Epoch Times, Singapore Edition (Issue 503)

January 23 – February 5, 2015 • MCI (P) 100/09/2014 • SINGAPORE EDITION • theepochtimes.com

China’s Reputation as

‘The World’s Factory’ Fades 2

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Large-scale original equipment manufacturers in Suzhou City shut down.

Tablet PC manufacturers in Shenzhen City announced bankruptcy.

Large shoe factories in Dongguan City went bankrupt.

Large factories are estimated to go bankrupt or shut down

by Chinese New Year.

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beeztel.com/ photo Illustration By Epoch Times

Choosing a Path Less Travelled

Buying Fake Accounts Won’t Get You Anywhere on Twitter

The Story Behind a Letter From Hell

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Asia & China Perspectives 14

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Contents

A visitor looks at a photo showing survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, displayed among other selected winning photos of the 57th World Press Photo contest exhibition at Raffles Hotel in Singapore on January 12, 2015.

Vince Lombardi (1913–1970), Hall of Fame coach

A FREE CHINA

191,292,556 people have renounced the Chinese Communist Party.

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e believe that the media has a social responsibility to inform and facilitate social harmony and progress. In 2000, our media was started by overseas Chinese in the United States to provide truthful news coverage of events in China, where previously only propaganda and censorship existed.

We also want to revive traditional cultures that have inculcated universally good

OUR STORY values that form the fabric of a harmonious society. While technological and economic developments propel a country forward, good values in people make a home out of a country.

Our first edition was in Chinese.

The English edition followed in 2003. We now publish in 35 countries and 21 languages with our headquarters in Manhattan, New York.

Our Singapore office offers local readers ground-level

insights and perspectives into global affairs. We provide engaging, quality news and feature content designed to enrich and inspire our readers’ lives.

Epoch Times and TheEpochTimes.com is your trusted and influential media organisation. At our core are integrity and truthfulness in reporting – we give Singapore readers the stories, news, and information that matter most.

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all photos Courtesy of alan choo

This is Singapore

Choosing APathLess Travelled (Part 2)

By Li Yen Epoch Times Staff Alan Choo is the third recipient of the Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award, and the first Singaporean since 2003 to receive the First Prize in the 2011 Singapore National Piano and Violin Competition, Artist Category.

The avid baroque violinist is also an accomplished chamber and orchestral musician. He was a member of the Kubrick Quartet from 2012-2014, and has performed as rotating Concertmaster and Principal of the Peabody orchestras. His recital with Japanese pianist Miyuki Washimiya in 2011 was applauded by The Straits Times as “the debut recital of the year”.

The 24-year-old thinks that the future of Singapore’s classical music scene is promising, and the possibilities are aplenty. Presently, there are many wellaccomplished and talented Violinist Alan Choo Singaporean musicians, along with Choo, who have the vision and duty to build a lively local music scene.

Choo wishes to bring the vibrant and spontaneous music scene in the US to Singapore, so that Singaporeans will have a chance to enjoy what he has enjoyed. He envisions to lead the first baroque orchestra in Singapore.

“I would also like to come up with creative

I believe learning and appreciating classical music has an impact on one’s self-cultivation. To varying degrees, it can mold someone’s personality and outlook in life.

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Alan Choo is one of only a few Singaporean violinists pursuing baroque violin performance.

ways to bring classical music closer to the hearts of people. All in the works!” he says.

To Choo, the path of a musician is one filled with accomplishments and disappointments and is akin to taking a roller-coaster ride.

However, that will only craft one to be a more polished musician and person in the long run.

“Your passion and faith in your art will give you the determination and creativity that you need to stay in the game, so keep that going and never lose sight,” he shares.

He is currently pursuing a Graduate Performance Diploma in Violin Performance at the Peabody Conservatory in the US. Returning to Peabody to study with Victor Danchenko is an exciting experience.

“He has taught me so much and I believe I will attain even greater heights with him in the next two years. The Graduate Performance Diploma programme will also give me the chance to focus on honing my craft [and] explore the many opportunities the US has to offer,” he exclaims.

Choo will be performing Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy with the NUS Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Lim Soon Lee on 21 March 2015 at the University Cultural Centre.

Many Singaporeans feel that there is no future in doing classical music. Do you think this is true?

I feel that that is not true. I think the arts scene in Singapore is growing at a healthy pace and there are increasingly more avenues for us to explore. Also, the more open one is to different possibilities and trying out different things, the more one can do, or even better still, create in Singapore.

Yes, it might not be the easiest career to forge out, and challenges are definitely aplenty, but if you believe in your art strongly

enough and keep that passion going, I believe one will find a way. At the end of the day, it all lies in one’s determination and creativity.

Continued on next page

Choo is performing with the NUS Symphony Orchestra on March 21.

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Choosing A Path Less Travelled (Cont)

Alan Choo’s autograph to Epoch Times

Is cultivating an appreciation for classical music important? In your opinion, how could we cultivate an appreciation for classical music among Singaporeans?

I believe learning and appreciating classical music has an impact on one’s self-cultivation. To varying degrees, it can mold someone’s personality and outlook in life. It helps us understand the rich culture and history of mankind. It can help us experience and understand humanity at a deeper level. It is deep enjoyment. I do enjoy pop genres at the same time too, and I think having an appreciation of different art forms will make a positive difference in one’s life.

I think an appreciation for classical music (or any art form for that matter) should be cultivated from a young age.

Music should be a more integral part of children’s growing up years in school, and the more exposed they are at [an] early age, the more appreciative they will grow to become. I see that the level of music teaching in schools is on the rise, a healthy Violinist Alan Choo sign which should be highly encouraged.

Also, I think more media activities and community efforts can be made in creative and different ways to bring classical music closer to the hearts of people and make it more relevant for them.

I’m also beginning planning works on a baroque music concert series on authentic instruments, and my dream is for this to expand into Singapore’s first baroque orchestra.

What are the differences between the music scene in the US as compared to the music scene in Singapore? In what ways would you like to contribute to the music scene in Singapore?

The music scene in the US has already come a long way, and has an illustrious lineup of very high quality orchestras, musicians and bands. There is also a lot to do here, and people are very spontaneous and creative with what they want to do.

I do also see a greater support for the arts, which makes many different projects possible, resulting in a vibrant and lively arts scene.

It is enjoyable to be in such an environment, but at the same time I want Singapore to also enjoy

what I’m enjoying. It takes the collective efforts of a whole generation of musicians to push the level of the local music scene up, and I’m glad that I have many, many very accomplished and talented peers to take on this duty with me.

On my part, besides all the skills in violin playing and academic knowledge which I have gained, I think I have also had extensive experience in the areas of chamber music and early music in my time here in the USA so far. These are areas in which I feel I can contribute the most towards.

I would also like to come up with creative ways to bring classical music closer to the hearts of people. All in the works!

Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians or violinists?

If music is something so meaningful to you and integral to your life that you can’t live without, then do it. But when you decide to do it, know that you are in for a roller-coaster ride of accomplishments and disappointments (probably more of the latter than the former), and it is filled with challenges.

However, this only makes you become an even better musician and person in the long run. Your passion and faith in your art will give you the determination and creativity that you need to stay in the game, so keep that going and never lose sight.

What do you miss most about Singapore when you are abroad?

Family. Friends. Food. ‘nuff said. And the whole feeling of being at home in the warm, cosy environment that will always be so familiar and reassuring. Thankfully, there is always a nice group of Singaporean friends here at Peabody with me, and that aids the feeling of homesickness.

Other than violin, do you have other hobbies?

I still feel like music and violin is my hobby, in many ways. It’s something I enjoy doing very much and something I would feel compelled to explore more of in my free time in all sorts of ways.

When I’m not playing the violin, I simply make time for the people around me who have walked this journey with me, and that includes all my family, friends and teachers. The activity is not as important as simply being around the people whom I treasure and appreciate so much.

What is your motto in life, and what do you want to achieve most from your music?

My motto is to live life to the fullest, and to enjoy and appreciate every little blessing that comes my

Choo performs on a 1850 Vincenzo Postiglione violin, on loan from The Rin Collection. Only 24, the violinist has two Master of Music degrees (Violin Performance & Early Music) from the Peabody Conservatory.

way. I hope to translate this spirit into my music, and to touch people’s hearts and make their lives better and more enjoyable in even the slightest way with my music. Sounds idealistic and cliché, but really that’s simply what any true musician would aspire and want to do, and it is not always easy!

Tell us about your future projects or plans in your music career.

I have a number of exciting projects in the pipeline! Firstly I will be performing Sarasate’s Carmen Fantasy with the NUS Symphony Orchestra under Maestro Lim Soon Lee for the NUS Arts Festival Concert on 21 March 2015 at the University Cultural Centre. I’m also beginning planning works on a baroque music concert series on authentic instruments, and my dream is for this to expand into Singapore’s first baroque orchestra. A couple more projects will be revealed in due time - do stay tuned to my website http://www.violinistalan. com and my Facebook musician page for updates!

For more information about Alan Choo, visit his website at http://www.violinistalan.com

This Is Singapore is a fortnightly feature that delves into the life of an inspiring and talented individual in Singapore. Read all our interviews here: http://bit.do/thisissingapore CORRECTION : Part 1 of ‘Choosing A Path Less Travelled’ incorrectly stated that “Choo is the first Singaporean violinist to receive the Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award since 2003”. The award should be the First Prize of the National Piano and Violin Competition, not the Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award. The Goh Soon Tioe Centenary Award is only open to Singaporeans and Singapore PRs, and its main purpose is to acknowledge the efforts of local violinists and string players.

Epoch Times apologises for the error.

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China’s Reputation as ‘The World’s Factory’ Fades STR/AFP/Getty Images

China’s cost of labour is rising due to inflation.

Professor Frank Tian Xie, PhD, Business School of the University of South Carolina

By Gao Zitan Epoch Times Staff An increasing wave of original equipment manufacturers in China declared bankruptcy, shut down, or moved out of the country in the second half of 2014, according to state-run media. China’s reputation as “world’s factory” is fading as the industry faces a harsh downturn.

Two well-known large-scale original equipment manufacturers—that is, companies that make products that are then sold under another brand—in Suzhou City in China’s southeastern Jiangsu Province tumbled down in December, state-run China National Radio reported.

Taiwan-funded United Win Technology Limited in Suzhou announced their bankruptcy on Dec 5. The company once had over 20,000 employees during its high time. Only 3,000 employees were left at the time of bankruptcy. The company once worked for Apple Inc. and then for Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi Inc. for a few years.

Silitech Technology in Suzhou, also a Taiwan-funded company, announced its shutdown on Nov 28, 2014, laying off most of its employees. The company, which had over 10,000 employees at one time, mainly produced mobile phone keys for Nokia. As touchscreen mobile phones have become more popular, phone

Labourers work in a shoe factory in Jinjiang, south China’s Fujian province, on Sept 17, 2013. A large number of major original equipment manufacturers have shut down in China recently.

key production has been gradually eliminated from the industry.

Zhaoxin Communications Industrial Co., a handphone research, development, and production company located in Dongguan of southern China’s Guangdong Province, not only went bankrupt, but its chairman also attempted suicide. On Jan 4, a high-level executive at Zhaoxin Communications confirmed the attempted suicide of chairman Gao Min, state-run Southern Metropolitan Daily reported. “As you know, under the impact of the overall environment, many enterprises at the Pearl River Delta have carried a lot of triangular debts and the cash can’t flow,” the anonymous high executive said. Gao was still being rescued at the time of the report.

At least three tablet PC manufacturers in Shenzhen City in Guangdong Province announced bankruptcy in the second half of 2014, including the Keen High Technology company, known for its high quality production.

Only in October last year, over 10 large shoe factories in Dongguan City also went bankrupt, according to state-run media.

Industry insiders estimated that at least over 100 large factories would go bankrupt or shut down by the time of the Chinese New Year in February, state-run China Times reported.

Liang Zhenpeng, a Chinese expert in the computer, communication and consumer electronics industry, gave three explanations for the bankruptcies of original equipment manufacturers: “First, bankruptcy or

financial loss of downstream customers wears down the business capital chain. Second, major shareholders of the original equipment manufacturers fell in the financial crisis, and have to withdraw investments. Third, the outdated technology of the original equipment manufacturers can’t catch up with upgrading technology.”

Also, the increasing cost of labour has diminished China’s production-cost advantage, playing a key role in the manufacturers’ bankruptcies. Professor Frank Tian Xie, from the Business School of the University of South Carolina, told Epoch Times that “China’s cost of labour is rising due to inflation”, which will cause the bankruptcy of more manufacturers, withdrawal of foreign investment, and widespread unemployment.

Many of the bankruptcies have sparked large protests of laid off employees calling for their delayed payments and bonuses. “After abrupt bankruptcies, there are a large number of [unemployed] people in society.

It’s difficult to solve all of the employment issues in a short period,” an official in Suzhou City told China Times.

Economist Roy Chun Lee told Deutsche Welle in October that China is no longer the world’s factory anymore. Many Taiwanese companies have withdrawn their investments in China, and more companies from other countries, such as European enterprises, will follow suit due to the rising cost of labour in China, Lee said.

Translated and written English by Lu Chen

in

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WORLD perspectives

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Swiss Move Shows Central Bank Insanity AP Photo/Keystone, Peter Klaunzer

By Valentin Schmid Epoch Times Staff After the Swiss pulled the rug from under euro support at 1.2 Swiss francs (S$1.84), all bets were off. The euro plunged 30 percent to 85 Swiss cents (S$1.30), and the Swiss stock market crashed 15 percent before recovering.

What happened? Back in 2011, at the height of the euro crisis, both currencies were trading at par or one euro for one Swiss franc, the lowest ever. During normal times, one euro bought you 1.5 Swiss francs.

Because Switzerland’s economy is geared toward heavy manufacturing as well as tourism, central planners were afraid too strong a currency would endanger exports and scare people away from going skiing in the Swiss Alps.

So they artificially set a higher than market peg of the Swiss franc to the euro at 1.2 francs per euro.

Unfortunately, in relatively free markets, the central bank cannot just write a law and say that all trades for euro foreign exchange

Last Thursday, it racked up a loss of 60 billion francs (S$92 billion) on its currency position – the largest ever.

The headquarters of the Swiss central bank in Bern, Switzerland.

have to be settled at 1.2.

Instead, it has to provide so much demand for euros in the market that sellers will demand at least 1.2 to make available their euros. Looked at from the other side, they have to sell so many francs to the market that buyers will only buy them at 1.2.

But where do the francs come from? They are printed out of thin air and listed on the liability side of the SNB balance sheet. On the other side, the accumulated euros are stashed.

So since 2011, the SNB boosted

its balance sheet from 260 billion francs to 525 billion by printing francs, buying euros, and shifting some of them to other currencies, like the dollar.

Adjusted for gross domestic product, the balance sheet of the SNB is now 85 percent of Swiss GDP whereas the Fed’s balance sheet is “only” 27 percent of US GDP. Why Stop?

So if you can keep the franc low and stimulate exports, everything should be fine and dandy,

shouldn’t it?

Well, no. While the Fed prints dollars and buys domestic assets, it is not dependent on a third party to maintain asset quality.

The Swiss, however, were buying assets in euro and therefore depend on the ECB to maintain asset quality.

In fact, the quality of a currency is not determined by economic growth, as many people think, but on the quality of the assets the central bank has on its balance sheet. So, with 40 percent of all assets in euros, the Swiss franc was

turning into a stealth euro.

The SNB probably thought it could scare traders into not wanting to buy Swiss francs by flaunting the idea of increasing the peg or devaluing the franc further, but that strategy did not work.

As soon as the ECB made clear it is serious about buying Greek and other periphery junk bonds and launched a full-scale QE, the SNB got cold feet and pulled the plug.

Last Thursday, it racked up a loss of 60 billion francs (S$92 billion) on its currency position – the largest ever – according to Citigroup.

Chinese Regime Buys Influence in Latin America Ng Han Guan-Pool/Getty Images

By Joshua Philipp Epoch Times Staff The Chinese regime is tightening its grip around Latin America.

Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping promised over 10 years a $250 billion of investment in Latin America and increased annual bilateral trade of $500 billion.

The new deals came out of a meeting in Beijing where members of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) are meeting. CELAC is a 33-country bloc of countries on the American continents that excludes the United States and Canada.

The recent opening of US trade with Cuba may be a sign that Washington is privy of China’s interests in CELAC. The Council on Foreign Relations reported in July 2013 that for five years, President Barack Obama “has ignored Latin America’s unanimous disapproval of Washington’s position on Cuba”.

Given that Cuban President Raúl Castro assumed presidency of CELAC in January 2013,

on Cuba has become symbolic of whether the United States is willing to work with the region without its leaders needing to change their policies.

“Virtually all countries in the region have refused to attend another Summit of the Americas meeting if Cuba is not at the table,” states the report.

At the recent meeting in Beijing, there were some indirect mentions of this concept.

The Chinese regime is packaging its deals as being free from Costa Rica’s President Luis Guill- foreign policy—a nice way of ermo Solis (L) gestures during talks saying “if you want our money, with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on we won’t make you change your Jan 8 in Beijing, China. ways”. The New York Times reported the concept will “[likely] appeal to many in the grouping finding an opening into CELAC who resent what they see as unwould require the United States fair dominance by the United to reach out to Cuba.

States”.

The report notes that the Oba“Obviously, China has the ma administration’s policy to- intention to compete with the ward Latin America is “focused United States for a greater sphere on energy, jobs, social inclusion, of influence in the region,” Deng and deepening integration in the Yuwen, a Beijing-based political Americas”. analyst, told Reuters. “But whethIn Latin America, however, er this strategy will weaken US where many of the most power- influence now is hard to judge.” ful countries are ruled by far-left Among the countries that will or communist regimes, US policy get immediate benefits from Chi-

The Chinese investment will subvert Argentina’s labour force in favour of Chinese workers.

Fact Check Argentina na are Venezuela and Ecuador, which are two of the loudest critics of the United States in Latin America.

According to Fortune Magazine, Venezuela received a $20 billion investment from the state-owned Bank of China and China Development Bank. Ecuador agreed to a $5.3 billion credit line with China’s Export-Import Bank, as well as $2.2 billion in funding.

While the deals are being branded as having no strings attached, however, many leaders and analysts in Latin America say the investments will unequally benefit the Chinese regime.

In Argentina, there was heavy

controversy over a Dec 29 agreement for Chinese investment.

Fact Check Argentina reported the Chinese investment will “subvert Argentina’s labour force in favour of Chinese workers”.

The way China’s investment works—at least in Argentina—is that the government gets quick cash through Chinese financing, but in return they give contracts that let Chinese firms import their own workers.

Fact Check Argentina compared China’s investment in Latin America to its similar investment in Africa. It reported, “Critics say that Beijing is only interested in Africa as a potential wellspring of mineral resources, and that its projects there often benefit governments more than local people.”

Read a related article China Wants to Buy Out Latin America http://goo.gl/AIA8t3

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Buying Fake Accounts Won’t Get You Anywhere on Twitter People are sometimes tempted to take shortcuts, including buying Twitter followers, retweets, Facebook likes or YouTube video views.

By Aleksej Heinze University of Salford Two of Scotland’s leading politicians illustrate an interesting phenomenon on Twitter. In the wake of the Scottish National Party’s surge in popularity following the independence referendum, Nicola Sturgeon and Alex Salmond have both gained large numbers of followers. Both have now amassed more than 100,000 each, with Salmond out in front with about 139,000. A high proportion of them are fakes, however.

These fakes might be what social media specialists call “sock puppets” – fake accounts of individuals pretending to be someone else. These online imposters often follow celebrities to make themselves look more authentic, along with

other tricks that include constant automated re-tweeting and constantly following and un-following other users.

What is the point of these sock puppets, you may be wondering. One obvious advantage is that they can be parcelled up and sold in batches to people and organisations seeking extra Twitter followers.

Make Me Popular!

Social media is one of the fastestgrowing areas of marketing. One study in which I was involved concluded that there is indeed no such thing as negative publicity if Twitter is used effectively.

Organisations and individuals realise that having a healthy social media following increases trust from prospective customers. You want everybody to know your business is popular. You can build

a strong following by developing good content and relationships with other users, particularly those who will either help amplify your message or act upon it.

This takes time, however, not to mention the human resources required to plan and engage with your following. So people are sometimes tempted to take shortcuts, including buying Twitter followers, retweets, Facebook likes or YouTube video views. You name it, it can be bought. Sometimes they might do it themselves; sometimes it might be the social media agency that manages their account, or even a sub-contractor.

Nor does this cost a great deal. Visit some websites offering these services and you find that thousands of Twitter followers can be had for as little as £5.

Such shortcuts certainly seem to be

World Perspectives

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popular. Data from the Google AdWords keyword research tool shown below reveals that on average, more than 40,000 searches are conducted per month that use the keyword “buy twitter followers”.

Is It Worth It? If the followers are simply accounts that do not have any human interaction or just re-tweet everything that your account says, they are of very little value.

A number of studies suggest that simply having a large number of followers does not indicate that you have an influential Twitter profile.

What is more important is that viewers can see that the account has been recently updated and the content is not simply a monologue about the great things that the organisation offers. Twitter is a social platform and although there is room for sharing content, it is also about listening and engaging with others. If an account interacts and replies to its audience, it is usually much more useful and influential compared to an account with thousands of followers but does not tweet to them.

A number of tools exist that can help people analyse the value of their Twitter profile. For instance, Sprout Social looks at engagement and influence. Here’s what it makes of Alex Salmond (139,000 follows) compared to Salford Business School (2,000 follows):

FollowWonk

I’ve included the follower numbers for context, but you can see that criteria such as engagement, average followers per day, total tweets and average tweets per day are also used to show the success of an account’s performance. We can clearly see that Nicola Sturgeon is much more active compared to the other two accounts. David Cameron is still attracting more followers per day, however, which could be due to his high profile or because he is a more popular target for those celebrityfollowing sock puppets.

It is worth adding that fake accounts are not something Twitter encourages, as its spamming rules make clear. Twitter wants to remove and suspend these accounts, partly because it could under-

ber of followers, but how engaged they are and how useful these are in pursuing your objectives.

On the other hand, just because an account is not behaving as expected by the norm – not tweeting, for example – does not mean that it is a fake. The vast majority of internet users are “lurkers” – interested to read content but don’t want to share their views. If you are one of these lurkers, beware. Your account might be suspended or blocked if you don’t change your image from an egg to your profile and you don’t attempt to engage with others!

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Sprout Social

Salmond might have vastly more followers, but his account actually scores slightly lower than our business school.

It is worth pointing out here that you would expect an account that has lots of fake followers to score badly on these metrics.

Another good analysis tool is FollowerWonk. Here’s what it has to say about David Cameron, Nicola Sturgeon and Salmond:

mine its own advertising-based business model. This is backed up by advertising regulators such as the UK’s Committee of Advertising Practice, whose nonbroadcast-advertising code requires that any paid social-media endorsements be declared to the consumer of that information.

In short, purchasing fake Twitter followers is both a waste of money and considered spam. It is not about your num-

Google AdWords screenshot, January 12

January 23 – February 5, 2015

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If the followers are simply accounts that do not have any human interaction or just re-tweet everything that your account says, they are of very little value.

Read related articles 1 | 4 Modern Twitter Clients That Look Great on Android Lollipop http://goo.gl/JsBV2o

2 | Twitter Is Building Its Own Video Service; Wants to Compete With YouTube http://goo.gl/V0ay1D

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Asia’s Richest Man Relocates Companies From Hong Kong Phillipe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

By Li Zhen Epoch Times Staff Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, the richest man in Asia, announced recently that he plans to merge his two main listed bluechip companies, Cheung Kong Holdings Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited, and to set up two new companies in their place.

The new companies, CKH Holdings and CK Property Holdings, will change their base of incorporation from Hong Kong to the Cayman Islands. Some analysts believe the plan shows that Li has a bearish outlook on Hong Kong’s economy, which has raised concern that there will be more divestment in Hong Kong.

At a press conference in March last year, Li insisted that he would not take divestment action in Hong Kong. Less than one year later, he announced his decision to relocate.

There has been speculation that Li made the decision because of Hong Kong’s political situation.

Li announced the plan shortly after the Hong Kong government issued a distorted report on public sentiment and a document that denied Hong Kong people the universal suffrage they have been protesting for.

Li attended a press conference on Jan 9 to explain the business restructure. His eldest son, Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, group managing director Fok Kin-ning, and several other executives accompanied him there.

Cheung Kong and Hutchison will cancel their listing status. Of the two new companies Li will set up, CKH Holdings will hold all the non-property businesses while CK Property Holdings will hold the property businesses of the two former companies.

Li Ka-shing, currently the chairman of Cheung Kong, will be the chairman of CKH Holdings and CK Property Holdings.

His son Victor Li will continue to be the vice-chairman and managing director of the two companies.

Cheung Kong shareholders will receive 1 CKH Holdings share

per 1 Cheung Kong share, and Hutchison shareholders will receive 0.684 CKH Holdings share per 1 Hutchison share.

After the implementation of the plan, the listing of CKH Holdings will be done by introduction, and the trading unit will be 500 shares. The current stock code (00001) for Cheung Kong will be used for future stock trading.

Li hopes to distribute more dividends in 2015. He said the combination and reorganisation will pave a better future for the company by eliminating the holding company discount of Cheung Kong’s stake in Hutchison, so more shareholder value will be created.

“In summary, it definitely will be good. You can just trust me on this,” Li said.

Political Reasons?

Li has repeatedly denied that he is divesting in Hong Kong, saying the restructure is meant to balance the business risk.

He said that over the past few years, more than 75 percent of Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies have registered in the Cayman Islands, mainly

He seems to have bearish confidence in the future of Hong Kong. It is not an issue of divestment or not; he just wants to withdraw.

Kwan Cheuk-chiu, Hong Kong economist due to its flexible company law.

This is purely a technical issue, not a business group relocation, Li said.

Victor Li said that re-listing would make it possible to move the controlling rights of Husky

Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing (R) listens to his son Victor Li Tzar-kuoi during a press conference in Hong Kong on Jan 9, 2015. Li recently announced plans to reorganise two companies, Cheung Kong Holdings Limited and Hutchison Whampoa Limited, into two new Hong Kong-listed entities.

Energy to the Hong Kong Company. When asked whether the relocation was related to the change in the investment environment in Hong Kong, Victor Li said he did not put much thought into that when doing business.

The Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, a 75-day protest for democracy and universal suffrage, took place last year when Hongkongers were fed up with Beijing controlling their elections.

When asked about the economic impact of the Umbrella Movement on Hong Kong, Li said that it might cause some loss for Hong Kong retail businesses, but has little impact on Cheung Kong and Hutchison.

Li said that Cheung Kong operates in 52 countries and regions with 280,000 employees, and the Umbrella Movement would not affect the company’s established policy. He smiled and told reporters: “Write positively.”

Li’s recent massive asset sales in Hong Kong and mainland China have been viewed as a signal of his dissatisfaction with Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chunying.

Li did not vote for Leung in the

2012 Chief Executive election.

After Leung took office, he implemented pro-communist policies in Hong Kong, angering many Hongkongers.

Since 2013, Li has sold large assets in Hong Kong and mainland China, shifting the investments to Europe and other places.

During the press conference, Li was repeatedly asked to comment on the re-election of Leung.

At first he refused to answer, but later he said: “You know better than me.”

Lack of Confidence Hong Kong economist Kwan Cheuk-chiu believes that Hong Kong is in political turmoil, and the relocation of the Li family business shows a lack of confidence in Hong Kong. He worries that other business tycoons will follow suit.

“He seems to have bearish confidence in the future of Hong Kong. It is not an issue of divestment or not; he just wants to withdraw,” Kwan said.

As for the timing of divestment, Kwan suspects it is related to the recent political climate and indicates his frustration over the chaos caused by political reform

in Hong Kong.

Senior lecturer Lee Siu-po from the Chinese University of Hong Kong commented that the increased political risk in Hong Kong in recent years makes it understandable that such a huge business empire would want to avoid the risk.

Li announced the new restructure soon after Hong Kong’s government issued a second round of the political reform consultation paper that infuriated Hongkongers and sparked the Umbrella Movement. However, Li said during the press conference that if the political reform was not passed, Hong Kong would be worse off.

Some analysts indicate that the current political situation in Hong Kong is closely related to the fight between the Xi Jinping faction and the Jiang Zemin faction of the Chinese Communist Party. The analysts think Li does not want to be involved in Beijing’s fight, has lost confidence in the CCP, and hopes to protect his business through relocation.

Translated by Susan Wang.

Written in English by Sally Appert.

Epoch Times

Asia & china perspectives

January 23 – February 5, 2015 11

Stockholm University to Close Confucius Institute

By Leo Timm Epoch Times Staff The 10-year-old Confucius Institute at Sweden’s Stockholm University is slated to be closed this June, according to a statement by the university on Dec 20. The decision to boot the Beijing-funded Chinese language programme comes amid increasing international concern regarding the hiring practices of and content taught by the Institutes, which must toe the Chinese Communist Party’s ideological line.

Astrid Söderbergh Widding, vicechancellor of Stockholm University, told the Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter that the local Confucius Institute, set up in 2005, had outlived its usefulness in light of progress made by the university in independently establishing links to China since then.

She also mentioned the need for financial autonomy.

“Generally, it is questionable to have, within the framework of the university, institutes that are financed by another country,” Widding said.

Established in 2004 and run by Beijing, Confucius Institutes are language programmes cooperating with overseas schools and universities.

Sometimes compared to Germany’s Goethe-Institut or the Alliance Française, Confucius Institutes differ from these groups in that they are directly incorporated into overseas educational institutions. The Confucius Institutes may be particularly appealing for many smaller universities and schools unable to fund their own independent Chinese programmes.

In recent years, however, the Institutes have come under fire for exporting the Chinese Communist Party views and censorship to other countries, under the guise of teaching Chinese. Teachers working for the Confucius Institutes are prohibited from

Confucius Institutes, which were once praised by the former head of China’s Propaganda Department as “an important part of China’s overseas propaganda setup”, have been implicated in the industrial espionage that is rife among overseas Chinese. discussing sensitive topics such as Tibetan or Taiwanese independence or the persecution of Falun Gong, and they are barred from holding faiths suppressed by the Chinese regime in China.

Additionally, Confucius Institutes, which were once praised by Li Changchun, former head of China’s Propaganda Department, as “an important part of China’s overseas propaganda setup”, have been implicated in the industrial espionage that is rife among overseas Chinese.

As reported previously by Epoch Times, controversy resulting from the discriminatory hiring practices of the Confucius Institutes led McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, to pull the plug on its contract for the Institute on its campus, which ended in July 2013.

Sonia Zhao, a former teacher at McMaster, was required in her hiring contract to keep secret her faith in Falun Gong, a Chinese spiritual practice persecuted in China by the communist authorities since 1999.

Toward the end of 2013, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), which represents over 70,000 JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images

Stockholm University

Canadian academic professionals, called on universities and colleges to cut their ties with Confucius Institutes, which it said are “subsidised and supervised by the authoritarian government of China”.

In June 2014, the American Association of University Professors joined its Canadian counterpart in urging universities not to partner with the controversial Institutes.

In September, the University of Chicago declined to renew its contract to host a Confucius Institute, and a week after the University announced its decision, Pennsylvania State University followed suit.

In October, Michel Juneau-Katsuya, former chief of Asia-Pacific for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and now head of a private security consulting firm, warned the Toronto School Board against the influence of Confucius Institutes in academia, calling them Trojan horses.

“There is publicly available information stating clearly that Western counterintelli-

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gence agencies have identified Confucius Institutes as forms of spy agencies used by the [Chinese] government and employed by the [Chinese] government,” he said.

12 January 23 – February 5, 2015

Asia & china perspectives

Epoch Times

Double Speak Governs China’s Transplant Policy Epoch Times

At the end of the day, after all the lofty promises, Beijing has preserved its licence to kill.

Ethan Gutmann, author of ‘The Slaughter’

By Matthew Robertson Epoch Times Staff “What everyone wants to know about your announcement is the extent of its limitation of prisoner organs,” asked the host of China Central Television, China’s flagship propaganda television station, of Huang Jiefu, the country’s top transplantation official, in an attitude of fauxearnestness.

In December, Huang had made a remarkable announcement: that organs from death row prisoners would, as of Jan 1, 2015, no longer be used in the country’s transplantation system.

Huang’s response was clear: “When we did that announcement, it was a requirement that the 169 hospitals with transplant centres in China follow the rule of law. That is to say, from January 1, 2015, those 169 hospitals are no longer allowed to use organs from prisoners.”

Except that, according to Huang Jiefu, those hospitals are actually allowed to use organs from prisoners. It’s just that they are no longer to be called organs from prisoners.

Huang said precisely that in another interview, with the Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television. Both interviews appeared on Jan 11.

“We definitely don’t want to use this

term, ‘death row prisoner donations’,” he said, in response to a question seeking to clarify if there would be any circumstances under which death row prisoners donate their organs.

“We must rely on voluntary citizen donations as our source of organs, that’s the only way we can talk about being part of a transparent and ethical world,” he added.

Ostracised China’s transplantation establishment has been stung recently by high-profile ostracisation from the international transplant community. The transplantation establishment was rebuked by The Transplantation Society in an open letter in February last year, and a conference the Chinese establishment was scheduled to hold midyear—originally in the spirit of celebration—was put off by four months and then mostly boycotted.

Many Chinese transplant surgeons were also excluded from the World Transplant Congress held in San Francisco in July last year.

But China’s transplant regime will have continued difficulties adapting to a “transparent and ethical world”, as Huang put it, because of the next line he spoke in the Phoenix Television interview.

Not Against Prisoners

“I’m not saying we’re against death row donations,” Huang said. “If a death row prisoner truly finds their conscience then that won’t necessarily be precluded, but it must be a citizen donation system, through the Red Cross, through the online computer system giving fair and just allocation—only that is transparent, and there also won’t be economic transactions as part of it.”

In other words, China will stop using organs from death row prisoners, and all organs will be categorised as citizen donated organs (death row prisoners are citizens, too, Huang said). But if death row prisoners do want to donate their organs, then they are still allowed to do so.

This remarkable demonstration of doublespeak, however, makes sense given the circumstances that Huang is operating within, according to David Matas, a lawyer who has written extensively about the abuses of China’s organ transplant system.

Different Audiences “He’s playing to a number of different audiences,” Matas said. “First, there is the international medical community; then there are the bureaucratic challenges inside the Chinese transplant system over which government agency controls the organ trade; and finally, the fact that he can’t say what’s going on with the killing

of prisoners of conscience.”

Matas co-authored Bloody Harvest, a report which concluded that over 40,000 practitioners of Falun Gong, a traditional spiritual practice that has been persecuted in China since 1999, were executed for their organs in the years 2000–2006.

These tensions Huang faces, and the opposing goals they posit, lead to their reconciliation with “double speak, or triple speak”, Matas said.

‘Moral Baseline’ Huang Jiefu has a previously demonstrated problem with keeping his stories straight. In the recent interview with Phoenix Television, Huang said, in recounting tough questioning he received from students at Hong Kong University earlier this year, that he has only performed the extraction of an organ from a prisoner on one occasion. “I didn’t go after the first time. I’m a doctor. The moral baseline for a doctor is to respect life,” he said.

But in a March 2013 interview with Guangzhou Daily, Huang said: “Last year, I did over 500 liver transplant operations.” His own words indicate that the vast majority of these were from executed prisoners. (It is unlikely that he personally did the 500 he referred to, according to transplant surgeons who say that is too many for one man in a year. A possible

Epoch Times

He’s playing to a number of different audiences.

David Matas, lawyer and researcher of organ transplant abuse scenario is that they were done at an institution under his aegis.) “The operation done in Guangzhou in November was the first voluntary liver transplant by a citizen donor according to China’s standards.”

China Daily, the official English-language mouthpiece, was even clearer about what would and would not change under the new system.

Prisoners Still Qualify “Huang said that these regulations are being amended and … make voluntary donations the only source of organs,” China Daily wrote. “Prisoners are still among the qualified candidates for donations, but their organs will be registered in the computerised system instead of being used for private trades, which will be the main difference in the future,” the newspaper said, citing Huang.

With roughly 10,000 transplants in China each year, with each transplant worth at least tens of thousands of dollars, a likely annual cash stream for the industry can be counted in the hundreds of millions – or perhaps over one billion dollars.

Huang’s recent appearances in the press sought to present a different overall impression, while still letting the fine print

Asia & china perspectives stand.

It is unclear whether The Transplantation Society and the other medical groups will be inspired by the recent change, such as it is, to alter their stance on China. An email to the new director of the organisation, Philip J. O’Connell, did not immediately receive a response.

‘Licence to Kill’ Ethan Gutmann, the author of The Slaughter, a book about the illicit organ harvesting from Falun Gong prisoners, likened the current scenario to the running gag in the Peanuts comic.

“Lucy lines up the football …” he wrote in a droll email, a reference to the yearly stunt where Lucy sets up a football for Charlie Brown to kick, only to pull it away and watch him fall on his back— every time.

“Huang Jiefu = Lucy. The Transplantation Society = Charlie,” Gutmann wrote.

“The words are soothing, the numbers of Chinese voluntary organs magically rise, but who ultimately decides how and when a prisoner ‘finds their conscience’?”

Gutmann asked. “If it’s Huang Jiefu, I think the world needs a second opinion.

“At the end of the day, after all the lofty promises, Beijing has preserved its licence to kill.”

Study Shows Virgin Coconut Oil More Effective Than Drugs in Combating Stress and Depression

rosieschwartz.files.wordpress.com

By Brian Shilhavy www.healthimpactnews.com

A

Read related articles 1 | Chinese Officer: Jiang Zemin Ordered Organ Harvesting http://goo.gl/izcQfg

2 | Chinese Official Proposes Sharing ‘Black Organs’ With Taiwan http://goo.gl/aB5qfU

ifeng.net

Huang Jiefu speaks to Phoenix Television in an interview published on Jan 11. Huang is attempting to gain international acceptance for China’s transplant system, which is widely seen as abusive, without changing it.

January 23 – February 5, 2015 13

new study conducted in Malaysia looked at the effects of consuming highantioxidant virgin coconut oil on mental health.

Published in the journal Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine and believed to be the first study of its kind, researchers evaluated the anti-stress and antioxidant effects of virgin coconut oil in mice with stress-induced injuries. The title of the study is “Anti-stress and antioxidant effects of virgin coconut oil in vivo”.

The researchers performed several stress tests on groups of mice. Control groups included untreated mice and mice not subjected to stress, and virgin coconut oil was compared to a commonly prescribed psychiatric drug, Diazepam.

Their results were quite impressive, and suggest that using a high quality virgin coconut oil can rival antidepressant drugs without the dangerous side effects. The researchers attributed the success in treatment to the unique mixture of medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil, rich in saturated fats, and to the antioxidants present in higher grade, less processed virgin coconut oils.

While we (at Health Impact News) do not endorse the supposed “science” behind psychiatric drugs, which attempts to measure such

things as “neurotransmitters” and “biochemical profiles” as true indicators of mental health that can be altered by chemical drugs, it is encouraging to see researchers consider natural foods as alternatives, given the fact that they do not have all the serious side effects that psychiatric drugs do.

One of the more interesting tests conducted in this study was a measurement of “immobility time” after a forced swim test. The researchers found that the untreated mice had a longer immobility time than mice treated with virgin coconut oil. They attributed this to the high mediumchain fatty acid content of coconut oil, which is known to produce thermogenesis and increased energy.

One area where virgin coconut oil (VCO) really outperformed the drug Diazepam was in the area of oxidation and elimination of free radicals.

This is something that can be measured with lipid peroxidation (MDA) and antioxidant enzyme SOD levels.

Stress is known to increase oxidation and the creation of free radicals, leading to neuronal cell damage and death. Antioxidants, on the other hand, reverse this trend and help prevent further neuronal damage.

It is high time for a new paradigm shift in mental health. Drugs are not the only solution to stress and depression. Non-drug alternatives can be safer and more effective than pharmaceutical drugs.

This article was originally published on www.GreenMedInfo.com

14 JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015

Asia & china perspectives

Epoch Times

The Story Behind a

Letter From Hell An interview with Du Bin, the author of ‘Roar of Masanjia’

By Li Zhen Epoch Times Staff Just before Christmas in 2012, a letter that had been smuggled into a Halloween Kit sold by K-Mart made international news.

The letter, in broken English with phrases in Chinese characters mixed in, told of the mistreatment of prisoners at the Masanjia Labour Camp (马三 家劳教所) in China and asked for help.

Julie Keith of Portland, Oregon, chanced upon the letter and posted it on her Facebook page. That soon triggered a conversation in media and among human rights organisations about the forced labour camp system in China.

Experts agreed the letter was most likely genuine—certainly Masanjia was notorious for the tortures employed there, but who wrote that moving plea was a mystery.

Now, Chinese author Du Bin (杜斌) tells the story of the letter writer in his latest book, “Roar of Masanjia” (马三家咆 哮). Du has worked as a freelance photographer for the New York Times and is also an independent film-maker.

Three days after Keith in Oregon had found the letter, the letter writer contacted Du. To Du’s surprise, the person was his friend.

In 2008, the letter Anonymous writer of letter exposing abuses at writer had been imprisoned in Masanjia Masanjia Labour Camp and had been held there for 29 months, including 10 months during which he was severely tortured.

After 23 months of preparation, during which Du himself was illegally detained for 37 days and under house arrest for a year, the book “Roar” was published in December in Hong Kong.

“Roar” is Du’s 11th book, and the third time he has exposed Masanjia Labour Camp. In July 2014, he published “Vagi-

Any government on this planet shouldn’t tolerate the continued existence of such evil in this world.

na Coma” in Hong Kong about the sexual torture of women held in Masanjia, and in April 2013 he released in Hong Kong and Taiwan a documentary film, “Above the Ghosts’ Heads” (小鬼头上的 女人), which was also about the abuse of women in Masanjia.

In the book “Roar”, Du quotes the person who wrote the letter as saying about Masanjia, “Any government on this planet shouldn’t tolerate the continued existence of such evil in this world. If it is something that doesn’t concern you, it would mean that you are part of the evil Chinese Communist Party.”

Because the subject of the book is a Falun Gong practitioner living in Beijing, Du chose to refer to him as “he” throughout his book. All Falun Gong (also known as Falun Dafa) practitioners in China are liable to arbitrary arrest, and this particular practitioner, if identified, would surely be subjected to vicious reprisals for his writing of the letter.

After the publication of “Roar”, Epoch Times had the opportunity to interview Du. As in Du’s book, the letter writer is referred to throughout this interview as “he” or “him”.

Epoch Times: Why did you write the book “The Roar of Masanjia”?

Du: The story needed to be written down. What I have always been trying to say is that humans are not animals, and from this, it is important to show how a person is able to survive in a difficult situation, which is the theme of this book.

I told him that I have written many books exposing the wrongdoings of the government. Perhaps he trusted me because of what I’ve done, and so he told me his story. The entire process was quite a surprise.

Epoch Times: Could you talk about how he reached you?

Du: Before he reached me, I was actually looking for the person who wrote the letter. I was very curious: how did the letter end up in the United States?

In fact, the person who wrote the letter is my friend. Three days after the newspaper The Oregonian published the report, he came looking for me, asking me if I had seen that news report.

He asked me, “Do you know who

wrote the letter?” I replied, “Of course I want to know. I have been trying to find this person.” He told me, “I am the one.”

I was shocked, very shocked. Even though I had known him for a year or two, I had only sat down and talked with him a few times. I knew he had stayed in the labour camp, but we had never discussed it in detail before.

First, I was very shocked. Second, I was surprised. We are all reporters. It was like a gift from God. It was something very important.

I asked him, “Can you prove that you wrote it?” And he asked me to get him some pen and paper. “Does it look like my handwriting?” It really was his handwriting. And there are some people I have known from Masanjia, and all of them know him. It was he who wrote the letter.

In April 2013, Lens Magazine in China reported on Masanjia Women’s Labour Camp, and millions of people have read it. This is something that should have been shocking, but only a few people are aware that it is against a special group of people, and these people are Falun Gong practitioners.

Epoch Times: Why a “special group of people”?

Du: In China, it is not possible to publish a magazine that mentions Falun Gong practitioners as the target of these tortures. The publishing company is going to have some problems, reporters will leave, and the licence of the company is going to be revoked.

So, Chinese magazines stop having stories about current political affairs; instead, they have topics that are less sensitive. I told the author of that report that he has already completed his mission.

Now, it is my turn. I will continue the path he has taken.

Epoch Times: How was he able to write such a letter in that difficult situation?

Du: I asked. I asked him how many letters he wrote. He told me that there were two other practitioners who wrote the letters. He wrote a copy of the letters and gave it to another practitioner secretly. This practitioner then made several copies from the original one.

The cell was lit 24 hours a day. He told

me how he wrote the letters. He slept at the upper bunk of the bed, facing the wall. He secretly put a piece of paper on his pillow and started writing. He had to listen intently, for there was “Zuo Ban”, someone sitting in the cell who acted as a representative of the police.

Between 1 and 3 in the morning, when Zuo Ban began to be very sleepy, he told me he wrote about a dozen letters. Two other practitioners wrote a few letters.

There were a total of twenty-plus letters.

He told me that he could understand English. He knew that some of the products they made, such as smiling pumpkins, were surely used for Halloween by Western countries. He was thinking that, if the letters were to come out in public, it would put some pressure on the CCP, for that was the year when China hosted the Olympics. The conditions at the labour camp would surely improve as well. So, he secretly placed the letters into the boxes of Halloween products.

A few days after the opening of the Olympics, a letter hidden inside the boards of a practitioner’s bed was found when the police were doing their regular checks [of the cells.] The police captain was outraged and started torturing the practitioner viciously. The practitioner said he was the

Epoch Times

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Poon Zaishu/Epoch Times

The letter, pictured above, came in a box of Halloween decorations purchased in Oregon.

Du Bin tells about the crimes committed at Masanjia Labour Camp in his new book, “The Roar of Masanjia”.

The front cover of “Roar of Masanjia”

one who wrote the letter. The authorities were afraid to make a huge thing out of the incident. So, the practitioner got lucky and [got away with it].

Epoch Times: What was he thinking at the time?

Du: He was thinking of using the letters to tell others what was happening inside the labour camp, how these Halloween products were made, and how Falun Dafa practitioners were treated.

It took a total of 23 months from the time he accepted my interview to the publication of the book. During this period, I kept on thinking, how should I write the story? I decided I would write the story before he was imprisoned in Masanjia and also the story after he got out of Masanjia. The story of what happened during Masanjia would be based on his oral account. But the whole process wasn’t easy.

What I want to tell the readers is the story of how a person survives in an extremely difficult situation. He told me, he used to be a person afraid of death. He said he was able to live on because of his practice of Falun Gong.

I asked him, “Are there any inspirational words from your practice that motivated you to live on?” He replied, “If you can let go of life and death, you’re a God; if you

can’t let go of life and death, you’re a human.”

He told me that this phrase had greatly inspired him. He said it was no big deal to let go of life and death. For this reason, he was persecuted 10 months during the 29 months he was imprisoned in the labour camp. He told me he was one who suffered the most severe persecution at Masanjia.

There are many details in the book about the evil within the Chinese labour camp. I believe readers will be very stunned when they read it.

Epoch Times: Why do you keep on reporting about Falun Gong?

Du: I know topics like the Tiananmen Square massacre and Falun Gong are very sensitive in China, something that not even the foreign media dares to write about. As for myself living in China, why am I not afraid to report this? There are two reasons. First, I believe that as a human being, I would like to know how a person survives in a difficult situation, and what he thinks during that time. Second, we are neither animals or beasts, so I do not tolerate any inhuman treatment of any other human being.

For example, once I was at the detention centre and I was being interrogated about Falun Gong and how women were treated

at Masanjia Women’s Labour Camp. I was not afraid at all. Whenever I think back about this, I am still outraged. I remember I told them, “We are human beings, and as human beings, they should not be treated like animals. So, I write about this.” Then I told myself, “If you want to throw me into prison, just do it, stop wasting your time talking to me.”

Finally, they stopped talking.

I believe the Masanjia Women’s Labour Camp is a place used to torture Falun Gong practitioners. And for these people, this place is basically like hell. There is information circulating online that it is under the control of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee to transform Falun Gong practitioners. What has happened here, the persecution, is the result of power and permission granted by the Chinese regime. I have written a book about this. I am not talking nonsense. Nobody is holding these police officials accountable—they were asked to

What I have always been trying to say is that humans are not animals.

Du Bin, author do what they did by the Chinese regime.

There was gulag in the Soviet Union. In China, there is Masanjia.

Epoch Times: Is the persecution still happening?

Du: The labour camp where the person who had resisted persecution by writing letters has been turned into a prison camp. Masanjia Women’s Labour Camp has been turned into a drug rehabilitation centre. I am certain about these.

Based on these, how can there not be any persecution? It is still happening. But the persecution has become less overt.

The Chinese authority was stunned when local Chinese media reported about Masanjia. Based on what I have learned, Masanjia is a very typical place where Falun Gong practitioners are persecuted.

Epoch Times: Falun Gong practitioners follow the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. Do you see these principles when interacting with them?

Du: Yes, I have seen it, without a doubt.

I have come in contact with about 20 Falun Gong practitioners. They gave me the impression of being honest, kind, patient, and tolerant. From their experiences, their stories, and the person who wrote the letter, I can sense truthfulness,

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compassion, and tolerance. From the details of their stories, I could really feel it.

If anyone does not believe in truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, he should start practising Falun Gong.

Then, he would know.

Epoch Times: Can you talk about your own experience of being detained?

Du: On July 8, 2013, when I was released on bail from the detention centre at Fengtai Distract, Beijing, I felt that I had learned a lot. First, I had seen with my own eyes what it was like being inside [one of the places where people were held.] Second, after getting out, I had a sense of security with my every step, a feeling that I didn’t have before. I knew what I was doing.

After 33 days, I was at the procuratorate, and a captain from one of the domestic security teams in Fengtai came to see me with another domestic security guard. The captain asked me, “Du, do you know why you are here?” I replied “Why?” The captain then said, “Someone from the higher authorities wants to know why a person with so many good years ahead of him has become a person who specifically exposes the wrongdoing of the Chinese regime.”

I laughed when I heard this—the wrongdoing was not a scar for the Chinese regime; rather, it was a scar for the Chinese people. The captain also said he couldn’t tell me what was the level of the high-ranking official.

Why did I include the story of me being detained on the back cover of the book? I have a simple goal. After I was released on bail, I didn’t receive any legal papers. So I thought to myself, I would write everything down because I could write. I would use words to express my thoughts, my anger.

Chinese people have suffered so much.

A reporter from the New York Times once told my friend, “Look at the books Du has written. There are so many horrible stories. And still, Du has a smile on his face everyday. He must have a good attitude to live his life.” I was a bit sad when I heard this.

It is impossible not to feel the suffering of all those petitioners, the suffering of all Falun Gong practitioners, and the suffering of all Chinese people since the foundation of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921.

I believe I have been seriously injured as well. Though I am not afflicted with these sufferings, I can feel their pain. If I don’t write, what else can I do? Sometimes, I do want to give up (and) stop doing such a painful job. But such a thought does not linger.

One should do what he is supposed to do. I also think this might have something to do with my temperament—I am born for the purpose of suffering, as I must speak up against injustice.

Asia & china perspectives

Epoch Times

But foreign observers found it hard to believe that there was much to it at first. Bill Bishop, who runs a popular newsletter on China news, advised readers to “take with a grain of salt” reports that “a faction of hard-line nationalists within the party are seeking power”, as reported in early 2012 by the national security correspondent Bill Gertz. Epoch Times and the overseas Chinese-language website Boxun reported similar things. Yet the recent revelations in the Chinese press point precisely to such a scenario.

The Associated Press in March 2012 quoted Huang Jing, a professor at the National University of Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, saying that “Bo seems to have at least guaranteed himself a ‘soft landing’”, and that “if Bo were to be removed from office and placed under i nve s t i g at ion , this would cause enormous instability for the regime and the current leaders don’t want that.

Shi Cangshan, … It’s in their analyst of Party affairs interest to close off the case as soon as possible without causing too much damage”.

The idea that even Zhou Yongkang, the former security czar, would be arrested, expelled from the Party, and put to trial seemed even more far-fetched, and for a long time was hardly countenanced among the Western-facing China cognoscenti.

The term ‘line struggle’ is another way of saying ‘coup’. It means they were calling for regime change.

Getting the Jump Yet both these ideas were quickly predicted and circulated in the overseas Chinese media in 2012, including in both the English and Chinese-language editions of the Epoch Times.

“In February, when Wang Lijun (王立军) fled to the consulate, I published a piece saying that Bo Xilai’s prospects are grim,” said Xia Xiaoqiang, a political columnist for the Chinese edition of the Epoch Times, called Dajiyuan in Chinese, based in Europe. Xia was an officer in the Chinese military in the 1980s and maintains contact with personnel in China. He said that the newspaper’s

Chinese reporters and editors have “extensive inside sources”, which inform both the reporting and his own analysis and predictions.

“Later, I published a piece saying that Zhou Yongkang was behind the scenes, and that he’s also going to have big problems,” Xia said. “No one believed it was the case, but developments have shown it. Maybe we were a little early.”

Watson Meng, the editor of the website Boxun, also published reports discussing a conspiracy of sedition by Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang. “Chinese politics is a black box. If you go strictly according to Western journalistic requirements, many things are hard to verify.”

He acknowledged that insider tips are often given at the bidding of a faction in the Party that wants to get its message out. “We don’t care about their purpose, just whether it’s reliable.”

‘Core Issue’ Xia Xiaoqiang presented the overall framework that he said he has used to inform his own analysis of the twists and turns of recent Chinese political struggle.

“Why did these guys form a conspiracy to take power?

Because Jiang Zemin’s people were out of power, and they were worried that the political legacy of the persecution of Falun Gong would come back to haunt them.”

Many power struggles in the Chinese system have been fought around mass political campaigns—the most famous are Mao Zedong’s Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution, which saw him face off and tear apart the rest of the Party establishment to preserve his own power and defend his disastrous policies.

Later, the massacre of students around Tiananmen Square in 1989 formed another core group of hard-line cadres who conspired to ensure that there was no public examination of the slaughter of the students, so that they would never be held accountable.

The persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual practice followed a similar formula: Jiang Zemin, in July 1999, declared the group an enemy of the Party and the people, and launched a sweeping, national campaign to vilify and eradicate it.

In a letter to the Politburo

earlier in the year, he cast the practice—which consists of meditative exercises and moral precepts taught freely—an ideological enemy. Official statistics from the period put the number of practitioners across China at 70 million—an enormous population to turn into an enemy overnight.

Violence perpetrated against Falun Gong in the persecution includes excruciating and meticulously prepared varieties of torture—roasting, electric shocks, a constellation of stress positions, rape and, researchers say, the harvesting of tens of thousands for their vital organs while they are still alive, which kills them.

“Zhou Yongkang and Bo Xilai were Jiang Zemin’s operatives, and their political careers were inseparable from that campaign,” Xia Xiaoqiang said. “On no account did they want that coming back to them, and they could not allow the persecution to stop.”

Xia said that for the Jiang political clique, the priority was to ensure that their crimes could never be held against them, and that they would never be held accountable; for Xi Jinping and his lieutenants, on the other hand, the priority was to push through difficult political and social reforms to ensure continued growth.

In fact, under the rule of Xi Jinping, the persecution of Falun Gong has not stopped, as documented most recently in a report by Freedom House.

But Xi Jinping has seen to changes that could never have taken place in a Jiang-led regime: the chief of the 610 Office, the extrajudicial Party security agency established to coordinate and implement the persecution campaign, was expelled from his post and purged. He wore a variety of hats, but his anti-Falun Gong hat was the first mentioned in the notice of his expulsion from the Party. The system of re-education through forced labour, one of the chief places of detention of Falun Gong practitioners, has also been dismantled. Zhou Yongkang has been stripped of his power and faces trial.

Even so, Xi Jinping’s own ideological and security controls so far present little reason to expect a shift in the Party’s long-established systems of repression. “It’s the nature of the system to use propaganda and violence,” Xia Xiaoqiang said.

JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015 17

No one believed it was the case, but developments have shown it. Maybe we were a little early.

Xia Xiaoqiang, news columnist for the Chinese Epoch Times

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http://goo.gl/pWcm40

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16 JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015

Asia & china perspectives

Mainland Chinese Media:

Purged Party Heavyweights Plotted Together Secret meetings between Politburo members and ideological revisionism are fighting words in communist China

By Matthew Robertson Epoch Times Staff Until recently, such talk was to be found almost only in the overseas Chinese press. Among China specialists in the West, it was – often enough – gently tut-tutted away. But now, major mainland Chinese websites are reporting the news: before they were both purged, the Communist Party’s former security czar held secret, seditious talks with a former Politburo member.

The cast of characters—Zhou Yongkang (周永康), the security chief, and Bo Xilai (薄熙来), the head of the southwestern city of Chongqing and the offspring of a powerful revolutionary communist leader—could be drawn from the Chinese equivalent of a “Godfather” trilogy.

Zhou, who rose up through the state-run petrochemical industry, controlled a massive security empire with a budget of about US$120 billion (S$161 billion), greater than that of the military.

In his charge was the People’s Armed Police that, at a million strong, was the size of an army.

He also gave orders to security agencies ranging from secret political police and spy forces, to courts, jails, regular police, labour camps, and more.

Bo Xilai was the son of the bruising revolutionary Maoist henchman Bo Yibo (薄一波), and as part of the red nobility harboured boundless political ambition. He stirred up Maoiststyle rallies and social policies in his own city of Chongqing, home to nearly 30 million, and made clear that he was gunning for a powerful Party post—

Former senior Party officials Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang planned to ‘do something big’.

Phoenix Weekly

maybe the top one.

Why were the two holding secret discussions in the sensitive period before the Communist Party’s once-in-a-generation political transition, which happened in late 2012?

Doing ‘Something Big’ They wanted to “do something big”, according to the article by Phoenix Weekly (香港凤凰周 刊), a political magazine that is published in Hong Kong. Often, Hong Kong political reportage is used by Party leaders to guide public opinion or to release news that is advantageous to their political agenda.

Whether such articles are then reposted and circulated on major Chinese Web portals is often another bellwether of their political utility—and in this case, outlets like Hexun and Sina republished the news without censorship. Very quickly, the news was all over China: Zhou Yongkang and Bo Xilai had conspired to promote their own form of neo-Maoist ideology, meant to replace the Party’s current power structure.

The article detailing the ties between the two said that Zhou met with Bo in Chongqing, when Bo was still Party secretary of the city. “According to sources, the main topic of the discussion was about how to completely negate Deng Xiaoping’s theory (邓小平理论) and implementation of reform and opening up,” states a summary of the article by Sina, a popular Chinese Web portal.

It added that “both men believed that the theory proposed

by Mao in his later years—that the greatest conflict in Chinese society was the struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, between socialism and capitalism—was still correct, and that Deng Xiaoping’s theory of reform and opening up needed revising”.

In Chinese communist theory, this is known as a “line struggle”—fierce competition over the correct “line” of theory to apply to China.

And a line struggle in China also has another name: a power struggle over who controls the Party. “The term ‘line struggle’ is another way of saying ‘coup’,” said Shi Cangshan, an independent analyst of Party affairs based in Washington, D.C. “It means they were calling for regime change—that’s how people in the Party see this.”

same ones cited by overseas critics: a heavily polluted environment, moral decay, a political structure shot with corruption, a yawning wealth gap, and so on. The neo-Maoists blame all this on the legacy of Deng.

Bo had in fact already started doing something like that with his populist social policies in Chongqing.

“Bo Xilai saw this Maoist-leftist sentiment growing among segments of the Party’s intelligentsia, and he co-opted it,” said Shi Cangshan. “He organised Maoist singing sessions, like the Cultural Revolution.

His anti-mafia campaign was very much like the land reform campaigns before the revolution, where the rich have their assets stripped and handed out to the masses. He supported the Maoist-leftists and their websites, who openly attacked Premier Wen Jiabao (温家宝).

Do you think that kind of thing would be allowed if someone like Zhou Yongkang was not protecting them?”

Bo, of course, was an opportunist, not a true believer. He and his family are widely believed to have personally embezzled vast funds. “It’s just a way of seizing power,” Shi said.

“Zhou Yongkang and Bo Xilai wanted to turn upside down the basis of the current system.”

Ideological Opportunist The Phoenix article said that Bo, true to his personality, was to help Zhou “rush it out there” (chong yi chong). The meaning of the Chinese phrase is that Bo would be the first to put forward the idea that Deng Xiaoping’s reform agenda has led to a dark mélange of problems, often the

Dismissive Observers In early 2012, the plotting between Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang—and others, higher up in the system—began to unravel.

The flight of Wang Lijun, Bo’s chief of police, to the American Consulate in the city of Chengdu in February triggered revelations to Party central.

Epoch Times

18 JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015

Asia & china perspectives

Epoch Times

Photo of Taipei Mayor on Subway Stuns Mainland Chinese

By Frank Fang Epoch Times Staff Once again, the simple manners of a democratically elected politician have stunned Internet users in China, leaving them by turns amused and bitter.

In 2011, a photograph of newly appointed ambassador Gary Locke fetching his own coffee from an airport Starbucks as he prepared to fly to Beijing caused a sensation in China. This time, a photo of newly elected Taipei Mayor Dr Ko Wen-je, alone and standing in a Taipei Metro car, has cap‘Long Ge 1965’, tured the imagination of China’s Internet users.

Chinese netizen Also known by the popular nickname KP, with K standing for his last name and P standing for professor, Ko took the political landscape of Taiwan by storm on Nov 29, 2014, as an independent candidate who won the mayoral election of the capital with a resounding margin of victory.

This is very common in a democratic society.

Facebook.com/FattyMagic

Posted on Facebook on Jan 2 by Eason Huang, who runs a beauty clinic in Taipei, the Facebook picture shows Ko standing by himself with his arms folded over his chest. Standing near him is a young woman concentrating on her handphone.

There was not a single bodyguard or official travelling with Ko, and neither was there any sort of media presence.

Taiwan “A friend of mine had unexpectedly taken a picture of KP. He looks authoritative just by himself, without the police making way for him,” wrote Huang in his Facebook post.

“A mayor who takes the metro like everyone else is a mayor that works for the people.”

“Only a responsible mayor has the guts to take the metro by himself,” replied Facebook user Bill Yeh. “Those who dare not are people who try to hide their illegitimate acts.”

Facebook user Liu Xinzheng commented “He is a mayor for the people, so every citizen is his body guard.”

The issue of personal security

AP Photo/Wally Santana

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je is seen riding on the Taipei Metro by himself without the company of a bodyguard or a subordinate.

raised by the photo worried many people in Taiwan. Peggy Chen, Ko’s wife, later responded on her Facebook page, saying, “A private trip does not call for bodyguards. Ko and I went to a hot spring in Beitou.

Ko asked me to sit down on a seat [of the metro car], while he stood there alone like a cute nocturnal animal.”

Beitou is a district in Taipei that is best known for its many hot springs.

China Online responses from Internet users in Taiwan and China have been very different—which is not a surprise given that one is ruled by a constitutional democracy, while the other is a one-party state ruled by the Chinese Communist Party.

On the Chinese website NetEase (163.com), many Chinese netizens, while stunned at what they saw, also took a moment to reflect on the current political situation in China.

“Officials in China are a bunch of people who cannot take care of themselves. Wherever they go,

there are bodyguards and people holding umbrellas for them,” wrote a Beijing netizen with the moniker fuyao8023.

“Where is your Audi? Where is your mistress? Where are your subordinates? Where is your cash?

You have nothing. You are even less than a village chief [in China],” commented a netizen from Henan Province in central China, satirically addressing Ko. “That’s right, government officials in Europe, America, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan all beg the citizens for votes. In China, it is the people who beg the officials for mercy,” wrote a netizen with the nickname “Xiao Jiang Nan Qin Gong Yue” from Guangdong Province in the south.

“This is very common in a democratic society,” wrote a netizen with the nickname “Long Ge 1965” from Xinjiang Province in the northwest.

“Taiwan is the hope for China,” wrote a netizen with the moniker “110886273” from the eastern Zhejiang Province.

Taipei’s new mayor-elect Ko Wen-je, centre, waves to supporters at his campaign headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, on Nov 29, 2014.

Asia & china perspectives

Epoch Times

Illegal Meat Factories in China Make Bacon With Tainted Pork

By Lu Chen Epoch Times Staff Public security officials cracked down on dozens of meat factories in China that use pork from pigs that died from disease.

Police raided over 30 illegal meat factories and arrested over 110 suspects, including government food regulators and insurance company staff, the Chinese regime’s Ministry of Public Security reported on Jan 11.

Police discovered over 1,000 tons of the tainted pork and 48 tons of waste oil products made from leftover tainted pork, reaching a value of over 100 million yuan (S$21.5

million), the report says.

The tainted pork was extensively sold in markets in 11 provinces throughout the country for about three years, along with the assistance of insurance company staff and state food regulators, the report says.

One of the meat producers who was arrested, Wei Qinghai, said that he would be notified of any dead pigs by insurance companies that insure livestock. Every time a farm would have pigs that died from disease, insurance companies would receive reports from the farm for coverage. The insurance company staff would then inform the illegal meat producers

JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015 19

and receive money in exchange.

Wei indicated that he started purchasing tainted pork at very low prices in 2011, and had purchased nearly 2,000 diseased dead pigs.

Sometimes, when the pork from the diseased pigs still looked fresh, it would be sold as fresh pork in the market. Some rotten meat that was not presentable was often made into bacon, sausage, or ground pork, according to another arrested meat supplier, Xiao Tijun.

Leftover tainted meat and skin was made into cooking oil, the report says. A state-run media outlet’s news report shows a video secretly shot at one of the illegal

NINE COMMENTARIES

“Two things awe me most, the starry sky above me and the moral law within me.”

1

Live your life as though your every act were to become a universal law

2

Never treat humanity merely as a means to an end

3

Every rational being must so act as if he is a legislating member in the universal kingdom of ends

As Immanuel Kant wrote in 1785 Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals, man occupy a special place in creation as they are rationally self-conscious with moral autonomy. To realize such moral autonomy, Kant devised a set of moral maxims that apply universally to all rational persons. The concept of moral universality within the Kantian moral system had an instrumental role in developing the concept of human rights and equality.

IMMANUEL KANT 1724 - 1804 The Chinese Communist Party, with Marxism as its core ideology, applies the theory of social Darwinism to human relationships and history.

The CCP ignores the moral aspect of human existence. For the CCP, human life is a class struggle for existence ruled by “survival of the fittest”. Men view each other as obstacles to survival and the weak are to be eliminated.

In contrast, many western democracies recognise every man as inherently worthy of dignity and mutual respect. As Immanuel Kant, an 18th century German philosopher, famously said, “One should never treat

191,292,556

people have renounced the CCP as of January 21, 2015.

German Philosopher one of the foremost thinkers of the Enlightenment

humanity merely as a means to an end.”

This contrast can be clearly seen in a comparison of educational systems.

The Chinese National Matriculation Examination, acknowledged as the “most pressure-packed examination in the world”, is a battlefield for survival as every Chinese student struggles to outdo his peer in a standardised exam. Students cram themselves with information, neglecting the development of their values, emotions and critical thinking skills. Extreme exam pressure has been linked to fainting, teenage clinical depression and even suicide.

In contrast, some exam systems such as the national matriculation exam of Finland allows every student to develop his own unique potential in a stress-free environment.

In Finland, candidates are allowed to choose their modules as well as the difficulty of their curriculum and exams. They may take their tests in three parts, over one and half years.

Finnish students celebrate the beginning of the exam preparation phase through the traditional festivity of penkkarit.

Adapted from Commentary 1: On What The Communist Party Is

Quitting the Chinese Communist Party www.NineCommentaries.com

Thousands of Chinese people are quitting the Chinese Communist Party and its affiliate organisations every day through a special website established by The Epoch Times. Others are quitting by calling an international hotline, posting statements

on public walls and poles, or writing on banknotes.

Read the full “Nine Commentaries” book, as well as recent statements from Chinese people who have quit the Party, at www.theepochtimes.com

meat factories, showing two large filthy pots for making oil products.

It was full of unrecognised objects and foam.

Some of the meat suppliers are regulated private companies with licences that receive regular inspections. The tainted pork was used for years because Animal Health Inspection staff were also bribed to collude with the meat suppliers.

State regulators clearly priced the regulation ticket that supposedly guarantees the safety of meat.

As long as they were paid, the regulators would issue as many tickets as the meat suppliers needed, the report says.

It was famously said that Communist regimes turned mass crime into a full blown system of government. Each of them has received its just verdict in history – all but the Communist Party of China which has persisted to this day.

The “Nine Commentaries” is an award winning editorial series that offers a vivid and perceptive account of the CCP from its inception to the present. By unmasking its perversion, Nine Commentaries seek to recall the Chinese people and the world from the slumber of ignorance and inaction.

Thus far, the series first published in November 2004 has led more than 170 million Chinese to renounce the CCP and its affiliations, trailblazing a massive yet peaceful movement for China’s transformation and change.

Read more groundbreaking series at:

of this editorial

http://goo.gl/yQ2Jox

20

January 23 – February 5, 2015

PROPERTY

www.TheEpochTimes.com

Real Estate Investments in South East Asia in Q4 2014 PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL/AFP/Getty Images

DTZ Research

Investment Volume Lower Investment Volume in 2014 Real estate investment in the South East Asian countries of Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand decreased by over 50% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to US$2.7 billion (S$3.6 billion) in Q4 2014, accounting for only 15% of the 2014 annual investment volume of US$17.9 billion (S$23.9 billion). Investment volume in 2014 was 32% lower than the US$26.4 billion in 2013.

Investment activity in the region in Q4 was dominated by Singapore, which accounted for 66% of investment volume.

Investment in Thailand (S$515 million) and investment in Singapore (S$2.4 billion) fell by almost 60% q-o-q. In contrast, investment in Malaysia only fell by 10% q-o-q. Real estate investment in Malaysia was dominated by corporates and REITs. In annualised terms, investment volume in Malaysia surged by almost 160% to US$1.62 billion (S$2.17 billion) in 2014.

This contrasted with Singapore, where investment volume fell by over 40% during the year. Investment volume for Thailand declined by 9%, despite the introduction of REITs. Indeed, REITs and property funds were particularly active in the region, as were investors from mainland China.

The average deal size in Q4 was US$44.5 million (S$59.5 million), 51% lower than the US$91.3 million in Q3. Notwithstanding, the average deal size in 2014 was US$67.5 million (S$90.3 million), some 5% lower than the US$70.9 million in 2013. Some 47% of deals in 2014 were below 20 million, while 21% of deals were between US$100 million and US$500 million (S$134 million to S$669 million).

Investment Activity in Office and Industrial Sectors Domi-

A Thai man walks past an advertisement for a new condominium at a shopping mall in Bangkok.

nate in 2014 The industrial sector was most liquid in Q4, accounting for US$1.2 billion (41%) of activity. This includes the sale of TICON’s industrial portfolio to TICON Freehold and Leasehold REIT for US$105 million (S$140 million). Another major deal in the industrial sector was the purchase of two data centres (S$269 million) by Keppel DC REIT Management, which debuted on the Singapore Exchange in December. Other major deals during the quarter included Blackrock’s sale of Integra Tower Intermark in Kuala Lumpur to KWP (S$469 million) and the acquisition of three land sites (S$694 million) by mainland China- and Hong Kong-based developers.

Looking at the whole of 2014, the office sector accounted for 30% of all investment volume in 2014 (S$7.2 billion), a higher proportion than that in 2013.

Investment in industrial properties in 2014 totalled US$3 billion (S$4 billion), accounting for 17% of the total investment volume in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Investment in industrial properties was nearly three times that achieved in 2013 (S$4.7 billion).

Significant transactions in 2014 include the sale of Platinum Sentral (S$304 million), a proposed mall at Mt Kiara and mixed development project at TRX in Klang Valley; Westgate Tower, TripleOne Somerset and OUE Bayfront in Singapore as well as portfolio of hotels to

South East Asia investment volume in billion USD (source: DTZ Research).

Thai Hotel Investment Freehold & Leasehold Property Fund (S$1.08 billion) and Hilton Hua Hin (S$132 million) in Thailand.

Source of capital Investments by Foreign Investors Fell in 2014 The foreign share of investment

PROPERTY

Epoch Times

January 23 – February 5, 2015 21

ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images

Total investment activity by source of capital in billion USD (source: DTZ Research).

activity in Q4, at 44%, was significantly higher than that in the previous quarter (16.8%). In absolute terms, foreign investment increased by 27% q-o-q to US$1.2 billion (S$1.6 billion).

This was partly driven by the successful bidding by mainland Chinese and Hong Kong developers for three residential land parcels in Singapore (S$694 million) offered as part of the Government Land Sales programme.

Notwithstanding, for full year 2014, foreign investment in South East Asia fell by 31% to US$2.3 billion (S$3.1 billion), accounting for 13% of the total volume, as foreign investors invested in other markets with more attractive returns.

Foreign purchasers in 2014 were mainly from outside South East Asia but from within Asia Pacific, i.e. they were purchasing intra-regionally. In particular, mainland Chinese and Japanese developers/investors were active, as they accounted for over half (S$1.6 billion) of foreign investment in the real estate markets in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in 2014.

As in 2013, mainland Chinese developers were particularly active in Singapore, especially in bidding for government residential land sites.

Significant transactions included the acquisition of residential land by QingJian, Nanshan Group and Hong Kongbased Asset Legend (S$694 million), as well as Japan’s Sekisui House’s

joint-venture acquisition of a government land site in Woodlands (S$226 million).

Investor type REITs Were Largest Net Buyers in 2014 Private property companies were the largest buyers of properties in Q4, accounting for almost US$686 million (S$918 million) or 26% of all investment volume. This was followed by property companies at US$424 million (S$567 million) or 16%.

REITs, including AXIS REIT, Cambridge Industrial Trust, Soilbuild REIT and the newly listed Keppel DC REIT were active, as were REITs and property funds in Thailand.

Investment activity for full year 2014 was dominated by REITs, which accounted for 38% of investment volume (S$8.39 billion). This was due to the listing of 10 REITs and Property Funds in Thailand and Singapore. Among those listed included IMPACT Growth Real Estate Investment Trust and Keppel DC REIT, the second largest listing in Singapore in 2014. Private property companies and listed property vehicles were consequently the largest net buyers of properties in 2014.

Outlook for 2015

REITs, especially the listings in Thailand, are expected to continue drive investment sales in South East Asia. The success of Impact Growth Real Estate Investment trust in Thailand in 2014 highlighted the easy liquidity conditions in Thailand and a re-

An apartment cum office and retail building for lease is seen in Singapore’s financial district.

silient market. This will spur more developers to launch REITs in 2015.

Golden Land Property development PDCL has indicated its intention to list their REIT in the second quarter. They

will sell Sathorn Square office building, located in Bangkok’s CBD, to the REIT. Its major shareholder, Univentures Pcl, will transfer their Park Venture Office buildings to the same REIT.

22

January 23 – February 5, 2015

Technology & science

www.TheEpochTimes.com

New Glass Might Double Battery Capacity ETH Zurich

By ETH Zurich Today’s lithium-ion batteries are good, but not good enough for future energy demands.

Scientists at ETH Zurich have developed a type of glass that can be used as an electrode material in lithium-ion batteries— and has the potential to vastly improve battery capacity.

Better batteries are critical for the growth of clean energy technologies, such as electric cars, wind turbines, and solar power plants.

In response, researchers are searching for new materials that exhibit a greater energy density and charging capacity, but which are no heavier or larger than those used in today’s lithium-ion batteries.

“What we need is new chemistry and novel compounds to obtain safe, better, and longerlasting batteries,” says Semih Afyon, a scientist at the Electrochemical Materials Institute.

“What we need is new chemistry and novel compounds to obtain safe, better, and longer-lasting batteries,” says Semih Afyon.

Glass Instead of Crystals

A team led by Afyon and Reinhard Nesper, professor emeritus of chemistry, have discovered a material that may have the potential to double battery capacity: vanadate-borate glass. They recently reported in Scientific Reports how they used the material as a cathode.

The material is made of vanadium oxide (V2O5) and lithium-borate (LiBO2) precursors, and was coated with reduced graphite oxide (RGO) to enhance the electrode properties of the material.

The researchers used a vanadium-based compound because vanadium is a transition metal with various oxidation states, which can be exploited to reach higher capacities. In crystalline form, vanadium pentoxide can take three positively charged lithium ions—three times more than materials presently used in cathodes, such as lithium iron phosphate.

However, crystalline vanadium pentoxide cannot release all of the inserted Li-ions, and only allows a few stable charge/ discharge cycles. The reason why: once the lithium ions penetrate the crystalline lattice

One major advantage of vanadate-borate glass is that it is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Semih Afyon, The Electrochemical Materials Institute during the loading process, the lattice expands. As a result, an electrode particle swells as a whole—it increases in volume only to shrink again once the charges leave the particle.

This process may lead to instabilities in the electrode material in terms of structural changes and contact losses.

Researchers therefore had to

find a way to retain the structure of the initial material while maximising the capacity and also maintaining its ability to “take” the charges, which is how they devised the idea of using vanadium as a glass rather than in its crystalline form.

In glass, a so-called “amorphous” material, atoms do not arrange themselves in a regular lattice as they do when they are in a crystalline state. Instead, the atoms exist in a state of wild disarray.

Simple to Produce

To make the cathode material, Afyon and his colleagues blended powdered vanadium pentoxide with borate compounds.

“Borate is a glass former; that’s why the borate compounds were used, and the resulting glass compound is a new kind of material, neither V2O5 nor LiBO2 at the end,” Afyon explains.

The materials scientists melted the powder at 900°C and cooled the melt as quickly as possible to form glass. The resulting paper-thin sheets were then crushed into a powder before use, as this increases their

surface area and creates pore space.

“One major advantage of vanadate-borate glass is that it is simple and inexpensive to manufacture,” says Afyon.

To produce an efficient electrode, the researcher coated the vanadate-borate powder with reduced graphite oxide (RGO).

This increases conductivity while at the same time protects the electrode particles. However, it does not impede electrons and lithium ions as they are transported through the electrodes.

Afyon used this vanadate-borate glass powder for the battery cathodes, which he then placed in prototypes for coin cell batteries to undergo numerous charge/discharge cycles.

Twice the Power

During initial trials with vanadate-borate electrodes, which were not made with material coated in RGO, the discharge capacity dropped drastically after 30 charge/discharge cycles, when the current rate was increased to 400 milliamp per gram.

In contrast, when the RGO coating was used, the capacity was quite stable at high rates and it remained at a consistently high level after more than 100 charge/discharge cycles.

One battery with an RGOcoated vanadate-borate glass electrode exhibited an energy density of around 1,000 watthours per kilogram. It achieved a discharge capacity that far exceeded 300 mAh/g. Initially, this figure even reached 400 mAh/g, but dropped over the course of the charge/discharge cycles.

“This would be enough energy to power a mobile phone between 1.5 and 2 times longer than today’s lithium-ion batteries”, Afyon estimates. This may also increase the range of electric cars by one and a half times the standard amount. These figures are still theoretical.

The researchers have already applied for a patent for their new material and are working with industry partners on the development.

This article was originally published on Futurity.org

Epoch Times

Technology & science

January 23 – February 5, 2015

23

Google to Stop Consumer Sales of Glass to Redesign Device Technology & science

By Michael Liedtke Google will stop selling its Internet-connected eyewear to consumers until the company can develop a more polished and affordable version that’s less likely to be viewed as a freakish device.

The sales moratorium on the nearly 2-year-old “Explorer” edition of Google Glass goes into effect January 19. The decision announced Thursday (Jan 15) coincides with Glass’ spinoff from the secretive Google X lab where it was invented.

Glass will now operate in a division steered by veteran marketing executive Ivy Ross, whose past experience includes stints at fashion-conscious companies such as Gap Inc. and Calvin Klein. Ross will report to Tony Fadell, who played an instrumental role in the design of Apple’s iPod and now runs the smart-appliance maker Nest Labs that Google Inc. bought for US$3.2 billion (S$4.24 billion) last year.

Google will still sell a version of Glass to companies that have found uses for the device in their offices, stores and factories. The Mountain View, California, company still plans to come back with a new consumer model of Glass, but hasn’t set a timetable for the next release.

Google co-founder Sergey Brin wears a Google Glass device in San Francisco on 20 February 2013. Google recently announced it will stop selling its Internet-connected eyewear to consumers until the company can develop a more polished and affordable version.

By the time Glass returns to the consumer market, it will face more competition from other wearable computing devices, including a line of smart watches that Apple Inc. plans to begin selling this spring.

In a Thursday blog post, Google likened the Explorer edition of Glass to an infant learning how to walk.

“Well, we still have some work

to do, but now we’re ready to put on our big kid shoes and learn how to run,” Google said.

Glass looks like a pair of spectacles except the Explorer edition didn’t contain any actual glass in the frame. Instead, the device has a thumbnail-sized screen attached above the right eye so a user can check email, see Twitter posts or get directions without having to grope

for a phone.

Google began distributing the US$1,500 (S$1,990) device to computer programmers and about 10,000 randomly selected people in 2013 with the hope that the test group would come up with new ideas for using Glass and drum up enthusiasm for a hands-free way to remain connected to the Internet.

Although it generated plenty

of intrigue and publicity, Glass struggled to win widespread acceptance. Part of the aversion stemmed from a design that made it look like a weird contraption rather than a hip accessory. Glass also turned off many people for its potential to intrude on people’s privacy by secretly taking pictures or video.

“It is a perfect stalker’s tool,” said John Simpson, privacy project director of Consumer Watchdog, which has been among Google’s most strident critics. “It’s difficult to see how they solve that.”

About half of all consumers had privacy concerns about Glass, according to data compiled by Forrester Research.

The price also limited the demand for Glass when Google began selling the device to all comers last May. “Google needs to construct a consumer image for the product, and deal with privacy concerns if they want it to be mass market,” said Forrester analyst J.P. Gownder.

Google hasn’t disclosed how many units of the Glass’ Explorer version were sold. The company says about 100 businesses, including Hewlett-Packard, Boeing and Taco Bell, are testing Glass as a tool for work.

From The Associated Press

Check out 5 New Features Added to Google Maps Update

By Zach Epstein Google Maps is one of the most popular mobile apps on the planet. Millions upon millions of people around the world rely on the app to help them discover new places, and of course to guide them to those new places.

As a result, each new Google Maps update released by Google instantly impacts millions of people—mostly for the better, but sometimes Google’s changes in Maps cause more aggravation than they’re worth.

On Wednesday evening, Google released new updates for its Google Maps apps on Android and on the iPhone. And thankfully, this is a case where all of the updates bring nifty new features and there are no big design changes that might cause people headaches.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Here are five new features Google added to Google Maps in these latest updates that users should definitely check out:

The Google Maps app is seen on an Apple iPhone on 13 Dec 2012 in Fairfax, California, USA.

1. Filter searches for restaurants by cuisine type: Google Maps users can finally drill down restaurant searches by cuisine, meaning we’re all now one step closer to being able to uninstall Yelp.

2. Drop a pin for your starting and destination points in directions and navigation: this new feature makes fine-tuning your path while navigating much easier.

3. Add transit directions to your calendar: now when you add a work meeting or any other event to your schedule, you’ll easily be able to include transit directions right in the calendar entry!

4. S harable directions: this is an undocumented change in the Android version of Google Maps, and it lets users quickly and easily share

directions with any contact.

5. See current weather information for cities around the world: a nice feature for users

who are performing searches while getting ready to travel.

Republished from BGR.

with

permission

Dear Reader

24 January 23 – February 5, 2015

Epoch Times

@nadnicotinamide These coin pratas are a definite must try along Jalan Masjid, the experience gets better when you’re sharing the food with the people you love. Go for it!

@foodreviewssg

@xstboiboi

Happiness is when you have a great weekend with good food and yummy desserts with a loved one. This dessert somewhat reminds me of Christmas! Don’t you think so? We had our late lunch with Chocolate & HazelNut desert at Saveursg located at Far East Plaza. We’re glad that the standard of food here is still good! Enjoy the rest of the day friends!

Went to have this pig trotters at Ah Hua Bak Kut Teh located at Havelock Rd! For Bak Kut Teh lovers, you can head down there and try too!

@foodreviewssg Crispy and crunchy. Yumz. We just had the famous Wanton Mee from Sunshine Plaza #01-58. The Fried Wantons are so crispy it will leave you wanting for more. Must try if you pass by here!

We suggest to order the $5 portion as the $4 portion is not filling enough. Now we feel like ordering another bowl of fried wantons...drools.

@sgfoodiary CHEESECAKE PARTY! Having a feast of catandthefiddlecakes instead of having our usual log cakes instead! TOO AWESOME! MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

Visit http://instagram.com/epochtimessingapore to like your favourite entries! @sheenyachan My first experience with Kobe beef steak on asparagus and I found it amazing! This is a must have for true beef connoisseurs as it’s so juicy that it bursts like a water pipe when you cut into it. Awesome!

@october_scorpion

@thedaredreamer

Lotus root with peanuts pork ribs soup. This is a tasty and nourishing Chinese soup that is popular in Singapore. The soup is double-boiled for at least 3 hours to produce this flavourful soup and the soft bones melt in your mouth! Chinese believe this soup clears body heatiness and toxins, and nourishes our lungs.

“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.”—Luciano Pavarotti

@elynchan1010

@bakeafuss Pistachio buttercream coated brownie cacti atop speculoos ‘soil’ and chocolate cupcake.

So much fun to make and even better to eat!

FROZEN GRAND MARINER SOUFFLÉ, dotted with tangy orange sauce is a sensational dessert that exceeded my expectations! I’ll just give in to temptations and a perfect finish to any meal. Highly recommended.

@asaymie A delicious home-cooked meal of pan fried salmon which goes super well with broccoli, potatoes, corn and cherry tomatoes. Once you taste it, you can’t get enough! Simply yummy and healthy!

Dear Reader

Epoch Times

January 23 – February 5, 2015 25

@jlxwl

@bridgetlcooks

Sunday Folks, Jalan Merah Saga (Holland Village)—You must have seen these photogenic soft serves grace your social media feeds recently.

Though these sweet treats are indeed worth your while, be prepared to wait for a table, and ready to snap a picture before it melts!

Classic French Toast topped with homemade whipped lemon ricotta from the other day, marcerated strawberries & fresh blueberries. Marceration brings out such great flavours you don’t even need any maple syrup for this dessert.

I’ve also added cinnamon, nutmeg, bit of lemon juice & zest in the batter to give it that extra oomph. Bon appetit!

@yeo.jon Ordered Wingzone from Foodpanda. Surprising good!

I chose mango fire, Tokyo dragon and lemon zinger.

Verdict? Drum roll.......

MANGO FIRE!! The exotic mango flavour, mild sweetness and spiciness, moist and tender chicken breast meat, definitely Liked it a lot! I will try out other flavours soon.

@jlxwl @bakeafuss

Honey Creme, Orchard Rd (313@Somerset)—We came, we saw, we conquered, but not after a 30-minute wait and shelling out $6 a serving. The verdict? Really yummy, but we’d still have our good old McDonald’s vanilla cone any day!

Brownie with crushed candy cane sprinkled on minty cream cheese frosting. It’s just not Christmas without candy canes!

@elmocrez An interesting find out of the usual laksa/curry chicken mee or beehoon. Curry gravy well soaked into the meepok, every mouth is like sipping curry chicken gravy, a bomb to local delights!

Geography Guru Epoch Times

@leezhiyan Bubbly teh tarik (pulled tea) on a cool day.it’s a neat trick to ‘pull’ the tea by transferring the tea from one mug to another, cooling it slightly and adding bubbles to it.

GREAT FEATURES

• • • • • •

Not only it is cheap, but also taste delicious with many ingredients. For $2.50, it’s hard to find such a meal.

Great Bear Lake Northwest Territories Great Divide Basin Ontario Great Lakes Oregon

• Great Plains • Saskatchewan • Great Sandy Desert • Utah • Great Salt Lake • Wyoming

Read The Epoch Times next week for the answer!

@bridgetlcooks Eating in Singapore: Try out a bowl of duck noodles! You can opt for either soup base or dried one. This one’s the latter. The braised duck and noodles compliment the flavourful sauce really well. Add in chilli for more oomph!

Quiz #4

North America is a continent of great spaces and great aspirations. Match the geographic feature on the left with the associated province or state on the right.

@chorpoh

@thedaredreamer

“Growing your geography knowledge”

@jamahameed

Rich and luscious chocolate cake with a molten centre sitting on a buttery crust with hazelnuts embedded in it.

The crunchy crust really pairs well with the soft chocolatey cake with the right amount of sweetness. Undeniably one of my favourites from Tiong Bahru Bakery! “Chocolate is always the answer”

TM

Here is the first of my 5-course French-inspired Christmas lunch. [Appetiser: Potato au Gratin] Recipe inspired by Rachel Khooks. I chose to add Gruyere before baking, oh it melts so well and adds such a good flavour to this creamy dish. A very comforting dish for starters.

Answer for Quiz #3 OLYMPIC BYGONE: The 1984 Winter Olympics were held in Yugoslavia, a nation that no longer exists. In the 90s, four republics broke away to form independent nations. A fifth, Montenegro, became independent in 2006.

A. In what current nation is the former Yugoslav capital, Belgrade, located? SERBIA B. What are the four former Yugoslav republics that broke away from Yugoslavia in the 90s? BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA, CROATIA, MACEDONIA, SLOVENIA (Montenegro became independent in 2006)

Health Beauty

26 JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015

Epoch Times

Why Nuts Don’t Make You Fat

By Dr. Gabe Mirkin www.drmirkin.com

N

ting a e t tha ly fat, s t r o ep ces bel es r y d A stu nds redu hat caus ks. t almo pe of fat eart attac y the t tes and h diabe

uts are a rich source of fat, but many studies have shown that the fat in nuts is absorbed very poorly. This month, a study explains why nuts are not fattening.

The fat in almonds is located inside the almond cells. Even after prolonged chewing, most of the almond cells remained intact and the fat was still inside the cells.

Since fat is absorbed only after it is released from cells, most of the fat in almonds cannot be absorbed in the upper part of your intestinal tract.

This explains why the calorie count of nuts is really lower than what you read on the label.

The calorie counts shown on food labels are computed from how much heat can be produced by the food in a laboratory. However, this method of measuring calories is meaningless for foods that are poorly absorbed.

The number of calories listed on the label can be much higher than those a person actually absorbs; many of the potential calories pass through, undigested, in the person’s stool. This explains why blood fat levels are lower than expected after a person eats nuts.

Another study showed that roasting almonds does not increase the absorption of fat over that absorbed from raw almonds.

Some of the fat that has passed through the upper intestines is absorbed after the nuts reach the colon, where bacteria ferment the cell walls to release some of the fat.

Nuts Appear to Be Healthful Epidemiologic studies (on populations) associate eating nuts with reduced likelihood to suffer heart attacks, gallstones, diabetes, and cancer. Many studies show that eating nuts lowers high blood pressure, cholesterol, belly

fat, and metabolic syndrome; and that nuts are not associated with gaining weight.

Last week, a study reported that eating almonds reduces belly fat, the type of fat that causes diabetes and heart attacks. Fiftytwo middle-aged, apparently healthy but obese adults with high levels of the bad LDL cholesterol were placed on a heart-healthy diet and were fed daily either: • 1.5 ounces (42 grams) of whole almonds, or • a banana muffin with the same number of calories as the almonds.

After 6 weeks, those eating almonds had lower total cholesterol and bad LDL cholesterol levels. Those eating the muffins had their good HDL cholesterols lowered. The almond-eaters also had smaller waist circumferences and less of the belly fat that leads to diabetes. Both groups had the same body weight and total body fat measures.

Why Nuts Are More Healthful Than Muffins The almond snack that was given to the study patients contained 30-35 almonds (1.5 ounces), with 240 calories, 20 grams of fat, (primarily monounsaturated) and 4.7 grams of fibre. The muffins contained the same number of calories, but had less fibre, less monounsaturated fat and far more sugar and starch.

A high rise in blood sugar can damage every cell in your body. Muffins are made from flour which causes a much higher rise in blood sugar than whole grains do.

Whole grains have a thick capsule that prevents the rapid absorption of sugars and other carbohydrates into your bloodstream.

Grains are full of carbohydrates which can be absorbed only as single sugars.

When you grind a whole grain into a powder, you remove the capsule around the whole grain and markedly increase the absorption of sugar to cause a high rise in blood sugar.

Fat’s location inside the cells of nuts reduces absorption of the fat in the same way that the thick outer capsule around whole (unground) grains reduces the absorption of sugar.

What This Means for You Go ahead and snack on nuts. Try to limit refined carbohydrates made by grinding plants into flour or by adding sugar to any food or drink. This means that you should restrict sugared drinks including fruit juices, and all foods made with any kind of flour: muffins, bread, pasta, pretzels, bagels, crackers, cookies and so forth.

This article was originally published on www. drmirkin.com.

SHUTTERSTOCK

hEALTH & BEAUTY

Epoch Times

JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015 27

7 Things to Know About Breakfast 123RF.COM

By Lynn Jaffee www.acupuncturetwincities.com

and ginger. In addition, coffee is energetically warming, so it’s an okay choice if you’re neutral or cold, not so good if you’re having lots of hot flashes or run hot in general. If you run hot most of the time, go for the cooler foods like most fruits, barley, wheat, yogurt, and mint. Eggs are pretty neutral in temperature, so they are a good choice for most people. In addition, if you’re having digestive issues, cooked foods tend to be easier to digest than raw.

I

love breakfast! When I think about eating in the morning, I conjure up my dad, who was an early riser. Dad made it his personal mission to ensure that us kids started the day with a hearty breakfast.

It was always hot, served up with a dose of optimism, and he never repeated the same meal two days in a row.

It turns out that eating breakfast is a good thing. According to the Chinese horary clock, maximum energy passes through each of the twelve organ pathways in twohour increments throughout the day.

The time of day that corresponds to the Stomach is between 7 and 9 am, right when you should be eating…uh, breakfast.

Furthermore, right after the 7 to 9 am breakfast shift, the Spleen, which is responsible for your digestion, kicks in from 9 to 11 am.

Beyond the Chinese horary clock, here are a few other things to know about breakfast: 1. You should be hungry first thing in

Eating a good breakfast generates energy, is welldigested, and it gets you through the day.

The old adage goes that you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.

the morning. If you aren’t hungry in the morning, it may be a general sign of digestive weakness, possibly from eating a lot of food late at night when your digestion is ebbing, or from regularly skipping meals.

2. While I’m a big fan of the big feed first thing, breakfast doesn’t have to be huge, but it has to be enough to get you going.

3. To get you through the morning until lunch, make sure that your breakfast includes a little protein.

It will level out your blood sugar, and keep you feeling full longer.

4. While you’re including protein, make sure you jettison the doughnut, pastry, or sugar-laden breakfast shake. A lot of sugar at breakfast (or any time, for that matter) will quickly spike your blood sugar, and just as quickly tank it, leaving you feeling hungry, weak, and jittery.

5. Choose foods that are best for your body type. You might need a little help here from a practitioner of Chinese medicine. However, a basic rule of thumb is if you run cold, choose warming foods like oatmeal, quinoa, salmon (lox), cinnamon,

6. Choose your breakfast foods according to the seasons. On hot days, cooling foods like yogurt and fruit, or non-sweetened fruit smoothies are a good choice. In cold weather, use cooked grains, porridge, and even soups to warm you inside-out.

7. Breakfast doesn’t have to be breakfast food. It can be soup, porridge, cooked grains, whole grain pita with hummus and avocado, and even your left over stir-fry from last night.

There are no hard and fast rules here.

The old adage goes that you should eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. I’m on board with eating like a king in the morning. Eating a good breakfast generates energy, is well-digested, and it gets you through the day.

This article was originally published on acupuncturetwincities.com

4 Tips to Soothe Your Achy Neck

By Elizabeth Polis www.naturallysavvy.com That achy neck. Those tense shoulders A dull, but steady pain in your lower back. We’ve all experienced these nagging pains.

Stress, inadequate sleep, poor nutrition, lack of exercise, even poor posture are often behind simple aches and pains. Over time our musculoskeletal system may become weak and strained, leading to inflammation, pain and discomfort.

This increased pain and stress can negatively impact other parts of the body and may eventually require surgical interventions, such as joint replacement or muscle repairs.

Aside from being a nuisance, managing pain is also expensive.

According to a 2011 report from the Institute of Medicine,

pain costs society over US$500 billion (S$663 billion) annually in the United States.

Pain is our body telling us something isn’t quite right.

Consider these tips for dealing with a nagging pain and, even better, preventing one in the first place.

Pain is your body telling you something isn’t quite right.

1. Sit Up: Your mother always told you no slouching… now you know why. The effects of poor posture are most often felt in the back and neck as their ligaments and connective tissues tighten due to inactivity or prolonged sitting.

Consider setting an hourly timer as a reminder to sit up and avoid sinking into your desk. Or use this opportunity to get up and move for a few minutes.

walking, helps your body maintain ample strength, stability, and flexibility. Shoot for 30 minutes over the course of the day, minimum. Diversifying your fitness and activity routine is the best way to ensure you make gains critical to your body’s optimal mechanics.

Try a combination of interval exercises and strength-training workouts to maintain your body’s lean muscle mass, giving your body support.

2. Move: Regular movement, especially

3. Stretch: Stretch major muscle groups

after exercise or while warming up. Try something simple, such as a door-way chest stretch, opening the chest and releasing the neck. Hamstrings, running up the back of your thigh, also commonly contribute to pain.

To stretch, stand with support, place one heel upon a chair or step; lean forward, keeping your face and chest lifted and back straight. Hold for 20-30 seconds and repeat twice on each side.

4. Eat Right: A healthy diet provides your body with micro- and macronutrients needed to heal tissues and optimise body function. Those experiencing pain might consider reducing grains, dairy, sugar, legumes, and alcohol. Additionally, water aids inflammation reduction and decreases muscle tension.

Staying hydrated is important

to pain management.

When might a nagging pain require professional attention?

Ask yourself: Has it worsened over time? Has it impacted sleep or other daily activities? If so, consult a healthcare professional, such as a physical therapist, who can determine the cause of your pain, initiate hands-on techniques to relieve the discomfort, and prescribe exercises to improve body alignment and prevent a re-occurrence.

Pain is your body telling you something isn’t quite right.

Listen to the message and respond to it. And remember: prevention is key. A pain-free life means more time doing what you love with those you love.

This article was originally published on www.NaturallySavvy.com

Health & Beauty

28 January 23 – February 5, 2015

Epoch Times

Fashion

Actress Felicity Jones.

at the Golden Globes

Actress Amy Adams arrives at the 2015 Golden Globe Awards on January 11.

Fra

With special commentary by stylist Derek Warburton

zer Ha rris on

Ra ls n to /A FP /G et ty Im ag es

n Me rr et ty Im ag es

erritt/G et ty Im ages

Actress Lupita Nyong’o.

M ar

Mr. Warburton: She looked very individual in that dress. She’s what she wants to be. That’s definitely her shape—a more delicate top and fuller at the bottom.

Ms. Vereshaka: I wasn’t impressed with this dress, just too literally wisteria.

The dress looked better when she twirled her skirt, but minus the movement it was lacking in shape. The colour however, was great—a welcome change from all the reds, whites and blues.

/G

Lupita Nyong’o in Giambattista Valli

it t

Jason M

kR al

Mr. Warburton: I thought that it was very refreshing, but I wish she had worn a statement earring to top it off and make it a bit more finished. But it was great.

Ms. Vereshaka: The fact that it had a big asymmetrical bow gave the outfit a glamorous feel, an idea of a gown but without the extra fabric. She had the body to carry it off. And with her red hair contrasting with her alabaster skin she looked radiant.

Actress Kate Hudson.

so

Emma Stone in Lanvin

Kate Hudson in Versace

Mr. Warburton: She was not only chic but clean and beautiful in the Versace. She pretty much sticks to the Italians: either Gucci or Versace. And she has an unbelievable body so she can pull that off. She gave new meaning to the Golden Globes with that cleavage.

Ms. Vershaka: She’s very body conscious and confident.

Ja

Derek Warburton: I loved that dress.

In her other life she was a 1940s movie star.

She always has a Veronica Lake feel to her. It’s always ‘pick an era and stick with it.’ Last year it was the 1970s. For that calibre of movie star she’s just very clean and it helps her transcend into other themes. She’s a classic girl.

Kati Vereshaka: Adams is always very classic, very pulled together and feminine. That delicate blue colour suited her so well.

ges

rk

in

Ima

Ma

Amy Adams Versace

That was so special, yet classic with a little twist. She won for me as an haute couture piece.

Ms. Vereshaka: Jones looked as though she won; very elegant, confident and still slightly unusual. Just goes to show that you can leave a lot up to the imagination and it takes nothing away from your feminine allure.

tty

W

e enlisted the help of “American Style Guru” Derek Warburton to talk us through some of the fashion choices made by the celebrities attending the Golden Globes Awards.

We started with Amy Adams who walked away with both a Golden Globe and great accolades for her impeccable style.

/G e

By Kati Vereshaka Epoch Times Staff

on st FP /G et ty Im ag es

Actress Emma Stone.

Mr. Warburton: I loved that Dior.

She stood out because she was the only one wearing teal. The detail at the back was fabulous with the covered buttons.

/A

Felicity Jones in Dior

Epoch Times

advertorial

January 23 – February 5, 2015 29

Things You Need to

Know About Slimming Over the years, it has become clear that weight is an important health issue. According to the Singapore 2010 National Health Survey, four in ten adults are overweight, and one in ten are obese—more than double the proportion seen in 1992. Over 50% faced an increased risk of chronic diseases because of their weight.

Losing weight and successfully managing one’s weight is a long-term challenge for many people.

Here we shall examine some weight loss methods:

1. Western Prescription Drugs Prescription drugs such as Duromine are commonly used to reduce body weight in obese or overweight patients. Duromine works by directly affecting the area of the brain that controls your appetite to make you feel less hungry. Although one can achieve rapid weight loss, there is a high rate of rebound weight gain especially when one stops using the drug, unless efforts are made to retain the weight loss with strict diet and exercise.

Common side effects of these drugs are dry mouth, headache, dizziness, and palpitations.

2. TCM Acupuncture

Acupuncture slimming is the needling of body acupoints to suppress hunger, increase metabolic rate, regulate hormones and improve the digestive and endocrine system, to achieve a slimming effect.

According to Mr Khoo Eng Lim, director of the School of Humanities and Alternative Medicine, acupuncture helps to curb hunger pangs and increase metabolism by ‘regulating the stomach and spleen functions’.

Aimin Acupuncture & Weight Loss Centre has been providing acupuncture slimming for the past 14 years. During the weight loss process, patients are advised to go on a low carbohydrate diet. One will not experience fatigue or restlessness, which are associated with common forms of dieting. Instead, one will feel more energetic and rejuvenated after the treatment. The average weight loss per month is

about 4-5kg, depending on each individual. It is suitable for people aged 10-75, including those with weight gain from pregnancy or menopause, or those who wish to slim down due to health concerns.

During the treatment process, obesity-related diseases such hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, joint pain, and irregular menstruation can be simultaneously treated. Licensed TCM physicians at Aimin will monitor the customer’s weight loss progress while administering treatment for other health concerns. This holistic approach helps achieve healthy weight loss. Clinical observations have also shown that there are fewer chances of a relapse with TCM slimming.

While there are generally no side effects associated with acupuncture, there may be an occurrence of light bruising during the treatment.

3.Others

In order to lose weight rapidly, some people turn to excessive dieting. This is not sustainable in the long run as it may cause ketoacidosis, which manifests as fatigue, weakness, nausea and vomiting. It is advisable to have a physician monitor your weight loss progress if a strict diet is to be followed. It is important to eat a balanced diet of protein, fats and carbohydrates while dieting.

Some people may also control their water intake in order to lose weight. This is not advisable as it can easily dehydrate the body, slowing down one’s metabolism. Concurrently, this causes a strain to one’s liver and kidney functions, leading to the accumulation of toxic metabolic waste products in the body.

30 January 23 – February 5, 2015

Epoch Times

Food Travel

1

janetching.wordpress.com

6 Must-Try

By Beth Williams BesuDesu Abroad

M

acau is often referred to as the Vegas of the East, and while it is decked out in casinos, there’s also so much more. I already talked about how to spend one day in Macau seeing both the culture and casinos, but I didn’t really touch on the food.

Oh, the food. Street food runs rampant in Asia, and in Macau is no exception. While a lot of the food is the same as in Hong Kong and China, you can also find exotic East-meets-West flavours thanks to Macau’s Portuguese roots. And you want to know the best part about these delicious blends? Most of them come in the form of desserts!

So if you find yourself in Macau, Here are five must-try street eats:

and sugar, this sweet dessert can be enjoyed hot or cold. I ordered mine hot and minutes later a bowl of wobbly coagulated milk was placed in front of me. I was a little sceptical, but I took my spoon and skimmed the top layer.

I was worried it would have an egglike taste, similar to that of egg tarts made with only egg whites, but to my pleasant surprise I didn’t taste egg at all. It tasted purely like warm, sugary milk. Yum!

Street Eats in Macau

roasted over a charcoal oven and then slapped on a table for the individual cookies to be released. The texture is very fine and will begin to crumble at the mere touch, and the taste is like shortbread with almonds. I think I’m particularly fond of these cookies because they remind me of cookies my mother always used to make for Christmas!

4. Serradura

My other favourite Macanese snack is serradura, meaning ‘sawdust’ in Portuguese. But don’t let the name throw you off. As a pudding hater myself and a probable hater of sawdust, although these words are in its name, it’s merely just finely crushed

3. Almond Cookies

Tied for my favourite street eat, these cookies are the most popular souvenir from Macau for a reason. They are made by hand with the mixture being pressed firmly into wooden moulds,

2

5

1. Portuguese Egg Tart

The most famous street food in Macau would have to be pastel de nata, or Portuguese egg tarts. Credited to bringing Portuguese-styled egg tarts to Asia in the 1980s, Lord Stow’s Bakery is said to make the best around.

Egg tarts can be found all across Asia, but the Portuguese version is definitely king. With its top caramelised like creme brûlée, this was one famous Macau treat we had to try.

2. Double Skin Steamed Milk Pudding

Made using only whole milk, egg

4

3

6

ALL Photos courtesy of Beth Williams, BesuDesu Abroad

biscuits layered with tons of sweetened whipped cream. The airy texture of the cream mixes perfectly with the ‘sawdusty’ texture of the biscuits. Pure heaven!

5. Pork and Beef Jerky

Known as bakkwa, this Chinese dried meat product is similar to what Westerners would call jerky. Most commonly found in beef and pork, you can also find more exotic meats such as boar and ostrich. Although this snack has a naturally savoury-sweet flavour, you can find a variety of added spices or marinades. You’ll find these shops all over Macau, with the employees waiting outside, eager to cut you a sample with their giant scissors!

6. Pork Chop Bun

The most simple of Macau street food would have to be the pork chop buns, or “piggy buns”. The name of this snack says it all because it’s simply a pork chop on a plain bun; no lettuce, sauce or other surprises—but trust me, they aren’t needed. The buns are toasted until crispy on the outside but remain soft on the inside, and the freshly fried pork chop is juicy and tender. The best part? These buns are all fresh and made to order!

Copyright © 2014 by BesuDesu Abroad. This article was written by Beth Williams and originally published on BesuDesu Abroad.

Epoch Times

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January 23 – February 5, 2015 31

Food & Travel

32 January 23 – February 5, 2015

Discover

Epoch Times

ALL Photos courtesy of TAT

‘Thainess’ in 2015

Ayutthaya.

Bangkok.

By Tourism Authority of Thailand 2015 is an exciting year for Thailand. This year, Thailand will become a part of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). In tandem with projected economic growth, the Thai government has declared 2015 the “Discover Thainess” year to socio-culturally enhance its reputation as a must-visit tourist destination in Asia.

This marks the launch of the “2015 Discover Thainess” campaign by the Tourism Authority of Thailand TAT), with the aim of making “Thainess” a unique and globally recognised brand.

or bruises. It’s easy to find “Thainess” epitomised in everyday living.

With these in mind, TAT is encouraging tourists to experience “Thainess” and the nation’s cultural assets through these seven aspects:

Fun, laughter and an easygoing attitude are synonymous with the Thais, which is why Thailand is known as the “Land of Smiles”.

The Essence of Thainess

Kind and hospitable, the Thais are remarkably resilient with their “sanook” (fun) and “mai pen rai” (don’t worry about it) attitude to life. They are also clever and creative, as evinced in their award-winning (think: Cannes Lions) commercials from the compassionate tearjerker to the uproarious comedy.

Everything is interconnected in the Thai blend of traditions and beliefs. For example, Thai boxing reflects the Thai way of life in the wai kru dance as a way of paying respect to the trainer; fun is seen in the Thais’ love of crowd celebrations; and Thai wellness is evinced in the popular techniques used to treat wounds

1. Thai Food

Thai food is a world favourite with its rich and fiery flavour combinations, unique cooking styles and age-old methods of preserving foods and offering nutrition. Thai food can be enjoyed at local street stalls, filled with scents and ambience. Tourists can learn to cook Thai style, buy local herbs and spices and bring home the tastes of Thailand. While enjoying the sights of Thailand’s picturesque scenery, tourists are also encouraged to try some best-loved dishes, such as Phat Thai, Tom Yam kung, and the fiery Som Tam salad.

Food.

Buriram.

seek out Thai silk products made in the traditional way.

3. Thai Life

Thailand is a land of contrasts and very different landscapes, from steamy rain forests to rice paddies, tropical islands and misty mountains, all rich with natural resources. For generations, the Thais have lived in many different and often unique ways. A homestay experience allows tourists to enjoy the Thai way of life in all of its forms and develop closer bonds with the locals. Some possibilities include learning about ancient occupations, becoming an elephant mahout, seeing how agriculture feeds the people at the Royal Projects, or buying high quality local items.

5. Thai Festivals

Thailand is a land of festivals that reflect local traditions and beliefs, with many sacred religious events. Tourists are encouraged to witness at least one unique religious celebration, such as the Khao Phansa or Ok Phansa festival that mark the beginning and end of Buddhist Lent.

Two unmissable festivals in Thailand are, of course, Songkran or the Thai New Year with its water-based fun and the charming full moon festival of Loi Krathong.

6. Thai Wisdom

2. Thai Arts

Thailand’s long history and blend of traditions, religions and people means that the country has a rich cultural heritage in terms of arts, crafts and literature. The best examples of unique Thai arts are found in temples, palaces and historical parks, all across the country. To experience this legacy, tourists should watch khon masked dance shows, enjoy the many murals in temples, study the ancient art of Thai boxing and dance, or

known worldwide and acknowledged as unique to Thailand. Tourists can experience the many traditional healing and wellness techniques in spas across the country. Visitors are also encouraged to learn Thai massage techniques, enjoy Thai herbal foods and drinks and even take courses on holistic healing and holistic medicine.

Lampang.

4. Thai Wellness

Thai massage and Thai traditional medicine, which use a holistic approach and make use of herbal medicines, are

Thailand and its people are repositories of knowledge and wisdom, with the country’s long history of religion, philosophy, folk wisdom and traditions of oral teaching passed down in families and in its temples. Tourists can visit religious places, which have always been educational centres, and historic sites to learn some of the wisdom of Thailand’s ancestors and leaders. Meditation courses are recommended for visitors seeking inner knowledge and to learn the secrets of living a contented life.

7. Thai Fun

Fun, laughter and an easy-going attitude are synonymous with the Thais, which

Food & Travel

Epoch Times

is why Thailand is known as the “Land of Smiles”. Simply by mingling with the Thais and sharing in the fun, tourists can experience this most unique aspect of Thainess everywhere—from markets and malls to the islands and hills. Always sharing jokes and laughter, be it waiting in queues, at the office or enjoying free time, there is always fun to be found for the Thais.

February

September

March

October

12 Unique ‘Thainess’ Events

April

Thainess can be found in many annual Thai events and festivals, most of which have celebrated Thai traditions and cultural values for hundreds of years. For the “2015 Discover Thainess” campaign, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has listed time-honoured festivals and created new events to enhance the awareness of Thainess.

Here’s a list of 12 for each month of the year:

January

Golden Kinship Celebration Date: February 19-20, 2015 Venue: Yaowarat (Chinatown), Bangkok Muay Thai Festival Date: March 14-17, 2015 Venue: Ayutthaya Historical Ayutthaya

Park,

Songkran Splendours Date: April 10-15, 2015 Venue: Nationwide

May

Thailand Music Festival Date: May 23 – 24, 2015 Venue: Phetchaburi

June

Thailand Grand Sale Festival Date: June 15 – August 15, 2015 Venue: Nationwide

Opening Ceremony of the “2015 Discover Thainess” campaign Date: January 14, 2015 Venue: Siam Discovery and Ratchaprasong Intersection, Bangkok

July

Thailand Tourism Festival 2015 Date: January 14 – 18, 2015 Venue: Lumpini Park, Bangkok

Queen of Silk Festival Date: August 14-16, 2015 Venue: Bangkok

Thailand International Food Festival Date: September 18-20, 2015 Venue: Bangkok Thailand Time Trial Date: October 24-26, 2014 Venue: The Northern Region

November

Loi Krathong Festival Date: November 25, 2015 Venue: Nationwide

December

January 23 – February 5, 2015 33

Phetchabun: Bliss in the Mist

Immerse in the land of mist-shrouded mountains of flowers.

Nan: Slow Life Zone

Indulge in the most romantic province in Thailand.

Buriram: Dual Diversions

Discover the land where ancient Khmer and modern Thai civilisations meet.

Loei: Be Cool

Explore the wisdom of the kingdom’s mountains.

In Royal Melody Date: December 2015 Venue: Bangkok

Samut Songkhram: A River Runs Through it

12 Hidden ‘Thainess’ Gems

Chanthaburi: The Fruitful Land

TAT recommends 12 hidden gems that tourists should not miss when they are in the kingdom. These places are renowned for their unique history, culture and lifestyle.

ASEAN Music and Arts Festival Date: July 17-18, 2015 Venue: Chiang Mai

Lampang: The Sleeping Beauty

August

Learn the age-old arts of Thailand.

Visit the land where time stands still.

Ratchaburi: I ♥ Arts

Trat: Islands of Dreams

Journey to the islands of dreams.

Appreciate the glory of Thailand’s rivers.

Step into the home of all Thai fruits.

Trang: All You Can Eat

Experience exotic nature and cuisine.

Chumphon: Eternity Beach

Enjoy the land of beautiful beaches and crystal clear sea.

Nakhon Si Thammarat: Pure Indulgence

Be mesmerised in the land of distinct religion and nature.

Recipe

All photos Courtesy of “I Just Want to Eat”

Pineapple Upside Down Cake www.ijustwanttoeat.com Here is a very easy recipe for a delicious Pineapple Upside Down Cake.

Ingredients:

• 7oz (200g) of butter • 7oz (200g) of powdered sugar • 7oz (200g) of white flour • 5 eggs • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract • 1 teaspoon of almond extract • 1 packet of yeast • 1 can of sliced pineapple

Steps:

1. Prepare the cake batter: Melt the butter and integrate it with the sugar. Incorporate one by one the eggs. Add the sifted flour and the yeast. Add the almond and vanilla extracts. Add some of the pineapple juice from the can.

2. Make a caramel: In a saucepan, melt some brown sugar and water to make caramel.

Bring to a boil.

3. Assemble the cake: In a cake pan, pour the caramel and then lay the slices of pineapple (Picture 1). Cover with the cake batter, making sure that no batter goes under the pineapple slices (Picture 2).

4. Cook the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

Cook for 35 to 50 minutes (check if the cake is cooked with a knife).

When the cake is cooked, put it on a plate, pineapple up, and let it cool.

Pineapple Cake.

This article was originally published on www.ijustwanttoeat.com.

1

2

3

34 JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015

Values Virtues

Epoch Times

Is It Tough to be Virtuous

When You are Rich?

Years of experience in the education sector show that it is tougher to educate wealthy children

By Zhen Zhuyue | Translated by Richard Lim Epoch Times Staff

T

AIWAN—My first teaching experience at an aristocratic private school was fraught with difficulties.

I had a student who hurtfully declared, “My mom said we who pay the tuition fees are the boss.

Teachers must listen to us.”

Once, when I bought pearl milk tea for my students to reward them for their good performance, they said, “Teacher, we don’t want pearl milk tea. We want mango smoothie.” It was difficult to digest these words, but the students spoke them with so much honesty and imploration in their eyes, as if this was the

most ordinary thing to do.

Thereafter, when I was chatting with a friend who lived in that school district, she said solemnly, “Rich kids are very difficult to teach!”

Problems Arise When Money Is Given Top Priority

My friend analysed, “Since young, these children know that because their parents have no time for them, they can make material demands to be satisfied. Because their parents can settle many things with money, they have enjoyed superior treatment and anything they wanted since birth. It is no wonder that they do not know manners or gratefulness.

They live with a sense of superiority and arrogance, and tend to be self-centred.”

Subsequently, when I was managing problematic students as a teacher, the school

director—worried that I might be too young and quixotic—earnestly advised, “I’ve been in the education sector for many years; the status of teachers is not the same as before. In the past, I taught children of minister-class officials. When these children made mistakes, their parents sincerely and respectfully brought their kids to apologise to the teacher and quietly listen to the teacher’s teach-

At the end of the day, the real problem does not reside in poverty or wealth.

shuttlestock

Epoch Times

ings … Now, many rich parents have a different attitude.”

As these parents barter material wealth for love and affection, their children have a feeling of absolute superiority, resulting in low tolerance towards their environment and other people.

They also lack a sense of security, and one of their most common problems is that even though they crave affirmation and friendship, they might not understand interpersonal relations.

They make big expenditures to treat friends and wear exotic items to draw attention, but because they lack self-confidence, they cannot forge true friendships and often find themselves mired in deception, conflict, anger and depression. They tell one lie after another, hoping to gain status among friends, but they are often exposed for their lies and end up isolated and repulsed. Their parents, obsessed with their superior status, indiscriminately defend their children.

I had a former repeat student

Values & Virtues The true task is for us to maintain the nobility of our character and seek constant self-improvement to counter the seduction of material wealth. who left the deepest impression on me. Once, during a field trip, he brought alcohol to “share” on the tour bus, which made many of his classmates vomit after being inebriated. On another occasion, he brought books replete with blood and violence, which are not suitable for children, and circulated them in class.

When I found out and informed his parents, his mother, who was a high level executive at a company, was not

the least bit bothered. Instead, she coldly replied, “Our entire family treats our guests with alcohol. … I paid for the book with my credit card and I did not see the book clearly at that time.

Please do not reprimand (us).” It was an offensive response.

His father also told me off in a high-handed and domineering way, “Do not presume that I have no influence on the school’s board. I can make you lose your job. No student will ever think of you after his graduation!”

To be Rich and Courteous

Eventually, I decided to leave that school despite the director’s persuasions to stay. I went to teach as a substitute teacher in a school at a remote place.

There, I felt a world of difference as a teacher. The children there were likeable and innocent, and obedient and respectful towards teachers. When I occasionally gave them a treat, they would joyously celebrate. Their positive attitude and character raised the deepest affection in my heart, and I slowly began to cheer up

JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015 35

and regain my former optimism.

Notably, I received a phone greeting from my former student (i.e. the child who gave his classmates alcohol) on New Year’s Eve when the clock struck 12. Although we only spoke a few words, he seemed to have matured a lot. After I hung up, I could not help but be grateful to God for helping me regain my confidence in the education sector through this phone call.

At the end of the day, the real problem does not reside in poverty or wealth. The true task is for us to maintain the nobility of our character and seek constant self-improvement to counter the seduction of material wealth.

Conversely, what is most lamentable is to lust after illgotten gains, or to disregard what ought to be cherished, and thereby go astray.

In recent memory, stories of kids from rich families getting into trouble have repeatedly made headlines. Two years ago, a rich college student who flaunted his wealth online got into a drunk-driving accident with his

luxury car, destroying four lives and a happy family.

This month, a South Korean airline heiress was charged in court for threatening navigation safety by making a plane return to the gate, because she was unhappy with the ‘wrong way’ her macademia nuts were served, in a bag instead of on a plate.

These stories speak of the crimes and debauchery committed by the children of the rich, and serve as a timely warning to us all.

Fotolia

A student girl respects and appreciates her teacher.

Values & Virtues

36 JANUARY 23 - FEBRUARY 5, 2015

过 无闻闻 能心誉过 改非恐怒

归 名闻闻 于为过 誉 无错欣乐

倘 有直损 掩心谅友 饰非士来

增 名渐益 一 为相 友 辜恶亲却

若 唯 见 见彼 凡 事 衣 德人 人说 道 非 服 学 恶 善长 字 宜

若 唯 即 即此 重 勿 饮 才 内 思说 且 轻 食 艺 省 齐短 舒 诺

不 不 有 纵不 勿 苟 如 如 则 去关 急 轻 人 人 改 远己 疾 诺

勿 当无 以莫 勿 进 生 自加 渐闲模 退 戚 砺 警 跻管 糊 错 *

见奸话 未巧说 真语多

勿秽不 轻污如 言词少

知市惟 未井其 的气是

勿切勿 轻戒佞 传之巧

凡 出 言

信 为 先

诈 与 妄

奚 可 焉

信

Epoch Times

弟 子 規

* According to Dizi Gui, “In virtue and learning, in ability and skill, spur yourself to catch up if you’re not as good as others. But if it’s in clothing and attire, or housing and food, that you are not as good as others, then don’t be affected. ” lessons from dizi gui

Valuing Character Over Affluence

By Jade Pearce Epoch Times Staff

Dizi Gui (Standards for Being a Good Student and Child) is an ancient Chinese text for children that teaches moral values and etiquette.

It was written during the Qing Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Kangxi (1661-1722) by Li Yuxiu.

Beneath the conservative, “oldschool” verbose of this ancient classic, one can still find gems of wisdom that remain surprisingly relevant to our modern society. A new lesson is covered in each issue.

You’ve probably heard of or joked about the Singaporean Dream of the 5 C’s: Cash, Car, Credit card, Condominium, and Country club membership. Or its upgraded version, the 5 B’s: Brain, Body, Billionaire, Bungalow, and BMWs. In cosmopolitan Singapore, attaining material wealth and social status is what many consider the pinnacle of success. It keeps people slogging hard at their jobs. It is the dream that many, especially fresh-faced entrants to the workforce, want to achieve.

In recent years, however, some have questioned our focus on material wealth and proposed a new set of C’s—character, consideration, charity, and commitment, to name some.

This week’s lesson from Dizi Gui echoes this sentiment: “In virtue, learning, ability and skill, spur yourself to catch up if you’re not as good as others. But if it’s in clothing, attire, housing, or

“Only by losing one’s virtue can one lose his or her status.”

Liu Yan food that you are not as good as others, then don’t be affected.”

And there is indeed some wisdom to this statement—when people judge a person’s true worth, it’s his internal self that is most important and that earns the greatest respect; not his external façade.

Here, we highlight two great examples of this lesson: Madame Marie Curie, and Liu Yan, a prime minister of the Tang Dynasty.

The Martyr to Science

Polish physicist and chemist Marie Curie (1867-1934) is most famous for her pioneering research on radioactivity, which paved the way for nuclear physics and cancer therapy, and for which she was awarded two Nobel Prizes—the first person (and only woman) to do so.

Madam Curie spent her entire life working to further her discoveries, which ultimately cost her life.

Her early research with her husband, Pierre Curie, was performed in poorly ventilated shed with a broken roof, which dropped to 6 degrees in winter.

She went on to direct the

world’s first studies of radioactive isotopes for cancer treatment, and raised funds to establish the Curie Institutes for medical research.

Beyond her scientific achievements, Madame Curie was revered by people for her modesty and selflessness.

She and her husband chose not to patent radium—which would have given them much-needed funds—so that other scientists could research on radium unhindered. They often refused medals and awards. Curie also gave away most of her Nobel Prize money to family, friends, and associates.

She was always seen in the same garb—a simple dark dress.

She once famously said, “I have no dress except the one I wear every day. If you are going to be kind enough to give me one, please let it be practical and dark so that I can put it on afterwards to go to the laboratory.”

When she passed away, the world mourned the loss of a brilliant scientist and magnificent human being. Said Albert Einstein, “Marie Curie is, of all celebrated beings, the only one whom fame has not corrupted.”

the Tang salt monopoly and food transportation systems, and for enabling the recovery of the Tang economy after the disastrous Anshi Rebellion.

An incorruptible and honest official, Liu was very thrifty.

One wintery morning, Liu was on his way to a meeting when he saw some bakeries selling hot cakes. He decided to buy one, but went into a few bakeries first before finding the cheapest one.

When the other officials passed by the cheap bakery, they laughed when they saw Prime Minister Liu inside eating hot cakes. Liu simply smiled and told them that the cakes were delicious.

His servants were embarrassed, but Liu said, “It is a vir-

tue to be thrifty. Only by losing one’s virtue can one lose his or her status, and a virtuous person will always be thrifty.”

Other than his royal robes, Liu’s clothes were all made of homespun cotton. He lived in a simple house with old furniture, and his meals were spartan. He had few servants, and his wife and children did the household chores.

Despite his thriftiness, Liu frequently liked to help others.

Most of his income was used to help others in need. Many poor students received his financial assistance, as well as his less fortunate relatives and friends.

For his talent and moral character, Liu has been immortalised in Chinese history as one of its greatest financial analysts. wikimedia

The Thrifty Prime Minister

Liu Yan was a famous financial expert of the Tang Dynasty. A child genius, Liu was made a palace scribe at seven. Instead of becoming complacent, he studiously capitalised on the imperial library’s vast literature to improve his knowledge. Liu was best known for reforming

Polish physicist and chemist Marie Curie (1867-1934).

Values & Virtues

Epoch Times

JANUARY 23 - FEBRUARY 5, 2015 37

ancient chinese wisdom

The Ocean is Broad and Vast

By Epoch Times Staff Lin Zexu, a prime minister during the Qing Dynasty, [the final dynasty, c. 1644 – 1914] went down in history as the one who banned the use of opium.

In his spare time, Liu would write very colourful verses replete with meaning, and affixed them everywhere throughout his home.

One of these verses read, “An ocean is the receptacle for many river deltas, and is broad and vast. A wall constructed of iron and bronze stands solid and cannot be breached: it is indomitable, without intent or ambition.”

The first part inspired him to listen with attention, and to graciously tolerate differing attitudes and viewpoints.

This helped him to develop an invincible stance.

SportsElements@WestCoastPlaza 154 West Coast Road #01-50 West Coast Plaza S(127371) Tel: 6776 2685

Andrew Redington/ Getty Images

The second part admonished and reminded him, as a highranking official, to refuse to succumb to any desires and cravings. This helped him to maintain justice, while remaining strong and righteous.

People admired the spirit of Lin’s tolerance, and considered his life’s story a lesson to be passed down for future generations.

To treat others with tolerance and forgiveness is a virtue that he proved, through example, can accomplish grand things.

Displaying tolerance towards others might be just the impetus someone needs to awaken their special talents or abilities, and strengthen positive attributes.

A broadminded person examines himself constantly to ferret out shortcomings, but never mentions the faults of others! Thus, the mind is enabled to rise to loftier realms.

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38 JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015

Values & Virtues

Epoch Times

5 Essential Steps That Will Help You Build Confidence If you’re not very confident meeting new people or speaking in front of a crowd, then you might have to build selfconfidence.

Confidence makes people likeable and charming, and although it’s commonly believed to be an inherited trait, in r e a l i t y, it’s a skill that can be developed over time. The key to building confidence is to practice whenever the opportunity presents itself—

Fotolia

By Keejaa Ramgotra | Epoch Times

F of fear?

ear is an illusion that limits and blocks us from reaching our potential and greatness.

What should you do in the face

1) Realize it

Recognize that you are afraid. Being aware that you are afraid is the first step to changing it.

just keep a positive frame of mind.

1. Assess your strengths

Focus on your strengths and see how you can use these qualities to build up your confidence even more.

• Learn to be proud about achievements that you’ve had and things you’ve been recognised for.

• Remember compliments you’ve received in the past and learn to accept them wholeheartedly.

• Always learn something new, this way you’ll never run out of things to talk about. Read the newspaper and keep up with current events, learn about art, culture, and latest trends.

2. Evaluate your presentation

Be aware of your mood and how it affects your surroundings.

• If necessary, improve your appearance— wearing appropriate clothing in good taste will help you feel more comfortable and confident in yourself.

• Have a positive mindset, dismiss

3) Refresh Yourself

Fear is very strenuous on our bodies so do something to bounce back and refresh yourself.

• do something kind for yourself • strech • get a glass of water • go for a walk

3. Body language

Be aware of your body’s movement and posture.

• Stand or sit straight, but avoid looking rigid and tense. Face the person or people you’re speaking to and avoid fidgeting or crossing your arms.

• Moderately gesture but try not to overdo it—make sure that your gestures are genuine and match your speech.

• Make eye contact and lightly nod to let the other person know that you’re being attentive.

4. Facial expression

Your facial expression needs to be genuinely relaxed and positive.

• The key is to smile—but it has to be a

Here Are 7 Things to Do in the Face of Fear

2) Breathe “Are you breathing right now?”

When you are in fear your body starts to shut down and goes into panic mode.

Once you realize you are afraid, check where your breathing is. Are you breathing at all? Being aware of your breath will calm your body down and help you regain control of your thoughts.

Being able to take a step back once you are aware of your state of being, will drastically change how you react. If you are calm it is much easier to put things into perspective.

If you can in that moment of fear, ask yourself this question: Is it worth freaking out right now? Is it worth being afraid? What is the worst thing that would happen if I faced my fear?

negative thoughts, and refrain from making negative comments.

• Relax and speak clearly—emphasise important words and make subtle changes in volume, pitch, rhythm, and tone—this will help make your speech more interesting.

genuine smile. Give a subtle gesture of acknowledgement to someone standing at a distance with a soft nod and a quick smile.

• Refrain from keeping a serious expression—this makes most people seem cold and potentially angry.

• During a conversation or when making a speech, don’t shift your eyes around too much—keep them locked and engaged by gazing back.

5. Compliments

Don’t be afraid of who you are.

• If someone pays you a compliment, don’t feel embarrassed and learn to embrace it.

• Say ‘thank you’ and give a sincere compliment in return.

• Find positive attributes in others and learn to compliment in return—in addition, don’t be afraid to ask questions or make comments about something appealing about another person—i.e.: “That’s a lovely dress. I recently bought a skirt made with the same material and in a similar colour. I love the design.”

Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.

W. Clement Stone

fotoli a

By Tatiana Tobar-Darzi R. Epoch Times Staff

4) Hold Your Ground

No matter what is trying to antagonize you it is never worth losing your cool.

Hold you ground. Remain steady in the face of something that is trying to frighten you. Once you are in control of your center (where you heart is) all you have to do is remain honest, even if that is admitting your fears to someone else.

Sometimes you need to ask for help.

5) Eliminate the fear= Eliminate the negativity

According to science, it takes 17 seconds of consistent thought to change your perspective.

If you can think of 5 good things to be grateful for every morning when you wake up and 5 things to be grateful for when you go to sleep the negative thoughts will dissolve over time.

If you were to continue to do this everyday for 21 days there would be a very significant change in the way that

you think, and if you can do it for 90 consecutive days, the change will be permanent. It takes a lot of effort to go back to that negative way of viewing things because it it so limited. Trust me.

Remember these two phrases: • Negative thoughts are limited, and feel bad.

• Positive thoughts are limitless and feel good.

“The limitless content of our universe might be only one instance of a large (and possibly infinite) number of other universes.“ You might also like this: Your Problems are Insignificant, According to the ‘Immeasurable Heavens’

6) Feeling good changes everything.

Your feelings are measurable and are not erratic, they can be controlled. In fact you are the only one who can control them.

When you feel good it is much more difficult to feel fear than when you are

already in doubt. Here is another note: don’t doubt yourself!

“Thinking will not overcome fear but action will.” – W. Clement Stone

7) Fear of change = resistance

“What we resist, persists.” Albert Einstein We can get into a bad habit of expecting the worst because bad things are going to happen in life. For example, death is a part of life and its something that we have to embrace and accept. When you can remain calm through the negative and the positive there will be a significant difference in how you look at the world around you. You will be surrounded by a world of positivity rather than a world of limits.

“You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.” - Dale Carnegie.

Art

Epoch Times

JANUARY 23 – FEBRUARY 5, 2015 39

ALL Photos courtesy of artist Jamie Harkins

Epoch Times Published in 35 countries and 21 languages.

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on the Beach ?

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By Kristina Pentchoukova Epoch Times Staff

M

onuments, skate parks, intricate structures didn’t come easy for artist Jamie Harkins, who wanted to know how he can transfer 3D street art onto the sandy beaches of New Zealand, where he lives.

First he studied geometry and looked for clues in

photos but nothing could prepare Jamie for the art like going out to the beach and actually drawing in the sand. The tides worked in his favour, washing away any flaws and offering a clean canvas. Jamie likes to create interactive works that make locals wonder in amazement, and leave him city-famous.

Sand is what Jamie uses as his canvas, sticks are his brushes.

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