with the pandas resting and munching on their “packed lunch” of bamboo, carrots,
and apples. (Markku Ulander/Lehtikuva via AP)
Pair of Chinese giant pandas
get snowy welcome in Finland
journey to the Ahtari Zoo nature reserve in
central Finland — 205 miles north of Helsinki
— amid cold wintry conditions similar to their
natural environment in China’s mountain
areas.
The panda deal was finalized in April 2017,
when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited
Helsinki for talks with Finnish President
Sauli Niinisto.
The Ahtari Zoo, which specializes in typical
northern European animals such as bears,
lynxes, and wolverines, will have the giant
pandas for 15 years and has built a special
Panda House annex at an estimated cost of 8
million euros ($9.8 million) in hopes of luring
more tourists.
Beijing has presented giant pandas as a sign
of goodwill and closer political ties to some 17
nations worldwide. Europe, Austria, Britain,
Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands,
and Spain are countries currently with giant
pandas.
Xi noted in Helsinki last year that Finland
— a country of 5.5 million — began political
ties with China in 1950.
By Jari Tanner
The Associated Press
H
ELSINKI — A pair of giant pandas
has arrived in snowy Finland,
China’s gift to mark the small Nordic
nation’s 100 years of independence.
Four-year-old male panda Hua Bao and
three-year old female Jin Baobao were
welcomed in a ceremony at the Helsinki
airport attended by the Chinese ambassador
to Finland and Finnish officials.
“We think this is the best gift that Chinese
people can give to Finland,” said Chen Li,
China’s ambassador to Finland, referring to
Finland’s 100th anniversary on December 6,
2017.
The pandas have been renamed in Finnish
as Pyry (“Snowfall”) for the male and Lumi
(“Snow”) for the female.
Finnish panda keeper Anna Palmroth said
the 4,000-mile flight from Chengdu, China
went smoothly, with the pandas resting and
munching on their “packed lunch” of bamboo,
carrots, and apples.
The pandas immediately began their
q
50 years later, USS Pueblo is a Pyongyang museum piece
By Eric Talmadge
The Associated Press
YONGYANG, North Korea — Fifty
years after it was seized by North
Korea, the USS Pueblo is the only U.S.
Navy ship held captive by a foreign
government. And though mostly forgotten in
the United States, the “Pueblo Incident” for
North Korea remains a potent symbol of
military success.
The spy ship captured 50 years ago sits in a
P
frozen river on the edge of the “Victorious
Fatherland Liberation War Museum” in
Pyongyang, where thousands of North
Koreans are brought each day to hear the
North’s version of how their country defeated
the Americans in the 1950-1953 Korean War.
State media have played up the anniversary
as a milestone in North Korea’s struggle
against the United States.
The ship has been extensively refitted to
heighten its propaganda impact.
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Cambodian forest protectors slain after confrontation
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A forest protection ranger, a military
police officer, and a conservation worker have been killed in an ambush in north-
eastern Cambodia where illegal logging and smuggling are rife. Keo Sopheak, a
senior environmental official in Mondulkiri province, said the three-person
team was attacked after patrolling in the Keo Siema wildlife conservation
sanctuary. The dead civilian was a Cambodian employee of the New York-based
Wildlife Conservation Society. Keo Sopheak said the conservation team had
confiscated chainsaws and motorcycles from some Vietnamese who were logging
illegally. The official said the team was returning from their patrol when they
were attacked and killed by Cambodian security forces, who are known to
collaborate with illegal loggers who smuggle the wood to neighboring Vietnam.
Further circumstances of their deaths were not immediately clear.
. One–Bedroom Apartments with Full
Sized Kitchens and Living Areas
. Planned Activities, Laundry Facility,
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82.982
4005.2
6.3008
2.0049
7.8205
64.064
13452
39972
110.17
8297.5
3.8855
102.51
110.76
3.206
51.659
56.541
3.7501
1.3198
1079.9
153.71
29.226
31.454
22509