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The organizers of the Macau
Shopping Festival 2014 hope to
achieve double-digit growth in
revenue
xi wins support for asiapacific trade proposal hk gov’t
rejects
talks after
court rules
against
protest
macau shopping festival
organizers bet on growth
P4
Leaders of Asia-Pacific economies
agreed yesterday to begin work
toward possible adoption of a
Chinese-backed free-trade pact
P12
P13
WED. 12
Nov 2014
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N.º 2189
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“ THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ ”
ap photo
WORLD BRIEFS
Pay for civil servants set to
rise by 6.8 pct in January
CHINA Barack Obama
opened two days of
talks yesterday with
Chinese President Xi
Jinping at a sprawling
garden compound next
to the Forbidden City,
telling the Chinese
leader he wants to take
the relationship “to a
new level.” Obama said
he hoped for productive,
candid talks of the
kind they held last
year at the Sunnylands
estate in California,
where the two leaders
aimed to forge a close
personal bond during
hours of meetings and
a long stroll through its
manicured gardens.
P2,3 2015 Budget
ZHUHAI Aviation Fair
Jets should be viewed
as ‘a business tool’
P4 mdt report
INDIA Eight Indian women
have died and 20 others
are in critical condition
after undergoing
sterilization surgeries in
a free government-run
program to help slow
the country’s population
growth. A total of 83
women, all poor villagers
under the age of 32,
had the operations in a
hospital outside Bilaspur
city in the central state
of Chhattisgarh, officials
said. More on p15
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MACAU
th Anniversary
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2015 budget policies
bloomberg
2
12.11.2014 wed
Civil servants’ pay set to
Catarina Pinto
M
GAMING
Galaxy rises to a week high
after posting Q3 revenue
G
alaxy
Entertainment
Group Ltd., controlled by
billionaire Lui Che Woo, climbed to the highest level in a
week after posting third-quarter revenue that showed resilience in its high-stakes gambling business.
Galaxy rose 2.5 percent to close at HKD52.35 in Hong Kong,
a price it last reached Nov. 4.
The benchmark Hang Seng Index gained 0.3 percent.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization rose 1 percent
to HK$3.3 billion (USD426
million), Hong Kong-based Galaxy said in a stock exchange
statement yesterday. That compares with the HK$3.32 billion
average of six analyst estimates
compiled by Bloomberg.
Galaxy drew more players
from both the high-end and
the mass-market segments of
the industry even as its competitors such as SJM Holdings
Ltd. and Wynn Macau Ltd. saw
VIP traffic drop off. Macau casino revenue fell for the fifth-straight month in October amid
an overall economic slowdown
and President Xi Jinping’s crackdown on corruption.
“What stood out is that their
VIP business tends to be outperforming the market,” said Michael Ting, a Hong Kong-based
analyst at CIMB Securities Ltd.
“Galaxy’s relationships with the
junkets are quite strong.”
Galaxy revenue climbed 6 percent to HK$17.3 billion in the
third quarter, with sales from
the mass market increasing 12
percent year on year and that of
high-stakes gamblers climbing
5 percent.
At Galaxy Macau, its main
casino in the city, gambling
revenue in both ends of the
market rose 12 percent year on
year. Sales from high rollers fell
13 percent from the previous
quarter with mass-market sales
up 2 percent.
The company’s stock has fallen
25 percent this year, compared
with a 2.2 percent gain for the
city’s Hang Seng Index.
Casino revenue in Macau dropped 23 percent to 28 billion
patacas ($3.5 billion) in October, Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau
said this month. That was the
biggest decline since the city
started collecting monthly records in 2005.
Casino revenue growth among
mass-market gamblers could
drop to zero or worse from now
until March 2015, Praveen K.
Choudhary, an analyst at Morgan
Stanley, wrote in a report this
“2014 is probably not going to
be a good year for gaming, but
stocks tend to re-rate when new
capacity opens, and Galaxy will
be the first one to open with
Galaxy phase 2 in 2015,” Ting
from CIMB said. Galaxy is his
top pick for the industry for
2015, he said.
Galaxy plans to add as many as
500 gambling tables and 1,300
hotel rooms in the second phase of its Galaxy Macau resort.
The expansion, which will cost
about HK$20 billion to build,
is on schedule for completion
by the middle of next year, the
casino operator said yesterday.
Galaxy has approval to build as
much as 2 million square meters
(21.5 million square feet) of gross
floor area on Macau’s Cotai Strip,
the most among the city’s six licensed casino operators. It plans
to quadruple the size of the Galaxy Macau by 2018.
Lui has an estimated net worth of $14.8 billion, according to
the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Bloomberg
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acau’s
civil
servants will benefit from a 6.8
percent
salary
rise in January, the Chief
Executive has revealed. Attending yesterday’s Legislative Assembly plenary meeting to introduce budget policies for next year, Chui Sai
On said that the pay for civil
servants is set to increase
from MOP74 to MOP79.
Upon hearing the Civil Servants’ Salary Assessment
Commission, which has proposed a raise in civil servants’
income, the government decided to introduce a new pay
scale of MOP79, and will soon
be tabling a bill to the Legislative Assembly. The suggested wage increase surpasses
the latest inflation figures set
at around 6 percent.
In a press conference held
after yesterday’s AL plenary
session, Chui said that he
would like to see the private
sector applying a wage increase that can help residents deal
with the inflation rate, too.
Lawmaker and president
of the Macau Civil Servants
Association (ATFPM), José
Pereira Coutinho, welcomed
the wage increase, although
stressing he was not surprised. “We had already requested a salary increase for civil
servants, taking into account
inflation, the increase on es-
sential goods’ prices, and estimations for the coming months,” he told reporters, adding
that they had asked for the
pay scale to be set at MOP80.
“It doesn’t surprise us that
they adjusted the salary. But
we will be asking for a gradual wage increase, so that
employees with lower incomes are granted a higher
wage,” he revealed.
The CE also confirmed yesterday that the cash handout
policy will remain unchanged in 2015. Permanent
residents will be granted
MOP9,000, while temporary residents will be awarded MOP5,400 – the same
amount they received this
year. A MOP7,000 subsidy
for elderly residents is also
set to continue being granted
in 2015.
The Chief Executive told a
The decline
was expected
and the global
economic
outlook could
play a role
in gaming
revenue drops
Chui Sai On
press conference that he hopes Macau residents understand why the government is
not increasing the cash handout, as has happened in previous years. He recalled that
the government has launched
a series of measures to share
revenues from the gaming industry with residents.
Asked to comment on a fifth
consecutive drop in gaming
revenue this month, Chui Sai
REACTIONS
Sonia Chan ‘rewarded’ for hand
Catarina Pinto
L
awmaker José Pereira Coutinho believes that Sonia Chan Hoi Fan, currently serving as coordinator of the Office
for Personal Data Protection (GPDP), will be
appointed Secretary for Administration and
Justice as a “reward” for handling procedures related to the referendum on universal
suffrage that led to the detention of pro-democracy activists.
The newspaper “Ou Mun” released a possible list of the five new secretaries chosen by
Chief Executive Chui Sai On for his second
term. Sonia Chan Hoi Fan is reported to take
Director and Editor-in-Chief_Paulo Coutinho [email protected]
Managing Editor_Paulo Barbosa [email protected]
Contributing Editors_Eric Sautedé, Leanda Lee, Severo Portela
China & foreign editor_Vanessa Moore [email protected]
Design Editor_João Jorge Magalhães [email protected] | Newsroom and Contributors_Albano
Martins, António Espadinha Soares, Brook Yang, Catarina Pinto, Cyril Law, Emilie Tran, Grace Yu, Irene Sam, Jacky I.F. Cheong, Jenny
Philips, João Pedro Lau, Joseph Cheung, Juliet Risdon, Keith Ip, Renato Marques (photographer), Richard Whitfield, Robert Carroll
(Hong Kong correspondent), Rodrigo de Matos (cartoonist), Ruan Du Toit Bester, Sandra Norte (designer), Sum Choi, Viviana Seguí
| Associate Contributors_JML Property, MacauHR, MdME Lawyers, PokerStars | News agencies_ Associated Press,
Bloomberg, Lusa News Agency, MacauHub, MacauNews, Xinhua | Secretary_Yang Dongxiao [email protected]
Florinda Chan’s office, while businessman
and member of the Executive Council, Lionel Leong, is likely to replace Francis Tam as
Secretary for Economy and Finance.
The c urrent director of the Judiciary Police
is due to be appointed Secretary for Security
and Raimundo do Rosário, currently heading
Macau’s representative office in Brussels, is
likely to replace Lau Si Io as Secretary for
Transport and Public Works. Finally, Alexis
Tam, serving as the government’s spokesperson, will be the new Secretary for Social
Affairs and Culture.
However, Chui Sai On is yet to make an official announcement and confirm the next
A Macau Times Publications Ltd Publication
Administrator and Chief Executive Officer
Kowie Geldenhuys [email protected]
Secretary Juliana Cheang [email protected]
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wed 12.11.2014
th Anniversary
澳聞
rise by 6.8 pct in January
On said that Macau’s gaming
industry saw a long-term exponential growth and now it’s
time for a re-adjustment. “The
decline was expected and the
global economic outlook could play a role in gaming revenue drops,” he said.
The Chief Executive stressed that there are two other
strong elements boosting
Macau’s economy, namely
the non-gaming segment
and tourist arrivals, which
have been on the rise.
He said that while discussing a revision of current
gaming concession contracts
next year, the government
will be advocating for a balance between gaming and
non-gaming sectors.
Chui Sai On said that the government has been cautious
in preparing the budget for
next year, which is likely to be
set at over MOP150 billion.
A policy launched last year
reimbursing 60 percent of
the income tax paid by residents will also be maintained next year. Tax referring
to 2013 will be reimbursed in
2015, while tax paid in 2014
will be reimbursed in 2016.
Due to measures for the
exemption and reduction
of duties and taxes, the au-
Gov’t promotes democracy, says Chui
T
he Chief Executive has promised to
maintain an open policy, listening to
all citizens’ opinions, even when they’re
divergent. “Macau, as a place under rule
of law, and a place promoting democracy… we will always listen to the population’s [opinions],” he said.
Chui Sai On stressed that there is a
need to develop democracy in a gradual
manner. “But we cannot take any actions that go against current rules,” he
added.
He understands that within a society,
people hold different expectations and
views. “We have been organizing the AL
elections and CE elections. There are
people who criticize, but that’s normal.
We have to respect citizen’s opinions
and we’re always open to hearing different political views or criticism,” he
assured.
Chui concluded by saying that any
electoral reform is always in the central
government’s hands.
photo archive
ling referendum case, says Coutinho
Pereira Coutinho
top government officials’ names. In a press
conference held yesterday, he said that there
are procedures to be followed, and he’s still
waiting for Beijing’s approval.
Last August, GPDP issued an order requesting for referendum organizers to stop collecting residents’ personal data, as they were
allegedly violating the Personal Data Protection Act. Jason Chao, who was accused
of aggravated disobedience, and four other
referendum volunteers were detained.
José Pereira Coutinho hinted that this is no
coincidence, and criticized the Chief Executive’s criteria to choose Sonia Chan Hoi Fan.
“We don’t understand how a coordinator of a
cabinet managed to make such a progression
on [her] career ladder. It really seems as a
reward for using data protection legislation
[to stop] the unofficial referendum. I think
this was a reward for this lady,” he told reporters on the sidelines of yesterday’s Legislative Assembly plenary meeting.
Nevertheless, Coutinho welcomed changes
on the government’s team. “I think he [made
a change] based on the argument that some of
these officials have been in office for 15 years.
MACAU
3
thority will no longer receive tax revenues worth over
MOP2.135 million.
Asked about opinions that
have reached his campaign
office in August, and whose results were released
early this week, Chui said
he understands that traffic, housing and healthcare
are among Macau’s citizens’
greatest concerns. He stressed that these are the three
main areas in which the government is focusing on.
During yesterday’s Legislative Assembly plenary meeting, the Chief Executive
reviewed the government’s
performance so far this year.
He stressed that Macau’s administration has provided
long-term and efficient mechanisms addressing social
security matters, as well as
ensuring a long-term plan
for housing.
The CE declared that the
authority is committed to
supporting local small and
medium-sized
enterprises
and that adequate training
opportunities have been provided to residents. Yet again,
Macau’s leader insisted that
the current policy allowing
only residents to take up positions as casino dealers remains.
Giving priority to public
transportation was one of
the measures adopted, but
the Chief Executive acknowledged that there is a gap between the new public transportation scheme and citizens’ expectations. He gave
assurances that they’ve sped
up the construction of the
LRT system and taken measures to improve public bus
services, too.
I think this is the right approach. Because the
Basic Law says that each CE is only entitled to
serve for two terms, while other top officials
may remain in office for 10 years. So I think
the change is good,” he added.
On the contrary, lawmaker Melinda Chan
thinks Sonia Chan’s possible promotion is
not connected to the unofficial referendum
case. She did not comment further and seemed confused about what referendum reporters were referring to.
She recalled that the five new secretaries
have all been working as civil servants. “This
is good for government workers (…) this also
shows that government employees are being
promoted. Also some have legal knowledge
and I think this is good for Macau,” she said.
Lawmaker Chan Chak Mo sees government changes positively. Asked about Lionel
Leong’s suitability for the Secretary for Economy and Finance post, he said that “he’s a
businessman like Mr Francis Tam” and “he’s
capable of analyzing what’s happening within the business community in Macau.” He
added that Mr Leong has also worked with
the mainland Chinese government for quite
some time, and “he would be a good link with
mainland China.”
Chan Chak Mo concluded by saying that “a
change [in the government] is good, because if
people stay in the same post for too long, they
might take things for granted, so to speak.”
4
MACAU
12.11.2014 wed
th Anniversary
澳聞
Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition
xinhua
Jets should be viewed as ‘a business tool’
João Pedro Lau, Zhuhai
M
ore than 700 businesses and 130 aircraft from
41 countries and regions took
part in the 10th China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition, which officially
opened yesterday and runs until November 16 in Zhuhai.
The airshow showcases different types of military and
civil aircraft and other aviation
equipment and services. A series of flight performances, seminars, press conferences and
signing ceremonies have also
been scheduled throughout the
six-day event.
The Times spoke to several
exhibitors about the aviation
market in China and the effect of the economic slowdown
upon the world’s second largest economy. All of them believe that the slowdown is not
going to have a significant impact on the Chinese aviation
market.
Mr Michael Han, regional
vice president of sales in Greater China for the Canadian
aerospace and transportation
company Bombardier Business
Aircraft, said that although
growth of the Chinese economy
is moderating, annual growth
of seven percentage points is
still impressive compared to
mature markets such as the
United States and Europe.
“We have faith in the Chinese
leadership to maintain economic growth. So, seven percent
will be a sustainable and stable
growth rate and this sets the
foundation for the China business aviation and business jet
market,” he said.
Bombardier is one of the major
manufacturers of business jets.
There are currently six Bombardier jets in service in Macau,
most of them owned by private
individuals. When it comes to
the impact of China’s austerity
measures on the country’s busi-
T
he organizers of
the Macau Shopping
Festival 2014 hope to
achieve
double-digit
growth in the revenue to
be generated during the
event this year.
The festival, which is
in its fourth year, will
take place between December 3 and 31.
Vincent Tung, general
director of the Macau
Shopping Festival 2014
organizing committee
said on the sidelines
of the festival’s opening ceremony at City
of Dreams that total
spending on the event
A Xinzhou-700 model is seen ahead at the International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai
ness jet market, Mr Han argued
that they should be considered
as business tools instead of luxury products.
“Business jets should not be
promoted as a luxurious product. In the mature markets,
it has always been considered
as a business tool, a business
tool that can help executives
and families to improve their
travel efficiency by providing
the flexibility to schedule trips,
as well as to offer comfort and
privacy,” he said.
Mr Han added that Bombardier has a very strong forecast
of 950 business jets to be delivered into China, which also
include Macau, between 2014
and 2023 by all jet manufacturers. “Out of those 950 jets, a
majority of the aircraft will be
the middle sized or the large
category private jets. The total
value of these 950 aircraft is
USD30.9 billion,” he said.
Meanwhile, in a press conference yesterday, the president
of Airbus China, Eric Chen,
acknowledged that the Chinese
economic slowdown has impac-
ted the development of the civil
aviation industry. However, just
like Mr Han, Mr Chen believes
that a growth rate of six or seven
percent is still impressive.
Airbus predicts that the annual passenger flow in China will reach 700 million in
2020 before it hits 1.3 billion
in 2030. He also believes that
there is a huge potential in the
Chinese market. “I can feel
very clearly that by 2020, the
current fleet [in China] is going
to be doubled to reach… about
4,000 airplanes in total… So
there is no reason not to be
optimistic about the prospectives,” he said.
The president then suggested
that the key is to address the
critical issues in the Chinese
aviation environment including
congestion, the shortage of pilots and infrastructure improvement. “If we have sound solutions to these critical issues,
then the growth will be sustainable, healthy and continued to
be in the right track,” he said.
Furthermore, the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of
China (COMAC) has released
the fifth COMAC Market Forecast Report during the airshow. It indicated that over
the next 20 years, the Chinese
market will need 5,541 trunk
and regional jets. The revenue
passenger kilometres will also
increase at an average annual
rate of 6.8 pct in China in the
coming two decades, which is
higher than the global average
of 4.8 pct.
The size of the Chinese passenger fleet will also expand
rapidly, with its share in the
global market rising from the
current 11 pct to 17 pct in year
2033, reaching 6,827. As for
the number of new aircraft delivered, the report predicts that
5,541 new aircraft will be delivered in the Chinese market
in the next 20 years, valued
at USD674 billion, with single
-aisle jets account for nearly
two thirds of the total. It also
suggested that the emerging
market, represented by the
BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India,
China, South Africa), as well
as the global low-cost airlines,
will be the major propellers for
the growth of single-aisle jets.
airshow serves as a platform for exhibitors
Airbus China president Eric
Chen said that they highly valued
their presence at the airshow,
which provided them with the
opportunity to better understand
the market. This is the 10th time
Airbus China joined the air show.
He believes that the event is also a
platform for communication and
contact, and to showcase their
products. On the other hand,
Evan McCorry, the vice president
of international sales and marketing from Canadian aircraft
manufacturer Viking Air said that
the main purpose of participating
in the airshow is to create awareness of their aircraft and to show
that they believe in the future of
China.
Macau Shopping Festival hopes
for double-digit revenue growth
this year by the organizing committee and
all other participants
has exceeded MOP30
million. He said that
in previous years, the
event has achieved an
annual growth of 20 to
30 pct in terms of revenue. “We hope that
this year we can have
double-digit growth. As
you know, gaming re-
venue has been falling
in the previous four to
five months. We can see
that when there is less
gambling, consumption
also drops, especially
for high-end products. We hope that with
more people coming [to
Macau], it can help consumption in the city,” he
said.
When it comes to the
special features of the
Macau Shopping Festival, Mr Tung believes
that one of them is the
lucky draw upon arrival.
It allows tourists to take
part in an instant lucky
draw at four main ports
of entry in Macau, including the Macau Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal, Taipa Temporary
Ferry Terminal, Macau
International
Airport
and the Border Gate.
Travellers can participate in the lucky draw
by presenting valid ferry or air tickets or immigration stamps to the lucky draw counters at the
locations. “We have studied the shopping festivals in other countries
and regions and found
that they don’t have this
type of lucky draw. We
think that this is a special feature of Macau as
a gaming city,” he said.
Meanwhile, the president of the organizing
committee, Ms Terry
Sio, indicated that they
have invited a lot of
big retailers to join the
festival this year. “We
hope that upon arrival,
travellers can instantly
feel that Macau has an
atmosphere of shopping
so that they will think
that it is also a shoppers’ paradise. This is
what we want to achieve
the most,” she said. JPL
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MACAU
12.11.2014 wed
th Anniversary
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MUSIC
GASTRONOMY
Festival bands rock
town for a decade
As usual, many local bands will take part in the 10th edition of HUSH!!
João Pedro Lau
L
ocal and overseas bands
are going to hit the stage
and intend to deliver their
audience a memorable live
band show at the 10th edition
of HUSH!!, the local outdoor
rock festival, that will take
place on November 22 from
1:30 p.m. at the Macau Cultural Centre’s Art Plaza.
Organized by the Macau
Cultural Centre, the event is
mainly for showcasing local
bands and providing them
with a platform to present
their work. The show had a
humble beginning, with only a
turnout of 2,000 people in the
first few years. However, with
growing popularity and an increasingly diversified audience, attendance reached almost
8,000 last year.
During a meet-the-press session this week, several local
bands that will take part in
this year’s festival shared their
feelings and opinions about
the event.
Among the nine local bands
is L.A.V.Y., whose bassist Angelo said that it would be great
ad
if the show could be more than
a single-day event. “I think
[making it a multiple-day
event] could provide different
types of bands with the opportunity to perform. At the moment you only have a limited
performing time and limited
number of bands in one day,
but if there is more time, the
number of participants could
increase,” he said.
Another live band is Why
Oceans, who has experience performing overseas. Its
members think that HUSH!!
faces more restrictions compared to similar events in
nearby regions. “There are
many restrictions on HUSH!!
because it takes place in the
city. The noise issue alone has
led to the event, which could be held for multiple days,
being grouped into one day,”
the band’s guitarist Tommy
Chu said.
He also recommended that
the organizer include more
elements so that people would have more reasons to stay
there longer. “[Instead of letting the audience] stand in
front of the stage for several
hours… with nowhere else
to go, maybe there could be
some booths they could visit
that are related to the arts and
creations in Macau, which
would allow other local artists
to join as well,” he said.
While most of the bands are
mainly performing in Chinese, the recently founded Joao
Gomes e Banda is going to
bring a fusion of traditional
Portuguese music and rock
to the audience. The group’s
lead vocalist and guitarist,
João Gomes, said that it is the
music itself instead of the language that matters. He said
that while playing last year in
China, his band was greatly
accepted by the audience despite the fact that they probably did not understand the
lyrics. “As long as they accept
the music, we will be fine,” he
said.
Apart from the local bands,
there will also be groups from
Hong Kong, Beijing, Bangkok,
Okinawa and Taipei joining
the event, which has free admission. More information
can be found on the Cultural
Centre website.
Improved menus to attract
gourmet food aficionados
C
opa Steakhouse and Golden Court, two of Sands
Macao’s restaurants, have recently introduced new gourmet
menus to grab food enthusiasts’
attention.
Copa Steakhouse remains
faithful to a truly American
gastronomical tradition, while Golden Court focuses on
serving mainly Chinese customers looking for Sichuan-style
dishes.
Behind the preparation of new
Copa Steakhouse dishes is Venezuelan chef Luis Silva. In a
food tasting session yesterday,
he revealed that the new menu
is now more faithful to the
American tradition.
“We are trying to keep the essence of a steakhouse,” he assured, adding that they have added a “Wagyu Beef Burger with
Cheddar Cheese and Smoked
Bacon” to the menu for the first
time.
Changes were also introduced to the menu’s Portuguese
section, with the team adding
“Pork Marinated in Wine and
Garnished with Clams”, since it
“is a good sell.”
“It’s a hearty dish and so we’ve
decided to include it again,” he
added.
Traditional American fruit
crumble is another highlight
of the new Copa Steakhouse
menu. Although usually prepared with seasonal fruit, it’s time
for the “Blueberry Crumble
with Vanilla Whipped Cream”.
“Americans usually eat it
when they’re dining together
with friends or family. It’s food
to share and enjoy together,”
the chef said, adding that it is
“a deep crumble” which can be
prepared with different types of
fruit, from blueberries to mango.
Copa Steakhouse was voted
one of Hong Kong Tatler magazine’s Best Restaurants of 2014,
and it received the award of excellence from Wine Spectator
Magazine this year, as well as
the Best Western F&B award
during the 2014 Hurun Presidential Awards, Sands said in a
press release.
The Cantonese-inspired Golden Court is located right next
to Copa Steakhouse. The latest
additions to the menu include
Fired Angus Beef and Goose
Liver, Sautéed Clams with Black Bean, or Shrimp Fried Rice
with Sichuan Chili.
Golden Court’s Chef de Cuisine, Kan Kai Wing, said that
they’ve added new dishes to
the menu, as more guests want
to taste spicy Chinese food.
The Angus beef and goose liver is mixed with Sichuan chili, peanuts and garlic, to offer
guests a taste of Sichuan-style
gastronomy.
“The menu is targeting mainland China visitors, and we try
to adapt it as much as we can to
their taste,” he told reporters.
The restaurant has just been
renovated and has a total of 18
live seafood tanks, from which
customers can easily choose.
The restaurant was also listed in this year’s edition of the
Hong Kong Tatler Best Restaurants Guide.
Prices of dishes mentioned
range from MOP58 (blueberry
crumble) to MOP338 (for the
Fired Angus Beef and Goose Liver). CP
wed 12.11.2014
th Anniversary
分析
A
11
Alibaba goes global, Singles
Day sales top USD5.9b
bloomberg
libaba
Group
Holding Ltd. turned
an obscure Chinese holiday into the
country’s biggest shopping
event. Now it’s aiming to
take the success of Singles’
Day global by tapping foreign
brands, including Calvin Klein
and Blue Nile Inc.
Those companies, along with
Costco Wholesale Corp., Origins Natural Resources Inc. and
American Eagle Outfitters Inc.,
were participating in yesterday’s
event for the first time. Alibaba said it sold more than 36.2
billion yuan (USD5.9 billion)
of merchandise within 14 hours of the promotion kicking off,
eclipsing last year’s record.
Alibaba, which less than two
months ago completed the
biggest initial public offering
ever, is using 27,000 labels to
attract international merchants and consumers for a promotion with almost triple the
sales of Cyber Monday. The
company will offer steep discounts on Tmall and its other
websites to entice shoppers,
who may spend more than 50
billion yuan, according to an
estimate by consultant OgilvyOne Shanghai.
“November 11 is a key milestone for Alibaba,” said Allen
Xu, the consultant’s managing director. “The company
used the festival to build its
dominance as an e-commerce
player linking businesses to
consumers in China. With the
IPO of Alibaba, the company
has the ambition to make this
brand go global.”
Merchandise sold was 36.2
billion yuan as of 1:31 p.m.
Beijing time, Alibaba said in
a post on its Twitter Inc. account. That is more than the
$5.29 billion of U.S. online sales from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday in 2013, the
company said.
Singles’ Day, a Chinese twist
on Valentine’s Day, was invented by students in the 1990s, according to the Communist Par-
BUSINESS
ty-owned People’s Daily. When
written numerically, the date is
reminiscent of “bare branches,”
the Chinese expression for bachelors and spinsters.
Alibaba’s
Tmall
began
marketing Nov. 11 as its biggest sales event in 2009, rivals
jumped on board, and the day
turned from an opportunity to
seek out a partner - or celebra-
November 11 is
a key milestone
for Alibaba
Allen Xu
consultant, OgilvyOne
Shanghai.
te singledom - into an online
shopping bonanza.
Merchants on Tmall are encouraged to offer pre-orders
this year to ease Internet traffic on Singles’ Day and also
guarantee their ability to buy
goods, said Brian Lee, who
oversees distribution in China
of Elle handbags and purses.
Elle was expecting to sell
27,000 items yesterday, compared with an average of 200
items per day. About 20 percent of that can be pre-ordered if customers pay a 15 percent deposit.
Xiaomi Corp., China’s biggest smartphone vendor, sold
720,000 Mi phones worth 1
billion yuan in 12 hours, Vice
President Hugo Barra said in
a Twitter post yesterday.
Building Singles’ Day into
an international event could
be the next test for Alibaba’s
momentum. Still, the company isn’t expecting a significant contribution from global
sales this year, Chief Operating Officer Daniel Zhang said
Monday at a press briefing in
Hangzhou.
“We try to create a real global
consumer day,” Zhang said.
“The numbers could be quite
small, because we are in the
beginning stage.”
Outside of mainland China,
Alibaba’s sales promotion has
been most popular in Hong
Kong, followed by the U.S and
Taiwan, according to data released by the company yesterday. Shopping from mobile devices will be 45 percent
to 50 percent this year, Steve
Wang, Alibaba’s Tmall President, said at a press conference in Hangzhou yesterday.
Alibaba raised a record $25
billion in September’s IPO
after it increased the amount
of stock it was selling and the
price of shares.
Since its Sept. 19 debut, the
stock has surged 75 percent in
New York, and the company
has posted quarterly earnings
that beat analysts’ estimates.
“Alibaba will continue to be
the dominant player in China,” Xu said. Replicating that
success overseas “would require all parts of the e-commerce engine to work in sync.”
Merchants offer discounts on
Singles’ Day of at least 50 percent so they can participate
and drive sales through Tmall
as well as other Alibaba platforms, including AliExpress
and Taobao Marketplace.
Others participating on Tmall
for the first time include Kenneth Cole and Unilever Plc.
While Tmall connects brands
with consumers inside China,
AliExpress is the company’s
platform focusing on international customers.
Alibaba’s push to become
more international has been
underpinned by deals, with
the company announcing
more than $16 billion worth
of acquisitions since 2012, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg.
Alibaba had about $18 billion
of cash in hand as of September, and Vice Chairman Joe Tsai
said it would continue investing
in companies that help gain ecommerce users and bring longterm value. Bloomberg
corporate bits
successfully
The Fourth China (Macau) International Automobile Exposition was
held at The Venetian’s
Cotai Expo from November 7-9.
This year’s event was
co-hosted by the Macau
Convention & Exhibition
Association, Nam Kwong
(Group) Company Limited and China National Machinery Industry
Corporation, organized
by Nam Kwong (Group)
International Convention
and Exhibition, China National Automotive Industry
International Corporation
and Macau-based Prime
Marketing & Promotional
Services, and co-orga-
nized by China Europe
Association for Economic and Technical Cooperation, Macau Motor
Traders Association and
Automobile General Association Macau-China.
The 62,000 sq. m exhibition brought together
over 90 major automobile
brands from 15 countries
and regions around the
world with more than 400
vehicles on display. Over
30 high-end summits and
events were hosted concurrently. According to a
press release, “the expo
attracted 165,000 visitors
and over 200 media representatives from around the world.”
ford starts production of new aluminum f-150
It’s Ford Motor Co.’s biggest
bet in decades: an aluminumsided F-150 that could set a
new industry standard — or
cost the company its pickup
truck crown. Ford was scheduled to start production of
the 2015 F-150 yesterday at
its Dearborn Truck Plant, four
miles from the company’s
headquarters. It will arrive at
U.S. dealerships next month.
Ford thinks a truck that is lighter and more fuel efficient,
but even more capable, will
win buyers while its competitors struggle to catch up. Aluminum — which is lighter than
steel but just as strong — isn’t
new to the auto industry, but
this is the first time it will cover
the entire body of such a highvolume vehicle. Ford made
ap photo
4th macau auto show ends
647,697 F-150 pickups at its
two U.S. plants last year; that’s
one every 49 seconds.
CEO Mark Fields told the AP
he is confident Ford made the
right decision. The new truck
has been through 10 million
miles of testing, which is more
than any other vehicle in Ford’s
history, he says. “Were we recognizing that it was a risk?
Sure,” Fields says. “But it was
a very calculated and informed
risk that gave us the confidence that we were going to get
this done.”
google, ceo donate to
ebola fight
Google is launching a campaign to help
fight Ebola by contributing USD2 for every
dollar people donate to a slew of nonprofits such as Save the Children and the Doctors Without Borders.
In addition, the company is also giving
$10 million to support nonprofits as they
work to contain the disease, which has
killed nearly 5,000 people so far. Separately, Google Inc. CEO Larry Page’s Family Foundation is donating another $15
million.
Google has set aside $5 million for its
matching donation, which means the public will have to donate $2.5 million to reach the maximum amount. This money will
go to the donor-advised fund Network for
Good, which will then distribute it to “four
nonprofits doing critical work in West Africa,” Google said, adding that the company
will cover processing fees so that all of the
money donated will go to the groups.
CHINA
th Anniversary
中國
Ken Moritsugu, Tokyo
W
hat happens next in Japan-China relations depends not only on what they do,
but also on what they don’t do.
A tentative, some would say
grudging, first meeting between
their leaders on Monday raised
hopes of a gradual improvement in ties, but any misstep on
two fundamental issues could
send the relationship back into
deep freeze.
China wants Japanese Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe to refrain
from visiting a shrine that honors Japan’s war dead, including convicted war criminals.
He did so last December, on
the first anniversary of taking
office, and a repeat visit would
infuriate China after President
Xi Jinping acquiesced to a meeting with Abe during an AsiaPacific summit in Beijing.
Considering Abe’s “less-thanglorious track record,” the official China Daily newspaper said
in an editorial yesterday, pleasant-sounding rhetoric needs to
be followed up by action for the
thaw to take hold. Action, in this
case, is as much about what China wants Abe not to do.
Japan is hoping the detente
will lead to at least one concrete step, the establishment
of a hotline to manage any incidents at sea or in airspace
over islands that both countries
claim, to prevent them from developing into a serious crisis or
clash.
Japan’s nationalization of the
islands in 2012 infuriated Beijing. Chinese ships regularly
sail into the waters around the
islands, challenging Japan’s sovereignty, and are chased away
by Japanese coast guard vessels.
In his 30-minute meeting with
Sino-Japanese ties still fragile
after leaders meet ap photo
12
12.11.2014 wed
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, left, and China’s President Xi Jinping, right, shake hands during their meeting at the Great
Hall of the People, on the sidelines of the APEC summit
Xi, Abe proposed an early launch of a maritime crisis mechanism, including the hotline and
other measures, Japanese Defense Minister Akinori Eto told
reporters yesterday. Xi responded favorably, saying the two
countries already have a basic
agreement and should work out
the details, Eto said.
The Japanese defense minister said he wants to start work
on the mechanism as soon as
possible, and “the ball is in their
court.”
Analysts said they believe the
mechanism, which has been
under discussion for years, could become a reality.
“The commitment to a maritime crisis management hotline is actually symbolically the
most important, as well as the
key practical outcome,” said
Corey Wallace, a maritime security expert at the University
of Auckland in New Zealand.
Economically, the leaders’
meeting was welcomed by Sadayuki Sakakibara, the chairman of the Japan Business Federation, known as Keidanren.
He noted that political and diplomatic ties impact economic
relations too.
But no substantive progress
was made on the larger issue
of the territorial dispute itself,
involving a group of small,
uninhabited islands called
Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu
by China.
Former Japanese diplomat
Kazuhiko Togo said until that
situation is resolved, “the fundamental instability and fundamental fragility of our relationship continues. So that has
to be remedied, but how and
when, nobody can tell.”
Xi, who hosted Abe and other
world leaders at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
summit, looked unhappy to be
shaking hands with Abe before their meeting, but Japanese
analysts didn’t portray it as a
snub. Rather, they said Xi probably had to play to his domestic audience.
Japan is happy that the two
leaders met, under any circumstances, even if no real headway was made on the territorial dispute. Both sides realize
that the meeting was a small
first step.
“China is not the easiest neighbor to get along with,” a
front-page column in Japan’s
left-leaning Asahi newspaper
said yesterday. “But it is a fact
that we are neighbors, and since neither country can relocate,
the only thing we can do is thaw
the frozen water in the well if
we want to drink from it. Could
any cracking of the ice be heard
at the Abe-Xi summit?” AP
Hong Kong
H
ong Kong’s government has ruled out
talks with pro-democracy
protesters, and is preparing to enforce a court ruling to clear the streets, the
city’s No. 2 official said.
Student leaders made
“unrealistic” demands in
the first round of talks
last month, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam told reporters yesterday. There’s
no need for protest leaders to seek direct talks
with Chinese officials in
Beijing, she said.
Lam’s comments indicate a firmer stance by
the government after a
court on Monday upheld
injunctions against some
protest sites, potentially
setting the stage for renewed efforts to forcibly
clear the streets. Hong
bloomberg
Gov’t rejects talks after court rules against protest
Pedestrians and demonstrators walk past tents outside the Central
Government Offices in the Admiralty district
Kong’s
pro-democracy
protesters are facing increased pressure to end
demonstrations now in
their seventh week, amid
signs of dissent within
their ranks and a poll suggesting waning public
support.
“Student leaders didn’t
show sincerity after the
first talks and they hardened their stance,” Lam
said. “I think there’s no
room for negotiation for
the time being.”
The city’s High Court on
Monday ruled that bailiffs
are allowed to take measures to remove obstructions in parts of Mong Kok
and outside Citic Tower
in the Admiralty district.
The police were directed
to assist the bailiffs and to
arrest anybody who interferes with the removal of
the barricades.
The police may be prepared to act as soon as
Nov. 13, Radio Television
Hong Kong reported yesterday, citing unidentified people. Officers have
been asked to cancel holidays, RTHK said.
The
demonstrations
were sparked by China’s
decision to control the
nomination process for
the city’s first leadership
election in 2017.
Tung Chee-hwa, who
was chief executive of
Hong Kong from 1997 to
2005, said on Monday the
government won’t tolerate the demonstrations for
long. A poll commissioned by Ming Pao newspaper released Monday
showed 70 percent of the
respondents wanted the
street occupation to end.
While support for the
protesters dipped, Leung’s popularity has improved. The support rating for him rose to 40.4
marks from a record low,
in a survey conducted between Oct. 31 and Nov. 5
by the University of Hong
Kong’s Public Opinion
Programme.
The police in October
successfully cleared some
make-shift barricades in
the city’s central business
district, while attempts
to remove them in Mong
Kok, a popular shopping
area, have failed. Protesters continue to occupy
a main roadway on the
edge of Central, causing
daily traffic disruptions
in one of Asia’s biggest financial centers.
Two applications for injunctions were filed by an
association of taxi drivers
and a minibus company
in the Mong Kok district.
A third was filed by a property company controlled
by Citic Ltd. at the main
protest site in Admiralty.
The justice secretary may
start criminal contempt
procedures against people
who attempt to interfere
with bailiffs enforcing the
injunctions, the Department of Justice said on
Monday. Bloomberg
wed 12.11.2014
th Anniversary
Putin’s gallantry
causes controversy
Didi Tang, Beijing
I
t was a warm gesture on a
chilly night when Vladimir
Putin wrapped a shawl around
the wife of Xi Jinping while the
Chinese president chatted with
Barack Obama. The only problem: Putin came off looking
gallant, the Chinese summit
host gauche and inattentive.
Worse still were off-color
jokes that began to circulate
about the real intentions of the
divorced Russian president — a
heartthrob among many Chinese women for his macho, manof-action image.
That was too much for the
Chinese authorities.
The incident at a performance linked to this week’s AsiaPacific summit originally was
broadcast on state broadcaster CCTV and spread online as
a forwarded video. But it was
soon scrubbed clean from the
Chinese Internet, reflecting
the intense control authorities
exert over any material about
top leaders while also pointing
to cultural differences over
what’s considered acceptable
behavior in public.
“China is traditionally conservative on public interaction
between unrelated men and
women, and the public show of
consideration by Putin may provide fodder for jokes, which the
big boss probably does not like,”
said Beijing-based historian
and independent commentator
ap photo
In the video,
Peng stood
up, politely
accepted the
gray shawl or
blanket offered
by Putin, and
thanked him
with a slight
bow
Zhang Lifan.
Xi’s wife, Peng Liyuan, was
once a popular folk singer more
famous than her husband, and
in contrast to her predecessors
she has taken on a much more
public role, prominently joining
her husband on trips abroad as
part of China’s soft power push
to seek global status commensurate with its economic might.
Propaganda officials have built the image of Xi and his wife
as a loving couple. Photos of Xi
shielding his wife from rain on
a state visit, picking flowers for
her, or simply holding her hand
have circulated widely on China’s social media, prompting
much oohing and aahing.
“When the president personally held up the umbrella for
the madam, it complies with
the international norm of respecting women,” blogger Luo
Qingxue wrote on the news site
for the party-run newspaper
People’s Daily last year after Xi
was seen holding an umbrella
over himself and Peng on a state visit to Trinidad and Tobago.
But Putin messed up the script
Monday night while Xi chatted
with the American president.
In the video, Peng stood up,
politely accepted the gray shawl
or blanket offered by Putin, and
thanked him with a slight bow.
But she soon slipped it off and
put on a black coat offered by
her own attendant.
It spawned a flurry of commentary on China’s social media before censors began removing any mention of the incident.
Li Xin, director of Russian
and central Asian studies at the
Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said Putin was
just being a proper Russian and
did nothing out-of-line diplomatically.
“It’s a tradition in Russia for
a man of dignity to respect ladies on public occasions, and in
a cold country like Russia, it is
very normal that a gentleman
should help ladies take on and
off their coats,” Li said. “But the
Chinese may not be accustomed to that.” AP
CHINA
13
ap photo
中國
U.S. President Barack Obama, left, Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, arrive at
the APEC Summit plenary session at the International Convention Center, Yanqi
Xi wins support for Asia
Pacific trade proposal
Joe McDonald and Youkyung Lee
Business Writers, Huairou
L
eaders of Asia-Pacific economies agreed yesterday to begin work toward
possible adoption of a Chinese
-backed free-trade pact, giving
Beijing a victory in its push for
a bigger role in managing global commerce.
In a joint statement after a
two-day Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, the
leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama and Russia’s Vladimir Putin agreed to
take a first step by launching
a two-year study of the initiative.
“This is a historic step in the
direction of an Asia-Pacific
free trade area,” said Chinese
President Xi Jinping at a news
conference.
China is promoting the proposed Free-Trade Area of the
Asia Pacific despite U.S. pressure to wrap up other trade
negotiations. Analysts see it as
a response to a U.S.-led initiative, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which includes 12 countries but excludes China.
The APEC leaders also promised to work more closely
to combat official corruption.
That is a special concern for
Beijing, which is stepping up
efforts to pursue officials who
flee abroad with stolen public
money.
Beijing has launched a series
of trade and finance initiatives in pursuit of a bigger role
in U.S.-dominated economic
and security organizations to
reflect Beijing’s status as the
world’s second-biggest economy.
APEC was the first major in-
The Asia
Pacific trade
pact marks
the first time
Beijing has
played a
leading role in
a multinational
trade
agreement
ternational gathering in China since Xi took power and
gave Beijing a platform to lobby for a bigger leadership
role.
On the eve of the summit,
Beijing announced a free-trade agreement with South Korea. Also Monday, regulators
approved a plan to open Chinese stock markets wider to
foreign investors by linking
exchanges in Hong Kong and
Shanghai. That followed the
weekend announcement of
a USD40 billion Chinese-financed fund to improve trade
links between Asian economies.
Earlier this year, Beijing launched a regional development
bank with 20 other governments. In May, Xi called for
a new Asian structure for security cooperation based on a
group that includes Russia and
Iran but excludes the United
States.
China says its motives are benign, but its growing economic
weight as the top trading partner for most of its neighbors
from South Korea to Australia
could erode U.S. influence.
Yesterday’s meeting took place under elaborate security at
a government conference center in wooded hills north of the
Chinese capital.
In an effort to appear more
open, organizers took the unusual step of allowing access
from the press center to websites such as Facebook, Twitter
and YouTube that usually are
blocked by China’s extensive
Internet filters.
The Asia-Pacific trade pact
was first proposed by an APEC
business panel but China took
the lead in promoting it. It
marks the first time Beijing
has played a leading role in
a multinational trade agreement.
“(The U.S.-led) TPP is being
used to push aside China and
to weaken China’s economic
core status,” said Wu Xinbo,
director of the Center for American Studies at Fudan University in Shanghai. Promoting its
own initiative “will give China a bigger right to speak in
the Asia-Pacific — to have a
new status.”
Obama said Monday the United States “welcomes the rise”
of a prosperous, peaceful and
stable China. Still, American
officials chafe at Beijing’s insistence on promoting the
Free-Trade Area of the Asia
Pacific.
It is a logical response to
being excluded from the TPP,
said Li Wei, an economist at
the Cheung Kong Graduate
School of Business in Beijing.
“If the U.S. doesn’t want China to join the TPP, then China can form its own trade
groups,” said Li. AP
14
ASIA-PACIFIC
12.11.2014 wed
th Anniversary
亞太版
South Korea
Hyung-Jin Kim, Seoul
T
he captain of a ferry that
sank earlier this year, leaving more than 300 people —
mostly schoolchildren — dead
and shocking South Korea, was
given a 36-year prison sentence yesterday for negligence and
abandoning his passengers.
The highly anticipated verdict
came amid continuing grief and
finger-pointing over one of the
worst disasters in South Korean history. Family members
of the victims, most of whom
were teenagers, immediately
criticized the sentence for Capt.
Lee Joon-seok and other crew
members as too lenient, some
weeping and shouting during
the court proceedings.
“Do you know how many children are dead?” one relative
said, according to a defense
lawyer.
The Gwangju District Court in
southern South Korea acquitted Lee of a homicide charge because it was difficult to believe
that he knew his actions would cause such a huge number
of deaths, according to a court
statement. It said that Lee had
issued an evacuation order.
The widely vilified Lee could have received a death sentence for the homicide charge.
South Korea hasn’t executed
anyone since late 1997, though
its courts occasionally issue the
punishment.
Lee has apologized for abandoning the passengers, but said
he didn’t know his actions would lead to so many deaths.
The court sentenced the ship’s
chief engineer to 30 years in prison and 13 others to up to 20 years
in prison, the statement said.
The engineer, Park Ki-ho, was
convicted of the homicide char-
bloomberg
Ferry captain gets 36 years in prison Lee Joon Seok, the captain of the sunken S. Korea ferry Sewol arrives at the Gwangju District Court
ge because he abandoned two
injured colleagues, escaped the
ferry and failed to tell rescuers
about them, even though he
knew they would die without
help, the court statement said.
The court, however, cleared
two other crew members of
homicide charges for the same
reasoning used to acquit the
captain of homicide, the statement said. Those crew members got 15 and 20 years in prison, it said.
Prosecutors and the crew
members have one week to
appeal, according to the court.
The 15 crew members tasked
with navigating the ferry Sewol
have faced scathing public criticism because they escaped
the sinking ship while many of
their passengers were still trapped inside. A total of 476 people were aboard the ship and
only 172 were rescued. Most of
the dead were teenage students
traveling to a resort island on a
school trip.
Nearly seven months after the
sinking, 295 bodies have been
recovered but nine are still
missing. South Korean officials
said yesterday they’ve ended
searches for the missing because there was only a remote
chance of finding more bodies
while worries have grown over
the safety of divers. Two civilian
divers have died after falling
unconscious during searches.
“As our loved ones remain trapped in the cold waters, this decision is unbearably painful for
us. But we requested that the
search operations be stopped”
because of safety concerns, Min
Dong-im, 36, the wife of a missing teacher, tearfully said at a
televised news conference.
Prosecutors have accused the
crew members of tacitly colluding to abandon the ship even
though they knew that passengers would be trapped and killed after it sank. The defense in
the trial has denied any collusion among the crew members,
saying they were confused, injured and panicked.
Many student survivors have
said they were repeatedly ordered over a loudspeaker to stay
on the sinking ship and that
they didn’t remember any evacuation order being given befo-
re they helped each other flee
the vessel.
Lee has said he issued an evacuation order for passengers.
But he initially told reporters
days after his arrest that he
withheld the evacuation order
because rescuers had yet to arrive and he feared for the passengers’ safety in the cold, swift
waters.
The sinking has prompted
widespread grief and a rare
bout of soul-searching about
lax safety practices. Authorities blamed overloaded cargo,
improper storage, untimely recuse efforts and corruption by
the ship’s owners that prevented enough spending on safety,
along with the crew members’
behavior, for the sinking. AP
Pakistan
Asim Tanveer, Multan
A
head-on collision between a passenger bus
and a truck on a highway
in southern Pakistan killed 58 people yesterday,
police said. The collision
ignited a fuel fire, and a
rescuer later described
how he carried out a survivor, a four-year-old girl,
from the burning bus.
The cause of the accident near Khairpur district in Sindh province
was most likely heavy fog,
said police official Ghulam Jhokhio.
ap photo
58 dead in head-on highway collision
The bus, carrying about
70 people, had left Swat
Valley and was en route
to the southern port city
of Karachi when it collided head-on with the truck, Jhokhio said. The bus
quickly caught fire after
its fuel tank exploded, he
added.
The fatalities included 21
women and 19 children,
all below the age of 14,
said local hospital official
Jafar Soomro and warned
the death toll was likely to
rise. Fifteen people were
injured and in hospital,
several of them in critical
condition, he said.
Private Pakistani TV
channels broadcast in live
footage from the scene,
showing rescue workers
carrying he victims and
policemen clearing the
road.
Rescue
officer
Mohammad Ata described the inferno to Dunya
TV as he held a little girl
in his arms, and recounted how he pulled her out
of the burning bus.
“She was sitting all calm
in a seat when I got into
the bus on fire,” Ata said.
Deadly
accidents
are common on roads
across Pakistan due to
bad road infrastructure
and rampant disregard of
traffic laws. Over 9,000
road accidents are reported to the police every
year, killing on average
around 5,000 people,
according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
A Sindh provincial minister, Siraj Durrrani, decried the tragedy and said
the government badly
needs to improve the infrastructure to avoid such
horrific accidents. AP
wed 12.11.2014
th Anniversary
亞太版
ASIA-PACIFIC
India
Unni Krishnan
E
ight women died
of infection and 68
others are hospitalized
following sterilization
surgery as part of a government
-sponsored campaign in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh,
a state medical official said.
The women became infected
after doctors at a private hospital conducted 83 surgeries over
about six hours on Nov. 8, Amar
Singh Thakur, chief health officer for Bilaspur district, said by
phone. The eight died Monday
while as many as five are in critical condition, he said.
“The deaths were due to infection causing septic shock,”
Thakur said. “We are investigating but it is too early to say that
it was due to sterilization.”
State governments routinely
carry out one-day sterilization
drives for family planning in
the world’s second-most populous country. India has the world’s third-highest female sterilization rate after the Domini-
bloomberg
Eight women dead after
mass sterilization goes awry
A woman who recently delivered a baby lies on a bed at a hospital in Shivpuri, in central Madhya Pradesh
can Republic and Puerto Rico
among more than 180 countries
tracked by the United Nations.
“This is an exceptional case
which unfortunately happens
once every four or five years,”
said Abhijeet Phatak, medical
program specialist with International Planned Parenthood in
New Delhi. “The fault lies with
the person who did not disinfect
the equipment on a day when
80 or 90 women are being ste-
rilized. But also the strategy of
having one-day camps for sterilization is to blame and should
be reconsidered.”
While cash incentives are offered to couples who stay childless until prescribed ages or
opt for contraceptives, the use
of numerical targets has contributed to a “coercive environment for several decades,”
Human Rights Watch said in a
2012 report. Although the fe-
deral government has announced a “target-free” approach to
family planning, district health
workers are threatened with
salary cuts or dismissals if local
targets aren’t met, according to
the report.
India’s
National
Family
Health Survey in 2005-2006
showed that about 37 percent
of married women have been
sterilized while only 1 percent
of men have had a vasectomy.
15
About 230,000 women between the ages of 15 to 49 and
men aged 15 to 54 were interviewed throughout India.
About 29 percent of Chinese
women surveyed around the
same time had been sterilized
compared with 4.5 percent
men, according to UN data. The
vasectomy rate compares with
about 24 percent in Canada and
11 percent in the United States.
India’s population policy, formulated in 2000, called for
more vasectomies, which have
been found to be medically safer. It also offers 500 rupees
(USD8) to women who have
their first child after the age of
19, up to 5,000 rupees as health
insurance for those who live in
poverty and have chosen to be
sterilized with no more than two
living children, and accident insurance cover for the individual
undergoing the surgery.
About half of Indian women
marry before the legal age of 18
and around 33 percent of births
occur at intervals of less than
24 months, contributing to a
high infant mortality rate, according to the policy document.
Indians have more children as
“insurance” against these deaths and a preference for boys
leads to malnourished girls and
women, the report showed.
India was the first country
in the world to start a family
planning program, which began in 1952. Bloomberg
ad
16
ADVERTISEMENT
12.11.2014 wed
th Anniversary
廣告
wed 12.11.2014
th Anniversary
分析
Palestinian demonstrator killed
in new West Bank clashes ap photo
I
Israeli riot police officers arrest an Israeli Arab protester during a protest in the Arab village of Kfar Kana, northern Israel
Nigeria ap photo
Suicide bomber
kills 48 students
Boys are treated at the General hospital in Potiskum, Nigeria
following a suicide bomb attack
isguised in a
school uniform, a
suicide bomber set off explosives hidden in a backpack during an assembly
Monday at a high school in
northern Nigeria, killing at
least 48 students and wounding 79 others.
It was the latest attack
by suspected Boko Haram
militants who kidnapped
more than 200 schoolgirls
earlier this year.
Soldiers rushed to the
grisly scene, spattered
with body parts, but were
chased away by a stonethrowing crowd angry at
the military’s inability to
halt a 5-year-old Islamic
insurgency that has targeted schools and killed thousands.
The Islamic militants —
whose name means “Western education is sinful” in
the local Hausa language —
have intensified the tempo
and deadliness of attacks
since the government announced last month that
the group had agreed to
a cease-fire and that the
schoolgirls would be released imminently. Boko
Haram’s leader has denied
any cease-fire deal and the
girls have not been set free.
Monday’s bombing came
one week after a suicide
attack in Potiskum, the capital of Yobe state, killed 30
people taking part in a religious procession by moderate Muslims.
Some 2,000 students had
gathered for a weekly assembly at the Government
Technical Science College
when the explosion ripped
through the school hall,
survivors said.
“We were waiting for the
principal to address us,
around 7:30 a.m., when we
heard a deafening sound
and I was blown off my feet.
People started screaming
and running. I saw blood
all over my body,” 17-year
-old student Musa Ibrahim
Yahaya said from his hospital bed, where he was being
treated for head wounds.
Survivors said the bomber
hid the explosives in a type
of backpack popular with
students. Months ago Nigeria’s military reported finding a bomb factory where
explosives were being sewn
into backpacks in the northern city of Kano.
Hospital records showed
48 bodies and many body
parts were brought to the
morgue. Seventy-nine students were admitted, many
with serious injuries that
may require amputations,
health workers said. The
hospital was so overcrowded that some patients were
crammed two to a bed.
The victims all appeared
to be between the ages of
11 and 20, a morgue attendant said. AP
three people at a bus stop next
to a West Bank settlement,
killing a 25-year-old Israeli woman and wounding two
others.
The new spate of violence comes amid rising tensions spawned by conflicting claims to a
Jerusalem holy site and the aftermath of this summer’s bloody Gaza war, in which more
than 2,100 Palestinians and 70
Israelis were killed.
Palestinians in east Jerusalem
have been staging violent protests, alleging that Jewish zealots are secretly trying to gain
control of the site, known to
Jews as the Temple Mount and
to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.
Complicating the situation,
tensions also spiked following
the killing of an Israeli Arab by
a policeman in the northern Israeli town of Kfar Kana on Saturday. AP
USA
Slow-moving lava
sets house ablaze in
Hawaii town Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Honolulu
A
stream of lava set a home on fire
Monday (yesterday in Macau) in a
rural Hawaii town that has been watching the slow-moving flow approach
for months.
The molten rock hit the house just
before noon, said Hawaii County Civil
Defense Director Darryl Oliveira. The
home’s renters already had left the residence in Pahoa, the largest town in
Big Island’s isolated and mostly agricultural Puna district.
Earlier in the day, lava burned down a
small corrugated steel storage shed on
the property, Oliveira said.
The lava from Kilauea volcano emerged from a vent in June and entered
Pahoa Oct. 26, when it crossed a country road at the edge of town. Since
then, it has smothered part of a cemetery and burned down a garden shed.
It also burned tires, some metal materials and mostly vegetation in its path.
Firefighters will basically let a structure burn, but they will fight any wildfires that spread or threaten other structures, Oliveira said.
The county estimates the value of the
home at about USD200,000, Oliveira
said.
Oliveira said officials would make arrangements for homeowners to watch
ap photo
sraeli troops shot and
killed a Palestinian demonstrator in clashes in
the West Bank yesterday
as Israel tightened security
following a pair of Palestinian
attacks that took two Israeli lives the day before.
Yesterday’s clashes erupted
near the city of Hebron where
about 150 Palestinian demonstrators were throwing rocks
and Molotov cocktails at Israeli
soldiers, the army said.
The soldiers’ attempts to disperse the crowd using tear
gas and rubber bullets failed,
prompting the troops to open
fire, the military said.
The Palestinian man was seriously wounded and died of
gunshots, said hospital officials
in the West Bank.
Palestinian hospital officials,
who spoke on condition of
anonymity because they were
not authorized to talk to media,
said the man died of gunshot
wounds. They had no information on his identity.
The shooting happened a day
after a Palestinian from the
West Bank city of Nablus stabbed and killed a 20-year-old
Israeli soldier at a crowded Tel
Aviv train station and another
Palestinian assailant stabbed
D
17
Israel
Peter Enav, Jerusalem
Adamu Adamu and
Michelle Faul, Potiskum
WORLD
Lava flow from the Kilauea Volcano burns
a residential structure
any homes burn as a means of closure
and to document the destruction for insurance purposes.
The leading edge of the molten rock
had stalled Oct. 30, but lava was
breaking away at several spots upslope.
The leading edge remained about 150
meters from Pahoa Village Road, the
main street that goes through downtown.
Crews have been working on alternate
routes to be used when lava hits a major highway in a lifeline for the Puna
district.
Many residents have evacuated or are
ready to leave if necessary.
Imelda Raras lives on the other end of
Apaa Street from where the lava burned its first house. She and her family
have put a lot of their belongings in
storage and are ready to go to a friend’s
home if the lava gets close. AP
18
ADVERTISEMENT
12.11.2014 wed
th Anniversary
廣告
wed 12.11.2014
th Anniversary
分析
19
Mexico
Eric Martin
Protests over likely massacre
blockade Acapulco airport
ap photo
I
ndignation over the
apparent killings of 43
college students, blamed on a
drug gang working with police and a mayor, led demonstrators to take to the streets
and block the airport in the
resort city of Acapulco.
Protesters armed with machetes were confronted by Federal Police with shields who
briefly stopped their advance
before allowing them to block
roads to the airport for hours
before withdrawing, according to Milenio TV. Energy
ministers from 15 nations
were set to begin a conference
in the Pacific resort city yesterday.
Protests in Mexico City escalated over the weekend,
with masked demonstrators
using Molotov bombs to set
fire to the main doors of the
National Palace that houses
Mexico’s Finance Ministry
and one of President Enrique
Pena Nieto’s offices. After focusing on the economy since
his 2012 election, Pena Nieto
must make citizens feel safe
in a nation where organized
crime controls large areas
and sometimes works with
corrupt officials, analyst Alejandro Schtulmann said.
WORLD
Masked students block access to the
Acapulco airport, where a sign reads in
Spanish “Smile you were in Acapulco,”
as they protest the disappearance of 43
students in the state of Guerrero
“The country cannot progress only on economic reform of energy and telecommunications if you don’t
address fundamentals like
the rule of law and public security,” Schtulmann, president and head of research at
Mexico City-based political
risk consulting firm EMPRA,
said in a telephone interview.
“I don’t see any development
on the horizon that is suddenly going to make this disappear.”
Fifteen people were detained after the weekend attack
on the National Palace and released without being charged,
according to Reforma newspaper. The attack followed a
march by 3,000 people from
the attorney general’s office
to the capital’s main square, where protesters shouted
“Pena out,” according to El
Universal newspaper.
Drug-related violence has
left more than 70,000 dead
or missing since 2006, according to Milenio newspaper.
Central bank Governor Agustin Carstens said in an interview last month that drug
violence is hurting growth,
citing monthly Banco de Mexico analyst surveys showing
public-security problems as
the top obstacle to expansion.
Citizen discontent is growing
after Attorney General Jesus
Murillo said on Nov. 7 that
the students were probably
killed after being kidnapped
by police in the southern city
of Iguala, Guerrero, to stop
them from disrupting an
event featuring the mayor’s
wife. DNA tests are being
conducted on burned human
remains found stuffed in garbage bags in a river, Murillo
said.
The investigation into the
missing students, who were
protesting
an
education
overhaul approved last year,
has turned up at least nine
mass graves and evidence of
collusion between the Guerreros Unidos cartel and local
officials in Iguala, a city of
more than 100,000 people
less than three hours’ drive
from Mexico City. The disappearances on Sept. 26-27
followed shootings in Iguala
that left six people dead.
The government’s response to the Iguala incident will
help determine whether the
protests continue, said Sergio
Luna, the chief Mexico economist at Citigroup Inc.’s Banamex unit.
“The delicate issue here is
the radicalization of the protests,” Luna said in a phone
interview from Mexico City.
“If we want to enter into the
modern world we need not
only economic reforms, we
also need reforms in politics
and justice.” Bloomberg
ad
20
INFOTAINMENT
what’s ON
...
14th Macau Food Festival
Time: 5pm-11pm (Mondays to Thursdays)
3pm-midnight (Fridays to Sundays)
Until: November 23, 2014
Venue: Sai Van Lake Square
Admission: Free
Enquires: (853) 2857 5756
Time & Routes of free shuttle bus
(3 routes): 5pm-11:30pm (Mondays to
Thursdays)
3pm-12:30 midnight (Fridays to
Sundays)
Return service to Sai Van Lake Square
and Macau Luso Bank (Av. Dr. Mario Soares), OCBC
Weng Hang Bank (32, Est. Marginal do Hipodromo),
opposite Altira Macau Hotel in Taipa
Fireworks Display
Time: 9pm
Date: November 12 & 16, 2014
Venue: Macau Tower Seafront
Tourism hotline: (853) 2833 3000
You Told Me You Love Me – Dance
(Portugal, Macau)
Time: 8pm-9pm
Until: November 13, 2014
Venue: Sky 21, AIA Tower
Admission: MOP50 (including on drink)
Enquiries: (853) 2833 7676 or 8988 4000
Macau Fringe 2014 – “Boots - Playing
Drama” Exhibition
Time: 11am-7pm
Until: November 16, 2014
Venue: No. 47 Art Space 2/F, R. Da Entena
Admission: Free
Enquiries: (853) 2833 7676 or 8988 4000
The Times of Typhoons – Exhibition of
Macau’s Archival Materials
Time: 10am-6pm (Closed on Mondays and public
holidays)
Until: December 7, 2014
Venue: Historical Archives of Macau
Admission: Free
Enquiries: (853) 2859 2919
Offbeat
James Earl Jones happy to
receive Voice Icon Award
Darth Vader, Mufasa, and even the tagline for a certain
24-hour news network helped made James Earl Jones one
of the most recognizable voices on the planet and soon the
recipient of the first Voice Icon Award.
But according to the actor, there was a period when he
didn’t do much speaking. As a child he suffered from a
severe stutter, and went through a period where he refused
to speak at all.
“I once did not speak. I was mute. When I finally did
speak, though, I spoke as an adult,” Jones said of the
transformation.
Once speaking, Jones attributes his teacher for providing
valuable advice that would carry him throughout his long
career.
“I was 16 or 17, and my teacher said, ‘You remember
yourself speaking as a child, you’re now hearing yourself
as an adult, don’t get impressed with it. Don’t listen to it,
because you can fall in love with the melodious of it. If you
listen to it, then nobody else will,’” he said.
That advice paid off as the Tony-winning and Oscar-nominated actor will be the initial recipient of the Voice Icon
Award from the first-ever Voice Arts Awards on Sunday.
12.11.2014 wed
th Anniversary
資訊／娛樂
TV canal macau
13:00
TDM News (Repeated)
13:30
News (RTPi) Delayed Broadcast
14:30
RTPi Live
18:10
Brazil Avenue (Repeated)
19:00
TDM Interview (Repeated)
19:40
Soap Opera
20:30
Main News, Financial & Weather Report
21:00
Montra do Lilau
21:45
Cougar Town S4
22:10
Brazil Avenue
23:00
TDM News
23:30
Documentaries
00:30
Main News, Financial & Weather Report (Repeated)
cinema
cineteatro
6 Nov -12 Nov
interstellar_
room 1
2.30, 6.00, 9.00 pm
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway,
Jessica Chastain
Language: English (Chinese)
Duration: 169min
kung fu jungle_
room 2
2.15, 4.05, 7.55, 9.30 pm
Director: Teddy Chen
Starring: Donnie Yen, Charlie Young, Wang Bao-qiang
Language: English (Chinese)
Duration: 100min
don’t go breaking my heart 2_
room 2
7.45 pm
Director: Johnnie To
Starring: Louis Koo, Miriam Yeung, Gao Yuanyuan
Language: Cantonese (English and Chinese)
Duration: 115min
gangster pay day_
room 3
2.15 4.00, 7.45, 9.30 pm
Director: Lee Po Cheung
Starring: Anthony Wong, Charlene Choi, Wong Yau
Nam
Language: Cantonese (English and Chinese)
Duration: 134min
ouija_
room 3
7.30 pm
Director: Stiles White
Starring: Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Daren Kagasoff
Language: English (Chinese)
Duration: 89min
macau tower
6 Nov - 26 Nov
interstellar_
2.30, 5.30, 8.30 pm
Director: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway,
Jessica Chastain
Language: English (Chinese)
Duration: 169min
this day in history
1980 Saturn’s rings
caught on film
The Voyager 1 space probe has reached the ringed planet, Saturn and sent back the first vivid photographs of
the planet.
Scientists have been delighted and overwhelmed by the
stream of data that has flooded back from the planet 950
million miles (1530 million km) away from Earth.
Voyager 1, launched in 1977, passed within 77,000 miles
(124,000 km) of the clouds which surround Saturn. It was
just 12 miles (19 km) off course after its epic journey.
The photographs show bands of yellow and orange
clouds circling the planet at several hundred miles an
hour.
The probe took a close look at the spectacular rings
which surround Saturn, and discovered them to be more
complex than Earth-based telescopes had suggested.
Scientists have counted more than 100 separate rings,
instead of the six broad bands visible from Earth.
Dr Bradford Smith, leader of the Voyager photo-interpretation team, said: “The mystery of the rings, the structure and the mechanism that governs the structure, keeps
getting deeper and deeper.”
Voyager has already sent back data leading to some
ground-breaking discoveries, including a 15th moon and
a scan of Titan, the largest of Saturn’s moons.
It is the only moon in the Solar System big enough to
hold on to an atmosphere, mainly because of its size - it
is bigger than the planet Mercury.
Scientists say Titan bears a close chemical resemblance
to the Earth when life began on our planet about 4,000
million years ago.
Tomorrow Voyager will continue past Saturn, visiting several of the smaller moons on the way.
Voyager 1, along with its sister craft, Voyager 2, have
already sent back revolutionary new images of Saturn’s
sister planet, Jupiter.
The missions were only possible because of an event
which occurs about every 175 years - when the outer planets of the Solar System came into an alignment which
allowed a spacecraft to travel to each in turn.
The two probes are each carrying a time capsule containing images, natural sounds and music from Earth in
case they should encounter extra-terrestrials during their
journey into outer space.
Voyager 2, is due to reach Saturn in August next year.
Courtesy BBC News
In context
Voyager 2 flew by Saturn in August 1981.
Nasa scientists extended the Voyager missions, sending Voyager 2
to the next planets in the Solar System - Uranus and Neptune.
The probe passed Uranus in January 1986, and Neptune in August
1989.
Voyager 1 continued towards deep space. In 1998 it became the
most distant man-made object in the universe, and in 2003 reached
the edge of the Solar System.
It is expected to reach the heliopause - where the sun’s influence
ends - in 2013.
The probes’ power sources will run out in 2020, but they will carry
on travelling into interstellar space. Voyager 2 is expected to pass
four light years from Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, about
290,000 years from now.
It is expected that both probes will outlive the Earth itself.
The Cassini-Huygens spacecraft, a joint project between Nasa, the
European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency, arrived at
Saturn in July 2004.
It will spend four years in orbit around the planet. In January 2005,
the Huygens probe landed on Titan. It sent back scientific data and
extraordinary pictures of the surface.
The moon was revealed to be locked in a deep freeze, with temperatures as low as -179 degrees C, and criss-crossed by rivers of liquid
methane.
wed 12.11.2014
th Anniversary
資訊／娛樂
Taurus
Mar. 21-Apr. 19
April 20-May 20
You’re getting mixed signals from
the universe that are kind of driving
you crazy — but all you can do is
wait. Things are sure to make more
sense soon, but you’ve got to ride out
this short phase first.
Your intense side is showing, and
you may find that you need to deal
with something that’s harder than
it should be. The good news is that
this phase leads to some serious
insights!
Gemini
Cancer
May 21-Jun. 21
Jun. 22-Jul. 22
You should look to others for
inspiration today — and try to
help them with whatever they
need. Your good energy is perfect
for volunteering and leading the
community in service.
You are feeling quite indecisive now,
so make sure that you’re not on the
precipice of any big, life-changing
events. If you are, get help from a
wise friend or family member before
venturing forth.
Leo
Virgo
Jul. 23-Aug. 22
Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Take two or three looks before
passing judgment today — you’ve
got to make sure that you’re certain
before pulling the trigger. The good
news is that you are sure to know
when you’re ready.
Your interest in learning is
heightened today, and that means
that it’s time to dig into one of those
mysteries that has been bugging you
for ages. Where do lost socks go?
Why are you drawn to your friends?
Libra
SUDOKU
Weather
Easy
Sep.23-Oct. 22
Oct. 23 - Nov. 21
Your intensity is both a blessing
and a curse. Sometimes it draws
people to you (like now), while
at other times it keeps people at
arm’s length. Embrace it now — it’s
working for you!
Capricorn
Nov. 22-Dec. 21
Dec. 22-Jan. 19
Do you remember your dreams?
Even if you can never quite hold on
to them when you wake up, they are
still working their magic on you —
especially on a day like today. A big
clue comes to you just in time.
A good friend comes to you fairly
early in the day with some news,
or possibly a request. Pay attention
and help them out with whatever
they need — this is the start of a big
adventure for you!
Aquarius
Pisces
Jan. 20-Feb. 18
Feb.19-Mar. 20
Try to focus on your working life
today — it’s easier than ever to get
what you need! Things are looking
up for you, but you’ve got to make
sure that you’re pushing yourself as
hard as you can.
You may feel like people are taking
advantage of you — but it’s actually
something sweeter. You are helping
them without their having to ask,
so you get twice the karma for each
action!
Medium
Hard
Beijing
2
9
clear
Harbin
-9
0
cloudy
Tianjin
3
9
clear
Urumqi
-3
4
clear
Xi’an
6
13
clear
Lhasa
-1
19
clear
Chengdu
10
17
cloudy/overcast
Chongqing
12
14
overcast/drizzle
Kunming
10
19
cloudy/overcast
Nanjing
9
15
cloudy/clear
Shanghai
12
17
cloudy/clear
Wuhan
8
18
clear/cloudy
Hangzhou
11
19
overcast/cloudy
Taipei
19
24
overcast/drizzle
Guangzhou
17
20
drizzle
21
24
cloudy
Moscow
0
5
drizzle
Frankfurt
4
10
overcast/cloudy
Paris
9
15
overcast/drizzle
London
10
12
drizzle
New York
11
18
drizzle
Condition
world
Crossword puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com
Down: 1- Reindeer herders; 2- Be; 3- Corruptible; 4- Jack of “Rio Lobo”; 5- Big
shot; 6- Mischievous child; 7- Up to, briefly; 8- Comfortable; 9- Dirty look; 10- Fool;
11- Abductor; 12- Wind dir.; 13- ___ es
Salaam; 18- “Xanadu” band; 22- DDE
Yesterday’s solution
opponent; 24- Actress Daly; 25- One who
has something coming?; 26- Pay stub?; 28Declare; 29- Shops want to achieve high
ones!; 30- Really bother; 31- Room; 33Run of bird-song; 34- Large artery; 35- Selfstyled; 36- AOL alternative; 38- ___ Darya
(Asian river); 40- On ___ with; 41- Female
child; 43- LAX posting; 46- GI mail drop;
47- Leased; 49- Dreadlocks wearer; 51High mountain, as found in central Europe;
52- Shut; 53- Less common; 54- Keyboard
key; 56- Dec. holiday; 57- I’d hate to break
up ___; 58- Litigate against; 59- Cavity; 61Genetic messenger; 62- Sun Devils’ sch.;
63- Convent dweller;
Max
Hong Kong
Crosswords
Across: 1- Monetary unit of Bulgaria; 4- Madonna role; 9- Enjoyed; 14- Chopper;
15- Boundary; 16- Minneapolis suburb; 17- Tropical fruit; 19- Breed of duck revered
for its feathers; 20- Sacred song; 21- Brother of Moses; 23- WWII battle site; 24- That
group; 27- Soviet news service; 30- Blind; 32- Mom-and-pop org.; 33- Island S of
mainland Australia; 37- Pertaining to Benedict XVI; 39- Cock; 40- Asexual reproductive
cell; 42- One of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”; 43- Persons of refined taste; 44- Old Ford;
45- Steak ___; 48- Den; 50- Bit of wisdom; 51- Farm unit; 55- Word after Anglo; 57Detective Pinkerton; 58- Muscle contraction; 60- Carry; 64- Utah’s ___ Mountains;
65- Come afterward; 66- Date; 67- Kett and James; 68- Intimidate; 69- Go astray;
Min
China
Easy+
Scorpio
You are well set for taking care
of business matters today — so
get to it! Your energy is just right
for making deals, getting good
bargains and negotiating with
practically anyone.
Sagittarius
21
The Born Loser by Chip Sansom
YOUR STARS
Aries
INFOTAINMENT
Useful telephone numbers
Emergency calls 999
Taxi (Yellow) 28 519 519
Fire department 28 572 222
Taxi (Black) 28 939 939
PJ (Open line) 993
Water Supply – Report 1990 992
PJ (Picket) 28 557 775
Telephone – Report 1000
PSP 28 573 333
Electricity – Report 28 339 922
Customs 28 559 944
Macau Daily Times 28 716 081
S. J. Hospital 28 313 731
Kiang Wu Hospital 28 371 333
Commission Against
Corruption (CCAC) 28326 300
IACM 28 387 333
Tourism 28 333 000
Airport 59 888 88
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22
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12.11.2014 wed
th Anniversary
廣告
wed 12.11.2014
th Anniversary
Poker
3 players out of
World Series
Kimberley Pierceall, Las Vegas
D
an Sindelar of Nebraska needed a jack
of spades. He got the
spade, but the queen
instead, making him the third
player eliminated from the
World Series of Poker main
event final yesterday.
Sindelar went all-in with a
pair of jacks that couldn’t eventually outdo a lucky ace revealed in the common cards that
shifted the odds in favor of the
game’s chip-leader Jorryt van
Hoof instead.
Sindelar still walked away
with USD1.2 million in prize
money.
“It was a tough four-hour stretch for me,” he said. “I just tried
not to put too much pressure on
myself. I know the stakes going
in.”
He might buy a house with his
new winnings.
Sindelar grew up in a small
Nebraska town of about 600
people called Howells Village.
When Sindelar was a secondgrader in a Catholic school in
Nebraska, his mother, Pat, said
she got a call from his teacher
saying he and his buddies had
been playing cards during recess — for money.
“It’s the pastime of a small
town,” Pat said.
He was at the University of
Nebraska when he started
playing online poker, leaving
before graduating to move to
Vegas and make a living from it.
Just before Sindelar was eliminated, the event lost easily
its loudest and largest cheering
section when Brazilian Bruno
Politano lost to Felix Stephensen, 24, who had a winning pair
of sevens.
The Brazilian came in to the
night with the lowest chip count
but managed to stay in the game
more than two hours after the
first player was eliminated.
“For me, eighth place is not a
sad moment,” Politano said.
It’s not about the cards, he
said after. “It’s a feeling. My
friends, my family, everyone is
here. I’m really enjoying this
moment.” He vowed to return
to the table somebody.
He could hardly hear the
questions with his fan base continuing to chant.
“It’s the best moment in my
life, of course, because I have
150 guys here screaming for
me.”
Politano said he doesn’t play
poker for the money, “I play
poker for this,” he said, splaying
his arms toward his fans dressed in Brazilian yellow and
green who, once again, cheered.
The no-limit Texas Hold ‘em
match was taking place at the
Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
in Las Vegas on Monday and
Tuesday.
The six remaining players battled for a $10 million top prize.
SPORTS
Dan Sindelar, right, embraces Mark Newhouse after Newhouse was knocked out of the World Series of Poker Final Table
Each player outlasted about
6,700 other players last June
and July who paid $10,000
each for the chance to win.
The “November Nine,” as
they’re called, returned Monday night after a four-month
break.
At the table, some wore sunglasses and what’s become the
go-to poker uniform of hooded
sweatshirts. One wore a lucky
hat, the same one he wore in
July when he won one of the
nine seats at the final table.
Another advertised a musician’s album on iTunes on his
T-shirt.
They are among the World
Series of Poker’s youngest and
greenest players in recent history, with none having won a
main event title before.
Not a one of them has a gold
bracelet, the signature award
for the top winner in any of
the individual World Series of
Poker events.
The player who wins will
get one in addition to the $10
million pot of winnings.
One player, Billy Pappaconstantinou, is a foosball champion who had never competed
in the World Series of Poker.
The rest of the table was made
up of poker players from all
over the world — none older
than 32.
The average age is 28, not as
young as in 2010 but even that
year, the oldest player was 37.
The main event, culminating
this week, is just one World Series of Poker event but certainly
the most watched.
The overall tournament spans
seven weeks in June and July
and has attracted close to
80,000 people who played (and
paid with hefty buy-ins) to win
in 65 events.
The World Series of Poker of
today is a far cry from its original incarnation in 1970. That’s
when Benny Binion set up a
single table at his Horseshoe
Casino and invited players who
ultimately voted on a winner at
the end. AP
Cricket
akistan left-arm
spinner Zulfiqar Babar claimed two early
wickets as New Zealand
staggered to 81-3 chasing
at lunch on the third day
of the first test yesterday
in Abu Dhabi.
Babar (2-37), who took
14 wickets in Pakistan’s
2-0 test-series victory
against Australia, had
captain Brendon McCullum (18) and Ross
Taylor (0) caught close
to the wicket after New
Zealand resumed on the
overnight score of 15-0.
Pakistan amassed 566-3
before declaring its first
innings late on the second
day and New Zealand still
trails by 485 runs.
Tom Latham escaped
two close catches and
ap photo
Babar’s pair reduces New Zealand to 81-3
P
23
ap photo
體育
was batting on 42 while
Corey Anderson was not
out on 13 at the break.
Paceman Rahat Ali was
rewarded for a brilliant
spell of five maiden overs
when Kane Williamson
(3) rolled a yorker back
onto his stumps.
New Zealand, playing
a test match for the first
time on the slow United
Arab Emirates wickets,
struggled equally against
spin and fast bowling as
Pakistan allowed only 66
runs in the first session.
McCullum survived two
strong lbw appeals against
fast bowler Imran Khan
before Younis Khan took
a fine, low catch when
the New Zealand skipper
pushed hard at Babar’s
sharp turning delivery.
In the next over,
Williamson
managed
to dig out Ali’s delivery
only to see the ball hitting the back of the bat
and rolling back onto the
stumps.
New Zealand’s most experienced batsman, Ross
Taylor, recovering from
a right calf injury, never
looked at ease against
Babar before offering a
tame catch to Asad Shafiq at close-in gully as
New Zealand slipped to
47-3.
Pakistan missed two
tough chances in an
otherwise
dominating
first session.
Azhar Ali couldn’t take
a reflex catch at forward
short-leg before Tom
Latham had added a
run to his overnight 5.
Then when Latham was
on 32, Sarfraz Ahmed
missed a thick edge off
Mohammad Hafeez’s offspin. AP
Vanessa-Mae banned over fixed
BUZZ Olympic qualifiers
Pop violinist Vanessa-Mae was banned from
competitive skiing for four years yesterday
for taking part in races that were fixed to
allow her to qualify for the Winter Olympics
in Sochi.
The findings by the International Ski Federation exposed as a sham what many fans thought was a feel-good celebrity Olympic story.
opinion
Vanessa Moore
ap photo
Artifacts
FIS also banned five officials from Slovenia
and Italy for between one and two years for
their role in the scandal.
“Those who have been sanctioned have been
sanctioned for good reason,” FIS President
Gian Franco Kasper told The Associated Press.
“At first we were laughing when we heard it.
But then we realized it’s quite a serious thing.”
Station
Air quality
Roadside
70-100
Moderate
High
Density
65-95
Residental Moderate
Area
Ambient
65-95
Moderate
WORLD BRIEFS
The Sushi Senkaku paradox
For all those fans of American TV shows out
there, just in case you were thinking it, yes I
do realise that the title of this column probably
sounds like it came from an episode of “The Big
Bang Theory”. Although I’m not considering a
career change to sitcom scriptwriting any time
soon, the choice was somewhat serendipitous
as the subject matter that’s been plaguing me
recently is one I’m sure braniac scientist Sheldon Cooper would more sympathise with. And
it starts with food.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but like Sheldon I
eat a lot of takeaway. Contemplating my next
meal choice the other day I realised that Macau
seems to have an abnormally large choice of
Japanese restaurants. Look on any street corner and you’ll see a plethora of them. And it’s
not just a local phenomenon – over the border
in the mainland too it seems like second to Chinese, Japanese is the most common “foreign”
food option.
China’s sushi obsession isn’t just a figment of
my imagination either.
This month, for foodies like me, the annual
Macau food festival currently on at Sai Van
Lake Square guarantees the chance to indulge
in even more Japanese titbit scoffing. Reflecting the city’s love of all things sushi, ramen and
yakitori, the highlight of this year’s November
food fiesta is a Japanese cuisine village featuring delicacies from the Kansai region. But
what’s so puzzling about all that I hear you ask?
Well it’s no secret that historically there’s no
love lost between Beijing and Tokyo following
Japan’s WW2 invasion of China. But Tokyo’s
decision just over two years ago to nationalise
the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands claimed by both
countries in an on-going territorial dispute culminated in mass boycotting and looting of Japanese businesses on the mainland. And this
animosity even stretched all the way to Macau’s
stomachs. Due to simmering Sino-Japanese
political tensions at the time, the Macau food
festival’s organizing committee even went so
far as to cancel the Japanese village planned
for the 2012 edition.
In the last few years relations have seemingly deteriorated and little has been done by
either side to quell the flames of rancour. The
Communist party has benefitted politically by
exploiting a mix of history and nationalism to
fuel domestic anti-Japanese sentiment. Beijing
further stoked tensions last year by declaring
an air defence zone over the East China Sea,
while Japanese PM Shinzo Abe likewise infuriated China when he visited Tokyo’s Yasukuni
Shrine honouring Japan’s war dead.
Yet this week on the diplomatic stage there
was somewhat of a Sino-Japanese rapprochement at the APEC summit in Beijing. Whether
Xi Jinping would use the occasion to meet with
Abe fuelled much speculation more than two
years after Beijing froze relations. The uncomfortably frosty handshake that took place between both leaders on Monday raised hopes
that the feuding neighbours can go some way
to reducing current levels of animosity. While the meeting is no panacea and clearly the
Diaoyu/Senkaku issue won’t be resolved anytime soon, Abe still said the countries had made
a “first step” toward reconciliation.
Whether this will bear any political fruit remains yet to be seen though. Notwithstanding
all the Japan-bashing of late, from my untrained observations one thing’s for certain. Despite what the politicians say, the long-standing
Sino-Japanese enmity definitely doesn’t extend to the stomach. Reflecting on my usual
dinnertime sushi takeaway, handshakes aside,
perhaps Xi and Abe should sit down to a deluxe
yakitori banquet and a spot of sake to really get
things going. After all, diplomacy’s one thing,
but dinner’s quite another.
source: dsmg
THE
PAKISTAN A head-on collision
between a passenger bus
and a truck on a highway
in southern Pakistan killed
58 people, police say. The
collision ignited a fuel fire. The
bus, with about 70 people,
had left Swat Valley and was
en route to the southern
port city of Karachi when it
collided head-on with the
truck near Khairpur district in
Sindh province. More on p14
PAKISTAN Two bombings
and a militant attack on a
checkpoint in Pakistan kill
six people, officials say.
The deadliest attack struck
the security checkpoint in
the northwestern Orakzai
tribal region, killing three
paramilitary soldiers.
Wei Seng Phua
Paul Phua case
Gov’t defends elaborate
FBI repairman ruse
Alicia A. Caldwell,
Washington
A
n elaborate FBI ruse
to shut off the Internet in three luxury Las
Vegas suites and then
send undercover agents
into the rooms to fix the
problem was a legitimate
law enforcement practice,
an assistant U.S. attorney
wrote in a court filing defending the practice.
The filing was in response to a defense motion to
throw out evidence in
an illegal gambling case
against eight Asian gamblers, who contended the
ruse circumvented their
right to keep law enforcement officers out of their
suites. The response from
U.S. Attorney Daniel G.
Bogden and two other government lawyers was filed earlier this week in federal court in Las Vegas.
Defense lawyers said in
their motion that Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Frayn, the prosecutor in the case, advised
the FBI not to go through
with the ruse because it
would be “a consent issue.” The defense said
that conversation was recorded by a Caesars Palace security employee.
In its filing, the government did not address the
defense contention that
she advised against it.
“Law enforcement has
long been permitted to
obtain consent by posing
as a confederate, business
associate, or service provider. In fact, the government uses ruses every day
in its undercover operations,” the prosecutors
wrote in defense of the
FBI operation.
They added the ruse
would only have been illegal if the government left
the defendants with no
In fact, the
government
uses ruses
every
day in its
undercover
operations
Prosecutors
choice but to let the undercover agents into their
suites.
According to the criminal complaint, the eight
men came to the attention of authorities in June
after they requested “an
unusually large amount
of electronics equipment
and technical support.”
An electrical engineer
employee advised hotel
security personnel that
the equipment “appeared
to be set up for an illegal
gambling operation.”
The prosecutors wrote
that the FBI had reasonable suspicion to go into
the rooms after being
alerted by the state gaming control board about
the hotel staff concerns.
Over two days in July,
FBI agents worked with a
computer contractor and
the state’s gaming control
board to shut off the Internet at different times and
at one point delivered a
laptop computer to try to
see what was happening,
according to court filings.
Investigators eventually
gained access after they
turned off the Internet
connection to two suites,
impersonated repair technicians and recorded
video inside. Authorities
later used the videos to
obtain a warrant to arrest
the men.
The gamblers, including 50-year-old Wei
Seng Phua, a suspected
member of the Chinese
organized crime group
14k Triad, his son and six
other men, were arrested in July. All eight face
charges of transmission
of wagering information,
operating an illegal gambling business and aiding
and abetting. Defense
lawyer Thomas Goldstein
said they all deny wrongdoing. AP
IRAQI soldiers battling
the Islamic State group
recaptured the heart and
outlying districts of the town
of Beiji, home to the country’s
largest oil refinery, state
television and a provincial
governor said yesterday.
Retaking Beiji, 250 km
north of Baghdad, could
allow Iraqi forces a base to
attack neighboring Tikrit,
taken by the extremists after
their lightning advance this
summer.
NETHERLANDS
Schoolchildren silently placed
flowers next to 298 candles
— one for each victim of the
downing of Malaysia Airlines
Flight 17 — at a somber
Dutch commemoration
Monday of the air disaster
that shook the nation nearly
four months ago. The
nationally televised event in
Amsterdam highlighted the
ongoing grief, disbelief and
anger of the families and
friends of those killed when
the Boeing 777 flying from
Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur
was downed July 17 over
conflict-hit eastern Ukraine.
GERMANY The final
countdown is approaching
for one of the most audacious
space adventures ever
attempted. In less than 24
hours, the European Space
Agency will try to land a robot
on a comet. The maneuver
marks the climax of the
unmanned Rosetta probe’s
decade-long journey to study
comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko.
USA An emergency room
doctor who was the first
Ebola patient in the nation’s
biggest city was scheduled
to be released yesterday from
a hospital after beating the
virus.
USA President Barack Obama
embraces a radical change
in how the government treats
Internet service, coming down
on the side of consumer
activists who fear slower
download speeds and higher
costs but angering U.S. cable
giants who say the plan would
kill jobs.