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About The Asian reporter. (Portland, Or.) 1991-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2020)
Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER ASIA / PACIFIC June 1, 2020 Japanese pro wrestler in popular reality show dies at 22 TOKYO (AP) — Hana Kimura, a Japanese pro wrestler who had appeared in the popular reality show “Terrace House,” has died. She was 22 years old. Her organization, Stardom Wrestling, confirmed Kimura’s death. It said details are still unknown and the group was cooperating in an investigation, and asked her fans to be respectful. “We are very sorry to report that our Hana Kimura has passed away,” the organization said in a statement. Kimura was found dead at her home, Japanese media said. Kimura became the target of massive bullying on social media over her role on the “Terrace House” show on Netflix, which involves three men and three women temporarily living together at a shared house in Tokyo. The show was temporarily suspended due to the coronavirus. In Instagram posts on May 22, she published a photo of herself and her cat, with a message: “Goodbye.” Another posting carried a message: “I love you, live long and happy. I’m sorry.” Her death has triggered a wave of messages on social media against anonymous bullying and hateful messages. Kimura, whose mother, Kyoko, was also a famous pro wrestler, performed at a sold-out Madison Square Garden event by Japan Pro-Wrestling and U.S. Ring of Honor. Stanley Ho, who built Macao gambling industry, dies at 98 HONG KONG — Casino tycoon Stanley Ho, whose business empire dominated the Portuguese gambling enclave of Macao for decades, died in Hong Kong at age 98, according to his daughter, Pansy Ho. Considered the father of modern gambling in China, Ho’s long and eventful life tracked the ebb and flow of southern China’s fortunes. After a swashbuckling start as a kerosene trader, he ended up as Macau’s richest person, a lavish spender, and debonair ballroom dancer. A family statement said he died peacefully in his sleep, but did not give a cause of death. Of mixed Chinese and European heritage, Ho fathered 17 children with four women, an extended family that engaged in high-profile squabbles over his legacy during his later years. Ho had stakes in businesses running everything from the ferries and helicopters connecting Hong Kong and Macao to department stores, hotels, Macao’s airport, and its horse-racing tracks. But he said he avoided the gambling floor. “I don’t gamble at all. I don’t have the patience,” Ho told The Associated Press in a rare interview in 2001. “Don’t expect to make money in gambling. It’s a house game. It’s for the house.” Ho was born on November 25, 1921, into the Hotung family, one of Hong Kong’s wealthiest and most powerful. Drug suspect sentenced to death at Zoom hearing KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Singapore sentenced a drug suspect to death at a court hearing held on the videoconferencing app Zoom because of the city-state’s coronavirus lockdown, in a decision slammed by a human-rights group as callous and inhumane. Defense lawyer Peter Fernando said the Supreme Court announced the penalty to his client, Punithan Genasan from Malaysia, in a virtual hearing. Genasan was in jail, while Fernando and prosecutors participated in the hearing from different locations. A Supreme Court spokesperson said courts have been conducting hearings and delivering judgements remotely to minimize the spread of the virus. The spokesperson, who declined to be identified under court policy, confirmed Genasan’s case was the first “where a death sentence was pronounced by remote hearing in Singapore.” Singapore however, is not the first country to do so. Human Rights Watch said a man in Nigeria was also sentenced to death via Zoom last month, reportedly for murder. “This has been the arrangement made by the court ... with essential hearings conducted via Zoom. We have no complaints,” Fernando said. He planned to meet Genasan to discuss an appeal. The Singapore court ruled that Genasan, 37, was involved in drug trafficking in October 2011. Court documents said the judge found he recruited two drug couriers and directed them to transport and deliver 28.5 grams of heroin. Singapore applies the death penalty to a range of offenses including drug trafficking, murder, kidnapping, waging war against the government, and use of firearms. It has defended capital punishment as a deterrent for the most serious crimes. Many of the cases are related to drugs. Hong Kong police grapple with pro-democracy protesters HONG KONG (AP) — Riot police in Hong Kong grappled with pro-democracy protesters who gathered in shopping malls to sing, chant slogans, and flash hand signs after permission for a Mother’s Day march last month was denied. The incident indicated a desire on the part of some in the pro-democracy camp to revive the protests against Hong Kong’s Beijing-backed government that paralyzed parts of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory for months last year. With the coronavirus outbreak subsiding, more people in Hong Kong have responded to online calls for action, although in far smaller numbers than the hundreds of thousands who marched last year against proposed legislation that could have seen dissidents or criminal suspects extradited to mainland China to face unfair trials and possible torture. The legislation was eventually withdrawn, but the protests continued, growing increasingly violent as both police and demonstrators adopted hardline tactics. Thousands, mainly young people, were arrested in the demonstrations for crimes including rioting and possessing weapons. The former British colony was handed back to China in 1997 under a “one country, two systems” framework in which Hong Kong was given freedoms not enjoyed on the mainland and promised a high degree of autonomy in its affairs for 50 years. Pro-democracy supporters say those rights are being eroded by Beijing as it tightens its grip on the territory through tough policing and increasingly restrictive legislation. DIGGING DISCOVERY. This photo provided by Apsara Authority shows a turtle statue displayed on the grounds of Srah Srang in Siem Reap province in northwest Cambodia. Cambodian archaeologists have unearthed a large centuries- old statue of a turtle in an excavation at the famous Angkor temple complex. (Apsara Authority via AP) Carved stone turtle unearthed from Angkor reservoir site By Sopheng Cheang The Associated Press HNOM PENH, Cambodia — Cambodian archaeologists have unearthed a large centuries-old statue of a turtle at the Angkor temple complex. The 22” x 37” carved stone turtle believed to date from the 10th century was discovered during digging at what was the site of a small temple that had been built on Srah Srang, one of Angkor’s several reservoirs. Researchers pinpointed where the temple had been and workers drained water off to enable the dig, which began March 16, said Mao Sokny, head of the excavation team of the Apsara Authority, a government agency that oversees the Angkor archaeological site. The bottom half of the turtle remained P buried while preparations were made to lift it out without damaging it. Angkor was strongly influenced by Hindu culture, and as a result, when a temple or other important structure was built, sacred objects would often be buried in the ground under- neath as a gesture to ensure safety and good fortune. In several Asian cultures, turtles are seen as symbols of longevity and prosperity. The dig also discovered some other rare artifacts, including two metal tridents and a carved head of a naga, a mythical creature. The Angkor complex is Cambodia’s biggest tourist attraction, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and is included on the Cambodian flag. Mao Sokny said discoveries of such artifacts help Cambodians take pride in their heritage. Desperate Indian girl bikes 745 miles home with disabled dad By Sheikh Saaliq and Emily Schmall The Associated Press EW DELHI — From her village in eastern India, 15-year-old Jyoti Kumari reflected on her desperate 745-mile bicycle journey home with her disabled father that has drawn international praise. “I had no other option,” she said. “We wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t cycled to my village.” Kumari said she and her father risked starvation had they stayed in Gurugram, a suburb of New Delhi, with no income amid India’s coronavirus lockdown. Her father, whose injury in an accident left him unable to walk, had earned a living by N driving an auto rickshaw. But with all nonessential travel banned, he found himself among millions of newly unemployed. Their landlord demanded rent they couldn’t pay and threatened to evict them, Kumari said. So she decided to buy a bicycle and, like thousands of other Indian migrant workers have done since March, make her way home. As the temperature climbed, Kumari pedalled for 10 days, with her father riding on the back of the hot-pink bike. They survived on food and water given by strangers, and only once did Kumari give her legs a break with a short lift on a truck. The daughter and father arrived in Darbhanga, their village in Bihar state, last month, reuniting with Kumari’s mother and Continued on page 7 Killingsworth Station Food Cart Pod Experience a collection of food carts featuring a variety of international flavors! OPEN for take-out orders! 1331 N. Killingsworth Street, Portland (1 block east of N. Interstate Avenue) www.killingsworthstationpod.com www.facebook.com/KillingsworthStation Asian Currency Exchange Rates Units per U.S. dollar as of 5/29 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 · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 84.73 4113.8 7.1348 2.1763 7.7516 75.594 14535 42140 107.75 8993.3 4.345 121.1 162.0 3.449 50.53 70.593 3.7555 1.4135 1235.7 186.41 30.002 31.81 23292