ASIA / PACIFIC
January 20, 2020
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 5
Nepal’s main airport cuts the heat amid worries over power
By Binaj Gurubacharya
The Associated Press
ATHMANDU, Nepal — Nepal’s
aviation authority has asked
everyone in the Himalayan
nation’s only international airport to cut
down on heating this winter to save power
so that key equipment can run without
disruption.
“There has been increased demand for
electricity use due to the cold weather
which is directly effecting the communi-
cation, navigation aids, and surveillance
equipment,” the Civil Aviation Authority
of Nepal said in a notice.
It said it was asking “airlines offices,
immigration, customs, and shops inside
the airport” to stop using heaters and air
conditioners.
A
spokesman
for
Kathmandu’s
Tribhuwan International Airport, Deo
Chandra Lal Karna, said the power
situation was under control and the
request from the aviation authority was a
K
precautionary measure.
Power outages are common in Nepal,
though the situation has improved over
the past two years as the government has
made a priority of supplying electricity.
Were there to be disruptions at the
AIRPORT ELECTRICITY. Passengers are
evacuated during an emergency security drill at
Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu, Nepal,
in this June 28, 2019 file photo. Nepal’s aviation au-
thority has asked everyone in the Himalayan nation’s
only international airport to cut down on heating this
winter to save power so key equipment can run with-
out disruption. (AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha, File)
international airport, it could affect what
the government has dubbed “Visit Nepal
Year 2020” in anticipation of welcoming 2
million tourists.
All the power generated in Nepal comes
from hydropower plants on its fast-flowing
mountain rivers.
Though Nepal has the potential to
generate much more power than needed
from these rivers, the lack of funds,
frequent changes in government, political
instability, corruption, and a communist
insurgency that lasted a decade have
slowed down the building of power plants.
About a third of Nepal’s power is
imported from neighboring India to make
up for the shortfall.
Tesla delivers first Chinese-made Model 3 to customers
EV INROADS. Tesla vehicles are seen on an as-
sembly line at Tesla’s gigafactory in Shanghai. Tesla’s
Shanghai factory recently delivered its first cars to
customers and chief executive Elon Musk said the
electric automaker plans to set up a design center
in China to create a model for worldwide sales.
(Ding Ting/Xinhua News Agency via AP)
By Joe McDonald
AP Business Writer
EIJING — Tesla’s Shanghai
factory delivered its first cars to
customers and chief executive
Elon Musk said the electric automaker
plans to set up a design center in China to
create a model for worldwide sales.
Musk presided at a ceremony where a
half-dozen buyers wearing red Tesla
t-shirts drove away new Model 3 sedans.
He expressed thanks to earlier customers
who he said made Tesla’s expansion in
China possible by purchasing imported
models from the fledgling brand.
Tesla Inc. built the Gigafactory 3, its
first outside the United States, following
the ruling Communist Party’s 2018
decision to allow full foreign ownership in
electric car manufacturing. It is due to
produce the Model 3 and a planned SUV,
the Model Y.
Producing in China insulates Tesla from
possible duty increases on imported
U.S.-made vehicles from Beijing’s tariff
war with Washington. Other foreign
automakers including General Motors Co.,
Volkswagen AG, and Toyota Motor Co.
have long had joint venture factories in
China.
China is the biggest global market for
electrics, but Tesla’s manufacturing
B
launch comes at a time when sales are
sagging following the end of government
subsidies in mid-2019.
Total electric vehicle sales fell almost
45% in November from a year earlier to
95,000. Sales for the first 11 months of
2019 were up 1.3% at just over 1 million
vehicles.
Musk said Tesla plans to increase
investment in China and set up a design
center to “create a car for worldwide sale,”
but he gave no details.
The China-made Model 3 starts at
299,050 yuan ($42,680) following a recent
price cut.
The company said production began in
December and 15 Model 3s were delivered
to Tesla employees in Shanghai on
December 30.
Tesla faces a crowded market flooded
with dozens of electric models from rivals
including GM, VW, Nissan Motor Co., and
China’s BYD Auto and BAIC. They are
under pressure to meet government sales
targets that shift the cost of promoting the
technology to the industry.
Automakers that fail to meet their
targets can buy credits from rivals that do.
That might turn into a windfall for Tesla
and other brands that earn a surplus
because their whole output is electric.
Beijing has yet to set the price of credits.
The Shanghai factory makes Tesla the
first foreign auto brand with full
ownership of its China operation.
Other global brands work through
partnerships with state-owned auto-
makers and share their revenues. Most are
expected to remain in such ventures to
take advantage of their Chinese partners’
government relationships despite the
ruling party’s plans to allow full foreign
ownership in the whole auto industry by
next year.
Tesla reported earlier it delivered a total
of 367,500 cars last year.
The company surprised investors by
reporting a $143 million profit in the
quarter ending in September, raising
hopes Tesla may be turning to
profitability. The company lost $1.1 billion
in the first half of the year.
Shuttered at home, China exploits social media abroad
BEIJING (AP) — China says its
diplomats and government officials will
fully
exploit
foreign
social-media
platforms such as Facebook and Twitter
that are blocked off to its own citizens.
Foreign ministry spokesman Geng
Shuang likened the government to
“diplomatic agencies and diplomats of
other countries” in embracing such
platforms
to
provide
“better
communication with the people outside
and to better introduce China’s situation
and policies.”
Facebook,
Twitter,
and
other
social-media platforms have tried for years
without success to be allowed into the
lucrative Chinese market, where Beijing
has helped create politically reliable
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analogues such as Weichat and Weibo.
Their content is carefully monitored by the
companies and by government censors.
Despite that, Geng said China is “willing
to strengthen communication with the
outside world through social media such as
Twitter
to
enhance
mutual
understanding.” He also insisted that the
Chinese internet remained open and said
the country has the largest number of
users of any nation, adding, “we have
always managed the internet in
accordance with laws and regulations.”
The canny use of social media by
pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong
has further deepened China’s concern over
the use of such platforms, prompting
further crackdowns on the mainland,
including on the use of virtual private
networks.