Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (April 15, 2019)
Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC April 15, 2019 Dalai Lama leaves hospital, says he feels almost normal NEW DELHI (AP) — The Dalai Lama said he felt “normal, almost normal” as he left the New Delhi hospital where he had been treated for a chest infection. The 83-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader was pale but spoke cheerfully as he spoke to The Associated Press after being discharged. He had been hospitalized after coming to the capital to consult with doctors. He is likely to return to the north Indian hill town of Dharmsala that has been his headquarters since he fled Tibet in 1959 following a failed uprising against Chinese rule. The Dalai Lama usually spends several months a year travelling the world to teach Buddhism and highlight the Tibetans’ struggle for greater freedom in China. But he has cut down on travel in the past year as he has to take care of his health. China doesn’t recognize the Tibetan government-in-exile and hasn’t held any dialogue with the representatives of the Dalai Lama since 2010. Beijing accuses him of seeking to separate Tibet from China. The Dalai Lama denies being a separatist and says he merely advocates for substantial autonomy and protection of the region’s native Buddhist culture. Facebook says it removed fake accounts in the Philippines SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook says it has removed 200 pages, groups, and accounts linked to Nic Gabunada, reportedly the former social-media manager of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, for misleading people. The social network says it took down the accounts for “coordinated inauthentic behavior,” the term it uses to describe accounts that work together to mask who is behind them and what their purpose is. In the past, Facebook has removed accounts linked to Russia, Iran, and other countries for trying to wreak political havoc or influence elections in the U.S. and elsewhere. The accounts and posts in question posted about elections, alleged misconduct by political candidates, and local news. Facebook says they tried to hide their identity but were linked to a network organized by Gabunada. Brunei invokes laws allowing stoning for gay sex, adultery SINGAPORE (AP) — New Islamic criminal laws that took effect in Brunei, punishing gay sex and adultery by stoning offenders to death, have triggered an outcry from countries, rights groups, and celebrities far beyond the tiny Southeast Asian nation’s shores. The penalties were provided for under new sections of Brunei’s Shariah Penal Code. Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, who has reigned since 1967, instituted the code in 2014 to bolster the influence of Islam in the oil-rich monarchy of around 430,000 people, two-thirds of whom are Muslim. Even before 2014, homosexuality was already punishable in Brunei by a jail term of up to 10 years. The first stage of the Shariah Penal Code included fines or jail for offenses such as pregnancy out of wedlock or failing to pray on Fridays. But under the new laws — which also apply to children and foreigners, even if they are not Muslim — those found guilty of gay sex can be stoned to death or whipped. Adulterers risk death by stoning too, while thieves face amputation of a right hand on their first offense and a left foot on their second. Celebrities including George Clooney, Elton John, and Ellen DeGeneres have voiced opposition to the new laws, and have rallied a boycott of nine hotels in the U.S. and Europe with ties to Hassanal, who is still sultan. There has been no vocal opposition to the new penalties in Brunei, where the sultan rules as head of state with full executive authority. Public criticism of his policies is extremely rare in the country. Court orders easing of decades-old abortion ban SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In a major reversal, South Korea’s Constitutional Court ordered the easing of the country’s decades-old ban on most abortions, one of the strictest in the developed world. Abortions have been largely illegal in South Korea since 1953, though convictions for violating the restrictions are rare. Still, the illegality of abortions forces women to seek out unauthorized and often expensive procedures to end their pregnancies, creating a social stigma that makes them feel like criminals. The court’s nine-justice panel said parliament must revise legislation to ease the current regulations by the end of 2020. It said the current abortion law was incompatible with the constitution and would be repealed if parliament fails to come up with new legislation by then. The ruling is final and cannot be appealed, court officials said, but current regulations will remain in effect until they are replaced or repealed. An easing of the law could open up the door to more abortions for social and economic reasons. Current exceptions to the law only allow abortions when a woman is pregnant through rape or incest, when a pregnancy seriously jeopardizes her health, or when she or her male partner has certain diseases. A woman in South Korea can be punished with up to one year in prison for having an illegal abortion, and a doctor can get up to two years in prison for performing an unauthorized abortion. The verdict was a response to an appeal filed in February 2017 by an obstetrician charged with carrying out about 70 unauthorized abortions from 2013-2017 at the request or approval of pregnant women. Most other countries in the 36-member Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the so-called most developed countries, allow abortions for broad social and economic reasons. South Korea is one of only five OECD member states that don’t allow such abortions, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. The South Korean public has been sharply split over the abortion law. There have been heated panel discussions on TV and internet programs; activists, both for and against, have for months stood with placards near the court. After the ruling, women’s rights activists cheered. Some shook their placards and shouted: “Abolish the anti-abortion law!” CAGAYAN’S CALLAO CAVE. Filipino archaeologist Armand Salvador Mijares shows a femur bone recovered from Callao Cave belonging to a new species they called Homo luzonensis during a press conference in metropolitan Manila, the Philippines. Archaeologists who discovered fossil bones and teeth of a previously unknown human species that thrived more than 50,000 years ago in the northern Philippines say they plan more diggings and are calling for better protection of the popular limestone cave complex where the remains were unearthed. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila) Filipinos plan more diggings where new human species found By Jim Gomez The Associated Press ANILA, The Philippines — Archaeologists who discovered fossil bones and teeth of a previously unknown human species that thrived more than 50,000 years ago in the northern Philippines said they plan more diggings and called for better protection of the popular limestone cave complex where the remains were unearthed. Filipino archaeologist Armand Salvador Mijares said the discovery of the remains in Callao Cave in Cagayan province made the Philippines an important research ground on human evolution. The new species is called Homo luzonensis after the main northern island of Luzon, where the remains were dug up starting in 2007. Beaming with pride, Mijares displayed the six fragments of bones from the feet, hands, and thigh, and seven teeth of three individuals from that bygone era in a news conference at the state-run University of the Philippines. Tests showed two of the fossil fragments had minimum ages of 50,000 years and 67,000 years, according to a study published by the scientific journal Nature. “This puts the Philippines, our scientific community in the spotlight,” Mijares said. “Before, we’re just peripheral in this debate of human evolution.” Mijares, who led a small team of foreign and local archaeologists behind the rare discovery, said he plans to resume the diggings next year and hopes to find larger fossil bones, artifacts, and possibly stone tools used by people in those M times. Aside from Callao Cave, human fossils have recently been found at another site in Bulacan province just north of the capital, Manila, Mijares said without elaborating. Another veteran Filipino archaeologist, Eusebio Dizon, said the human remains from Callao were the oldest to be found in the Philippines, predating those discovered in Tabon Cave on the western island of Palawan by thousands of years. While the archaeological find could attract more scientists, Dizon worried that it could also draw vandals and treasure hunters who could threaten the seven-chamber cave com- plex, which is a popular tourism destination. An open-air chapel with pews and an altar in the cave complex has become a popular venue for weddings and filmmakers. “Penablanca has been a treasure hunting haven of many people,” Dizon said, referring to the Cagayan provincial town where the Callao caves are located. “Maybe it will reignite their kind of activity so that’s why it needs protection now more than ever.” The main exodus of modern man’s own species from Africa that all of today’s non-African people are descended from took place around 60,000 years ago. Analysis of the bones from the Callao caves led the study authors to conclude they belonged to a previously unknown member of the human family tree. One of the toe bones and the overall pattern of tooth shapes and sizes differ from what’s been seen before in the Homo genus, the researchers said. The fossil bones and teeth found about 9.8 feet below the ground in the cave show they Continued on page 4 GRASS-FED BEEF FOR SALE 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 in May at N.E. Sandy Blvd. location. Asian Currency Exchange Rates Units per U.S. dollar as of 4/12 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 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 83.62 4040.4 6.7039 2.0991 7.8425 69.21 14106 42.025 111.99 8648.3 4.112 111.18 141.35 3.373 51.677 64.32 3.7503 1.3529 1133.0 174.99 30.839 31.78 23066