Georgia Asian Times Jan 15-31, 2014

Covering The Multicultural Asian American Community in Georgia

www.gasiantimes.com

January 15-31, 2014

US carmakers use aluminum, carbon fiber to cut weight

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January 15-31, 2014 Georgia Asian Times

Georgia Asian Times January 15-31, 2014

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GAT Calendar of Events (For latest & updated events, visit www.gasiantimes.com)

Publisher: Li Wong Account Manager: Adrian West Contributors: Andrian Putra, May Lee, Mark Ho Tel: 678-971-9388 Advertising: gat@gasiantimes.com Editorial: info@gasiantimes.com URL: www.gasiantimes.com Mailing Address: P.O. Box 4502 Suwanee GA 30024 Copyright Georgia Asian Times 2004-2013

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.

Georgia Asian Times assumes no responsibility for damages from the use of information contained in this publication or the reply to any advertisement. The Publisher will not be liable for any error in advertising to greater extent than the cost of space occupied by the error and will only be made for a single publication date.

The Publisher reserves the right to reject any ad or articles submitted for publication that may not be in good taste for a free publication.

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.

Georgia Vietnamese-American Chamber of Commerce (GVACC) Year End Celebration Date: Friday, January 17, 2014 Time: 6:00 pm Venue: Happy Valley Restaurant For more info: www.gvacc.org

tural Office in Atlanta, 5377 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee, GA 30341 770.451.4456. Admission: $5 per person (children under 3 ft free).

For more info: www.facebook.com/AtlantaChineseLunarNewYearFestival For questions: yutodd@bellsouth.net

NACA Chinese Lunar New Year Banquet Date: Saturday, January 25, 2014 Time: 6:00 pm Venue: Canton House Admission: $40 member; Non-member $80; Corporate Table $1,800.

For more info: 770.394.6542

Chinese Business Association of Atlanta (CBAA) - Chinese New Year Annual Meeting Date: Saturday, Feb 1, 2014 Time: 7:00 pm Venue: Golden House Restaurant For more info: www.cbaaweb.org

Georgia Asian American & Pacific Islander Legislative Day Inaugural Fred Korematsu Day Organized by Georgia AAPI Task Force Date: Thursday, January 30, 2014 Time: 9:30 am - 2:00 pm Venue: Capitol Room 230, State Capitol RSVP requested For more info: www.aapilegislativeday-ga.org Chinese New Year of Horse Celebration Organized by Chinese Community Center Date: Tuesday January 31, 2014 Time: 7:00 pm Venue: Grand Ballroom, Westin Atlanta Perimeter North For more info: Jimmy Ho, email: hho5033@aol.com Tet Lunar New Year Celebration Organized by Vietnamese American Community of Georgia (VAC GA) Date: Sunday, February 2, 2014 Time: 10:00 am - 8:00 pm Venue: The Wild Bills Concert Hall 2075 Market Street, Duluth GA 30096 For more info: 678.907.6941 2014 Atlanta Chinese Lunar New Year Festival Date: Sat. & Sun., Feb 1 & 2, 2014 Time: 10 am-4 pm Venue: Culture Center of Taipei Economic & Cul-

21st Annual CBAA Chinese New Year Gala Concert Date: Sunday, Feb 2, 2014 Time: 3:30 pm Venue: Woodruff Arts Center For more info: charley@frontech.com Legislative Breakfast & Lobby Day Organized by Asian American Legal Advocacy Center Date: Monday, February 10, 2014 Time: 7:30 am - 1:00 pm Venue: Georgia Railroad Freight Depot, Blue Room Individual Tickets: $20 For more info: 404-585-8446; www. aalegal.org 2014 Spring in Atlanta Organized by Association of Chinese Professionals Date: Thursday, February 13, 2014 Time: 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm Venue: Rialto Center, Georgia State University For more info: 678.462.8611, 678.557.0260 or 678.910.3298 / www. acp-atlanta.org Hong Kong Spring Reception for the Year of Horse Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2014 Time: 6:00 pm Venue: Carter Center Private Event - By Invitation Only For more info: 404.788.8818

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January 15-31, 2014 Georgia Asian Times

METRO ASIAN NEWS

“I would like GVACC members to help each other and to be able to give back to the community. Most importantly, members are to gain valuable networking and in-depth perspective of issues facing the Vietnamese businesses in Georgia,” said Tran.

L-R: Kim Chi Ngo, Board member, Brenda Tran, President-GVACC.

Georgia’s Vietnamese business chamber raising its profile and outreach Georgia’s Vietnamese population ranked among the 10th largest in the nation, according to figures from 2010 Census Bureau. It reflected an increase of 56% growth between 2000-2010.

Atlanta’s metropolitan Vietnamese community of 36,554 is also ranked among 10th largest in the nation.

Vietnamese entrepreneurship and small business exploded in the past decade with the opening of retail businesses catering to the emerging population. Vietnamese small businesses ranging from nail shops, restaurants, groceries, cellphone distributors, and professional services opened in the DeKalb’s County Buford Highway and Gwinnett County’s Jimmy Carter Boulevard corridors.

Vietnamese entrepreneurs and business owners began to network informally over dinners to discuss challenges and issues facing the community at large. Historically, the business owners would meet at the Year End Celebration. The informal networking formed the genesis for the founding of a business organization catering to the needs of Vietnamese businesses in Georgia.

Georgia Vietnamese American

Chamber of Commerce (GVACC) was officially established in late 2010 to promote business networking and economic prosperity for its members and the Vietnamese American community in Georgia at large.

“The Vietnamese American community in Georgia is growing rapidly and the basic needs for an advancing community include the three prongs of social, financial and political foundation.

Three years ago, we focus on building a strong Vietnamese American Chamber of commerce in Georgia with a vision to create sustainable competitive advantage for our members,” said Time Le, the founder of GVACC in an email interview with Georgia Asian Times.

GVACC’s Executive Board officially appointed Brenda Tran as the President in 2013. Tran is currently the Director of Operations and Purchasing at Saigon Restaurant Group. She has previously served as President of National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP), Atlanta Chapter from 2006-2007.

Amongst Tran’s immediate goals are to develop the membership base of the chamber and to increase outreach with other business community.

She also believes GVACC to embrace a more proactive outreach to network with other business organizations and community in metro Atlanta.

“We have traditionally being a conservative and inclusive organization.

I believe our new strategy will help promote more business opportunity for our members,” adds Tran.

A unique strategy of GVACC is to encourage student and youth memberships. “We hope to train our young people to become leaders of the organization in the near future.”

One of the major event being planned by Tran and Kim Chi Ngo, a fellow Board member is the Year End Celebration on January 17, 2014 at Happy Valley Restaurant.

“We are expecting about 300 guests for the event,” said Kim Chi Ngo, who is also the Chairperson of the celebration.

Nick Masimo, Senior Vice President of Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, is expected to be the guest speaker for the evening.

Ngo also revealed that two members of GVACC will be officially recognized for their positive contribution to the community at large.

For more information on Georgia Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce (GVACC), visit www.gvacc. org

Korean radio personality resigns Kevin Ingoo Kim will step down as broadcast host of the popular AM 1080 Atlanta Radio Korea’s “Kevin Kim Show”. He conducted his last broadcast on December 31, 2013.

“I plan to concentrate on completing my law degree at Georgia State University,” said Kim over a telephone interview. kevin.kimKim has indicated that he plans to be involved with the Korean community in a non-profit capacity upon his graduation from law school.

“I would like to continue to work with the metro Atlanta’s Korean community as there are a lot of needs.

I hope with my legal background, I can serve them more effectively,” adds Kim. He often conducts his broadcast in both Korean and English languages especially during interview with English speakers.

AM 1080 Atlanta Radio Korea has already identified a replacement and expected to start on February 1, 2014.

Georgia Asian Times January 15-31, 2014

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METROPOLITAN ATLANTA RAPID TRANSIT AUTHORITY

Notice of Public Hearings – Jan. 21 & 23, 2014 Notice is hereby given that the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) will hold public hearings for the purpose of considering

Proposed Bus Service Modifications for May 17, 2014 Proposed routing and/or adjustments for the following bus routes: Tuesday, Jan. 21 68 Mitchell Street, Suite 3100 Old Council Chambers (Tower side of building)

Atlanta City Hall

Thursday, Jan. 23 1300 Commerce Drive, Decatur, 30030

Maloof Auditorium 7:00 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

Community Q&A Session:

6-7 p.m.

6-7 p.m.

Riding MARTA: Walk one block west of Decatur Station.

Community Q&A Session: Riding MARTA: Bus routes 32, 49, 55, and 74 from Five Points Station.

3717 College Street, College Park, 30337

College Park

Public Safety Complex

7:00 p.m.

Community Q&A Session:

6-7 p.m.

Riding MARTA: Bus route 172 from College Park Rail Station.

7741 Roswell Road Sandy Springs, GA 30350

MARTA customers will not be allowed to board unmanned buses.

Your patience and understanding is greatly appreciated.

Route 12 – Howell Mill/Cumberland Improve morning and afternoon peak service to every 15 min from West Paces Ferry to Midtown in the AM and from Midtown to West Paces Ferry in the PM. Peak service to and from Cumberland Transit Center in Cobb County will be reduced to operate every 30 minutes.

Route 53 – Skipper Dr./West Lake Ave Improve service all day from every 40 min To every 35 min until 8:00 p.m.

Route 107 – Glenwood Rd. Reduce service frequency to every 20 minutes.

Route 165 – Fairburn Rd./Barge Rd. P&R Improve morning and afternoon peak service to every 15 min in peak direction and reduce service to every 30 min in non-peak direction.

Route 180 – Fairburn/Palmetto Improve morning and afternoon peak service to every 12 min and midday service to every 25 minutes.

Route 186 – Rainbow Dr./South DeKalb Improve morning and afternoon peak service to every 15 min in peak direction and reduce service to every 30 min in non-peak direction.

Saturday

Sunday Route 5 – Piedmont Rd./Sandy Springs Improve midday service to every 25 min from every 35 minutes.

6:00 p.m.

Route 21 – Memorial Drive Improve midday service to every 25 min from every 35 minutes.

Route 21 – Memorial Drive Improve midday service to every 25 min from every 35 minutes.

5-6 p.m.

Route 39 – Buford Highway Improve midday service to every 12 min from every 15 minutes.

Route 33 – Briarcliff Rd./Lenox Reduce frequency of service from every 50 min to every 55 minutes.

Route 50 – Donald L. Hollowell Pkwy Improve midday service to every 30 min from every 60 minutes.

Route 39 – Buford Highway Improve midday service to every 12 min from every 15 minutes.

Route 89 – Flat Shoals Rd./Scofield Rd. Reduce service frequency from every 18 min to every 20 minutes.

Route 83 – Campbellton Rd/Greenbriar Improve midday service to every 18 min from every 20 minutes.

Route 102 – Ponce de Leon Ave/Candler Park Improve midday service to every 45 min from every 65 minutes.

Route 89 – Flat Shoals Rd./Scofield Rd. Reduce frequency of service from every 18 min to every 20 minutes.

Community Q&A Session: Riding MARTA: Route 87 from either the Dunwoody or North Springs Rail Stations.

Route 148 – Medical Center/Riveredge Parkway: will no longer operate on I-285 between Medical Center Station and Riveredge Parkway. Propose routing will be via Peachtree Dunwoody; Johnson Ferry; Roswell Road; Lake Placid; (service will then operate non-stop) via Kingsport; Northwood; Lake Forrest; Hammond Drive; Mt. Vernon; Powers Ferry; New Northside Drive (where regular stops will resume); Interstate North Parkway; Riveredge Parkway to Northside Drive.

In an effort to address fare evasion throughout the MARTA system, effective May 17, 2014, MARTA will be implementing a new policy requiring the closing of bus doors while buses are in station bus bays and during layovers.

Route 9 – Toney Valley/Peachcrest Rd. Improve morning and afternoon peak service to every 20 min in peak direction and reduce service to every 30 min in non-peak direction.

Route 2 – Ponce de Leon Ave/Decatur Improve midday service to every 45 min from every 65 minutes.

North Fulton Service Center

Route 67 – West End/Dixie Hills: proposed routing to extend route north on Anderson Ave. NW from Tiger Flowers Dr. NW to Joseph E. Boone Blvd. NW, left on Joseph E. Boone Blvd. NW, left on Aurora Ave. NW, left on Morehouse Dr. NW, right on Morris Brown Ave. NW, then right on Tiger Flowers Dr. NW and continuing the regular route. The route segment on Tiger Flowers Dr. NW, between Anderson Ave. NW and Morris Brown Ave. NW, will be discontinued.

NOTICE

Weekday

Rail Service Frequency Modifications Improve PEAK frequency of service on all rail lines: RED: Airport – North Springs GOLD: Airport – Doraville BLUE: H.E. Holmes – Indian Creek GREEN: Candler Park – Bankhead There are no proposed changes to evening or weekend rail service frequency.

Atlanta Streetcar Detours End May 17, 2014 Route 1 – Centennial Olympic Park/Coronet Way Returning to Centennial Olympic Park Dr. between Ivan Allen Blvd. and Marietta St. Route 3 – MLK Jr. Dr./Auburn Ave Returning to Peachtree St; Auburn Ave and Jackson Street.

Route 110 – Peachtree Street/The Peach Returning to Peachtree St. between Ellis St. and Five Points.

Route 155 – Windsor St./Lakewood Ave. Returning to Gilmer St., Piedmont Avenue and Edgewood Ave.

Route 16 – Noble Returning to Auburn Ave. and Peachtree Street.

Copies of the proposed bus service modifications will also be available at MARTA’s Office of External Affairs, 2424 Piedmont Road, N.E. Atlanta, Georgia 30324 during regular business hours, Mon-Fri 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

For formats (FREE of charge) in accordance with the ADA and Limited English Proficiency regulations contact (404) 8484037. For those patrons requiring further accommodations, information can be obtained by calling the Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) at 404 848-5665.

In addition, a sign language interpreter will be available at all hearings.If you cannot attend the hearings and want to provide comments you may: (1) leave a message at (404) 848-5299; (2) write to MARTA’s Office of External Affairs, 2424

Piedmont Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30324-3330; (3) complete an online Comment Card at www.itsmarta.com; (4) or fax your comments no later than January 31, 2014 to (404) 848-4179.

All citizens of the City of Atlanta and the counties of Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton and Gwinnett whose interests are affected by the subjects to be considered at these hearings are hereby notified and invited to appear at said times and places and present such evidence, comment or objection as their interests require.

Keith T. Parker, AICP General Manager/CEO

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January 15-31, 2014 Georgia Asian Times

BUSINESS India’s Tata launches new Nano with power steering MUMBAI, January 13, 2014 - India’s struggling Tata Nano, launched in 2009 as the world’s cheapest car, unveiled a new, pricier variant of the jelly-bean shaped car on Monday featuring power-steering in a bid to boost flagging sales.

The latest model, called Nano Twist, targets young people. It has power steering along with remote keyless entry, a four-speaker music system with bluetooth and a higher ground clearance for rough terrain.

Japan’s Suntory to buy Jim Beam bourbon maker for $16 Billion NEW YORK, January 13, 2014 Japan’s Suntory Holdings will buy the US maker of Jim Beam bourbon for $16 billion in a transaction that includes debt, creating the spirit sector’s third-largest player, a joint statement said Monday.

Suntory is offering $83.50 per share for rival Beam Inc., a liquor group whose brands also include Maker’s Mark bourbon, Sauza tequila, Courvoisier cognac and Teacher’s whiskey, according to the statement.

Suntory is known for leading Japanese whiskies Yamazaki, Hakushu, Hibiki and Kakubin, as well as Bowmore Scotch whisky and Midori liqueur.

The deal, approved by the board of directors of each company, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2014 pending regulatory approval.

“Together we will be a global leader in distilled spirits with the number

three position in premium spirits and a dynamic portfolio across key categories,” said Beam Inc.’s president and chief executive Matt Shattock.

According to the statement, the deal will “create a stronger global player in premium spirits” that anticipates annual net sales of spirits products exceeding $4.3 billion.

“On completion of the transaction, Suntory and Beam aim to achieve growth in markets worldwide, including the United States,” the two companies said.

The definitive agreement, subject to Beam stockholder’s approval, includes the assumption of Beam’s outstanding net debt.

The transaction represents a 25 percent premium to Beam’s closing price of $66.97 on January 10.

Nobutada Saji, president and

Ranjit Yadav, president, passenger vehicles business, Tata Motors, said the car was “loaded with trendy features” to make it a “smart city car to hang out with”.

When Tata Motors -- part of India’s giant Tata group -- launched the Nano in 2009, analysts said it would revolutionize how millions in India travelled.

But after poor sales in recent years, it become clear the car’s unique selling point -- its price -- had backfired as aspirational Indians shied away from buying a vehicle tagged the world’s cheapest.

adding features and making it trendier.

In December, Tata Motors sold just 554 Nano cars, down 75 percent from 2,202 cars a year earlier.

Tata Motors officials on Monday said some 45 percent of Nano drivers are between 18 and 34.

The Tata group’s former chairman Ratan Tata said shortly before his retirement in December 2012 it had been a mistake to market the Nano merely on its low-price, saying “various stigmas have been attached to it”.

He said the Nano had a “strong future” with an upmarket image and did not want it to be branded as the “world’s cheapest car”.

The purple-colored Nano Twist will be sold at a price of 236,000 rupees ($3,800) while the base model costs around 150,000 rupees ($2,400).

Since its launch for just 100,000 rupees for the base model, the Nano has had several small makeovers -including upgrades to its interior and a doubling of its warranty to four years.

Tata Motors -- part of the tea-to-steel Tata conglomerate -- has been seeking to reposition the car in the market by

chairman of Suntory’s board, said he believes “this combination will create a spirits business with a product portfolio unmatched throughout the world and allow us to achieve further global growth.”

Suntory was founded in Osaka in 1899. Beam Inc. is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, just outside Chicago.

The current Beam management team will continue to head the business.

Under a previously established cooperation, Suntory distributes Beam products in Japan while Beam distributes Suntory products in Singapore and elsewhere in Asia.

Georgia Asian Times January 15-31, 2014

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BUSINESS

China 2013 trade passes $4 trillion Hong Kong economy world’s freest for 20th consecutive year HONG KONG, January 14, 2014 Hong Kong on Tuesday retained the title of the world’s freest economy for the twentieth year in a row, with rival Singapore closing the gap between the two cities.

The rating shows how the southern Chinese financial hub remains one of the world’s friendliest places to do business but there were concerns populist government policies and the perceived level of corruption could tarnish that reputation.

The Index of Economic Freedom for 2014, published annually by the Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal, showed that Hong Kong, along with Singapore, Australia and Switzerland were judged the freest economies in the world. “[Hong Kong’s] overall score is slightly better than last year due to improvements in government size and regulatory efficiency that offset a decline in freedom from corruption,” the Heritage Foundation said on its website.

The Asian financial hub recorded its second highest economic freedom score of 90.1 out of 100 and has now topped the table every year since the index was launched in 1995.

“A high degree of market openness, as measured by trade freedom, investment freedom, and financial freedom, has been complemented by a transparent regulatory environment and competitive tax regime,” the foundation said.

However, “populist policies that increase spending and empower the administrative bureaucracy, as well as an increasing level of perceived corruption”, held the city’s overall rating back, it said.

The government in 2012 implemented several measures to curb rising property prices, including an unprecedented bid to restrict the number of non-local homebuyers with a 15 percent property tax on foreign investors after residential prices had jumped 120 percent from 2008.

Hong Kong leader Leung Chunying’s administration have been plagued by several scandals, including illegal structures at his luxury home and the resignation of one of his ministers who was found guilty of housing fraud.

The former British colony was returned to China in 1997 and has its own government and legal system, with its residents enjoying rights and freedoms unknown on the Chinese mainland.

But while the city is known for its open approach to business, many locals increasingly fret about the influence of Beijing over other key liberties such as freedom of speech and the ongoing push for universal suffrage.

In the latest rankings Hong Kong was closely followed by Singapore, with a score of 89.4 thanks to a more dynamic and competitive financial sector and an openness to global investment and trade, the foundation said.

The index evaluates four general areas including rule of law, regulatory efficiency, limited government and open markets.

BEIJING, January 10, 2014 – China’s annual trade in goods passed the $4 trillion mark for the first time in 2013, official data showed Friday, confirming its position as the globe’s biggest trading nation.

Exports from the world’s number two economy rose 7.9 percent to $2.21 trillion, while imports increased 7.3 percent to $1.95 trillion, the General Administration of Customs announced.

The trade surplus stood at $259.75 billion, up 12.8 percent from 2012.

Total trade came to $4.16 trillion, an increase of 7.6 percent, just below the government’s eight percent target.

Nonetheless it was a record high and effectively confirmed a historic geo-economic shift, making China the world’s biggest trader of physical goods, not including services. chinese.yuanReports last February said the United States’ total trade in goods was lower than China’s in 2012, but Customs said due to differences in calculation methods the change happened for the first time in 2013 — although full US data for the year has yet to be released.

al demand and domestic economic factors.

For December, China’s trade surplus fell 17.4 percent to $25.64 billion, Friday’s data showed, short of the median $32.2 billion forecast in a survey of 13 economists by The Wall Street Journal.

Exports increased 4.3 percent to $207.74 billion last month, while imports climbed 8.3 percent to $182.1 billion.

China’s 2013 trade performance came as the economy turned in a mixed performance, slowing during the first half of the year before showing some vigor in the final six months.

Worries over yuan strength A government report last month cited in state media suggested gross domestic product (GDP) grew 7.6 percent in 2013, from the 7.7 percent in 2012, which was the worst performance in 13 years.

“We maintain our previous viewpoint that economic growth may have peaked in the third quarter and dropped back in the fourth quarter,” Wendy Chen, Shanghai-based economist at Nomura International, told AFP.

“It is very likely that China overtook the US to become the world’s largest trading country in goods in 2013 for the first time,” said Customs spokesman Zheng Yuesheng.

“It will likely continue to be on a downward trend in the first two quarters of this year.”

The European Union was China’s biggest trading partner, Customs said, followed by the United States, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Hong Kong and Japan.

President Xi Jinping — who assumed office in March after becoming head of the ruling Communist Party in November 2012 — wants to transform the economy to one in which domestic demand is the key growth driver, rather than public investment.

The world average economic freedom score for 2014 was 60.3, slightly higher than last year, and is the highest average in the index’s history.

Between them the traditional markets of the EU, US and Japan accounted for 33.5 percent of China’s trade, down 1.7 percentage points, suggesting emerging markets’ share of business was growing.

China’s yuan currency gained more than three percent against the dollar last year, hitting a series of record highs since Beijing launched its modern foreign exchange market in 1994.

North Korea was ranked the lowest on the index, followed by Cuba and Zimbabwe. Mainland China was ranked 137th.

“Generally speaking, the environment for trade to grow in 2014 is likely to be better than 2013,” Zheng said, citing improvements in internation-

The rise came despite worries over the economy and followed US political pressure to allow the yuan to appreciate.

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January 15-31, 2014 Georgia Asian Times

LIFESTYLE

Mumbai unveils arty airport revamp MUMBAI, January 10, 2014 – Mumbai unveiled its long-awaited new airport terminal Friday, complete with a peacock-inspired design and huge art display, part of a lavish $2-billion revamp that aims to challenge India’s reputation for shoddy infrastructure.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the new gateway to the financial capital, described by the head of the project as the “mother of all challenges”, partly owing to constraints on the land from the surrounding tightly packed slums.

Set to operate international and domestic flights, the terminal features 140 immigration counters, 94 security checking stations, India’s biggest car park and a new six-lane elevated road to ease access to the facility in the congested city.

It also boasts India’s largest public art program, bidding to become the most visited museum in the world, with a three-kilometre-long display of 7,000 art works, Bollywood murals and even a wall plastered with cow dung. mumbai.airportSingh said the terminal was “expected to establish new

global benchmarks” for airports.

“It also exemplifies our ability as a nation to build world-class infrastructure,” said the premier, whose embattled ruling Congress party is seeking to highlight its achievements ahead of national elections due by May. A vast improvement on its crowded, shabby predecessor, the terminal has been years in the making and illustrates some of the difficulties in executing mega projects in India.

It had been due for completion in 2012, part of an airport overhaul that has ballooned in cost from 98 billion rupees ($1.58 billion) to 125 billion rupees.

Unable to shift tens of thousands of shanties on the airport land area, developers only had 1,400 acres (570 hectares) for use, leading them to create the X-shaped, “vertical” new terminal across four floors to best exploit space.

Most slum-dwellers on the airport site, their tin-roofed homes a stark contrast to the grand new edifice, refused to move because relocation

conditions were “not clear”, said Jockin Arputham, president of the National Slum Dwellers Federation.

“People have really forgotten what it means to be Indian.”

Disputes over relocation of a politically charged statue of a 17th century warrior king also led to a 17-month delay, and — perhaps the biggest challenge — the terminal had to be built on the existing airport site while full flight operations continued.

While the terminal has capacity for 40 million passengers a year, there are concerns over future strains on Mumbai’s aviation growth given lack of space in the densely populated city where over half of the inhabitants live in slums.

“When we won the project, it looked impossible,” said G.V. Sanjay Reddy, managing director of Mumbai International Airport Pvt. Ltd and vice-chairman of GVK Power and Infrastructure, the Indian company leading the airport’s operations and revamp.

Kapil Kaul, South Asia head of aviation consulting firm CAPA, described the terminal as “an iconic addition to the aviation landscape”, but said the airport would become “air-locked” in a few years, reaching its maximum number of flights.

“Infrastructure projects in India are complex — it’s only a question of degree of complexity,” he said.

Improving India’s notoriously creaking infrastructure, from its ramshackle roads and railways to its unreliable power supply, is seen as key to boosting slowing growth.

The terminal’s design has focused on Indian identity, from its hundreds of lotus flower chandeliers to the checkin floor’s 272 sky-lights, with special lenses that move according to the sun to create reflections on the floor like feathers of a peacock, the national bird.

“This airport is not really targeted towards foreign travelers, it’s targeted towards Indians,” Reddy told reporters this week over lunch by a baggage reclaim carousel, as giant wind-chimes tinkled above.

India is due to become the world’s third-largest aviation market after the United States and China by 2020, handling 337 million domestic and 84 million international passengers, the government says.

Georgia Asian Times

January 15-31, 2014

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EVENT

January 15-31, 2014 Georgia Asian Times

Asian/American & American Alliances - Thai Association World Center USA Jan 11, 2014

L-R: YH Tseng, Sue Everhart, former GA GOP Chair, Steven Tai, DG TECO Atlanta

L-R: Judge Carla Wong McMillian, Varinee Sangmalee, Judge Carol Hunstein

L-R: Eleanor Mae Pascual, Noy Bozarth, Estrella Cramer, Doddy Ward

L-R: Le DOan, Vince Bailey, Dr. Kim Reimann.

Distinguished ladies from Thai Association World Center USA.

L-R: Jung Mar and Henry Yu of NACA.

L-R: Dr. Umpon Sangmalee, Varinee Sangmalee, and guest.

Georgia Asian Times January 15-31, 2014

Page 11

LIFESTYLE

US carmakers use aluminum, carbon fiber to cut weight

DETROIT, January 14, 2014 - More vehicles than ever on display at the Detroit auto show are using non-traditional materials -- aluminum, carbon fiber, magnesium -- as US automakers fight to get vehicle weight down and gas mileage up.

Ford’s introduction of aluminum body panels for its workhorse F150 pickup truck was a radical shift which it said would knock up to 700 pounds (317 kilograms) from the truck’s weight.

But it presents a challenge to discerning buyers who are accustomed to the country’s premier pickup being built with solid steel, but also straining under high fuel costs.

“It’s become critical. Carmakers

are leaving no stone unturned while looking for ways to take weight out of the vehicle,” said General Motors spokesman Dan Flores.

GM also unveiled in Detroit a new version of its Corvette supercar that is 110 pounds lighter than its predecessor, thanks to an “exclusive” technology for eliminating rivets to directly spot-weld aluminum components.

In Europe, where fuel is far more expensive, non-steel components are not new. Indeed, in the 1930s, the luxurious Bugatti was made with aluminum, and Audi used the material in its cars in the 1990s.

But with the Ford F150, said independent industry analyst Bertrand Rakoto, “it is new and ambitious on a work vehicle, because it will be dented and is more expensive to repair.”

“You have to have a service network equipped with special tools and forms.”

Pickup truck rivals were keeping their eye on Ford’s move, without saying if they will follow suit.

“For our customers, gasoline is a cost. This is a work truck. Fuel costs are a very important part of their overall equation,” said Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford.

Besides the risk of alienating the builders and farmers who are traditional F150 buyers, Ford has taken a risk with aluminum itself, now cheap but with a history of big price swings that has often made steel a better alternative.

That could be a problem, said Rakoto, especially “if everyone turns to aluminum.”

Not all see aluminum as the solution for vehicle weight issues, however.

“There are a lot of approaches to light weight,” said Art St. Cyr, American Honda’s vice president for product planning.

“We have used aluminum in hoods, fenders. But we have been able to achieve weight reduction with ultra-high strength steel.”

Plastic, too, has proven an alternative for things like auto bumpers, because it will scrape and dent but not break in parking lot collisions.

Strong, ultra-light carbon fiber is also becoming a material of choice for some parts and trim, though it is costly.

Kia’s new small sports car, the GT4 Stinger, was unveiled in Detroit with carbon fiber wheel rims and body trim.

BMW’s electric i8 sports car racer is heavily built with carbon fiber, including the interior.

Alec Gutierrez, an analyst with Kelly Blue Book, said that carbon fiber would become more widespread only when the price falls.

Rakoto added that another problem is how to recycle the material.

Automakers are also working with fiberglass, Kevlar and titanium. But everything comes back to cost.

“There is no silver bullet. It’s not all about substituting a material for another -- it’s also about engineering,” said GM senior executive Mark Reuss.

But he acknowledged that he was watching closely Ford’s F150 experiment.

Page 12 January 15-31, 2014 Georgia Asian Times

FOCUS

“The Eureka moment came in 2011, when we came across a brick temple located below the existing Asokan temple, and below that a sort of void.

“It became clear then that there was much more to this excavation.”

Over the next two years, archaeologists, geophysicists and hired workmen from Nepal and Britain worked on the site, digging in the presence of meditating monks and nuns.

How a hunch led to stunning claim on Buddha birth date KATHMANDU, January 5, 2014 The two archaeologists had a hunch that the Buddha’s birthplace in southern Nepal held secrets that could transform how the world understood the emergence and spread of Buddhism.

Their pursuit would eventually see them excavate the sacred site of Lumbini as monks prayed nearby, leading to the stunning claim that the Buddha was born in the sixth century BC, two centuries earlier than thought.

Veteran Nepalese archaeologist Kosh Prasad Acharya had carried out excavations in Lumbini before in the early 1990s, when Nepal was still ruled by a king and a Maoist insurgency had yet to kick off.

The project ended in 1996 but Acharya remained unsatisfied with the results.

“My belief was that there was another cultural deposit below, which we had not uncovered,” said the 62-year-old.

He headed back to his government job in the capital Kathmandu and waited to retire, restless to return to Lumbini.

The Buddha’s birthplace was lost and overgrown by jungle before its rediscovery in 1896, when the presence of a third century BC pillar bearing inscriptions allowed historians to identify it as Lumbini.

Since then, it has been designated a UNESCO world heritage site, visited by millions of Buddhists every year, with numbers expected to rise exponentially in the following decades.

“It was a very moving, very special experience to dig for traces while pilgrims prayed and paid homage,” Acharya said.

They dug for a few weeks each year and sent the samples to laboratories for analysis.

Radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence techniques were used to date fragments of charcoal and grains of sand found at the site.

The archaeologists also found holes, apparently meant to secure posts, in the open void below the brick temple.

Acharya had just retired from his last job, as the director general of the department of archaeology, when UNESCO asked him to co-direct an investigation of Lumbini’s foundations.

“The intact holes suggested that whoever had built the brick temple had taken care not to damage the ancient structure below, suggesting the site was always considered holy,” Coningham said.

The cultural organization asked Acharya and his longtime collaborator, Robin Coningham, Britain’s leading South Asian archaeologist, to head a team that would examine the site so conservators could develop it for growing numbers of visitors.

Lab tests confirmed the existence of roots within the void below the brick structure, suggesting it may have been a shrine where a tree once grew, possibly the hardwood sal tree under which many believe the Buddha was born.

Eureka moment “In 2010, our first year there, we were pretty much the handmaidens to the conservators,” said Coningham in a phone interview from his office at Britain’s Durham University, which helped fund the UNESCO project.

The discovery, revealed in November, sparked huge excitement, but some historians have urged caution, saying the ancient tree shrine could have been built by pre-Buddhist believers.

Tree worship “The worship of trees, often at simple altars, was a ubiquitous feature of ancient Indian religions,” Julia Shaw, a lecturer in South Asian archaeology at University College London told National Geographic’s online edition.

“It is also possible that what is being described represents an older tree shrine quite disconnected from the worship of the historical Buddha,” Shaw added.

According to Coningham, however, if the Buddhists had appropriated the tree shrine from non-Buddhists, the site would not have survived relatively unscathed.

“Also, the inscriptions at Bodhgaya (where the Buddha achieved enlightenment) reveal a thriving culture of tree worship, which suggests continuity,” he added.

Much of what is known about the Buddha’s life has its origins in oral tradition. The earliest decipherable written records in the region, the inscriptions of India’s Buddhist emperor Asoka, are dated about 250 BC. Prior to this discovery, most scholars said that the Buddha -- who renounced material wealth to embrace and preach a life of non-attachment -- lived during the fourth century BC, founding a religion that now counts 500 million followers.

Buddhists in Nepal and Sri Lanka, however, have always believed that the sage was born around 623 BC, a date that now seems more accurate.

“It’s one of the great puzzles, this discovery reveals the endurance of oral traditions,” Coningham said.

“This is one of those very rare times when tradition, belief and archaeology all come together.”

Georgia Asian Times January 15-31, 2014

Page 13

SPORTS

Ronaldo ends Messi run with second Ballon d’Or ZURICH, January 13, 2014 - Cristiano Ronaldo ended the four-year dominance of Lionel Messi when he was awarded the 2013 FIFA Ballon d’Or in Zurich on Monday.

The tearful 28-year-old Real Madrid and Portugal star, who won the award in 2008, had been the overwhelming favorite to pip Barcelona and Argentina wonder Messi, winner the previous four years, and France’s Franck Ribery, who claimed the treble with Bayern Munich in 2013.

Ronaldo won with 27.99% of the votes ahead of Messi (24.72%) while Ribery was third (23.36%) according to France Football, co-organizers of the award with FIFA. “There are no words to describe how I feel,” said Ronaldo.

“I’m delighted, I want to thank all my team-mates, all my family in the room.

“Those who know me know how many sacrifices I made to win this reward.

“I want to thank all those who had faith in me and I want to speak again about (recently deceased Portugal legend) Eusebio and (recently deceased former South Africa president) Madiba (Nelson Mandela) and to pay tribute to them one last time.”

“Without doubt I deserved this, Messi and Ribery would have also deserved it.

“Each time is different. But I would say that this second Ballon d’Or is more emotional, because my mother and my son (who joined him on stage) are here.”

Real president Florentino Perez paid tribute to Ronaldo.

“The only thing I wish to say is that this Ballon d’Or is justified to be for Cristiano Ronaldo, it is recognition of hard work, talent, and a desire to win daily.”

on their official television channel in a change to the programmed schedule, broke down in tears on stage during his victory speech.

Ribery, who won the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup with Bayern last season, before adding the European Supercup and Club World Cup before the turn of the year, had been the early front-runner.

But a controversial two-week extension to the voting deadline for international coaches, captains and media meant those casting their ballots could take into consideration Ronaldo’s remarkable hat-trick to beat Sweden in the World Cup play-offs in November.

That was widely believed to have been enough to tip the scales in his favour.

For Messi, sporting a striking red dinner jacket, Ronaldo’s win didn’t change very much.

However, with 66 goals in his 56 matches this year -- more than Messi and Ribery’s combined 65 -- no-one could deny Ronaldo was a worthy winner.

“I would have loved to have won, but as it is the motivation is the same to keep growing, improving and winning things,” he commented via Barcelona’s twitter page.

It is the second time he has picked up the award and comes in a season in which he won nothing with either club or country, an unusual situation for a Ballon d’Or winner.

News of Ronaldo’s success filtered through from France Football just moments before the official announcement in Zurich.

In 1982 Italy’s World Cup hero Paolo Rossi won despite a non-descript year away from his heroics in Spain.

Ronaldo, who was widely expected to win after news spread on social media earlier in the day that seven members of his family were joining him in Zurich and his club Real were transmitting the award ceremony live

And in 2001 England and Liverpool’s Michael Owen was a controversial winner after enjoying a great season in the cups with the Reds, winning the UEFA Cup, FA Cup and League Cup.

As expected, Bayern’s Jupp Heynckes, who retired following their historic treble in May, won the coach’s award.

German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer was named women’s Ballon d’Or winner while Germany coach Silvia Neid won the women’s coach award.

A special honorary Ballon d’Or was given to Brazilian legend Pele, who never qualified for the award during his playing career as he never plied his trade in European club football.

From its inception in 1956 until 2010, the Ballon d’Or was awarded to the best player in Europe and the FIFA World Player of the Year award was only inaugurated in 1991, before ending in 2009 when it was assimilated into the Ballon d’Or. Zlatan Ibrahimovic won the Ferenc Puskas best goal award for his stunning, acrobatic overhead kick from 40 yards for Sweden in a friendly against England.

Former IOC president Jacques Rogge was given the president’s prize for a “remarkable personality in sport”.

In the team of the year, Bayern’s goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, full-back and captain Philipp Lahm and Ribery were joined by Barcelona’s rightback Dani Alves, midfielders Andres Iniesta and Xavi and Messi, as well as Ronaldo and his Real team-mate centre-back Sergio Ramos, and Paris Saint-Germain pair Ibrahimovic and centre-back Thiago Silva.

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January 15-31, 2014 Georgia Asian Times

SPORTS Treble-gold trio top US Olympic women’s pool

COLORADO SPRINGS, January 13, 2014 - Three-time Olympic champions Tamika Catchings, Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird were among 33 players named Monday to the US women’s basketball talent pool from which world and Olympic teams are chosen.

Takanashi lifts 15th World Cup SAPPORO, January 12, 2014 Japanese teenage ski jumper Sara Takanashi soared to a record-stretching 15th World Cup victory Sunday, her second win in two days, stepping up her bid for gold at the Sochi Olympics.

“I feel really happy,” Takanashi, from the nearby town of Kamikawa, declared about her back-to-back home wins. “The (track) condition was not good and I jumped with care.”

“I have nothing to worry about,” the 17-year-old high school student said about next month’s Sochi Games where women’s ski-jumping makes its Olympic debut.

American Hendrickson, the 19-yearold reigning world champion and the winner of the World Cup overall title in the inaugural 2011-2012 season, is recovering from a cruciate ligament injury after a fall in August.

“I want to continue making steady jumps.”

She is hoping to come back to competition this month.

It was her sixth victory in seven World Cup events contested so far in the 2013-2014 season as she aims to retain the overall title she first won last year.

After seven events in the 19-round season, Takanashi leads the overall standings with a whopping 660 points.

Russia’s Irina Avvakumova is second on 435 and Germany’s Carina Vogt lies in third with 406.

Takanashi, who is 152 centimetres tall, jumped 97 metres in the first round to register the day’s longest distance as snow continued to fall on the Miyanomori hill in Sapporo, northern Japan.

Her second jump went 91 metres and she collected a total of 237.1 points.

Coline Mattel of France finished second on 219.8 points with jumps of 90 and 91 metres while Russia’s Irina Avvakumova was third at 215.3 after jumping 91 and 87.5 metres.

On Saturday, Takanashi won her 14th World Cup event to break her rival Sarah Hendrickson’s record of 13 wins.

Results: 1. Sara Takanashi (JPN) 237.1 pts (97-91m),2. Coline Mattel (FRA) 219.8 (90-91), 3. Irina Avvakumova (RUS) 215.3 (91-87.5), 4. Atsuko Tanaka (CAN) 215.2 (85-91.5), 5. Lindsey Van 214.2 (83.5-93) Overall standings (after seven of 19 events) 1. Sara Takanashi (JPN) 660 pts., 2.

Irina Avvakumova (RUS) 435, 3. Carina Vogt (GER) 406, 4. Daniela Iraschko-Stolz (AUT) 322, 5. Coline Mattel (FRA) 275

The veteran trio were joined by double gold medalists and fellow Women’s NBA stars Candace Parker, Sylvia Fowles and Seimone Augustus.

The Americans will defend their world crown later this year in Turkey and Olympic gold in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro.

US women have won five of the past seven world titles, a run that began in 1986 and was interrupted only by Brazil in 1994 and Australia in 2006.

The Americans have gone 80-1 since 1996 in international competitions, taking Olympic gold in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 plus world titles in 1998, 2002 and 2010.

“The game has changed tremendously and we are fortunate that the pool is probably greater than it has ever been,” said US coach Geno Auriemma.

“I’m excited that we have so many great players to choose from.”

Chan eyes tweaks to outfox rivals in Sochi OTTAWA, January 12, 2014 - Threetime reigning men’s world champion Patrick Chan was fine-tuning his routines for the Sochi Winter Olympics even as he won his seventh title at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships.

“I’m learning from this, not just going out and having a blast,” Chan said Sunday. “It’s also a lot of last minute tweaks because my plan is to go to the Olympics and win.”

Chan was named to the Canadian Olympic squad Sunday, a day after defending his national title.

He intends to become the first Canadian male figure skater to take Olympic gold, an accomplishment that eluded his fellow world champions of years past including Brian Orser, Kurt Browning and Elvis Stojko.

“It’s all about maintaining and staying healthy and keeping my head together for another couple of weeks until the Olympics,” Chan said.

“I’m going to my second Olympics, taking the experience from Vancouver with me. It’s different. I’ll be staying at

the (athletes) village the whole time.

I’ll be more comfortable as opposed to being a deer in the headlights like I was in Vancouver.”

At the 2010 Winter Olympics on home ice, a 19-year-old Chan finished fifth.

After landing a superb quad-triple jump combo in Friday’s short program, Chan attributed doubling two planned triple jumps to getting too far head of himself, rather than focusing on the execution of each element as it came.

His finale went more smoothly with only one major error, turning one quad into a double. Chan described his Vivaldi Four Seasons program as “good” but “a little bit shaky here and there.”

His total score 277.42 was well off his best.

The miscues, he said, enable him to identify “the last missing pieces I need to slot in before Olympics.”

Chan believes his greatest challenger in Sochi will be Japanese champion Yuzuru Hanyu, who outskated him at the Grand Prix Final in December in Japan.

Georgia Asian Times January 15-31, 2014

Page 15

HEALTH NY governor authorizes medical marijuana NEW YORK, January 8, 2014 - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday he will authorize the medical use of marijuana, making his the 21st US state to do so and one of the biggest.

Cuomo, a Democrat who has in the past opposed such a measure, announced a limited pilot program to serve the state of 19.5 million people.

“We will establish a program allowing up to 20 hospitals to prescribe medical marijuana,” he said during his annual state of the state speech in Albany.

Cuomo argued that research has suggested marijuana, which is widely but illegally used for recreational purposes, can help patients “manage the pain and treatment of cancer and other serious illnesses.”

“We will monitor the program to evaluate effectiveness in the feasibility of (a) medical marijuana system,” he added.

Cuomo, 56, who last year described his support for decriminalizing the possession of up to 15 grams of the drug, is likely to proceed by decree, after four previous attempts to legalize medical marijuana failed to get traction among the state’s lawmakers.

The announcement comes as part of a growing movement to relax US laws on marijuana.

According to an October 2013 Gallup poll, 58 percent of Americans favor legalizing marijuana.

Including New York, the drug will soon be allowed for medical reasons to various degrees in 21 of 50 states and in the capital Washington.

The first state to legalize medical marijuana was California, in 1996. A prescription can be obtained there for conditions as minor as a bad back.

Obesity declines among rich US teens, rises in poor WASHINGTON, January 13, 2014 - In the past decade, obesity has declined among US teenagers from rich families but has risen among their impoverished counterparts, a gap driven by lack of exercise, said a study Monday.

The research by experts at Harvard University examined what appeared to be an encouraging decline in adolescent obesity and found that only the upper class is benefiting.

“We find that although the overall obesity prevalence has plateaued, the trend looks very different across different subgroups,” said the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Using family income as well as the education level of the parents to analyze two major US surveys, researchers found a growing class gap where obesity was concerned.

Beginning in the mid-2000s, obesity rates declined among children of parents who graduated from college.

Meanwhile, obesity rates rose among children of parents who had only a high school diploma.

Similar trends were seen when researchers separated the data by income level.

However, when it came to probing racial differences, researchers said

they did not have enough data to reliably explore interactions between class and ethnicity.

The obesity rate among those aged 12-17 in the United States nearly doubled from the late 1980s until the mid-2000s, but began leveling off about a decade ago.

About nine percent of adolescent were obese in the time span of 1988 to 1991, but that rose to 17 percent by 2003-2004, according to government data.

There has been no change in the teen obesity rate since then.

In the United States, obesity in adolescents and children is based on growth charts issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A body mass index, or ratio of weight and height, above the 95th percentile for age and gender is considered obese. Between the 85th and 94th percentile is considered overweight.

Key reasons the poor may be gaining weight are lack of physical activity and excessive food intake, the study said.

According to the study, calorie intake among kids of all income classes has gone down in recent years, but only kids of educated parents have reported getting regular exercise.

“The difference comes down to physical activity,” said study co-author Kaisa Snellman.

“Educated families, they are much more likely to engage in physical activities, exercising, biking around, walking.”

Access to healthy foods also remains an obstacle for the poor.

The US Department of Agriculture has reported that 9.7 percent of the US population, or 29.7 million people, live in low-income areas more than a mile from a supermarket.

In those areas, “the only options for grocery shopping are ‘convenience’ stores, liquor stores, gas stations, or fast food restaurants that sell foods high in fat, sugar, and salt,” said the study.

Obesity in young people can cause a host of health concerns, including higher risk of type 2 diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, high blood pressure and psychological problems, experts said.

The study was based on two nationally representative federal health surveys, the 1988-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and the 2003-2011 National Survey of Children’s Health.

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January 15-31, 2014 Georgia Asian Times

Misc Asia China general’s daughter sorry over Cultural Revolution death BEIJING, January 13, 2014 - The daughter of a top Chinese Communist Party official has apologised over the killing of one of her teachers, the latest former Red Guard to express remorse for the horrors of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, state media said Monday.

Song Binbin’s father Song Renqiong was a powerful general and one of the Communist Party’s “Eight Immortals”, and she herself was a leader of the revolutionary Red Guards at her school as a teenager in 1966.

Run Run Shaw, father of the kung fu film, dies aged 106 HONG KONG, January 7, 2014 - Run Run Shaw, the billionaire film pioneer hailed as the inventor of the kung fu genre and who launched a media empire that stretched from Hong Kong to Hollywood, died Tuesday at the age of 106.

The colorful mogul, whose flagship Shaw Brothers Studio helped shape Asian cinema in the 20th century and influenced the films of directors such as Quentin Tarantino, passed away at his home in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s chief executive Leung Chun-ying, leader of the city of seven million people, praised Shaw’s legacy.

“Sir Run Run Shaw has for a long time promoted the entertainment industry in Hong Kong, his philanthropy also has spread from Hong Kong to China and beyond. He is an elder that we very much respect,” Leung told reporters.

fining -- but he famously missed out on signing Bruce Lee following failed talks over remuneration.

Lee instead joined Golden Harvest, a Hong Kong-based production house founded by Shaw’s former employee Raymond Chow, which propelled the martial arts icon to international stardom.

Shaw and his older brother Runme first founded a film production house in Shanghai in 1927, before moving in to Hong Kong and Singapore.

Shaw Brothers Studio has since produced around 1,000 titles, including “The 36th Chamber of Shaolin” and “Five Fingers of Death”.

The studio, which mostly produced Chinese-language films, dominated Hong Kong’s “Movie Town”, and bred local directors -- some of whom would later reach the top of their industry in Hollywood, such as John Woo.

Run_Run_ShawShaw, listed by Forbes as a billionaire, was also a generous philanthropist who was knighted

by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in 1977 for his public service as a long-time backer of the Red Cross.

Hong Kong actor Gordon Liu, who appeared in multiple Shaw films, played the stereotypical Shaw-esque kung fu master Pai Mei in Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill: Volume 2”.

He co-produced Ridley Scott’s 1982 cult hit “Blade Runner”, and his studio’s kung fu films became genre-de-

Kung fu film fans took to Twitter to pay their respects Tuesday. “Without Run Run Shaw there would be no

The establishment’s vice-president Bian Zhongyun was beaten to death in one of the first and most notorious killings of a teacher during China’s decade of chaos and bloodshed.

“Please allow me to express my everlasting grief and apologies to Principal Bian,” Song said Sunday in a tearful apology at her former school, the Beijing News reported on Monday.

“I failed to protect the school leaders, and this has been a source of lifelong pain and remorse.”

“If we don’t reflect on things, it is hard to get close to the truth,” she told the newspaper. “I hope that all of those who made mistakes during the Cultural Revolution -- all those who did harm to their teachers and classmates -- can face themselves, reflect on the Cultural Revolution, ask for forgiveness and achieve reconciliation.

“I believe this is everyone’s desire.”

Now 64, Song says she should have done more to protect Bian and other school officials -- although she did not specify her exact role in events.

China heavily censors discussion of the Cultural Revolution, the decade of social and political upheaval led by Mao during which millions were persecuted and killed.

Quentin Tarantino or Wu Tang Clan,” New York City-based user LenRoQ tweeted.

vehicles, and was often pictured accompanied by glamorous actresses at glittering social events.

“RIP Sir Run Run Shaw. Thank you for all those Saturday afternoons of Kung fu,” Victor DeAnda from Philadelphia tweeted.

He was famously reported as saying that he and his brother had buried up to $4 million in gold, jewelery and cash in their garden before the Japanese invaded Singapore during the Second World War. “After the war we were still rich,” he said.

In 1967 Shaw helped found Hong Kong broadcaster TVB, whose sitcoms, variety shows and soap operas became immensely popular among the Chinese diaspora in southeast Asia, putting the former British colony on the global entertainment map.

Silver screen mega-stars such as Chow Yuen-fat, Tony Leung, Stephen Chow and Andy Lau all had their big breaks on TVB television dramas in the 1980s before switching to movies.

Shaw was born in Ningbo, in Zhejiang province in China, in 1907. He was nicknamed “Uncle Six” as he was the sixth of seven siblings.

He had an affection for Rolls Royce

Shaw was also the backer of the $1 million Shaw Prize, often referred to as the Nobel Prize of Asia.

In 2013, the tenth year it was awarded, three scientists whose groundbreaking studies using fruit flies helped to uncover the workings of the human biological clock were named among the winners.

Shaw’s funeral will only be attended by family members, TVB said.

He is survived by his second wife Mona Fong, and his two sons and two daughters.

Georgia Asian Times January 15-31, 2014

Page 17

Misc Asia Philippines on guard against child trafficking post typhoon MANILA, January 12, 2014 - The Philippines is acting to curb the trafficking of children displaced by Super Typhoon Haiyan, a presidential spokesman said Sunday, a day after a UK-based children’s charity raised concerns.

Plan International asked the Philippines to investigate the suspected recruitment of child workers for sex trafficking on the central island of Samar, which sustained heavy damage and casualties in the November 8 typhoon.

Japan emperor’s record may shed light on his war role TOKYO, January 10, 2014 - Japan’s imperial palace plans to disclose in full a soon-to-be-completed official record of the late Emperor Hirohito’s life, possibly shedding some light on the contentious issue of his disputed role in World War II. The Imperial Household Agency is expected to finish in late March a 24year project to compile the record, an agency official said Friday, adding that the work will be submitted to reigning Emperor Akihito, the eldest son of Hirohito, in April or later.

Grand Steward Noriyuki Kazaoka, who heads the agency, told Japanese media on Thursday that he did not want to see any part of the record “blacked out” from public eye.

“Some people may think that what could not be released 30 years ago can be released with the passage of time,” he was quoted as saying by the daily Yomiuri Shimbun. “We wish to include as much as possible.”

A similar official record on Hirohito’s father, Emperor Taisho, was made public between 2002 to 2011

with many parts redacted, in what was claimed to be an attempt to protect “personal information”, but which drew criticism from researchers.

Hirohito served as Japan’s commander-in-chief during its stomp across Asia in the 1930s and 1940s.

He was a man who was revered as a demigod of Shintoism and in whose name the vicious and acquisitive war was prosecuted.

It was him that announced to the war-weary public in 1945 that Japan had been defeated and should expect to be occupied. His historic radio broadcast, which marked the first time most Japanese had heard his voice, called on them to “bear the unbearable”.

A deal with the US-led occupying force kept him on the throne on condition he renounced his divinity. Over the following decades as the nominal head of a constitutional monarchy, he oversaw the rebirth of a pacifist nation that roared to economic life.

He died in January 1989 aged 87.

Critics charge that Hirohito had the

Haiyan left nearly 8,000 people dead or missing in one of the worst natural disasters to hit the Philippines, flattening entire towns and displacing more than four million people.

A special anti-trafficking commission is already in place to prevent children displaced by the typhoon from being exploited by traffickers, said Herminio Coloma, a spokesman for President Benigno Aquino.

“That is why the concerned agencies are doing everything in their power to prevent these crimes,” he told reporters in the capital Manila.

Aid groups have warned that many of those displaced face extreme hardship in their ruined communities and are vulnerable to human traffickers.

“We have been giving attention to this issue because we do not want children and women to be victimised by these criminals, especially those who came from the calamity area,” said Coloma.

United Nations agencies, foreign governments, as well as aid groups including Plan International are helping millions of survivors who lost relatives, homes, jobs, or all three.

The Philippine government has listed 109 children orphaned by Haiyan on the storm-ravaged central island of Leyte alone.

A 2013 US State Department report on global human trafficking described the Philippines as “a source country, and to a much lesser extent, a destination and transit country for men, women and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour”.

blood of millions on his hands for what they say was his control over Japan’s brutal war. They point to the power he had to end the conflict with that broadcast and say he could have chosen to finish it sooner.

Attention will be focused on whether there will be “new documents” that shed light on Hirohito’s decisions before and during the war, as well as in the US-led occupation of Japan until 1952.

But supporters say he was a puppet of a military government, a figurehead that out-of-control generals could invoke to urge their soldiers through the horrors of warfare.

The imperial agency started compiling the Hirohito record under a 16-year plan in 1990. But the scheme was extended twice due to the discovery of new historical materials and delays in work.

The publication of the diaries of aides and medical records, as well as information gleaned through unpublished private documents and from interviews with former officials will be carefully watched for what it may reveal about Hirohito’s role.

The record will be made available in its entirety for inspection on request after it is finished and will be published in installments over several years by a publisher chosen from among bidders, the official said.