Modern Chinese Love Story

Transcription

INDONESIA-MALAYSIA CULTURE CLASH
S E PT E M B E R 1 1 - 17 , 2009
Modern
Chinese
Love Story
US$2.50 / Bt100
ISSN 19052650
9 771905 265009
25991
25991
Want more from business travel?
805 lounges Alliance-wide.
You’ve earned it.
As a Star Alliance Gold
member, you’ll have access
to 805 airport lounges
across the alliance to relax in
before you fly. To find out
more about our rewards
visit staralliance.com
www.staralliance.com
Information correct as at 09/2008
SEPTEMBER 11-17, 200 9 • Vo l 4 N o 3 4
C H INA DAILy
SPECIAL
REPORT
13
A FP
Truly Indonesian
A Balinese dance in a
Malaysian tourism ad
again sparks nationalistic
sentiment
COVER STORY 8
Phoenix Man, Peacock Woman
The modern Chinese love story is still anchored on the
union of country boy and city girl
ARTS & CULTURE 24
TECHNOLOGY 26
Manga On Demand
Why ‘scanlations’ give
Japanese publishers
headache
Social Networking Risks
Be careful with that Facebook
or Myspace message that bad
mouths your company
CHI NA DAI LY
PHOTO ESSAY 18
Ozawa Will Test Hatoyama’s
Mettle
Japan’s PM-in-waiting has a
responsibility to exercise firm
leadership to keep party’s
influential figure
PEOPLE 30
Magsaysay Awardees
Meet Asians who have done
great personal sacrifice to
help the downtrodden and
the marginalised
EXPLORE 32
Not For The Squeamish
Phnom Penh’s museums
are testament of the Khmer
Rouge’s barbarism
LIFESTYLE 20
Beauty & Seoul
A trip to South Korea’s
capital now means buying
cosmetics
COVER IMAGE | ILLUSTRATION BY WANG XIAOYING/ CHINA DAILY
ENTERTAINMENT 28
Move Over, Boys
The Girls Generation fever
hits South Korea
WRITE, FAX, EMAIL
Please include sender’s name and address to: [email protected] | Asia News Network Nation Multimedia Group Plc 44 Moo 10 Bang Na Trat KM4.5 Bang Na, Bangkok 10260 Thailand
Subscription inquiries Nation Multimedia Group Plc 44 Moo 10 Bang Na Trat KM4.5 Bang Na, Bangkok 10260 Thailand Fax: (66) 0-2317-1409
Copyright © 2006 of Asia News Network. All rights reserved. AsiaNews (ISSN 1905-2650) is a weekly magazine. Printed by WPS (Thailand) Co, Ltd Subsidiary of Nation Multimedia Group Plc.
Jofelle TESOR IO/AN N
Mooncake Festival
Chinese all over the world
are preparing
for a coming festival for
lunar worship
TH E KOR EA HEAR LD
VIEWPOINT 7
ACROSS ASIA
AFP P H OTO/Manpreet ROMANA
The Dalai Lama in Taiwan
TAIPEI: Tibet’s Dalai Lama wrapped up
his controversial five-day prayer tour in
Taiwan on September 4 amidst concerns that the visit will have an impact
on the island’s relations with China.
At his departure, reporters asked him
Japan’s ‘different’ first lady
TOKYO: Japan’s soon-to-be first lady,
Miyuki Hatoyama, is set to liven up the
traditionally staid role of a premier’s
wife with her extroverted and sometimes quirky personality.
if he wants to go
back to Tibet and
the Dalai Lama
said: “We are all
prepared to return
to Tibet. All the Tibetans are (so prepared).”
During his visit
on the invitation of
officials from the
opposition Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP), the Nobel laureate met
with Paul Cardinal Shan as well as
DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen. He
also said prajna paramita masses
for the victims of Typhoon Morakot
that left over 700 dead.
No Kuomintang leader includingPresident Ma Ying-jeou met with him.
Miyuki, sporting new red streaks in
her trademark shoulder-length bob, is
a celebrity in her own right. She gives
inspirational talks and has appeared on
TV variety shows to discuss topics
ranging from spirituality to politics.
She became an important asset for
Hatoyama’s election campaign with
her open personality. She even performed a Michael Jackson-style Moonwalk while campaigning for a Democratic candidate in August, according
4
— ASIA NEWS NETWORK
— THE CHINA POST
Young giraffe dies
DHAKA: A female giraffe in Dhaka Zoo
died after “suffering from absolute dehydration”.
The 3-year old giraffe was suffering
from dehydration as it stopped taking
food and water since September 1, zoo
authorities said.
THE DAILY STAR
AFP PHOTO
to the Mainichi daily.
Yukio Hatoyama, the 62-year-old
prime minister-in-waiting said his wife
is “like an energy-refuelling base”.
Describing herself as “full of curiosity”, Miyuki said she wants to make a
film in Hollywood, adding that she
knew Tom Cruise, “because I
know he was a Japanese in a previous life”.
In the book Very Strange
Things I’ve Encountered published last year, Miyuki claimed
to have had an extraterrestrial experience, which she said took
place some 20 years ago.
“While my body was asleep,
I think my soul rode on a
triangular-shaped UFO and
went to Venus,” Miyuki wrote.
“It was a very beautiful place
and it was really green.”
Miyuki was born in Shanghai in 1943 when the Chinese
city was under Japanese occupation. She grew up in Kobe,
in western Japan.
She was an actress with the all-female Takarazuka Revue in the 1960s
and went to the US in her mid-20s after quitting her stage career.
It was there she met Hatoyama, the
scion of a political dynasty often dubbed
Japan’s Kennedy family. Miyuki and
Yukio Hatoyama married in 1975 after
she divorced her previous husband. The
couple have one son, an engineering
scholar now living in Russia.
Summing up the visit, the Dalai’s
representative in Taipei Dawa Tsering
said it was “a success”.
The Dalai was jeered by opponents,
Tsering said. But he thought it’s wonderful, because that is freedom of expression, added Tsering.
“Above all,” Tsering said, “the Dalai
Lama was able to meet who he wanted
to meet and do what he came here to
do. It is a very successful visit.”
After the visit here, the Dalai will go to
the Czech Republic and then the United
States to continue championing the cause
of Tibetan autonomy, Tsering said.
Will the Dalai Lama come back again
to make a fourth visit to Taiwan? “Let
the karma take care of it,” Tsering said.
“If people in Taiwan want him to come,
he will come again.”
It was among the five giraffes brought
from South Africa in June last year.
With this, a total of 19 rare animals
died at the zoo in a year.
A sambar deer died in the first week of
May. In March, a baboon, a wildebeest
and the last member of Malayan tapir
died. One Royal Bengal tiger, two fresh
water crocodiles, one zebra and a lesser
adjutant stork died in February. The
186-acre zoo houses around 2,160 animals of 157 species. The zoo attracts
about 10,000 visitors daily.
— THE DAILY STAR
SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2009 • ASIANEWS
AFP P H OTO
‘Virtual’ millionaire
TOKYO: In spring 2007, a high school
This handout photo
released on September 6
by the Philippine Navy
shows the Superferry 9
listing to its side as Navy
boats approach off
Zamboanga peninsula.
Just like the Titanic minus
the icebergs
ZAMBOANGA CITY: Mothers prayed for
Indian cinema awards
— PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER
been awarded best film in overall entertainment.
NEW DELHI: Filmmaker Priyadarshan’s
Anil Kapoor’s Gandhi My Father
offbeat Tamil film Kanjeevaram has has won two awards—Feroz Abbas
scored big at the 55th National Film Khan, the director of the film, gets
Awards, winning
the National
best feature film
Award for
and best actor for
best screenPrakash Raj, while
play and Darr e n o w n e d
shan Zariwala
director Adoor
bags best supGopalakrishnan
porting actor
has been adjudged
for portraying
best director for
Gandhi, the
Naalu Pennungal.
father of the
Chak De! India
Uma Shri is best
nation who
actress for Gulabi
strived for a
Talkies; Aamir
normal relaKhan’s directorial debut Taare Zameen tionship with his son.
Par gets best family welfare award.
Bhavna Talwar’s directorial debut
Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De! Dharm that explored religious underIndia, about a humiliated national lev- currents has won best film for national
el hockey player who steers the wom- integration award.
en’s team to international victory, has —THE STATESMAN
ASIANEWS • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2009
THE YOMIURI SHIMBUN
help, children were thrown into the sea
and others fought for lifeboats in the terrifying moments before the SuperFerry
9 sunk off Zamboanga del Norte in
southern Philippines on September 6.
In gripping accounts, survivors
compared the horror they went through
in the dying moments of the 7,000-ton
ship to what happened to the British
liner Titanic, minus the icebergs
nearly a century ago.
“It was like Titanic Filipino-style. It
was as though we were in the movie but
all of it happened,” survivor Raffy Borro
said. He also said there was a shortage
of life jackets and life rafts.
The Philippines’ Maritime Industry
Authority grounded the 10-vessel fleet
of Aboitiz Transport System following
the sinking of the ferry.
The 7,000-tonne SuperFerry 9 left
General Santos City on the morning of
September 5 under fair weather bound
for Iloilo City in central Philippines.
The ship was carrying 968 people—847
passengers, 117 crew members and four
sea marshals, according to Aboitiz,
when it capsized early Sunday.
The Philippine Coast Guard said 958
people had been rescued, nine were
killed and one was missing. Two Philippine Navy vessels were continuing
the search as of September 7.
teacher summoned a pupil called Atsushi
(not his real name) into the staff room.
Atsushi often came to school late, fell
asleep during classes and his academic
performance was deteriorating. He
told the teacher he was spending most
nights playing online games until the
early hours.
When the teacher said, “So you think
you’re going to be able to make a living
through computer games?” Atsushi
flashed him an irritated look and replied: “I’m already making money.
About 100,000 yen (US$1,080) a
month.”
The teacher concealed his surprise
and retorted: “That’s hardly enough.”
But Atsushi smiled and said, “I could
earn more if I wanted to.”
Nine months later, Atsushi was arrested by the police on suspicion of
electronic fraud. Charges against him
included an allegation that he defrauded an online game-operating company
of a total of 36 million yen ($388,959)
worth of virtual currency, which is used
in an online game.
Atsushi told the police he believed
that if he could find a loophole in the
computer programme, it would then
be easy to steal virtual currency used in
the online game.
Atsushi spent 27 million yen
($291,635) worth of the virtual currency of which police believe he spent 7
million yen ($75,609) in the real world.
A pair of sneakers priced 40,000 yen
($432), portable game machines and
luxury foods such as crab were delivered to his home. The rest of the virtual
currency he spent by buying online
game items, which he later gave away
to other gamers.
—THE DAILY YOMIURI
5
Vi e w p o i n t
A Warning To China
The Burmese government has given a stern warning to China
by cracking down on the ethnic rebels in northern Burma
Bangkok
The Nation (Thailand)
W
AFP
hen it comes to the Burmese side of the was drawn. To neutralise the remnants of the CPB,
Golden Triangle, it is difficult to differen- Rangoon had to move quickly. The then-security chief,
tiate between the good and the bad. This Lt-General Khin Nyunt, was dispatched to the Wa
is partly because they are all equally bad. capital of Panghsang to sign a ceasefire deal with the
As long as anyone can recall, the triangle newly established United Wa State Army (UWSA).
has never been for the faint hearted: Wa headhunters, comSimilar agreements were signed with other groups, includmunist insurgents, opium warlords, heroin traffickers, ing the Shan State Army-North and the National DemoChinese crime syndicates and the Burmese military govern- cratic Alliance Army (NDAA), a Mong La-based outfit.
ment—one of the most condemned regimes in the world - all
Part of the 1989 ceasefire deal was that these newly creplay for keeps.
ated ethnic armies were
And so when fighting
permitted to administer
broke out in August betheir so-called Special Retween the Burmese junta
gions and were free to carry
and one of the ceasefire
out any business activities of
groups, namely the Kokang
their choice. Besides casinos
outfit, unwanted attention
there were clandestine herwas placed on China, a
oin factories.
quiet stakeholder in this
Just a decade ago, methrugged region. China, of
amphetamines came into
course, prefers to stay out of
the picture. The market for
the spotlight when it comes
these drugs is no longer just
to such matters.
streets in Europe and the
It was not so much beUnited States but also
cause tens of thousands of
Bangkok and other cities in
Kokang Chinese and others
Southeast Asia. China is not
fled into China; it was beimmune to the drug probcause China’s influence in FLEEING: Villagers make their way along a road leading to Nandeng in the lem, however. In terms of
this highly contested region Wa region of Burma on September 3 after clashes between government damage, one can argue that
is being weakened. This is forces and ethnic rebels.
the Chinese in Yunnan were
not to mention the possibilthe most affected when one
ity of further exposing the hush-hush relations between the takes into consideration the number of heroin addicts and
communist giant and the ethnic armies who were once, and HIV-infected drug users.
to some extent continue to be, their proxies.
But unlike leaders in Southeast Asia, Chinese leaders don’t
During the height of the communist insurgency, the Com- demonise these drug armies that operate freely on the Burmunist Party of China funded and armed many of the in- mese side of the border. This is partly because of historical
surgent groups in Burma. Red Guards crossed the border to ties. Thai and foreign security analysts think the Chinese are
preach Marxism and succeeded in getting groups like the using these ethnic armies as pawns for a later day, and a
Wa to give up headhunting in exchange for Kalashnikovs possible entry point into Burma. Why just court the Burmese
and military fatigues. Burmese and Shan leftists also joined junta when you can court them all?
forces to be part of a movement that promised to bring
Beside the cost of having to look after the Kokang and
equality and justice to a land where the ideas of law and other refugees fleeing from the Burmese assault, China is
order and the Western notion of the nation-state are still also concerned that an unwanted spotlight will be focused
very much alien concepts.
on cross-border activities that they would rather keep off
For various reasons, the movement didn’t last. And in everyone’s radar screen. These activities include the launder1989, the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) splintered along ing of drug money in businesses and real estate in China by
ethnic lines. Factions like the Wa transformed, quickly be- the leaders of these ethnic armies, many of whom rank high
coming a new force for the Burmese government to reckon on the US’ wanted list, mainly for heroin trafficking.
with. And why not? They had enough weapons from the
The shooting in Kokang’s Special Region 1 has now
Chinese to last for another decade or so.
stopped. But taking on the Kokang was a stern warning to
Among the remnants of the CPB were the Kokang, the UWSA by the Burmese. It was also a stern warning to
the Yunnanese Chinese whose territory fell on the Bur- the Chinese, and a blow to the long-standing illusion that
mese side when the official Sino-Burma political border Beijing has the Burmese junta in its palm.
6
Vi e w p o i n t
Ozawa Will Test Hatoyama’s Mettle
Japan’s prime minister-in-waiting Yukio Hatoyama has a
responsibility to exercise firm leadership to keep the party’s
influential figure, Ichiro Ozawa, on a short leash
Tokyo
The Yomiuri Shimbun
7
K azuhiro Nog i /A FP
A
cting President of Democratic Party of Japan,
Ichiro Ozawa, is set to
become the party’s secretary general, a crucial
position at the heart of the administration to be inaugurated under prime
minister-in-waiting Yukio Hatoyama.
Hatoyama, who is DPJ president,
has been at pains to explain that he
appointed Ozawa because he guided
the DPJ to a landslide victory in the
House of Representatives elections.
“We managed to win more than 300
seats thanks to acting president
Ozawa,” Hatoyama said.
Of course, this cannot be the only
reason for his appointment.
Hatoyama apparently plans to put
SMILE FOR A SMILE: Yukio Hatoyama (L), head of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan
Ozawa in charge of the DPJ campaign (DPJ), and former leader Ichiro Ozawa (R) share a smile at the DPJ election campaign headquarfor next summer’s House of Councilors ters in Tokyo on August 30.
election so the party can snatch a single-party majority in the upper house and form an adminOzawa’s remark about his “non-intervention in poliistration that can hold sway over both chambers of the Diet. cy decisions” emboldened Hatoyama enough to tell
The DPJ has grown into a political juggernaut holding a reporters that Ozawa’s appointment would not create a
total of nearly 420 seats in the upper and lower houses. dual system of power. But there are doubts about
Hatoyama seems to believe that he needs the influence and whether this will really be the case.
experience of Ozawa, who once served as secretary-general
Hatoyama said a total of about 100 lawmakers would be
of the Liberal Democratic Party, to ensure all the members allocated to government ministries and agencies as minisof the big party keep pulling in the same direction.
ters, vice ministers, parliamentary secretaries, advisers to
However, Ozawa’s appointment as DPJ secretary-general ministers and in other positions so the government can be
also has raised some concerns in the political arena.
the sole arbiter of policy decisions.
The ranks of Ozawa supporters within the DPJ have swolHowever, policies drafted by such lawmakers cannot be
len with the arrival of dozens of rookie candidates – dubbed implemented unless they are written up as bills and pass
‘Ozawa kids’ because he managed their nominations and both Diet chambers. Enacting bills requires the cooperation
campaign preparations in the elections. Some observers have of the party—including the secretary-general, who has resuggested Ozawa could end up wielding too much influence sponsibility over Diet affairs as part of party management.
over the management of party affairs.
Hatoyama has a responsibility to exercise firm leadUnder LDP-led governments, the party held more influ- ership to keep Ozawa on a short leash so he does not
ence over policy decisions than the administration did. run away with the party.
However, the DPJ wants to reverse this balance and give
In the meantime, preparations for the transition of
more power to the envisaged administration.
power are running late. Even a brief intermission is imperHowever, achieving this goal will be no easy feat if Ozawa, missible in politics. Hatoyama should choose his line-up of
who is a top party official but not a member of the envisaged key ministers as soon as possible.
cabinet, throws his weight around on policy decisions.
Ozawa has often been criticised in the past for his attitude
Hatoyama quoted Ozawa as saying during their and high-handed behaviour, such as missing important
talks recently that he would not, in principle, be in- meetings or refusing to provide detailed explanations. Ozawa
volved in making policy decisions since the govern- will have to correct his ways if he is to become secretary
ment is supposed to do that.
general of the nation’s largest party.
COVER STORY
8
Phoenix Man
Peacock Woman
The legend
that gave birth
to Chinese
Valentine’s day is
resonating in
modern life with
the union of
village boy and
city girl
I LLUSTRATION BY WAN G XI AOYI NG/ CHI NA DAI LY
9
COVER STORY
BEIJING
O
Lin Qi
China Daily
SINK OR SWIM: A couple gets
married in an underwater ceremony
during Chinese Valentine’s Day
10
ffice worker Lin Xianhui is
happily married to a woman
who, like him, comes from the
countryside but now lives in
Shenzhen, Guangdong province. But he feels sorry for one
of his college friends, who is
having marital problems with
a woman born in the city.
His depressed friend is being
counseled because of his failing
marriage, what many people
call ‘phoenix man marrying a peacock woman’.
The term ‘phoenix man’ comes from an old saying that
“a phoenix soars out of a chicken coop” and refers to men
who grow up in the countryside, make it to university
and land good jobs in the city.
‘Peacock women’ are born and bred in the city.
The idea of a phoenix marrying a peacock reminds
many Chinese of the fairytale “niu lang zhi nu”, or the
“cowherd and weaving girl”, which
is the basis for Qi Xi Festival, or
Chinese Valentines’ Day.
The story follows an orphaned
cowboy who falls in love with a
beautiful weaver, who is also the
youngest daughter of the Empress
of Heaven. They secretly marry but
the angry empress separates the
couple by drawing a line between
them, which becomes the Milky
Way. The couple can only get together on the seventh day of the
seventh month on the lunar calendar, hence Qi Xi Festival.
Today, there is also a “Milky Way”
separating couples from different
cultural backgrounds, quite different
from the way things used to be.
“There were very few college
students from the countryside
around us,” says Zhou Yi, 58, a
retired civil servant and also
mother of an unmarried girl.
“First, it was difficult to enter the universities, even for
urbanites. And the common way for a rural boy to change
his destiny was to join the army. When he retired, he might
land a job in the big city.”
She adds that since there were not many college graduates available, the perfect husband-to-be at that time was a
factory worker, with a stable job and salary.
Chen Youhong, a relationship counselor from a Beijing-based matchmaking website, attributes the rising
number of phoenix-peacock marriages
to the expansion of university enrollment and migration of the population
to urban centres.
“More rural lads are able to receive
higher education and get a good job in
the cities and become successful,” Chen
says. “Coming from a lower class, they
have to work even harder than their urban peers. They are commonly recognised as being industrious and positive.
These good personality traits sound
quite appealing to city girls, who are
mostly from the only child generation
and may lack of some of those qualities.”
Lin Xianhui dated several city girls
before marrying his wife. The parents
of his first girlfriend said to him their
daughter’s future husband should have
a decent apartment, a car and savings
of at least 100,000 yuan (US$14,640).
“I had just graduated from college.
How could I meet those standards in
just a few years? I think they implied
that I was unqualified to be their
daughter’s boyfriend,” he says.
Since phoenix men are usually only
children, too, there is sometimes the
perception that they have obligations
to their rural families. Another of
Lin’s girlfriends turned him down
because of this.
Civil servant Zhou Yi says it is natural
for urban parents to be irritated by
their rural in-laws and worry about
their daughter having to look after
them in their old age.
Lin’s relationship with a third city
girl was spoiled by her spending
habits, he says.
“She would spend two or three
month travelling around every year.
It is OK for her since she is from
a well-off family. Her parents totally support her But I grew up
poor and I had to take several odd
jobs to pay for my college,” he says.
Tu Xin is among those city girls
who shun phoenix men when look-
ing for a husband.
“One of my friends dated a phoenix
man. They looked all right at first, but
then she found her boyfriend was unhappy to see her with male friends and
wanted to control her social life. So they
broke up,” she says.
She believes that a man from the
city would not be so immature. “I
don’t mean to generalise, but there
are just too many ideological contradictions between phoenix men
and peacock women”.
Chen Youhong, however, says people
should not exaggerate the differences.
“It is a good idea for phoenix men
and peacock women to reach some
agreements when they marry. For
instance, how to deal with their earnings, visits by relatives, the housework
and caring for both parents, among
others,” she says.
She also points out that both sets
of parents should show respect for
each other and let their children
resolve their differences.
11
COVER STORY
Love & Legend
TAIPEI
Joe Hung
The China Post
I
t’s not exactly Valentine’s Day, but
people of Taiwan, particularly
young people, observe it every year.
Valentine’s Day is observed on
February 14 in the
West in honour of
St. Valentine. It’s a day
for exchanging valentines and other tokens
of affection.
The Chinese, including almost all people in
Taiwan, used to mark Qi
Xi or Seventh Evening
on the seventh day of the
seventh moon on the
Chinese lunar calendar.
This year, it was marked
on August 26.
There was no exchange
of valentines. There is,
now at least on Taiwan,
which has become much
too Westernised—oops,
commercialised. Boyfriends now send
chocolate to their girlfriends.
Chocolate makers want brisk sales of
their goodies.
What is lacking is the romantic spirit,
which gave rise to China’s ‘Lovers’ Day’.
Our forefathers believed the two stars
Chien-niu or Herd Boy which is Altair
and Zhi-nu or Weaver Girl which is
Vega—they are suns in fact, and not
moving—moved closer to each other.
Over time a myth was born. Herd Boy
and his two children were separated
from their mother Weaver Girl who is
on the other side of the river in heaven,
or the Milky Way. They were able to
meet once a year on the seventh day of
the seventh moon, with the help of magpies that make a bridge across the river.
Actually, Altair is the brightest star in
the constellation Aquila. In astrology, it
12
was ill-omened, portending danger
from reptiles. Vega is the brightest star
in the constellation Lyra, which thousands of years ago served as the Northern Pole Star.
One most romantic episode on the
Seventh Evening is recorded in Po
Chu-yi’s Song of Eternal Sorrow. The
poet described the love between Em-
peror Xuanzhong of the Tang Dynasty
and his imperial concubine Yang. They
vowed at the Palace of Eternal Life on
the Seventh Evening never to separate,
no matter what.
In old China, one romantic way of
celebrating the Seventh Evening was
for unmarried girls to pray for divine
instructions for improving their needlework, known as qi qiao.
Needlework was one of the top
assets they might have to marry better husbands.
Usually, girls would try to test
their skills by running a section of
thread through the eye or eyes of a
needle in moonlight.
That wasn’t popular in pragmatic
Min-nan or southern Fujian, from
where the ancestors of modern day
Han Chinese in Taiwan came to settle.
Instead the people of Min-nan celebrated the day as the birthday of Qiniu-ma Seventh Grandmother, who is
also known as Birth-Recording Queen.
Well, it makes sense. Min-nan, in
particular Zhangzhou, was settled by
the Han Chinese much later. The settlers had difficulty raising children in
disease-ridden areas; child mortality
was extraordinarily high.
As a result, parents wanted to have as
many children as possible and wished
some supernatural beings would protect their offspring against diseases.
So a myth of Zhuang mu or Bed
Mother was created.
When a baby was born, its mother
would go to Seventh
Grandmother to ask for a
special amulet, a very
small satchel containing
some incense. The child
could not part with the
amulet until he or she
was 16 sui. (A Chinese
baby was one year old or
sui, when it was born.)
On the seventh day of
the seventh moon when
the child was 16 sui, he
or she had to give up that
amulet to come of age.
The parents had to make
abundant offerings to
Seventh Grandmother to
thank her and Bed
Mother.
In Taiwan, Hoklo used to feed the
new member of the family coming of
age with a rooster cooked with herbs.
People on an even more pragmatic Taiwan now do not observe
the seventh day of the seventh moon
according to that time-honoured
tradition any more.
As a matter of fact, young men in
Taiwan are much less romantic, getting
more pragmatic like those of their opposite sex. By nature, women are more
pragmatic than men.
Few of them want to get married and
raise a family when they are still young, unwilling to take responsibility for each other
but able to enjoy their unmarried lives.
Fewer still want to have babies as
soon as they marry.
Who wants to worship Seventh
Grandmother and Bed Mother anyway?
AFP P H OTO/MOC H AMMAD RISYAL H IDAYAT
S P E C I A L R E P O RT
FLAG BURNING:
Indonesians burn
Malaysian flags during an
anti-Malaysia protest in
Surabaya, East Java.
Truly Indonesian
Malaysia’s
tourism
video and
the ‘stolen’
Indonesian
culture
BANDUNG
Mario Rustan
The Jakarta Post
A
t first I thought it was a slow news day. When a news programme was broadcasting an item titled “Indonesian culture robbed by Malaysia”. I watched it in mute mode, admiring scenes of Chinese girls eating laksa (spicy noodle)
and going shopping in another Malaysia tourism video.
The next day, the stealing claim seemed justified. The stolen
culture in question was the Pendet dance from Bali, which in
no way would reach Malaysia through shared Malayan culture
or through Javanese and Bugis migrants.
Until today, voices condemning Malaysia are still being aired,
with professors and political scientists saying Malaysia has no
indigenous culture and thus has some sort of inferiority complex,
and thus is stealing Indonesian culture. Furthermore, many
13
learned Indonesians sneer at Malaysia’s tourism slogan, “Truly Asia”,
saying that it’s nonsense and proves
that Malaysia has no true identity.
The Jakarta Post, however, pointed
out that “Truly Asia” means that Malaysia is a one-stop destination for tourists wishing to see Southeast Asian,
Chinese and Indian cultures. Some Indonesian condemners may still be unaware of Malaysia’s multiple-ethnicities,
while others may deliberately ignore it
and feel more comfortable with the
view that Malaysia is a Malay nation.
As for the Pendet case, it turns out the
video was made by a private production
house that just copied and pasted several fun tourism images, without any
intention of malice.
I found proof about the “Truly Asia”
slogan on my arrival at Kuala Lumpur:
The taxi got lost and I couldn’t get
through to my friend’s phone—at sunrise on an empty suburban road. I tried
to ask for directions from several strangers. The first one were an elderly Chinese couple who didn’t speak English or
Malay. The second were a couple of Indian garbage men who spoke broken
English. The Malay taxi driver preferred
to talk in English as our Malay dialects
were incomprehensible to each other.
Finally he got the address from a Malay youth. I found the house in time for
breakfast, ready to feast on wonderful
Malaysian food, especially Chinese peranakan dishes, such as laksa and nasi
lemak, and Indian drinks like teh tarik
and susu bandung.
Many Indonesians in Malaysia must
consume an unfunny old joke. In the
courtyard before the Petronas Tower
one night, my host said we should avoid
the dark spots otherwise we could be
robbed by “your countrymen”.
The Jakarta Post had received some
complaints from Malaysians that said
the Indonesian media and people never
talked about the violent crimes carried
out by Indonesians in Malaysia. We retaliated by pointing out that Noordin
M. Top is a Malaysian national, and
some have even gone so far to suggest
that he was planted by the Malaysian
government to ruin the Indonesian
tourism industry.
In fact, there is no culture war and no
tourism war between Malaysia and Indonesia. Malaysia’s biggest rival in at14
tracting tourists is Singapore, and thus
Malaysia’s promos offer similar things
that Singapore offers—vibrant nightlife, glorious food, Formula 1 racing
and great shopping experiences. Do our
tourism promos cover those things?
Malaysians count Singapore as their
dreadful rival, and hardly think of Indonesia, which is on a different class.
Indonesia’s hatred for Malaysia has
been around since the 1960s, probably
earlier. Malaysia is the political opposite of Indonesia. It had good relations
with its British coloniser, it is a federation, a parliamentary monarchy and it
is never interested in socialism. After
peace returned with the creation of the
Asean bloc, both governments tried to
convince the people that Indonesians
and Malaysians were brothers of the
same stock.
This effort held until the 21st century, when Malaysian economic progress
left Indonesian behind, and more
learned Indonesians are embracing
Sukarno-style zero-sum nationalism.
The real story is still the same after 40
years—distract one’s woes by creating
and hating a foreign enemy.
As often stressed by other writers,
some cultural items that we have
claimed were “robbed” by Malaysia are
not exclusively Indonesian. Batik is
common throughout Southeast Asia,
and a top batik brand wrote in its coffee
table book that batik had been influenced for centuries by Chinese, Indian,
Arabic, European and Japanese designs.
Musical instruments like the angklung and gamelan are also common
throughout Southeast Asia.
Wayang (shadow puppet) is hardly
Indonesian—the hide puppets originated from mainland Southeast Asia,
and there are similar storytelling arts in
China, Japan and Europe. When Miss
Indonesia dressed as Srikandi, she
dressed as a Hindu—and Indian—
character still revered religiously in India and Malaysia.
As for the disputed isles, I think it’s
ridiculous if white collar men in Jakarta
could get upset reading the news about
Ambalat, and yet the next minute they
are making backstabbing remarks
about fellow Indonesians from outside
Java. Disputed territories are hardly
unique—Japanese and Koreans fight
over a rock and on the naming of the
sea between their nation and Cambodia
had an anti-Thai riot because of a temple located near the borders.
We claim Malaysia has an inferiority complex, and yet the problem is
our own. Of course, Malaysia is guilty
of ignorance and laziness in making
its tourism commercials, but it’s
pointless and confusing to dwell on
one objectionable frame and continue to fuss about it.
We accuse Malaysia of disrespecting
us because deep inside we feel that our
supposed “brother” has left us behind
with its decent standard of living, global brands (e.g. AirAsia, Maxis, Petronas and Michelle Yeoh) and good investment reputation. Russians have
had similar problems with former
USSR states, and Chinese netizens
have grudges with the Japanese and
Americans. In all three cases, past history is always offered for justification of
hatred, as we’re closing in to 2010.
But Malaysia is also having similar
internal strife. As its Chinese and
Indian populations become more
politically involved, harassment and
foul plays also increase. Malaysian
politicians have become increasingly comical and ridiculous in acting as defenders of Muslims and
Malays, and its political and religious
freedoms are far below Indonesia.
Flying the Indonesian flag on your
product and wallpaper, while condemning Malaysia on your Twitter
and T-shirt, won’t solve anything.
Malaysia never thinks about those
tourism commercials and they know
that Noordin M. Top is a Malaysian
hiding in Indonesia because he
couldn’t survive in Malaysia.
We can accept that the crime rate in
Indonesia is high—so it makes sense
that many Indonesians in Malaysia are
involved in violent crimes.
If you want more tourists to visit Indonesia, stop sending the message that
you dislike foreigners. If you want Pertamina to become a global brand like
Petronas, and to have Formula One
held in Indonesia, study and follow
their steps. If you find an item on the
Internet demeaning Indonesia, ignore
it and move on with your own priorities. Stop getting so angry about trivial
things so easily when we have potential
to do great things for ourselves.
Thank you
for making
our world
more sustainable
The most outstanding sustainable construction projects out
of 5,000 submissions from 121 countries were honored with
Holcim Awards prizes including the following two from India
and China.
Regional Bronze
Hyderabad
Acknowledgement
Shanghai
India’s energy and infrastructure development faces challenges
with the needs of its booming IT sector. An Energy-efficient
office complex has a sustainable answer to reduce reliance on
the public electricity grid. It harnesses a resource the country
is rich in, but which many architectural solutions have sought
to escape in the past – the sun.
Dongtan will be one of the first eco-cities to be developed in
China. In the first phase of the Dongtan Eco-City urban concept,
housing for a population of 80,000 and 52,000 jobs are
planned. The three overlapping urban villages foster internal
transportation by walking, cycling or public means. Renewable
energy powers buildings, infrastructure and transport.
Authors: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP, New York, USA and
Maytas Properties Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad, India
Main author: Peter Head, Arup – Planning and Integrated
Urbanism, London, United Kingdom
The Holcim Awards for Sustainable Construction is an international competition offering USD 2 million in prize money every
three years. It seeks innovative, future-oriented and tangible
projects to promote sustainable construction on all levels. The
competition is run by the Holcim Foundation in cooperation
with renowned technical universities. The Holcim Awards are
supported by Holcim Ltd and its Group companies in more
than 70 countries. Holcim is one of the world’s leading suppliers
of cement and aggregates as well as further activities such as
ready-mix concrete and asphalt including services.
To find out more about all prize-winners and
the competition: www.holcimawards.org
A FP P H OTO / S ONNY T U MBELAKA
Same Same
But Different
KUALA LUMPUR
Raslan Sharif
The Star
I
love eggs. I love them fried, scrambled, poached, boiled, half-boiled,
every which way except raw. I eat
eggs almost every day.
You must think I’m swimming
in cholesterol, and to be honest I’m
kind of concerned over that possibility, although there is evidence to
show that the “egg cholesterol threat”
is way overblown.
Recent research shows that one or
two eggs a day provides overall nutritional benefit that outweighs the
potential risks.
People with normal cholesterol levels
and no family history of cardiovascular
disease should not be too worried about
moderate consumption of eggs.
16
Still, it all depends on how you “take”
your eggs. Eaten, freshly cooked eggs
are delicious. Thrown at you, eggs are a
lot less enjoyable, especially if they are
rotten; like recently, when about 30 Indonesian students pelted the Malaysian
Embassy in Jakarta with such eggs.
They also tried to raise the Indonesian flag at the embassy gates.
Indonesians have been mighty sensitive in recent times over perceived
insults that we have allegedly dished
out on them.
The other day they were angry over
the use of the Pendet dance in a tourism advertisement on Malaysia.
I wouldn’t know the difference between Pendet and Polka but look at it
this way: If tourists came to Malaysia
looking for Pendet and didn’t find any,
it would be our bad, not Indonesia’s.
In any case, the inclusion of the
dance in the clip was a mistake not
of our doing.
This rumbling ill will has not been
due to Pendet alone. Before this, we
were accused of claiming batik and
Rasa Sayang as our own.
Guilty as charged, because as far as
many Malaysians are concerned, there
is such a thing as Malaysian batik. I
think the batik we have here has
enough distinct and unique characteristics for us to differentiate it from the
batik they have over there.
Like the two very similar variants of
the Malay language—Bahasa Indonesia and Bahasa Malaysia—I believe
there is enough scope for both countries to claim batik as indigenous.
Imagine us getting upset with Indonesia claiming Malay as its language. It
would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it?
And as for Rasa Sayang, God knows
how long we’ve been singing the song. It
is a popular folk tune in Singapore, too.
DANCE OF CONTENTION:
A Balinese girl performs a
‘Pendet’ welcome dance
during a protest at the
Indonesia Institute of Art
in Denpasar, Bali.
Don’t you think it is ironic that there
is much animosity over a song entitled
Rasa Sayang (In Malay it means “Feeling Love”)? I mean, where is the love?
Now it seems our neighbours are upset
with us over our national anthem, arguing that the Negara Ku was copied from
the Indonesian song Terang Bulan.
This is an old story. Yes, we readily
admit that the melody to the national
anthem is not a Malaysian original. It is
indeed based on Terang Bulan.
But no, we did not steal it from the
Indonesians, as some claim.
Who is the composer of Terang Bulan?
There are several theories I came
across while scouring the Internet.
One is that Terang Bulan itself is
based on a song composed by Frenchman Pierre-Jean de Beranger, who
lived from 1780 to 1857.
The song apparently became popular
in the French territories across the InASIANEWS • SEPTEMBER 11-17, 2009
dian Ocean in the late 19th century,
and its popularity reached the Malay
archipelago in the early 20th century.
The melody that was later to be
known as Terang Bulan over in these
parts was a “hit” in the Seychelles.
It was a popular tune with the royal
court of Perak, and the link between
Perak and the Seychelles is that the
former Sultan of Perak lived in exile on
Mahe, one of the Seychelles islands.
The story goes that when Sultan Idris
Murshidul’adzam Shah, the Sultan of
Perak from 1887 to 1916, went to London
to represent the Malay Rulers of the Federated Malay States at the installation of
King Edward VII in 1901, his officers
were enquired as to the state anthem.
The Sultan’s private secretary proffered the melody in question, as Perak
then had no official anthem. From then
on, Terang Bulan was adopted as the
Perak state anthem.
Another version of the
story has it that this happened during Sultan Idris’
visit to London in 1888
for the coronation of
Queen Victoria, and the
person involved was the
Sultan’s aide-de-camp.
Whichever the true version, we know for certain
that the Perak state anthem was later adopted as
the national anthem.
There is also a story
published online by the
much-vaunted Indonesian publication Tempo,
which has a composer
there claiming that
Terang Bulan was the
original composition of
his late father, who led the
Orkes Studio Djakarta in
the 1960s.
It seems that the late
President Sukarno requested that his father offer the song to
Malaysia, as “several years after independence, Malaysia had yet to have a
national anthem”.
It sounds like a tall story, I know, as
the Negara Ku was played on the day
of our independence.
Did I hear someone say, egg on your
face? (You can read the story at http://
tinyurl.com/kslmvy)
Regardless of its veracity, the story is
reflective of how prickly relations with
our Indonesian neighbours can get.
But at the end of the day, it serves no
purpose for us to dwell on these matters.
Why be at odds over a song and
dance when we can both take pride in
the achievements we share and have
shared over the decades, even centuries,
enriching our cultures in the process?
Truly, it is neither worth the time nor
the effort flinging rotten eggs or getting
egg on your face over these things.
17
CHINA P OST
VIET NAM NEWS
PHOTO ESSAY
Ha Noi
Taipei
TH E STRAI TS TIMES
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
18
Mooncake
Festival
C H INA DAILY
Beijing
PHOTOS BY C H I N A DA I LY, T H E C H I N A P OST,
THE STA R , T H E ST RA I TS T I M E S &
VIET NA M N EWS
TEXT BY AS I A N EWS N E T WO R K
C
hinese all over the world are preparing for
the coming Mid-Autumn Festival for lunar
worship and moon watching. It is also one
of the biggest festivals among the Chinese.
It wouldn’t be complete without mooncakes,
which are offered between friends or on family
gatherings while celebrating the festival.
Traditional mooncakes usually have Chinese
characters imprint on top that say ‘longevity’ or
‘harmony’.
Weeks before the festival, bakeries come up
with especially designed and lavishly packaged
mooncakes for those with discerning taste.
THE STAR
CHINA DAILY
Beijing
CHINA DAILY
VIET NAM NEWS
THE STAR
Beijing
Ha Noi
Kuala Lumpur
19
LIFESTYLE
Beauty & Seoul
A trip to South Korea’s
capital may now mean buying
cosmetics or indulging in
beauty-related treatments
SEOUL
Koh Young-aah
The Korea Herald
W
andering
around Myeongdong or
Ewha Womans
University—
two of Seoul’s
better-known
shopping areas—
you are likely to run into more foreign
shoppers than locals. It is common to
hear salespeople shouting out “iratshaimase,” which is Japanese for “welcome”.
For years, travelling to Korea meant
exploring only its beautiful heritage
and cultural attractions, but more recently the country has made headway
in packaging new options to visitors by
promoting cosmetics and other beautyrelated treatments.
Korea’s cosmetics industry is expected to grow approximately 6 per cent
this year, while its market size will
reach around 7 trillion won (US$6 billion), according to Amore Pacific, the
country’s largest cosmetics producer.
Amore Pacific said this growth was
likely, not only because of the rising
popularity of high-end products, but
also due to anticipated brisk sales of
mid- to low-priced beauty brands,
20
which foreign shoppers tend to favour.
The craze over Korean beauty products among foreign nationals, especially other Asians, is especially evident in
Myeongdong—an area where there is a
particular focus on so-called “brand
cosmetics shops”.
Myeongdong’s multiple streets are
lined with stores and restaurants, including cosmetics brands which can
have two to five branches in the area.
Even with several branches of the same
store, the shops are still packed with
people and in an effort to appeal to
tourists, these shops often have foreignlanguage speaking staff, offer brochures
in foreign languages and accept foreign
credit cards and currency.
K
orean brand cosmetics shops were
established in the country’s more
popular shopping areas around
2000 and quickly flourished thanks to
the relatively good quality of the products, matched with affordable prices.
Leading brands include Missha, The
Face Shop, Etude House (affiliated
with Amore Pacific), Skinfood and
newcomer Nature Republic.
The so-called “hallyu” of cosmetics was first initiated in 2005 by the
huge popularity of “BB (Blemish
Balm) cream”.
Although BB cream is a German
skincare product, it quickly became a
hot make-up item in Asia. Its popularity soared further with numerous celebrity endorsements.
Referred to as “the secret of Korean
actresses”, who are extremely popular
throughout Asia, BB cream has become
a favourite souvenir of Asian shoppers
to buy for friends and family.
“We have been selling more than
2,000 BB creams daily ever since
the products became popular among
Japanese tourists for their affordable price and good quality,” said
Park Sung-eun, the marketing communication manager for Etude
House. “Customers armed with a
‘wish list’ typically buy more than
five of them,” she added.
Other popular beauty products
include nail polish and face masks—
at a cost of 1,000 won to 4,000
won—and anti-aging products, according to The Face Shop.
Meanwhile, these brands are
thinking of diverse ways to create
a more comfortable shopping enviSEPTEMBER 11-17, 2009 • ASIANEWS
P H OTO COU RT ESY OF T H E FAC E S H OP
IRATSHAIMASE: Japanese tourists shop at
the Myeongdong branch of The Face Shop,
which heartthrob Bae Yong-joon endorses.
During a month-long period since the
brand was launched, Nature Republic
has recorded 700 million won in sales.
At Nature Republic’s Myeongdong
stores, foreign customers account for
approximately 70-80 per cent of
weekend sales, and 60 per cent of
weekday sales. The average sale per
customer stands around 150,000 to
200,000 won, the company said.
The Face Shop had had a similarly
successful experience—when 40,000
posters of heartthrob actor Bae Yongjoon were handed out as complimentary
gifts to shoppers, they quickly ran out.
Skinfood promotes their BB cream
and skincare products by including
the Thai royal family among its
loyal customers.
Etude House lures Japanese to their
stores by using Itko, a famous Japanese drag queen make-up artist who
promotes the brand’s BB cream on
Japanese television.
A
ronment for tourists.
“Around 80 per cent of the customers in our three stores in Myeongdong
are tourists and they contribute to
most of our sales. So we could say that
Myeongdong stores are basically for
tourists,” said The Face Shop PR
manager Seo Hee-ju, who declined to
reveal sales figures.
Nature Republic recently opened a
store in one of the hottest spots in
Myeongdong and named it “Myeongdong World Store”.
The five-storey building is intended
for tourists—the second floor is geared
specially toward Japanese tourists,
while the third caters for Chinese and
Southeast Asians—where free interpretation as well as Internet services
are provided.
Etude House named one of their
Myeongdong branches “Etude House
Avenue” where brochures and shopping guides in different languages are
handed out to customers. Japanese
customers can make a purchase with
JBC credit cards and yen with the
help of Japanese-speaking employees.
Even at stores that are not specifically organised for foreign consumers,
brands often employ staff who can
speak Japanese or Chinese.
“Some of our employees have lived
in China or Japan,” according to Seo
from The Face Shop. Most other sales
staff know basic Japanese or Chinese,
including cosmetics-specific phrases
like “moisturise” and “good for antiaging”, she added.
Some brands, meanwhile, offer delivery services to hotels or the airport
for those who have placed large orders.
In order to maintain their international profile and attract new customers, many brand cosmetics use “hallyu” stars as their models to promote
their products.
Nature Republic, the latest to join
the brand cosmetic shops crowd, recently signed singer Rain to promote
the ‘Rain cosmetics’ brand.
The strategy seems to have worked.
fter a busy day of shopping, tourists can get a quick makeover—
simple beauty treatments are
readily available in Myeongdong and
Ewha Womans University, plus Gangnam area, where there are many small,
specialised salons and where manicures and pedicures are available for
as little as 10,000 won.
“Many tourists come to our salon to
get their nails done in between shopping, to rest for a while. Japanese
tourists, who outnumber local customers, flock because the services here
are much cheaper than their homeland,” said a manicurist at Cat’s Nail, a
nail salon in Myeongdong.
In addition to manicures and pedicures, other basic beauty procedures
that are offered include eyelash extensions and semi-permanent makeup—referring to a procedure where
carefully applied, mineral-based permanent pigments are placed in the
dermal layer of the skin. The effect of
the procedure lasts months to years.
Prices for eyelash extensions,
false eyelash applications and semipermanent make-up on eyebrows,
eye lines and lips are also relatively cheap, ranging usually from
50,000 won to 150,000 won.
21
LIFESTYLE
NORAFIFI EH SAN/T he Star
Powder
Panacea
‘Cold powder’ is back
in Malaysia and it’s
kicking talcum’s butt
for skin as smooth
as a baby’s bottom
THE MIX: The recipe for making bedak sejuk has been handed down from
generation to generation by Azizah Daud’s family.
KUALA LUMPUR
Rose Yasmin Karim
The Star
L
eave the rat race behind for a little
plot of paradise, grow herbs and
flowers and make your own beauty
product . . .
While most may sigh and then
shake their heads at the idea, the motherand-daughter team of Azizah Daud, 50
and Nur Syakira Fazli, 18, of Pasir Mas,
Kelantan in Malaysia decided to grab the
bull by the horns.
In the battle against Father Time and
gravity, the duo have allied with none other
than mother nature to produce a home blend
of bedak sejuk (cold powder).
Unlike talcum powder, these super potent
tiny beads of powder shaped like Hershey’s
Kisses are made of rice and are chemical-free.
“Good quality, broken rice is selected and
then soaked in a tub of water for two days,”
says Azizah, or Kak Zah Bedak, explaining
the production process.
“Of course, if you have the time, you can
even soak the rice for up to a year or until the grains naturally dissolve. I make
22
sure to cover the container with a lid so
insects don’t get in. After two days, the
water is drained and the rice is rinsed.
“Then, the grains are ground using a
machine until they become flour. Next, a
white cloth is used to sieve the flour to
remove the larger particles. The smooth,
fine powder is what’s used to make the
bedak sejuk. It is mixed with water to form
a batter and spooned into a funnel cloth,”
says Azizah, a mother of eight who learnt
the craft from her late mother.
Azizah demonstrates, dotting tear-sized
blobs onto a paper-lined rattan tray.
“Lastly, it is sun dried for two days and
packed in plastic packets. We operate entirely
from home, doing the entire process ourselves, from buying the rice to distribution.”
In a week, Azizah uses 50 kilos of rice to
make the rice powder.
“Every Friday, my daughter (Nur Syakira)
loads the packets of bedak sejuk into her car,
taking up all the space in the boot and back
seat, and drives to Kota Baru to distribute it
to the sellers at the Siti Khadijah Market,”
she says, showing me a packet.
The packaging is plain and without a
label either.
Azizah’s other daughter who lives in
COOL BABY:
Bedak sejuk is
safe for babies.
Kuala Lumpur recently bottled some
and branded it Rintik-rintik Ayu.
She sold it at the pharmacy at the
hospital where she works.
“It’s very easy to use. Just mix a few
chips with a bit of water to form a paste
and apply it to the face and neck. If
used diligently, the result is noticeable
after a week. Your skin will feel softer. It
reduces pimples and oil, and has a
whitening effect,’’ claims Nur Syakira.
“Even men are not beyond a pimple
or two, and they too can wear it without
looking any less macho.
“I wear it every night before I sleep.
During the day, I use it as a base powder by mixing one or two beads with
water,” she adds.
A pimple standing between you and
perfect happiness? Adult acne calls for
adult measures, and Nur Syakira has a
zit-zapping recipe.
“Mix the bedak sejuk with a few
drops of lime juice, spray a bit of water
and dab it on your spots. Your skin will
tingle a little because the lime is acidic.
Another effective way is by mixing it
with cinnamon powder or the pounded
shoots of a guava tree.”
The powder, Nur Syakira says,
THE SQUEEZE: Azizah squeezing out teardrop sized droplets of bedak sejuk for drying.
can also be used as a
mask just by adding
more bedak sejuk to
form a thicker paste so
it hardens on the face
when it dries.
“For smooth skin, mix
it with tamarind juice,
turmeric and a bit of water. Scrub it over your
face every night for a few
minutes and rinse with water.”
In the relentless heat and humidity, mothers in rural areas, adds
Azizah, use bedak sejuk on their
babies to avoid rashes and skin problems common to children.
“It has a cooling effect and helps
them sleep better.”
“Nothing soothes water-starved faces
like bedak sejuk,” claims Nurkhairiah
Razali, 37, a seller.
“First, it treats blackheads, so you’ll
be seeing fewer of them in the mirror.
It also unclogs your pores so you
don’t get pimples. And finally, it
makes your skin glow. We have customers who have been buying Kak
Zah’s bedak (powder) from us for
years. It’s testament to the quality.
“People like it because they don’t
need to spend money on expensive
beauty products and facials. They can
simply treat their skin at home.”
“I think of myself as experimental
when it comes to skincare products and
make-up,” says Junaidah Hambali, 32,
a food technologist.
“There are so many breakthrough
wrinkle creams and state-of-the-art
moisturisers, that it’s hard not to get
sucked in. But bedak sejuk is my skincare staple. My only complaint is that I
need to line my pillow so I won’t leave
behind any white streaks. Still, I’ll draw
the line at using it outside the house
although I know of women who do. I
wouldn’t want to be gawked at like a
Chinese opera actress.”
“I use to wear bedak sejuk religiously
to sleep before I got married,” says
Maisarah Mohd Zain, 29, a seamstress.
“I’ve stopped now because I don’t
want my husband to have a heart attack when he wakes up to a ‘ghost’ next
to him. But when he’s at work, I apply it
to calm my skin because it’s quite sensitive when exposed to the sun.
“Once my husband came home for
lunch while I was napping and caught
me by surprise. I quickly hid under the
covers!” chuckles Maisarah, who keeps
her powder beads in an old coffee jar.
“I add some chopped-up, dried pandan leaves and rose buds to give it a
subtle fragrance.
“What it does to my skin? My pores are
tighter and my skin has a brighter glow.”
It’s cheap and effective too. Should
we be giving this old beauty remedy
another look? The women who use
it swear by it.
23
ARTS & CULTURE
A
G
N
MA
D
N
A
M
E
ON D
s’
n
o
i
t
a
l
n
a
c
‘S
ore
m
n
o
w
e
v
a
h
ga
n
a
m
n
g
i
e
r
o
f
s
enthusiast ing
but are mak
Japanese lose
publishers ey
a lot of mon
24
Naruto
TOKYO
Kenichi Sato
The Yomiuri Shimbun
S
canlation—or the unauthorised translation and distribution of comics online—is
proving a headache for Japan’s publishing
houses.
Foreign enthusiasts of Japanese manga
are increasingly scanning copies of the comics onto
free fan websites, often with poor images and translations of dubious accuracy.
While such scanlations are in effect online pirated
versions of the works, the Internet is a highly anonymous world without borders. This makes it difficult
for the publishers to keep such manga highwaymen
off the information superhighway.
An English-language website reportedly popular
among foreign manga fans contains hundreds of
such scanlations, ranging from mainstream Shonen
Jump works such as One Piece, Naruto and Bleach
to works with a more cult-based following.
With a mere click, visitors can read an entire series
from the beginning to the latest release. Particularly
surprising is the fact that the site features works from
magazines that have just been published.
The word scanlation is a combination coined from
of the words “scan” and “translation”.
Sites frequented by foreign manga fans that independently translate works and put them online have
Bleach
One Piece
been around for a while, but in the past
two years, people other than hardcore
fanatics have been accessing such sites.
The speed at which translations are
posted reportedly has also increased.
One positive aspect of such scanlations is that it has boosted the number
of foreign manga enthusiasts, but publishers of manga offer a note of caution.
“The image quality of works
scanned from magazines is poor
and some of the translations are
fly-by-night,” said Takuya Yui of
Shogakukan Inc’s copyright office.
Fans, often hailing from different
countries, are believed to make the
data available on websites using filesharing software or via online storage.
The fans share out such tasks as
scanning and translation.
An increasing number of scanlations are being posted onto video
sharing sites, on which pages turn
themselves over.
“Site administrators are only committing a crime of conscience, and at
first they don’t respond (to requests) to
delete (such files), so on discovery of
uploads of illegal files we demand the
service provider delete them,” said Kazunori Oshihoi, head of the intellectual
property section at Shueisha Inc. “But
we fall behind as there are too many
(files being posted).”
For such reasons as not knowing in
which country the posters are located
and the fact that different countries
have different laws and regulations, it is
difficult in many cases for publishers to
demand the deletion of files.
“International legal provisions, including those in Japan, are slow in taking shape,” Oshihoi added.
Shueisha and five other manga publishers, with help from the Association
of Copyright for Computer Software
(ACCS), sent emails to Englishlanguage sites and providers based in
the United States. The publishers demanded—based on US copyright law—
that such files be deleted.
However, they only succeeded in preventing the viewing of such sites in Japan and were unable to have the files in
question deleted from the sites.
Criminal proceedings over illegal domestic sites have led to the detainment
of some people, but the ACCS warns
against similar action overseas.
“Costs would mount up if we were to
raise a lawsuit overseas,” an ACCS official said. “It’s not a realistic option.”
Faced with this situation, publishers
are looking for ways to counter these
freebooters by making use of their official websites.
Since April, Shogakukan has been
putting a series from its Shukan
Shonen Sunday weekly—Rumiko
Takahashi’s Kyokai no Rinne
(Rinne)—simultaneously online for
free in North America.
Shueisha has followed suit. In June,
the company made an entire new series
available for free viewing on the English-language website for its Shukan
Shonen Jump weekly.
While the companies’ primary objective is promotion, they also have another reason to post their works online.
“We want people to read the
proper version rather than viewing
a shoddy scanlation,” a Shueisha
spokesman said.
Another reason why manga publishers are attempting to tackle the
threat of scanlations is a perceived
need to stave off the spread of illegal free manga.
Shueisha, for example, wishes to do
so as it has been making great efforts to
expand overseas, including the launch
this year of a paid service in France that
allows users to receive the firm’s works
on cell phones.
“As a publisher, we have an obligation to notify our readers of our
top-grade works,” said Takashi
Watanabe, head of Shueisha’s
copyright office. “We hope to examine and make preparations for putting
the original versions online.”
25
AFP
TECHNOLOGY
Social Networking Risks
Be careful with that message to your social network links that bad
mouths your company or manager. Someone you may have wronged
before might stumble on it and forward it to your supervisor
MANILA
Raul J. Palabrica
Philippine Daily Inquirer
T
oday, having a cell phone
and an e-mail address is not
considered sufficient to
maintain an active social life.
Regardless of age, although the twentysomethings seem
to have the edge, membership in
an Internet-based social network
is the ‘in’ thing.
Unless you have been living in the
hermit mountain Sierra Madre for
26
years, you cannot miss hearing or reading about Facebook, Twitter, Flickr,
Friendster, MySpace and LinkedIn.
These are the names of popular social
network websites, or groupings of Internet users who share common interests and want to interact with each
other through cyberspace.
The websites have their respective
rules and regulations on, among
others, membership, message content
and procedures in sending and receiving messages.
Except for minor variations, the
membership process requires the applicant to give relevant information
about himself, his desired website identification and the password he will use
to send and receive messages.
Once accepted, a member may post
a photo to accompany his website ID.
He can use his best-looking pictures
(baby or high school photos included)
or, if he wants to be incognito, those of
his favourite dogs or cats.
Expression
There is no reliable way of verifying
the accuracy of the data submitted by
the members. Any information posted
must be taken at its face value and at
the peril of whoever relies on it.
Unless required to keep to a particular subject matter, the members are
free to express their thoughts or give
their comments on any topic they may
Got fired
because I
badmouthed my
boss on my
Facebook
Some social networking websites
have even become venues for unscrupulous parties to spread unfounded
damaging reports or rumours about
business competitors.
Reaction
By the time the adversely affected
party gets wind of the unfavourable
material (assuming it does) and requests its removal, the message would
have already circulated within the
website community.
Sad, but true, the Internet enjoys a
high level of credibility among its users despite repeated warnings by the
authorities that not all information
read or seen in it are accurate.
Through the years, the Net has acquired a certain mystique that adds to
Me too
want to discuss with or bring to the
attention of the website’s community.
But, for obvious reasons, the language used should not be profane,
obscene or inflammatory. The website administrator will strike out or
remove any message that, in its
judgment, violates the rules on acceptable content.
Unfortunately, this ‘freedom of expression’ has been used by some members as a means to release their pent up
emotions or give vent to their frustrations about certain facets of their lives.
Taking advantage of the perceived
anonymity that the Internet provides,
especially those who use pseudonyms
in their registration, disgruntled employees, for example, sometimes send
messages critical of their company,
bosses and, worse, their own products.
I put an
embarrassing
video on
youtube
Precaution
Although not easy, it’s not impossible
to trace the identity and location of networking members who post libelous or
disparaging messages in the social network websites.
If the sender gave his true name and
address in his application for membership, the sleuthing job will be easy. It’s
like picking up a clean fingerprint at
the crime scene.
The use of aliases or submission of
false information does not mean that
the erring sender can rest easy.
According to computer forensic experts, all e-mail material leave a trail
about its original source, regardless of
the number of times it has moved from
one site to another.
Even deleted messages leave traces or
Need more
friends for my
Facebook
the gullibility of some of its users.
So what can the ‘victim’ do after
the critical comments are taken out,
or, if the administrator turns down
a demand for their removal from
the message board?
Short of going to court, its only
remedy is to give its side of the story in
the same website and pray that the
readers believe it.
In an effort to minimise or put a
quick end to such underhanded tactics, some companies in the United
States and other developed economies
have organised people that closely
monitor the traffic in popular social
networking websites.
If the culprits can be identified, the
company can file a complaint for
damages to deter others from doing
something similar in the future.
Somebody
stole my
sheeps in the
farm
footprints in their servers which,
through painstaking efforts and with
the aid of high-tech equipment, can be
reconstituted and read.
So be careful with that message to
your social network links that bad
mouths your company or manager.
Someone you may have wronged before
might stumble on it and forward it to
your supervisor.
Playful banter about pranks or petty
crimes committed in school or at work,
including youthful escapades, may accidentally be read by the staff of the
company you have applied for a job.
It is prudent to bear in mind that
once a message or photo is uploaded in the Internet, that material can be read, not only by its
intended receiver, but by anyone
who has access to a computer.
27
ENTERTAINMENT
GOLDEN
DAYS FOR
GIRL GROUPS
Move over boy
bands, girl groups
are now the
in-thing in Korea
Girls Generation
(SM Entertainment)
28
Kara
(DSP Media)
SEOUL
Hyun Ji-hyang
The Korea Herald
A
t the start of the year, Girls Generation-fever hit South Korea. Since
then, heated up by the emergence
of new idol groups like After
School, 2NE1, and 4Minutes, the
girl group scene is flourishing.
Having passed two years since
their debut, Girls Generation dominated the music industry in the first half of 2009. The
title song, Gee, topped KBS’ music chart for nine consecutive weeks, which was an unprecedented record
for female singing groups. Also, 72,000 albums were
sold, second highest among all contemporary singers.
Consisting of nine members aged from 18 to 20, Girls
Generation has attracted a mostly young following.
The groups’ next title song, Genie, once again confirmed their top status. The song received an explosive
Brown Eyed Girls
(Meganetwork)
2NE1
(YG Entertainment)
reaction from fans. If their earlier song,
Gee, was a girlish approach, the new
song emphasised mature lady images
out of the nine girls.
New female groups joined the wave
and fired up the atmosphere further.
In January, After School, adopting
the tried-and-tested concept of school
girls, introduced AH, their debut song.
Their hot gym clothes as stage outfits,
matched with electric hip-hop music
captured K-pop fans’ attention. Before
releasing their second single album, the
team recruited new member E-ui, adding freshness and vivacity to the group.
Then, the second song, Diva quickly
joined the top K-pop line.
In May, girl group 2NE1 came into
the spotlight (some say as a woman
version of Big Bang). Nearly 10,000
mini-albums were bought in first three
months since their debut. Title song
Afterschool
(PLEDIS)
Fire set records and their following
song, I Don’t Care, is currently continuing the stream, smashing charts for
five consecutive weeks. In July, it was
the most downloaded song, beating out
Gee by Girls Generation.
Teenage girl group 4Minutes debuted in June, stepping into the limelight
even before they hit the stage,
4Minute enthralled TV viewers
with their stylish and “candy funky”
retro music. Their colourful outfits
revived even retro fashion. On August
20, the group released their first mini
album, For Muzic.
Having recently made their comeback, Brown Eyed Girls and Kara are
carrying on the girl group fad.
Brown Eyed Girls initially drew fans’
attention for their sensational music
videos. Then, their so-called “arrogant
dance”, was unleashed on stages across
the country for the song Abracadabra,
of their third album. The song topped
M.net music charts for three weeks, for
the first time since their debut in 2006.
“Unlike other idol groups, Brown Eyed
Girls has climbed their way up the peak
by themselves,” said the agent executive
at a press conference.
Using local popularity as a stepping
stone to still greater fame, some girl
groups are attempting to make an advance overseas.
Following Rain, BoA and Se7en, this
summer, Wonder Girls made their de-
but in the United States, with the English version of Nobody, a mega-hit song
in Korea. Last month Wonder Girls finished tour openings for Jonas Brother’s
concerts, in front of tens of thousands
of people each night. Appearing on a
national TV talk show and a Disney radio channel, the group is increasing
their recognition on the continent. The
group even topped iTunes’ top 100
chart, coming in at 78.
Some groups are incorporating
foreign-educated or foreign-born
women into their acts.
In Girls Generation, Soo-young
studied in Japan and Hyo-yeo n
studied in China. Tiffany and Jessica are American-born who came
to Korea seeking stardom.
A member of the group Kara is also
from North America. Her not-so-perfect Korean appeals to local fans as
cute. It is said the group will expand
abroad in the second half of 2009.
4Minutes is also getting ready for
their international debut. According to
a phone interview with an executive of
CUBE Entertainment, 4Minute has
begun hammering out plans to expand
into other East Asian countries. “Wonder Girls’ successful debut and performances in United States will be a
good example for many local girl groups
seeking a US debut,” said the executive.
The golden days of girl groups seems
to be just beginning.
4Minute
(CUBE Entertainment)
29
PEOPLE
Tall Order
Meet noble Asians who have dared to keep
tilting at windmills, bucking conventional
wisdom if need be
MANILA
Philippine Daily Inquirer
T
his year, six individuals received the Ramon Magsaysay Award: Krisana Kraisintu of Thailand, recognised
for placing pharmaceutical
rigor at the service of patients, through
her untiring and fearless dedication to
producing much-needed generic drugs
in Thailand and elsewhere in the world;
Deep Joshi of India, awarded for his
vision and leadership in bringing professionalism to the NGO movement in
India; Yu Xiagang, awarded for fusing
the knowledge and tools of social science with a deep sense of social justice,
in assisting dam-affected communities
in China, and Ma Jun, recognised for
harnessing the technology and power
of information to address water crisis,
both from China.
There is the Philippines’s Antonio
Oposa Jr., awarded for his pathbreaking and passionate crusade to engage
Filipinos in acts of enlightened citizenship that maximise the power of
law to protect and nurture the environment for themselves; and Ka Hsaw
Wa of Burma, awarded for Emergent
Leadership for dauntlessly pursuing
nonviolent yet effective channels of
redress, exposure, and education for
the defence of human rights, the
environment and democracy.
The award was established after the
third Philippine president’s death, in
an airplane crash, in March 1957. Since
1958, awards were given to Asian individuals and organisations for excellence
in work. They sought to perpetuate Ramon Magsaysay’s example of integrity,
service to the people, and “pragmatic
idealism within a democratic society”.
The Magsaysay awardees have always
been fine people, each with his own
30
outstanding achievement.
Equity in medicines
Krisana Kraisintu, a pharmaceutical
chemist who dared to challenge multinational drug companies and their insistence on monopolising the production of vital drugs, minces no words
when she compares the lack of affordable drugs to the Holocaust, especially
when the poor are involved. Thailand’s
HIV/AIDS patients were of special concern for her since their numbers ran into
several hundred thousand, and the cost
of treatment was, in the early years, running up to at least US$10,000 a year.
She went on to find ways to replicate
the drugs. She was able to develop products combining several of the anti-HIV
drugs, and today the Thai Government
Pharmaceutical Organisation, with
which Krisana works, produces the
medicines not just for Thailand but for
neighbouring Southeast Asian countries
and helps the Democratic Republic of
Congo and Tanzania to develop their
drug manufacturing capabilities.
Head, heart to fight poverty
Deep Joshi has blazed a trail in professionalising development work especially among the rural poor of Central
India through Pradan, a nonprofit organisation.
Pradan, an acronym for Professional
Assistance for Development Action, is a
‘school’ in the service of grassroots communities. Good intentions alone would
not qualify one to immerse in communities to effect change. One has to undergo formation to prepare one to serve
effectively. Here, volunteers are
groomed to do grassroots work and are
guided in the field. Professionalism is
key for Pradanites.
“Development work is considered intellectually inferior,” Joshi said, “unlike
science, industry or diplomacy. We
want to prove that it is both a challenge
and a noble choice.”
Pradan has reached over 170,000
families in over 3,000 villages in India’s
poorest states. Over a thousand trainees have gone through apprenticeship.
Water guardians
Working separately and through different means, Ma Jun and Yu Xiaogang
have devoted their lives to reversing the
threat to China’s water systems, for
many the source of life and livelihood.
As a Beijing-based journalist, Ma
Jun, 41, travelled extensively around
China and saw how the country’s
vaunted economic boom was threatening to destroy its water systems.
Ma used his pen to raise the alarm
and in 1999 published his book, China’s Water Crisis. The main message
of Ma’s book, hailed as China’s “first
great environmental call to arms”, was:
If we don’t change the way we use and
manage our water sources, we will be
facing a water crisis.
It was no surprise that Ma the journalist became a full-time environmenSEPTEMBER 11-17, 2009 • ASIANEWS
Nat Garcia /AFP
NOBLE ASIANS: (L-R) Awardees of the 2009
Ramon Magsaysay Awards, Krisana Kraisintu
of Thailand, Deep Joshi of India, Yu Xiaogang
of China, Antonio Oposa of the Philippines,
Ma Jun of China and Ka Hsaw Wa of Burma.
cal and the French corporation Total.
In 1992, Ka Hsaw Wa met visiting
American law student Katie Redford
who had entered to Burma to investigate human rights abuses. They worked
together and founded EarthRights International in 1995. They also became
husband and wife.
One of EarthRights’ first urgent tasks
was to file a case in the United States
against Unocal. EarthRights accused
Unocal of complicity with the military
in committing environmental and human rights abuses. The litigation took
almost 10 years but there was victory at
the end of the pipeline, so to speak.
Unocal compensated the victims—petitioners who then committed part of
the funds for humanitarian purposes.
Environmental equity
talist. In 2006, he founded the nongovernmental Institute of Public and
Environmental Affairs and launched
the China Water Pollution Map, the
first public database of its kind in China
which monitors the current state of
bodies of water.
If Ma is focused mainly on threatened life-giving bodies of water, Yu Xiaogang, 58, has zeroed in on the waterharnessing projects that threaten to
destroy lives, livelihood and habitats.
Yu grew up in Yunnan province, a
place of tremendous beauty because of
its mountains, rivers and lakes. The
province has nine lakes and is drained
by three of the world’s largest rivers—
the Nu, the Yangtze and the Mekong.
But mystic landscapes of lakes and rivers threaten to become just a memory
because of China’s staggering dambuilding programme to feed its mammoth energy needs. China had, at last
count, 85,000 dams, or 46 per cent of
the world total.
Dams, the threat they pose and the
havoc they cause, are the primary concern of Yu, founder and director of
Green Watershed. Begun in 2002, this
non-profit NGO developed an integrated watershed management programme
in the Lashi Lake area in Yunnan.
In 2008, Yu initiated Green Banking,
a coalition of environmental NGOs
that confers the Green Banking Innovation Award to banks and financial
institutions that include the environment in their corporate agenda.
Human, nature’s rights defender
Ka Hsaw Wa, 39, was only 18 when
he flee the oppressive rule of the military junta in Burma. As a freedom activist, he experienced detention and
torture. He later took to the jungle in
order to continue the struggle.
Armed resistance was an option. But
he realised there were other paths he
could take and nonviolent means he
could use. Making Thailand his base,
Ka Hsaw Wa continued to listen and
record stories of thousands of victims.
He slipped in and out of Burma’s ‘black
areas’ unnoticed. He spoke to many victims of the building of the Yadana gas
pipeline financed by the US-based Uno-
In 1993, Antonio Oposa, Jr. sued the
Philippine government to stop issuing
logging licenses. His argument was
simple, but radical: he was acting in
behalf of future generations, including
those still unborn. This idea of ‘intergenerational equity’ was first proposed
by an American lawyer Edith Weiss, in
the 1970s, but it took Oposa to put the
concept to the test, bringing it to the
Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Hilario Davide wrote
the final decision, which affirmed this
concept. Today, law schools talk about
the ‘Oposa doctrine’.
Oposa did not stop with that victory. Ever so savvy with politics,
after his Magsaysay award was announced, he again sued several government officials for neglecting
Manila Bay. It was all well-timed,
given the local and international
publicity he was getting for the award.
The common denominator among
the awardees is their devotion both to
the well-being of the downtrodden and
marginalised in their countries, as well
as their aspiring for the good of all humanity. These are people who, in a
sense, have dared to keep tilting at
windmills, bucking conventional wisdom if need be. They have done so often at great personal sacrifice, with
community transformation, not selfaggrandisement, as their goal.
With Reports from Ma. Ceres Doyo,
Michael Tan and Juan Mercado.
31
EXPLORE
IN MEMORIAM: The Cheoung
Ek Killing Fields remind
everyone of Khmer Rouge’s
barbarism.
Not For The Squeamish
Cambodia’s capital is slowly gaining its
ground and finding its rightful place in Asia.
But the atrocities left behind by the Khmer
Rouge regime are still haunting
PHNOM PENH
Jofelle P. Tesorio
Asia News Network
T
he one word that describes
Phnom Penh these days is
‘dusty’. But Cambodia’s capital is slowly gaining its
ground and finding its rightful place in Asia. The daily dose of dust
is just an indication that something is
going on. Although a bit slower than
it’s neighbour Ho Chi Minh City, development in Phnom Penh is flashing everywhere. Hotels are constructed, some
crumbling French buildings are refurbished and the riverfront is undergoing
a major facelift. Tourists are coming so
it has to be prepared before it’s caught
flat-footed.
The city scarred by the atrocities left
behind by the Khmer Rouge regime
may find it hard to recover completely
from the dark days but it won’t be too
long to see it coming if the government
and its politicians play their cards well.
32
There’s a long-standing impression
that Cambodia lives on donations and
government officials just enrich themselves by pocketing aids intended to repair the country marred by widespread
poverty. But until now, no corruption
charges have been filed against any official and those who have accused the
government of corruption are often
branded ‘unpatriotic’ for tarnishing the
image of the country.
But in a destitute country like Cambodia, it seems that some city residents
do no have a problem flaunting their
wealth by driving high-end luxury cars.
The vehicles of choice are four-wheel
drives—from Mitsubishi Pajero to gasguzzler Ford Expedition.
Checking out bars and restaurants in
the evening, even on weekdays, it’s not
a surprise to see cramped parking lots
filled with ‘burly cars’ owned by local
residents. Some travel books have
warned foreigners who venture to clubs
and bars not to tread on the toes of the
children of the local elites who often
bring their bodyguards for ‘protection’.
Setting these observations aside,
Phnom Penh is charming in so many
ways. The French architectural-designed buildings are so massive. It’s a
pity the local historical board has not
thought of marking the buildings, indicating their importance in history. The
lack of information on French buildings is discouraging but it could be a
challenge for independent tourists to
walk around the city and find as many
French-designed buildings as they
could. The historical building tour
could start with the post office just a
few minutes walk from the riverfront,
going to the railways office to the
French embassy. Along the way, there
are abandoned French buildings worth
checking. Having a map from tourism
offices or hotels can be handy because
street numbers are not sequential. It
pays to know that streets running eastwest have even numbers that increase
as you go south, while streets that run
north-south have odd numbers that increase as you go west. But if you go in
circle around the town centre, there’s
always a possibility that you will end up
where you started.
Hiring a romork (or tuk-tuk in
Thailand), a motorcycle with a cabin
attached to the rear, is always the most
convenient option if you have limited
time around Phnom Penh. It has a
seating capacity for about four people
and it can protect you when the rain
pours. Before boarding a romork, negotiate with the driver the price, the
the same won’t happen again. It should
never happen again.
The Killing Fields of Cheoung Ek is
about 15km or an hour drive, including
traffic, outside the city centre, treading
on dusty road. About 17,000 men,
women, children and infants who had
been detained and tortured at Security
Prison 21 (Tuol Sleng museum now)
were taken for execution between 1976
and 1978. They were often beaten to
death to save on bullets. The remains of
8,985 people were exhumed in 1980
from mass graves.
Although most of the signage here
are self-explanatory, hiring a guide can
be helpful to get a better perspective of
history. But reading books and information ahead of your visit is advisable
because the guide you hire might have
more emotional baggage to share than
information and you end up wondering
why your important questions are left
unanswered.
If the Killing Fields of Cheoung Ek is
heart-wrenching, the Tuol Sleng Mu-
were brought for questioning.
The museum serves as a testament
of the Khmer Rouge’s barbarism. Each
prisoner who passed through S-21
Prison was photographed before and
after torture. There were black and
white photographs of men, women,
children, mothers with their children,
who were later killed. Prison cells and
torture instruments used have also
been preserved here.
At the time of this writing, the UNbacked Khmer Rouge tribunal has been
ongoing. Former S-21 Prison director
TUoL SLENG MUSEUM: Each
prisoner who passed through the
S-21 Prison was photographed before
and after torture.
Kaing Guek Eav also known as ‘Duch’
gave his testimony. Duch is the first
senior Khmer Rouge cadre to be tried.
He faces a life sentence on charges of
crimes against humanity and war
crimes, as well as homicide and torture.
Except for Khmer Rouge number
one leader Pol Pot, who died in a camp
along the Thailand border in 1998, other leaders like Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary,
Ieng Thirith and Khieu Samphan are
facing trial. Their cases are expected to
reach trial period before 2010.
Coming from two depressing sites in
Phnom Penh, most tourists don’t have
the energy or the interest to visit other
places such as the Grand Palace and the
National Museum. If you feel that all
your energy has been sucked, then
maybe just call it a day. Besides, not all
travels give you the sun and the wind
with a cold beer on hand. Sometimes,
vacations pierce a hole in our hearts to
remind us of humanity’s follies.
P HOTOS BY JOFELLE P TESORIO/ASIA NEWS NET WORK
length of time his service
is needed and places you
want to visit. Hotels
usually have romork on
standby in case guests
need one. A day tour,
which includes waiting
time, on a romork would
cost around US$20. Almost all drivers know
the perfect itinerary for a
day, starting with the
farthest attractions to
the ones near the city centre.
Normally, the driver would suggest
going first to the ‘the killing fields’ (because it is the farthest of the route) even
if you insist that you see the genocide
museum first and the killing fields next
to follow the ‘torturing-killing-dumping’ process. But sensitivity is advised
when referring to the atrocities committed by the Khmer Rouge. Some victims of torture have been lucky to survive but the harrowing memories still
haunt them. And many have lost their
families, friends and loved ones. We
should always remember that in just
three years, the Khmer Rouge killed
close to a million people and such barbaric act should not be treated as just a
piece of modern history but a stark reminder to fight every indication that
seum makes you want to tear
any leaving Khmer Rouge leader to pieces or cry after imagining how the victims of torture
suffered. Travel books have
warned that this place is not for
the squeamish.
The place used to be Tuol Svay Prey
High School, supposedly an institution
for learning where young minds are
honed to become better individuals
but it became a silent witness to the
suffering and harrowed calls for help
of victims. In 1975, the Khmer Rouge
took over the school and converted it
into S-21 Prison, where suspected
American sympathisers, traitors, intellectuals, artists and some foreigners
from the US, France and Australia
33
DATEBOOK
SHANGHAI
ShContemporary
T
hought-provoking works from
over 140 international galleries
come together for ShContemporary,
the Asia Pacific Contemporary Art
Fair. It features western and eastern works, outdoor installations,
performances and sculptures take
over the grounds.
Contemporary works from New
York, London, Paris and Madrid sit
beside pieces from Tokyo, Hong Kong
and Beijing, among many others, with
the aim of creating a “dialogue between the Occident and the Orient”.
When: September 10-13
Where: Shanghai Exhibition Centre
Info: www.shcontemporary.info/
TAIWAN
Confucius’ Birthday
T
he birthday of the great sage and scholar Confucius is venerated
throughout China as ‘National Teacher’s Day’, in honour of his
didactic contributions and work.
His birthday falls on two dates every year, one according to the
Gregorian calendar (on September 28) and the other one according
to the Chinese lunar calendar. Luckily for Western timekeepers and
tourists, the Taiwanese celebrate every 28th of September.
The celebrations are at their most spectacular in the Taipei Confucian Temple, which is dedicated not only to Confucius but to all
scholars and teachers through the ages. The celebrations consist of
beautiful and elaborate ritual dances performed by students outside
the temple, as well as a memorial service held for the great scholar.
During the memorial service it is traditional to sacrifice an ox, the
hairs of which are said to be posthumously imbued with wisdom.
When: September
Where: Taipei Confucian Temple
INDIA
Neelemperur Padayani
T
his festival showcases the ancient ritual art form of Padayani.
Dancers wearing huge headdresses perform to the rhythm of
chenda drums, cymbals and spirited singing.
Padayani symbolises the victory march of the goddess Kali
after defeating Darika. A spectacular night-time Kettukazcha
procession leads colourful devotees carrying effigies of
mythological characters to the Palli Bhagavathy Temple,
where worshippers dance around a huge fire.
When: September 18
Where: Neelamperur
34
TO KYO
The September Basho
T
he greatest Sumo wrestlers in Japan, and therefore the world,
meet at Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall for The September Basho,
one of the year’s six Grand Tournaments. Crowds cheer as meaty men
fight for victory using throws, trips and tricks.
Sumo is one of Japan’s most popular sports, steeped in
legend, history and ceremony. To the outsider it can seem like
a mere battle of strength and power, but it should be remembered that this is a sport with over 70 different manoeuvres
and forms. Only when these are mastered will the wrestler
stand a chance of becoming a yokuzuna (grand champion).
The best seats in the house are those situated closest to the dohyo
(the ring), but be warned, these are extremely difficult to get hold of.
The large arena provides many seating alternatives, however, ranging
from a simple cushion in the isu-seki (balcony) to a box-seki (similar to
a corporate box) in the Kokugikan at the back. Tickets can be purchased in advance (early August onwards) or on the day.
When: September 13-27
Where: Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall, Tokyo
Info: www.sumo.or.jp/eng/
ASIA NEWS NETWORK
21 newspapers in 18 countries—covering Asia for 10 years
W e
K n o w
A s i a
B e t t e r
HGRS_AsiaNewsAdvtv2_080807.qxp:Layout 1
8/31/07
9:29 AM
Page 1
4.6.09:Layout 11 4.6.2009
Teaser 197x121 15.7.09:Layout
15.7.2009 11:22
9:22 Uhr
Uhr Seite
Seite 11
Global
competition
Building
Asia together.2009:
Two Holcim Awards for Asia
Encouraging
Whether you’re building or investing in factories, homes, bridges,
schoolhouses or shopping malls we’re the perfect
partner
make for sustainable construction
The Holcim
Awards to
competition
and visions
attracted
your project happen. As the No. 1 supplier ofprojects
building
materials
inalmost 5,000 entries from
121 countries – the most outstanding were honored with Global
Asia we can deliver the right solutions when and where it counts.
construction in Asia
Holcim Awards 2009. Find out more on page 15.
The Holcim Awards are supported by Holcim Ltd – one of the
Holcim in Asia-Pacific:
world’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates – and its
Bangladesh, Cambodia,
China, construction
Fiji, India, Indonesia, Laos, The
Malaysia,
New
Caledonia,
Holcim
Awards
are supported by Holcim Ltd – one of the
The HolcimAustralia,
Awards competition
for sustainable
Group companies in more than 70 countries including Australia,
New
Zealand,
Philippines,
Singapore,
Sri
Lanka,
Thailand,
Vietnam
world’s leading suppliers of cement and aggregates – and its
projects and visions attracted 5,000 entries from 121 countries.
The most outstanding were honored with regional and global
Holcim Awards, Acknowledgement and “Next Generation”
www.holcim.com
prizes. Find out more about the most recent winners from Asia
on page 15.
Strength. Performance. Passion.
www.holcimawards.org
www.holcimawards.org
Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Laos,
Group companies in more than 70 countries including Australia,
Malaysia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore,
Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Laos,
Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Malaysia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore,
Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Modern Chinese Love Story

Transcription

Similar documents

Citrawarna Malaysia

Brief - Juwita Suwito

POWERED BY HERBALIFE

national eye hospital based optometry degree programme in malaysia

catering rating (cr)

CYBERJAYA

Nau TranCs ln Migrotior

Case study: 3rd -5th grade

DOMAINfest 2015 - 2015-09-17 Xinhua

HIGHER EDUCATION TODAY