Georgia Asian Times Dec 15-31, 2015

Covering The Multicultural Asian American Community in Georgia

www.gasiantimes.com December 15-31, 2015

SEASONS GREETINGS

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December 15-31, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

Georgia Asian Times December 15-31, 2015

Publisher: Li Wong Account Manager: Adrian West Contributors: Andrian Putra, May Lee, Mark Ho Photographer: Ben Hioe, Kat Merto

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All Rights Reserved: including those to reproduce this printing or parts thereof in any form without permission in writing from Georgia Asian Times. Established in 2004, the Georgia Asian Times is published by Asiamax Inc. All facts, opinions, and statements appearing within this publication are those of writers and editors themseleves, and are in no way to be construed as statements, positions, endorsements by Georgia Asian Times or its officers.

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GAT Calendar of Events GAT welcome submission of announcement pertaining to community related events.

Please email event, date, venue, and time to gat@gasiantimes.com.

GAT does not guarantee insertion of event announcement and has the right to deny any posting.

2016 State of MARTA Breakfast Date: Thursday, Jan 7, 2016 Time: 7:30 am - 9:00 am Venue: Crowne Plaza Atlanta-Midtown 590 West peachtree St.NW, Atlanta GA RSVP: http://bit.ly/SOM2016

Date: Sunday, Jan 17, 2016 Time: 3:00 pm Venue: Woodruffs Art Center Admission: $50, $40, $30, $20, $10 For more info: charley@frontech.com, 678-612-3405

2016 Eggs & Issues Breakfast Presented by Georgia Chamber of Commerce Date: Tuesday, Jan 12, 2016 Time: 7:30 am - 9:15 am Venue: Georgia World Congress Center 285 Andrew Intern’l Blvd. Atlanta GA 30313 For more info: lmoore@gachamber. com

Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service

7th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Program “Justice Rolling Like Mighty Water” Presented by Center for Diversity & Inclusion-University of West Georgia Date: Thursday, Jan 14, 2016 Time: 7:00 pm Venue: Campus Center Ballroom For more info: 678-839-5400 CBAA 23rd Chinese New Year Gala

Organized by Gwinnett Coalition of Health & Human Services, Volunteer Gwinnett, Gwinnett Neighborhood Leadership Institute.

Date: January 18, 2016 Time: 9:00 am - 12 Noon Venue: Harbins Park, 2995 Luke Edwards Road in Dacula Volunteers can sign up as individual or groups.

For more info: www.volunteergwinnett.net 2016 NACA Chinese New Year Fundraising Dinner Date: Saturday, February 6, 2016 Time: 6:00 pm - 10:00 pm Venue: Canton House, 4825 Buford Highway Admission: $40 member, $80 non-member, $2000 Corporate For more info: xiaogengdeng@gmail.

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December 15-31, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

METRO ASIAN NEWS

China’s Judicial Reform Committee visits Georgia’s Courts and Atlanta Police Atlanta, December 13, 2015 — NACA hosted a 11-member delegation of the Office of Leading Group of Judicial System Reform of CCCPC led by Mr. Jiang Wei, Deputy Head. The Chinese delegation is on a 12-days U.S. study tour to meet with leaders of its counterpart.

The delegates were selected by leaders in China to develop recommendations for reforming China’s criminal justice system.

“We are happy to host and help facilitate meetings for the Chinese delegation during their visit to Georgia,” said Lani Wong, Chair of National Association of Chinese Americans (NACA).

The Chinese delegation visited the Video Integration and 911 Call Center at the Atlanta Police Department and Atlanta Police Foundation where the delegates were introduced to Atlanta’s state-of-the-art surveillance system that monitors over 6,000 cameras throughout the city.

“We are quite impressed by the advanced technology used to monitor crime in this city,” said Mr. Jiang Wei, Deputy Head of the Office of Leading Group of Judicial System Reform of CCCPC, “especially the community’s investment into this system. It is not

common that the business community have such a stake in helping deter crime. Our goal with this tour is to see first-hand how other large communities are addressing public safety concerns.”

As part of an on-going effort, the Chinese delegates hopes to examine new ways to enhance their public safety processes and procedures so new best practices can be created and implemented into their own system.

The delegation also visited with State Court of DeKalb County and met with Judge Dax Lopez and Judge Alvin T. Wong.

In addition, the delegation met with Mr. Sam Olens, Georgia State Attorney General Office and Hon. Judge Carla McMillians, Georgia Court of Appeals, and Honorable Judge David Nahmias, Georgia Supreme Court at their respective offices.

Atlanta is part of a four-city U.S. study tour that includes Boston, New York, and Chicago.

Consulate General of India celebrates Hannukah with Atlanta’s Jewish community Sandy Springs, December 12, 2015 — The Consulate General of India hosted a joint Hannukah celebration with American Jewish Committee at the residence of Consul General Nagesh Singh.

Among the invited guests are Consul General of Israel Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer, Congressman Hank Johnson, members of Atlanta’s Indian and Jewish community.

“I am proud to host the first Hannukah celebration in Atlanta at the Indian consulate. I hope to make it an annual celebration tradition at the consulate,” said Consul General Nagesh Singh, who took over his new posting in summer 2015.

“The relationship between India, US, and Israel remains strong and reflects the pursuits for democracy, freedom,

and human dignity,” adds Consul General Singh in his opening remarks.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit Israel in 2016 to enhance the bilateral relationship between the two nations, said the Consul General in his remarks.

“The Jewish and Indian faiths both celebrates with festival of light. We have to keep the light over darkness in the world. Illuminating the entire rooms and block the darkness – so that democracy, peace and love will prosper in the world,” said Ambassador Judith Varnai Shorer, Consul General of Israel.

Over 200 invited guests are treated to Indian vegetarian cuisines catered by the consulate.

Georgia Asian Times December 15-31, 2015

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December 15-31, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

BUSINESS Fed’s Yellen: An orthodox economist for unorthodox times Washington DC, December 15, 2015 - Janet Yellen is guiding the Federal Reserve towards its first rate rise in a decade armed with traditional economic models that some economists worry could fail her in a world of massive money printing and near zero rates.

The 69-year-old economist argues the time is coming for a rate-lift-off even though inflation has yet to accelerate, trusting decades of studies that suggest a tight labor market eventually creates inflationary pressures.

This shows Yellen “is grounded in traditional modeling but she is well aware that there is uncertainty,” said Randall Kroszner, who served with Yellen as a Fed governor between 2006 and 2009.

“It is possible, though unlikely, the traditional models are just all wrong (and) we’re in a whole new world. But she’s not going to fly by the seat of her pants,” Kroszner said.

It is a risky wager considering that global inflation is at historic lows and many central banks remain in an easing mode as their economies struggle to get any traction.

Yellen has made clear that models only serve as guideposts in a complicated decision-making process.

If she is right, Yellen, who has already presided over the end of the Fed’s bond-buying stimulus program, will cement her reputation and that of her “dashboard” that relies on long-established relationships between jobs, wages and prices.

Interviews with the Fed chief’s former colleagues paint a picture of Yellen as a pragmatic economist who is ready to adjust course when necessary, but one who relies on data and economic theory rather than guesswork or hunches.

That could mean sometimes missing signals that are either too new or too hard to measure for traditional models and yet possibly relevant for policy.

If she is wrong, the Fed could join the European Central Bank and the central banks of Sweden, Israel and Canada, which have all tried, but failed, to escape the drag of zero rates in the wake of the 2007-09 financial crisis.

There are reasons to doubt conventional economic theory. Many economists predicted a spiral of falling prices when the US jobless rate soared during the crisis and then thought inflation would rise when unemployment plunged. Neither happened, though Yellen has maintained this year that the Fed was on course for rate increases, which would be “data dependent,” likely gradual, and with no pre-set path.

Models and hunches

Fed transcripts show that at a Fed policy meeting in September 1996, Yellen, then a Fed board member, said she was “quite willing” to support an increase in rates because her analysis suggested inflation was poised to rise.

However, Alan Greenspan, the Fed’s chairman at the time, convinced policymakers to hold fire at that meeting arguing that he saw changes in the economy that were holding back prices and it later turned out that inflation indeed stayed low.

“It was intuition more than anything else,” said Alice Rivlin, fellow board member at the time, referring to Greenspan’s hunch that US productivity was rising.

ing research has been cited by Yellen, says he doubts any policymakers have a firm view how to get inflation back to target and keep it there even if they agree that a tightening job market will help.

A wrong call on inflation now could stunt job growth and possibly keep rates stuck near zero or even force the Fed to reverse course and cut rates.

With the jobless rate at 5 percent, half its 2009 level, Yellen was confident enough to warn lawmakers on Dec. 3 that inflation could rise “significantly” above the Fed’s 2 percent target if rate-setters aren’t ahead of the curve.

“If they don’t see any pickup in costs or prices, that would cause them to be even more gradual than they think they are going to be,” said Donald Kohn, who served on the Fed’s board when Yellen headed the San Francisco Fed between 2004 and 2010.

However, some policymakers, including Fed Governor Lael Brainard, argue that the relationship between unemployment and inflation is not as straightforward as it used to be and that global economic weakness could knock the United States off course.

Fed policymakers saw higher inflation around the corner in 2013 and 2014 that did not materialize. Yellen has argued this year that temporary factors such as low oil prices and a strong dollar will fade while a tight labor market sparks price pressures.

Many analysts expect Brainard, who has emerged as the leader of the Fed’s cautious faction, will accept a first hike without dissenting, but could need more convincing for subsequent rate rises.

“It’s straightforward analysis but the issue is they have been saying this for years, so they are not hitting something right in their story,” said Timothy Duy, an economist at the University of Oregon. Hiking rates too early could make it more likely the US economy tips into recession, he said.

The Fed’s preferred inflation measure stripped of food and energy prices is now at 1.3 percent and its policymakers on average see the gauge accelerating next year but not quite hitting their 2 percent target.

Jon Faust, a former special adviser to the Fed board whose inflation forecast-

Brainard said on Dec. 1 the US dollar’s appreciation, driven in part by global economic weakness, could argue for a “delay in the date of lift-off and a shallower path for the federal funds rate over several years.”

On the other side of the policy debate is Charles Plosser, who led the Philadelphia Fed from 2006 until March 2015. Plosser would have preferred to raise rates “a year ago” but was glad that the Fed chief facilitated the debate over liftoff.

“The fact that she can articulate the rationale, that’s really important,” he said. “Because then you can debate.”

– Reuters

Georgia Asian Times December 15-31, 2015

BUSINESS ASIA

Alibaba avoids being named on U.S. blacklist for fakes Washington DC, Dec 18, 2015 -- Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has avoided being named on a US blacklist for sites hosting the sale of fake goods, a victory for the firm after lobbying hard to avoid inclusion on the list.

The US Trade Representative (USTR) said, though, it was “increasingly concerned” about Alibaba’s enforcement programs and warned it must make a greater effort to stop the sale of pirated and counterfeit products on its online platforms.

Inclusion on the annual list of the world’s most “notorious markets” for sales of pirated and counterfeit goods, while not carrying direct penalties, would be a blow to Alibaba’s efforts to shed perceptions its sites are riddled with fakes.

The firm has pushed hard over the last few months to avoid being named on the list, concerned it could drag down its share price after coming under renewed pressure this year over suspected counterfeits on its platforms.

“Counterfeiting is an issue all global e-commerce companies face, and we are doing all we can to address and fight it,” an Alibaba spokesman said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

“We will continue to work with brands, governments and our sellers to maintain the integrity of our marketplaces.”

Alibaba’s Taobao Marketplace and Alibaba.com were both previously on the piracy blacklist, which highlights markets linked to significant intellectual property infringement. Alibaba.com was removed in 2011 and Taobao in 2012 after efforts to work with sellers of legitimate goods to clean up the sites.

Since then, the Chinese e-commerce giant has worked toward enforcing anti-counterfeit procedures, but the US trade office said it was unclear what effect these measures have had.

“Despite these new procedures, USTR is increasingly concerned by rights holders’ reports that Alibaba Group’s enforcement program is too slow, difficult to use, and lacks transparency,” the trade office said in a statement yesterday, referring to complaints from trademark holders that sell merchandise on the site.

In October, The American Apparel and Footwear Association urged the trade office to blacklist Taobao for persistent intellectual property rights violations.

The trade office said yesterday it would continue to monitor the sites over the coming year to see if overall efforts to remove fakes and penalize counterfeit sellers are effective.

-- Reuters

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December 15-31, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

FOCUS

Obama administration authorizes $1.83 billion arms sale to Taiwan Washington DC, Dec 17, 2015 The Obama administration formally notified Congress on Wednesday of a $1.83-billion arms sale package for Taiwan, including two frigates, anti-tank missiles, amphibious assault vehicles and other equipment, drawing an angry response from China.

The authorization, which Reuters on Monday reported was imminent, came a year after Congress passed legislation approving the sale. It is the first such major arms sale to Taiwan in more than four years.

The White House said there was no change in the longstanding U.S. “one China” policy. Past U.S. weapons sales to Taiwan have attracted strong condemnation in China, which considers Taiwan a renegade province.

The White House said the authorization followed previous sales notifications by the administration totaling more than $12 billion under the Taiwan Relations Act. “Our longstanding policy on arms sales to Taiwan has been consistent across six different U.S. administrations,” a National Security Council spokesman, Myles Caggins, said. “We remain committed to our one-China policy,” he added.

Although Washington does not recognize Taiwan as a separate state from China, it is committed under the Taiwan Relations Act to ensuring Taipei can maintain a credible defense.

The sales come at a period of heightened tension between the United States and China over the South China Sea, where Washington has been critical of China’s building of man-made islands

to assert expansive territorial claims.

China summoned the U.S. charge d’affaires in Beijing, Kaye Lee, to protest and said it would impose sanctions on the companies involved, state news agency Xinhua reported.

“Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. China strongly opposes the U.S. arms sale to Taiwan,” Xinhua quoted Vice Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang, who summoned Lee, as saying.

Zheng said the sales went against international law and basic norms of international relations and “severely” harmed China’s sovereignty and security.

“To safeguard our national interests, China has decided to take necessary measures, including imposing sanctions against the companies involved in the arms sale,” Zheng said.

The U.S. State Department said Raytheon and Lockheed Martin were the main contractors in the sales.

It was not clear what impact sanctions might have on the companies, although in 2013, Lockheed Martin signed a pact with the Thailand-based Reignwood Group to build an offshore plant to supply energy for a luxury resort on Hainan island in southern China.

“U.S. companies participating in arms sales to Taiwan gravely harm China’s sovereignty and security interests,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

“China’s government and companies will not carry out cooperation and

commercial dealings with these types of companies.”

However, previous Chinese sanction threats have not been followed up by Beijing.

China’s Defense Ministry said the sale would also inevitably affect military-to-military ties, but did not elaborate.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said the new weapons would be phased in over a number of years and would enable Taiwan to maintain and develop a credible defense.

U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said the decision was based solely on Taiwan’s defense needs.

“The Chinese can react to this as they see fit,” he said. “This is nothing new. ... There’s no need for it to have any derogatory effect on our relationship with China.”

Kirby said Washington wanted to work to establish a “better, more transparent more effective relationship” with China in the region and had been in contact with both Taiwan and China on this on Wednesday. He declined to elaborate.

David McKeeby, another State Department spokesman, said the arms package included two Perry-class

guided-missile frigates; $57 million of Javelin anti-tank missiles made by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin; $268 million of TOW 2B anti-tank missiles and $217 million of Stinger surfaceto-air missiles made by Raytheon, and $375 million of AAV-7 Amphibious Assault Vehicles.

The State Department said the frigates were being offered as surplus items at a cost of $190 million. The package also includes $416 million of guns, upgrade kits, ammunition and support for Raytheon’s Close-in Weapons System.

Analysts and congressional sources believe the delay in the formal approval of the sales was due to the Obama administration’s desire to maintain stable working relations with China, an increasingly powerful strategic rival but also a vital economic partner as the world’s second-largest economy.

U.S. Republican lawmakers said on Wednesday they were pleased the administration had authorized the sale but called for a more regular process for such transactions.

John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said this would “avoid extended periods in which fear of upsetting the U.S.-China relationship may harm Taiwan’s defense capabilities.”

Georgia Asian Times December 15-31, 2015

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FEATURE

Confident and clear, Yellen says rate path will be well signaled San Francisco, Dec 17, 2015 - The unanimous backing Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen got for the Fed’s first rate hike since the financial crisis let her deliver a clear message: Don’t expect further rate hikes for a while, and when we are ready, we’ll tell you.

Yellen’s confident and measured performance - she even managed a joke about the Fed’s forecasting record came as she ended the “extraordinary” measures that revived the US economy from the worst recession since the 1930s.

Clear communication has not been a strong suit at the US central bank in recent months, with top Fed officials talking at cross purposes and sending mixed signals about when the benchmark interest rate should rise. But when it mattered the 69-year old economist guided markets to a soft landing and convinced skeptical rate setters to back the consensus.

Indeed, before the Fed’s last meeting, an overwhelming majority of Wall Street firms told the Fed that its communications were ineffective or nearly so, according to the New York Fed’s most recent survey.

Stocks even managed a rally on the Fed decision as Yellen corralled doubt-

ers like Fed governors Lael Brainard and Daniel Tarullo, as well as the dovish chief of the Chicago Fed, Charles Evans, to sign on to the decision to raise short-term interest rates.

And though she did not define exactly what gradual rate hikes meant, she did point to the “nearly 1.5 per cent” median Fed forecast for the short-term rate next year.

Even projections for future rate hikes have coalesced, with nearly all Fed officials agreeing within a quarter of a per centage point on where the benchmark rate should be by the end of next year.

In September views were much more widely dispersed.

And, she said, it does not mean “evenly timed, equally sized interest rate changes,” but should be slow enough so the Fed can gauge the effect on financial conditions and spending.

“Definitely a communications coup,” said Scott Anderson, chief economist for Bank of the West in San Francisco.

Market responses were relatively muted, with futures on short-term interest rates dropping just enough to suggest traders now believe the next rate hike will occur in April, rather than in June as had been expected.

The importance of ‘gradual’ During an hour-long news conference following the Fed’s two-day policy meeting, Yellen appeared relaxed, smiling when asked if she worried the Fed had raised rates too early. She left no doubt that the most important new word in the Fed’s post-meeting statement was “gradual.”

She again said that markets and officials would be well prepared for the next move.

“We’ve made a commitment to emerging market policymakers that we would do our best to communicate as clearly as we could about our policy intentions to avoid spillovers that might result from abrupt or unanticipated policy moves,” she said.

Yellen and the Fed came under fire earlier this year for sending mixed messages to markets, culminating in September when Yellen caught much of Wall Street by surprise by holding rates steady and warning on global growth prospects.

Traders then pushed expectations for a first rate hike well into 2016, forcing the Fed in October to tip its hand that a rate hike could take place in December.

Even with the well-telegraphed liftoff from zero rates behind her, Yellen faces a communications minefield ahead, in part because the unanimity around the historic rate rise may not hold once normalization gets further underway, but also because the economic data may not come in as expected.

“The rhetoric from the Fed statement remains accommodative, but its data dependant guidance will continue to bring uncertainty and volatility in 2016,” said Alfonso Esparza, senior currency strategist at Oanda in Toronto. - Reuters

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EVENT

December 15-31, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

Emperor of Japan’s Birthday Celebration Hosted by Consulate General of Japan, Dec 4, 2015

Consul General Kazuo Sunaga and Mrs. Sunaga are returning to Japan after completing their assignment in Atlanta since summer 2013.

Mrs. Sunaga singing “Danny Boy” to the guest and audience at the celebration.

Georgia Asian Times December 15-31, 2015

EVENT

Hannukah Celebration Hosted by Consulate General of India, Dec 12, 2015

Consul General Nagesh Singh and Mrs. Singh lights the candle in a symbolic celebration of the Hannukah celebration.

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December 15-31, 2015

Georgia Asian Times

LIFESTYLE

Environment, not ‘bad luck,’ mainly to blame for cancer, study shows Paris, Dec 17, 2015 — Environmental factors such as sunshine and tobacco smoke cause more cancers than random DNA mutations, researchers have affirmed—contesting another team’s conclusions that “bad luck” was mainly to blame.

The study, published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, was conducted to challenge a controversy-stirring paper carried by US-based Science in January, which said unavoidable errors in gene coding was the main cancer cause.

The latest work—based on several mathematical analyses of cancer data— found “strong evidence” that random errors that occur during DNA replication contributed “only modestly” to the development of many common cancers.

70 to 90 per cent, in fact, were caused by environmental factors such as ultraviolet radiation, the team found.

Other experts not involved in the study cautioned against reading too much into the results.

“Their analysis supports conventional thinking around cancer formation and development, and casts doubt on the idea that some cancers are relatively independent of how you live and what you’re exposed to,” Andrew Maynard of Arizona State University wrote in a comment.

But the findings were not definitive, he said, and were based on a number of assumptions that may have influenced the conclusions.

Giles Hooker from Cornell University in New York, said the findings were based on a “very simplified model of cancer mutation” and the numbers “should at best be regarded as ballpark estimates.”

“By using only the lowest risk cancers and assuming that mutation rates

are the same for all tissues, the study maximises the risk attributed to environmental factors,” he wrote.

“However, we don’t know how tissues differ in their intrinsic mutation rates.”

Paul Pharaoh, a cancer epidemiology professor at Cambridge University, pointed out there were different levels of internal and external risk for different cancer types.

The results, he said, “do not tell us anything about the absolute risks of any given cancer.

“These findings do not have any implications for cancer treatment, but they do tell us that most cancers would be preventable if we knew all of the extrinsic risk factors that cause disease.”

The Science study had caused much debate for suggesting that “bad-luck” DNA mutations could explain about 75 per cent of cases for many types of

cancer—meaning they could not be prevented by a healthy lifestyle.

The World Health Organisation’s cancer agency at the time “strongly disagreed” with the study’s findings, which it said could have “serious negative consequences” for cancer research and healthy behaviour.

Georgia Asian Times December 15-31, 2015

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SPORTS King James leads Cavs in silencing Thunder Los Angeles, Dec 18, 2015 — Cleveland superstar LeBron James scored 33 points to lead the short-handed Cavaliers to a 104-100 NBA victory over Oklahoma yesterday that halted the Thunder’s six-game winning streak.

James scored 33 points and handed out 11 assists, with his nine rebounds leaving him just one shy of his first triple-double of the season.

Hiddink poised to replace Mourinho at Chelsea Belgrade, Dec 18, 2015 — Dutch coach Guus Hiddink is set to take over at Premier League champions Chelsea after they sacked Jose Mourinho yesterday, the club’s former striker Mateja Kezman said. guus_hiddink“I don’t know if it has been officially confirmed yet, but Hiddink just told me he was the new coach,” Kezman, who played for Chelsea in the 2004-2005 season, was quoted as saying by Croatia’s www. index.hr website.

“Hiddink is a great expert and an even better psychologist, hence I am confident he will get Chelsea back to winning ways in the Premier League and go all the way in the Champions League.

“I am not surprised with (Chelsea owner) Roman Abramovich’s decision to sack Mourinho.

“Jose is an outstanding coach but the club’s results and position in the Premier League standings are well beneath a club of Chelsea’s stature.”

It didn’t matter, as the Cavaliers shook off the absence of injured guards Mo Williams, Iman Shumpert and Kyrie Irving, rallying twice from double-digit deficits for the win on their home floor.

Centre Tristan Thompson had 12 points and 15 rebounds for Cleveland, with four of his 11 offensive rebounds coming in the fourth quarter.

Chelsea are 16th in the Premier League and one point above the relegation zone after 16 games. They will face Paris St Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Forward Kevin Love converted a rare four-point play that tied the game at 78-78, and his full-court pass to James led to a three-point play that put the Cavs up 81-78.

Hiddink won the 2009 FA Cup with Chelsea during a brief spell as interim manager after taking over from Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari.

Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook had 27 points and 10 assists, and forward Kevin Durant scored 25 points, but both stars missed potential game-tying three-pointers in the last 10 seconds.

He quickly won the hearts of the club’s fans who pleaded with Abramovich to sign him on a permanent deal during their final home league game that season, a 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers.

But the Russian billionaire opted for Italian Carlo Ancelotti while Hiddink went on to coach Turkey, Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala and most recently his native Netherlands.

His last job ended badly as he parted company with the Dutch national team after a poor start in Euro 2016 qualifying, with his assistant and replacement Danny Blind unable to turn around

their fortunes as they failed to reach next year’s tournament in France.

The 69-year-old Hiddink faces a difficult task to get Chelsea’s Premier League campaign back on track after what Kezman described as a catalogue of errors by Mourinho.

“The biggest mistake Mourinho made was during the summer transfer window, as he failed to reinforce the squad thinking it was still good enough to win the title again,” said the former Serbia striker.

The contest included a frightening moment with 3:07 to play, when James, chasing a loose ball, crashed into the wife of Australian golfer Jason Day as she sat courtside with her husband.

Ellie Day was taken from the arena on a stretcher and was to be hospitalised overnight, although James said after the game he had heard she was doing fine.

“For me, obviously, her health is very important,” James said.

The incident overshadowed an entertaining contest.

The Thunder led by 12 points in the second quarter before the Cavaliers scored 18 straight to seize the lead.

Serge Ibaka’s three-pointer with 5:44 left in the third put the Thunder up 69-58, but they couldn’t maintain the advantage.

“We relaxed,” Durant said. “We missed some shots and they came back. It’s frustrating. Of course, we want to win. We always end up being up 10 points, and in the fourth quarter we don’t start off so well.

“Also, it is shocking that he made public his dressing-room clashes with the players and it seems he was ill-prepared to deal with the situation.

“Jose has won it all in club football and is used to capturing trophies with the the best teams, but he lost the handle in this nightmare of a situation.

“He just didn’t know how to get the club out of the mess they are in.” — Reuters

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December 15-31, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

SPORTS

Van Gaal under pressure by critics after Champions League loss London, Dec 9, 2015 — Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal found himself under attack from all sides today following his team’s meek groupphase elimination from the Champions League.

A picture of the Dutchman sitting in the dug-out with his head in his hands during yesterday’s 3-2 defeat at Wolfsburg adorned several back pages, The Times branding United’s exit “Embarrassing, Amateurish, Excruciating”.

Van Gaal was already under fire over United’s dour brand of football, amid a run of five 0-0s draws in 10 games, and the club’s former players did not hold back in their assessment of the latest setback.

“United just look like an average team, really, and with an average team you get average performances,” said former United midfielder Paul Scholes.

newspapers’ sports pages was “humiliated”, with the Daily Telegraph describing United as “a very limited side” who had failed to navigate “a very mediocre group”.

United finished below both Wolfsburg and PSV Eindhoven, sides whose wage bills are dwarfed by their own, and The Guardian said that their fate was “precisely what they deserved”.

Many see in United’s current guise a betrayal of the principles of fast, attacking football associated with the long, glorious tenure of former manager Alex Ferguson.

“The United whom Ferguson embodied, the fighting, attacking, winning United, are no more,” wrote The Times. “They have been replaced by United Lite.”

Divisive figure

Former centre-back Rio Ferdinand, analyzing the game for BT Sport, said that dropping into the Europa League was unacceptable for a club who reached three Champions League finals between 2008 and 2011.

Michael Owen, another former United player, said that Van Gaal was under “severe pressure”, while the former Arsenal and Wales striker John Hartson suggested the club had reached a critical juncture.

“I was in a squad that went into the Europa League (in 2011) and it’s an embarrassment,” he said.

“The owners have a big decision,” Hartson said on BBC Radio Five. “Do they let him continue to spend, or do they rip it all up and start again? I don’t think Van Gaal has cut it at Manchester United.”

“You don’t want to come out of your house, you don’t want to walk around Manchester. You’re looking at people looking at you and thinking, ‘Ah, you’re not good enough.’”

The recurring word on the British

Van Gaal has spent over £250 million on new players since succeeding David Moyes last year, but despite steering the club back into the Cham-

pions League, he remains a divisive figure.

Frustrated fans at Old Trafford have taken to chanting “Attack, attack, attack!” in an effort to rouse their team, while there were calls for Van Gaal to be sacked on late-night radio phoneins after yesterday’s game.

Facing the media in Wolfsburg, the usually bullish Van Gaal, whose side were knocked out of the League Cup by second-tier Middlesbrough, admitted: “I cannot defend myself.”

But United’s hierarchy are believed to be fully behind the 64-year-old, with senior club sources briefing journalists earlier this week that they expect him to see out his contract, which expires in 2017.

Working in his favor is the fact that, although United’s football continues to

exasperate, they are only three points behind Premier League leaders Leicester City and none of their title rivals have yet found form.

United’s next six league games are all against teams in the bottom half of the table, even if that list includes champions Chelsea, while they host third-tier Sheffield United in the FA Cup third round.

It should give Van Gaal a chance to get United back on an even keel, while January brings with it the possibility of adding reinforcements to a squad that is missing several senior players through injury.

But it is make-or-break for Van Gaal and with Carlo Ancelotti fluttering his eyelashes at the Premier League and Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich future unresolved, he cannot afford many more missteps.

Georgia Asian Times December 15-31, 2015

Page 15

HEALTH Less than 7 hours sleep a night possible link to obesity, says study A recent US study has found that short sleep, defined as less than seven hours a night, increases the consumption of sugary drinks, and could increase the risk of obesity.

Researchers at the University of Alabama looked at data from 28,150 American adults between the age of 21 to 65 who took part in the American Time Use Survey between 2006 and 2008.

Using the data the researchers analyzed the time that participants spent on primary eating and drinking, secondary eating and drinking, and the amount of hours they slept each night.

Secondary eating is eating “while primarily engaged in another activity, such as television watching,” and

secondary drinking also occurs while engaged in another activity, but is “drinking beverages other than water – such as sugar-sweetened beverages”.

The team found that the participants who reported short sleep, less than seven hours a night, engaged in secondary eating for an extra 8.7 minutes a day compared to those who reported normal sleep, seven to eight hours a night.

pathway from short sleep to increased caloric intake in the form of beverages and distracted eating and thus potential increased obesity risk, although more research is needed.”

an increased risk of obesity, with the findings suggesting that sleeping less than six hours a night increases the risk of being seriously overweight by 34% for women, and by 50% for men.

The findings were published online in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

The study also found that poor sleeping habits can lead to poor eating habits, with those sleeping less snacking more between mealtimes, and particularly at night when tiredness sets in, leading to cravings for sugary foods to boost energy. This snacking is also partly due to the hormonal disturbances that lack of sleep causes.

In addition, they also reported engaging in secondary drinking for an extra 28.6 minutes a day on weekdays, and 31.28 minutes on weekends.

A French study published earlier this year also found that “sleeping less than six hours in a 24 hour period means exposing oneself to risk of obesity.”

Gabriel S. Tajeu, one of the authors of the study, commented on the findings saying as short sleep is associated not only with secondary eating, but also secondary drinking of sweetened beverages, “This potentially suggests a

The study, which was carried about by the French National Institute of Sleep and Vigilance (INVS) and French health insurer MGEN, looked at data from 49,086 individuals to find that failing to get enough sleep is linked to

Teens with open, respectful parents less likely to try drugs, says study Los Angeles, December 14, 2015 — According to a US study published in the Drug and Alcohol Dependence Journal, parents’ behavior can have an impact on their teens’ attraction to drugs.

This new study could reassure and encourage parents who are worried about their teenager getting involved with alcohol and drugs. Parental behavior is thought to be key in terms of how tempted young adults are to use these substances.

The key to preventing this type of behavior in adolescence is thought to come from the quality of the relationship that parents build with their kids from early childhood until pre-adolescence.

The main ingredients required are openness, communication, respect and understanding. According to the researchers, the more we take an early interest in our children, the lower the risk that they will associate with deviant peers or people who could offer them drugs.

Thomas Schofield, the study’s lead author, and his colleagues Rand Conger and Richard Robins at the University of California, Davis, observed the interactions between Mexican origin parents and their children to measure the degree and effects of parental control.

They concentrated on Mexican origin families to better understand if cultural differences were influencing parental behavior and outcomes. Dr Schofield

said that another reason for this choice was the greater risk in this community of using drugs and alcohol early and misusing them over time.

important that the parents share the same beliefs on parenting, bearing in mind that one can change the views of the other.

The study followed up on 674 children at age 10 and 12. The researchers observed the relationship with the mother and the father separately. They also controlled for child temperament and cultural beliefs.

Dr Schofield says that one parent’s ability to influence their spouse exists when they have a good relationship, and that parents should use this to their advantage when bringing up their child.

Thomas Schofield said the findings suggest that more than genetics is at play, and that the parents can make a difference by influencing the behavior of their child.

On a related subject, an additional study undertaken by Thomas Schofield and his colleague Jennifer Weaver of Boise State University, shows that it is

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December 15-31, 2015 Georgia Asian Times

Misc Asia Can Cartier recapture its sparkle in China?

Hong Kong, Dec 9, 2015 — The gold and diamonds of Cartier jewelery are so popular with women that the brand founded in Paris in 1847 is finding it difficult to market watches to men.

The world’s biggest jewelery and watch brand in terms of combined sales generates more than two thirds of profits for Swiss parent Richemont, but watch revenues have dwindled relentlessly while jewelery sales have boomed.

Like other high-end watchmakers Cartier is suffering from a drop in demand in big markets such as Hong Kong, mainland China, Russia and the United States. But some of Cartier’s problems are specific to the brand, setting up a challenge for Cyrille Vigneron when he takes over the leadership next month.

Improving Cartier’s image as a watchmaker in China, where wealthy women love its red boxes but men prefer pure watch brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe or Vacheron Constantin, may be top of his to-do list.

“Cartier is popular among fashion-focused customers in Hong Kong.

Consumers will regard it as a piece of jewelery when they hear the brand, it is particularly popular among ladies,” said Lam Tung-hing, general manager of the Hong Kong retail operations of Oriental Watch Holdings Ltd. “For men, a first time luxury watch buyer will choose to buy Rolex, which is practical and good looking.”

Cartier and Richemont declined to comment on the brand’s strategy to improve watch sales.

Richemont said last month that watch sales were down mid-single digits in the six months to September,

dragged down by its biggest markets, Hong Kong and the United States. It had already stated a similar decline for Cartier watches in the full year to March. Shares have fallen over 12 per cent this year.

Comparisons with competitors are hard to make. Rolex is privately owned and at LVMH, watch and jewelery sales rose 10 per cent during the first nine months but it does not give a separate watch figure. Swatch Group shares have fallen 18 per cent, partly due to competition from smartwatches and the drop in demand from China.

Watch exports from Switzerland, where Cartier and other watches are made, fell 3.2 per cent during the first ten months of 2015 with shipments to Hong Kong down 22.7 per cent and rising just 0.1 per cent to the United States.

Pierluigi Fedele, who is responsible for watchmaking at the Swiss union Unia, downplayed any talk of a crisis.

“There is no real crisis in the Swiss watch industry today. Exports are down a bit, but probably still above 20 billion Swiss francs for the whole year,” he said.

No More Chinese Gifts But he noted the subdued Asian market was causing problems for some companies and a few had laid off staff. Cartier said last year it introduced shorter working hours for some employees and would not say if the measure was still in place.

Some analysts estimate that the high-end watch market in mainland China is down 60 per cent since its 2012 peak.

This is partly due to the government’s crackdown on the tradition of

gifts-for-favors which often involved watches. Richemont also highlighted difficulties in Macau where the casino industry is suffering from the crackdown on corruption, the weak yuan and Chinese government restrictions on travel.

The strong franc has made Swiss exports more expensive while Tiffany & Co forecast a bigger fall in full-year profit than previously expected as a strong dollar kept tourists from spending in its showpiece US stores.

Last month’s terrorist attacks in Paris are also expected to further dent tourists’ travels to Europe to buy luxury goods during the pre-Christmas period which, for some brands, represent up to a quarter of annual sales.

New Ideas But for Cartier, whose sparkling creations adorned royal heads around the globe in the early 20th century and more recently Kate Middleton’s at her wedding to Prince William, the challenges are bigger than for most.

all, with product innovation because in a subdued environment that is the way you can maybe get the consumer to buy a new watch,” said Bernstein analyst Mario Ortelli.

The company is also a relative newcomer in “in-house” watch movements, the mechanisms that make a watch tick and are beloved of collectors.

When Swatch Group, the world’s largest watchmaker, started phasing out delivery of watch movement components to the rest of the industry, competitors were forced to develop their own manufacturing tools, now an important part of the prestige of highend watches.

Lam says in China Cartier chased the mass market on the mainland and paid less attention to the top technical design required by buyers in Hong Kong.

“Many local collectors will have a question mark as the design appeared as not as good,” he said.

More Football, Less Polo

“Cartier is facing a relatively subdued luxury market, as the bulk of the other mega-brands. Additionally, Cartier is suffering from the step back in the Chinese watch market / gifting practices. You could argue Cartier has not been the strongest innovator in recent years,” he said.

In marketing as well, Cartier could do with a few fresh ideas. While Omega’s name is omnipresent at the Olympic Games and each new James Bond movie and Rolex cultivates its image as a sports brand, Cartier relies on its signature panther and other more traditional attributes.

Lack of innovation has been a problem and Vigneron, who replaces Stanislas de Quercize, a 25-year Richemont group veteran who stepped down last month, will need to focus on this.

It has sponsored polo for more than 30 years but competitors such as Hublot have been a bit more adventurous by doing deals with football teams and ski schools in resorts such as Courchevel.

Many of Cartier’s new watches have been based on existing versions with innovation focused on the most expensive models. In January, Cartier unveiled its first new model in eight years, the Clé watch, but so far only gold models costing more than €10,000 are available.

According to a person close to the Richemont group who declined to be named, about 90 per cent of buyers of Clé since its launch have been women.

“The way to be successful is, first of

Richemont thinks Vigneron, a music composer and guitar player who was rehired at Cartier after heading LVMH’s operations in Japan, is the right man to lead Cartier back to growth.

“He is known for thinking out of the box,” said one Cartier employee based in London. “I think a lot of people have high hopes for him.”

Georgia Asian Times December 15-31, 2015

Page 17

Misc Asia

Dining fine print: Chinese restaurant bills patrons for ‘clean air Beijing, Dec 16, 2015 — Has clean air become such a luxury in China that restaurants can charge patrons for it?

K-Pop band sent home from LA airport lacked work visa Los Angeles, Dec 13, 2015 -- Members of a K-pop girl band detained at the Los Angeles airport and sent back to South Korea lacked the proper work visas, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday.

required P1 performance visa.

The agency that represents the band Oh My Girl, WM Entertainment, said that US immigration authorities suspected that they might be sex workers after the eight performers were held at the Los Angeles airport for 15 hours on December 9.

WM Entertainment said in a statement in South Korea that US immigration authorities “seem to have mistaken them as sex workers” after going through their luggage, “probably because of their young age.”

Not true, an official with the US Customs and Border Patrol told the Times.

Band members were seeking to enter under a program that allows South Koreans to travel in the United States for up to 90 days without a visa, the official said.

But when customs agents went through their luggage and found costumes and props it was clear that they had arrived to perform.

The US agents denied the young women entry because they lacked the

“We were doing what we do every day,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Times. “We send people back all the time.”

The band was booked to perform at a gala event in Los Angeles on Saturday, the statement read.

The statement also hinted that there might have been an issue with the type of visa the band members were holding.

Oh My Girl was formed in March and released its debut single in April.

South Korea’s K-pop scene, which has been exported with enormous success, is dominated by girl and boy bands whose members are sometimes as young as 13 or 14 years old.

That question was on many minds yesterday after Xinhua, the state news agency, reported that a restaurant in the eastern province of Jiangsu was doing just that. The restaurant, in the city of Zhangjiagang, near Shanghai, was adding one renminbi, or about 15 cents, per customer as a “clean air fee.”

The debate on social media has been divided between those who contend that clean air is a basic right, not a commodity, and those who counter that the restaurant has incurred costs to install purifiers to clean the air and is thus entitled to charge for that service.

Xinhua quoted an unnamed official in Zhangjiagang as saying that air was a natural resource essential for humanity’s continued existence and that the restaurant had a duty to provide a clean environment, including air. The restaurant had been given seven days to retract the fee, Xinhua reported.

A post on a website run by the Zhangjiagang government said such fees were unreasonable. But it also demanded an alternative approach. “It is those who pollute the air who should be made to pay,” the post read.

A commentary in The Beijing Times yesterday argued that the restaurant’s clean air fee should serve as a reminder to people in China that “if we fail to deal with air pollution, sooner or later we will pay the price.”

Some online commenters said the restaurant was just looking for new ways to increase its revenue. “This is simply cashing in over a national crisis,” one wrote on Weibo, adding that the restaurant “should be severely punished.”

Others defended the restaurant.

“Breathing clean air during a meal for just one renminbi, that’s a good deal!” one user wrote.

Xinhua did not name the restaurant, but a bill from an establishment in Zhangjiagang that included a “clean air charge” of one renminbi per person has circulated on social media. The restaurant, Jing Yue Hui, is in a shopping centre, offers Cantonese dim sum and has favourable online ratings.

A person who answered the telephone at Jing Yue Hui confirmed that it had been charging for clean air but that it had stopped doing so. She said it had nine air purifiers but declined to answer further questions.

Air quality monitors in Zhangjiagang yesterday gave readings for PM 2.5, the fine particulate matter considered most dangerous to human health, of 265 to 268 a cubic metre. This is more than 10 times the healthy maximum of 25 set by the World Health Organisation.