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FRIDAY, February 17, 2017 White House Says Medicare Should Leverage Its Buying Power to Pull Down Drug Prices Read on Page 18 or Call 832-806-1000
Vol. 30 No. 7 Friday, February 17, 2017 • Published Weekly from Houston • 713-774-5140 24 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: voiceasia@aol.com • www.voiceofasiaonline.com
PetroChina’s growth in Houston as told by its president Shaolin Li by Shobana Muratee
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OUSTON – On Thursday February 9, the Asian Chamber of Commerce (ACC) luncheon, featured guest presenter Shaolin Li, President, PetroChina International (America), Inc. (PCIA) and Chairman, The Houston Chapter of China General Chamber of Commerce-USA to speak on ‘The Making of a Company: Petrochina.’ Based in Houston, Texas, PCIA primarily engages in the trading of crude oil, natural gas, petrochemicals, and refined petroleum products; as well as in operating an international shipping business. As part of PetroChina International’s growth strategy in the
India’s air pollution is now causing 1.1m deaths each year ndia’s rapidly worsening air pollution now rivals China in terms of related premature deaths every year, according to new research.
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Western Hemisphere, PCIA was incorporated in 2003 and is based in Houston, Texas. “For the first three years we suffered loss had only three people (including me) in office,” Li spoke of the company’s humble beginnings and early struggles that included social, cultural and even language setbacks. In 2012, PCIA formed a 100% owned subsidiary, PCIC in Calgary as a base for Canadian business. In 2014 another PCIA subsidiary was established in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. “As of today we have 165 people, among that 143 are local hire,” Li said speaking of the company’s philosophy to allow suitable people in suitable position to do
suitable things. Shaolin started his career in 1989 at the Dushanzi Refinery in Xianjiang, China, where in 1997 he was appointed as General Manager of the Import Export Division. In 2000, he was promoted to President of the PetroChina International Northwest China Corporation. Shaolin was elected as Chairman of The Houston Chapter of China General Chamber of Commerce in August, 2015. CGCC-Houston has expended from 39 members to 71 members over the past one and half year, and has now become the commercial service Continued on page 7
Shaolin Li President, PetroChina International (America), Inc. speaking at the ACC Luncheon on February 9, 2017. Photo by Shobana Muratee, VOA
Sri Meenakshi Temple Society’s grand celebration of Thaipoosam
Yo-Yo Ma and his ensemble wins Grammy
More than 800 devotees participated in the celebrations including “Kavadi”, “Paalkudam” and reciting the Skanda Shasti Kavasam providing a feast to the eyes and ears.
India’s air now rivals China’s as the world’s deadliest, according to a new study published Tuesday amid warnings that efforts to curb pollution from coal will not yield results any time soon. India’s notoriously poor air quality causes nearly 1.1 million premature deaths every year, almost on a par with China, concluded a joint report by two USbased health research institutes.
Sandeep Das
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ello virtuoso Yo-Yo Ma on Sunday won a Grammy with his Silk Road Ensemble for “Sing Me Home,” an exploration of the musical connections across Eurasia.
But whereas deaths linked to air pollution in China have steadied in recent years, the rate has soared in India where smog readings in major cities routinely eclipse safe exposure levels. India has recorded a nearly 50 percent increase in early deaths linked to fine airborne particles known as PM2.5 between 1990 and 2015, the report found. (-AFP)
The French-born Chinese American cellist had previously won an impressive 17 Grammys. Ma set up The Silk Road Ensemble to bring together musicians from the historic route that connected the Middle East and Asia, in hopes both of finding artistic commonalities and furthering the cause of intercultural understanding.
READ REPORT ON PAGE 3
India puts record 104 satellites into orbit by Arun SANKAR
viously held by Russia.
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“They have hit a century in space technology,” Modi said at an election rally in northern Uttar Pradesh state.
RIHARIKOTA, India | AFP | Wednesday 2/15/2017 - India successfully put a record 104 satellites from a single rocket into orbit on Wednesday in the latest triumph for its famously frugal space programme. Celebrations erupted among scientists at the southern spaceport of Sriharikota as the head of India’s Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced all the satellites had been ejected as planned. “My hearty congratulations to the ISRO team for this success,” the agency’s director Kiran Kumar told those gathered in an observatory to track the progress of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the scientists for achieving the feat which smashes a record pre-
The rocket took off at 9:28am (0358 GMT) and cruised at a speed of 27,000 kilometres (16,777 miles) per hour, ejecting all the 104 satellites into orbit in around 30 minutes, according to ISRO. The rocket’s main cargo was a 714 kilogram (1,574 pounds) satellite for Earth observation but it was also loaded with 103 smaller “nano satellites”, weighing a combined 664 kilograms. The smallest weighed only 1.1 kilogram. Nearly all of the nano satellites are from other countries, including Israel, Kazakhstan, Switzerland and 96 from the United States. Continued on Page 11
Onlookers watch the launch of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLVC37) at Sriharikota on Febuary 15, 2017 (AFP Photo/ARUN SANKAR)
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