∞ Do`s anD Don`ts ∞ Festival oFFerings ∞ Fun anD charity

Transcription

SPECIAL REPORT
ARTS & CULTURE
Fighting human
trafficking
Shock art
POPASIA
Korea’s got...
talent!
AUG U ST 26-SEPTEMBER 8 , 2011
HUNGRY
GHOST
FESTIVAL
∞ Do’s and don’ts
∞ Festival offerings
∞ Fun and charity
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ISSN 19052650
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Hungry Ghost Month
Asia News Network
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A F P PHOTO
I
t’s Hungry Ghost month, the
Chinese equivalent of Halloween, when it is believed that
the “gates of hell” are opened
allowing spirits to wander the
earth for food.
The festival is commonly observed
in Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and
Hong Kong.
During this month, it is believed that
spirits are at their most powerful so
believers are busy appeasing them
through ritual food offerings, burning of
joss paper and stage shows.
There are several don’ts that
Taoists follow so as not to attract the
ghosts including not wearing red
because it is believed that spirits are
drawn to the colour. Yes, this includes
not wearing red underwear, which the
Chinese consider lucky.
Believers are also warned against going
out after nine in the evening, and to
avoid drugs and alcohol because it’s
easier for spirits to take over those who
are intoxicated.
Other things that people should avoid
during the ghost month are cutting hair,
shaving, going on outings and hanging
clothes outside. They also should put off
moving house, buying a new car or
getting married.
Some Chinese families mark the
festival by remembering the dead and
paying tribute to them. They also pray to
the wandering ghosts so they won’t
intrude into their daily life and bring
misfortunes.
At the end of the festival is a send-off
ceremony where they burn an effigy of
Da Shi Ye, the guard god of ghosts,
together with his horse, ship, mansion,
paper apparel, hell notes and other
offerings, to return the deity and wandering spirits back to the underworld.
Augus t 26 -S e ptembe r 8 , 2 01 1 • V o l 6 No 1 7
COVER STORY
When Ghosts See Red  P8
The Chinese
mark Hungry
Ghost month,
the equivalent of
Halloween
VIEW  7
BUSINESS  20
LIFESTYLE  32
TRAVEL  44
When Social Media Becomes
Anti-social
It is enough to make
George Orwell do a
backflip in his grave
Koreans’ Love For Luxury
One thing common
between South and North
Korea is the preference for
luxurious items
Cool Biz-ness man
Aloha or Hawaiian shirts
are gaining new popularity in Japan thanks to the
Super Cool Biz campaign
F E AT U R E S
Hostel culture Takes Off
The Taiwananese
government is working on
a tourist-friendly and safe
environment for international backpackers
FASHION  34
SPECIAL REPORT  16
ARTS & CULTURE  24
Tracking Down Human
Smugglers
American anti-trafficking
czar says it is not
enough to have laws
and task forces to
combat the crime
Shock For Shock’s Sake
An art work in Manila has
raised shock and furore
When Coiffure Meets Couture
Renowned hairdresser Eiji
Yamane likes to marry
hair with fashion
POPASIA  42
FOOD  30
Summer Treats With A Twist
Hot weather brings out
cool treats at cafés and
dessert shops across South
Korea
EXPLORE  48
Get Off Your High Horse...
...And enjoy Yadong, a
picturesque county in
China’s Tibet autonomous
region
Korea’s Got... Talent!
Finals night of the reality
talent search proves there
is so much talent in the
land of Hallyu
COVE R IM AG E | A F P P HOTO
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The View
By Artemio V. Panganiban
Philippine Daily Inquirer
New Hope For Peace
Negotiators can ‘think outside the box’ but they cannot act
outside of it
❖❖ Manila
P hoto by JAY MO RA LE S/AF P
T
he pursuit of peace always commands top
priority in the agenda of
every new president.
This is why Philippine
President Aquino III set aside normal protocol and ventured to Tokyo
recently to meet Murad Ebrahim,
chairman of the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF). Indeed, the best
way of ending violence,
death, destruction and
dislocation in the Philippines, especially in
Mindanao, is a negotiated peace accord.
The most recent survey byt he Social
Weather Stations
shows that 83 per cent
of Filipinos are “hopeful” of a peace agreement. However, this
goal cannot be achieved
unless it is pursued
with methods that do
not offend the Constitution and the
law. Recall that three years ago, the
signing in Kuala Lumpur of the
Memorandum of Agreement on
Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Arroyo administration
and the MILF, scheduled on Aug 5,
2008, was stopped by a temporary
restraining order issued by the Supreme Court just the day before.
Two months later, on Oct 14, 2008,
the Supreme Court eventually scuttled the MOA-AD altogether in
“North Cotabato vs Government”.
The Supreme Court’s decision ably
explained why the MOA-AD was
botched, and why the lessons learned
there should guide all future peace
talks. To fulfil our people’s new hope
for peace, let me discuss some of
these lessons.
To begin with, our peace negotiators are mere agents of the president.
6•
Even if given full authority, they cannot have more powers than him.
Aside from strictly following the
mandates granted them by the president, they should see to it that peace
agreements always conform to the
Constitution and the law.
Does this mean that they cannot
take up matters that require revisions
in our charter and statutes? Our negotiators may discuss matters outside
the Constitution, like the grant of territory or sovereignty or even independence to the rebels. They may
even believe that the way to peace impels amendments to our basic law.
Nonetheless, they cannot unconditionally agree to change the Constitution or the laws. The process for
amending the charter or enacting
laws must be respected. All they can
commit is that they would propose to
the proper authorities the constitutional or statutory changes needed.
They can be creative and “think outside the box” but they cannot, on their
own, act outside of it.
By refusing to give the Bangsamoros the right to govern themselves
independently, is the government not
violating their right to self-determi-
nation? Note that this right is now
considered a “generally accepted
principle of international law” which
our Constitution “adopts… as part of
the law of the land”. Under this right,
people “may freely determine their
political status and freely pursue
their economic, social and cultural
development.”
The Philippine Supreme Court said the
right to self-determination has two aspects,
the internal and the external. Internal self-determination is fulfilled
when a “people’s pursuit of political, economic, social and cultural development (is
made) within the
framework of an existing state.” Thus, the
right excludes secession
from—and respects the
national integrity of—
“existing states” like the
Philippines.
On the other hand, citing the Canadian Supreme Court, our own Supreme Court ruled that the right to
external self-determination or to political independence arises only when
people are under colonial rule or are
subjected to foreign domination.
Since the Bangsamoros are not colonials and are moreover adequately
represented in various echelons of
the government, they are not entitled
to external self-determination.
Having said that, may negotiators
nevertheless entertain proposals for
political independence a la East
Timor vis-a-vis Indonesia? Yes, provided that such proposals should always be subject to constitutional processes. In the final analysis, radical
proposals that impinge on the Constitution will have to be approved by
our people in a plebiscite.
August 26-September 8, 2011
By Ong Soh Chin
The Straits Times
Social Media Becomes Anti-social
Many governments mull imposing restrictions on social
networks for security reasons
❖❖ Singapore
I
people are using social media for violence, we need to stop them.”
Other social media networks, like
Facebook and Twitter, have also
come under scrutiny. Britain’s home
secretary Theresa May is expected to
hold meetings with the three companies in the next few weeks. Britain’s
Data Protection Act allows companies to hand over an individual’s private information if it is in the interests of national security or if it allows
the detection and possible prevention
of crime. But the police will still need
a warrant to ensure they comply.
While RIM issued a statement last
year denying it has a master key that
can unlock all encrypted data, the issue is still a matter of much speculation. The Canadian company has remained fairly tight-lipped about its
inner workings, with its executives
keeping a low profile and refusing to
comment on the BlackBerry device’s
role in recent uprisings, apart from
blanket statements that it will cooperate with the authorities.
BlackBerry has, understandably,
worn its much-vaunted security
as a badge of pride against its
competitors. But with peer-topeer communication and the
Internet cited as the main movers of civic disobedience, the
Arab Spring as well as other
ground-up uprisings, it is uncertain how long it can stand its
ground. One thing is certain—
there will be more tussles ahead
between organisations which
need to manage large-scale security issues and the individual’s right to privacy.
While no one likes the idea of
Big Brother listening in on his
phone calls and reading his email, few would begrudge some
intrusion if it makes it easier for
the authorities to uncover a terror
plot. But that is assuming all the
authorities have benevolent intentions, which they may not.
Tottenham MP David Lammy’s call
to temporarily close the BlackBerry
network until the London streets are
safe again is understandable. But China’s moves to curtail its microblog networks, called weibo, in the wake of last
month’s train crash in Wenzhou are
less so. Ten days after the crash, the
most influential weibo, Sina, started
deleting posts related to the accident,
noted Shanghai-based consultancy
RedTech Advisors.
However, such curtailing attempts,
in the long run, will probably prove
futile as social media grows in influence and reach. Also, the legions of
hackers who delight in undermining
big corporations and governments
are turning the battle to control information into a full-blown war.
Today, with higher stakes at play,
that hoary cyberpunk slogan “Information wants to be free” rings with
even more foreboding, even as it offers the tantalising promise of a new
world of transparency and openness.
•7
Photo by A ME R HI LAB I/AF P
t is enough to make
George Orwell do a backflip in his grave.
Until recently, a BlackBerry was just another ordinary smartphone. Few people
knew that messages sent on its
network were also impervious to
interception by the authorities,
thanks to its user authentication
requirements and employment of
the Internet rather than the mobile phone network. Its BlackBerry Messenger service, in particular, is a closed network that
allows instant messages to be exchanged securely between users.
This has made some governments leery of the device. Since
May 1, the United Arab Emirates
has blocked the use of BlackBerry
Enterprise Server (BES), the
company’s most secure system that
moves all data via servers located outside the country. Saudi Arabia has
also pressured BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) to channel
its communications via a server inside the country which the authorities can access with a court order.
A number of Asian governments,
like Indonesia and India, have been
partially successful in forcing RIM to
either block “inappropriate” content
or allow data interception. And US
national security officials announced
last year they would ask Congress to
require all services that enable communications to be technically capable
of complying if served with a wiretap.
Now, it would seem, the British
government may follow suit. In the
wake of the recent London riots,
Prime Minister David Cameron told
the House of Commons: “Everyone
watching these horrific actions will
be struck by how they were organised
via social media. Free flow of information can be used for good. But it
can also be used for ill. And when
COVER STORY
When
Ghosts
See Red!
A FP PH OTO
Taoists believe
that spirits are
at their most
powerful during
the seventh
Lunar month
8•
By Christina Chin
The Star
I
❖❖ Penang
t’s Hungry Ghosts or Phor Thor
festival now. The Chinese equivalent of Halloween, the festival
is still very much alive in predominantly Chinese areas like
Penang, and believers are now busy
appeasing the spirits through ritual
food offerings, burning of joss paper,
and stage shows.
According to Taoist ghostbuster
Ong Q Leng, spirits are at their most
powerful during the seventh month
of the Chinese calendar but those released from the gates of hell are not
harmful.
“The harmful ones are the restless
spirits that roam the earth freely
throughout the year,” says Ong, who
claims to have seen them all, from office
hauntings to eerie bodily possessions.
The 34-year-old spiritual healer
shares some advice with those low on
luck during this festival.
“Do not wear red this Hungry
Ghost Festival. The spirits are drawn
to red, so avoid anything red, including underwear. This is especially so if
things have not been going smoothly
for you these past few months.”
She also warns believers against
going out past 9pm.
“Stay away from drugs and alcohol
because it’s easier for spirits to take
over those who are intoxicated. If you
are always alert, it’s also difficult for
people to cast a spell or charm you.”
Ong’s caution may offer some “personal protection” against the unseen but
hauntings are not limited to people.
The 65-storey Komtar tower in
Penang which houses Chief Minister
Lim Guan Eng’s administration has
its fair share of stories about ghostly
apparitions. Staff members who experienced unnatural phenomenon on
one of the higher floors recently
called in an Ustaz to conduct prayers
and sprinkle black pepper, apparently to “cleanse” the place.
Law firms seem to be a popular
haunting ground in old George Town,
with chilling tales ranging from
smelling burning incense late at
night to seeing an old woman roaming the corridors.
A 33-year-old senior partner in one
firm shares: “A feng shui practitioner
came to our office once and saw a
child running around. In fact, we had
an employee who suffered a miscarriage and it is thought that the baby’s
spirit followed her to work.”
Another lawyer, who also declined
to be named, relates how a client saw
“another lady” in the conference room
when there were just two of them.
“My boss too has a gift for seeing
these things. One day, he saw an old
woman wandering along the corridor
but she vanished as he approached
her. I’ve heard that during the Japanese occupation, soldiers were beheaded here.”
At a developer’s firm not too far
away, the office workers have come to
terms with sharing their premises
with “unseen friends”.
“There have been many unexplained
incidents; the air-conditioner starts
even after it has been switched off
and radio channels change randomly. A monk hired to cleanse the
place failed to drive away the spirits,
claiming there were just too many
to capture. Every year during the
Hungry Ghost Festival, we make
offerings to the spirits here,” one
senior staff confides.
Even cars are not spared the
spooks. Writer E. J. Loh, 46, recalls
how a nee-kor (nun) who performed
the funeral rites for her premature
baby, sold her car, claiming that the
child’s spirit was “disturbing” her.
The nun had driven the dead child in
a casket to the crematorium.
Ong, who offers healing, spiritual
cleansing, feng shui tips and general
consultation to her clients, reckons
that seven out of 10 cases she sees are
caused by evil spirits or black magic.
Her clients are from different races
and religions, and include Germans,
Australians, people from China and
Hong Kong, and Singaporeans.
She says she has seen cases of
clients experiencing extreme body
aches, youngsters speaking in old
voices, and those who cannot stop
sobbing or whose eyes and
tongues are rolled back as they
•9
A FP PHOTO
COVER STORY
stare blankly into space.
“Whether it’s Thai kong tau or Chinese mao
shan (black magic), it doesn’t matter. I will try
to help as long as the victim trusts me.”
Ong, who always appears confident, is
the first to admit she is not always this
brave. Growing up, she says, she used to be
scared out of her wits by apparitions she
saw, which led to her stuttering as a child.
But by the time she was 11, she was so fed
up of being frightened that she started
“scolding the spirits and threatening them
not to bother her”.
Four years ago, while working as a sales
representative, it dawned on her that she
could use her “gift” to help others.
10 •
Her most recent success was helping
73-year-old Zainab Sulaiman from Kelantan. The widow, who lives in a wooden
house in Kampung Penambang Bunga
Emas near Kota Baru with her daughterin-law and two grandchildren, had been
plagued with hundreds of mysterious fires
which destroyed over 250 articles of clothing, mats, curtains, mattresses and many
other things. Last month, Zainab made a
trip to Penang to thank Ong.
For Ong, the more evil spirits she battles,
the stronger and more alert she feels.
“I don’t get tired although I sometimes
work from early morning until past 3am.”
Temple medium Lai Seng Hee says the
By Beh Yuen Hui
The Star
How To Avoid
Meeting Ghosts
❖❖ Kuala Lumpur
C
utting hair, shaving, going for
outings and hanging clothes
outside the house are among
the things people should avoid doing
at night throughout the Hungry
Ghost Festival.
People should also avoid moving
house and getting a new vehicle, as
it is believed that the chances of
bumping into ghosts are higher by
doing all these.
“Keep away from the walls because
ghosts love sticking to it,” said Master
Szeto Fat-ching, a famous exorcist
and feng shui guru from Hong Kong.
He said although ghosts are around
during daytime, they are more active
at night.
Thus, precautions have to be taken
during the month-long festival beginning July 31 when the Hell Gate is
open and the spirits are allowed to
return to the human realm.
Szeto also said women are more
prone to seeing ghosts than men.
According to the yin and yang
philosophy, women belong to the
Yin category, the same as ghosts
and so they are easier to “click”
with each other.
“There’s nothing to fear because
the ghosts are more afraid of humans
than we are of them.”
Dubbed the Ghost King of Macau,
Szeto was invited here by Chinese radio station 988 as a guest deejay in a
ghost-related programme in conjunction with the festival.
He also shared his stories and exchanged views with over 300 supernatural fans at an “up close and personal” session here.
Besides the above mentioned taboos, Szeto also warned the public to
not take the offerings on the streets
that were served to the “homeless
spirits” or make fun of the belief.
• 11
TH E STAR
younger generation are not as
sceptical about ghosts as you
would imagine.
“The temple is always packed
with devotees who include
young Mercedes-driving professionals and businessmen,”
he shares.
Lai, 47, goes into a trance at
the Leong Hong Keong temple
in Penang to assist Tua Pek
(Grand Uncle) devotees to
communicate with the deity.
The temple, which was established more than three decades
ago, is dedicated to underworld
deities—Tua Pek and Jee Pek
(Second Uncle). Tua Pek—the
Chief Inspector of Hades—always carries a fan while his assistant Jee Pek, carries a chain.
Together, the brothers are
known as Poh Tiao Pek.
Three nights a week, Lai goes
into a trance until way past
midnight. Devotees come from
as far as Johor, Kuala Lumpur
and Kedah with pleas to cure
their illnesses, prolong the life
of a sick loved one, or keep
away evil spirits.
Lai’s service was procured after the tragic and gruesome
murder of three-year-old Ooi
Ying Ying in 2007, a case that
jolted the nation. Lai used a
dried, wax-coated lime to communicate with the dead girl, a
method the former electrician
learnt from a sifu (master) in
Chiang Mai, Thailand.
The seance was filmed by a
Hong Kong production company for a documentary.
Lai’s expertise was also
sought to help “collect” fragments of Ying Ying’s soul
and conduct rituals to appease her soul.
Lai says during the Hungry
Ghost month, spirits of the ancestors will try to contact their
living descendants.
“They don’t mean any harm.
They may have some requests
or want to warn their families
of some impending danger.”
COVER STORY
By Jade Chan
The Star
PH OTO S BY TH E STA R
Festival
Offerings
12 •
❖❖ Kuala Lumpur
I
t is that time of the year when
elaborate prayers and offerings are
made to appease the ancestors and
restless spirits that are said to roam
the earth.
Food is offered and paper money
and joss sticks are burnt outside the
house to placate the spirits of the ancestors and to ensure good luck.
This year, the Ghost Month is from
July 31 to August 28, with the Ghost
Festival falling on August 14.
According to Master Lim Hooi
Peng, a Chinese astrology and geomancy expert better known as Master
Miao Da, filial Chinese families would
celebrate this festival to remember
their dead family members and pay
tribute to them.
At the same time, they also pray to
other wandering ghosts so that these
homeless souls would not intrude
into their daily life and bring along
misfortunes.
“Buddhists believe that this is a time
for Yu Lan—a season to give thanks to
everything, to learn how to forgive, and
most importantly, show filial piety and
respect to parents and the elderly.
“The Ghost Festival is also known
as Zhong Yuan Jie among Taoists.
“The prayers would culminate on
the 14th day of the Ghost Month, as it
is believed that most of the lost souls
would be wandering around then,”
said Miao Da.
While prayers and burning of offerings were previously carried out on a
small scale by individuals or small
groups, Miao Da noted that many are
now coming together in bigger
groups by forming their own Phor
Thor committee to better coordinate
the activities.
“Other activities lined up include a
dinner and auction of fortune items
that are touted to bring luck and confidence to the highest bidders,” he said.
“Some dinners have a fundraising
element involved, with proceeds going to charity. The dinners are attended by both residents and the
business community.”
Miao Da said prayers and offerings
would also be presented to Da Shi Ye
(King of Hades).
After performing the last rituals, a
sending-off ceremony would take
place, during which an effigy of Da
Shi Ye would be burnt, along with his
horse, ship, mansion, paper apparel,
hell notes and other offerings, to return the deity and wandering spirits
back to the underworld.
In addition, Chinese operas and
live performances would be held to
entertain the two worlds—the wandering spirits and earthly beings,
with the front row seats left empty
for the former.
There are some superstitions which
are associated with the Hungry Ghost
Month, like not staying out long at
night and not uttering “bad words”.
Some believe that it is also a bad
time to go swimming at places like
open water sources like waterfalls
and rivers lest an evil spirit causes a
person to drown.
Miao Da said this was also a month
considered not auspicious to get married, start a business, move house, renovate houses or have housewarming.
“The Puchong Phor Tor Coordination Committee was established in
1998 and serves as the umbrella organisation for all the 17 Phor Tor associations in Puchong, which stretches from Kinrara to Putra Perdana,”
said committee chairman Dr Kow
Cheong Wei.
“The 17 associations have representatives in the committee to coordinate the dates, budget and performances to ensure there are no
clashing functions.
“Having the committee has also
helped foster community ties and
build friendships,” he said.
• 13
COVER STORY
TH E STRAI TS TI MES
By Lin Zhaowei
The Straits Times
Of Getai And Charity
❖❖ Singapore
W
hen Tan Junjie, 23, first
came here from his hometown in China’s Guangxi autonomous region five years ago, he
did not know what the raucous night
performances in his HDB estate in
the seventh lunar month were about.
Nor did he understand why the
first row of seats at these performances, known as getai to Singaporeans,
are always empty.
He was to find out about the traditions of the Hungry Ghost Festival
from his Singaporean landlord, but
the final-year Singapore Institute of
Management student found out even
more about the customs of Chinese
Singaporeans through a programme
designed for new immigrants, students and working professionals
from China.
The event, the first organised by
14 •
the Singapore Federation of Chinese
Clan Associations, had 33 participants from various parts of China,
including Inner Mongolia, Liaoning
and Sichuan.
They listened to a talk on Chinese customs here, watched the
getai-themed movie 881 and were
taken to watch a seventh-month
dinner auction.
Zhou Zhao Cheng, the social affairs
committee chairman of the federation, the umbrella body for 200 clan
associations here, said many Chinese
citizens are often puzzled by certain
Chinese customs here.
In Tan’s hometown in Guangxi, for
example, getai are unheard of. There,
people mark the seventh lunar month
by burning incense and visiting the
temple to pray for their ancestors.
Zhou said some mainland Chinese are surprised that, in a city
like Singapore, incense burning is
still practised.
He said the response to the programme was positive, so the federation is likely to hold a similar
one next year, perhaps with Singaporean participants as well to promote interaction.
Getai have been lined up in the
heartland, all with their first row of
seats left empty for the spirits.
Among the participants was Sichuan native Laura Ho, 36, who
moved here two months ago with her
Singaporean husband of three years.
She said she is impressed to see
how Chinese Singaporeans take
the opportunity to give to charity
during the month, by helping the
needy with basic household necessities bought with money raised at
dinner auctions during the Hungry
Ghost month.
Thank you for submitting 6065 sustainable
construction projects
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projects to be built in 146 countries. Group
companies of Holcim Ltd contribute to the
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www.holcimfoundation.org
SPECIAL REPORT
By Radha Basu
The Straits Times
Slam down on human
smugglers
American anti-trafficking czar says it is not enough to have laws and
set up task forces to combat the crime, if all the effort does not lead to
putting the offenders behind bars
I
❖❖ Singapore
f a drug trafficker is able to
smuggle marijuana into a
country unnoticed, he will be
able to sell it just once. The
process is fraught with danger—if police discover the loot, he
could be sent to jail—or if he is in
Singapore, he could even lose his life.
But if the same trafficker were to
lure a young girl into a country with
the promise of giving her a job, then
hold her captive in a brothel and
charge men for having sex with
her—he could reap gains over and
over again.
Unlike the marijuana, which would
need to be hidden while being smuggled into any country, the girl, with
legal entry papers, could cross immigration without a hitch. “It’s safer to
trick and exploit a vulnerable girl and
make money from her over and over
again, than sell that single packet of
marijuana,” says American anti-trafficking czar Luis CdeBaca.
This makes human trafficking—
where vulnerable people are tricked
or forced into sex or servitude—even
more dangerous and difficult to catch
than drug trafficking.
“And this is why governments need
to care,” says the man tasked by United States President Barack Obama to
monitor human trafficking activities
worldwide.
CdeBaca, 44, directs an office within the US state department that produces an annual report card of how
countries around the world are com16 •
bating human trafficking. The latest
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report
was released in late June.
While acknowledging that human
trafficking was a serious issue, the Singapore government pointed out some
factual inaccuracies in the report.
Among other things, Singapore
denied that it did not do enough to
reduce the demand for commercial
sex. It also disputed the report’s
claim that there were no labour
trafficking convictions here last year.
There had, in fact, been eight, and
the data was made available to the
US state department before the
report was made public.
But CdeBaca maintains he
stands by the report. “We have a
number of sources and we are
confident of them.”
Although Singapore has disputed
some facts in the TIP report, CdeBaca says its recent assertions that it
is getting tough on human trafficking
and will sign an international treaty
against the crime are a “big and welcome change from its past stance”.
Singapore has long maintained
that trafficking is rare here. However,
in June, the government said it was
working towards signing the UN
treaty, known as the Palermo Protocol, and had even set up an interagency task force to combat the
crime. Since then, it has reiterated its
stance publicly four times, including
at a United Nations meeting in New
York last month.
While welcoming this, CdeBaca
says Singapore’s real test will come in
showing whether this policy change
can yield concrete results by freeing
victims and jailing offenders.
“If a country puts in place wonderful legal structures to combat human
trafficking, yet it is unable to convict
even a single trafficker, those structures and policies would have been
futile,” says the Michigan-trained
lawyer who was in Singapore recently
to speak at an international conference on human trafficking. “Jailing
traffickers must be the ultimate goal.”
For starters, he says the country
could consider improving its record
of prosecuting and putting traffickers behind bars.
Singapore prosecuted five sex
trafficking cases and secured convictions in eight labour trafficking
cases last year. In another 36 alleged cases, there were not enough
leads for prosecution.
To be fair, prosecution and conviction rates for human trafficking continue to be abysmally low, not just in
Singapore, but worldwide. According
to the TIP report, more than 33,100
human trafficking victims were identified globally last year. Yet, there
were only 6,000 prosecutions—and
only about 60 per cent of those prosecuted eventually went to jail.
He acknowledges that after stressing
the need for tough new laws to convict
traffickers over the past decade, his department’s focus has finally shifted to
results. “We hope this will be the decade of delivery,” he says. “We’re lookAugust 26-September 8, 2011
ing for systems that lead inexorably
towards results.”
So now, it is no longer good enough
to simply have an inter-agency task
force to combat the crime. Instead,
the task force should be able to show
how many victims it helped and how
many traffickers it was able to jail.
“Show us the numbers and we’ll say
‘wow’. It’s no point having a nice car if
it’s never going to be driven anywhere.”
His conviction that the only way to
combat the crime is by jailing offenders comes from experience prosecuting criminals who enslaved vulnerable people. As a whip-sharp
prosecutor in the US department of
justice, he personally helped convict
about 100 traffickers and helped rescue more than 600 men, women and
children sold into slavery in the US.
But how can you jail perpetrators, if
the crime is genuinely very rare, as the
Singapore government has maintained is the case here for many years?
His response is that there simply is
not enough data for Singapore to
conclude that trafficking is rare—or
not. “If you’re not looking, then of
course you’re not finding.”
In the US, although anti-slavery
laws have existed since the 1860s, he
notes the federal authorities were
prosecuting only two or three cases a
year till the late 1990s.
Then, in 1998, then President Bill
Clinton issued an executive order to
say that human trafficking was to
form a special focus of prosecuting
authorities. The order led to an interministerial task force and special
prosecution teams being set up to
combat trafficking.
“Suddenly instead of putting three
or four traffickers in prison each year,
we were putting 30 or 40 traffickers
away. The numbers have gone up even
more dramatically in recent years after we put in place a dedicated human
trafficking prosecutors unit.”
In the last financial year, federal officials obtained 141 convictions in 103
human trafficking prosecutions in
the US. This represents the largest
number of human trafficking prosecutions initiated in a single year.
These numbers do not reflect cases
undertaken by various states and
those that involved the commercial
sexual exploitation of children that
were brought under laws other than
the US’ anti-trafficking law.
Countries like the US, Sweden and
most recently the Philippines which
have special prosecution units dedicated to combating trafficking tend
to be better at achieving convictions,
CdeBaca says.
“They are better able to recognise a
trafficking case when they see it, because that’s their job. Rather than
come up with legal reasons why a
case is not trafficking, they are incentivised to seek out innovative legal
strategies to ensure that the victims
get justice.”
The incentives are not material,
but stem more from the pride officials take in combating not a nuisance crime, but a “big crime” that
goes against the universal declaration
of human rights.
“Like firefighters, they have an esprit de corps. They don’t see themselves as some minor bureaucrat processing a wage claim, but as members
of elite squads that help free a maid
or a factory worker who were forced
to work without pay or were denied
freedom and abused by having scalding water poured on them.”
Building a successful prosecution
against a trafficker typically requires
some level of assistance and cooperation from the victim.
By employing “careful and compassionate” interviewing strategies, specially trained law enforcement officials are more likely to gain victims’
trust and allay their fears, thereby
increasing the odds of their participation in the criminal justice process.
In the US, prosecutors are not only
netting more convictions, but jail
terms too are on the rise. Last year,
the average prison sentence imposed
for federal trafficking crimes was 11.8
years. Notable federal prosecutions
included the longest sentence returned in a forced labour case, where
an offender was given a 20-year sentence for holding a woman in ‘domestic servitude’ for eight years.
Countries around the world have
raised penalties as they ‘reconceived’ trafficking from a migration problem to one that infringed
on human rights.
CdeBaca maintains that trafficking
is a crime akin to kidnapping and extortion, so penalties should be commensurate with that.
“If you are talking about someone
living off the proceeds of prostitution,
that’s pimping and could be worth a
year or two in jail,” he says. “But with
human trafficking, you’re talking
about the denial of freedom—and
that’s worth a lot of time in prison.”
• 17
SPECIAL REPORT
By Radha Basu
The Straits Times
His efforts helped
free more than 600
victims
L
uis CdeBaca, 44, was appointed by
US President Barack Obama to
direct the Office to Monitor and
Combat Trafficking in Persons at the
state department, where he serves as
senior adviser to Hillary Clinton.
The trafficking office coordinates US
government activities in the global
fight against contemporary forms of
slavery.
Prior to this posting, the Michigantrained lawyer was one of the country’s
most-decorated federal prosecutors.
During the Bush administration from
2001 to 2009, CdeBaca helmed an
elite special prosecution unit fighting
human trafficking, where victims were
Q & A: Do proactive
undercover work
Singapore has repeatedly questioned
the accuracy of the Trafficking in
Persons Report. Why don’t you make
public your sources?
Our sources are thoroughly vetted
and we stand by our report. If we
reveal the identity of our sources, we
will have to spend the next year
protecting them from harm. We are
dealing with all sorts of governments
and we would thus have to protect our
sources from all sorts of harm were
they named.
What can be done about the fact that
foreign trafficking victims in Singapore, desperate to go home, are often
unwilling to report the crime?
This happens around the world.
Rather than wait for a victim to report
the crime, detectives need to do
proactive undercover work, infiltrating
pubs, listening to prostitutes on the
street and so forth. In the US, both
labour and sex trafficking victims
have a list of rights. They are allowed
18 •
held for prostitution and other forms of
sexual exploitation, farm labour,
domestic service, and factory work.
His efforts have led to the jailing of
close to 100 traffickers and helped
liberate more than 600 victims.
He has won several top legal
honours in the US, including the
Attorney-General’s Distinguished
Service Award for his service as lead
trial counsel in one of the largest
slavery prosecutions in US history.
The case led to the freeing of
more than 300 Vietnamese and
Chinese workers who were forced to
work in a garment factory in
American Samoa.
A native New Mexican, CdeBaca
was raised on a cattle ranch in
Huxley, Iowa, and attended Iowa State
University. He received his law degree
from the Michigan Law School. He is
married to Lorena Chambers, who
owns an advertising agency.
to stay and work and we even go
further and bring their families in,
should they be in danger. There is no
reason why any rich, developed
country should not be able to do that,
especially if the end goal is to jail
people who profit from slavery.
One of the reasons we bring families
in, is because we really want to punish
the person who dared to enslave someone in our country. We have a number
of congressmen who are against
expansive immigration programmes
and yet they consistently vote in favour
of compassionate immigration
programmes for trafficking victims.
Most Western countries do that now, to
ensure that these victims at least have
a job, while they pursue their cases
and bring perpetrators—who make
huge profits—to jail.
Are there any estimates on the
profits traffickers make worldwide?
The best numbers we know of
come from the International Labour
Organisation’s Cost of Coercion
study that estimates that human
traffickers make profits worth US$30
billion each year and there is
another US$20 billion in lost income
opportunities for the victims.
Must stop
human
trafficking
Singapore needs laws
to support victims,
harsh penalties for
criminals
P
❖❖ Singapore
rogress is being made on
the issue of human trafficking in Singapore—
where vulnerable people
are forced or tricked into
sex or servitude.
But more can be done to help Singapore police be more vigilant in
investigating possible cases, and to
raise penalties.
The issue is currently high on the
Government’s public communications radar. On at least five occasions
over the past weeks, the government
has reiterated its seriousness in dealing with what it has termed an “abhorrent international crime”. The latest was by the ministry of foreign
affairs (MFA).
An inter-agency task force has been
set up to spearhead the battle against
human trafficking. This is a global
criminal problem estimated to be
worth US$30 billion, and which the
United Nations considers one of the
fastest-growing criminal activities in
the world.
Singapore is likely to overcome a
decade-long reluctance to sign a UN
treaty that seeks to prevent, suppress and punish human trafficking.
It will join 150 others when it does
sign the treaty.
These moves led Singapore to be removed recently from a “watchlist” of
countries that failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to tackle
human trafficking. It was upgraded
into the category of countries deemed
to have made “significant efforts” to
comply with minimum standards.
These classifications are developed by
the United States government in its
annual report card on human trafficking in 180 countries.
Singapore has criticised or rebutted
some of the claims in past years’
reports. This year, it acknowledged
the upgrade, but also pointed out “inaccuracies and misunderstandings” in
the American Trafficking in Persons
(TIP) report.
Singapore denied that it did not do
enough to reduce the demand for
commercial sex. MFA also disputed
the report’s claim that there were no
labour trafficking convictions here last
year. There had, in fact, been eight,
and the data was made available to the
US state department before the report
was made public, MFA said.
The US authorities will have to explain its report. But the dispute over accuracy should not distract policymakers
and activists from the very real scourge
of human trafficking in Singapore.
To put it plainly, human trafficking
is a very serious crime, and it is a problem in Singapore. While it is by no
means rampant, it is probably more
prevalent than official data shows, or
the average sheltered Singapore resident realises.
While researching a series of articles on the issue in May, I spoke to
seven women from neighbouring
countries who claimed they had been
trafficked to Singapore for sex. Their
stories were familiar: They were lured
from poor homes with the promise of
respectable jobs here, but found to
their horror on arrival that the jobs
involved paid sex.
They spoke tearfully of being locked
up during the day, denied sufficient
food and forced to hand over all their
earnings to their pimps. But only one
case got the authorities’ attention.
The rest went home without reporting the crime. With dashed dreams and
empty pockets in an alien land, all they
wanted to do was go home. Some had
run away from their captors; others
had been deported after police raids.
Kay, a young Indonesian, was
rounded up in a raid early last year.
During interrogation, she was asked
if she had come here voluntarily. She
said yes. But she told me later she had
been tricked into the sex trade. The
“towkay” (businessman) who tricked
her taught her to say she had come of
her own free will. He threatened to
harm her family back home if she
disobeyed.
As she had told the police she was
here voluntarily, she was sent back to
her country as is the usual practice—
and what might have been a case of
human trafficking went unreported.
Anti-trafficking activists want the
police to be more active with their
investigations to prevent trafficking
cases from remaining under the radar. Waiting for the victim to pluck
up the courage to report the crime
is not enough.
Assuming that foreign women
who have been forced into sex work
may be too terrified to report trafficking, the US police have adopted
a checklist of 12 signs to look out for
to identify such victims.
The law enforcement authorities
here have also adapted their own
version of the US checklist. Rather
than merely ask potential victims
whether they came here voluntarily, the women are now asked if they
are holding their travel documents
and, if not, who has them. Other
questions: Were they recruited for
one purpose and forced to engage
in some other job? Do they have
freedom of movement?
These are simple yet effective
methods to suss out victims from
among those picked up in raids.
Singapore should also expand and
better publicise programmes to help
victims get training and jobs if they remain here to pursue court cases. Now,
many victims would rather just go
home. The culprits not only go unpunished, but are free to ply their illegal
trade with another group of victims.
Introducing laws that force traffickers to pay victims compensation,
like in the US, is another way forward. This can deter traffickers, and
persuade victims to report the crime.
Above all, it is imperative to raise
penalties for this crime. Under the
Women’s Charter, the maximum
prison term for trafficking a woman
or a girl is five years. Under the Penal Code, the maximum jail sentence is 10 years for selling a minor
for prostitution.
The few people convicted of sex
trafficking in 2009—the latest year
for which sentencing details are available—tended to get less than two
years in prison. In one case involving
a teenage Thai sex trafficking victim,
a Singaporean brothel owner was
jailed for nine weeks and fined
S$20,000 (US$16,500).
In the US, penalties for sex trafficking of minors ranges from 10 years in
jail to life imprisonment.
Singapore has taken small but positive steps to combat human trafficking in recent years. What is needed
next are clear laws to support the victims and harsher penalties to deter
the criminals.
• 19
BUSINESS
By Shin Hyon-hee
The Korea Herald
Tale Of Two Koreas
If there is one thing in common between South and North Korea, it
would be preference for luxurious items. This despite the global
economic downturn and starving civilians in Kim Jong-il’s kingdom
SOUTH KOREA: Love For Luxury
❖❖ Seoul
Photo by J U NG Y E O N- J E/A F P
T
here may be lingering
global economic uncertainties but demand for
luxury goods is heating up
among deep-pocketed Korean shoppers.
Sales data from global luxury brands show that sales of
Louis Vuitton, Chanel,
Hermes, Prada and Gucci in
South Korea jumped 17 per
cent to 78.4 billion won
(US$72.5 million) in July
compared with a year earlier,
according to industry figures.
Among them, the top three
designer brands—Louis Vuitton,
Chanel and Hermes—
accounted for nearly 72 per
cent with a combined 56.1 billion won of sales, which reflected a 13.5 per cent increase
from a year ago.
About 90 per cent of domestic sales of the three
brands were from the country’s four largest department
stores—Lotte, Hyundai, Shinsegae and Galleria, the figures
showed.
In terms of revenues, Louis
Vuitton was the hottest seller
with 32.7 billion won after
seeing a 10-per-cent increase
year-on-year, while sales of
Chanel soared nearly 20 per
cent to 17.6 billion won and
Hermes by 16 per cent to 5.8
billion won.
Italy’s Prada logged the
20 •
highest revenue growth by
growing 66.7 per cent with
revenues reaching 9 billion
won. Sales of Gucci climbed 9
per cent to 17.6 billion won.
The numbers reflected an
ever-growing appetite for
high-end handbags, shoes
and accessories among Korean customers, even though
some of the European luxury groups such as Louis Vuitton and Prada hiked prices
of their products in the first
half of the year, industry
watchers said.
“The data throws a sidelight
on a trend that Koreans are
increasingly thirsty for pricey,
sumptuous goods,” an industry official said, adding that
sales may go up further in the
latter half.
According to the National
Tax Service, the government’s
collected about 5 trillion won
of special consumption taxes
imposed on luxury products
last year, up almost 40 per
cent from 2009.
Robust demand in Korea
and other Asian peers helped
LVMH, the world’s largest
luxury conglomerate which
owns Louis Vuitton, post a 13
per cent rise in first-half revenue from the same period last
year to 10.3 billion euros
($14.7 billion). Net profit
surged 25 per cent to exceed
1.3 billion euros.
By Shin Hae-in
The Korea Herald
NORTH KOREA: Shopping Spree
❖❖ Seoul
N
orth Korea’s imports of
luxury goods from China almost doubled in a
year, indicating the ongoing
shopping spree by the elite
class of the reclusive regime
even as its people are supposedly dying of hunger.
Beijing customs said total
volume of trade between
Pyongyang and its last-remaining ally and economic
benefactor surged by almost
two times in the first five
months this year, compared
with the same period of the
previous year.
While imports of corn, rice
and other foodstuffs stood at a
mere four per cent of imports,
or US$46 million, North Korea spent $10 million bringing
in foreign cigarettes and liquor via China, a report from
China showed.
The Nor th spent about
$7.5 million to buy cigarettes including Marlboro
and Mild Seven, up 117 per
cent from last year and imported $2.4 million worth of
Hennessy Cognac, whiskey
and Japanese beer, up 94 per
cent, it said.
Some $550,000 worth of
class A beef was also brought
in apparently for luxury gatherings and power elite households, the unification ministry
here said.
Some of Pyongyang’s power
elites have McDonald’s hamburgers delivered to their homes
from China through North Ko-
rea’s Air Koryo, and North Korean trade firms are increasing
imports of luxury brand items
from Gucci, Armani and Rolex
in a bid to appease these people, the ministry said.
Despite years of food shortages, North Korean leader
Kim Jong-il has long showered his aides with luxury
items to win their loyalty.
Amid the shopping spree,
Pyongyang has been increasing calls to the international
community to send food for
its starving people, claiming
last year’s summer flooding
continues to affect its food
shortages.
North Korea, which has relied
on outside assistance to feed its
population of 24 million since
the mid-1990s, was slapped
with international sanctions
after conducting two nuclear
tests in 2006 and 2009. The
UN-imposed sanctions not
only deepened the communist
state’s isolation, but also
banned it from trading in
weapons as well as luxury
goods.
The latest report shows that
Pyongyang is continuing to
dodge the sanctions to bring
in luxury items for its ruling
elites.
Despite the country’s diehard nuclear ambitions and
provocations, the UN food
agency asked countries to donate 434,000 tonnes of food
to North Korea in March,
claiming food must be sent at
least to women and children.
• 21
Arts
By Yu Wentao
China Daily
B
❖❖ Beijing
Lifting
The Veil
Photos and paintings
depict the dreams and
tears in the royal palace
22 •
eijing’s Palace
Museum, also
known as the
Forbidden City, is
steeped in history,
dreams and tears, which are
perfectly reflected in “Ah!
The Forbidden City”.
Li Shaobai’s photos and
Jiang Guofang’s paintings,
in the book published in
English by the Foreign
Languages Press, are both
easy on the eye and
provide food for thought.
In 1406, Zhu Di, the
third emperor of the Ming
Dynasty (1368-1644),
assembled 200,000 to
300,000 workers to build
the Forbidden City, which
took 14 years.
The Hall of Supreme
Harmony, as the largest and
highest ranking architectural structure in the
Forbidden City, surpassed
all buildings of its time.
In 1421, Emperor Zhu Di
moved the capital from
Nanjing, in today’s Jiangsu
province, to Beijing, and
the Forbidden City became
the home and ruling seat of
24 emperors, 14 of whom
were Ming, and 10 Qing
(1644-1911). The line ended
with Puyi, China’s last
emperor, who was driven
out of the Forbidden City,
13 years after the Revolution of 1911.
When the Palace Museum
is open, the sense of
history can easily be lost in
the flood of visitors.
Photographer Li, however,
always waits for the right
moment to catch the
perfect shot.
The empty halls, quiet
courtyards, doors and
windows with fading paint,
and long grass in the
corners of the squares,
evoke a strong sense of history.
Li has taken photos of the
imperial palace for nearly 20
years and says it changes
according to the season,
weather, light and shadow.
“Beauty exists everywhere.
One must be sensitive to
discover and catch it,” the
photographer says.
Painter Jiang, meanwhile,
tries to revive the lives of the
former inhabitants of the
Forbidden City on canvas,
getting into the minds of these
historical figures.
Their joint efforts deepen our
understanding of the past lives
of the imperial families.
Jiang began producing
artworks based on the
Forbidden City in 1987 and
has established a strong
reputation in art circles
because of this work.
Based on historical materials
and an active imagination, he
has created a series of images
that include dignified emperors,
pretty palace women, humble
eunuchs and maids. The figures
are so vivid and lifelike that
viewers can almost feel their
breath.
As the Son of Heaven, the
emperor possessed supreme
power and controlled all the
people “under heaven”.
In addition to painting the
rulers of the day, Jiang likes to
paint likenesses of the child
emperors. Wearing an imperial
robe and sitting on a golden
throne, the child emperor eats a
cherry with great relish,
ignoring the ministers and
eunuchs standing beside him.
The imperial authority and
childhood innocence form a
stark contrast.
It often happened that when
the crown prince succeeded to
the throne after the death of
the emperor, he was still a
child and required the empress
to reign behind the scenes.
During the Ming and Qing
dynasties, there were five such
child emperors.
Jiang’s oil paintings also
reveal the story of the palace
eunuchs. On the one hand,
they were damaged and
humiliated by being castrated.
On the other hand, they earned
favor as they served the
emperor and his family members day and night. Once the
eunuchs gained the trust of the
emperor, they could sometimes
behave without scruple, such as
issuing unauthorised imperial
decrees, taking bribes and
framing loyal ministers.
Jiang also has an eye for
pretty palace women, including
the empress, concubines and
princesses. Although they
dressed in gorgeous clothes and
ate delicious food, they were
spiritually bereft. With so many
women serving one man, few
of them had the chance to be
with the emperor. Their rooms
were often empty and perhaps
the high walls and deep
courtyards were like gilded
cages to them.
While sympathising with the
fate of palace women, Jiang
worships their beauty. Although
their bodies are often obscured
by the layers of loose and soft
coats, robes and skirts, their
beauty is obvious for all to see.
Rich in content and exquisite
in design, “Ah! The Forbidden
City” deserves appreciation and
is a collector’s item.
The royal palace was a place
full of profundity and one book
cannot capture all its moods
and depths, but it is a great
departure point for visitors to
learn more about the Forbidden
City, its architecture and learn
anecdotes about the people who
lived there.
• 23
Arts
By Lito B. Zulueta
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Shock For
Shock’s Sake
Provocation is part and parcel of
contemporary art and one has raised
shock and furore in Manila
T
❖❖ Manila
he furore over Mideo M.
Cruz’s “Polytheism” is
understandable. In the
true spirit of contemporary art, the work is calculated to be offensive; it is blasphemous and sacrilegious.
If modern art has the shock of the
new, contemporary art has the jolt of
the jugular. If modern art is art for
art’s sake, contemporary art is shocking for shock’s sake.
Now we can’t get over the shock.
And if “Polytheisms” is to be faulted
at all, it is that its shock value has
largely detracted the public from the
24 •
larger picture of the exhibit, “Kulo”.
Curated by multimedia artist Jaime
Pacena and Fine Arts professor Jocelyn Tullao-Calubayan, “Kulo,” held at
the Cultural Centre of The Philippines (CCP), gathered artists and
writers who have studied at the University of Santo Tomas, the cradle of
modern art in the Philippines.
The title of the exhibit refers to
the state when things simmer and
boil, obviously brought to that point
by art coming into contact with the
social and historical moment. And
the exhibit has been able to achieve
this through the works of the contributing artists, and not alone Mideo
M. Cruz’s “Polytheisms.”
Entering the exhibit hall for example, one comes into contact immediately with Alfredo Esquillo’s painting,
“Mama Kinley II,” a striking reworking of the Madonna and Child genre,
portraying President William McKinley suckling a Filipino child looking
much like Emilio Aguinaldo. All at
once, the painting evokes a gamut of
meanings related to Philippine history.
Andres Barrioquinto’s “Alam ng
Diyos” (God Knows) largely operates
on the same artistic strategy as Esquillo’s, remaking the portrait genre to
provide the stark close-up of a grieving person while in the background,
the whole world goes up in flames.
Some of the works openly embrace
digital art with barely any reference to
traditional art. Pacena sets up a video
installation using footage from his
music videos. Buen Calubayan, who
has done brilliant graphic works that
may also rile religious sensibilities, is
represented by a digital print on tarpaulin showing enlarged reproduction
of images from his “Vanishing Point”
paintings. The effect is a transfixing
play on colours, figures and lines.
Team Manila, the trailblazing design
firm, is represented by its Andy Warhol-like take on Rizal iconography.
The result is the medium becoming
message: the national hero as a pop
icon for the 21st century in more ways
than one.
But easily the most impressive work
in the exhibit is Jose Tence Ruiz’s
“CSI (Chimoy Si Imbisibol), a monochrome on print work with acrylic
on canvas. It shows several hooded
and obscured figures in different attitudes of labor and “busyness,” a powerful set of images of the Filipino as
the global domestic. The figures are
attired in clinical white, much like the
forensic experts whose crime-lab
work is minutely detailed in the violent American TV crime series, “CSI”.
The message is stark: The Filipino
has systematically made a profession
out of the diaspora. The pathos of the
work cannot be missed.
Much like Saguid in his poem, Tullao-Calubayan has called for “diaAugust 26-September 8, 2011
logue” on the more controversial aspects of the exhibit, especially the
work of Cruz.
Sadly their tact has not been adopted by CCP officials, who have arrogantly called the reaction to Cruz’s
work as “moralist hysteria” and “religious myopia”.
The reaction by Catholics and other
Christian groups to Cruz’s work is
understandable. The installation features a collage of religious images and
pictures of Christ, Mary the Mother
of Christ, Holy Family, saints, and the
rosary-all closely surrounded and
placed beside pictures of women who
appear to be modelling for underwear
or a skin product; and a wooden
cross draped with a pink stretchedout condom.
These are images intended to provoke and even offend. And provocation is part and parcel of contemporary art.
To their credit, Tullao-Calubayan
and the other curators placed Cruz’s
installation in a corner of the exhibit hall which one has to enter in
order to witness.
One would have wished there had
been a further sign making the Dantean warning to the viewer to “abandon
all hope all ye who enter here”, but
the curatorial strategy taken on Cruz’s
work should indicate that the exhibit
organisers did not deliberately intend
to make an attack on religion with the
works on show.
As contemporary art,
Cruz’s work has all
guns blazing to make its
point: How religion has
supposedly been commodified and how capitalist commerce has become the new religion.
But his point is missed
because conceptual art
as always is all concept
with art all woefully inadequate.
In his notes, Cruz
says he inveighs against
“polytheisms” such as Christianity
commodified and today’s prevalent
neoliberalism. But his images of Christianity are all drawn from Catholic
popular iconography and he commits
the same misconception about Catholic images—that their veneration is a
form of idol-worship rejected by OldTestament monotheism. He links this
idol-mania with capitalist advertising,
which embodies neoliberalism.
At the least, it could be said that
Cruz has a stunted view of Catholicism: He doesn’t seem to have matured beyond the childhood horror of
icons of the Blessed Mother and her
seven dagger-dolors and of the bloodied image of the Santo Entierro
brought out on Good Friday.
Cruz also seems impervious to the
historic hostility between the Catholic
Church and modern liberalism. In
fact, the Church’s social teachings
continue to condemn liberal capitalism for its excesses, its eager rush for
progress for the sake of progress.
Cruz’s work lacks self-reflexivity.
While he proclaims his work as a historico-cultural critique, he doesn’t seem
aware that his version of Philippine
history—“being 400 years under Spain
and several years in Hollywood”, as
his notes say-is a liberal cliché.
Cruz’s work is iconoclastic art in
the most literal sense of the term. It is
iconoclastic art that ironically uses
iconography—as crafted by Catholic
art and image—fashioning across 2,000
years—to state its point and make its
critique. Simply based on the premise
of its revolt, it is art whose attitude is
mercenary, that is, hopelessly liberal
and capitalist.
With all of its conceptual and
material contradictions, Mideo M.
Cr uz’s work collapses from the
weight of its plurosignifications. It’s
not art, it’s a mess.
(The controversial exhibit that has riled
leaders of the Philippines’ Catholic Church
has since been closed down and a Senate investigation is ongoing.)
• 25
LIFESTYLE
MALAYSIA
By Natalie Heng
The Star
Doggie
And Baby
Three families share
stories on how their dogs
became family members
WALK THE DOGS: (From left)
Loo Jo Ann grabs Cherry whilst
her husband Sean Lee grabs
Castle as they make their way out
for an evening walk.
W
Photo by G lenn Guan / The Star
❖❖ Kuala Lumpur
hen they first got
married everything
was picture perfect. It
was just Stella Khor,
her husband William
Ho, and their sweet-natured fouryear-old Maltese toy dog, Kelvin.
Ho had owned Kelvin before he
and Khor ever met. All soulful eyes
and wagging tail, the dog was loving and playful. Khor couldn’t help
but adore him.
The dog fitted seamlessly into their
lives.
“When we were home he would
jump up on the couch to watch TV
with us, he’d even sleep between us
in the bed,” recounts Khor, 42.
That was over 11 years ago. At the
time they had just moved into to their
terrace house in Subang Jaya, Selangor.
Khor was a housewife, so she ended
up spending a lot of time with the
dog, who would follow her wherever
she went. She had plenty of time to
groom him too.
“Kelvin had special conditioners to
make his long white hair extra soft,
and I’d brush out all the tangles and
tie ribbons to keep it off his face.”
Everything was going fine until
26 •
Khor got pregnant. Nine months later,
their daughter Audrey arrived.
With the family’s new bundle of
joy needing to be fed, cleaned and
cuddled almost 24/7, Khor became too
exhausted to spend time brushing
Kelvin’s hair every day.
“It would get matted, so we took
him to the groomers and got them to
cut his fur short.
“But we were still worried that any
fur in the air would be bad for the
baby, so we eventually decided to
keep Kelvin outside.”
The sudden transition from being
at the centre of attention and allowed
to roam anywhere in the house he
wanted, to his new designated post in
the garden, changed Kelvin’s character
completely. From playful and affectionate, he suddenly became withdrawn and quiet, Khor recalls.
Then one day, when the gate was
accidentally left open, he escaped.
“We were devastated and spent
three days looking for him, but we
never found him.”
Eventually, things went back to
normal. Well, a new kind of “normal”, one that Kelvin was no longer a
part of.
Audrey is now 11, and has a young-
er brother, Alfred, nine. Five months
ago they adopted a little Maltese puppy, which Khor named after the family’s original dog, Kelvin.
“Now that the children are older,
it’s not a problem. But my advice to
new parents is, it’s best to only have
dogs once the children have grown
up a bit and you have more time for
it,” says Khor.
∫ Surprise
Khor’s story is typical of many people’s but not everyone’s—because there
are still many growing families that
work fine with dogs. In hindsight,
Khor’s scenario seems predictable.
The truth, however, is that even the
best of us can get caught off guard.
The above situation often catches
couples by surprise.
It c e r t a i n l y c re p t up o n Ir ra
Core, who had seen all kinds of
abandoned dog cases during her
six years as a volunteer for the
Canine Adoption and Rescue
Group in Oxnard, California.
The 39-year-old environmental engineer, who is from Malaysia but migrated to the United States in 2000,
used to dedicate her weekends to
walking and finding homes for dogs
• 27
Photo by K evin Tan / The Star
at the rescue centre. One day in 2008,
Looking back at the situation, Core to paw. On their hind legs, they towshe came across a three-year-old mud- says she was taken by surprise.
er above Lee himself.
Lee’s son, three-year-old Lucas, is
coloured Shih Tzu mix named Bud.
“Like most other folks with dogs, I
“He belonged to a homeless man thought he would just adjust and be the most mischievous member of the
who got arrested and placed in jail. fine, but Bud needed to be the baby in family, and follows along for walks
The dog came to us because there the family, so having another baby sometimes.
was no one to take him in,” ex- was not working out for him, I think.”
He runs around the playground
plains Core via e-mail. She eventuDespite what happened, she doesn’t and is far less easy to tell what to do
ally adopted Bud.
discourage having a dog be part of a than Cherry and Castle, who at least
“Bud’s fur was so matted at first he growing family.
come bounding back on command.
had to be shaved down completely.
His brother, five-month-old Julian,
“I think it’s important for the owner
But he was very people-oriented so it to understand the temperament of also seems content with the arrangewas not hard to bond with
ment.
him,” she says, adding that
According to Chinese traher husband Mike took to
dition, Julian was kept in
Bud, too, after a while.
confinement for one month
Bud enjoyed two blissful
before being carried out of
walks a day, and slept in the
the house.
family bed.
“The dogs hear him cry,
“It got really crowded afbut it’s normal for canines to
ter a while with him and
bark at a variety of household
the two cats, so we trained
noises, vacuum cle aner
him to sleep on his bed in
sounds, blenders, etc. They
our room.”
(the dogs) soon became accusWhen Core became pregtomed to it,” says Loo, who
nant, the prospect of having
would carry baby Julian to the
to shift household arrangegrill door for the dogs to beFAMILY PET: Nine year old Alfred Ho (left) and his sisten Audrey,
ments did occur to her.
come accustomed to his scent.
11, play with their five month old puppy Kelvin.
“ B ut , t o b e h o n e s t , I
Of course being Great
was so excited about
Danes, Cherry, Castle and
pregnancy and loving every second their dog, and that can be hard even their mother Djura are outdoor dogs
of it that I didn’t give it much for experienced dog owners. Some dog (they wouldn’t all fit in the living
thought,” she recalls.
breeds take very easily to babies and room anyway).
After Rachel was born in Novem- additions to the family, and some don’t.
Lucas is the same age as Djura. When
ber 2009, life changed for the family.
“Would we get another dog? Maybe they were still babies, Lee had two othShe was at the very centre of every- when Rachel is a little older and un- er Great Danes, Sporty and Crystal,
thing they did.
derstands what it means to be respon- who have since died of old age.
“When Lucas could walk, we
“The cats adjusted well. They were sible for the welfare of an animal.”
would take him into the garden and
pretty independent sorts anyway.
“But Bud became very morose and ∫ Growing up with giants
keep careful watch as he wandered
The Lee family has two young chil- round outside,” Lee says when asked
sad. He was definitely not getting the
level of attention he wanted or needed. dren and three very large dogs. They how he introduced Lucas to the dogs.
“It is incredibly important that you
“He even stopped eating at one represent a success story and are
point and started biting his paws proof that it is possible to have pets supervise every moment, however.
to the point that they bled, it was (exceptionally large pets for that mat- Initially you hold on to the leash until
a very sad and stressful time for ter), a newborn and a three-year-old the dogs get used to the kids.
boy, and be just fine.
“Above anything, it is essential that
us,” she recounts.
The Lees live in a quiet residential you have established the hierarchy—
Core wanted Bud to be happy.
So the family decided to give Bud area in Shah Alam, Selangor, where the dog must respect the owner and
his family.”
to her husband’s aunt and uncle, who father Sean Lee is leader of the pack.
A soft-spoken lecturer of finance at
Lee says one thing must be clear.
were looking for a companion after
“Dogs have to respect all human
retirement up in Sierra Vista, Arizona. Inti University College in Subang Jaya,
The little dog took to his new home he is of medium build, a feature ever beings, regardless of how small or old,
like a duck to water. Today, Bud is more distinct when Cherry and Cas- and kids must come above dogs in
about the happiest dog in Sierra Vista, tle, the family’s two Great Dane pups, the hierarchy.”
join him for walks every evening.
Having full control is necessary if
says Core.
Not even a year old, the pups stand you are planning to introduce the dog
“He goes for walks twice a day and
about 30 inches (76cm) from shoulder to your family, says Lee.
all the neighbours just adore him.”
LIFESTYLE
PHILIPPINES
By Alastair McIndoe
The Straits Times
Gnashing Over
D g Meat
A
nimal welfare campaigners in the Philippines have
won a rare victory in the
fight against a cruel trade
in dog meat, which is officially prohibited but is carried out under the counter.
In a landmark trial, four men were
each sentenced to a year’s imprisonment by a court in the northern city of
Baguio late last month.
It was the first conviction under an
Foundation (AKF), a British-funded
welfare group.
“Many cases (in regions where dog
is eaten) never go to trial because
prosecutors don’t want to intrude on
a way of life,” said AKF spokesman
Luis Buenaflor.
Dog is eaten in several parts of
Asia, most famously in China and
Korea, where it is a culinary tradition. But even in China, legal experts
last year drew up proposals to ban
eating dog meat, amid shifts in public
anti-rabies law which specifically bans
selling dog meat in the interest of public health. Before that, dog meat traders were invariably charged under a
more lenient animal welfare law, and
usually got away with just a fine.
The men were nabbed with the
carcasses of 30 skinned dogs in the
back of a van. The bust followed a
tip-off by the Animal Kingdom
opinion.
In the Philippines, the underground dog meat trade is an inhumane business: Dogs, usually strays,
are hog-tied, packed into cramped
cages and often transported long
distances to back-alley slaughterhouses, when they suffer a painful
death by clubbing or strangulation.
Animal rights activists estimate
THE NAT IO N
❖❖ Manila
28 •
that 250,000 dogs are slaughtered
yearly for the pot, although most
Filipinos recoil at the thought of eating dog meat—and pet ownership is
high among the rich and poor alike.
All the same, canine cuisine is
popular among the macho, harddrinking crowd all over the country;
and there is a tradition of eating dog
meat in parts of the north, with Baguio the centre of the trade.
Animal welfare groups hope that
using anti-rabies legislation will set
a precedent for courts to hand down
harsher sentences, since the 2007
law prescribed a national programme to fight the disease. The
Philippines is in the global top 10 for
rabies deaths, according to the Global Alliance for Rabies Control. Up to
500 people here die from it every
year. Last year’s toll was 264.
A 2006 government survey estimated the country’s dog population
at 10 per cent of the human one,
which is currently over 90 million
people. There are documented cases
- but no national data—of Filipinos
dying from rabies after eating meat
from an infected dog.
But Manny, a wiry taxi-tricycle
driver in the Philippine capital’s
Guadalupe district, has no qualms
about chowing down dog-meat stew
with a beer.
“A lot of my friends eat it as pulutan,” he said, using the Filipino
name for the finger-food appetisers
taken with alcoholic drinks. “It’s got
no fat like pork—and I don’t see a
problem between dogs as pets and
dogs as food.”
Yet there are occasionally happy
endings: In March, police intercepted a van containing 67 slaughterbound dogs in Tarlac province on
Luzon Island. Video footage showed
the rescued dogs, dehydrated and almost paralysed with fear, piled on
top of one another in cages.
They were handed over to AKF’s
shelter on a 3ha property in Tarlac,
which houses around 500 dogs at
any one time. The animals are put
up for adoption or allowed to live out
the rest of their lives at the shelter.
“We have a no-kill policy for healthy
animals,” said Buenaflor.
AFP PH OTO
By Dina Indrasafitri
The Jakarta Post
A revolution...
Starting From
Your Plate
W
❖❖ Jakarta
hile some are still
arguing about whether “what you are is
what you eat” is entirely valid, others
are taking a step further by using
food to proclaim their political and
ethical views.
Mita, a 28-year-old who runs a collective and community library in Depok, said she chose vegetarianism as
one of her outlets to harness what she
sees as the insatiable nature of human beings.
“I try to control my emotions
through food. If I can control my desire through food, I think I can con-
trol my other desires that are negative and destructive,” she said.
Mita, who became a vegetarian in
2008, said her decision was also
influenced by her dislike of the
meat industry.
“The industry is horrible now because it is forcing animals to breed
and so on...I try not to think of human beings as the centre of the universe. We consume the animals
around us, but what do we do for
them in return to make their lives
more comfortable?” she said.
Titan, who works at a bank, recently celebrated 10 years of being a vegetarian. His decision back then was
partly influenced by reading People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
(PETA) literature.
He was also influenced by his fellow vegetarian friends within hardcore youth culture, which promotes
vegetarianism and a healthy lifestyle.
“I had always wanted to (become a
vegetarian), but I did not know when
to start. On the last night of July I
prayed to God: ‘God, I want to stop
eating meat tomorrow’,” he said.
Susianto from the Indonesian
Vegetarian Society said last year
the number of vegetarians in Indonesia was around 1 million, the
number having increased rapidly
over the years.
But, the majority of vegetarians in
the country are vegetarians because
of their religion. People like Mita and
Titan, who say no to meat products
due to their ethics and political beliefs, are still a minority.
There are others who use food as
a form of activism. The Food Not
Bombs (FNB) movement, for example, has free vegetarian food-sharing to protest the state spending
more on war than on tackling poverty and hunger.
The movement, which began in the
United States, has spread to various
cities around the world by collectives
or groups campaigning for specific
issues while handing out free food to
the public.
Mita said there have been several
FNB events in Indonesia, organised
by groups to campaign for issues like
elections or the mudflow in East Java.
“FNB wants to say that we are not a
charity. We are not trying to clean up
sins...we are the same as you. (We
want to question) why it is hard to
eat...why people are starving in a
world with so many resources. And
where did all the food go?” Mita said.
Aab (not his real name) said his
FNB activism had encountered some
challenges, such as people being suspicious of FNB activities or people
losing enthusiasm in the process.
“But it is interesting and fun,” he said.
The FNB movement is partly related to the anarchist or anarcho-syndicalist belief, which is often misinterpreted as one that is destructive or
chaotic, he added.
• 29
FOOD
By Jean Oh
The Korea Herald
Summer Treats H
With A Twist
❖❖ Seoul
Korean cafÉs are taking
inspiration from Asian
ingredients for their
summer offerings
30 •
ot weather brings out the
summer treats at cafés
and dessert shops across
South Korea. While that
generally signifies bingsu
(Korean shaved ice dessert), ice
cream and gelato, a growing number
of establishments are taking their cue
from Asian ingredients. Fuelled by
the “well-being” movement and a
well-travelled palate, three spots dish
out eclectic riffs off the cool dessert
genre.
ΩΩ Mango Six
The name is a dead giveaway for
the Apgujeong-based flagship store of
this dessert café franchise. Clearly,
mangoes play a leading role at
Mango Six.
“We bring them in fresh,” said
PR team head Kang Hyun-wook,
35, stressing the quality of their
mangoes.
The tropical fruit is worked into a
wide range of drinks and puddingstyle confections that have been
inspired by Hong Kong sweets.
Fans of fro-yo can even enjoy
self-serve yogurt ice cream replete
with a selection of 10 toppings.
One can clearly see Asian influences in items like Mango Six’s
“mango spoon and tapioca” drink,
which conjures up those beloved
bubble teas.
Pureed mango and coconut milk,
in lieu of milk tea or purple taro
root, are layered over fat black orbs
of the chewy starch to make for a
considerably more smoothie-like
creation.
Rich yet tangy coconut yogurt ice
cream tops a mound of slushed-up
pureed mango littered with soft nubs
of sticky rice cake in their “mango
(coconut) ice and rice ball” dessert,
while mango yogurt ice cream adorns
a bowl full of tapioca, coconut milk
and pureed mango in their “mango
ice and tapioca” dish.
In a nod to the “well-being”
movement, the menu also provides
the total calorie count for each
dessert.
The flagship store in Apgujeong is
open 24 hours, daily. Mango desserts
and drinks cost 5,700 won (US$5.30)
to 6,800 won ($6.30). Additional
tapioca costs 500 won (46 US cents).
Yogurt ice cream (four flavors) with
toppings (10 varieties) costs 25 won
per gram.
To get there, go to Apgujeong
Subway Station Line 3, Exit 2. Walk
to Galleria Department Store, turn
right and walk several blocks to the
Hakdong Intersection. Turn right and
walk to the now-defunct Cinecity
Theater. Turn right and walk a
couple of blocks. Mango Six will be
on the left.
For more information call (02)
518-7266 or visit www.mangosix.
co.kr.
ΩΩ Coffee Chu
Churros may be the main feature of
this hip Hannam-dong café, but it is
Coffee Chu’s quartet of healthy
smoothies that jumps out at you,
primarily because it is rare for a joint
that specialises in fried doughnut-like
pastries to pair them with beverages
made from soy, tofu and mountain yam.
“We went for ‘well-being’ drinks
that weren’t too sugary to counterbalance our sweet churros,” manager
Lee Ji-eun, 26, explained.
Served up in adorable jam jar-like
jugs, Chu’s Tofu, Soy Nut, Farmer’s
and White Horse smoothies are most
definitely a guilt-free indulgence.
The Tofu, Soy Nut and Farmer’s all work from a common
base of soy milk.
Soft, silken tofu and specially
ripened bananas are added to the
Tofu version, resulting in a mild,
creamy affair.
Walnuts and red beans give the
Soy Nut its sweet, dessert-like allure,
while a blend of five grains including
barley and Job’s tears gives the
aptly-christened Farmer’s drink its
meal-like heft.
Mountain yam and milk are
imbued with acacia honey in the
White Horse.
Opening hours are from 10:30am to
11pm daily. Tofu, Soy Nut, Farmer’s,
White Horse smoothies cost 7,000
won ($6.50), or can be ordered as a
set with a fritters churro for 9,500
won ($8.80).
To get there go to Hangangjin
Subway Station Line 6, Exit 3 and
walk straight past Passion 5. Turn
left after passing Kyotofu. Coffee
Chu is on the left. For more
information call (02) 790-6821 or
visit www.coffeechu.co.kr.
special machine he got from Japan.
“We make our own batter with
sticky rice and a little bit of sticky
rice cake,” he said.
The dainty square (crisp and
waffle-like on the outside, soft
and chewy on the inside) is
painstakingly coated with a
blueberry jelly-like sauce, chunks
of banana, a scoop of vanilla ice
cream and whipped cream.
Opening hours are from 1pm to
11:30pm daily. Café Nothing is
closed every second and fourth
Tuesday of the month. Kakigori
comes in five flavours, costs 2,500
won ($2.30) and needs to be
ordered with another item on the
menu or a second order of kakigori.
The moffle costs 6,000 won.
To get there go to Hongdae
Subway Station Line 2, Exit 8. Turn
right and then turn left at FamilyMart. Walk two blocks and turn
right into the street with a FamilyMart on its left. Walk several
blocks uphill and turn left at the
next FamilyMart. Café Nothing is on
the left. For more information call
(02) 323-0916 or visit blog.naver.com/
oscarjjang.
ΩΩ CafÉ Nothing
Travels through Japan inspired
Café Nothing owner Jang Jin-gi, 35,
to put red bean-free kakigori (Japanese
shaved ice dessert) and a moffle
(short for mochi waffle) on the menu
of his Hongdae café.
His rainbow kakigori pleases the
child in all of us with its bright
stripes of strawberry, melon and
peach syrups. Condensed milk and a
sprig of mint decorate the simple and
sweet summer dessert.
Jang also concocts a mochi
(Japanese rice cake) waffle using a
• 31
LIFESTYLE
JAPAN
By Aki Omori
The Yomiuri Shimbun
Cool
Biz-ness
Man
Summer brings in
a burst of colour
in Tokyo as the
government
promotes
energy-saving
32 •
PERFECT MATCH:
Ryoichi Kobayashi, left,
wears a roomy Hawaiian
shirt, a good match with
shorts when on holiday.
Long sleeves look relaxing
but smart.
A
❖❖ Tokyo
loha or Hawaiian shirts are
gaining new popularity
thanks to the Japanese government’s summertime energy-saving campaign, Super Cool Biz.
You might feel reluctant to wear one
to work in case you end up being the
odd one out, but Hawaiian shirt
enthusiast and collector Ryoichi
Kobayashi says the key to enjoying the
flamboyant fashion item is choosing the
right size and pattern, and wearing it
with confidence.
“The most important thing when
wearing a Hawaiian shirt with a bold
pattern is to wear it with attitude.
PRACTICAL:
Button-down aloha
shirts with classic
tropical prints are a
good choice for people
making their first foray
into the world of
Hawaiian fashion.
Then you’ll look good,” said Kobayashi,
who wears an aloha shirt every day.
His company manufactures
Hawaiian shirts and other clothing
items, and he has a personal collection of 4,000 Hawaiian shirts made
from the 1930s to the ‘50s.
Hawaiian shirts have an open collar
and short sleeves, and should not be
tucked in. Their colourful, bold
patterns are believed to have been
developed by mixing the clothing
traditions of different cultures, including kimono fabrics worn by Japanese
immigrants to Hawaii.
Whether the shirts should be
allowed in the workplace became a hot
topic in the US island state in the
1940s, when people were fed up with
sweating in jackets as they worked.
According to Kobayashi, around
that time the first Aloha Week was
held, during which the relaxing
shirts could be worn to work. The
week became an annual tradition,
and over the next 20 years or so
became the everyday custom.
“So the shirts are very much related
to Cool Biz efforts,” he says.
Pullover style aloha shirts with
buttons halfway down the chest were
designed to wear in the workplace in
Hawaii. They are made of a cottonlinen blend.
“It’s a fairly firm material that helps
you avoid being too casual. It’s a good
choice for the first time you wear a
Hawaiian shirt in the office. They go
well with chinos and leather shoes,
too,” Kobayashi says.
For the office, Kobayashi strongly
recommends choosing a Hawaiian shirt
one size smaller than you would wear
on holiday. “Roomy Hawaiian shirts
tend to look too relaxed. A big shirt is
good with shorts, but a slightly smaller
size goes better with long trousers,”
Kobayashi says.
Regarding patterns, Kobayashi
advises people to follow their own
sense of style. Generally, he says,
people with dark skin or strong build
look good in shirts with bold patterns
or bright colours. “Slim people and
people with fair skin are best off in
shirts with delicate patterns and light
colours,” he says, adding, “Shirts with
patterns all over would be best for
beginners.”
On especially humid days, Kobayashi
recommends wearing a T-shirt or
sweat-absorbing undergarment with the
Hawaiian shirt.
“The feeling of wearing Hawaiian
shirts is summed up by the saying,
‘wearing the wind,’ because the wind
goes through inside the shirt,” Kobayashi says.
• 33
ASHION
P
❖❖ Kuala Lumpur
By Andrea Filmer
The Star
When
Coiffure
Meets
Couture
Renowned hairdresser
Eiji Yamane likes to marry
hair with fashion
34 •
eople who become internationally
recognised for a craft don’t usually
stumble into it.
Ren ow n e d h a i rd re ss e r E i j i
Yamane, 52, had that something—he
wanted to be a professional motorcycle racer.
“The way I grew up was very traditional.
We were in the country, my parents had rice
fields and everything was very quiet.
“But since I was a little child, I was different. In Japan, culture is very uniformed and
most people have very similar opinions on
things but I wasn’t like that,” said Yamane,
who was in Penang recently for the George
Town Festival 2011.
Growing up in Fukuoka in southern Japan,
Yamane caught the racing bug at a young age
and dreamt of riding 500cc motorcycles on the
track. But a serious accident put a halt to
those aspirations.
With the only dream he had suddenly impossible, Yamane said he was short of ideas of
what to do after finishing school.
“My friend, who worked in a hair salon said
‘Eiji, there are so many beautiful women who
come to salons, you should join me and be a
hairdresser’.
“And so, at 18, I went. I knew absolutely
nothing about hair!” he laughed.
∏∞ Practise makes perfect
A fairytale success story would dictate that
a light bulb lit up over Yamane’s head and he
suddenly found his true calling, but in the real
world, things are never so simple.
“Hair styling looks so easy. I watched people work and I thought ‘I can do that’, but
after a year I still couldn’t do anything. I tried,
but my hands just couldn’t do it,” he said.
The feeling was disheartening and Yamane
knew he couldn’t continue that way.
“So I made a deal with myself. I’m either
going to do this job well, or do something
else,” said Yamane.
Making that pact with himself, Yamane gave
it all he had. From 8am to 8pm, he slogged in
the salon shampooing heads, and from 9pm
till midnight, he studied techniques and skills.
“After two months, I was so exhausted.
After work, my friends were all going out to
the disco or having drinks and I was studying.
Yamane explained that for him, there is
truth in the saying “practice makes perfect”
and after the long hours of study and sacrifice,
his hands started responding to his wishes.
“The more you do it, the more you start to find
that your hands can do something that you’ve
never seen before.”
According to Yamane, he was lucky
enough to work in a salon owned by
Michiko Masue, a leading traditional
Japanese hairstylist who taught him
the difference between profit and art.
“She didn’t think so much about
the business (side of things). For her,
it was mostly about hair and how she
could do it better.
“After studying with her for fourand-a-half years, I feel like I’m like
that too—I think if you create beautiful things and you’re good at it, people will always come.”
∏∞ Across the seas
Never one to conform, Yamane then
decided it was time to explore the
world.
“I was 22 and at that time, there
were only three choices where I could
go to pursue hairdressing—London,
Paris or New York.
“My friend knew someone in
America so I got a job as a shampoo
boy,” Yamane said.
Slowly, he learnt English and gained
the trust of his employers. Within a year,
he was cutting 22 heads of hair a day.
“After studying so much (in Japan),
I knew many different cuts and it
wasn’t difficult to be busy.
“But after three years, I was so
bored. It felt like I was working in a
factory.
“I thought to myself—I practise, I
find new things, I do it in so many
different ways, that’s where the beauty is. And this is not how I want to
spend my life,” he explained.
He resigned and went in search of
someone who could inspire him.
∏∞ Learning the dry-cut
Being in New York
for several years,
Ya m a n e k n e w
who he wanted
to learn from and
made a call to
Manhattan hairstyling icon John Sahag.
“His salon
asked me to
send a resume.
I went straight
to Sahag’s
apartment to give it to them by hand.
The next day, Sahag’s company called
me, an interview was set up and I
had a job,” Yamane said.
He spent nine years working sideby-side with Sahag, who is well
known for the pixie boy cut he gave
a young Demi Moore in the 1990
movie Ghost.
Sahag, who lost his battle with cancer
six years ago at the age of 53, was also
legendary for a new technique of hair
cutting—the dry-cut.
“Everyone was cutting hair when it
was wet but Sahag was cutting dry.
“When the hair is dry, you have to
take into account everything, including how it’s going to
look tomorrow. There’s
so much to think about
and figure out. If you’re
cutting wet, it’s easy to
do it technically but it’ll
look different when it
dries.
“To do a dry cut, you
use your soul, your
mind and your eye to
create it the best you
can,” Yamane said.
∏∞ Branching out
When he reached his
mid-30s, Yamane decided to try it on his own by opening a
small studio on Madison Avenue with
11 chairs and six employees.
“In the beginning, it was crazy. I
didn’t have much money, so I painted
and fixed everything myself.
“The rent at Madison Avenue is
so expensive but I chose that place
so people could see the salon,”
Yamane said.
“When I started, we were
charging about US$150,
which was deemed
expensive. So, it
was difficult to
get clients and
wa l k- i n s , ” h e
said.
It took three
years for business
to fall into a
steady pace, but
the hard work
and dedic ated
cutting style finally paid off for
Yamane’s team.
Ten years later, they moved into a
4,181sqm lot (three times the space of
the first studio) in the Emporio Armani building also on Madison Avenue.
He now leads a 42-member staff
which includes 16 stylists and eight
colourists.
And although Yamane’s accomplishments have gained him celebrity clients—Catherine Zeta-Jones, Sarah Jessica Parker and Claire Danes, to name
a few—Yamane maintains that he’s in
it for the hair.
“I don’t care too much whether the
clients are famous or not famous.
“I’m just happy that
I’m cutting dry,” said
Yamane, who returns to
Japan four to five times
a year to teach the drycut to aspiring hairdressers there.
∏∞ Creative collaboration
Making his rounds in
the hair industr y in
Ne w Yo r k , Ya m a n e
eventually met Zang
Toi, the fashion designer who hails from east
coast state of Kelantan,
Malaysia.
Yamane remembers asking Zang if
he could have a shot at doing the
models’ hair in one of his shows, and
the rest, as they say, is history.
Now, Yamane is a regular face at
Zang’s shows and events, as he has
been for the last 12 years.
“Zang’s not afraid of hair being big
or different. A lot of designers are
afraid of hairstyles because to them,
fashion shows are all about clothes,
but Zang’s idea is to have beauty from
head to toe,” Yamane said.
He added that that freedom was
likely a reason why the duo’s friendship has lasted so long.
“I do crazy things with the hair and
he’s okay with it. He always gives me
and my creativity space to create
something,” Yamane said.
“It’s not so much about the culture,
but the beauty that can be found,” he
concluded.
• 35
LIFESTYLE
SINGAPORE
AFP PH OTO
By Jessica Lim & Jalelah Abu Baker
The Straits Times
Grooms-To-Be
Get Help To Pop
The Question
They pay planners up to US$9,000 to
make their proposals one of a kind
36 •
M
❖❖ Singapore
ore men are falling for the
idea of getting help from a
third party to pop the
question of marriage to
their girlfriends.
For a fee that could reach S$11,000
(US$9,000), the moment of surprise
dreamt up by wedding planners could
involve framing “Marry Me” with an ice
sculpture or using a helicopter ride to put
her on cloud nine.
The Association of Bridal Consultants said more wedding planners are
creating that lovey-dovey occasion at
the request of time-starved and pressured grooms-to-be.
“The men want something different
and have no clue over how to make their
proposal unique,” said its country
director, Jonathan Goh. “Also, women...
expect more. The ‘let’s buy an HDB flat’
proposal doesn’t cut it anymore.”
A check with 10 wedding planners
found that demand has grown, and the
proposals have become more elaborate.
Those The Straits Times spoke to were
behind about 70 proposals last year.
Suite Success received five requests in
2008, when it launched the service.
It had 18 jobs last year, and has done 10
so far this year, said owner Tony Goh, 33.
Eileen Tan, 27, owner of proposalideas.
blogspot.com, got started in 2007 when
she planned five proposals.
She has pulled off 15 so far this year,
matching that number for the whole of
last year.
Gordon Ang, owner of Wedding
Matters, said he has handled about five
jobs a year since 2009.
He said that when he began, people
were willing to pay only about S$500 for
a proposal executed in a simple hotel
room or chalet.
Now, it typically costs about S$1,000,
including a night’s stay in a hotel, romantic dinner and a ring dropped into a glass
of champagne served by a butler. Most
deals include the service of a cameraman.
Some, however, cost up to S$11,000,
which pays for wow factors such as a
one-night stay at a five-star hotel, an ice
sculpture of the words “Marry Me”,
dinner in a room full of star-shaped
balloons and a violinist serenading them.
“Sometimes, couples come to us to
discuss wedding plans. After a while,
we realise the groom hasn’t formally
proposed, and we will pull him aside
to ask if he wants to plan one,” said
Christin Shua, co-owner of Indulgz
Weddings, who has planned three
proposals this year.
One she did in June went to greater
heights, via an hour-long helicopter ride
that cost more than S$2,000.
Others like Lucas Chan, 28, forked out
S$4,000 for his proposal last year to his
girlfriend of two years.
They engaged Indulgz Weddings to
plan their wedding last year before he had
even proposed to the insurance planner.
“She was always lamenting that I never
proposed to her and that she did not
know if I was serious about marrying her
at all,” said the management trainee.
He made her think they won a trip to
Penang and popped the question there in
a restaurant in front of a photo montage.
“She teared up and said yes,” he said.
Operations manager Brian Loh, 34, was
very nervous about proposing, even
though he and his girlfriend of two years,
Kym Chong, 29, had arranged to take
wedding photos.
“I was more worried about how to
surprise her,” he said.
Halfway through singing a song at a
karaoke lounge with friends on her
birthday in January last year, she saw
pictures of the couple on the screen.
“I came in from the other room singing
the chorus, with flowers and a ring. And,
of course, I went down on one knee,”
said Loh.
He added that the proposal cost him
about S$1,000.
Chong, a project engineer, said she
appreciated what he did.
“I didn’t suspect a thing. It took a lot of
preparation and a lot of lying,” she added,
laughing.
But other brides-to-be are not as
approving of the idea of their boyfriends
resorting to hired help.
“They don’t even know the girl,” said
Siti Aishah Zahara, 24, a teacher.
“If the guy is going to pay wedding
planners to plan it for him, I think it
lacks effort on his part.”
She added that her boyfriend proposed
to her at East Coast Park recently without
any outside help.
• 37
LIFESTYLE
CHINA
By Rachel Au-Yong
The Straits Times
Young Chinese
Singles Looking
For Love Online
In hurry to get
hitched, under-25s
turn to Internet
matchmakers
F
❖❖ Beijing
or many young singles in
China, last Chinese Valentine’s Day was an urgent
reminder for them to get
hitched quickly. That in
turn prompted more of them to turn
to online matchmakers for help.
No longer is the face of such
clients only that of a 40-year-old
bachelor or spinster; the average age
of clients is now much lower.
In fact, those under 25 form a
sizeable chunk of the singles market
in China.
Jiayuan—one of the country’s
largest online matchmaking firms—is
no exception. It has close to 19
million active users under the age of
25, or 39.5 per cent of its entire client
database.
Others, like Xiaoyuan Love—literally, ‘Love on Campus’—gear their
38 •
matchmaking services specifically to
under-graduates and recent graduates.
Eager to avoid becoming one of the
country’s sheng nan sheng nu, or
“left-over men and women”, many are
looking for partners while they are
still young.
One reason is the intense competition for love. The number of unmarried men is expected to exceed that of
available women by 24 million in
2020, according to the Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences.
And, as more women earn college
degrees, their demands increase. Many
hope to meet future spouses with
good jobs and property.
As such, they want to take advantage of their youth.
“Their looks and young age are
their assets,” said art student Wang
Shengkai. He has many female friends
who have signed up with matchmakAugust 26-September 8, 2011
AFP PH OTO
ing agencies, both online and off.
Marriage is also still viewed as a
necessary step in every adult’s life.
Even parents get into the act.
Chinese parents flood public parks,
armed with resumes of their unmarried adult children, to meet other
parents with children to marry off,
hoping to attract good matches.
In China, women are allowed to
marry at 20, and men at 22.
“As soon as I hit 22, my mother
visited Zhongshan Park every day,”
said Beijing native Xu Qiang, 25.
“She told me if I delay getting
married, I won’t be able to find a
good wife later.”
Xu married his first girlfriend in
February this year.
All this adds to the pressure of
finding a partner quickly.
The Internet helps make the
search a little easier for both
sexes, matchmakers say.
“The young are dependent on the
Internet now—whether it’s because
they’re busy, or shy, it’s only natural
they go online to find their partner,”
said Jiayuan spokesman Liu Jing.
Liu Chaoqiong, spokesman for
dating site Baihe, agreed.
“In the past, people could rely
on their hometown and friends,”
she said. “But with populations
moving all the time, people can
rely only on themselves. And that’s
how young people connect through the Internet.”
Those who baulk at their parents’
anxious interference prefer the
anonymity and protection online
dating offers.
“As long as I sign up with (an
online dating service), I can check on
my own time if there are people I
think would match me,” said student
Li Xuanwei, 24. “If I like them, it’s a
bonus, and if I don’t, my parents can’t
blame me for not trying.”
Recently, couples dined out in
fancy restaurants to celebrate Qixi, the
Chinese Valentine’s Day. But many of
the nation’s young singles attended
match-making events specifically
organised for under-25s.
Qixi is celebrated on the
seventh day of the seventh lunar
month. It is said that this is the
only day in the year when a pair
of lovers—one an immortal fairy
and the other a human cowherd—
are reunited in Heaven.
In Beijing that day, more than 4,250
couples registered their marriage. The
figure was 10 times the daily average
and was about 200 more than on
Valentine’s Day on February 14,
according to the Beijing Daily, citing
government statistics.
• 39
ENTERTAINMENT
SOUTH KOREA
By Kang Yoon-seung
The Korea Herald
Simran Panaech
Asia News Network
TH E KO RE HE RA LD
Men, too, can
model women’s
lingerie
40 •
L
❖❖ Seoul/Bangkok
adies, would you buy lingerie if the
model in the campaign advertisement
is a man?
And not just any man—South
Korean actor, So Ji-sub, to be precise.
So is to become the first male model for
Vivien, a South Korean domestic women’s
underwear company.
So has built his reputation through numerous TV dramas and movies on an image of
masculinity and sincere care for his beloved.
“The advertisement barely includes
information about the product, and we
believed that the male model was enough
to deliver the image of a woman’s lingerie
brand,” said Kim Sun from Vivien’s
advertisement department.
“It will express the message that Vivien will
make women’s gloriousness into perfection,
just as So Ji-sub protects his own lover,
leading them into the spotlight.”
Vivien has previously featured Korean
female stars Shin Se Kyung and Yoon Eun
Hye in their campaign advertisements.
Unlike other lingerie labels that favour
showcasing their garments on
famous models, Vivien tends
to take the approach of
showcasing how their
fully-clothed model feels
when wearing their
lingerie.
So will, of course, not
be wearing any of the
lingerie but this concept
of emotion is possibly
what Vivien is after by
picking him in their
new ads.
Female customers
will probably want to
wear Vivien’s lingerie
just to be “close” to
him, so to speak.
But who is this
heartthrob?
So has dabbled in
modelling, rapping
and acting.
He c aught
Kore an fans’
attention
when he
started
model ling
for je ans
brand
Storm in 1997.
Since then, he has moved into dramas,
movies and commercials.
His break-out role that garnened positive
feedback from critics and fans was in 2004’s
KBS drama Sorry I Love You.
However, he did have to take a hiatus till
2007 to complete his mandatory military
service in Korea.
His comeback was in Jang Hoon’s directorial debut Rough Cut, a low-budget film that
was a critical and surprise box office success.
To break into the Chinese market, So
acted alongside Zhang Ziyi in 2009 in
Sophie’s Revenge.
At the Korean press conference for
Sophie’s Revenge, So stated: “After getting
out of the military I wanted to challenge
myself as an actor with new projects, and
China is a new start.”
He then went on to star in a drama called
Cain and Abel where he also rapped “Foolish
Love” for the soundtrack.
So loves hip-hop music and sometimes
performs under the name “G-Sonic”.
Among his many talents, photography is
another pursuit of So’s.
He published a photo-essay collection called
“So Ji-Sub’s Road” in 2010 that hit the
best-sellers’ list within 10 days of its release,
having sold 50,000 copies by pre-order
and then entered into its third
printing.
The book covers stories and
photos over the past 13 years
since So’s debut into the
Korean entertainment scene
and features trips to Gangwon
province.
As a result, he was named
the goodwill ambassador of
Gangwon-do in an effort to
boost tourism there.
Plans are underway for a
51km trail in the province to
be named “So Ji-Sub Road”
set to be completed in the
summer of 2012. He will be
the first Korean celebrity
to have an entire road
named after him.
Now that is what we
call a celebrity.
It is no wonder
Vivien picked him
to create more
buzz for their
brand.
• 41
By Yasminka Lee
Asia News Network
P hoto from tv N
Korea’s Got... Talent!
There is no doubt that Korea has a lot of
talents based on the pop stars that it
regularly churns out, but the reality talent
search also proves there is so much more to
the country than pop singers and dancers
42 •
S
❖❖ Bangkok
omething special happened at the finals night
of Korea’s Got Talent. The
so-called Orphan Boy,
Choi Sung Bong, actually
smiled at the end of his performance
of the Italian opera “Nella Fantasia”.
But it was a smile that minutes later
would be shattered. Choi, who was
crowd favourite to win the contest,
only finished second.
because of physical abuse and lived
on the streets of Seoul, selling gum
and energy drinks to survive.
When he first appeared on the
show, the judges and audience had
no clue on what he was going to do.
When he started singing the opera
piece “Nella Fantasia”, everyone’s
jaws dropped and there was no dry
eye in the studio. Even the judges
cried, especially singer, actress and
model Song Yun-ah who wanted to
give him a hug afterwards. She also
said that she would want to see
him smile as Choi stood there
stoically listening to the judges’
comments.
As early as then, Park—a
musical director and vocal
coach—offered him voice
lessons no matter what
the outcome of his
performance on the
show would be. It
is interesting to
note that on finals
night, Park ranked Choi fifth behind
Joo, the magicians, comic duo and
harmonica players. On the other
hand, Song ranked Choi first and the
third judge, playwright and director
Jang Jin, ranked him second.
Rumours claim that tvN, the
network behind Korea’s Got Talent,
dramatised Choi’s story for the sake
of ratings and conveniently kept the
truth that he received vocal training
at the Daejeon Arts High School. His
story was focused more on him
being a day labourer at a construction site, which was just part of the
truth. He did not exactly
hide his musical
background in the
interview portion
when he said he
received some
musical
training in
school, but
obviously,
highlighting his
life as an
orphan and
labourer was
Choi
more interestSung-Bong ing. Indeed, when
his story made it to the Western
media, people around the world
sympathised with him.
But as judge Jang reminded him
during the semi-finals round, he
could no longer bank on his sob
story to win the finals.
Come finals night, everyone was
looking forward to Choi’s
performance...and ended up
disappointed when he sang
“Nella Fantasia” again. Jang
was right, Choi’s dramatic
story was already bought
by the audience and
singing a song he had
previously performed offered
nothing new. It was anticlimactic.
Rumours about his overly
dramatised story may have
also turned off the voters in
Korea that would ultimately decide on who
was going to win. But
the choices of the top
three may also reflect a younger
audience that preferred Joo’s dancing
and IUV’s humour. Or it may also
reflect fatigue with singers and B-boy
dancers in the land of Hallyu.
Though Choi may not have
emerged as the night’s biggest
winner, he does have a future in the
industry with voice lessons from
Park and a contract with Sony Music
to record an album.
Choi’s fans on YouTube also
pointed out that singer Susan Boyle
lost to a group of dancers in Britain’s
Got Talent in 2009. But Boyle is now a
big star with two albums under her
belt. They are confident that Choi
will emerge to be the bigger star
despite the major upset.
“I will work harder,” Choi told the
show’s hosts soon after the winner
was announced.
Song told Choi: “It is good to see
you smile for the first time. I hope
from here on, you’ll have more days
to smile.”
If advised and managed well, Choi
may not just be smiling but even
laughing his way to the bank.
asianpopdom@gmail.com
• 43
AF P PHOTO/ HO/ RY U Kon -U k/ tv N
The biggest winner was Joo
Min-jeong, a 17-year-old popping
dancer, who took home 300
million won (US$300,000) and a
car. Popping is a form of street
dance that traces its origins to
California in the 1960s-’70s. Joo
said she would like to establish a
dance school in the future.
Kolleen Park, one of the show’s
judges, told Joo at the end of her
performance: “I hope you show
the world that there is such a
talent in Korea.”
The finals night held on August 20
was livestreamed on YouTube and
watched by people from the US,
Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Viet
Nam, the Philippines, Hong Kong,
France, Indonesia, among many
others. Most of those who tuned in
were rooting for Choi as evidenced
by the live comments on the site.
There were 10 finalists who
performed at the Grand Peace Palace,
an imposing structure in Kyung Hee
University that has been a location
for concerts, films and awards shows.
Aside from Choi and Joo, the
other finalists were: Kim Ha-jun
(sand animator), Kim Tae-hyun
(10-year-old singer), Kim Jong-hwan
(B-boy dancer), I Big Harmonica
Ensemble, Kim Min-ji (blind singer),
IUV (comic duo), Kim Chan-yang
(dancer) and Escape (magicians).
They were selected from five
semi-final rounds.
Among the night’s standouts were
Kim Min-ji, who sang “You Raise Me
Up” backed by a choir, and the
harmonica players who charmed the
audience with a medley of ABBA’s
“Dancing Queen” and “Mamma
Mia!”, ending the number with
“Buttercup”. Kim Tae-hyun added a
cute factor to the show with
her rendition of “Heal The
World”.
But the 22-year-old
Choi was the show’s
main attraction, having
gained public attention
with his sob story. He
was put in an orphanage
when he was three, ran
away when he was five
TRAVEL
P HOTO S COURTE SY OF CI T Y INN
H OST E L
TA K ES
44 •
C U LT U R E
S OFF
By Lydia Lin
The China Post
Taiwan’s capital
is working to have
a tourist-friendly
and safe
environment
for international
backpackers
❖❖ Taipei
I
n contrast to western capitals,
Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, is
seen as an affordable tourist
destination equipped with a vast
array of dining, transportation and
lodging options flexible enough to
satisfy the most budget-conscious
traveller. With millions of foreign
visitors, the Taipei city department of
information and tourism has estimated
that the number of young itinerants
from all corners of the world outstrips
the city’s supply of accommodations
specifically catering to such guests.
Yet, with only three registered “youth
hostels”, true hostel culture has just
taken off to reflect Taipei’s rapidly
globalising image. Furthermore, a lot of
international visitors are unwittingly
admitting themselves into privatelyowned operations that fail to meet
Taiwan’s hotel regulations.
Some have argued that the city
government stipulated regulations are
too strict for the tourism’s good,
thereby forcing up to 50 private
operators to house guests underground. A cursory search online will
yield many budget-friendly (under
NT$1,000 or US$34 per night) lodging
options. However, the fact that these
so-called youth hostels are unauthorised presents a legal loophole that is
causing a headache for the owners of
said establishments, city officials and
the three youth hostels alike.
New Party’s Taipei city counsellor
Wang Hung-wei has been a vocal
force in spearheading efforts to
increase youth hostels by legitimising
copy-cat operations. Relaxing hotel
management regulations in Taiwan
will help with the legal registration
of mid-to-small-sized hotels, Wang
explained, which are defined as those
with 15 bedrooms and below.
“There are over 50 mid-to-small sized
hotels that target travelling youths, which
clearly shows such a market exists,” the
city counselor pointed out in a phone
interview with the China Post.
However, many small hotels fail to
meet requirements of the Regulation for
the Management of Tourist Hotel
Enterprises, likely due to the fact that
few articles directly address their
services. Many requirements pertain to
hotels with 300 guests and above,
regulating everything from land registration transcripts, health and safety
standards and hotel blueprints that
scrutinise everything down to the width
of stairways.
It is nearly impossible for mid-tosmall size hotels to meet these standards, Wang said, adding that this
actually compromises the safety of
international guests.
• 45
EXPLORE
THAILAND
By David Wilson
The Star
Shattered
Smiles
N
❖❖ Sukhothai
icknamed the Land of
Smiles, Thailand grew
from a kingdom called
Sukhothai, which means
Dawn of Happiness. Today, the kingdom consists of a sleepy
town called New Sukhothai and some
sprawling ruins.
Unlike other history-soaked haunts,
Sukhothai has a light touch, a rosy
glow and some magic reflected by the
exquisitely carved Buddha smiles on
the faces of statues gracing its ruins.
Peppered with lakes and lawns,
Sukhothai is undeniably beautiful.
Would-be admirers should know
that from Bangkok, the 450
kilometres journey north to
the town that
straddles the
Yom River takes
about six hours,
so you might
want to take an
80-minute
46 •
flight instead.
The destination, which dates back
eight centuries, was put on the map
by “the father of Thailand”: the kind
and canny King Ramkhamhaeng.
Credited with creating the Thai
alphabet and a golden post-Khmer
age, Ramkhamhaeng made Sukhothai
the first independent Thai state and
the cradle of Siamese civilisation.
Sukhothai’s dominance lasted for
over a century when it was ousted by
rival Thai kingdom, Ayutthaya. The
remains of heyday Sukhothai are
mostly scattered around the 70 square
kilometres heritage-listed Historical
Park set 12 kilometres—or “kilo” as
Thais say—from
town along the
Sukhothai-Tak
Highway.
When I roll
up at the park
in a rattletrap
tuk-tuk ta xi, a
motorbike taxi,
my T hai lady
t rave l b u d d y,
who normally motorbikes everywhere, says she cannot face walking
around in the heat. She would rather,
she announces, be by the sea at the
royal resort of Hua Hin in southern
Thailand. So, while she sulks in the
tuk-tuk, chatting to the moustached,
twinkly driver, I broach the park’s
baking heat alone and snap away,
without having to queue anywhere or
nod to more than one other gawker.
The guesthouse that I had just
escaped from may be brimming with
backpackers; stil l, aside from a
sprinkling of Thai officials, the ruins here border on deserted but have
a bit of everything: ruined palaces,
temples, city gates, dams, canals,
even the remains of a dyke control
system said to be the Sukhothai
Kingdom’s spiritual centre.
Only structures built in stone retain
a strong claw-hold. The park’s obvious heart is the moat-ringed, pillari n f e s t e d Wa t M a h a t h a t ( “ G re a t
Relic”): one of Thailand’s oldest and
most important Buddhist temples
with two huge Buddhas at its enAugust 26-September 8, 2011
trance. Inside the rambling
open-air complex, the main lotus
bud-shaped chedi burial structure
houses Buddha relics, experts believe.
According to the website Thailand’s World, of the eight smaller
surrounding chedi, the four brick
ones at cardinal points reflect the
Khmer style, while the four on the
sides indicate the art of the local
tribe, Lanna. The intricate symbolism suggests that Wat Mahathat was
vital to Sukhothai culture.
Either way, it radiates atmosphere
worthy of a mystery cult, which is
capitalised on ritualistically every
year. During the picturesque full
moon festival, Loy Kratong, it serves
as the stage for a light-and-sound
spectacle.
South of the temple’s complex presence stands Sukhothai’s oldest structure, Wat Si Sawai. Odd like an architectural folly designed to surprise, Wat
Si Sawai consists of triple corncobshaped towers, or prang. Centuries before the Sukhothai kingdom that’s
vastly bigger than modern Thailand
arose, Wat Sri Sawai was designed as a
Hindu shrine, historians think.
On-site discoveries—including a
carved lintel depicting the top Hindu
god Vishnu and linga (don’t ask)—fuel
the theory that Wat Si Sawai is a “lost
Khmer temple”.
In light of Wat Si Sawai and other
attractions, my guidebook’s claim that
Sukhothai “is not particularly interesting” strikes me as harsh. The highlight of the crazy quilt Historical Park
may well be the mysterious megaBuddha housed well north of Wat
Mahathat at Wat Si Chum (Temple of
the Bodhi Tree).
The 11-metre tall brick-and-stucco
seated monster stares at visitors
through the slit in its custom-built
cuboid mondop. Squeeze into the bodhi tree Buddha’s space, and you will
notice its elegantly tapered fingers finessed with gold-leaf nail varnish.
According to legend in Sukhothai,
the inanimate Buddha with a ladyboy
look could talk to worshippers. The
hidden staircase that runs up into its
head might have let tricksters create
that illusion. One Sukhothai king apparently did, hiding in the enlightened one’s head and giving his troops
a pre-battle talk meant to drive them
to victory.
The idol with the svelte looks mirrored by other Sukhothai Buddhas
must have seemed an odd source of
fighting tips. It might have had more to
say on grooming. Anyway, it remains
one of Sukhothai’s most bewitching
sights amid stiff competition.
On the kingdom’s fringes, at the
end of a zigzagging path, the giant
Buddha of Wat Saphan Hin (Stone
Bridge Monastery) stands atop a hill,
commanding fine views and attention. Farther in towards town, across
a lake, a gold-leaf “Buddha footprint”
shines, kept in a shrine.
Then there is Wat Chang Lom
(“Temple Surrounded by Elephants”),
which features a bell-shaped chedi
adorned with—you guessed it—
elephant sculptures.
Even if Sukhothai lacks the chic
pizzazz of Hua Hin, it oozes intrigue.
If you want a taste of it, rather than
riding out on a tuk-tuk in the stinging
sun, go by bike at 7am when the park
is just opening, and you can smell the
lilies. Ideally, bring a guide because,
despite Sukhothai’s heritage status,
signage is minimal.
A stroll of the kingdom with the
name that breathes happiness can feel
like a mystery tour.
• 47
EXPLORE
TIBET
By Wang Kaihao
China Daily
Get Off Your
High Horse
bordered by india and bhutan, this picturesque
county has casual and simple charm
T
❖❖ Lhasa
he landscape changes
dramatically as the altitude
drops from 3,840 metres
above sea level to 2,900
metres, along the road
from Xigaze to Yadong, in Tibet
autonomous region.
Instead of barren and craggy
scenes, babbling streams and
trees make their appearance as
the road snakes through the
mountains toward Yadong, in
southernmost Tibet.
By the time I arrive I have begun
to shake off the cold, nausea and
headache caused by altitude sickness
and I’m starting to enjoy the summer
weather.
The stream finally becomes a
30-metre-wide river as I descend
48 •
into the valley. Rapeseed f lowers
in full bloom spread over the
fields, interspersed with rows of
red-roofed cabins.
The county seat of Yadong is
called Xiasima, which means “even
an important official has to get off
his horse here”. It has a casual and
simple charm.
There’s only one street and
just 3,000 residents, mostly
Tibetans. Yadong River separates
the town into two parts, connected by a stone bridge. Twoto-three-f loor houses made of
stone and wood line the street.
Though small, the town has all the
usual amenities, including an Internet
café and Xinhua bookstore.
In summer, even at 8pm, the sun
is still shining and vendors push
their handcarts loaded with tea,
medicinal herbs and handicrafts,
through the street.
I stop to take pictures of the
hand-made decor over the doors and
windows, say hello to locals leaning
on balconies and enter a teahouse to
enjoy a cup of butter tea.
As for cuisine there is Sichuan or
Yunnan food, since several restaurants are run by people from these
two provinces.
Highly recommended is Yadong
fish. Though Yadong River flows into
the Ganges River in India, it’s said
Yadong fish won’t cross the border
because they’re used to the temperature and altitude. Locals call it the
“patriotic fish”.
Yadong is famed for
its wild jelly ear
fungus, which comes
from the primitive
forest. It’s very
nutritious and a
kilogram of the dried
fungus costs about
4,000 yuan (US$623).
With a dish of steamed Yadong
fish, a plate of fried jelly ear fungus
and goblets of highland barley wine,
a traditional drink in Tibet, time
with friends is well spent.
Yadong borders Sikkim state of
India on its western side and Bhutan
on its east. In 1902, Britain occupied
Xiasima and launched its two-year
invasion of Tibet. In 1962, China and
India fought a battle here due to a
border dispute.
There are two monuments
memorialising those who fought and
died in the conflicts.
Today, instead of war there is trade
and Yadong is a meeting place for
merchants from all over China, India,
Nepal and Bhutan.
All the stores in Xiasima have
bilingual signs, both in Mandarin and
Tibetan. Herbal medicines like
caterpillar fungus and snow lotus are
among their most popular products.
A one-hour ride up a mountainous
road is Renqinggang, the only
frontier market on the China-India
border, selling miscellaneous Indian
and Nepalese goods, such as cigarettes, tapestry and blankets.
Do bargain: You can get a delicate
shawl made of pashmina, a kind of
fine cashmere wool, for just 25 yuan
(US$4), for example.
Finally, you should
also take some time to
appreciate the gargantuan beauty of misty
Mount Chomolhari,
topped by glittering
snow, set against an
azure sky backdrop.
This peak, 7,350
metres above sea level, is
sacred to Tibetan Buddhists and
known as the “fairy woman”.
According to local folklore, Chomolhari is the bride of Kanchenjunga,
the world’s third highest mountain,
in India’s Sikkim state. Sadly, the
couple can only see each other from
a distance.
• 49
DATEBOOK
Gwan gju
Asian Culture Week
Bang ko k
Drumbeats of wisdom
Taiwan’s U Theatre will stage their
spectacular production—“Meeting with
Bodhisattva”—as part of Bangkok’s 13th
International Festival of Dance & Music.
The teachings of the Buddha, Mahavairocana Abhisambodhi Tantra, say “In all
acts of singing there is truth; every
dance portrays reality”, thus connecting
irrevocably the universes of spirituality
and performance art.
When: September 26
Info: www.roc-taiwan.org/th/mp.
asp?mp=232
Asian Culture Week celebrates diverse
Asian culture by bringing artists and
people of Asia together for a seven-day
cultural bash. The festival is part of the
government’s “Hub City of Asian
Culture” project, which aims to forge
cultural ties with different Asian
countries by transforming Gwangju into
a cultural hub of Asia. A total of 10
foreign creative institutions, including
Japan’s Tokyo Wonder Site and Zero
Station in Viet Nam, as well as 13 Korean
organisations will participate in this
year’s symposium to establish ties and
make more opportunities to share their
properties to enrich Asian culture and
lifestyle.
When: Until August 28
Where: www.cct.go.kr
Q i ng dao, China
International Beer Festival
The 21st Qingdao International Beer
Festival kicked off on August 13. On its
opening day, the festival attracted
280,000 visitors who drank 77 tonnes of
beer, setting records for the festival. The
16-day event—the biggest of its kind in
Asia—opens on the second Saturday of
August each year. Qingdao, a city in
China’s Shangdong province, is famous
for its tasted beer. The annual beer
festival draws hundreds of thousands of
visitors from all over the world.
Where: www.qingdaochinaguide.com/
news/events/international-beer-festival.
html
Kuala Lumpu r
M an i l a
Mid Autumn Lantern Festival
International Jazz Festival
Tradition comes to the fore again with
the celebration of the colourful Mid
Autumn festival. This year’s theme of
Nautical Lights is specially chosen to
depict the significance and role of sailing
vessels. For the lantern contest portion
of the celebrations, contestants aged 15
and above are required to craft their
lanterns on the Nautical Lights theme.
Among various events lined up for the
occasion are demonstrations on making
mooncakes. There will also be a Tang
Yuen Tang Yuen GRB roadshow on
September 4.
Jazz music takes centrestage at the
Cultural Centre of the Philippines when
it holds the weeklong First International
Jazz Festival. The CCP will be transformed into one big venue for lectures,
documentary presentation and performances when a big number of local and
foreign jazz artists numbering more than
150 musicians gather for the first time to
share knowledge, bond and collaborate
in various performances. The lectures
and performances will focus on jazz
variety of styles such as bebop, blues,
ragtime, modal, big band, fusion.
When: Until September 17
Where: Cheras Leisure Mall
50 •
Where: www.culturalcenter.gov.ph/
8/31/07
TeaserHGRS_AsiaNewsAdvtv2_080807.qxp:Layout
197x121 26.5.2011:Layout 1 26.5.20111 9:17
Uhr 9:29
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11:22 Uhr
Seite 1
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∞ Do`s anD Don`ts ∞ Festival oFFerings ∞ Fun anD charity

Transcription

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