Daily Dose: 08/28/08

August 28, 2008

» AsianWeek Market Report
» Indian Americans Flex Muscle at Democratic Convention
» Judge Lowers Bail for Man Charged With Rape
» Oakland Restaurant Owner Foils Robbers
» Student Reflections from Studying Abroad in Japan
» OCA San Mateo’s 21st Annual Asian American Achievement Awards Gala
» Filipino American appointed to SF Assessment Appeals Board
» 12th Annual Thai Art and Food Festival
» AAJC says LPGA English Policy Discriminatory
» Beijing Olympic Memorabilia on the Block
» Life Insurance Premiums in China Expand
» Columbia Pacific Raises $135M for Asian Hospital Fund
» Russia Courts Asian Allies
» Tibet’s Most Famous Female Author Summoned by Police
» Vietnamese Catholics Complain of Police Violence
» Ronald McDonald House Charities Donates Ambulances

Compiled by Leila Kang, Vicki Mac and Ivan Natividad

AsianWeek Market Report

AsianWeek Market Report
Asian Stock Indexes
NIKKEI 225	Tokyo	12,768.25	15.29	0.12%
HANG SENG	Hong Kong	20,972.29	-492.43	0.12%
KRX	Busan	3,057.19	-41.69	-1.35%
SSE IX	Shanghai	7,817.05	-10.11	-0.67%
BSE	Bombay	14,048.34	-248.45	-1.74%
HOSE	Ho Chi Minh	547.69	-14.16	-2.52%
SET	Bangkok	682.83	6.84	1.01%
Asian American Market Report
Yahoo!	YHOO	19.65	0.28	(1.45%)
Citigroup	C	19.08	0.96	(5.30%)
Amkor Technology, Inc	AMKR	7.62	-0.08	(-1.04%)
Sybase	SY	35.12	1.21	(3.57%)
UnionBancal Corp	UB	73.70	0.30	(0.41%)
East West Bank corp,Inc	EWBC	12.34	0.15	(1.23%)

NATION

Indian Americans Flex Muscle at Democratic Convention

DENVER — The growing clout of Indian Americans in the American political arena is reflected in the record number of Indian American delegates and other participants at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, said speakers at a reception hosted by the Indian American Leadership Initiative at the Denver Athletic Club Aug. 25.

Among the prominent Indian Americans there were many of the 37 Democratic delegates of Indian descent, along with Preeta Bansal, a former New York Solicitor General now working on the Obama campaign; Kamala Harris, district attorney for San Francisco; Rep. Raj Goyle of Kansas, the first South Asian elected official in that heartland state; Rep. Jay Goyal of New Jersey; Michigan state Senator Hansen Clarke; Rep. Anu Natarajan of Fremont, Calif.; New Jersey Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri; and the District of Columbia’s chief technology officer, Vivek Kundra.

In addition to the Indian American delegates, 30 Indian Americans are committee members or alternate delegates.

— India West

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Judge Lowers Bail for Man Charged With Rape

CONCORD, N.H. — The Concord nail salon owner charged with raping a female customer earlier this month has been given a lower bail but more restrictions if he is released from jail.

Hai Phuoc Tran, 39, and owner of Queen Nails, had been held on $1 million since his Aug. 13 arrest. This week, a Concord District Court judge reduced Tran’s bail to $500,000 cash or corporate surety but said if he posts bail, Tran is prohibited from going anywhere but his home or the offices of bail supervisors.

Tran raped a 22-year-old customer during a nail appointment Aug. 12, the police said.

Tran is charged with three felonies—aggravated felonious sexual assault, kidnapping and criminal restraint—and two misdemeanors—sexual assault and simple assault.

— Concord Monitor

BAY/CALIFORNIA

Oakland Restaurant Owner Foils Robbers

OAKLAND, Calif. — The owner of a Montclair district Chinese restaurant says he thwarted a robbery when he refused to open his locked door to two men he saw put on masks.

Lee’s Cafe on Mountain Boulevard was most likely going to be the latest in a series of takeover robberies plaguing the East Bay, said authorities.

The owner who did not give his name said two men in dark clothing tried to come inside but found the door locked about 6 p.m., a procedure he put in place after several restaurants were targeted. The men were gone by the time police arrived.

Police are offering up to $50,000 in reward money for information leading to the arrest of the suspects. Anyone with information can call police at (510) 238-3326 or Crime Stoppers at (510)777-8572 or (510) 777-3211.

— KCBS.com

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Student Reflections from Studying Abroad in Japan

SAN FRANCISCO — This past summer 4 college students, most of them with little knowledge of the language or culture, set out for Japan to study, live and find their cultural roots through the Nikkei Youth Cultural Heritage Program, a new program of the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCNC).

“What really sets the Nikkei Cultural Heritage Program apart from just visiting is the opportunity to live with two host families. I was forced to communicate with people who only speak Japanese, and I was able to apply what I learned in class to everyday life,” said Michael Oguro, a student at Cal Poly Pomona.

In 2009, the JCCCNC is looking to expand the program by partnering with Japanese associations in Los Angeles, Washington and Hawai‘i.

For more information on the Nikkei Youth Cultural Heritage Program or to apply for summer 2009 Program, please contact Lori Matoba at (415) 567-5505 or email LMatoba@jcccnc.org

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OCA San Mateo’s 21st Annual Asian American Achievement Awards Gala

SAN MATEO, Calif. — The Organization of Chinese Americans San Mateo will host The Asian American Achievement Awards on Saturday, September 27, at 6 p.m. at the South San Francisco Convention Center, 255 South Airport Boulevard. This fundraiser helps to raise money for its scholarship program, OCA National Internship Program and Speak & Lead with Pride program, a set of workshops designed to improve local high school students’ public speaking skills.

Achievement awards will be given to outstanding achievers from the APA Community. This year, the recipients are Yul Kwon, winner of Survivor: Cook Islands; Maggie Mui, senior vice president and director of San Francisco Bay Region Specialized Solutions at Wells Fargo Bank; and Ginny Soong, president of World Journal.

John Sasaki, television personality with KTVU Channel 2 News, will host the celebration.
For more information, visit ocasanmateo.org.

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Filipino American appointed to SF Assessment Appeals Board

SAN FRANCISCO — Alfredo C. Perez has been appointed to the San Francisco Assessment Appeals Board, a body that provides property owners a means to appeal their property tax assessments.

He will be the only Filipino American to serve on the current 16-member board.
Perez’s appointment comes at a time when the Assessor’s Office is being swamped with appeals from property owners for a reduction in the value of their homes.

Perez, a Certified Public Accountant and veteran city employee, worked for several years as an accountant for private companies and the City’s Department of Public Works. He went on to become a personal property auditor-appraiser at the San Francisco Assessor’s Office from 1977 to 2002.

An active member of the Filipino American community, he has been affiliated with a number of professional, political and civic organizations.

ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT

12th Annual Thai Art and Food Festival

Includes fruit & vegetable carving demostration, Thai classical music & dance, Thai kick boxing, Thai shadow puppet show, pick a star raffle from the raffle tree, Thai cultural exhibition, Thai souvenirs, gifts and handicrafts from Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and a variety of authentic Thai food and desserts. The Teach English Overseas Volunteer Program will also be there to recruit people.

Dates: August 30-August 31
Times: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Location: Hall of Flowers, 9th & Lincoln Way, San Francisco
Donation: $5, $3 for kids under 12, FREE under 3 yrs

SPORTS

AAJC says LPGA English Policy Discriminatory

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Asian American Justice Center has urged Ladies Professional Golf Association sponsors to withdraw support of the Tour until the English-proficiency policy is retracted.

The LPGA will require all players to be proficient in English starting in 2009, and those who cannot pass an oral evaluation of English skills face suspension from the Tour.

There are currently 121 international players from 26 countries on the LPGA Tour.

“The policy is an affront to our American principles of diversity and equality. It is even more unconscionable that the LPGA is devolving to past divisive and exclusionary practices of their sport,” said Vincent A. Eng, deputy director of AAJC.

“The game of golf has a long history of exclusion of minorities and women, and they have fought for years to be included in sport… That is why it is shocking that the LPGA would issue this policy,” added Tuyet G. Duong, senior staff attorney at AAJC.

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Beijing Olympic Memorabilia on the Block

BEIJING — China Daily reports that more than 20 million Beijing Games memorabilia will soon be put to auction and is estimated to generate more than one billion yuan. Some of the items include NBA star Yao Ming’s bed and the ancient Chinese drums used in the Opening Ceremony of the Beijing Games.

Media reports say Yao’s 2.6 metre long bed could go for up to US$292,000.

The exchange manager said, “Every piece of item listed online will have an accompanying photograph and the contact number of its ‘keeper.’”

On Aug. 5, the first stage of the auction exchange auctioned off 1,470 pieces of furniture and devices for 23,000 yuan, almost five times the estimated price.

Other items to be auctioned include a sedan used by International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge.

Information on the auction will be posted on the CBEX website at cbex.com.cn.

COMMERCE

Life Insurance Premiums in China Expand

BEIJING — Life insurance companies in China collected 481.89 billion yuan in premiums in the first seven months of this year, up 66.7 percent, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said.

Luo Yi, an analyst with China Merchants Securities, attributed the fast growth to sales of investment-oriented policies through banks, which could result in risks such as exaggeration of investment returns and weak supervision.

Chen Wenhui, assistant to the Commission chairman, said earlier at an internal meeting of the commission that sharp fluctuations in the insurance sector should be avoided and steps should be taken to achieve a soft landing of the life insurance business.

Wan Feng, president of China Life, noted his company would stick to marketing traditional policies and develop investment-oriented products appropriately.

— InsuranceNewsNet.com

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Columbia Pacific Raises $135M for Asian Hospital Fund

Investment firm Columbia Pacific said it’s raised $135 million in a second round of financing for its Asian hospital construction fund.

The fund, Columbia Asia, has raised a total of $325 million, according to the Seattle investment company. It opened its first hospital in Malaysia in 1994 and now operates 13 medical facilities, with 14 under construction. It owns the land to build another 12. According to Columbia Pacific, when Columbia Asia is completed, it will have 21 hospitals and a clinic in India, 11 hospitals in Malaysia, three hospitals in Vietnam, three hospitals in Indonesia—in all representing an investment of more than $600 million.

The company said it specializes in building hospitals in residential areas.

— Washington Business Journal

GLOBAL

Russia Courts Asian Allies

Russia proposed expanding a security alliance with China to counter NATO as the European Union considered sanctions on Russia for its recognition of two separatist Georgian regions.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has become an “authoritative organization that commands respect.” The group will consider adding new members, he said today at a summit in the Tajik capital Dushanbe.

In addition to Russia and China, the seven-year-old organization includes Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, while India, Iran, Pakistan and Mongolia have “observer”’ status.

Medvedev traveled to Dushanbe in search of support from China and Central Asian allies as Russia’s relations with the West continued to sour.

The U.S. views the fact the Shanghai group and other countries haven’t recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as evidence of international disapproval of Russia’s actions.

— Bloomberg.com

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Tibet’s Most Famous Female Author Summoned by Police

Tibet’s most famous female author and blogger, Woeser, was questioned by police for eight hours and accused of taking photographs on the street. Later, she returned home briefly to the capital, Lhasa.

According a report on Tuesday by Norway-based Voice of Tibet, Woeser, accompanied by her husband, Wang Lixiong, went back to Lhasa on August 17 to visit her family.

Eight officers unexpectedly arrived at her mother’s home and presented Woeser with a summons to accompany them for questioning. They searched her mother’s home and took her away. She was detained for eight hours. Police say that they had been contacted by an individual who had seen Woeser taking photographs of soldiers and police on the streets of Lhasa.

— The Epoch Times

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Vietnamese Catholics Complain of Police Violence

HANOI, Vietnam — Police used stun guns and beat parishioners protesting the arrest of fellow church members who have demanded the return of land they say was taken by Vietnam’s communist government in the early 1960s, a Catholic priest said Thursday.

State-run television did not mention the confrontation. Vietnamese officials could not be reached for comment on Thursday night.

Earlier in the day, police had arrested two church members, accusing them of knocking down a fence that surrounds land parishioners want returned to the church, according to state-owned television.

A priest at the Thai Ha church in Hanoi said four church members were arrested.

Police arrested seven demonstrators, and several people suffered minor injuries during the confrontation.

Although religious freedom has been growing in Vietnam recently, the state closely monitors religious organizations and only recognizes a half-dozen officially sanctioned faiths, including Catholicism.

Catholicism is Vietnam’s second-largest faith after Buddhism, with more than 6 million adherents.

— Foxnews.com

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Ronald McDonald House Charities Donates Ambulances

BEIJING — Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) will donate ten new ambulances to children’s hospitals in China’s earthquake stricken Sichuan Province. The donation is part of an ongoing, multi-million dollar effort by RMHC China and the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation (SCLF), to help those affected by the devastating Sichuan earthquake in May.

China SCLF Vice President Yu Guilin, McDonald’s APMEA President Tim Fenton,
RMHC Global Board member Wai-ling Eng, RMHC China Board Director &
McDonald’s China CEO Jeff Schwartz and McDonald’s China VP & Central
Region GM Alan Liam handed over the ambulance keys to hospital officials and
kids from Sichuan.

Chinese Olympic heroes and gold medalists Zhang Ning, Yang Wei, Li Xiaopeng,
Zou Kai, Teng Haibin and Luo Wei met with kids from Sichuan to give hope to the young people in the affected area.

Daily Dose: 08/28/08

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