Monday, November 5, 2018

The Irrawaddy Magazine

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Losers Question Legitimacy of Early Votes in Kachin Military Bases

Posted: 05 Nov 2018 07:29 AM PST

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — Politicians in Kachin State have raised questions about the early voting inside military bases ahead of Saturday’s by-election for an Upper House seat, which went to the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

Six candidates contested the seat for constituency No. 2. Three of them — including the candidates for the ruling National League for Democracy (NLD) and the Kachin Democratic Party (KDP) — did not sign Form 19 endorsing the declared winner, claiming the vote was not transparent.

Many local residents have also raised doubts about the results and questioned the transparency of the early voting, as the monitoring of polling stations inside military bases is heavily restricted.

Of the more than 3,000 early votes cast inside military bases for the race, the vast majority went to the USDP.

A Kachin State Electoral Commission officer, however, told local media that any doubts about the poll were unfounded.

USDP spokesman U Thein Tun Oo also rejected suggestions of vote tampering and said his party would have won even without the early votes.

"Such criticism is funny … and I would say that they are the type to find fault with others," he said.

The USDP candidate, U Hsi Hu Dwe, officially received 23,186 votes and was declared the winner by the Union Election Commission (UEC) on Sunday. The KDP candidate received 19,112 votes, and the NLD candidate received 18,999. 

KDC candidate Gumgrawng Awng Hkam, the party’s chairman, said he would be filing a complaint with the UEC objecting to the fact that military personnel have the right to vote in general and by-elections while the military also gets to appoint 25 percent of the country’s lawmakers as per the military-drafted Constitution.

"The electoral system needs to change and it won't be fair so long as military personnel have voting privileges and also the right to sit in parliament," he said.

Gumgrawng Awng Hkam said he would gather evidence of wrongdoing before lodging his complaint.

"It is not because we lost the race; it is because we want to highlight that the election must be fair for all candidates," he said.

Candidate who lost an election can file complaints with the UEC up to 45 days after result are announced.

Kachin State has more than 230,000 eligible voters, but less than a third of them — about 69,000 — cast ballots on Saturday.

The NLD candidate, Daw Yam Hkawn Hpauyam, told The Irrawaddy that she would not file a compliant because she finished third, but added that the early voting inside military bases “needs to be reviewed.”

U Kyaw Kyaw Oo, an Upper House lawmaker representing Kachin State, told The Irrawaddy that the public and the candidates should have raised their concerns well before election day, while the voter lists were still being verified.

"We did not object then, and now it has all been confirmed by the UEC," he said. 

Additional reporting by The Irrawaddy’s San Yamin Aung in Yangon.

The post Losers Question Legitimacy of Early Votes in Kachin Military Bases appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Sample the Freshest Catch at Novotel Yangon

Posted: 05 Nov 2018 06:19 AM PST

YANGON—In Yangon, hotel buffets are fiercely competitive, and all the popular hotels try to outdo one another by adding special foods, services and different styles to promote their buffet packages.

Most recently, Novotel Yangon Max relaunched its popular seafood buffet on Friday nights with a new concept, "Hooked On Seafood", on Nov. 2 at The Square restaurant on the fifth floor of the Novotel Yangon Max. The buffet is only available on Friday nights.

My partner and I were invited to attend the relaunch of the special buffet night with other in-house guests at The Square on Friday night.

Guests queue at the Cold Bar.

What makes this seafood night special are the chef's stations including the Fish Market, Sushi and Sashimi, Peking Duck and Steak Table. All the chefs are ready to prepare the dishes fresh, right in front of you. This kind of service is only to be had at the Novotel Yangon Max.

Unlike most buffets, in which pre-cooked dishes are transferred from the pot to your plate, this one is more of a fine-dining experience.

We started our long buffet tour at the Cold Bar, which was full of all kinds of the freshest seafood including Alaska king crabs, Ngapali lobsters, large oysters, mussels, clams, smoked salmon, salads and other cold foods. The popular king crabs and Ngapali lobsters were huge and amazingly fresh.

Various sauces including mint and tamarind were available at the Cold Bar.

A chef prepares a customer’s order at the Peking Duck counter.

At the next counter, a chef was busy preparing sushi, and cutting salmon, tuna and octopus sashimi. The orange color of the salmon proved how fresh it was and drew crowds of people to the counter. There were many different sushi rolls to choose from as well, and these featured top quality soy sauce and wasabi.

At the steak counter, chefs served lamb and beefsteak sliced to order and presented on the plate in fine-dining style.

Another popular chef's station was the Peking Duck. At the table, a chef rolled Peking-style duck pancakes in front of the guests, and roast duck and roast-duck salad were served as well. I fully recommend the Peking-style duck pancake. Guests can order the dish at the counter. The Peking Duck Table adjoined a Scallop Table.

Chefs serve up top-quality dishes at the 'Hooked on Seafood' buffet night.

If you are not a fan of the Cold Bar, no worries. A Fish Market counter serves various kinds of fresh fish of different sizes, along with grilled tiger prawns and other seafood.

All you need to do is choose what you want and they will grill it in front of you. If you can't wait at the counter, just give the table number to the staff and head to the other counters; it will be waiting at your table.

The fresh salmon, tuna and octopus sashimi at the Sushi counter

The dessert counter was heaven as well after all this seafood. Their homemade ice cream, cakes, bread, mousses and puddings were beautiful and made for a happy ending to the seafood tour.

"Hooked on Seafood" is not exclusively about seafood: You can partake of the free flow of beer, wine and cocktails as well.

The buffet has two options: USD37 net with unlimited soft drinks, coffee and tea; and USD45 with unlimited wine, beer and cocktails.

Overall, Novotel Yangon's seafood night is a fabulous time and it's worth spending a Friday night at the hotel buffet with your friends and family.

The post Sample the Freshest Catch at Novotel Yangon appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Shan Armed Group Claims Military Warned Locals of Arrest For Association

Posted: 05 Nov 2018 04:56 AM PST

YANGON/Mon State — The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) claims that the Myanmar military last week warned ethnic Shan living in northern Shan State that they could be arrested under the Unlawful Associations Act if they interact with the armed group.

The RCSS first made the claim via its media outlet, Tai Freedom.

It reported that officers from Military Operation Command No. 1, based in Kyaukme Township, called residents from four township quarters with large Shan populations — Mong Tin, Mang Khar, Sakandar and Naung Bein — to a meeting on Wednesday to issue the warning

Colonel Sai Oo, a spokesman for the RCSS, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that he could not understand why the military would make such a threat and that the group would contact the command center to find out.

"The RCSS is a legal organization and it is not unofficial anymore. They should not threaten our local people,” he said.

Sai Tun Win, who represents Kyaukme in the state legislature, told The Irrawaddy that he had heard that the military had called a meeting with the area’s Shan residents but did not know the details.

He said residents live in constant fear of the military, RCSS and other armed groups active in the area.

"Our people have to be afraid of every armed group, including the Tatmadaw [military]. They have to provide them with food every time those armed groups ask for it because they are afraid," he said.

When the RCSS signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement in 2015, the government announced that its members would no longer be subject to the Unlawful Associations Act, meaning anyone could make contact with the ethnic armed group without fear of arrest.

But the two have periodically clashed over territory, and tensions between the RCSS and military have been on the rise lately.

Last week the RCSS said it would no longer attend every single meeting of the Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee after accusing the military of serial violations and the committee of not following the rules.

The post Shan Armed Group Claims Military Warned Locals of Arrest For Association appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Analysis: By-Election Results Suggest Increased Role for Ethnic Parties in 2020

Posted: 05 Nov 2018 04:42 AM PST

In the wake of the National League for Democracy (NLD)'s modest success in the by-election on Saturday, The Irrawaddy talks to officials from some of the political parties that contested the election, as well as political commentators, to get their views on the outcome and where the NLD went wrong.

Yan Myo Thein, political commentator

If we consider the by-election to be a mock test, the NLD no doubt failed it. And the USDP's [Union and Social Development Party's] performance has improved to a certain extent. The likelihood of ethnic parties winning [elections] has also increased. In politics, underestimating your opponents is suicide.

Noticeably, the USDP won in Yangon's Seikkan and Sagaing's Tamu, constituencies previously held by the NLD. A similar outcome was seen in [Mon State's] Chaungzon by-election last year.

The NLD needs to objectively review the by-election results with farsightedness, and make sweeping reforms of the government, Parliament and within the party before the 2020 election.

Again, the NLD should review how widely and effectively its lawmakers are working with the public, especially how much NLD lawmakers keep in touch with rural people and rally their support in townships outside Yangon. Also, people are not satisfied with the NLD, as their economic burden has not been relieved, but become even heavier.

The 2020 general election will surely become more closely contested between the NLD, USDP and ethnic parties. Ethnic parties, I think, will be much stronger by 2020, unlike the 2015 elections.

In particular, MPs elected from ethnic parties will play a more important role in the election of the president beyond 2020. Therefore, the NLD should think long-term and form strategic alliances with ethnic parties before 2020, and consider not running in ethnic constituencies. It should not contest constituencies where its allied parties plan to run, and should prepare to work with them as partners in forming the cabinet after the election.

U Thein Tun Oo, USDP spokesperson

The results fell short of our expectations [of winning all 10 of the seats the party contested]. So, this shows that we have to try harder. But we are happy that the ethnic parties have achieved a certain success. We will learn lessons from our experiences in the by-election and make the necessary changes. We will try by serving the interests of the people to win every election, which is the goal of every party. We expect to achieve a respectable result in 2020, and we'll keep trying.

(The USDP won three of the 10 seats it contested in the Nov. 3 by-election. The three constituencies were previously held by the NLD.)

U Win Myo Thu, director of EcoDev Myanmar

It is undeniably the wish of everyone—including me—who wants our country to stand tall on the international stage to see the [NLD] remain the people's party and provide political leadership for the unfinished processes of democratization and nation building. [The NLD] should seriously review what lessons to take [from the by-election]. In my opinion, there are a few lessons to learn.

First and foremost is the need to build democracy within the party.

There is a need to fight the practices of patronage and nepotism. There is a need to enable a merit-based system. That fact that those who are not even in the lower level executive committees are directly appointed to the Central Executive Committee goes against the rules. Democracy is based on rules. One has to follow the rules adopted by the majority. It seems that freedom of expression and freedom of criticism within the party have withered.

One of the reasons for the decline of democracy within the party is that the government has weakened the democratic forces. Its repression and control of the media and civil society organizations are worse than under U Thein Sein's government. It has failed to systematically unite farmers and labor unions. And it has failed to keep in touch with those forces. As it refuses to listen to critical voices, it has been unable to bring about constructive changes.

Secondly, the party lacks programs to support the social wellbeing of the people.

In this nation building period, it is more important to improve the country than to rise against the dictatorship. It is important that the party collaborates with the government and Parliament, and that party members on the ground cooperate with other allied civil society organizations to fulfill the requirements of the people. The Daw Khin Kyi Foundation's activities alone are not enough. To create public support programs, there is a need to organize a youth committee and support committee within the party and adopt systematic plans. The party can win public support if it serves the public interest. Such works can be a training ground for future leaders of the party. The problem is that those who would do so are viewed with suspicion and there is an effort to control them. Over-centralization is suicide. It can only become a real people's party by serving the interests of people, and this has nothing to do with the party's particular leader.

The third most important thing is preparation.

[The NLD] entered Parliament in 2012, but the reality is that it still has not recruited enough able people to assume the necessary responsibilities. It has been criticized for lacking policies. Does it have one now? Will it call the Myanmar Sustainable Development Plan [MSDP] developed by the government its party policy? Do party members and lawmakers know much about the MSDP? Does it have people to replace the ex-military officers? Has it chosen to replace the permanent secretaries [of ministries] who put spokes in [the ministers'] wheels? It should have prepared for them by now. There are many people who will support the NLD like they did in 2015. [The NLD] now knows that its assumption that it has a large talent pool [to draw from] is wrong. It is important that it doesn't make the same mistake again.

To summarize, the democratic government has not only failed to build democracy, but stamped on it. It will be able to save the situation if it can address this problem.

U Sai Leik, SNLD spokesperson

We contested two seats, and won one. So, we neither won nor lost. The voter turnout has declined a lot, indicating that public trust in political parties has declined, and that people are not very satisfied with the current government.

If the NLD is serious about democratic change and believes it is necessary to build the genuine federal Union to which everyone aspires, it needs to collaborate with democratic forces with greater transparency. Though the NLD believes itself to be a party that represents the entire Union, others think it is a Bamar-based party. So rather than arguing about whether it is really a party that represents the Union, if it can make compromises with ethnic people ahead of 2020, it can achieve a result better than it did in the by-election. But if it doesn't change, its 2020 election outlook isn't very promising.

Rather than cooperating, there must be political give and take. My assessment is that there has never been give and take since 1990. There was also no political negotiation in the 2015 general election, or in the by-elections in 2017 and 2018. But if this trend continues, and a coalition government has to be formed [in 2020], then it will become more complicated for the country.

(The Shan Nationalities League for Democracy won one of the two seats it contested in the Nov. 3 by-election.)

U Myo Nyunt, NLD spokesperson

We are a democratic party. We always trust in the people. When people judge our actions, we want them to look to the long term rather than the short term. We want the people to understand our attitude toward them.

We've never done anything to please the people [with short-term favors]. We only work to bring about healthy changes and improve the country in the long term. In so doing, people may not like some of our actions. So, I'd like to request the people judge our actions from various perspectives.

Regarding the by-election results, I think people have taken their daily lives into consideration a lot. It is important to improve their daily lives.

We never go back on our promises. We always try to realize them. But we admit that our progress has been slow because certain things can't be done by us alone. And we admit that people are frustrated with the slow progress after they pinned high hopes on us.

(The NLD won seven out of 13 contested seats in the Nov. 3 by-election.)

The post Analysis: By-Election Results Suggest Increased Role for Ethnic Parties in 2020 appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Reuters Reporters Appeal Against Conviction in State Secrets Case

Posted: 05 Nov 2018 04:16 AM PST

YANGON — Lawyers for two Reuters reporters jailed for seven years in Myanmar lodged an appeal on Monday against their conviction on charges of breaking the country’s Official Secrets Act.

The appeal cited evidence of a police setup and lack of proof of a crime.

“We filed an appeal … because the trial court’s ruling was wrong,” said Reuters President and Editor-in-Chief Stephen Adler in a statement. “In condemning them as spies, it ignored compelling evidence of a police setup, serious due process violations, and the prosecution’s failure to prove any of the key elements of the crime.”

He added that the court shifted the burden of proof from the prosecution to the Reuters reporters, Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, and called on Myanmar to “uphold its stated dedication to rule of law, freedom of the press, and democracy by ordering the release of our colleagues.”

Ko Wa Lone, 32, and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo, 28, were found guilty in September after a trial at a Yangon district court in a landmark case that has raised questions about Myanmar’s progress towards democracy and sparked an outcry from diplomats and human rights advocates.

Myanmar leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said in September that the jailing of the reporters had nothing to do with freedom of expression. In comments made the week after their conviction, she said they had been sentenced for handling official secrets and “were not jailed because they were journalists.”

Government spokesman U Zaw Htay declined comment on the appeal.

Defense lawyers filed the appeal on Monday morning at the Yangon-based High Court. If the court rules to allow the appeal, an appellate judge would take written and oral arguments from prosecution and defense lawyers before handing down a decision.

Before their arrest, the reporters had been working on a Reuters investigation into the killing of 10 Rohingya Muslim men and boys by security forces and local Buddhists in western Myanmar’s Rakhine State during an army crackdown that began in August last year. The operation sent more than 700,000 people fleeing to Bangladesh.

During eight months of hearings, Ko Wa Lone and Ko Kyaw Soe Oo testified that two policemen they had not met before handed them papers rolled up in a newspaper during a meeting at a Yangon restaurant on Dec. 12. Almost immediately afterwards, they said, they were bundled into a car by plainclothes officers.

On Feb. 1, a police witness said under cross-examination that information in the documents had already been published in newspapers. In April, a prosecution witness testified that a senior officer had ordered subordinates to plant documents on Ko Wa Lone to “trap” the reporter.

The post Reuters Reporters Appeal Against Conviction in State Secrets Case appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Military Frees Last of Baptist Group Members in Kachin, NGO Says

Posted: 05 Nov 2018 01:28 AM PST

Mon State — The Myanmar military on Sunday released the last 12 of 15 members of the Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC) it detained last month in Kachin State, according to a local non-governmental organization.

Lamai Gum Ja, spokesman for the Peace-Talk Creation Group, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the 12 were released at 2:30 p.m. at a police station in Myitkyina, the state capital.

He said Brigade 101 handed them to the police unharmed after determining they had no links to the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

"They suspected that those 12 people were linked to the KIA, so they arrested them. But they were innocent, so the Tatmadaw [military] released them," Lamai Gum Ja said.

The KBC had asked the Peace-Talk Creation Group, which mediates peace talks between the military and KIA, to help secure the release of its members.

The 12 people were detained along with three others who were released earlier. They were all detained while heading to Myitkyina by motorbike for allegedly traveling in a conflict zone without permission.

The group comprised eight women and seven men. Two of the women were senior KBC members, one a schoolteacher and the other an aid worker at a refugee camp near the border with China.

The area where they were detained is near Laiza, where the KIA has its headquarters. Travel in the surrounding area is subject to heavy restrictions by the military, according to the KBC. Lamai Gum Ja said the military had also detained some people in the area last year and put them in prison.

The KIA is an ethnic armed group based in Kachin. It signed a ceasefire with the military junta in 1994, but the agreement collapsed in 2011. Since then, fighting between the KIA and the military has forced more than 100,000 residents of the state to flee their homes and take refuge in camps across the region. The government does not allow international aid groups to supply the camps in KIA-controlled areas, which get most of their support from the KBC.

The post Military Frees Last of Baptist Group Members in Kachin, NGO Says appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Suspect’s Father Gave Slain Facebook Comedian’s Family 150 Million Kyats, Court Told

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 11:18 PM PST

YANGON—The family of one of the accused in the murder of a popular Facebook comedian gave 150 million kyats to his family in exchange for dropping the case, an official of the national anti-graft body said in court on Friday.

U Moe Naing, an inspector with the Myanmar Anti-Corruption Commission, told the court during a trial session that the father of one of the three suspects in the case gave the father of comedian Aung Yell Htwe 130 million kyats, and 10 million kyats each to his uncle and brother, to drop the case.

The three detained murder suspects were released on July 25 before any charges could be brought against them, after the Yangon Eastern District Court accepted an appeal from the victim's family asking them to settle the case.

As the case came under the spotlight, the Anti-Corruption Commission launched an investigation and in August filed a lawsuit against then Yangon Region attorney general U Han Htoo, a judge of the Yangon Eastern District Court, and five other law officers accused of taking bribes from the father of a suspect in exchange for their roles in dropping the case.

The commission said law officers intentionally built the murder case in such a way that it would be adjudged as lacking sufficient grounds to warrant further investigation, and that the since-removed regional attorney general approved a request from the victim's family to drop the case without making a full assessment.

The Yangon Eastern District Court has since reopened the murder case against the three suspects.

According to U Moe Naing, U Khin Maung Lay, the father of the accused, approached U Myint Lwin, the uncle of Aung Yell Htwe. Through U Myint Lwin, the parents of the suspects met with the parents of Aung Yell Htwe, who offered them a personal "pardon."

U Khin Maung Lay paid U Myint Oo, the father of Aung Yell Htwe, 130 million kyats by check. He also gave 10 million kyats each to U Myint Lwin and U Thant Zin Oo, the brother of Aung Yell Htwe.

The accused rejected the plaintiff's testimony, and the next trial session will be held on Nov. 9.

Aung Yell Htwe died after allegedly being kicked and beaten by the three suspects while attending a party last New Year's Eve in Yangon's Thingangyun Township.

The post Suspect's Father Gave Slain Facebook Comedian's Family 150 Million Kyats, Court Told appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Rocks With $50M, ‘Nutcracker’ Crumbles

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 09:21 PM PST

LOS ANGELES — There’s a new box office queen in town.

Fox’s Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” overperformed with a rocking $50 million when it debuted in 4,000 theaters. That was enough to dominate in North America over fellow newcomers “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” and “Nobody’s Fool.”

“Bohemian Rhapsody” ranks as the second-best start for a music biopic, following just 2015’s “Straight Outta Compton” ($60.2 million). For measure, it also topped the domestic debut of Warner Bros.’ “A Star Is Born,” which launched with a solid $42 million last month.

Rami Malek stars as iconic Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the film, which cost around $50 million to produce. It’s a bittersweet symphony for Fox as the studio prepares to merge with Disney. “Bohemian Rhapsody” has generated a mixed critical response, though audiences have embraced it with a 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and an A CinemaScore.

“I’m not surprised there’s a disconnect, but audiences didn’t miss it,” said Chris Aronson, Fox’s head of domestic distribution. “That’s the power of word of mouth — and Queen and their music.” Overseas, “Bohemian Rhapsody” bowed this weekend with $72 million for a global start of $122.5 million. Imax screens accounted for $10 million of its box office total. The biographical musical, co-produced by New Regency, opened in the United Kingdom last weekend with a huge $12.2 million, ranking as one of the best debuts in that territory. Its worldwide tally currently sits at a strong $141.7 million.

Overall, it doesn’t look like the messy turmoil behind the camera tainted anticipation for the film. Director Bryan Singer’s repeated absence from set caused Fox to temporarily halt production. Dexter Fletcher replaced Singer after he was fired toward the end of the shoot, though Singer retained sole directing credit.

Disney’s “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” launched at No. 2 on the lower end of expectations with a disappointing $20 million from 3,766 venues, a rare miss for the Magic Kingdom given the movie’s $125 million price tag. The disastrous opening is the lowest in over a year for the studio. Though Disney has struggled recently with movies that don’t feature a Spandexed superhero, the studio can at least afford to take a hit. Aside from the disappointment of “Solo: A Star Wars Story” this summer, the studio has fielded some of the biggest releases this year including “Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Incredibles 2.”

The family-friendly “Nutcracker” amassed $38.5 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $58 million. Keira Knightley, Misty Copeland, and Mackenzie Foy star in the film, which was panned by critics, who gave it a 34 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Disney is hoping the classic Christmas tale is able to pick up steam as it heads into the holidays.

“Obviously, it’s not the start we were looking for, but it’s a great family friendly option,” said Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of domestic distribution. “Sometimes it doesn’t connect as broadly as we want it to.”

In third, Paramount’s “Nobody’s Fool,” the first R-rated comedy from Tyler Perry, generated $13.7 million from 2,468 screens. That’s one of the lowest bows for a Perry movie,

It’s the first solo starring vehicle for breakout Tiffany Haddish, who continues to solidify her box office chops. The boisterous funnywoman also starred in this year’s “Night School” with Kevin Hart, along with Ike Barinholtz’s “The Oath.”

Rounding out the top five are holdovers “A Star Is Born” and “Halloween.” Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s “A Star Is Born” pocketed another $11.1 million in its fifth outing, marking an impressive drop of just 21 percent. That brings its domestic tally to a huge $165 million. Universal and Blumhouse’s R-rated slasher “Halloween” earned $11 million for a North American total of $150 million.

At the specialty box office, Focus Features’ “Boy Erased” opened in five theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco with the best screen average of the weekend. It generated $220,000 for an average of $44,000 per location. Lucas Hedges and Nicole Kidman star in the gay conversion drama, which will expand into 75 theaters next weekend.

“It’s a very emotional time in America, and audiences seem to be seeing and hearing the urgency in this story. It’s a film we always hoped would bring families together and get people talking, and that seems to be happening,” said Focus’ president of distribution Lisa Bunnell.

For Aviron, Rosamund Pike’s “A Private War” played in four theaters, where it made $72,000 for a per-screen-average of $18,000.

The post ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Rocks With $50M, ‘Nutcracker’ Crumbles appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Leicester City Players Attend Funeral of Late Owner in Thailand

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 08:44 PM PST

BANGKOK — Leicester City players attended the funeral for club chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, killed in a helicopter crash a week ago, at a Bangkok temple on Sunday on the second day of a ceremony due to last one week.

The 60-year-old Thai billionaire died on Oct. 27 with four others when his helicopter crashed next to Leicester’s King Power Stadium. The seven-day funeral started on Saturday in Bangkok.

The team — including manager Claude Puel, striker Jamie Vardy and dozens of others — were seen arriving at the temple clad in black suits to pay their respects to the King Power founder.

They travelled to Thailand on Saturday after winning an English Premier League match against Cardiff City, where tributes were brought onto the pitch before the game in memory of Vichai.

Vichai bought Leicester in 2010. The team went on to stun the football world by winning the Premier League title against the odds in 2016.

The post Leicester City Players Attend Funeral of Late Owner in Thailand appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

China’s Xi Jinping Promises Lower Tariffs, More Imports

Posted: 04 Nov 2018 08:30 PM PST

SHANGHAI — China will lower import tariffs and continue to broaden market access, President Xi Jinping said on Monday at the opening of a week-long trade expo seen as an attempt by Beijing to counter mounting criticism of its trade and business practices.

Xi also promised to accelerate opening of the education, telecommunications and cultural sectors, while protecting foreign companies’ interests and enhancing punitive enforcement for infractions of intellectual property rights.

Xi’s remarks come at a time of heightened tension between China and some of its biggest trade partners, particularly the United States, which has imposed tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods so far. China has retaliated with $110 billion worth of tariffs on US goods.

The Nov. 5-10 China International Import Expo, or CIIE, brings thousands of foreign companies together with Chinese buyers in a bid to demonstrate the importing potential of the world’s second biggest economy.

“CIIE is a major initiative by China to pro-actively open up its market to the world,” Xi said.

US President Donald Trump has railed against China for what he sees as intellectual property theft, entry barriers to US business and a gaping US trade deficit. No senior US officials were set to attend the Shanghai event.

Xi said the import expo showed China’s desire to support global free trade, adding that countries of the world must pursue open policies and oppose protectionism.

He said “economic globalization is facing setbacks, multilateralism and the free trade system is under attack, factors of instability and uncertainty are numerous, and risks and obstacles are increasing.”

China expects to import $30 trillion worth of goods and $10 trillion worth of services in the next 15 years, Xi said.

China imported $1.84 trillion of goods in 2017, up 16 percent, or $255 billion, from a year earlier. Of that total, China imported about $500 billion of goods from the United States.

The Chinese government’s top diplomat, State Councilor Wang Yi, said in March that China would import $8 trillion of goods in the next five years.

Expectations had been low that Xi would announce bold new policies of the kind that many foreign governments and businesses have been seeking from Beijing.

Instead, people involved in planning meetings have said they were anticipating an event long on symbolism and short on substance meant to signal China’s willingness to narrow trade deficits and openness.

The European Union, which shares US concerns over China’s trade practices if not Trump’s tariff strategy to address them, on Thursday called for China to take concrete steps to further open its market to foreign firms and provide a level playing field, adding that it would not sign up to any political statement at the forum.

Trump is expected to meet Xi this month, but has said that if a deal is not made with China, he could impose tariffs on another $267 billion in Chinese imports into the United States.

For show

Presidents or prime ministers from 17 countries were set to attend the expo, ranging from Russia and Pakistan to the Cook Islands, though none from major Western nations. Government ministers from several other countries were also coming.

Swiss President Alain Berset did not make the trip to China, despite being announced as among attendees by China’s foreign ministry last week. The Swiss government said in a statement to Reuters on Sunday that his visit had never been confirmed, and that Secretary of State Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch would represent Switzerland.

Some Western diplomats and businesses have been quietly critical of the expo, arguing it is window dressing to what they see as Beijing’s long-standing trade abuses.

Exhibitors from around 140 countries and regions will be on hand, including 404 from Japan, the most of any country. From the United States, some 136 exhibitors will attend, including Google, Dell Inc, Ford and General Electric.

A handful of countries are being represented by a single exhibitor selling one product.

For Iraq, it’s crude oil. Iran, saffron. Jamaica will be marketing its famed blue mountain coffee and Chad is selling bauxite. Tiny São Tomé is selling package holidays.

The post China’s Xi Jinping Promises Lower Tariffs, More Imports appeared first on The Irrawaddy.
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