The Asian reporter., July 03, 2023, Page 2, Image 2

Page 2 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
ASIA / PACIFIC
July 3, 2023
Veteran Sherpa guides to compete next season for record
KATHMANDU, Nepal (AP) — The race for the record to have successfully
scaled Mount Everest the most number of times is still on. Sherpa guide Pasang
Dawa, 48, plans to climb the 29,032-foot peak next year in an attempt to again
match the record set by a fellow Sherpa guide. “I will continue to climb (Everest)
as long as my body can, as there are people over 60 years who have climbed it,” he
told The Associated Press last month. “But that does not mean I will climb until I
am 60 years old, but as long as I am able to.” Pasang Dawa reached Everest’s
peak twice this spring. On May 14, he equalled the record of 26 successful
ascents set by Kami Rita, who went on to reach the top of the mountain a 27th
time. Pasang Dawa matched the new record on May 23, but Kami Rita regained
his title with a 28th climb that same day. Kami Rita, 53, has said he would head
to the peak again during the 2024 climbing season, when Pasang Dawa also will
be at the mountain to guide foreign clients up Everest. Pasang Dawa first began
working as a porter at age 12, carrying equipment and supplies from his village
home on the foothills of Everest. He graduated to kitchen helper and finally got
his chance to carry equipment up to higher camps in 1997. He first summited
Everest in 1998 while guiding British adventurer Bear Grylls. He slipped and
fell some 650 feet near the summit but survived with only a few bruises. Since
then, he has made it to Everest’s top almost every year, not making ascents only
when the mountain was closed or because of a death in the family. Like most
Sherpa guides and workers on Mount Everest, Pasang Dawa makes money
during the spring climbing season that is his family’s main source of income and
has to last all year. This spring, Nepal’s government honored Sherpa guides and
record-holding climbers during celebrations of the first ascent of Mount Everest
70 years ago.
Groundbreaking held for Cambodia’s second expressway
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen last
month presided over a groundbreaking ceremony for construction of the
country’s second expressway, which will link the capital, Phnom Penh, to the
eastern border with Vietnam. The road to Bavet city in Svay Rieng province, a
total length of 84 miles, is projected to take 48 months to construct and cost $1.35
billion. It is a project of China Bridge and Road Corp., which is building it under
a 50-year build-operate-transfer contract. The road is Cambodia’s second
expressway after the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway, which opened
last year and connects the capital with the country’s main port on the Gulf of
Thailand. China is Cambodia’s biggest investor and closest political partner,
whose assistance largely underpins the Southeast Asian nation’s economy.
Speaking at the ceremony, Hun Sen praised the expressway for being part of
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, its worldwide infrastructure development
program. He said the initiative has played a significant role in boosting socio-
economic development in Cambodia and other participating countries. Critics of
the Chinese program accuse it of imposing financial terms that have led to oner-
ous debts. Hun Sen said a feasibility study is underway for a third expressway
that would link Phnom Penh to Siem Reap province, site of the famous Angkor
temples, and extend to Poipet on the western border with Thailand.
Japan, Australia, U.S. to fund undersea cable connection
TOKYO (AP) — Japan has announced that it joined the United States and
Australia in signing an agreement on a $95 million undersea cable project that
will connect East Micronesia island nations to improve networks in the
Indo-Pacific region where China is increasingly expanding its influence. The
approximately 1,400-mile undersea cable will connect the state of Kosrae in the
Federated States of Micronesia, Tarawa in Kiribati, and Nauru to the existing
cable landing point located in Pohnpei in Micronesia, according to the Japanese
Foreign Ministry. Japan, the United States, and Australia have stepped up
cooperation with the Pacific Islands, apparently to counter efforts by Beijing to
expand its security and economic influence in the region. In a joint statement,
the parties said the next steps involve a final survey and design and
manufacturing of the cable, whose width is about that of a garden hose.
Completion is expected around 2025. The announcement came weeks after
leaders of the Quad, a security alliance of Japan, the United States, Australia,
and India, emphasized the importance of undersea cables as a critical
component of communications infrastructure and the foundation for internet
connectivity. “Secure and resilient digital connectivity has never been more
important,” Matthew Murray, a senior official in the U.S. State Department’s
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said in a statement. “The United
States is delighted to be part of this project bringing our regions closer together.”
Myanmar burns $446 million worth of seized illegal drugs
BANGKOK (AP) — Authorities in Myanmar destroyed more than $446
million worth of illegal drugs seized from around the country to mark an annual
international anti-drug trafficking day, police said. The drug burn came as U.N.
experts warned of increases in the production of opium, heroin, and metham-
phetamine in Myanmar, with exports threatening to expand markets in South
and Southeast Asia. Myanmar has a long history of drug production linked to
political and economic insecurity caused by decades of armed conflict. The
country is a major producer and exporter of methamphetamine and the world’s
second-largest opium and heroin producer after Afghanistan, despite repeated
attempts to promote alternative legal crops among poor farmers. In the coun-
try’s largest city, Yangon, a pile of seized drugs and precursor chemicals worth
$207 million was incinerated. The destroyed drugs included opium, heroin,
methamphetamine, marijuana, kratom, ketamine, and crystal meth (a.k.a. ice).
DOUBLE DUCKS. Members of the public photograph an art installation called “Double Ducks” by Dutch artist
Florentijn Hofman before one of the ducks was deflated at Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong. The 59-foot-tall yellow ducks
resemble bath toys. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
One of two giant ducks in Hong
Kong’s Victoria Harbor deflates
By Kanis Leung
The Associated Press
H
ONG KONG — One of the two giant
inflatable ducks floating in Hong
Kong’s Victoria Harbor deflated last
month, just a day after the inflatables were
unveiled to revellers.
Crowds of residents and tourists flocked in
the scorching heat to the promenade near the
government headquarters in Admiralty to
snap photos of the ducks by Dutch artist
Florentijn Hofman. But many who arrived in
the afternoon only found one duck intact, with
the other reduced to a puddle of yellow plastic.
Organizers said their staff found one of the
ducks was overstretched due to the hot
weather and rising air pressure.
“It was decided that the air needed to be
immediately released by loosening the seams
to avoid any potential risk,” they wrote in a
post on social media.
They said the duck was transferred back to
the shipyard for repair.
The two 59-foot-tall yellow ducks resemble
bath toys. In 2013, one of Hofman’s ducks was
displayed in the city and sparked a frenzy. But
that duck was also deflated during its
exhibition period.
Hofman said he hoped the return of his
pop-art icons would bring some joy to the city.
“Double duck, double luck,” he said.
Hong Kong office worker Snow Wong said it
was “even more interesting” to see the duck
deflated.
“It makes us wonder if double happiness is
really possible in Hong Kong. And if you look at
the duck, you may find your answer,” the
35-year-old said.
Many Hong Kongers at the promenade
recalled the happiness his work brought to the
shopping district of Tsim Sha Tsui in 2013.
Some were excited to see a pair of ducks
instead of just one duck like the earlier
exhibition.
Among the early visitors was artist
Laurence Lai, who brought paint brushes to
make watercolors of the ducks. Lai said the
city was full of negative vibes in recent years
during the COVID-19 pandemic and that it’s
time for the city to move on.
“With life returning to normal, the ducks
can bring back some positivity,” the
50-year-old said.
Shenzhen resident Eva Yang and her young
daughters were also happy to see the ducks,
saying they made their sightseeing in Hong
Kong more memorable.
“They’re spectacular,” Yang said.
Macao resident Annita Lei, who later visited
Hong Kong to see the ducks, was left
disappointed. “(Having) two ducks is very
special,” Lei said.
In 2013, residents and tourists packed
streets near Tsim Sha Tsui pier to catch a
glimpse of Hofman’s duck.
That duck’s stint in Hong Kong uninten-
tionally turned political on the social media
platform Weibo around the anniversary of
Beijing’s Tiananmen crackdown in 1989.
Chinese censors blocked searches for the term
“big yellow duck” after netizens shared an
image in which the tanks in the iconic “Tank
Man” image were replaced with a line of
oversized giant rubber ducks.
Hofman’s rubber ducks have been on a world
tour since 2007.
Associated Press photographer Louise
Delmotte contributed to this report.
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108.13
4129.7
7.251
2.1983
7.8363
82.035
14958
42009
144.56
18800
4.665
131.38
285.86
3.521
55.29
89.496
3.7479
1.3532
1317.3
308.04
31.154
35.31
23579