Monday, December 29, 2014 – edition no. 2218

37 pct of the social
housing applicants rejected
xi demands msar prepare for
the unexpected
The Housing Bureau has released
the list of residents granted social
housing units, having approved over
3,800 applications
The Chinese President Xi Jinping said
that he wants the Chief Executive and
the new gov’t to be prepared for the
unexpected
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mark end of
mission to
afghanistan
P3
P14
MON. 29
Dec 2014
T. 11º/ 17º C
H. 50/ 80%
N.º 2218
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FOUNDER & PUBLISHER Kowie Geldenhuys
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Paulo Coutinho
WORLD BRIEFS
AP PHOTO
CHINA Two fire chiefs and
two poultry farm bosses
have been convicted and
sentenced to prison terms
of up to nine years in
relation to a fire at a plant
in northeastern China last
year that killed 121 people
and injured 76 others,
state media reported
Saturday.
GREECE A fire erupted
on a ferry carrying 478
people from Greece to
Italy yesterday, leaving
one person dead and
trapping hundreds on
top decks as gale-force
winds and choppy seas
hampered evacuation.
The Italian Navy said
that the victim and
an injured person
were transported
by helicopter to the
southern Italian city of
Brindisi.
More on backpage
With articles republished from
China
zombie
factories
kept open to
give illusion
of prosperity
F1
PAULO BARBOSA
“ THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ ”
AirAsia plane missing
with 162 people aboard
P11
MACAU
2
29.12.2014 mon
th Anniversary
澳聞
37 percent of the social
housing applicants rejected
measures,” she reiterated.
The Housing Bureau revealed
that there are a total of 1,600
social housing units in Macau,
with the majority built in Coloane. 2,700 more social housing apartments are scheduled
to be built in Taipa and the Ma-
T
hE Housing Bureau has released the list of residents
granted social housing units, having approved over 3,800 applications. However, about 37 percent of the applications were not
approved. Applicants who were
not approved either did not submit the required documentation,
or their monthly income exceeded the maximum established to
apply for social housing units.
Chan Kuan Kit, head of the bureau’s Social Housing Department, said that they hope for
some of the families to move into
the units next March, TDM reported.
“Firstly, we will handle the temporary housing subsidy and then
we will arrange for them to move
in as soon as possible. We estimate that in January we will issue a letter to the applicants and
we will inform them to move as
early as March,” he added.
While waiting for a social housing flat, residents can apply for
a government subsidy, which can
be granted until they move into
the new apartments.
Lawmaker Au Kam San has urged the bureau not to be too strict
when analyzing applications, as
these citizens are amongst the
most vulnerable group in Macau’s society. Out of 6,146 applications, only 3,841 were granted
a social housing unit.
“The social housing is actually
a social protection network. This
network shouldn’t solely protect
those who have never bought a
house; it should also protect tho-
N
EW heads of the Judiciary Police (PJ)
and the Public Security
Police Force (PSP) were
sworn in on Friday. Chau
Wai Kuong moved from
the PJ deputy director to
the authorities’ director,
and Leong Man Cheong,
who had served as the
assistant to the Commissioner General of Unitary
Police Service, took office
as the new PSP Commissioner.
During the ceremony,
Chau vowed that the
PJ would adhere to the
concept of being “people-oriented and citi-
Maybe they
should loosen
the limit of
the maximum
monthly
income
LEONG KWAI PENG
cau peninsula over the coming
years.
Many residents were satisfied
to see their names on the list, but
are unsure how long it will take
for them to be able to move in.
Macau resident Ms Lei told TDM
News that she hopes the government can speed up the process,
as she has nowhere to live but
her daughter’s house.
“My daughter and I are only getting a subsidy from the government. How can we afford private
housing units, which will leave us
no spare money for food?” another resident questioned.
Applicants examine the list for public housing
se who have been bankrupt before. We can’t ignore these people
who need society’s protection,”
said Au Kam San.
A member of the Public Housing Affairs Committee, Leong
Kwai Peng, criticized the bureau for taking too much time
to approve applications. In addition, she suggested the bureau
adjust its criteria while “loosening up their reins.”
“Maybe they should loosen the
limit of the maximum monthly
income. They should also loosen
up the limit for those applicants who have purchased a house
or have benefited from previous
housing subsidy schemes; they
should deal with it with different
ceramic tiles shed off in edifício do largo
SIX BUILDINGS of the Edifício do Largo public housing complex have
seen ceramic tiles shedding off the walls in their public hallways this
winter. The fifth building suffered the severest wall tile shedding and
loosening, whereas about two–thirds of its stories need repairs in the
wall. So far, the shedding hasn’t caused any injuries, yet some residents
have complained that the two-year old public housing units are of poor
construction quality.
New heads of PJ and PSP take office
The Secretary for Security, Mr Wong Sio Chak, oversees the
inauguration ceremony of the Director of the Judiciary Police and the
Commissioner of the Public Security Police Force
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zen-first” in its law enforcement, as he believes
that, “the interaction and
mutual trust between the
police and the citizens are
the most effective policy
for crime prevention.”
Leong also stated that
he will perform the duty
of “guarding the laws and
reassuring the people”
and carry on the PSP’s
“probity, efficiency and
professional capability.”
Chau Wai Kuong joined
the PSP in 1984 and ser-
ved in the Tactical Unit
and Intervention Police
team. He joined the PJ
in 1988, where he served
as the head of the Intelligence Division and head
of the Criminal Investigation Department, as well
as the PJ spokesperson.
In August 2010, Chau was
appointed deputy director of PJ. He also holds a
PhD in Law from Renmin
University.
Leong Man Cheong joined the PSP in 1987 and
DIRECTOR AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF_Paulo Coutinho paulocoutinho@macaudailytimes.com
MANAGING EDITOR_Paulo Barbosa paulo.barbosa@macaudailytimes.com
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS_Eric Sautedé, Leanda Lee, Severo Portela
CHINA & FOREIGN EDITOR_Vanessa Moore vanessa@macaudailytimes.com
DESIGN EDITOR_João Jorge Magalhães magalhaes@macaudailytimes.com | NEWSROOM AND CONTRIBUTORS_Albano
Martins, António Espadinha Soares, Brook Yang, Catarina Pinto, Cyril Law, Emilie Tran, Grace Yu, Irene Sam, Jacky I.F. Cheong, Jenny
Philips, João Pedro Lau, Joseph Cheung, Juliet Risdon, Keith Ip, Renato Marques (photographer), Richard Whitfield, Robert Carroll
(Hong Kong correspondent), Rodrigo de Matos (cartoonist), Ruan Du Toit Bester, Sandra Norte (designer), Sum Choi, Viviana Seguí
| ASSOCIATE CONTRIBUTORS_JML Property, MacauHR, MdME Lawyers, PokerStars | NEWS AGENCIES_ Associated Press,
Bloomberg, Lusa News Agency, MacauHub, MacauNews, Xinhua | SECRETARY_Yang Dongxiao amy@macaudailytimes.com
served as the Commander of the Tactical Unit
and Intervention Police team, as well as the
Head of the Department
of Operations. In January 2014, Leong was
appointed assistant to
the Commissioner General of Unitary Police
Service, taking charge of
the Information Analysis Center. He graduated from the Academy of
Public Security Forces in
Police Science, and holds
a masters degree in Law
from the Macau University of Science and Technology.
A MACAU TIMES PUBLICATIONS LTD PUBLICATION
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mon 29.12.2014
th Anniversary
澳聞
MACAU
3
T
HE Chinese President
Xi Jinping said that he
wants the Chief Executive Chui Sai On and
the new MSAR administrative
team to bear responsibilities
and prepare for the unexpected.
Meanwhile, Premier Li Keqiang
said that Macau is at the critical
moment of development and
adjustment, and that the central government “will continue
to provide support to Macau as
always.”
Xi Jinping met Chui Sai On on
December 26 in Beijing when
the CE was presenting his work
to the President. Xi said that
the central government fully
approves of the work of the
MSAR government. Following
the swearing-in of the new administration, the president
wants the CE and the top officials to “be courageous in taking
on responsibility and be good
at accomplishing [duties].” He
also hopes that the “Chief Executive Chui and the new administration can take on responsibility, enhance the awareness
of their being in charge and be
prepared for unexpected development in the future.”
Moreover, Xi has asked the
government to improve the administration of Macau and continue to push for the all-round
development of the Macau economy.
In response, Chui Sai On
thanked the president for visiting Macau during the 15th
anniversary of the MSAR and
presiding over the swearing-in
ceremony of the top officials.
He also thanked the central
government for its support, including the granting of two extra pandas to Macau, as well as
launching the study on the administrative rights of Macau’s
water.
Before meeting the president,
Chui Sai On met with premier
Li Keqiang. The premier has
also approved of the work of the
MSAR government and the two
CEs throughout the 15-year period after the sovereignty handover.
“Macau is still at a critical moment of development and adjustment. The central government will, as always, provide all
kinds of support to allow Macau
to maintain this good trend and
better develop and improve the
livelihood of residents,” he said.
The CE responded by giving
V
isitor arrivals in November increased by
15 percent year-on-year
to 2,802,373, according to the Statistics and
Census Service (DSEC).
Same-day visitors accounted for 56 percent at
1,562,331.
Visitors from mainland China surged by 28
percent year-on-year to
1,975,951, coming pri-
President Xi Jinping receives the Chief Executive Chui Sai On in Beijing
Xi demands MSAR prepare
for the unexpected
special thanks to Li Keqiang for
the 24-hour border crossing at
the Hengqin checkpoint and the
additional opening hours of the
Border Gate checkpoint, which
the premier later said were the
“special measures” the central
government granted MSAR.
Chui also expressed gratitude
for a recently signed supplement to the Mainland and Macau Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA),
saying that it would contribute
to new breakthroughs in the
collaboration between Macau
and the Guangdong province.
Before his returning to Ma-
cau on Saturday, Chui Sai On
spoke to the media and summed up his visit. He said that
after hearing Beijing’s instructions, he will emphasize work
on different aspects where
there are problems that must
be solved. “We have listened
to the instructions from the
nation’s leaders. My team and
I will submit the policy directives in March. We will try to
make [the directives] compatible with my policy platform
[for the CE election], as well as
to match them with the works
we need to thoroughly carry
out,” he said.
study on macau customary water
territory launched
CHUI SAI On revealed that the
central government has already
officially replied to the MSAR
government regarding the launching of a study on the administrative rights of Macau’s customary
water. He said that the study will
be finished in December 2015
and the Macau government will
actively support the study. “Currently, the customary water of
Macau does not belong to the
SAR. There is a series of applications, processes and approvals
[needed for constructions such
as] the reconstruction of the Patane Water Market and the ferry
terminal. If the [administrative
rights] of the area belongs to the
MSAR, I think the administrative
situation will be different from
that of in the past,” he said. But
the CE reiterated that Macau still
has to apply to the central government if it wants to carry out any
future reclamation after acquiring
the administrative rights of the
water territory.
CE continues to defend Li Canfeng’s appointment
C
HUI Sai On said that he supported
the Secretary for Transport and Public
Works, Raimundo do Rosario, in appointing Li Canfeng as the new director of the
Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau. He said that the appointment of any
officials is based on their academic qualifications and work experience. The conduct of candidates is also examined.
The CE also refused to comment on Li’s
testimony during the trial of the former
Secretary for Transport and Public Works,
Ao Man Long, or Li’s nickname of “director amnesia”.
In addition, Chui Sai On conceded that
there has been inadequacy in the government, particularly when handling the case
of a one-year-old child who was denied
TOURISM
Nov visitor arrivals rise by 15 pct
marily from Guangdong
Province (898,373) and
Fujian Province (78,196).
The number of mainland
visitors travelling under
the Individual Visit Scheme also soared by 35 percent to 940,056.
Meanwhile, visitors from
South Korea increased by
8 percent to 41,592, while those from Hong Kong
(508,122) and Taiwan
(69,625) decreased by
3% and 19% respectively.
However, long-haul vi-
sitors from the United
States (17,653), Australia
(8,273), Canada (7,219)
and the United Kingdom
(6,402) all registered a
year-on-year decline.
The average length of
visitors’ stays decreased
entry to Macau because of alleged security
reasons. According to Lusa news agency,
the baby had the same name of one of the
blacklisted individuals from Hong Kong,
who are barred from entering the region.
“We have publicly admitted [the problem] and a review must be carried out
[…] We are really sorry that this mistake
has occurred,” Chui expressed.
by 0.1 day year-on-year
to 0.9 day in November.
Overnight and same-day
visitors recorded an average stay of 1.9 days and
0.2 day respectively.
In the first eleven months of this year, visitor arrivals reached 28,985,562,
representing an 8 percent
increase year-on-year; same-day visitors numbered
15,584,268,
surpassing
the annual total in 2013
(15,056,359).
Visitors
from mainland China,
South Korea and Japan
increased year-on-year,
while those from Hong
Kong and Taiwan decreased. Moreover, long-haul
visitors from the US recorded a year-on-year
increase, but those from
Australia, Canada and UK
registered a decrease.
MACAU
HEALTH
HK resident
infected with
H7N9
A 68-year-old woman
from Hong Kong has
been infected with the
H7N9 virus – the first
case reported in the
neighboring SAR this
winter. The woman
presented symptoms
consistent with H7N9
on December 19, which
was then confirmed
yesterday. She is
currently in a critical
condition, having been
admitted to the intensive
care unit. The patient
had visited friends in
Shenzhen, accompanied
by two other people. She
came back the same day
to Hong Kong and told
authorities she had not
visited any market in
Shenzhen, nor did she
have contact with live
poultry. Although there
has been no reported
case of H7N9 human
infection in Macau, the
Health Bureau said it has
activated a contingency
plan “adopting a series
of preventive measures.”
ad
th Anniversary
澳聞
Alexis Tam will urge cabinet to
reply promptly to AL enquiries
T
HE Secretary for Social Affairs
and Culture Alexis Tam said
he will urge his cabinet to reply to
lawmakers’ questions promptly.
He pledged to set a two-day deadline for the cabinet to present legislators with answers to their written
enquiries.
The five government secretaries
officially took their posts on Friday,
after a swearing-in ceremony on
December 20.
Alexis Tam said that he greatly
values the opinions of the Legislative Assembly lawmakers as well as
citizens. Therefore, he seeks to improve the efficiency of responses by
requiring his cabinet staff to reply
to lawmakers’ enquiries within two
days, the Government Information
Bureau said in a statement.
Furthermore, Alexis Tam recalled that matters in his cabinet’s
portfolio are directly connected to
the population’s daily life. He believes there is a need to solve citizens’ problems more efficiently.
The Secretary added that he will
be working toward simplifying administrative procedures in his cabinet, and urging departments to
regulate personnel recruitment.
PHOTO ARCHIVE
4
29.12.2014 mon
Alexis Tam
He recalled, however, that the
Health Bureau needs to recruit
more staff to better respond to the
population’s needs.
Mr Tam also revealed he already
reduced manpower in his office
from 26 staff members to 22, in
order to maximize efficiency, TDM
English News reported.
The Secretary for Economy and
Finance Lionel Leong also unveiled some of his plans for the years
ahead. He revealed that his cabinet will establish a “measureable
scientific system” to fully understand the non-gaming components
of each gaming concessionaire in
Macau. He added that his cabinet
will also set up a system to monitor
the gaming industry and to better
allocate financial reserves.
The Secretary for Administration and Justice Sonia Chan assured that it’s possible to restructure
work functions in every department under her cabinet. Ms Chan
said her team will prioritize the
handling of overlapping duties of
different services, namely the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau,
the Cultural Affairs Bureau and the
Sports Development Board. CP
List of people banned from
entering Macau lawful
T
HE Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak
reiterated that the list of people prohibited
from entering Macau ahead of Xi Xinping’s visit is lawful and aims to ensure security in the
region. “We have a name list and we have professional knowledge and evaluation to decide
who to reject. Of course they have the right to
lodge an appeal, and the police will continue
to review our work performance and to make
evaluations,” he stated, as quoted by TDM English News.
Furthermore, he reiterated that the list is drafted while taking into consideration that certain
people may represent a threat to Macau’s security. Amid heightened security during Xi Jinping’s
two-day visit on December 19 and 20, a group
of about 14 Hong Kong activists and four Apple
Daily reporters were refused entry to Macau.
mon 29.12.2014
th Anniversary
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mon 29.12.2014
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T
HE territory’s urban
planning limitations,
a vehicle overload, a
flawed public transport system and the delay of
the LRT launch are just some
of Macau’s mobility issues - in
a city where the government is
still focusing on isolated measures, analysts believe.
Having settled in Macau 30
years ago, architect Miguel
Campina Ferreira is critical of
the city’s transport policies,
which he believes have been
focusing “on a set of isolated
measures that have translated
into the chaos” that now faces
residents and visitors.
“There are circumstances
that hinder circulation, namely the fact that the urban
areas have in itself limitations.
This already happened in the
old neighborhoods and it will
remain if [the government]
chooses to maintain those districts’ urban morphology (…)
In some cases, bad decisions
have been taken when it comes to changing the road network,” he reiterated.
Official data shows that Macau – comprising an area of
29.5 square kilometers and
approximately 450 kilometers
of road – had 237.503 vehicles
in circulation by the end of
October.
The architect believes that
the number of vehicles – which can be divided into private,
public and those operated by
gaming concessionaries - is
one of the reasons for Macau’s
transportation system and
pollution problems.
“We experience an overload
as all these types of vehicles
trigger an surplus and there hasn’t been any decision
taken to limit or regulate [it],”
he said.
Architect Carlos Marreiros
shared a similar opinion, highlighting traffic and parking
systems as some of the areas
in which we have experien-
7
According to data provided by DSAT, there are 13 McLaren vehicles registered in Macau. This is one of them
MSAR 15TH ANNIVERSARY | TRANSPORT
A city almost paused
over traffic woes
ced negative results, which
prevent residents and visitors
from enjoying the city’s places, streets and squares.
He suggested the implementation of an automated
parking system, which is designed to minimize the area or
volume required to park cars.
Mr Marreiros believes it is a
less expensive solution taking
into consideration the land
costs.
Another traffic woe highlighted by architect Campina Ferreira is related to taxis serving
the city, which has triggered
citizens’ dissatisfaction not
only due to the number of taxis available (around 1,000)
but also because of the service
provided.
Over 1,000 luxury cars on Macau’s roads
M
MACAU
PAULO BARBOSA
澳聞
ACAU’S gaming revenues have dropped consecutively since June, but
money hasn’t failed to appear in some residents’ pockets as a total of 1,096 luxury cars
are registered in the city.
Along its 450 kilometers of roads, there
are 523 Bentley, 250 Rolls Royce, 158 Maserati, and 131 Ferrari models – quite a high
number in a city affected by several traffic
congestion issues.
According to data provided by the Transport Bureau (DSAT), there is also one Lamborghini Veneno registered, a vehicle that
can reach 350 kilometers per hour.
The speed limit in Macau’s roads, however, only allows drivers to reach 80 kilometers per hour, and only along the city’s
bridges connecting the peninsula to Taipa.
McLaren has 13 registered vehicles here.
The success of Rolls Royce in Macau has
led the brand to open an exclusive shop
providing different options on the vehicle
interiors that can be designed according to
the clients’ wishes and how much they’re
willing to pay.
Lamborghini has a total of 106 cars registered in Macau, namely the SE30, a vehicle launched to commemorate the brand’s
30th anniversary in 1994. There are only
150 units of this Lamborghini model.
Clients can also choose personalized registration plates, as it happens with the Lamborghini Aventador LP700, which reads
“ONE.”
There are 19 personalized registration places in Macau. Those seeking to acquire one
might have to prepare themselves to spend
a high sum of money, with prices reaching
MOP1 million for their registration plates
to read “ONE” or “LOVE.”
Those who wish to choose specific numbers, usually associated with luck and
wealth, can bid at local auctions. Throughout the current year, three auctions generated additional revenue of MOP35.1
million, as 559 numbers were sold for
cars’ registration plates and 484 numbers
for motorcycles.
“The unspeakable tale of taxis is yet another example of
the way it has been dealing
with public assets going
against the most basic expectations of residents and visitors,” he stated.
Discussed since 2004, the Light Rail Transit construction
continues to fuel debate when
it comes to its added value.
Campina Ferreira is amongst
more skeptical voices toward
the LRT project, which was
intended to start operating in
2011/2012, but is only due to
begin operations in 2022.
The architect criticizes the
chosen technical solution: “It
would be more convenient if
[it had been developed] as an
underground metro or at least
at the same level of the roads,
rather than a metro that will
be circulating over our heads.
This is only contributes to
change the city’s features.”
In addition, he also recalls
that the metro’s routes are
mainly intended to serve tourists. “The metro starts at the
border, continues through
[the city’s] outskirts and leaves them at the casinos. It can
contribute to ease traffic congestion, but people will only
use a public transport if it is
indeed a benefit,” he argued.
“How can a seven or eight
years delay be explained? Is
it a delay related to technical matters? Is Macau’s land
different from that of other
Asian countries or the rest of
the world? The London metro was built toward the end
of 19th century, whose soil is
mainly comprised of clay. In
Macau, at the beginning of the
21st century they are still discussing a project [being developed at] two paces: very slow
or paused,” he stressed.
The metro has also triggered
criticism over the lack of an
overall budget, which, according to an audit report, has
suffered several cost overruns.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, another major
transport infrastructure under development, is set to be
completed by 2016 and it is
expected to bring Pearl River
Delta regions closer together,
but architect Campina Ferreira believes it will only worsen
traffic woes, increasing the
number of vehicles circulating
with registration plates from
Macau and other regions.
Besides congestion, pollution is another concern: “There’s a need to act upon this,
and reach the conclusion that
there’s a need to introduce
green vehicles immediately.”
Addy Chan, vice-president
of the Macau Institution of
Engineers, shared similar opinions, stating that the government should act as an example
and be the first entity using
eco-friendly vehicles to encourage the population to follow
in their footsteps.
“This is very important for the
future,” he said, adding that
there is also a need to replace
older vehicles with more environment-friendly cars as well
as limit the number of vehicles
in circulation. MDT/Lusa
MACAU
ARTS
Flamenco
queen
Maria Pagés
performed at
CCM
DAVID RUANO
Leading a
cast of seven
dancers,
Flamenco
choreographer
Maria Pagés
performed
at the Macau Cultural Center
(CCM) last weekend. “Utopia”
is an innovative flamenco piece
conceived and performed by Maria
Pagés Company, CCM revealed in
a statement. The choreographer’s
intense performance was
interpreted to the sound of
flamenco and live Brazilian music,
it added. “Exploring imagination
and idealism as vehicles for
change, Utopia summons the
words of writers like Baudelaire
or Benedetti, inspired by architect
Oscar Niemeyer’s drawings and
ideals,” CCM stated. The idea
for this flamenco piece took
shape in 2010, when the Spanish
choreographer visited Niemeyer’s
studio in Rio. She was impressed
by the architect’s humanity and
commitment to society. She
subsequently conceived a dance
performance inspired by his
solidarity, conveyed through body
movements, light and sound.
ad
th Anniversary
澳聞
Passengers allegedly injured
by taxi driver in Cotai
T
HE Macau Taxi Passengers
Association (MTPA) has
condemned what it described as
“another horrendous incident”
where one of its members claimed to have been assaulted and
injured by a taxi driver early yesterday morning.
According to MTPA, the incident took place between 5:20
a.m. and 8 a.m. in Cotai. The
taxi driver allegedly demanded
an illegal fare of MOP1,000 for a
journey from Hard Rock Hotel to
the Macau peninsula, which the
association said would normally
cost around MOP50. After the
driver found out that one of the
passengers – a young woman –
was recording the conversation,
he allegedly assaulted the woman by pushing her out of the
car and onto the ground. The
driver is also accused of driving
into another person and causing
a leg injury, which required hospitalization and an ambulance
on the scene. The MTPA statement also suggested that the taxi
driver fled the scene before the
police arrived. “Our member also
reports that police who attended
the scene said there would be no
RENATO MARQUES
8
29.12.2014 mon
consequences,” the press release
states.
The Times checked MTPA’s
Facebook page, where the report
first emerged. The MTPA member who made the complaint
claimed on the page that the driver had returned to the location
after being contacted by the police. However, the member said
the driver has denied all of the
accusations.
Andrew Scott, the president of
MTPA, said that incidents like
this are “hurting everyone in Macau.” He also criticized the inaction of the authorities, suggesting
that it has further invigorated the
irregularities of the drivers.
“We seem to hear of an incident
like this every week. Macau taxi
drivers regularly engage in violence, usury and extortion because there is almost no enforcement
and no serious consequences,”
he said. “The inaction of Macau’s
police, the taxi industry regulatory body DSAT, and of other authorities has emboldened Macau
taxi drivers, especially night shift
drivers, to the point they feel they
can say and do almost anything.”
Moreover, the president pointed out that, as a tourist destination, Macau and its tourism
industry will suffer as a result of
such behavior. “Macau is a tourism city and the number one
factor in determining visitation
to a tourism destination is perceived safety, so this chaotic and
dangerous situation with Macau
taxi drivers is hurting everyone in Macau. I am very concerned that soon we’re going to see
a very serious injury or even a
death resulting from Macau taxi-related violence. I implore the
Macau Government to do something about this crisis before that
happens.”
This is the second incident this
month in which taxi drivers allegedly injured others as a woman
Macau taxi
drivers regularly
engage in
violence, usury
and extortion
because there
is almost no
enforcement
and no serious
consequences
ANDREW SCOTT
was involved in a hit and run
incident involving a taxi on December 10. The victim was riding
a motorcycle along Avenida da
Amizade when a taxi suddenly
turned left and hit the victim’s
right side before knocking her to
the ground. The taxi did not stop
after the collision occurred and
the victim was sent to the hospital for treatment. JPL
mon 29.12.2014
th Anniversary
分析
AP PHOTO
Sony restores PS4 service
on PlayStation network
after hacking
A shopper walks on the logo of Sony’s PlayStation 4 at an electronics store in Tokyo
Oliver Renick and Pavel Alpeyev
S
ONY Corp. restored service
for the PS4 game console on
its PlayStation Network, according to a company statement on
its website yesterday in Tokyo.
The recovery came three days after Sony’s online gaming operation and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox
Live were hit by connection failures on Christmas Day.
Service was restored for Microsoft on Dec. 26, while the PlayStation Network briefly returned
online yesterday for the PS3 and
PS Vita game consoles. Sony
said some users were experiencing difficulty logging into the
network. Hackers calling themselves Lizard Squad claimed responsibility for the disruptions.
The game networks were attacked on the same day Sony
released “The Interview” online
and in independent theaters,
after major U.S. cinema chains
decided not to show the movie following hacking incidents
at the company’s film and TV
studio last month. A different
group called Guardians of Peace
claimed responsibility for infiltrating Sony Pictures Entertainment’s servers, destroying data,
exposing Hollywood secrets and
forcing the studio temporarily to
cancel the film’s release.
“It’s not yet clear whether it’s
just an outage of the PlayStation
Network or if some personal
data has been stolen too,” Hideki
Yasuda, a Tokyo-based analyst
at Ace Research Institute, said
on Dec. 25.
Lizard Squad, which took credit
for an attack on Sony earlier this
year, said on its Twitter account
that it was behind the incidents.
The group said it would “stop hitting” the services if users called
attention to the hack by retweeting its statements.
“The Interview,” a comedy
about a fictional assassination of
North Korean leader Kim Jong
Un, was shown in more than
300 locations on Christmas Day
without incident, and was also
available for rent and purchase
at the Xbox store, a Sony website
and Google Play, among others.
It topped the charts of the Xbox
store and YouTube’s movie store. The limited release brought
in more than $1 million in ticket
sales on Christmas Day, Sony
Pictures said.
U.S. President Barack Obama
blamed North Korea for orchestrating the attacks against Sony
Pictures and vowed to respond.
North Korea has said it doesn’t
know the identity of the hackers claiming responsibility for
breaking into Sony’s computer
network.
North Korea blamed the U.S.
for an Internet outage it experienced, calling Obama “reckless
in words and deeds” and charging him with forcing the release
of the movie.
“U.S. President Obama is the
chief culprit,” the National Defence Commission said in a statement carried Saturday by the
North’s official Korean Central
News Agency. When Sony Pictures said it would withdraw the
film, “Obama urged it to unconditionally screen the movie,” the
statement said.
Satoshi Nakajima, a spokesman for Sony’s games unit, said
the company was investigating
whether the attack on the PlayStation Network was related to
the Sony Pictures Entertainment
hack.
E-mail and voice-mail messages to David Dennis, a spokesman for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, weren’t
returned.
By streaming the comedy via
the Web, Microsoft and Sony
took the risk of provoking denial
-of-service hacking attacks. The
hackers had warned that they
intended to target the companies
with such incidents on Christmas Day.
Denial-of-service assaults can
be difficult to deflect, even if a
company has ample warning
they’re coming, because they’re
executed by thousands of hacked
computers performing normal
yet database-intensive activities, such as running searches
or downloading videos, all at the
same time.
Cybercriminals targeted Sony
in 2011 after it sued a young
researcher when he exposed
security vulnerabilities in the
PlayStation 3 console. The 2011
hack involved the theft of personal data on 77 million PSN users.
“Last time the network was
down for a month and PS4 sales
were little affected,” Ace Research’s Yasuda said. “A network outage won’t prevent people from
buying the PS4. And this time it
comes after the peak shopping
season, too.” Bloomberg
BUSINESS
9
10
CHINA
29.12.2014 mon
th Anniversary
中國
AP PHOTO
Agonizing, lonely search
for missing kids in China
Zhang Xiuhong, left, shows a ripped poster of her missing daughter, which she says was damaged by police, as her husband Yao Fuji arranges other photos, at their rented
room in Beijing
Jack Chang, Beijing
I
N the grainy video, Zhang
Xiuhong can see her daughter ride her bike down a country
road on her way to school one
spring afternoon six years ago.
In the next shot, Yao Li rides
down a driveway a few moments after her classmates walk by.
Then, the pictures stop: The
15-year-old disappeared just
minutes after that surveillance
footage was taken, leaving only a
shoe as a clue in a nearby ditch.
Zhang and her husband have
since searched all over China for
Yao Li, hoping to rescue her from
a child trafficking industry that
swallows up thousands of boys
and girls every year. Along the
way, the couple have also been
harassed, arrested and jailed repeatedly by police who accuse
them of stirring up trouble by
joining with other parents and
taking their search to the streets.
“We go out and search, and
then all these police surround us,” Zhang said in the dingy
room she and her husband share near where her daughter was
last seen. “Nobody’s watching
for my daughter. Nobody’s doing
anything. How can we have any
more hope?”
In a tightly monitored society
where authorities detain even
relatives of air crash victims demanding government action,
Zhang and other parents of missing children have learned that
they must fight on two fronts.
First, they’re up against a
sprawling, opaque network of
abductors and illegal buyers and
sellers of children. And since police efforts to find children often
leave parents unsatisfied, they
must negotiate with authorities
to hunt for the kids themselves.
As many as 70,000 children are
estimated to be kidnapped every
year in China for illegal adoption,
forced labor or sex trafficking,
making it one of the world’s biggest markets for abducted children, according to the state-run
newspaper China Daily. By comparison, in the U.S., about 100
children are abducted annually
by people who are strangers to
them, said the Polly Klaas Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to
preventing crimes against children and assisting in the recovery of missing ones.
The U.S. State Department said
in its annual trafficking report
this year that China “does not
fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of
trafficking.”
Chinese authorities have tried
to show they’re tackling the problem, including launching a special anti-kidnapping task force in
2009, which government media
say has busted 11,000 trafficking
gangs and rescued more than
54,000 children across the country.
In October, the issue was highlighted in the Chinese-produced movie “Dearest,” which told
the true story of a couple who
found their abducted son after
searching for three years.
Still, many parents say they toil
As many
as 70,000
children are
estimated to
be kidnapped
every year
in China for
illegal adoption,
forced labor or
sex trafficking
largely on their own, with the police at best leaving them alone.
Xiao Chaohua, whose son was
5 when he disappeared outside
his shop in 2007, said appeals to
government-run TV to broadcast
pictures and names of individual
children are largely rejected, as
are suggestions to develop a Chinese version of U.S. Amber Alert
warning systems to spread information about missing children
through roadway signs or other
means.
“They won’t broadcast it because if they do, it’ll expose one of
China’s problems — the fact that
children go missing here,” Xiao
said.
The Public Security Ministry,
which runs the anti-kidnapping
task force, did not respond to
several phone calls and a fax
seeking comment.
According to Pia Macrae, China director for the international
nonprofit group Save The Children, Chinese police are often
more willing to help families
with greater means, and even
then frequently don’t tell parents
what they’re doing.
“The parents feel un-communicated to and want to take actions,” Macrae said. “We have
seen a real effort to reach out
from the police to improve things and we hope it will get better.”
While China has strengthened
laws against trafficking and raised more public awareness of the
issue, several parents said they
were operating on their own.
In fact, they said police harassment usually started when they
gathered in groups of more than
20 wearing poster boards and
handing out fliers with pictures
of their children. Xiao said police
have also stopped him when he
drives his van pasted with photos
of missing children.
Chinese police regularly crack
down on any groups they perceive to be organizing without government approval and threatening official authority, no matter
the cause.
The parents of missing children, however, refuse to give
up. About 1,000 families have
formed a Beijing-based support
group that shares leads about
missing children and negotiates
with police to allow parents to
search for their children. They
often go to cities where child and
sex trafficking rings are reported
to be operating and try to track
down suspected traffickers. “I’ve
dedicated myself to finding him,”
Xiao said of his son. “If I stop, I
can’t do anything because I’ll be
thinking of him.”
Over the past six years, the
group has found two children,
both of them abducted from
small cities and sold to adoptive
families, Xiao said. The group
found one boy in an orphanage
in central Henan province, rejected by his purchasers because of
a heart condition and just days
from being sent overseas for
adoption.
After China toughened its antitrafficking laws in 2009, prices
for abducted children shot up
as much as tenfold to $32,000
for boys and nearly $10,000 for
girls, he said. Children considered particularly attractive fetch
even higher prices.
Wu Xingfo, whose 1-year-old
son was stolen while sleeping at
home in 2008 in central Shanxi
province, said he too has been
harassed by police for trying to
find his child.
“All the parents in Shanxi created our own group to find our
children, but the government
said our act was causing trouble in society,” Wu said. “I’ve
been imprisoned for two days.
They’ve torn up the photos I’ve
passed around of my son. I don’t
understand why the police don’t
take this seriously. It’s like you
lost a dog or a purse to them.”
Zhang — the woman whose
daughter was last seen riding a
bicycle — said she felt her “heart
run cold” when police stormed
a rally of more than a dozen parents she was attending in July in
the southern city of Guangzhou,
near where the country’s biggest
trafficking networks are reported
to operate.
Like Xiao, Zhang and her husband, Yao Fuji, spoke with a
haunting lack of emotion, clearly
exhausted from years of anguish.
“They say China has human rights, but this isn’t the case at all,
not a single bit,” Yao said. “Before this happened with our child,
we thought everything was great,
just like we saw on TV. Now, we
know it’s all fake.”
As her husband spoke, Zhang
silently replayed the video of her
daughter riding to school, rewinding again and again to the moment she appeared on screen,
just before she vanished. AP
mon 29.12.2014
th Anniversary
Andrew Janes, Kyunghee Park
and Weiyi Lim
I
NDONESIAN
authorities looking for an AirAsia Bhd. flight with
155 passengers and seven crew on board called off
the search as darkness fell
over the seas after a day of
scouring yielded no clues on
what happened to the Airbus
Group NV jet.
“It’s too dark,” J.A. Barata, a
spokesman at the transportation ministry in Jakarta, said
by phone. Rescue aircraft
searching for the plane have
returned to base, Indonesian
Vice President Jusuf Kalla
said in press conference in
Jakarta broadcast on Metro
TV.
An international hunt began after QZ8501 lost contact
with tower early in the day on
a flight to Singapore from Surabaya. Singapore and Malaysia, where AirAsia is based,
also joined the hunt for the
missing aircraft while Australia offered help.
“We’re devastated, but we
don’t know what’s happened
yet,” AirAsia Group Chief
Executive Officer Tony Fernandes said at a press conference in Surabaya, broadcast
live on TVOne. “The weather
conditions weren’t good, there were storm clouds. The
pilot had made a request to
change altitude.”
QZ8501 lost contact with
airport controllers at 7:24
a.m. Indonesian time today,
the Malaysia-based carrier
said in a statement. The flight started in Surabaya, Indonesia, at 5:35 a.m. local
time and was due to arrive in
Singapore at 8.30 a.m. There’s a one hour time difference between the two countries. AirAsia, the region’s
biggest budget airline, said
there was no information
on the fate of the passengers and crew of the Airbus
A320-200.
The pilot of the single-aisle jet requested to fly at a
higher altitude because of
clouds, Indonesia’s acting
Air Transport Director Djoko
Murjatmodjo said in Jakarta
today. The journey to Singapore usually takes about two
hours.
The last signal from the plane was between the city of
Pontianak on Borneo and the
town of Tanjung Pandan on
Belitung island. Indonesian
authorities will focus their
search around Belitung and
expand that gradually, Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan
said earlier.
“The aircraft was on the
submitted flight plan route
and was requesting deviation
due to en-route weather before communication with the
aircraft was lost while it was
still under the control of the
Indonesian Air Traffic Con-
ASIA-PACIFIC
11
XINHUA
亞太版
People related to passengers on AirAsia flight QZ8501 look on informations of the missing flight at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia
Search for AirAsia aircraft
called off after day-long hunt
This is
my worst
nightmare. I
as your group
CEO will be
there through
these hard
times. We will
go through this
terrible ordeal
together
TONY FERNANDES
AIRASIA CEO
trol,” AirAsia said in the statement. AirAsia had no fatal
crashes in its history of more
than a decade of operations,
according to AviationSafetyNetwork, which tracks accident data.
Today’s incident comes in
one of the worst years in aviation for Asia, and Malaysia
in particular. The Southeast
Asian nation is still reeling
from the crashes of two planes operated by state-run carrier Malaysian Airline System
Bhd.
Flight 370 vanished from
radar screens en route to
Beijing from Kuala Lumpur
March 8 without warning,
while MH17 was shot down
in Ukraine in July. The two
accidents killed a combined
537 people and caused ticket
bookings to plunge. No debris
of MH370 has been found in
what has become the world’s
longest search for a missing
passenger jet.
The aircraft was flying at
32,000 feet before it requested to go higher, Indonesian
authorities said.
There were storms along AirAsia’s flight path, Accuweather.com said on its website,
citing their own meteorologist Dave Samuhel. Storms
are very active this time of
year, Samuhel was quoted
as saying, adding that December and January are the
wettest period of the year in
Indonesia.
The plane had two pilots,
four flight attendants and one
engineer on board, AirAsia
said. While the company is
based in Sepang, Malaysia,
it operates with subsidiaries
and affiliates in different
countries. The missing plane
belonged to the Indonesian
operations of the budget airline.
The captain in command
had a total of 20,537 flying
hours, including 6,053 hours with AirAsia Indonesia,
and the first officer a total
of 2,247, the airline said in a
statement revising a previous
press release.
Of the 155 passengers, 138
were adults, 16 children and
one an infant. The plane was
carrying one Singaporean,
a Malaysian, a person from
France, one from the U.K.,
three from South Korea and
155 Indonesians, according
to the latest AirAsia press release.
Airbus, the Toulouse, France-based plane maker, said
it’s aware of the reports about
Flight 8501 and the company
is in contact with the airline.
The aircraft had undergone
its last scheduled maintenance last month, the carrier
said.
Fernandes flew to Surabaya
after the incident. “This is my
worst nightmare,” he tweeted
earlier. “I as your group CEO
will be there through these
hard times. We will go through this terrible ordeal together.”
Fernandes, 50, bought AirAsia for 1 ringgit (29 cents) in
December 2001 and assumed
40 million ringgit of debt, according to the airline’s website. Prior to running AirAsia,
Fernandes was once an employee at Richard Branson’s
Virgin Group. The airline had
two old aircraft when Fernandes took charge.
AirAsia had a total of 171
A320s in operations at the
end of September, according
to its quarterly operating statistics statement on its website. The Indonesia entity
operated 30 planes, the statement said. The airline has
units across several Asian
nations, including India and
Thailand.
The single-aisle A320 is the
most popular plane that Airbus makes in terms of sales
numbers. The plane typically
seats between 150 to 180 passengers, usually in six abreast
configuration.
More than 3,600 A320s are
in operation worldwide as of
November, according to Airbus’s website. Bloomberg
12
ADVERTISEMENT
29.12.2014 mon
th Anniversary
廣告
th Anniversary
亞太版
MALAYSIA
Liau Y-Sing
M
ALAYSIA
evacuated
more than 160,000 people and increased relief efforts
as the worst floods in decades
left at least eight people dead.
The affected states are Kelantan, Kedah, Terengganu,
Pahang, Perak, Johor, Perlis,
Negeri Sembilan and Selangor, according to state news
agency Bernama. The dead
include an 18- month old toddler, The Star newspaper reported yesterday.
Malaysia is grappling with
floods caused by annual monsoon rains that may disrupt
output of its key exports of
palm oil and rubber. Prime
Minister Najib Razak returned
to Malaysia yesterday from the
U.S. amid criticism for being
on holiday while the nation
contends with the flooding.
“The situation is most critical
where the water level is still
rising in some areas, and there are also areas which were
never flooded previously, but
AP PHOTO
Monsoon floods force 160,000
to evacuate, leave 8 dead
Numbers of houses and buildings along a flooded river stand in muddy
water in Malaysia National Park in Kuala Tahan, Pahang state, Malaysia
are now facing serious floods,”
Najib was cited by Bernama as
saying at a press briefing yesterday in northeastern Kelantan state. “I strongly hope for
cooperation from everyone to
ensure that in the first phase,
we can concentrate on rescue
efforts and providing aid such
as food, blankets, mats, candles and so on.”
The government has allocated an additional 500 million
ringgit (USD143 million) to
help victims, after it earlier
approved 50 million ringgit in
aid, according to a report on
The Star’s website citing Najib. These are the worst floods
in Malaysia in 30 years, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin
Yassin was reported as saying
by New Straits Times newspaper.
The Ministry of Agriculture
and Agro-based Industry has
mobilized more than 2,000
volunteers in eight flood-affected areas, with local fishermen
assisting the armed forces in
ASIA-PACIFIC
delivering aid, Bernama reported.
Palm oil had its biggest
weekly gain since October on
lower supply amid concerns
that the harvest may be interrupted.
No outbreak of disease has
been reported at evacuation
centers since the flood hit Terengganu almost two weeks
ago, Bernama reported yesterday, citing State Health,
Women, Family and Community Development Committee
Chairman Muhammad Pehimi Yusof. State power company Tenaga Nasional has
temporarily shut 2,318 electrical substations in the flooded
states, halting power supply
to 150,852 users, according
to a Dec. 26 statement from
the Energy, Green Technology
and Water Ministry.
Monsoon rains have also
flooded parts of Thailand and
Sri Lanka. In Thailand, at least
eight people have died and two
were missing after downpours in the four southernmost
provinces, the Bangkok Post
said, citing the Department of
Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan
-ocha visited the region Dec.
26 and has declared the four
provinces to be disaster zones,
the report said. Bloomberg
13
N. Korea uses racial
slur against Obama
over hack
AP PHOTO
mon 29.12.2014
North Korea blamed its recent Internet
outage on the United States on Saturday
and hurled racially charged insults at
President Barack Obama over the hacking
row involving the movie “The Interview.”
North Korea’s powerful National Defense
Commission, which is headed by country
leader Kim Jong Un and is the nation’s top
governing body, said Obama was behind
the release of the comedy that depicts Kim’s
assassination. The commission described
the movie as illegal, dishonest and
reactionary. “Obama always goes reckless
in words and deeds like a monkey in a
tropical forest,” an unidentified spokesman
at the commission’s Policy Department
said in a statement carried by the country’s
official Korean Central News Agency.
The White House’s National Security
Council declined to comment Saturday.
North Korea has denied involvement in a
crippling cyberattack on Sony Pictures but
has expressed fury over the comedy. Sony
Pictures initially called off the release of the
film, citing threats of terror attacks against
U.S. movie theaters. Obama criticized
Sony’s decision, and the movie opened this
past week.
ad
WORLD
Lynne O’Donnell, Kabul
T
HE United States
and NATO formally
ended their war in
Afghanistan yesterday with a ceremony at their
military
headquarters
in
Kabul as the insurgency they
fought for 13 years remains as
ferocious and deadly as at any
time since the 2001 invasion
that unseated the Taliban regime following the Sept. 11
attacks.
The symbolic ceremony
marked the end of the U.S.led International Security
Assistance Force, which will
transition to a supporting
role with 13,500 soldiers,
most of them American, starting Jan. 1.
Gen.
John
Campbell,
commander of ISAF, rolled
up and sheathed the green
and white ISAF flag and unfurled the flag of the new international mission, called
Resolute Support.
“Resolute Support will serve
as the bedrock of an enduring
partnership” between NATO
and Afghanistan, Campbell
told an audience of Afghan
and international military officers and officials, as well as
diplomats and journalists.
He paid tribute to the international and Afghan troops
who have died fighting the
insurgency, saying: “The road
before us remains challenging
but we will triumph.”
From Jan. 1, the new mission will provide training and
support for Afghanistan’s military, with the U.S. accounting for almost 11,000 members of the residual force.
President Ashraf Ghani, who
took office in September, signed bilateral security agreements with Washington and
NATO allowing the enduring
military presence. The move
has led to a spike in violence
as the Taliban have claimed it
as an excuse to step up operations aimed at destabilizing
his government.
ISAF was set up after the
U.S.-led invasion as an umbrella for the coalition of
around 50 nations that provided troops and took responsibility for security across the
country.
It ends with 2,224 American soldiers killed, according
to an AP tally, out of a total
of some 3,500 foreign troop
deaths.
The mission peaked at
140,000 troops in 2010 with
a surge ordered by U.S. President Barack Obama to root
the insurgents out of strategically important regions, notably in the southern provinces
of Helmand and Kandahar,
where the Taliban had its capital from 1996 to 2001.
Obama recently expanded
the remit of the U.S. forces
remaining in the country,
allowing them to extend their
th Anniversary
分析
AP PHOTO
14
29.12.2014 mon
Commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Gen. John Campbell, center, cases the ISAF flag during a ceremony at the ISAF headquarters in Kabul
US, NATO mark end of
mission to Afghanistan
This year is
set to be the
deadliest of the
war, according
to the United
Nations, which
expects civilian
casualties to hit
10,000 for the
first time since
the agency
began keeping
records in 2008
counter-terrorism operations
to Taliban, as well as al-Qaida, and to provide ground
and air support for the Afghan forces when necessary
for at least the next two years.
Afghans have mixed feelings about the drawdown of foreign troops, many believing
that with the deteriorating
security situation their presence is needed to back up the
Afghan effort to bring peace
after more than three decades
of continual war.
“At least in the past 13 years
we have seen improvements
in our way of life — freedom
of speech, democracy, the
people generally better off
financially,” said 42-year-old
shop keeper Gul Mohammad.
“But we do need the foreign troops to stay here at
least until our own forces are
strong enough, while our economy strengthens, while our
leaders try to form a government,” he said.
NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has
said
that
Afghanistan’s
350,000-strong security forces are ready to take on the
insurgency alone, despite
complaints by officials that
they lack the necessary assets,
such as air support, medical
evacuation and intelligence.
In a statement on Sunday,
Stoltenberg said that ISAF’s
mandate was “carried out at
great cost but with great suc-
cess.”
“We have made our own nations safer by denying safe
haven to international terrorists. We have made Afghanistan stronger by building up from scratch strong
security forces. Together we
have created the conditions
for a better future for millions
of Afghan men, women and
children,” he said.
As Afghan forces assume sovereignty, the country is without a Cabinet three months
after Ghani’s inauguration,
and economic growth is near
zero due to the reduction of
the international military and
aid juggernauts. The United
States spent more than $100
million on reconstruction in
Afghanistan, on top of the $1
trillion war.
This year is set to be the deadliest of the war, according to
the United Nations, which expects civilian casualties to hit
10,000 for the first time since the agency began keeping
records in 2008. It says that
most of the deaths and injuries
are caused by Taliban attacks.
In the latest insurgent vio-
lence in eastern Wardak province, two teenage boys were
killed late on Saturday, when
a rocket was fired near a children’s volleyball match in
Nirkh district, an official said.
Another five children, aged
between 11 and 14 years old,
were wounded by shrapnel,
said the governor’s spokesman Attaullah Khogyani. He
blamed the Taliban.
In Kapisa, also in the east,
Governor
Abdul
Saboor
Wafa’s office said eight insurgents were killed on Saturday
night in an army counter-insurgency operation.
This has also been a deadly
year for Afghanistan’s security forces — army, paramilitary and police — with around
5,000 deaths recorded so far.
Most of those deaths, or around 3,200, have been policemen, according to Karl Ake
Roghe, the outgoing head of
EUPOL, the European Union
Police Mission in Afghanistan, which funds and trains a
police force of 157,000.
Roghe said that while the
Taliban have stretched their
presence, the methodology
has not changed, indicating
a lack of insurgent military
capacity despite the rise in
attacks.
“They make a lot of damage,
they send gunmen and suicide bombers to blow up the
front wall and then they are
immediately killed, so they
achieve nothing,” he said. AP
mon 29.12.2014
th Anniversary
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15
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INFOTAINMENT
what’s ON
...
29.12.2014 mon
th Anniversary
資訊／娛樂
TV canal macau
“One Hundred Photographers Focus
on Macau” Exhibition
Time: 24 hours
Until: March 22, 2015
Venue: Level 2 Showcase, MGM Macau
Admission: Free
Enquiries: (853) 8802 8888
13:00
TDM News (Repeated)
13:30
News (RTPi) Delayed Broadcast
17:00
Kung Fu Masters of the Zodiac
17:25
Brazil Avenue (Repeat)
18:15
Non-Daily Portuguese News (Repeated)
19:30
Soap Opera
20:30
Main News, Financial & Weather Report
Exhibition “Between Science and Art:
The Marvels of Asia in the Eyes of Polish
Jesuit Michał Piotr Boym, SJ.”
Time: 10am-7pm (Mondays to Saturdays)
21:00
Non-Daily Portuguese News
21:30
TDM Sports
22:10
Brazil Avenue
23:00
TDM News
23:30
Non-Daily Portuguese News (Repeated)
00:00
Documentary Series
00:50
Main News, Financial & Weather Report (Repeated)
01:25
RTPi Live
11am-7pm (Sundays)
Until: January 18, 2015
Venue: Sir Robert Ho Tung Library
Enquiries: (853) 2837 7117
Admission: Free
Penguins Undercover Ice World
with the DreamWorks Gang
Time: 11am-8pm
Until: March 8, 2015
Venue: Cotai Expo
Admission: MOP120
Enquiries: 2882 8818
cinema
cineteatro
29 Dec - 30 Dec
Dragon Training Camp
Time: 4pm (Mondays to Fridays)
10am & 4pm (Saturdays & Sundays) Until: December 31, 2014
Venue: Level 4, Caspian Ballroom, Sheraton Macau
Hotel, Cotai Central
Admission: HKD/MOP150 per child (4-12 years
old) with one adult (or additional adult HKD/
MOP50), maximum three adults with one child.
Enquiries:(853) 8113 0228
Macau Science Centre
Time: 10am-6pm (Closed on Thursdays)
Address: Avenida Dr. Sun Yat-Sen
Admission: Exhibition Centre: MOP25
Planetarium (Dome/Sky Shows): MOP50
Planetarium (3D Dome/3D Sky Shows): MOP65
Enquiries: (853) 2888 0822
NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SECRET OF THE TOMB_
room 1
2.15, 6.00, 7.45, 9.30 pm
Director: Shawn Levy
Starring: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson
Language: English (Chinese)
Duration: 97min
BIG HERO 6_
room 1
4.00 pm
Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Starring: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung
Language: Chinese (Chinese/English)
Duration: 102min
THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES_
room 2
(2D) 2.00, 4.30, 9.30 pm
(3D) 7.00 pm
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Martin John Christopher Freeman, Ian
McKellen
Language: English (Chinese)
Duration: 144min
Offbeat
AP PHOTO
Guitarist doesn’t miss
Vegas Cirque work
day of
It’s easy to miss
Bruce Rickerd during
the “Mystere” show
at the Treasure Island casino especially when there’s a
man balancing upside-down on the foot
Bruce Rickerd hangs up his guitar after
of another, or a giant
a performance of the show “Mystere” in inflatable snail emerLas Vegas
ging from the massive moving stage or
the gasp-inducing drops from acrobats above.
But he’s there — up high on the right or rather, stage left —
playing guitar in just about the same place he’s been for every
one of the 10,000 shows come Saturday in the 21-year history
of “Mystere” as he and the rest of the band tie the music and
sound effects to action on stage.
That’s right. He’s never missed a day of work. It never occurred to the 62-year-old musician to do otherwise.
“This is not work for me,” he said days before he would
be feted Saturday with confetti canons and an onstage finale bow where a Guinness Book of World Records judge
is expected to say Rickerd has broken the record for most
theatrical performances by a male musician. Granted, it’ll be
for having performed in 9,958 shows, still the most, as the record-keeping body continues to pour through timesheets and
employee records that might backup Rickerd’s involvement in
the remaining 42 shows. Copious stage manager notes from
each performance over the years helped to confirm quite a bit,
with Rickerd’s name never listed on the “out” list. AP
PADDINGTON_
room 3
(2D) 4.00 pm
(3D) 7.45, 9.30 pm
Director: Paul King
Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Julie Walters
Language: Chinese (Chinese/English)
Duration: 95min
BIG HERO 6_
room 3
(2D) 2.00, 5.45 pm
Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Starring: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung
Language: Chinese (Chinese/English)
Duration: 102min
macau tower
18 Dec - 31 Dec
THE HOBBIT: BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES_
2.30, 4.30, 7.00, 9.30 pm
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Martin John Christopher Freeman, Ian
McKellen
Language: English (Chinese)
Duration: 144min
this day in history
1975 New laws to end battle
of the sexes
Radical new legislation introducing a woman’s right
to equal pay and status in the workplace and in society have come into force in the UK.
The Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts will prevent women being paid less than their male counterparts. The Acts are being introduced to coincide with
the end of the International Women’s Year.
Sex discrimination by employers, unless they employ five or fewer people, is now illegal as is any form
of bias by landlords, finance companies, schools and
restaurants.
The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has
been set up, and under the Act it has a duty to promote equality of the sexes.
Job advertisements will now have to be sexless and
it will no longer be possible to offer a position exclusively for males or females.
In every day language there will be many changes
for example, such as “firemen” becoming “fire fighters”.
The impact of the Acts is far-reaching and affects
the media and education. The EOC has begun issuing guidelines to discourage advertisers showing
women in stereotypical roles of domesticity or in submissive work.
But with no means of enforcing this there have been
criticisms the organisation is toothless, although
many advertisers have taken heed and plan to be
more representative.
The Inner London Education Authority is already
considering the replacement of “sexist” reading material which uphold stereotypes, for example a woman in the kitchen and a man at work.
These are currently not barred by the Acts but in
a booklet sent to 13,000 head teachers, managers
and governors of schools the authority recommends
“myths and taboos” should be tackled.
Advisory panels of teachers are also considering lobbying authorities to make mathematics compulsory
up to the fifth year in a move designed to help girls.
But the most poorly-paid women are unlikely to gain
a lot from the new legislation the Low Pay Unit said
in a report yesterday.
Despite the gradual introduction of equal pay until its final implementation today women’s earnings
have risen to only 55.5% of men’s earnings from
51.1% in 1972.
Courtesy BBC News
In context
The Sex Discrimination Act is applicable to men, women, and
children of any age and also prohibits discrimination against
someone who is or is not married. The Act came as a culture
shock to many in a society where some venues still barred
women.
Some employers attempted to circumvent the Equal Pay Act
by changing women’s job descriptions or employing women
for roles in which there was no male equivalent position. But
they faced fierce resistance from the authorities.
Many commentators said the combined Acts were too radical to introduce at once and public attitudes would need to
change before they were readily implemented and this would
take time.
Twenty five years after its implementation a survey showed
the Acts had helped close the pay difference in the gender gap
from 40% less than male counterparts, to 20%.
mon 29.12.2014
th Anniversary
資訊／娛樂
Taurus
Mar. 21-Apr. 19
April 20-May 20
A dream messenger is somewhat
confusing — but still makes you
wonder. It’s time for you to really
focus on whatever your subconscious
mind is trying to tell you. Get some
help if you need it!
A wave of understanding crashes
over you and leads you to realize
what’s really going on with your
friends or family. See if you can get
your people to follow your lead —
things can get better soon!
Gemini
Cancer
May 21-Jun. 21
Jun. 22-Jul. 22
Blow off that email backlog or
whatever else is feeding your guilt —
you can handle it better tomorrow
or some other day. Things are a
little tricky right now, but you can
move on.
Socializing is perfect today — you’re
balanced between emotional and
spiritual security, and should be able
to take risks with impunity. Meet
some new people and see things
from their point of view.
Leo
Virgo
Jul. 23-Aug. 22
Aug. 23-Sept. 22
Are you sure that this situation is
as good as it looks? You may have
to deal with someone who’s not
showing you all their cards, but you
should still be able to figure out
what’s really real.
This is a slow day — and not just for
you! If you’ve got any authority, you
may want to let people skip out early
so they can enjoy the down time
rather than having to go through the
motions.
Libra
Sep.23-Oct. 22
Oct. 23 - Nov. 21
Artistic license is yours today — so
make the most of it! You may tease
a romantic interest, take the day off
to soak up culture or just use this
creative burst to give yourself an
edge.
Capricorn
Nov. 22-Dec. 21
Dec. 22-Jan. 19
Your life can get a lot bigger today
— you see an opportunity early on
that may make a huge difference.
Go for it and don’t look back, as
this is no time for indecision or
regret.
Someone asks for help this
morning and you just can’t ignore
them — no matter how skeptical
you are. Sometimes your altruistic
side is dominant, and it keeps you
karmically balanced.
Aquarius
SUDOKU
WEATHER
MIN
Easy
Medium
Hard
Feb.19-Mar. 20
Can you rethink things? That’s kind
of your specialty, actually, but today
you need to dig deeper and find
something totally essential that you
can shift around. Things are sure to
improve once you do!
You need to rediscover yourself —
and today brings you a major clue as
to where you went astray! It’s easier
than you may think to get back on
track, as long as you start moving
right now.
Crossword puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com
DOWN: 1- Corpulent; 2- Brand name for a copying machine; 3- Enrollment; 4- Born; 5- Roof
of the mouth; 6- Score after deuce; 7- Niger
neighbor; 8- Skater Harding; 9- Green onion;
Wednesday’s solution
10- Person of experience; 11- Dutch name of
The Hague; 12- French 101 verb; 13- Notable
exploit, legal document; 21- Uncle Remus title;
22- Tombstone lawman; 24- Farm females; 27Raised platform; 28- Affirmatives; 30- Amuses;
31- Bartlett’s abbr.; 32- Actress Olin; 33- All there;
34- Atop; 36- And ___ bed; 39- Muscular young
men; 40- Neighborhood; 42- Actor Auberjonois;
43- Word that can precede bodied and seaman;
45- Plunders; 47- Thawed; 49- Brown-furred
aquatic carnivorous mammal; 51- Artist’s
support; 52- Prefix with iliac; 53- Friends; 54Periods; 55- Lens holders; 56- Support beam;
57- Cause of ruin; 61- Scooby-___
-4
10
clear
Harbin
-20
-11
cloudy/clear
Tianjin
-1
9
clear
Urumqi
-9
-4
clear
Xi’an
-1
10
clear
Lhasa
-6
11
clear
Chengdu
0
13
cloudy
Chongqing
5
15
clear
Kunming
3
15
overcast/cloudy
Nanjing
0
14
clear
Shanghai
4
13
clear
Wuhan
-1
17
clear
Hangzhou
3
15
cloudy/clear
Taipei
12
16
drizzle/clear
Guangzhou
7
18
clear
12
17
cloudy
Moscow
-14
-8
flurry
Frankfurt
-5
-1
clear/flurry
Paris
-5
1
clear/cloudy
London
-1
4
clear
New York
0
13
drizzle/overcast
WORLD
CROSSWORDS
ACROSS: 1- Farm team; 5- Covenants; 10- Storage shelter; 14- Nota ___; 15- Committee
type; 16- London gallery; 17- Author ___ Stanley Gardner; 18- Climbing vine; 19- Bern’s
river; 20- ___-disant (self-styled); 21- Bowlegged; 23- Thrust out; 25- Winglike parts; 26Like a professor’s jacket; 29- Not true; 33- Ancient Mideast region; 35- Author of fables;
37- Compass dir.; 38- Primates with short tails or no tail; 39- North American buffalo;
40- Lots and lots; 41- Prefix with profit or fiction; 42- Adjust to zero; 43- Stadium used
for sports or musical events; 44- Dinner course; 46- Gloomily dark; 48- Poop; 50- Thrills;
53- Improvable; 58- Penlight battery; 59- Seed cover; 60- Ready to hit; 61- Round object,
often used to store computer data; 62- Like some excuses; 63- “The Family Circus”
cartoonist Bil; 64- Doozy; 65- Flat sound; 66- Messed up; 67- Scandinavian capital;
CONDITION
Beijing
Hong Kong
Pisces
Jan. 20-Feb. 18
MAX
CHINA
Easy+
Scorpio
Flexibility is more important
than ever — can you stretch to
accommodate your new needs?
Things are looking up, even if you feel
despair. Your situation is sure to look
better once you shift perspectives.
Sagittarius
17
THE BORN LOSER by Chip Sansom
YOUR STARS
Aries
INFOTAINMENT
USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Emergency calls 999
Taxi 28 939 939 / 2828 3283
Fire department 28 572 222
Water Supply – Report 1990 992
PJ (Open line) 993
Telephone – Report 1000
PJ (Picket) 28 557 775
Electricity – Report 28 339 922
PSP 28 573 333
Macau Daily Times 28 716 081
Customs 28 559 944
S. J. Hospital 28 313 731
Kiang Wu Hospital 28 371 333
Commission Against
Corruption (CCAC) 28326 300
IACM 28 387 333
Tourism 28 333 000
Airport 59 888 88
ad
18
SPORTS
29.12.2014 mon
th Anniversary
體育
AP PHOTO
NFL domestic violence is
AP sports story of year
reinstated by an arbitrator but
without a team and Peterson
suspended and suing the NFL.
Chastened by those and other
cases, the league is pushing
a new personal conduct policy, but the players’ union is
balking at Goodell’s role in the
disciplinary process.
2. Clippers’ Sterling Banned: Donald Sterling had withstood accusations of racism
throughout his more than
three decades as owner of
the Los Angeles Clippers. But
when audio surfaced April 25
of Sterling spewing racist remarks, he was banned for life
by new NBA Commissioner
Adam Silver just four days later and forced to sell the team.
3. Lebron Goes Home:
This time, LeBron James decided to return home. Four
years after spurning Cleveland
to sign with the Miami Heat,
the Northeast Ohio native and
four-time NBA MVP announced July 11 that he was rejoining the Cavaliers to try to
end the city’s half-century title
drought.
In this Nov. 5, 2014, file photo, Ray Rice arrives with his wife Janay Palmer for an appeal hearing in New York, regarding his
then-indefinite suspension from the NFL
Rachel Cohen, New York
T
HE NFL’s troubles with
domestic violence were selected the sports story of the
year last week in an annual
vote conducted by The Associated Press.
Ninety-four ballots were submitted from U.S. editors and
news directors. Voters were
asked to rank the top 10 sports stories of the year, with the
first-place story receiving 10
points, the second-place story
nine points and so on.
NFL domestic violence received 659 points and 29 first-place votes.
The No. 2 sports story, Clippers owner Donald Sterling
forced out by the NBA after
ad
his racist statements, had 518
points.
Here are 2014’s top 10 stories:
1. NFL Domestic Violence: Baltimore Ravens star
running back Ray Rice knocked his now-wife unconscious in an Atlantic City casino
elevator Feb. 15, but it wasn’t
until July 24 that domestic
violence cases spiraled into a
crisis roiling the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Rice for just two games, which drew widespread
derision. More than a month
passed before Goodell admitted he “didn’t get it right” and
announced harsher sanctions
for future domestic violence
offenses.
But the NFL’s problems
were only beginning. On Sept.
8, TMZ Sports released video
from inside the elevator that
showed Rice punching his
then-fiancee; the Ravens responded by releasing him and
Goodell suspended him indefinitely. And on Sept. 12, one
of the league’s biggest stars,
Minnesota Vikings running
back Adrian Peterson, was
indicted on felony child abuse charges for using a wooden switch to discipline his
4-year-old son. The Vikings
initially planned to play him
just over a week later, reversing course only after the ensuing uproar.
The year ends with Rice
4. Firsts For Gay Athletes: Jason Collins became the
first openly gay man to play
in the big four North American pro sports leagues when
he made his debut with the
Brooklyn Nets on Feb. 23. The
veteran center had come out
10 months earlier, a trailblazing moment that helped inspire other athletes and sports
officials to follow his lead in
2014. That included Missouri
All-American Michael Sam,
who went on to be drafted into
the NFL, though he has yet to
play in a game.
5. Giants Win World
Series: Madison Bumgarner pitched seven dominant
innings to win Game 1 of the
World Series. Then the San
Francisco ace topped himself
with a shutout in Game 5. He
outdid himself yet again with
five scoreless innings of relief in Game 7 to clinch the
Giants’ third championship
in five years.
6. College Football Playoff Pays Off: Ohio State lost to
Virginia Tech on Sept. 6. Oregon
was upset by Arizona on Oct.
2, and Alabama fell to Ole Miss
two days later. The rest of those teams’ regular-season games
still mattered because of the new
College Football Playoff, which
made more and more matchups
meaningful deep into the fall.
7. Tony Stewart: One of
NASCAR’s biggest stars, Tony
Stewart, was taking part in a
small sprint car race in upstate New York on Aug. 9 when
he struck and killed 20-year
-old driver Kevin Ward Jr.
A grand jury decided not to
bring criminal charges against
Stewart, who skipped three
NASCAR races as he grieved.
8. World Cup: Brazil’s
World Cup was a big celebration until those German goals
started piling up. The expected massive protests didn’t
materialize, and the construction delays caused few headaches. The major disappointment came on the field when
the hosts, without injured star
Neymar, were thrashed 7-1
in the semifinals by eventual
champion Germany.
9. Seahawks Win Super
Bowl: Richard Sherman’s
Seattle defense was way too
much for Peyton Manning’s
Denver offense. The Seahawks
flustered and flattened the
Broncos with a 43-8 victory
in the Super Bowl, when the
weather cooperated outdoors
in New Jersey.
10. Sochi Olympics: The
Sochi Olympics opened amid
fears of terrorist attacks and denunciations of Russia’s so-called “gay propaganda” law. The
games went on peacefully, with
the hosts winning 33 medals —
though not in hockey. But by
the closing ceremony, darkness
lurked nearby in the world in
violence in Ukraine. AP
mon 29.12.2014
th Anniversary
體育
Brook Yang, Shanghai*
C
HINESE metropolitan Shanghai has been
noted for its potential
of growing into the second pro boxing base in China,
following the success of a series of boxing productions staged in Macau.
The recent “Fist of Power II”
boxing night held in Shanghai’s
Mercedes-Benz Arena sold out
some 5,400 tickets, where the
audience’s enthusiasm was no
less than that of Macau’s Cotai
Arena. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum,
who attended the show, told the
Times that Shanghai was chosen
as the stage for the first two pro
boxing events held in mainland
China because of its image as a
“great international city” and its
“tremendous” fan base.
Although bearing a strikingly
close resemblance to the Top
Rank productions in Macau,
Shanghai’s boxing nights showed
a bigger focus on Chinese boxers
and the potential local fan base.
The events’ co-organizer SECA
told the Times that such a platform is designed to develop a talent pool of Chinese professional
boxers and create a staircase for
them to eventually step onto the
nearest world stage: Macau’s Cotai Arena.
“Every boxer’s dream in the
past would be going to Las Ve-
Shanghai’s boxing
arena to convey
talents for Macau
Ma Yi Ming fights with Tommy Seran at the “Fist of Power II” event in Shanghai
gas; now there’s another option,
which is to go to Macau,” said
SECA’s CEO Mr Sheng Li, adding that “Shanghai could be the
New York of Chinese boxing”.
“Macau is absolutely worldclass; the best you can find –
Manny Pacquiao fought there –
in terms of boxers and in terms
of the card,” he explained. “In
Shanghai we have home-grown
boxers. You can’t do a show with
four or five boxers; you need to
have at least forty to fifty boxers.
Until you get world-class boxers,
you can’t get a world-class boxing event,” he added.
Mr Li told the Times that the
“Fist of Power” series is aimed to
provide the audience and media
“the highest-level pro boxing as a
platform,” setting a bar for Chinese pro boxers to develop.
“For the younger Chinese boxers, they will see, ‘if I do well,
one day I will be fighting on the
‘Fist of Power.’ And if they do
well on the ‘Fists of Power,’ the
top boxers will be fighting on the
global stage. The best place to do
that is Macau. So you look at this
as more of a tier of levels, which
offers a path for boxers to develop professionally,” he explained.
The sports promoter recognized that Macau – an entertainment destination– has all the ingredients for developing a worldclass boxing base, and has set a
reference to other cities as to how
the sport put it on the world map.
“I think it’s a great vision as
it takes a lot of determination
to put on a Pacquiao fight in
Macau,” said the promoter. “In
SPORTS
19
Shanghai we can’t do that, we
can’t afford something like that,
and also because we have different kinds of objectives and it
will take time. Macau has all the
ingredients. A strong supporter
like Venetian Macao, and you
can make it happen,” he said.
“In mainland China even somebody that has enough money still needs to grow the fan
base. You are facing the home
audience, you need to get them
to love this and really get into
it.” Mr Li also expressed that:
“it’s very different: in Shanghai
you grow a fan base; in Macau
you are using major boxing platforms to draw a fan base from
all over the world”.
According to the promoter,
Shanghai was once one of the
world’s boxing capitals but there was a huge gap, as boxing was
not legalized until 1990s. Today,
the growing middle class and
Chinese metropolitans that seek
excitement are generating a steady fan base for boxing sport.
“People who came to see the
event would ask when the next
would be. And other cities want
it too,” he said, adding that “give
it a year a two” and Shanghai,
together with Macau, would be
able to write a tale of two cities
for Chinese pro boxing.
*The reporter was in Shanghai at the
invitation of The Venetian Macao
ad
THE
William Pesek
China’s Russia bailout is
ominous sign for future
Thanks to China, Christine Lagarde of the
International Monetary Fund, Jim Yong Kim
of the World Bank and Takehiko Nakao of the
Asian Development Bank may no longer have
much meaningful work to do.
Beijing’s move to bail out Russia, on top of its
recent aid for Venezuela and Argentina, signals the death of the post-war Bretton Woods
world. It’s also marks the beginning of the end
for America’s linchpin role in the global economy and Japan’s influence in Asia.
What is China’s new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank if not an ADB killer? If Japan,
ADB’s main benefactor, won’t share the presidency with Asian peers, Beijing will just use
its deep pockets to overpower it. Lagarde’s
and Kim’s shops also are looking at a future in
which crisis-wracked governments call Beijing
before Washington. China stepping up its role as lender of last
resort upends an economic development game
that’s been decades in the making. The IMF,
World Bank and ADB are bloated, change-adverse institutions. When Ukraine received a
USD17 billion IMF-led bailout this year it was
about shoring up a geopolitically important
economy, not geopolitical blackmail.
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government
doesn’t care about upgrading economies, the
health of tax regimes or central bank reserves.
It cares about loyalty. The quid pro quo: For
our generous assistance we expect your full
support on everything from Taiwan to territorial
disputes to deadening the West’s pesky focus
on human rights.
This may sound hyperbolic; Russia, Argentina and Venezuela are already at odds with
the U.S. and its allies. But what about Europe? In 2011 and 2012, it looked to Beijing to
save euro bond markets through massive purchases. Expect more of this dynamic in 2015
should fresh turmoil hit the euro zone, at which
time Beijing will expect European leaders to
pull their diplomatic punches. What happens if
the Federal Reserve’s tapering slams economies from India to Indonesia and governments
look to China for help? Why would Cambodia,
Laos or Vietnam bother with the IMF’s conditions when China writes big checks with few
strings attached?
Beijing’s $24 billion currency swap program
to help Russia is a sign of things to come. Russia, it’s often said, is too nuclear to fail. As Moscow weathers the worst crisis since the 1998
default, it’s tempting to view China as a good
global citizen. But Beijing is just enabling President Vladimir Putin, who’s now under zero
pressure to diversify his economy away from
oil. The same goes for China’s $2.3 billion currency swap with Argentina and its $4 billion
loan to Venezuela. In the Chinese century, bad
behavior has its rewards.
If ever there were a time for President Barack Obama to accelerate his “pivot” to Asia
it’s now. There’s plenty to worry about as China tosses money at rogue governments like
Sudan and Zimbabwe. But there’s also lots
at stake for Asia’s budding democracies. The
so-called Washington consensus on economic
policies isn’t perfect, but is Beijing’s model of
autocratic state capitalism with scant press
freedom really a better option? With China
becoming Asia’s sugar daddy, the temptation
in, say, Myanmar might be to avoid the difficult process of creating credible institutions to
oversee the economy.
There could be a silver lining to China lavishing its nearly $4 trillion of currency reserves on crisis-plagued nations: It might force the
IMF, World Bank and ADB to raise their games.
Competition, as Lagarde, Kim and Nakao would agree, is a good thing. But more likely, China’s largess will encourage bad policy habits
and impede development in ways that leave
the global economy worse off. Bloomberg
Chelsea says striker Fernando Torres will
join AC Milan on a permanent basis in the
January transfer window. Torres joined Milan on a two-year loan deal in August, and
Chelsea said on its website Saturday that he
will complete a permanent transfer on Jan. 5.
Torres joined Chelsea from Liverpool in
th Anniversary
Roadside
January 2011 but failed to replicate his
previous scoring form at Stamford Bridge. However, he did help Chelsea win the
Champions League and the Europa League
in 3 ½ seasons at the club before being replaced by Diego Costa for this campaign.
Chelsea did not disclose a transfer fee.
At least 60 journalists
killed in 2014
Cara Anna, New York
A
T least 60 journalists around the world
were killed in 2014 while
on the job or because of
their work, and 44 percent
of them were targeted for
murder, the Committee to
Protect Journalists said.
An “unusually high proportion,” or about onefourth, of those killed were
international journalists,
though the overwhelming
number of journalists
threatened continue to be
local, the New York-based
organization’s new report
said.
Those killed in 2014 include Anja Niedringhaus,
a photographer for The
Associated Press who was
shot to death while covering elections in Afghanistan. Italian Associated
Press video journalist Simone Camilli and his freelance translator Ali Shehda
Abu Afash were killed in an
explosion at an ordnance
dump in the Gaza strip in
August.
The CPJ report released
last week said the number
of journalists killed in 2014
was down from 70 the year
before, but the past three
years have been the deadliest since the organization started compiling such
records in 1992.
The crushing conflict in
Syria, now well into its
fourth year, has been a major factor. The report said
at least 17 journalists were
killed there this year, with
summer saw at least four
journalists and three media
workers killed, including
AP video journalist Simone Camilli and translator
Ali Shehda Abu Afash who
were killed by an explosion
of leftover ordnance.
In Iraq, at least five journalists were killed, three of
them while covering the fight against the Islamic State group as it swept through the country’s northwest.
The report also points out
the
first journalist killings
In this April 7, 2005 file photo,
in
several
years in some
Associated Press photographer Anja
countries, including ParaNiedringhaus, 48, poses in Rome.
She was killed and an AP reporter
guay, where three deaths
was wounded on April 4, 2014, when were the first since 2007,
an Afghan policeman opened fire
and Myanmar, where the
while they were sitting in their car
killing in custody of a freeat least 79 killed since the lance journalist was the
first death since 2007.
fighting began in 2011.
CPJ also reported the first
Syria was connected to
two of the more horrifying killing of a journalist in the
killings of journalists this Central African Republic,
year, the beheadings by which has been torn apart
the Islamic State group by unprecedented violenof American freelancers ce between Christians and
James Foley and Steven Muslims.
And even covering the
Sotloff. Both had disappeared while reporting on the deadliest-ever Ebola outbreak has been fatal, with
conflict.
The conflict in Ukraine the bodies of a journalist
between the new govern- and two media workers
ment and Russian-backed found in a village in Guiseparatists saw five journa- nea where they had gone
lists and two media workers to cover a public awareness
killed as relations between campaign.
The CPJ says it is still inneighboring Russia and the
West sank to their lowest vestigating the deaths of at
level since the Cold War. least 18 other journalists
The killings were the first this year. The organizathat the CPJ had recorded tion does not count deaths
from illness or car or plane
in Ukraine since 2001.
Fifty days of fighting in crashes unless they were
Gaza between Israel and the result of “hostile acthe Palestinians over the tion.” AP
THE
DECISIVE MOMENT
60-80
Moderate
High
Density
55-75
Residental Moderate
Area
SOURCE: DSMG
World Views
BUZZ permanent deal
Ambient
55-75
Moderate
WORLD BRIEFS
SRI LANKAN officials
say 24 people have been
killed and eight others
are missing due to floods
and mudslides caused
by incessant rain around
the country over the
past week. The Disaster
management Center
also said yesterday that
106,000 people have lost
their homes or evacuated
to safer locations.
US Thousands of police
officers from across the
U.S. pack a church and
spill onto streets to honor
a slain New York officer
as a devoted family man,
aspiring chaplain and
hero, though an air of
unrest surrounding his
ambush shooting was not
completely pushed aside.
US The Obama
administration is on
the verge of proposing
long-awaited rules
for commercial drone
operations in U.S. skies,
but key decisions on how
much access to grant
drones are likely to come
from Congress next year.
AP PHOTO
opinion
Air quality
Station
29.12.2014
mon
AP PHOTO
20
Striker Torres to join Milan on
EGYPT says it banned
Ridley Scott’s biblical epic
“Exodus: Gods & Kings”
because it gives the
wrong idea about Egypt’s
history and presents a
“racist” image of Jews.
The Culture Ministry
explained its decision
for the first time in a
statement yesterday, a
few days after the initial
ban.
CUBA The gleaming
Associated Press
U.S. Interests Section
suddenly is poised to
become an even more
important presence in
Cuba as the two countries
negotiate the first phase
of their historic detente —
transforming the complex
into a full embassy that
would reflect the Obama
administration’s hopes
of new influence on the
communist island. More on
FT supplement
LIBYA’s foreign minister
Sri Lankan tsunami survivors pay their respect at a mass grave of 591 train passengers which was hit
by 2004 tsunami in Peraliya, Sri Lanka, Friday, Dec. 26
said yesterday that
extremist groups are
escalating their attacks
and making a renewed
push to seize oil
resources, after an assault
on eastern terminals set
storage tanks ablaze,
sending massive clouds of
black smoke into the sky.