The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current, May 07, 2018, Page Page 5, Image 5

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    ASIA / PACIFIC
May 7, 2018
Workers head home, look for
other jobs as Boracay closes
By Joeal Calupitan
The Associated Press
B
ORACAY, The Philippines —
The cooks, hotel workers, and
other Filipinos who served
tourists at the country’s most popular
beach headed home and started
looking for other work in late April as
police guarded the empty beach on
the first day of a shutdown intended
to allow Boracay’s waters to recover
from overcrowding and development.
Police on the empty, white-sand
beach turned away tourists trying to
take a dip in the turquoise waters,
and once-busy stores and restaurants
stood closed.
“It’s painful for us to lose our jobs
and it’s so sudden,” said canteen cook
Marlon Laguna, 47, outside the
closed beachfront restaurant. “Even
though I don’t have my own family, I
support my siblings. ... We cannot do
anything but to accept it.”
The island will be shut to visitors
for up to six months while sewage
containment and other work is done
to clean up the waters President
Rodrigo Duterte had called a
cesspool.
The work has already begun. Police
and residents were collecting
seaweed in a cleanup drive on the
beachfront, pipes were being laid,
and construction to widen the island’s
main road had started. Some
roadside structures were also being
demolished to make way.
Workers now out of jobs said they
will look for other work to ride out the
time the island is shut to tourists.
About 17,000 are employed in
Boracay’s tourist establishments,
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SIX-MONTH SHUTDOWN. A Filipino boy with sand on his face plays on his country’s most
famous beach resort island of Boracay in central Aklan province, the Philippines, on April 24, 2018.
Thousands of workers have now been affected after the island closed April 26 for up to six months
to allow Boracay’s waters to recover from overcrowding and development. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
and 10,000 to 12,000 others benefit
from the bustling tourism business.
Displaced workers flocked to the
Department of Social welfare
operation center to get travel
allowances for them to go home to
their provinces.
“I am thankful that the govern-
ment gave us a travel allowance, even
if we do not have a job anymore,” said
construction worker Jomar Incierto,
27, who was among those receiving
the cash assistance.
More than 2 million tourists visited
Boracay last year, generating about
56 billion pesos (1 billion U.S. dollars)
in revenue. But the influx, neglected
infrastructure, and growth of resort
establishments and poor settlements
have threatened to turn Boracay into
a “dead island” in less than a decade,
according to a government study.
Settlers
who’ve
built
illegal
structures in forests and wetlands
have added to the problems.
Less than half the establishments
are connected to the island’s main
sewage treatment plant, with many
of the rest possibly maintaining crude
septic tanks and others discharging
their waste directly into the sea, said
Frederick Alegre, assistant secretary
at the Department of Tourism.
Parts of the island could re-open
earlier than six months if sewage
treatment systems can be built faster
and beach resorts comply with
environmental regulations, he said.
Call (503) 980-5900 for details
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Sweden’s king, Japan’s emperor mark 150 years of diplomacy
TOKYO (AP) — Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and
Japan’s Emperor Akihito attended a special exhibit on
Swedish natural sciences in Tokyo to mark 150 years of
diplomacy between the countries.
The king and Queen Silvia accompanied Akihito and
Empress Michiko at the exhibit featuring three key
Swedish scientists from the 18th century who have
influenced Japan, including Carl Linnaeus, who set the
basis of a systematic scientific classification.
Akihito, a marine biologist specializing in gobies, was
awarded an honorary degree in 2007 for his research from
the university where Linnaeus studied.
Japan’s NHK television said Akihito was fixated by
Linnaeus’ original book of classification and stayed at the
exhibit longer than planned. Television footage showed
Akihito intensely looking at the book through a glass
showcase, while a smiling Michiko stood by his side.
The Swedish royals attended a state banquet hosted by
Akihito and had lunch with the Japanese royals’ oldest
son, Crown Prince Naruhito. The king and queen also met
with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and attended a
business seminar and other events.
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DIPLOMATIC SESQUICENTENNIAL. Sweden’s King Carl XVI
Gustaf, left, and Queen Silvia, center right, greet Japan’s Emperor Akihito,
center left, and Empress Michiko upon their arrival at a special exhibit on
Swedish natural sciences in Tokyo to mark 150 years of diplomacy be-
tween the countries. (Kazuhiro Nogi/Pool Photo via AP)
Akihito is set to abdicate at the end of April 2019 after
reigning for 30 years. Naruhito is to succeed the
Chrysanthemum Throne the next day.
Peppa Pig wins street cred, attracts censors in China
Continued from page 4
merchandise not connected with the original brand.
Xi, who strives to rally citizens around the idea of a
“China Dream,” has emphasized in speeches the
importance of young people’s contributions to the
country’s “rejuvenation” following foreign incursions and
civil war over the last 150 years.
Despite such entreaties from the Communist Party, a
number of internet subcultures fuelled largely by young
Chinese — from despondent “sang” people to lackadaisical
“Buddhist youths” — have resisted the president’s call to
“roll up your sleeves and work harder.”
Peppa Pig is not the first fictional creature to be
targeted by China’s censors for political and sociological
reasons. References to Winnie the Pooh were recently
scrubbed from the internet after users began employing
the cuddly bear as a proxy for the somewhat corpulent Xi
when he engineered a move this year to remove
presidential term limits from the constitution. Among the
popular postings, Winnie was shown hugging a jar of
honey alongside the quote, “find the thing you love and
stick with it.”
On her show, Peppa and her animal friends partake in
mundane activities such as bike riding and swimming.
But “society people” have co-opted innocuous lines from
the program for their own satirical takes, such as playing
lewd rap songs after a scene in which Peppa says: “I like
this. It’s very grown-up.”
The topic “‘Society Person’ Peppa Pig” has been viewed
nearly 30 million times on Weibo, with fans sharing
photos of themselves and Peppa paraphernalia along with
the tag “society person.” Some users have juxtaposed
images of Peppa with racy pop lyrics, or edited Peppa
videos to include techno lighting.
Users also encouraged one another to get Peppa tattoos.
Tens of thousands have purchased temporary tattoos
featuring the pig on e-commerce site Taobao.
In a post reflecting on Peppa’s puzzling popularity,
verified Weibo blogger Cao Zhi mused, “Peppa Society
People have added a bit of fun and merriment to our dry,
tedious lives.”
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