Georgia Asian Times Oct 15-31, 2013

Covering The Multicultural Asian American Community in Georgia www.atlaff.org

October 15-31, 2013 Vol 10 No 20

American Consumers Curb Spending Amid Government Shutdown

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October 15-31, 2013 Georgia Asian Times

Happy 102nd Birthday Taiwan Republic of China Hailed as "a beacon of democracy in Asia," Taiwan cooperates with our American and international allies to make the world a better place.

幸共攜堅 福同手持 臺打 改理 灣造革想

敬祝 國慶 TAIPEI ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL OFFICE IN ATLANTA http://www.taiwanembassy.org/US/ATL

中 華 生民 國

日 102 快年 樂

Georgia Asian Times October 15-31, 2013

Publisher: Li Wong Account Manager: Adrian West Contributors: Andrian Putra, May Lee, Mark Ho Photography: Ben Hioe, Rendy Tendean

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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.

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You’ll hear loud music once you get to Philips Arena, but not while you’re on MARTA.

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

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.

9th Atlanta Asian Film Festival (AAFF) Date: Oct 12-25, 2013 Venues: Cinefest-GSU, GPC Dunwoody, University of West Georgia Tickets: www.atlaff.org Luxury & Global Forum - Asian Real Estate Association Atlanta Date: Wednesday, Oct 16, 2013 Time: 1:00 pm-4:00 pm Venue: Mandarin Oriental Atlanta 3376 Peachtree Road, Atlanta For more info: www.areaaatlanta. eventbrite.com Atlanta Asian American College Fair Date: Saturday, October 19, 2013 Time: 10:00 am - 3:00 pm Venue: Korean Church of Atlanta 3205 Pleasant Hill Rd. For more info: HB Cho 770-242-0099

Candy Harvest- Grand Opening of Learning Center BPSOS Date: Saturday, Oct 26, 2013 Time: 5:30 pm - 8:00 pm Venue: 6217 Oakbrook Parkway Norcross GA NAAAP Atlanta - Chopstix For Charity Date: Sunday October 27, 2013 Time: 3:00 pm - 8:00 pm Venue: Callonwolde Fine Arts Center 980 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta GA 30306 For more info: www.naap-atlanta.org

You deserve to enjoy the ride, without hearing someone else’s loud music. That’s why MARTA suspends anyone who breaks our code of conduct.

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October 1-15, 2013 Georgia Asian Times

METRO ASIAN NEWS

Dalai Lama delivers talk at Gwinnett

Taiwanese Community Celebrate Double Tenth Day Atlanta, October 9, 2013 — The Taiwanese community in metro Atlanta celebrated the 102th National Day of Republic of China (Taiwan) with invited dignitaries, community and business leaders at the Westin Perimeter.

Among the dignitaries attending the celebration are Ambassador Geoffrey Teneilabe, Consul General of Nigeria, Mark Hammond, South Carolina’s Secretary of State, John Padgett, Georgia Republican Party Chairman, Stacey Abrahams, Minority Leader of Georgia House of Representative, Charlotte Nash, Commissioners Chair of Gwinnett County, John Eaves, Commissioners Chair of Fulton County, and Karen Handel, U.S. Senate candidate.

Taiwan enjoys economic growth of 2.9% over the past five years. It also ranked 12th most competitive among 148 nations surveyed in the latest Global Competitiveness Report by the World Economic Forum.

“The U.S. and Taiwan have long been valuable trading partners. Trade between the U.S. and Taiwan in goods in 2012 amounted to YS$63.2 billion, making Taiwan the 11th largest trading partner of the U.S. To deepen our economic and trade relations, we have begun negotiations on a Bilateral Investment Agreement and hope to start talks on a Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. in the near future,” said Steven Tai, Director General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Atlanta.

Trade figures between Taiwan and the six southeastern U.S. states reached $1.9 billion and Southeastern imports from Taiwan reached $4.1 billion.

Taiwan recently was invited to attend for the first time the annual assembly of International Civil Aviation Organization with the support of international community.

Duluth, October 8, 2013 — The XIV Dalai Lama told an audience to focus on love and to be grateful for all that they have during a speech at the Gwinnett Center arena.

The Dalai Lama returned to the area Tuesday as part of a continuing partnership between the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader and Emory University in Atlanta.

The focus of this visit is “secular ethics,” which is described as a system of shared principles that go beyond religious differences while still respecting and valuing the significance of religion in people’s lives.

The Dalai Lama is scheduled to participate in a series of lectures and panel discussions through Thursday at Emory University.

The Dalai Lama has held the title of presidential distinguished professor at Emory since October 2007 and has visited Emory’s campus five times.

President Barack Obama passed a bill supporting Taiwan’s ICAO bid and several southeastern states passed resolutions supporting ICAO bid.

“We are grateful for your support on the bid and many other issues through the years,” said Tai. The Director General is also grateful for the granting of U.S. Visa Waiver Program to Taiwan nationals for leisure and business travels.

Guests were treated to cultural dances and ethnic Chinese food at the celebration.

Georgia Asian Times October 15-31, 2013

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FEATURE

American Consumers curb spending amid government shutdown

WASHINGTON, October 15, 2013 American consumers, the engine of the world’s biggest economy, are holding back spending as the Washington budget dispute keeps the federal government shut down, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Two out of five consumers said they were limiting their spending “as a result of the direct or indirect effects” of the partial federal government shutdown that began October 1, said the International Council of Shopping Centers and Wall Street bank Goldman Sachs.

Of those who were curbing spending, the majority said the scale back was “a little” while the remainder indicated it was “considerable”.

The weaker spending casts a cloud over retailers as they gear up for the crucial year-end holiday shopping season that accounts for a significant part of their earnings.

ICSC data showed slower spending by customers in retail chains around the country over the first 12 days of this month.

“As congressional leaders optimistically predict a budget deal may soon be reached, it is clear that the fallout of the past two-week impasse in Congress has affected consumers’ willingness and maybe their ability to spend,” Michael Niemira, the ICSC’s chief economist and vice president of research, said in a statement.

“Hopefully, if the end of the government shutdown truly is in sight, this is likely to restore consumer confidence quickly and well ahead of the holiday season,” he said.

The survey results reflected the uncertainty created by the shutdown and the stalemate between the White House and Republicans over funding for the current fiscal year and raising the nation’s debt ceiling.

The failure of Congress to pass a budget for the year that began October 1 forced the shutdown of nonessential government services, sending hundreds of thousands of civil servants home without pay.

Also held up by the dispute is an

increase of the country’s $16.7 trillion borrowing limit. If it is not raised by Thursday, the US Treasury has warned the government will begin to run out of cash and could default on its obligations.

The survey was conducted between October 10 and 13 as the shutdown dragged through a second week.

A demographically representative sample of 1,000 adults was asked online: “Given the federal government shutdown, has this fiscal policy impasse in Congress caused you to scale back or eliminate spending?”

The answers showed the lower-income consumers were affected more than those in the upper-income bracket. But both groups were tightening their grip on their wallets.

Forty-seven percent of consumers with incomes of $35,000 or less were more likely to be scaling back spending, compared with 32 percent of those earning $100,000 or more.

The ICSC also reported a broad slowdown in US retail chain-store sales

last week, the second week in a row of declining sales.

Sales, excluding restaurant and vehicle sales, fell by 0.7 percent in the week ending October 12, following a 0.1 percent dip in the prior week.

“Sales weakened across the board by store segment -- partially a result of the drag from the government shutdown,” Niemira said.

The year-over-year gain slowed again, to 1.0 percent. In the last week of September, the year-over-year gain was 2.1 percent.

The government’s September report on US retail sales, a closely watched benchmark of economic health that was scheduled last Friday, was suspended due to the government shutdown. In August, retail sales rose just 0.2 percent, half the rise expected by analysts.

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October 15-31, 2013 Georgia Asian Times

BUSINESS

Conflict and clashes over China’s prized caterpillar fungus South Korea postpones Kaesong foreign investment event SEOUL, October 14, 2013 - South Korea said Monday it had postponed a planned investment road show aimed at drumming up foreign interest in the Kaesong industrial zone run jointly with North Korea.

A Unification Ministry official said the move reflected a recent downturn in cross-border relations and slow progress at talks aimed at resuming full operations at Kaesong.

The investment event had been scheduled for October 31 at the Kaesong complex, which lies 10 kilometers (six miles) inside the North Korean border.

“The delay was inevitable due to the lack of progress at talks with North Korea to enhance communication, and travel to and from Kaesong,” the ministry official said.

The North was notified of the postponement last Friday, he added. No new date for the road show has been set.

North Korea effectively shut down Kaesong when it withdrew its 53,000 workers from the complex in April, at the height of a surge in military tensions on the Korean peninsula.

As those tensions eased, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed last month to reopen the industrial park, but relations have since soured again, with the North railing against what it sees as the South’s “hostility”.

It was South Korea that had pushed for encouraging foreign investment in Kaesong, believing the presence of overseas firms would make it harder for Pyongyang to shut down the complex in the future.

But many experts question who would be attracted by a project run by two countries that are still technically at war.

TONGREN, October 14, 2013 - In a dirty, dimly-lit room in a backstreet of one of China’s poorest rural towns, a trader combs his leathery fingers through a $17,000 bag of caterpillar fungus, lamenting the curse that its value has wrought.

The parasitic fungus, Cordyceps sinensis to science, only exists high on the Tibetan plateau, where it grows through the body of its host -- the ghost moth caterpillar -- killing it and bursting out of the top of its head.

What looks like a small brown twig on the end of a crinkled yellow worm is for its believers a lifesaver, a cure for cancer and a potent aphrodisiac sometimes known as “Himalayan Viagra”.

For those who toil on hands and knees to collect it, it can mean death.

It has a potent status in traditional Chinese medicine -- making it almost worth its weight in gold.

“It wasn’t in demand before, but now we realize its value, we have lots of fights between neighbors,” said Zande Gongba, as he sold half a kilogram of the fungus to a retailer in Tongren, a remote town in the northwestern province of Qinghai.

Some of his suppliers were involved in clashes over the rights to collect the fungus that left two people dead in the green, rolling hills around Tongren, known to Tibetans as Rebkong.

Pictures posted online by overseas rights groups showed at least one villager armed with a machete and scores of riot police.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama himself called for calm and reminded villagers that “violence is contrary to the beliefs and conduct of all who believe in karma and in Buddhism”.

Under a picture of the Nobel laureate, Gongba added in Tibetan: “We know this is not a good thing, but this is life, and life needs to go on.”

Grueling process One of the few organisms to straddle two different scientific kingdoms, the fungus is known as dongchongxiacao in Chinese and yarchagumba in Nepali, both names meaning “winter worm, summer grass”.

It is harvested mainly by poor farmers, who comb through the grasses of fields in one of world’s most rugged and challenging landscapes on their elbows, at times in subzero temperatures.

The grueling process -- often carried by young boys from poverty-stricken families -- can earn around two to three dollars for each fungus, depending on the season.

Georgia Asian Times October 15-31, 2013

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BUSINESS

Rising onion costs send India inflation to 7-month high MUMBAI, October 14, 2013 - A four-fold surge in the cost of onions helped push Indian inflation to a seven-month-high in September, data showed Monday, fuelling expectations of another interest rate hike as authorities struggle to get the economy back on track.

The Wholesale Price Index hit 6.46 percent last month, from 6.10 percent in August -- much higher than analyst forecasts of 6.0 percent.

The rise was driven by surging vegetable and fuel prices.

“Rising input costs have pushed up core inflation,” said Rupa Rege Nitsure, economist with state-run Bank of Baroda.

India’s Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia admitted that inflation was high.

“I agree that inflation rate is still on the high side, but it will soften in a month or so,” Ahluwalia told reporters in capital New Delhi.

Later in the day, India’s consumer price inflation data also showed a jump, to 9.84 percent in September from 9.52 percent in August.

The scandal-tainted Congress-led government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is anxious to tame inflation and revive the economy as it seeks a third term in office, with elections due by May 2014.

The main driver of the surge in inflation was food prices, which rose 18.40 percent year-on-year -- while the cost of onions, regarded as a cooking essential, increased 322 percent owing to a supply shortage.

Fuel prices jumped 10 percent, data showed.

Onion prices have surged due to irregular supplies, which policymakers have blamed on hoarding by a section of traders in the Indian states of Maha-

rashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

The cost of a kilogram of the humble root vegetable -- a key ingredient in Indian curries -- spiralled to a record 90 rupees in some Indian markets last month.

Prices then eased to near 60 rupees a kg and are expected to fall further, analysts said.

“But food inflation coupled with weak growth could become an election issue against the government,” said A. Prasanna, economist with I-Sec, an equity research firm.

This is the fourth successive month that wholesale inflation has been above the Reserve Bank of India’s comfort zone of 5.0 percent, which increases the odds the bank will raise interest rates again when it next meets.

India’s new central bank governor, Raghuram Rajan surprised markets last month by hiking interest rates as inflation began to creep up.

Rajan had earlier warned he was prepared to take unpopular steps to bring the economy back up to speed.

India’s economy grew by just five percent last year, its slowest pace in a decade, and some economists forecast expansion of under four percent this year.

The country’s public finances are also in trouble, with the current account deficit -- the broadest measure of trade -- hitting a record high last year.

“Concerns over inflation remain. We expect a 25 basis point hike in interest rates,” said Dharmakirti Joshi, chief economist with rating agency Crisil.

Prasanna also forecasts a similar rise in rates when the RBI meets on October 29 for its quarterly monetary policy decision.

But a leading industry lobby group called for a cut in rates.

South Korea’s Park pushes for free trade with Indonesia JAKARTA, October 11, 2013 - South Korean and Indonesian businesses inked more than $4 billion in trade deals Friday as Korean President Park Geun-Hye lobbied to fast track a freetrade agreement with Southeast Asia’s top economy.

Indonesia and Korea have agreed to more than treble trade from $29.6 billion in 2012, and both governments have expressed hope of finalizing a free-trade agreement by year-end.

“We need a firm institutional framework if South Korea and Indonesia are to achieve the goal of expanding trade volume to $100 billion by 2020,” Park told business leaders from the two countries at a meeting in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

Park said she hoped the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), which is currently under negotiation and will break down trade barriers, would be finalized at the earliest possible date.

“This pact will contribute greatly to expanding trade volume between the two countries,” Park said of the agreement, which has gone through five rounds of negotiations since talks began last year.

Among the deals signed, worth $4.14 billion collectively, was a $3 billion investment into a railway to transport coal and $600 million into a power plant.

Park’s push for the agreement comes on the back of the Asia-Pacific Eco-

“The rise in inflation should not come in the way of the forthcoming policy of monetary easing by the RBI,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), as the arrival of crops planted in the monsoon season will provide some easing in food prices.

nomic Cooperation summit, where leaders preached free trade to buoy the global economy.

Korea is one of many nations looking to tap into Indonesia’s booming economy -- it is already Indonesia’s third-biggest investor and fourth-largest trade partner this year, according to the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce.

Park told local media that she hoped to boost defense ties with Indonesia, having clinched a $1.1 billion deal in late 2011 to build two submarines for the country and transfer technology so Indonesia could build a third.

Her remarks came as South Korea and Japan took part in a US-led joint naval drill off the southern coast of the Korean peninsula that provoked fiery threats of a counter-attack from North Korea.

Park did not address the threats, but criticized the North Korean regime, which has restarted a plutonium reactor that could help boost its nuclear weapons programs, according to the South’s spy agency.

“It makes no sense for North Korea to channel all efforts and energy into the development of nuclear weapons at a time when people are suffering of hunger and other hardships,” she told the Kompas daily newspaper.

The Korean president is Indonesia as the two countries mark 40 years of diplomatic ties. Park is scheduled to meet with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Saturday.

“It is of utmost importance to shore up flagging investor sentiment which has been adversely affected by high interest rates,” Banerjee said in a statement on Monday.

The government also revised upwards July’s inflation reading to 5.85 percent, from 5.79 percent reported earlier.

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October 15-31, 2013 Georgia Asian Times

ART

Banksy sells art for $60 in New York NEW YORK CITY, October 14, 2013 - World-famous British street artist Banksy flogged original canvases for just $60 in Central Park over the weekend as part of a month-long residency in New York.

While his work can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, his website announced that minimal interest and sluggish sales resulted in takings of just $420.

The stall was set up on day 13 of his pop-up exhibition in New York, announced each day on the website www.banksyny.com and posted to his instagram account.

The England-based graffiti maestro, who has never been formally identified, has promised to unveil a new piece of art on each day of the month somewhere in the city.

Banksy said the stall was a one-off that would not open again, likely to disappoint fans crushed at missing the chance to snap up an affordable original.

The white canvases with black

spray-painted images were advertised for $60 each with another sign that said: “this is not a photo opportunity.”

A short video showed the vendor -- wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap -- yawning, then munching on his lunch to pass the time before the first sale at 3:30 pm.

A woman who bought two small canvases for her children, but only after negotiating a 50 percent discount.

Half an hour later, a woman from New Zealand bought two.

A man from Chicago then bought four to decorate his new house. By 6:00 pm, total takings for the day were $420, according to the video.

Banksy’s stencilled designs, known for their irreverent humor and political activism, have propelled him from a graffiti rebel to reluctant star.

He has spoken out against the exorbitant sums paid for his art and invites people to download photographs of his work for free from his website.

The free New York show called “Better Out Than In” has whipped up huge excitement in the city as fans rush to track down the different piece of work each day.

His Instagram account has more than 152,000 followers and his @ banksyny Twitter account has more than 21,000.

The show has also included mixed traditional stencil designs with installation art.

One of the highlights is a slaughter-

house delivery truck stuffed with soft toy animals, which appeared first in Manhattan’s uber trendy meatpacking district.

Called “The Sirens of the Lambs,” the cuddly toy pigs, sheep, chickens and cows are operated by puppeteers and will tour the city for the next two weeks.

A New York delivery truck converted into a mobile garden, featuring a rainbow, waterfall and butterflies, also visits a different place each day at dusk.

Georgia Asian Times October 15-31, 2013

EVENTS Taiwan 102 th National Day Celebration Oct 9, 2013 Westin Perimeter Atlanta

Dalai Lama Visit 2013 Oct 8, 2013 Gwinnett Center

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October 15-31, 2013 Georgia Asian Times

EVENTS 9th Atlanta Asian Film Festival - Premiere Night Oct 11, 2013 Plaza Theatre

Georgia Asian Times October 15-31, 2013

Page 11

FOCUS Hard road to world domination for Chinese firms BEIJING, October 13, 2013 - In the global contest for business Chinese brands struggle to rival big Western and Japanese names, but some are now looking to reinvent their identities to overcome image and political hurdles.

The world’s second largest economy does not have a single one of the world’s top 100 brands, as compiled by marketing consultancy Interbrand.

And according to a survey by HD Trade Services, 94 percent of Americans are unable to name a single Chinese brand, with a third saying they would not buy one they knew to be Chinese.

“Brand China has many problems -- transparency, ethical practices, treatment of employees, the quality of the products,” Richard Edelman, head of public relations giant Edelman told a World Economic Forum meeting in Dalian.

“And unfortunately the China reputation for companies is too much overshadowed by reputation of government.”

Chinese phone security company NQ Mobile dealt with the problem by effectively presenting itself as an American firm.

It created an entirely new headquarters in the Lone Star state, listed on Wall Street, has an American co-CEO brought over from US banking giant Citigroup, and its English website proclaims: “Made in Dallas, Texas”.

Henry Lin, the group’s founder, said: “All our employees in the US are American people... the consumer will feel it’s a US company.

“We divided the global market in two parts, developing countries, for which the headquarters is Beijing... and developed countries, with a headquarters in Dallas.

“If you can be successful in the US, you would be successful in western Europe, Japan, Australia.”

Korea’s Samsung and Apple of the US -- and faces accusations that it could be a spy agency masquerading as a commercial enterprise.

The US Congress last year ordered Huawei be excluded from public contracts, and Australia has banned the firm from providing its broadband networks.

Others are simply buying foreign firms, as decades of inward investment into China begins to move in the other direction.

Huawei’s vice president Scott Sykes said such moves were down to protectionism and fear of China.

Last month a $7.1 billion takeover

by Shuanghui International was agreed by shareholders of US pork giant Smithfield Foods, the biggest ever Chinese acquisition of a US company.

“We’ve been in business for 26 years, we operate in 140 countries... and there has never been a security issue of any kind, in all that time and all these places,” he said.

Chinese car manufacturer Geely bought out Sweden’s Volvo, while its rival Chery created a new brand, Qoros, in partnership with an Israeli group.

“We were accused of the potential for doing that, but nobody has ever proved that.

Most symbolically, electronics group Lenovo took over the PC arm of venerable US computer firm IBM in 2005, and went on to become the world’s biggest PC maker.

‘Corporate suicide’ But others prefer to stick with their own name, such as the world’s top fridge maker Haier, or telecoms giant Huawei -- which has been described as one of the world’s most controversial companies.

It generates 67 percent of its sales from outside China, and last year was listed among the top five companies in the world for numbers of patents.

But despite marketing its flagship smartphone as the world’s slimmest, it struggles to compete with South

“Our motivation is commercial, if we ever do anything on the behalf of the Chinese government that would be corporate suicide, we’ll lose 70 percent of our revenues, it would be foolish.”

Google vice-president in charge of its Android operating system, to help it develop.

When Apple founder Steve Jobs died, many Chinese media outlets pointed out that despite the occasional figure such as Alibaba’s Jack Ma, the emergence of such a major entrepreneur in China was unlikely because of an educational system that discourages creativity and risk taking.

But for James McGregor, China president of the US strategy group APCO Worldwide, it is the domination of the state sector that stifles innovation the most.

“China’s private sector can innovate,” he said, pointing to WeChat, a messaging app for smartphones made

by Chinese Internet giant Tencent.

With 400 million users, only 100 million of them in China, WeChat is the fifth most downloaded app in the world according to GlobalWebIndex -- even ahead of Twitter.

But it too has had its hitches.

He prefers to stress Huawei’s research and development spending, and points out that many of the West’s biggest companies themselves have their products assembled in vast factories in China.

Early this year, several media outlets said Tencent had for a time imposed worldwide censorship on certain words considered “sensitive” in China -- a charge denied by the company.

“The difference is that our headquarters is in China... this is about trade protectionism, it’s about fear and lack of trust of China.”

Nonetheless McGregor said: “It’s a Chinese product, it’s very efficient, it’s getting worldwide because it’s a brilliant product.”

Sykes, an American hired in 2011, is not the only foreigner recruited by Chinese firms to a high-profile role.

In September, electronics company Xiaomi hired Hugo Barra, a former

Page 12 October 15-31, 2013 Georgia Asian Times

TECH New app aims to keep tabs on mobile wallet

World’s first curved smartphone hits South Korea market SEOUL, October 10, 2013 - Samsung launched the world’s first smartphone with a curved display screen on Thursday, as the electronics giant seeks to maintain its lead in the increasingly saturated market.

Galaxy Round -- a 5.7-inch concave handset that fits the curve of a user’s palm -- has hit stores in South Korea but Samsung did not say when the new phone will be available globally.

Curved screens -- billed as lighter and thinner than current display panels -- are at a nascent stage in display technology, which is shifting towards flexible panels that are bendable or can even be rolled or folded.

The new phone -- powered by Google’s Android system and featuring a 2.3 GHz quad-core processor --is priced at about 1.08 million won ($1,000), Samsung said.

“The display (of Galaxy Round) is ergonomically shaped to fit the curve of a hand and comfortably embrace an ear and cheek during a phone conversation,” SK Telecom, the country’s top wireless operator, said in a statement.

The new phone allows users to check information such as missed calls, text messages, remaining battery life and the current time and date more easily when the screen is locked.

When listening to music, users can switch between songs on a playlist by placing the phone on a flat surface and pressing down on the left or right side to tilt the device, which automatically detects the movement.

The curved screen is made of plastic, instead of the glass that is commonly used in smartphones, and as a result the handset is slightly lighter.

Samsung said the phone weighs 154 grams (0.33 pounds), 10 percent less than the firm’s similar-sized Galaxy Note III oversized smartphone.

“This certainly is not a ground-breaking, game-changing product,” one tech blogger said in a review.

“But it fits quite nicely in my hand... and the images look slightly deeper when seen on a curved screen,” he said.

The latest device arrived as global smartphone makers vie for growth in the increasingly competitive market.

Samsung -- the world’s top maker of smartphones and mobile phones in general -- in January unveiled the prototype of a bendable display called “Youm”.

SAN FRANCISCO, October 10, 2013 - For those who use a mobile wallet, a new app aims to help keep track of when electronic cash is running low.

The application lets people specify how much of their pay they want to save.

The Level Money application unveiled Thursday aims to give smartphone users a “money meter” at a time when carrying cash is passe.

“We distill it down to stuff that has to be paid every month, savings, and everything else comes up as spendable,” Fuentes said.

The app, for those who use Apple’s mobile iOS gadgets, is aimed squarely at people age 35 or younger, referred to as Millennials or Generation Y.

“That is the way this generation thinks: Am I feeling rich today or am I not?”

“For the vast majority of that group, money management is checking the balance at the ATM after the money comes out of the machine,” said Level co-founder and chief executive Jake Fuentes.

“Frankly, we don’t think about money the same way our parents do,” the 27-year-old continued. “We didn’t grow up with savings bank passbooks and physical money; you swipe a card and put it back in your wallet.”

San Francisco-based Level entices people by projecting how much money they are on pace to have saved at the end of a month to put toward splurging on themselves.

Level partnered with personal finance software titan Intuit to handle people’s personal information with “bank-level security and encryption.”

“Level is a radically simple approach to money management,” Fuentes said.

Level Money lets smartphones show whether it would be fiscally smarter to pass on buying that extra round of drinks or sleek new gadget.

“We think this is part of a sea change to using mobile devices for financial decisions in a way not seen before.”

“We want to give you this real-time money meter,” Fuentes said.

Level Money is available only for iPhones in the United States but the nine-person startup was intent on expanding quickly to more devices.

Level Money synchronizes with bank accounts and credit or debit cards, analyzing entries to identify income and monthly bills such as rent or mobile phone service.

Samsung’s smaller rival LG said last week it had started mass production of curved display panels for smartphones and is reportedly set to unveil its own curved smartphone this month.

But companies still face a major challenge in making other handset components -- such as batteries -that can bend with the rest of the unit.

“Our ambition is to become the next generation of financial services company,” Fuentes said.

Curved displays are already commercially available in large-screen televisions offered by companies including Samsung and LG. The displays are supposed to offer a more immersive viewing experience but are significantly more expensive than standard screens.

Georgia Asian Times October 15-31, 2013

Page 13

SPORTS

Vettel silences critics as title beckons SUZUKA, October 14, 2013 - Sebastian Vettel is used to dominating from the front but a brilliant, come-frombehind victory in Japan silenced the critics and proved it’s not all about his Red Bull car.

Jeremy Lin charms Taiwan fans in preseason game TAIPEI, October 13, 2013 Asian-American NBA star Jeremy Lin and teammate James Harden joined hands Sunday to help the Houston Rockets beat the Indiana Pacers 10798 in an NBA preseason game held in Taipei, Lin’s ancestral home.

As a point guard, Lin scored 17 points in his 34-minute play while centre Harden contributed 21 points in a game that drew a sell-out crowd of more than 13,000 fans at the Taipei Arena statidum.

When Lin had to quit just a few minutes before the close of the game, local fans gave him a thundering applause.

“I’m happy with the result. After all, we won. Playing (basketball) here is crazy. Fans are noisy and passionate,” Lin said in Mandarin Chinese at a press conference.

Houston coach Kevin McHale added: “The atmosphere was unbelievable. Yes, it was definitely Jeremy Lin’s home court. He played very well.”

“The last week to 10 days he’s been very, very good in our games and our practices. I think he’s really comfortable with who he is. He’s in a good state of mind”, McHale said.

The 25-year-old, whose parents are Taiwanese, has become a sporting hero on the island since he shot to stardom in the NBA with the New

York Knicks early last year, sparking a global following known as “Linsanity”.

Lin, who was later traded to Houston, had a mixed performance in his first full NBA season that saw the Rockets eliminated in the first round of the playoffs.

McHale said he could understand the tremendous pressure on Lin after he swiftly rose to his fame and emerged as the basketball icon in Asia and elsewhere in the world.

“He is a great young man, he worked out very hard this summer,” McHale said, in his reference to Lin’s step-up training, including in shooting where he has sometimes struggled, after his first full-year with NBA. NBA commissioner David Stern on Saturday hailed Lin’s success as a “true milestone”, saying Lin had been “adopted by all countries in Asia as their very own” after the two NBA team’s successful exhibition game in Manila last week.

At Sunday’s game, Paul George led the Pacers with 19 points followed by 17 points of George Hill.

Among those watching Sunday’s game in Taipei were Terry Gou, founder of Taiwan’s tech giant Hon Hai Precision and Chinese basketball icon Yao Ming, a former Rockets centre.

The young German has attracted cynicism and even boos this year but if there was any doubt that he belongs among Formula One’s greats, he obliterated it at Suzuka.

Vettel was accused of sending fans to sleep with his consecutive wins at Belgium, Italy, Singapore and South Korea, but he had to fight for victory in Japan.

Schumacher in 2004, and four of the last five grands prix in Japan.

With a 90-point lead over Alonso and 100 available from the last four races, his coronation is a foregone conclusion, barring an extraordinary turn of events.

Vettel has the statistics of a champion, but does not always get due recognition. Critics point to his superior car, crafted by Red Bull’s brilliant designer, Adrian Newey.

His decision to ignore team orders and snatch victory from a fuming Webber this year in Malaysia lowered him in the opinion of some fans.

The performance, described as “quite supreme” by his team principal Christian Horner, leaves the 26-year-old all but assured of a fourth successive world title.

And others seem to be growing tired of the finger-pointing celebration and excitable yelling from the cockpit that accompanies every win.

Only two men in Formula One history -- Juan Manuel Fangio and Michael Schumacher -- have won four in a row, and neither managed it at such a young age.

“Ichiban (first)!” whooped Vettel over the radio as he took the chequered flag for the ninth time this season.

“You’re the best team in the world. I love you guys. Yes! Ichiban!”

At Suzuka, Vettel qualified second on the grid despite being without his speed-boosting Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS), a handicap estimated at 0.3sec per lap.

Boos greeted his victories in Belgium, Italy and Singapore. But great sportsmen are often accused of arrogance -- just ask Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods.

And at the start of the race, he got away slowly and was clipped by Lewis Hamilton, suffering damage to his front wing.

Horner highlighted a telling moment in Japan, when Webber had the chance to follow Vettel past Grosjean and challenge his team-mate for victory.

But he waited patiently in third place and nursed his tyres to the extent that he only needed two pit stops, compared with three for his team-mate Mark Webber.

“Seb had DRS (drag reduction system) when he passed Grosjean,” Horner said. “There was one lap where Mark got right into the slipstream but because he pushed the button too early, the flap didn’t open.”

And when he finally got his chance, late in the race, he pounced on leader Romain Grosjean, darting past and then watchfully bringing his deteriorating tyres home.

Vettel has now won five races in a row, the longest winning streak since

Webber got stuck behind Grosjean, and his chance of winning disappeared.

Fine margins that separate the great from the rest.

Page 14

October 15-31, 2013 Georgia Asian Times

SPORTS

Neymar stunner as Brazil beat South Korea SEOUL, October 12, 2013 - Brazil star Neymar weathered some harsh attention before scoring a stunning free-kick as he led the World Cup hosts to a 2-0 friendly win over South Korea on Saturday.

The Barcelona forward curled his shot past Korean goalie Jung Sung-Ryong just before half-time, with Chelsea’s Oscar getting the visitors’ second shortly after the break.

Neymar, 21, had been in doubt for the game after a heavy fall in training, and he was hit with some tough challenges and constant close marking in front of a near-capacity crowd.

But the young idol had the last laugh at Seoul World Cup Stadium when he thumped his strike over the wall and to the right of Jung, who got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out.

Neymar was targeted from start to finish as Hong Myung-Bo’s team, already qualified for next year’s World Cup, opted for tactics of harassment and frustration.

The Brazilian threw up his hands in exasperation and had a few testy moments with other players, even getting into a shoving match near the team benches late in the first half.

“I think we simply played football, whereas South Korea tried too hard,” said Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

“In the first half, they had twice as many fouls as we had. I think they were fouling too much early on.”

Hong Myung-Bo defended his players’ physical play, saying they “played it fair and didn’t lose their cool.”

“Some of our players are still young and I think they will learn from this experience,” said Hong, who has just one victory in seven matches since taking over in June.

“I am sure they gained confidence from this, and it’s an important part of our team. That alone is a major plus for us.”

After a tepid start to the game, Neymar took the ball in midfield and danced through defenders before threading a pass to Oscar, whose shot travelled over the bar.

But after being brought down for the umpteenth time, Neymar took matters into his own hands as he opened the scoring with his free kick.

Brazil doubled their lead just three minutes into the second half. Paulinho put Oscar through and the midfielder went past the helpless Jung before putting it into the gaping net.

South Korea brought on Son Heung-Min in the 65th minute, hoping the Bayer Leverkusen winger could add some spark to the lethargic attack.

And the home side were more lively in the last half-hour, with Lee ChungYong heading a corner wide in the 68th minute.

It was as close as South Korea came to scoring, as the five-time World Cup champions outclassed the hosts.

South Korea will next host Mali on Tuesday, while Brazil will take on Zambia on the same day in Beijing.

Indonesian tycoon takes control of Inter MILAN, 15 October 2013 - Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir has acquired a majority stake in Inter Milan, club president Massimo Moratti confirmed on Tuesday.

“We have signed with Thohir,” Moratti said.

According to Italian press reports, Thohir will acquire a majority 70% stake in the club.

Thohir had been linked with a takeover of the Serie A club since last season, which Inter finished in a disappointing ninth place, failing to qualify for European competition in the process.

Moratti and Thohir met twice, in May and June, this year but failed to reach agreement.

Inter, the last Italian side to win the Champions League, in 2010 when they won the treble under Jose Mourinho, are reported to be desperate for a move away from the San Siro ground they share with city rivals AC Milan.

Moratti is also keen for the club to take advantage of ripe markets in Asia which English Premiership giants like Manchester United have exploited.

Inter are one of the three biggest clubs in Italian football, along with city rivals AC Milan and champions Juventus.

Georgia Asian Times October 15-31, 2013

Page 15

HEALTH Honey disappoints in dialysis infection test PARIS, October 9, 2013 - Honey, touted as an effective germ-killer, offered no advantages over antibiotics in preventing wound infection in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis for kidney failure, a study said Wednesday.

Over the last decade, honey has gained a reputation as a cheap, safe and effective way of preventing wound infection by bacteria and fungi, even combating germs that are becoming resistant to antibiotics.

This boosted hopes that it could be used for patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis to clean their blood after suffering kidney failure.

Peritoneal dialysis -- used by more than 200,000 people daily -- entails inserting a catheter in the peritoneum, the thin membrane that surrounds the organs in the abdomen.

The treatment is life-saving, but prone to dangerous infection either at the entry point on the skin or in the peritoneum.

In a study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, doctors in Australia and New Zealand tested medical-grade honey -- honey that has been sterilized for medical use -- in a group of 371 volunteers.

Half of the group were given a daily application of 10 milligrams of honey on the site of the catheter insertion, alongside standard wound care.

The other half were assigned to a “control”, or comparison group.

They were given nasal swabs to test for the presence of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, and given the antibiotic mupirocin if this proved positive, and just standard wound care if the test proved negative.

The researchers found no significant difference in the risk of wound infection between the two groups.

Patients in the honey group had an average of 16 months until their first infection, and patients in the control group had an average of 17.7 months.

But there was disappointing news that came from patients with diabetes.

Salmonella outbreak sickens nearly 300 in U.S WASHINGTON, October 10, 2013 - A salmonella outbreak in raw chicken has sickened nearly 300 people in the United States, officials said Wednesday as consumer advocates warned the federal shutdown was hampering a government response.

The 278 illnesses in 18 states were believed to be linked to raw chicken from three Foster Farms locations in California, according to the Food Safety and Inspection Service.

“The outbreak is still ongoing, and therefore our investigation is still ongoing,” said an FSIS spokesman, noting that 135 inspectors were on duty responding to the outbreak despite the government shutdown.

“The only folks that were furloughed were back at our headquarters.”

The shutdown, which began October 1, has sent hundreds of thousands of federal workers home without pay, including staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration.

“The shutdown has really handcuffed these regulatory agencies and their proper regulatory role,” said Democratic Congresswoman Louise Slaughter’s spokesman Eric Walker.

“This is the nightmare scenario, not just with the government shutdown but this is what happens when you overuse antibiotics in livestock.”

A high proportion of people have been hospitalized -- 42 percent -- and some of the salmonella strains are showing resistance to antibiotics, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

The consumer advocacy group also noted that seven strains of salmonella appear to be responsible for the sicknesses.

“The number of people we know to be ill is just the tip of the iceberg,” said CSPI food safety director Caroline Smith DeWaal.

“This outbreak shows that is a terrible time for government public health officials to be locked out of their offices and labs, and for government websites to go dark.”

It is the first shutdown in 17 years and was driven by a resurgence of Republican opposition to President Barack Obama’s health care reform law passed in 2010.

Foster Farms said in a statement that no recall is in effect and that “products are safe to consume if properly handled and cooked.”

A CDC spokeswoman said that six employees had been recalled to staff a network of public health labs that monitor for food-borne outbreaks, bringing the total number of employees on that project to seven.

The company also said it had “instituted a number of additional food safety practices,” that have been shown in the past to control salmonella.

“Salmonella is naturally occurring in poultry and can be fully eradicated if raw

product is properly handled and fully cooked,” said the farms’ food safety chief and head veterinarian Robert O’Connor.

The FSIS warned that salmonella infections “can be life-threatening, especially to those with weak immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.”

Common symptoms include diarrhea, stomach cramps and fever within eight to 72 hours of consuming infected food.

Illness, including nausea, chills and headaches, may persist for up to a week.

Consumer Reports magazine said its own tests found a salmonella strain in Foster Farms chicken that matched one of those associated with the current outbreak.

“It is outrageous that Foster Farms has not issued a recall in the face of so many illnesses associated with their product,” said Urvashi Rangan, toxicologist and executive director of the Consumer Reports Food Safety and Sustainability Center.

The magazine said “the outbreak is of particular concern due to its reported severity, the fact that the associated strains are resistant to multiple antibiotic drugs and the length of time that the CDC has been tracking illnesses that are now linked to Foster Farms chicken.”

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October 15-31, 2013 Georgia Asian Times

Misc Asia Vietnamese bid final farewell to war hero General Giap QUANG BINH , October 13, 2013 - Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese lined the streets Sunday for the funeral of independence hero General Vo Nguyen Giap, who orchestrated the country’s stunning wartime victories over France and the United States.

Giap’s coffin, draped in Vietnam’s flag, was lowered into a grave in a remote coastal area of his native Quang Binh province, after a day which saw vast crowds -- at times 10 or 20 deep -swarm to pay their respects as his body was brought from Hanoi.

Mourners in the capital had earlier fallen to their knees in prayer or shouted “Long live General Giap!”, as the funeral cortege drove to the city’s airport to make the 310 miles journey south for burial.

Giap, who died aged 102 on October 4, was the architect of Vietnam’s battlefield victories over France and the US. The one-party communist state has tried to harness the popular general’s legacy to bolster its own legitimacy. “(Giap) is the general of the People and his name will be forever engraved in the history of the nation,” Communist Party leader Nguyen Phu Trong said in a televised speech on Sunday.

His death was “a great loss” for Vietnam, Trong added, speaking before the procession at the Hanoi Funeral House, where the general’s body lay in state overnight.

Hordes more people, many bearing bunches of yellow flowers, greeted the coffin’s arrival in Quang Binh and lined the main highway from the airport to the private burial site in Vung Chua.

Nguyen Van Hien, 45, said he had walked many miles from a neighboring province to say goodbye to Giap, who was lauded as a military genius for the guerrilla tactics that inspired resistance movements around the world.

“His death is a great loss for the

country,” he said, adding he would not leave until he could pray at the grave.

Giap, who became a prominent government critic late in life, is second only to founding president Ho Chi Minh in the communist nation’s affections.

He has been honored with two days of national mourning -- when all flags fly at half mast -- and the largest state funeral in decades.

“The General gave his whole life to the country and the people,” his son, Vo Dien Bien, said in a short, emotionally-charged speech in Hanoi on Sunday.

“Now he is gone, his spirit will join with those of the Vietnamese people, giving (them) strength to build a strong and prosperous country.”

The former history teacher turned military commander led his troops to victory over France in 1954 at Dien Bien Phu -- the battle that ended French involvement in Indochina -- and played a key role in Vietnam’s defeat of the United States in 1975.

The enormous crowds are highly unusual in authoritarian Vietnam, which heavily stage-manages anniversary events and routinely breaks up political protests with force.

Russia’s Putin enjoys vodka-laced birthday diplomacy NUSA DUA, October 8, 2013 - In perhaps an unprecedented burst of birthday diplomacy, Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated turning 61 by quaffing vodka, wolfing down cake and being serenaded by some of the world’s most powerful men.

Putin Tuesday recounted a series of light-hearted birthday moments that livened up the normally dour conference halls of a trade-focused Asia-Pacific leaders’ summit on the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

In a late-night meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday, Putin pulled out a bottle of vodka for a toast after his counterpart presented him with a cake.

“It was 11:00 pm. I offered our Chinese friends to raise a shot of vodka,” Putin said, according to Russian state news agency ITAR-TASS.

The tone had been set earlier in the day when Putin walked into a room to see Xi standing alongside Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who was strumming a guitar and singing “Happy Birthday” into a microphone.

A visibly surprised Putin smiled as Yudhoyono, a former general-turned politician who in his spare time has made a series of love-song albums, serenaded him and Xi clapped along.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also gave Putin a bottle of sake. However the Russian leader said it was too early in the day for a drink so he gave it to his aides for safe keeping.

“We’ll get to it in Moscow,” he added.

“They did not refuse, so we did just that.”

to rail against sensitive issues such as corruption and mining.

Despite being politically marginalized after the country’s reunification in 1975, Giap remained a national icon -- even among those born after the war.

In doing so, the general provided implicit cover for party critics and the country’s dissidents, experts said -despite always remaining a loyal party member.

“So many people cried -- it is completely different from previous (state) funerals,” said war veteran Vu Phi Hung, 62.

Speaking in Hanoi on Sunday, Party leader Trong also acknowledged Giap’s “important opinions on the country’s major issues”.

“This shows that the people had a deep, strong emotional connection with Giap,” he added.

Historians have hailed Giap’s grasp of logistics and his ability to mobilize a population against a more technologically advanced enemy, but they also question the morality of the huge sacrifices he asked of the Vietnamese

Until well into his 90s, Giap, physically frail but outspoken, wrote open letters and used anniversary events

As for the cake: “We wolfed it down successfully”. Needless to say, Putin described his meeting with Xi as “very warm” and “friendly”.

in order to secure independence.

Some Vietnamese commentators view the massive outpouring of grief over Giap’s death as a symbol of rising discontent with the quality of today’s leaders.

“People want more Vo Nguyen Giaps -- the problems we face today are no less difficult than the war,” historian Duong Trung Quoc told state radio Sunday, referring to the country’s economic woes.

General Giap is survived by Dang Bich Ha, his wife since 1949, and four children.

Georgia Asian Times October 15-31, 2013

Page 17

Misc Asia Buddhism, Christianity share goals: Dalai Lama MEXICO CITY, October 12, 2013 The Dalai Lama told Mexicans on Saturday that Christianity and Buddhism coincide in their pursuit of human happiness.

Both religions promote “love, compassion and self-discipline” that lead to happiness, the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader told some 3,000 people.

More than 90 percent of Mexico’s 118 million people are Catholic.

With his usual smile and good humor, the Dalai Lama said that for decades, Christian leaders have been interested in some Buddhist teachings.

Christianity promotes the concept of a transcendent and unique God as creator, while Buddhism refutes the existence of a creator.

The Dalai Lama’s trip, which began Friday, marks his fourth to Mexico, home to some 5,000 Buddhists. He will leave on Wednesday.

Gere participated in the event, which was preceded by a Tibetan music show and held at an entertainment center in northern Mexico City.

No matter how many people are in the Dalai Lama’s presence, Gere said, “something special happens.”

“I’m not a movie star, I’m just a student like you,” said Gere, 64, in speaking about his advocacy efforts.

The enthusiasm of attendees was dampened by audio problems that made the conference unintelligible for long periods of time.

“We came with much devotion to listen to His Holiness. We waited a long time and paid a lot for tickets. It’s not fair, the sound is a disaster,” said attendee Hilda Montano.

The Dalai Lama fled Tibet following a failed uprising against Chinese occupation in 1959 and later founded the Tibetan government-in-exile in India.

He stepped down as its leader in 2011.

US actor and Tibet activist Richard

Japanese breakdancer wins Asia-Pacific competition FUKUOKA, October 13, 2013 - A Japanese breakdancer has spun and somersaulted his way into the sport’s global finals to be staged in South Korea next month after winning a regional competition on home soil.

Noritoshi “Nori” Kikuchi showed off a series of downrocks, power moves and freezes to emerge victorious at the “Red Bull BC One” contest held inside a historic Shinto shrine in the southern city of Fukuoka on Saturday.

The knockout tournament featured 16-elite dancers from several countries, including Japan and South

Korea, squaring-off on a circular stage as dance music blared out and 1,000 spectators cheered on.

“This is a boxing ring and I came here to win,” Nori said after his victory, sporting a black t-shirt and flatbrimmed baseball cap in a trademark hiphop style.

“When it comes to competitions, I fight. I gave it all I had today,” he said.

The world finals will take place on November 30 in Seoul, according to organizers.

Taiwan looks to first vaccine against fatal H7N9 avian flu TAIPEI, October 14, 2013 - Taiwan is scheduled to roll out its first vaccine against the H7N9 strain of avian flu in late 2014, after the island confirmed the first outbreak of the deadly virus earlier this year, researchers said Monday.

Health authorities in Taiwan confirmed in April that a 53-year-old Taiwanese man, who had been working in the eastern Chinese city of Suzhou, showed symptoms three days after returning home via Shanghai.

The man, who was infected in China, was in serious but stable condition when he was hospitalized.

Although the patient was eventually discharged, the outbreak prompted Taiwanese authorities to gear up research on a vaccine against the strain of avian influenza, given the ever closer exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

“We plan to start Phase II clinical trial in March,” which will contain 300 clinical cases, Su Ih-jen, director of the National Institute of Diseases and Vaccinology at the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI).

After that, the project is scheduled to move into Phase III clinical trial in June, with 1,000 people being tested, he said.

The NHRI is able to produce 200,000 doses of the cell-based vaccine once the project clears the Phase III trial stage, he said.

Su termed as “one of the most deadly diseases” threatening human beings.

“As of now H7N9 is the virus most likely to cause comprehensive transmission throughout the world as studies show that it can be spread through upper respiratory tract,” Su said.

He was comparing it to the H5N1 strain of avian flu, which affects airways and lungs, or the lower respiratory tract.

Since 2003, the H5N1 strain has killed more than 250 people in a dozen countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

As of August, WHO has been informed of a total of 135 laboratory-confirmed human cases with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus, including 44 deaths. Most of the cases were recorded in China.

Following its first outbreak, Taiwan had brought forward plans to ban the killing of live poultry in traditional markets by a month, to May 17.

Under the ban, market vendors will not be allowed to sell birds they have killed themselves, only poultry supplied from Taiwan’s 79 approved slaughterhouses.

There are about 870,000 Taiwanese people living in China. Trade and cross-strait travel have soared in recent years, after decades of tension since the two sides split in 1949 at the end of a civil war.