Georgia Asian Times November 15-30, 2014

Covering The Multicultural Asian American Community in Georgia www.gasiantimes.com November 15-30, 2014

No Free Trade Deal at APEC

Page 2 November 15-30, 2014 Georgia Asian Times

Publisher: Li WongAccount Manager: Adrian WestContributors: Andrian Putra, May Lee, Mark Ho

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Georgia Asian Times November 15-30, 2014 Page 3

Monte Jade Southeast 22nd Annual Conference & Banquet“Technology, Leadership, and Upward Mobility”Date: Saturday, November 15, 2014Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm; Banquet 6:00 pmVenue: Hilton Atlanta NortheastFor more information: www.monteja-dese.org or Jimmy Ku 404.520.9370

Strategic Engagement: Doing Business with ChinaPresented by International Education Week-Georgia State UniversityDate: Wednesday, Nov 19, 2014Time: 12:00 pm - 1:30 pmVenue: Centennial Hall Auditorium, GSUFor more info: 404-313-2530, [email protected]

The White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders Region 4 Interagency Working Group Informational Briefing for Atlanta Area AAPI Business CommunityDate: Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Time: 6:00 pm - 8:00 pmVenue: Gwinnett Chamber of Com-merce6500 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth, GA 30097 Thai Night 2014Date: Saturday, December 6, 2014Time: 6:00 pm - 11:00 pmVenue: Global Mall, 5675 Jimmy Car-ter Blvd. Norcross GA 30071For more info: www.thaiassociationof-georgia.org

For more information:• Visit: itsmarta.com/Clifton-Corr.aspx• Email: [email protected]

Help Us Shape Clifton Corridor!

Thursday, December 4, 2014, 6-8 pmWestminster Presbyterian Church1438 Sheridan Rd. NE, Atlanta, GA 30324

Tuesday, December 9, 2014, 6-8 pmEmory Student Activity & Academic CenterRoom 3161946 Starvine Way, Decatur, GA 30033

Come to one of our Scoping meetings to:• Find out the latest developments• Learn more about the environmental study• Answer your questions about the project

CLIFTON CORRIDORTRANSIT INITIATIVE

The Clifton Corridor Transit Initiative is MARTA’s proposed light rail line linking the Lindbergh and Avondale Stations. It will provide rail service to one of the region’s most congested areas – and biggest job centers – serving Emory University & Hospital, CDC, Children’s Healthcare, and VA Hospital.


METRO ASIAN NEWS

Duluth, November 13, 2014 – Gwin-nett Chamber Economic Development and Partnership Gwinnett, in collabo-ration with The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center (SBDC), launched its fifth annual Amazing Entrepreneur Contest today. The competition, which recognizes the best business plan summary in two categories – Established Business and Pre-Venture – will award more than $17,000 in cash and prizes to a Gwin-nett County startup.

“Gwinnett entrepreneurs make sig-

nificant contributions to our communi-ty and as we enter our fifth year, we’re expecting more of them than ever to participate in the Contest and start to engage with the great support services in the region,” stated Mark Farmer, Director for Entrepreneurship for Gwinnett Chamber Economic Develop-ment and Partnership Gwinnett.

In addition to the $10,000 cash award, the Grand Prize winner will also receive consultation with Arnall Gold-en Gregory ($3,000 value), a one-year Gwinnett Chamber membership ($500 minimum value), passes to attend the Chamber’s Small Business ($120 value), and a scholarship to the SBDC Grow Smart program ($985 value), among other prizes.

“Small businesses are the backbone

of our economy and the source of job creation for hard-working people in this community,” stated Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Char-lotte Nash. “With the right tools, these businesses and entrepreneurs will drive innovation and the Amazing

Entrepreneur Contest provides just the support that startups need and en-courages small business development throughout our community.”

The University of Georgia SBDC has

partnered with Gwinnett Chamber Economic Development and Partner-ship Gwinnett to host this contest since its inception in 2010. “The Amazing Entrepreneur Contest is such an im-pactful way of celebrating Gwinnett’s small business community and offering essential business development re-sources at the same time,” commented said Mark Butler, Area Director at The University of Georgia SBDC. “We are pleased to be a partner of this awards program for the fifth year and we’re excited to see the growth in local small business and entrepreneurship.”

The winner of the Pre-Venture cat-

egory will receive a scholarship to the SBDC Start Smart program ($495 val-ue) and accounting services from John Dillard, CPA ($300 value). All contes-tants receive a free Business Plan class at the SBDC.

New this year is an Amazing Entre-

preneur reception, where attendees will get the chance to vote in a new special Pre-Venture category, for the Best Investment Opportunity. The win-ner will receive one pass to attend the Gwinnett Chamber’s Small Business Summit ($59 value).

The Amazing Entrepreneur Contest

platinum sponsors are Jackson Electric Membership Corporation (Jackson EMC), LAN Systems and The Myers Group and Silver sponsors are Creative

The Amazing Entrepreneur Competition is open to business plans

submission

WHIAAPI and White House Internship Opportunities

WHIAAPI offers full-time intern-ships during the spring, summer, and fall in Washington, DC. Part-time applicants who can commit to at least 20 hours a week will be considered, although the Initiative prioritizes full-time applicants (32-40 hours a week). Applicants for intern positions must be undergraduates or graduate students who are enrolled at least half-time. Ideally, the candidate will already be familiar with AAPI issues and have outstanding research, writing, com-munications, and computer skills. Applications for the WHIAAPI spring internship program are due Sunday, November 16, 2014.

The White House Internship Pro-gram provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and build leadership skills. This hands-on program is designed to mentor and cultivate today’s young leaders, strengthen their understanding of the Executive Office and prepare them for future public service opportunities. The White House Internship Pro-gram’s mission is to make the “People’s House” accessible to future leaders from around the nation. The applica-tion for the summer 2015 White House Internship Program is now open, and is due on Sunday, January 11, 2015

For more info: http://www.white-house.gov/about/internships

Contacting and Metro Atlanta Cham-ber.

“I am encouraged by the success of

the Amazing Entrepreneur Contest and its role in fostering successful busi-nesses, a contributor to the growth and economic stability of this community,” said Randy Dellinger, Gwinnett Dis-trict Manager for Jackson EMC.

The contest’s Established Business

category is open to Gwinnett compa-nies with a current business license that have been in operation for up to 36 months. The Pre-Venture category is open to businesses not yet in opera-tion.

Applications will be accepted be-ginning today, November 13, through February 20, 2015. Winners will be announced during the Gwinnett Cham-ber’s Pinnacle Small Business Awards in April.

Applicants will be judged based

on the business plan summary. Full contest rules and details are available on the Amazing Entrepreneur Contest website.

For more information on the Amazing Entrepreneur Contest, please visit www.amazingentrepreneurcontest.com.


METRO ASIAN NEWS

Johns Creek, November 7, 2014 — An official dedication ceremony was held at the Newton Park to honor U.S. service members and veterans who serve the country. The ceremony was attended by veterans, community members, Congressman Tom Price, and dignitaries of foreign consulate in-cluded Seong-jin Kim, Consul General of South Korea and Steven Tai, Direc-tor General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Atlanta.

“I am honored with the fundraising efforts to build this memorial when the project first started about 18-months ago,” said Wayne Kidd, Army and President of Johns Creek Veterans Association.

The memorial park was initially a simple monument located in a corner of Newtown Park. It later became a major initiative when the City of Johns Creek decided to donate four acres of land and with other sponsors to build a memorial walk to recognized sacrifices by World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam, War, the Gulf War, the War in Iraq, the War in Afghanistan, Purple Heart recipients, POW-MIAs, and Women in Service.

“The veterans not only deserved our respect — we must also do a better job taking care of them,” said Con-gressman Tom Price at the dedication ceremony.

7th and 8th graders from Perimeter Christian School sang the Star Span-gled Banner and American the Beauti-ful at the ceremony.

A series of flag raising ceremony in honor of services of the Army, Navy, Marine, Coast Guard, and Air Force were conducted at the flag pavilion at the park.

Speaking at his first official assign-ment as the new Consul General of South Korea in Atlanta, Seong-jin Kim said, “The Korean War is widely remembered as the Forgotten War. Over 74,000 U.S. military served in the war and 757 soldiers from Georgia died in the war — we will never not forget the sacrifices by these veterans in the Korean War.”

The Consulate General of South Ko-rea had made a modest contribution to building of the memorial walk.

There are plans to conduct walking guided tours around the memorial walk by volunteers from Johns Creek Veterans Association starting in the new year.

“We hope to share our experiences and knowledge with young school chil-dren in these guided tours,” said Kidd.

The Johns Creek Veterans Memorial Walk is located at 3125 Old Alabama Road, Johns Creek GA 30022.

Johns Creek dedicates 4-acre Memorial Walk in honor of veterans

Study shows fast food chains targeting black kids

Washington DC, Nov 15, 2014 — Fast food restaurants in the United States are “disproportionately” targeting black children and kids in middle-in-come and rural areas, according to a newly published study.

Researchers at Arizona State Uni-versity and University of Illinois at Chicago looked at 6,716 fast-food out-lets nationwide to check the extent of indoor and outdoor marketing aimed at youngsters.

Marketing towards children ranged from free toys to ads featuring sports celebrities and cartoon characters, as well as play areas and promotions for kids’ birthday parties.

“Majority black communities, rural areas and middle-income communi-ties are disproportionately exposed (to child-directed marketing) and specif-ically to indoor displays of kids’ meal toys, a popular strategy among chain restaurants,” the study said.

“In light of these findings, it is im-portant to urge the fast-food industry to limit children’s exposure to mar-keting that promotes consumption of unhealthy food choices.”

The enduring popularity of fast food is widely seen as contributing to an obesity crisis in the United States, where one in three adults are consid-ered obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

In February, a study in the Journal

of the American Medical Association reported a 43 per cent fall in obesity rates among children aged two to five — raising hopes that obesity might be on the wane.


BUSINESS

US, China agree on visa validity extension to boost trade, tourism

Beijing, Nov 11, 2014 — China and the United States have agreed to significantly extend the terms of short-term visas, US President Barack Obama said yesterday in Beijing, a deal he said would improve trade and business ties between the world’s two largest economies.

tourist.chineseUnder the deal, which the United States will put into effect on November 12, both countries would ex-tend the terms of multiple entry short-term tourist and business visas to 10 years from one year, the White House said in an accompanying statement. Student visas would be extended to five years from one year.

“As a result of this arrangement, the United States hopes to welcome a growing share of eligible Chinese travelers, inject billions (of dollars) in the US economy and create enough demand to support hundreds of thou-sands of additional US jobs,” the White House said in an emailed statement.

Obama made the announcement to business leaders during the Asia-Pacif-ic Economic Cooperation forum after arriving in Beijing on the first leg of an eight-day Asia tour.

The extension of some visas for Chinese nationals to 10 years matches what is currently allowed for citizens

of nations with close relations with the United States, such as European coun-tries and Brazil.

A senior US official said the visa agreement would allow the United States to tap into the fast-growing market of Chinese tourists traveling abroad. The United States now attracts only 2 per cent of Chinese tourism.

“We see this as a really big win,” the official said, estimating that the United States could gain 440,000 jobs by 2021 and receive an US$85 billion annual infusion into the American economy as a result of the new policy.

It will also make it easier for Chinese businesses and investors to get in-volved in US projects.

A second US official said the politi-cal benefit of greater contact between Americans and Chinese would “get to some of the core sources of distrust and competition at the heart of the US-China relationship”.

Chinese travelers have long com-plained about extensive waiting times for pending US visa applications, although the United States says it has made significant improvements.

Beijing, November 9, 2014 – US Trade Representative Michael Fro-man said on Sunday there will be no “major announcement” on a Washing-ton-backed Asia-Pacific free trade deal during a meeting of leaders from the region in Beijing this week.

apec2While few expected that a deal on the ambitious 12-country Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could be reached this year, there had been speculation that significant progress on talks would be announced.

The TPP free trade proposition has stalled largely because of a deadlock between the pact’s two biggest econ-omies, the United States and Japan, over how widely Japan will re-regulate farm exports.

Business leaders are still looking for indications of momentum on TPP talks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Coopera-tion (APEC) forum which runs through Tuesday, despite the US announce-ment.

“There certainly will not be a final agreement, an agreement, a major announcement,” Froman told reporters during an APEC briefing when asked about the TPP talks.

“This is an opportunity when we have leaders altogether in one place for them to take stock of where they are and give political impetus to complete the rest of the negotiations.”

The US says that Japan must lower barriers to agricultural imports, but Tokyo is eager to protect sensitive

domestic products including pork, beef, dairy and sugar. There is angst in Japan over how the country’s smaller agriculture industry will compete with America.

The United States and Japan’s agreement is important because many expect that it will serve as a blueprint for bilateral agreements with other countries in forming the wider TPP free trade zone between the United States and 12 members of APEC.

China, which is excluded from the TPP, is pushing for a separate trade lib-eralization framework called the Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) at APEC.

The TPP, which would span from Asia to the Americas and cover 40% of the world economy, is a key part of the US. effort to build stronger ties with Asia amid China’s rise according to economic analysts.

President Barack Obama, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and leaders from the 10 other countries negotiating the TPP are set to meet in Beijing on Monday on the side-lines of the APEC summit.

It has been speculated in the media that the recent wins in the US Congress by Republicans in mid-term elec-tions may ease the passage of the TPP agreement as it is a measure generally favored by conservatives who support de-regulation of markets.

No free trade deal at APEC


BUSINESS

Militant group Islamic State announces its own monetary policy

London, November 15, 2014 - The Islamic State militant group has an-nounced its own monetary policy and its plans to mint own currency in gold, silver and copper.

The group, which controls large swathes of territories in Syria and Iraq and faces daily air strikes by the United States and its allies, said it was re-placing the “tyrant’s monetary system imposed on Muslims that led to their enslavement and the wasting of the wealth of the nation”.

The announcement was made in a statement that has been verified by counterterrorism agencies.

The currency of the Islamic State, which is known as the world’s wealth-iest terror organization, will include seven coins: two gold, three silver and two copper.

The move is “purely dedicated to God” and will remove Muslims from the “global economic system that is based on satanic usury,” the Islamic State release said.

The terror group has announced an establishment of caliphate with its chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi calling himself a caliph, or political-religious leader of the Muslim community all over the world.

In Islam, caliphs are political suc-cessors of Prophet to rule over Muslim world or the ummah.

About the new currency system of the IS caliphate, a Financial Times re-port said the highest-denominated five dinar coin is set to contain 21.25 grams of 21 carat gold, worth about $694.

The lowest-denominated 10 flous coin would contain 10 grams of copper and be worth about seven cents.

The proposed silver dinar coins would range in value from 45 cents to $4.50 at current rates.

The group showed its coins in its statement that are engraved with “The Islamic State” on top and “caliphate upon the methodology of the prophet” at the bottom.

The statement said al-Baghdadi had instructed a “monetary court” to issue the currency based on the price of gold and silver.

The announcement was accom-panied by an audio statement from al-Baghdadi calling on supporters to “erupt volcanoes of jihad”.

“Fighting is obligatory upon every in-dividual,” he said in a speech lambast-ing America’s Arab allies, especially the oil-rich Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

“Jihad is the peak of deeds and the best of Islam.”

Hangzhou, Nov 11, 2014 – E-com-merce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd reported more than $9 billion in sales on China’s Singles’ Day shopping event on Tuesday.

At the end of Tuesday, Alibaba said sales had reached 57.1 billion yuan, and that it had shipped 278 million orders – 43% of which were placed on mobile devices.

Alibaba, the largest e-commerce company in China, surpassed $2 bil-lion in sales volume processed through payments app Alipay within the first hour and 11 seconds of Nov. 11.

As of Tuesday night in Hangzhou China, where Alibaba is headquartered sales had surpassed $9 billion, with some 43% generated from mobile, ac-cording to Alibaba, said Marketwatch.

Alibaba CEO Jack Ma said in an in-terview with CNBC that he was worried about delivering all of the packages on time. The company averages close to 17 million packages a day. Over the next three to five days, it will have more than 260 million deliveries.

Jack Ma said he hopes to fully bring the Singles’ Day shopping holiday to global consumers by 2019.

Speaking with CNBC’s David Faber on Tuesday from Alibaba’s headquar-ters in Hangzhou, China, Ma discussed the company’s fortunes since its histor-ic IPO, and revealed that he does not care to watch his stock price.

“I even don’t dare to watch our stock price, because this is what other people think who you are,” Ma said, “I dare not watch it, I think let the market take

care of themselves, we should take care of the business.”

But on Tuesday Alibaba was suffer-ing one of its worst days at the stock markets, witnessing a decline of more than 3.7 percent.

Ma also said that he wants to take Al-ipay Alibaba’s online financial services platform public in the near future. Ma said he expects this offering to come sooner than later. He emphasized that plans to take Alipay public are an effort to boost public faith in the system through the added transparency inher-ent in a public company.

“As a company we have to be very transparent,” he said.

Alipay posted massive numbers during Singles’ Day: At its peak vol-ume, the system processed 2.85 million payment transactions per minute, the company said.

Ma also suggested that Alipay could one day partner with Apple for a pay-ments system. He indicated that “we’ve had great discussions, and I think both are interested.” The two firms’ part-nership could even extend to hardware sales and cloud computing, he suggest-ed.

On Alibaba’s relationship with Yahoo which still owns about 16 percent of Ma’s company he suggested that the two companies are largely leaving each other alone. Still, Ma said, the American firm is probably pleased with Alibaba’s results.

“I think they’re happy, do you think they’re happy?” Ma asked.

Alibaba reports over $9 billion sales on Singles’ Day


FOCUS

The winter season gives plenty of excuses not to workout, but it’s im-portant to keep your fitness levels up throughout the chilly season. From setting up your goals to adding some fun quotient to your exercise regime can make the task easy.

Training throughout the year is important but when it’s cold and dark outside it can be much harder to get motivated.

“Winter training in the off season is important for me and many other ath-letes because it gives us more time to work on building a strong foundation and also the chance to change any technical aspects of my game.

“I wouldn’t be able to do either of these during the season as I’m gener-ally maintaining fitness levels, moti-vation and trying to stay injury free,” femalefirst.co.uk quoted tennis player Belinda Bencic as saying.

She doles out a few tips on how one can motivate oneself to stay fit in winter.

Set yourself goals. You need a plan for exactly where you want to go and what you want to improve. For example, last season I wanted to im-

prove my serve. I wanted more power so I could better make the transition from the Junior’s tennis circuit to the Pros. I changed my grip slightly and hit hundreds of serves every day. It definitely helped me to have a strong season in 2014.

Warm up and cool down prop-erly: This is so important in the colder months. Even athletes can get a bit lazy with warming up but it’s what gets your muscles loose and your body ready for a tough work out. I like dy-namic stretching to warm up - holding each stretch for at least 6 seconds and then release and stretch again. Cool-ing down is just as important, I spend 10 minutes doing a light jog and then cycle for 15 minutes on the stationary bike

Muscle building. I work on build-ing muscle strength during the off season. My tip for this would be to choose the time of day that suits you best. For example, I never do heavy weight lifting in the morning if I am playing tennis in the afternoon. I always start with tennis and then keep lifting for the afternoon. Otherwise, my body becomes stiff from lifting weights and I am more likely to get an injury playing tennis.

How to get in the mood to train this winter

Have fun. Most importantly, try and make the training sessions fun. I do them with a hitting partner, which is usually my father or my brother. Yes, you have to be a serious profes-sional but you also have to enjoy what you do. Lifting weights by yourself is boring so I like to do things with my team.


ART

Tokyo, November 8, 2014 — Hayao Miyazaki’s retirement has left a gap in Japan’s film industry, but his successor looks set for a bright future ahead.

Once regarded as a geek-only niche market, Japanese animation movies have shot to worldwide success thanks in large part to Oscar-winner Hayao Miyazaki’s whimsical tales of fantasy. With Miyazaki having retired, Japan has a new king of ‘anime’ Hideaki Anno.

Famous for the hit sci-fi franchise Evangelion, Anno draws inspiration from the darker recesses of the human soul, haunted by the threat of nuclear holocaust growing up as a child in Ja-pan during the Cold War era and in the shadow of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

“The fear of the Cold War was in essence the fear of nuclear war,” Anno told AFP in an interview during the recent Tokyo International Film Fes-tival, where 53 of his films were being showcased.

“There was a real sense that if atomic war broke out, the world would be de-stroyed. If someone pushed the nuclear button it would lead to the destruction

of the world – that was the reality at the time, that fear of Armageddon.”

Miyazaki, whose 2001 box-office smash Spirited Away became the first anime to win an Academy Award, passed the torch to Anno after saying that last year’s The Wind Rises would be his last feature-length film.

The Evangelion series, about gigan-tic bio-machines piloted by teenagers battling monstrous giants that are terrorising human survivors of a global catastrophe, has produced five feature movies and spawned manga comics, games, character merchandise, and even a theme park attraction since it was first broadcast in 1995.

“I sincerely thought that the world would end in the 20th century,” said Anno. “It was a big influence on Evan-gelion, which is about what happens after the world has been destroyed. At that time a lot of Japanese anime dealt with what happens after a nuclear holocaust.”

A tsunami also wreaks deadly havoc in Evangelion, which is permeated by religious references. “Japan is a country where a lot of typhoons and earthquakes strike,” said Anno, who

Meet Japan’s new anime king – Hideako Anno

was given his break by Miyazaki as an animator in 1984.

“It’s a country where merciless destruction happens naturally. It gives you a strong sense that God exists out there.”

Anno, who has collaborated with Miyazaki on various projects, speaks in hushed tones about his mentor, describing the master storyteller as a one-off.

“Miyazaki-san’s animation can be enjoyed by children and adults, a very broad demographic,” he said. “Mi-yazaki-san’s works have had a major influence on Japanese film. They can never be replicated, and nobody will make movies like that again.

“Watching his approach to film-mak-ing – he sacrificed himself for his work. His principle was that his art was ev-erything, the movie was more import-ant than anything. That was special.”

Miyazaki has been compared with Walt Disney, but Anno insisted that the depth of the themes tackled by Japa-nese anime, often chillingly dark, were a major factor in their enduring appeal, not just their enchanting nostalgia and humour.

“Japanese animation is not just for

kids,” said Anno, 54. “If it were just for children you would stop watching when you get older and it would be like watching American cartoons.”

genesisAnno, who bristles at com-parisons to Star Wars creator George Lucas, believes his work would not make the transition to Pacific Rim-style live action movies. “I don’t think it would work,” he said.

“The concept of Evangelion was that of an animation and it would be very difficult to express in live action. You would have to remake it totally and then it would be something different, so I don’t see it ever happening.”

Anno shrugged off the weight of expectation after the co-founder of Miyazaki’s celebrated Ghibli anima-tion studio, producer Toshio Suzuki, proclaimed that Anno would “lead the anime world for the next 10 years” following Miyazaki’s retirement.

“There is no pressure,” he smiled. “It’s what other people say, not me. I just want to continue making stimulat-ing movies and I’d like to give some-thing back to the industry. Hopefully I can help the culture and art of anime become even bigger and contribute to society in some way, leave something that will last.”


EVENTS Johns Creek Veterans Memorial Walk Dedication Nov 7, 2014

Congressman Tom Price delivers an opening remark along with the new Consul General of South Korea.

Steven Tai, Director General of TECO Atlanta and Jimmy Ho, President of Chinese Community Center Atlanta at the dedication ceremony.


LIFESTYLE

India promotes US$100 Billion Ayurvedic medicine industry

New Delhi, Nov 16, 2014 — India’s new government has launched a drive to promote the country’s ancient therapies as it seeks to cash in on the multi-billion dollar global market for holistic medicine. India claims to have natural reme-

dies for everything from cancer to the common cold, but ministers say it has failed to capitalize on its traditions as the world has woken up to alternative medicine.

Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a teetotal vegetarian who practices yoga daily, has said he wants the world to make Ayurveda “a way of life”—and in doing so expand India’s share of the growing global market for holistic medicine.

Earlier this month he appointed India’s first minister for Ayurveda, yoga, naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and homeopathy—known as the AAYUSH

ministry—and has also called for an international yoga day.

“Call it whatever—Ayurvedic med-icines or herbal medicines or tradi-tional medicines—the global market is estimated at about US$100 billion today,” former health minister Harsh Vardhan told a recent conference on Ayurveda in New Delhi.

“India’s share in this is negligible because quality standards are not maintained to international specifica-tions. The government has decided to address this lacuna.” Ayurvedic medicine—which means

the “science of life” in Sanskrit—treats the physical and mental sources of illness through, for example, prescrib-ing herbs in conjunction with yoga or massage.

Much of the knowledge has been passed on through the generations by

word of mouth and predates written records, but two volumes of reme-dies and prescriptions have survived, called the Charaka Samhita and the Sushruta Samhita.

High priority

Critics say that Ayurvedic remedies have no proven curative properties for disease, and instead work as a place-bo.

“It’s like superstition—it’s in your head that it helps. But in real life, you need actual pharma drugs,” said P.K. Goyal, a Delhi-based physician.

But Modi, who as a young man wan-dered the Himalayas on a spiritual quest, said Ayurvedic remedies should be seen as complementary to modern medicine.

“If a person adopts Ayurveda, he can protect himself against various infec-tions,” said the 64-year-old.

“(Formerly) health was a part of life. But today we have outsourced health... we consult one doctor and then the other.”

In India, domestic companies such as Dabur, Emami and the Himalaya group have pioneered herbal prod-ucts, combining ancient traditional medicine with cutting-edge technolo-gy to make pills, creams and oils.

Ayurvedic centers and clinics have also sprung up in Europe and the United States in recent years, and global chain The Body Shop has created its own range of Ayurvedic products.

On Tuesday the new AAYUSH minis-ter, Shripad Yesso Naik, said he would make promoting Ayurveda a “high priority” as he began his newly-creat-ed role.

“We will do whatever it takes to make India a healthy India in the days ahead,” he said, praising the preven-tive qualities of yoga and Ayurveda.

According to the World Health Orga-nization, 65 per cent of India’s rural population uses Ayurvedic remedies, mostly due to poor access to modern health facilities.

Modi has vowed to provide afford-able healthcare to India, where nearly 25 per cent of the population lives on less than US$1.25 a day and more than 40 million people have been pushed into poverty because of the cost of medical treatment.

His Hindu nationalist government, which swept to power in May on a promise to revive India’s flagging economy, has already announced plans to establish a state-funded Ayurvedic research centre and hospi-tal.

And many are already converted to the drive. One fan at the conference—where everything from massage chairs to digestion and blood pressure pills were on display—needed no further persuading.

“It’s natural, so no side effects, and it’s cheap,” said 20-year-old Delhi student Ashima Beri.

“Honestly, these worked on my acne better than any other cream or drug.”


LIFESTYLE

Japanese whisky rated the best in the world

Scotland is nowhere to be seen in the annual Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible.

Words like “shock” and “humili-ation” are being used in the British media after a Japanese whisky was named the best in the world, trumping Scottish distilleries.

In fact, for the first time in the book’s 12-year run, not a single Scottish distillery made the top five list in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, an authorita-tive publication on all things whisky.

Instead, the title of “world whisky of the year for 2015” goes to The Yamaza-ki Single Malt Sherry 2013, a result that Murray acknowledges “will cause consternation among more than a few.”

Indeed, The Independent in Britain calls the result “shocking” while the headline on The Daily Mail calls it a “Humiliation for Scotland.”

In keeping with Japanese crafts-manship that spares no expense or detail, Murray calls the Yamazaki malt, “something as close to single malt per-fection as you will have found in a good many years” for being “insanely deep and satisfying,” and praises its “exqui-site boldness.”

Likewise, despite having tasted more new Scotch whiskies for the latest 2015 edition, Murray seems to be startled himself that not one of the whiskies shortlisted came from Scotland.

Even in the category of best Euro-pean whisky, Scotland couldn’t get a break, with the title being shared by English Whisky Co. Chapter 14 Not Peated and The Belgian Owl Single Malt 64 Months.

The Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible fea-tures tasting notes for 4,500 whiskies and is set to be released in the US on Nov 11.

Here are the biggest winners for 2015:

2015 World Whisky of the Year – The Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry 2013

Second Finest Whisky in the World – William Larue Weller

Third – Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old (bottled fall 2013)

Single Cask of the Year – Four Roses Limited Edition Barrel #3-4P

Americans are open to mobile health service, according to polls

New York, Nov 15, 2014 — As more health services become available on mobile devices, Americans seems ready to embrace them, according to a new Harris poll in which nearly half of respondents said they were very inter-ested in obtaining basic health services via their tablet or smartphone.

In the market research firm’s poll,

which collected input from 2,537 adults via online surveys, 48 per cent of respondents were very interested in blood pressure checks and 47 per cent in heart rate checks via a mobile device.

An additional 23 and 22 per cent of participants, respectively, reported being somewhat interested in those services.

As for physical activity tracking, 43 per cent of survey respondents said they were very interested and an additional 25 percent said they were somewhat interested.

Respondents expressed high interest in general blood testing services, with 41 per cent describing themselves as being very interested and 21 per cent as somewhat interested.

Additionally, they expressed interest

in using services in which diagnostics can be obtained using “selfies” of one’s eye (40 and 23 per cent, respectively), checking glucose levels (39 and 22 per cent), measuring lung function (38 and 23 per cent) and tracking their diets (36 and 24 per cent).

The youngest generation surveyed

— Milliennials — expressed the most interest in such services, with Genera-tion X, Baby Boomers and the elderly following in that order.

When it came down to a question of gender, men expressed slightly more interest than women in obtaining health services on their mobile com-munications device.

Participants expressed dwindling interest when asked whether they were interested in obtaining diagnostics on their mobile devices that required urine (26 and 19 per cent) and fecal samples (19 and 15 per cent).


SPORTS

Atlanta Braves signed Taiwanese pitcher Wang

Atlanta, November 10, 2014 — The Atlanta Braves announced that they have signed right-handed pitcher Chien-Ming Wang. Financial terms of the deal was not announced.

Wang, 34, owns eight years of major league experience as he joins his fourth major league team and his fifth professional organization (Cincinnati, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Toronto and Washing-ton). Wang split the 2014 campaign between the Cincinnati Reds and Chi-cago White Sox organizations, appear-ing in a combined 28 games with a 4.12 ERA. He opened the 2014 season with Cincinnati’s Triple-A club, the Louisville Bats, where he went 8-5 with a 3.70 ERA over 19 starts.

In mid-July, Wang joined the White Sox organization and completed the remainder of the season with the Charlotte Knights, the club’s Triple-A affiliate, going 5-3 with a 5.06 ERA over nine starts. In Wang’s first two

full seasons in the majors, 2006 and 2007, he compiled 19 wins in each season, tying for the American League lead in 2006.

Wang twice finished in the top 10 in A.L. Cy Young voting, including a second place finish in 2006 and a sev-enth place finish in 2007. Over eight major league seasons, Wang owns a 62-34 record with a 4.37 ERA. He was originally signed by the Yankees as a non-drafted free agent on May 5, 2000.

Badminton world No.1’s Lee Chong Wei suspended for drug violation

Kuala Lumpur, November 10, 2014 – World No. 1 player Malaysian Lee Chong Wei has been provisionally suspended for an “apparent” an-ti-doping violation, the Badminton World Federation (BWF) said on Tuesday.

“The world-governing body has imposed this suspension due to an Adverse Analytical Finding of a sam-ple taken at the BWF World Champi-onships in August,” the BWF said in a statement. “The BWF has referred the matter to the BWF Doping Hearing Panel and, in due course, the Chair of the Panel will set the time, date and location of a hearing.

“The Panel will determine whether or not the athlete has committed an anti-doping regulation violation,” it added.

On Saturday, the Badminton Asso-ciation of Malaysia (BAM) confirmed that one of their players had tested positive for the banned anti-inflam-matory agent dexamethasone but withheld the individual’s identity pending an appeal.


SPORTS

LONDON, Nov 15 — Former Tot-tenham Hotspur forward Juergen Klinsmann has urged the club to give manager Mauricio Pochettino time to implement his philosophy.

United States coach Klinsmann pointed to the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United who reaped the rewards of giving managers Arsene Wenger and Alex Ferguson time in the job.

“I really hope (Pochettino is given time). There’s no reason to change any-thing,” Klinsmann, in London for his US team’s friendly against Colombia at Craven Cottage yesterday, said.

“You look at the big clubs around the world, not just in Europe, the clubs that stick to a certain way, they give the coaches time to develop things the way they want it and they build consisten-cy,” he told the BBC.

Argentine Pochettino has come un-der increased scrutiny in recent weeks after a series of lacklustre and toothless Spurs performances.

Since arriving at White Hart Lane in May, Pochettino, who guided unfan-cied Southampton to a brilliant eight-placed finish last season, has struggled to replicate those managerial feats.

Spurs sit 12th in the table after 11

games, 15 points behind leaders Chel-sea, having lost three of their last four matches.

They are six points worse off at this stage of the campaign compared

to last season and only waited until mid-December last year before parting company with then manager Andre Villas-Boas.

“It’s normal that you go through up and downs when the new coaching staff comes in,” Klinsmann said.

“It will take time to mould things the way Mauricio wants it to happen. Therefore you have a little bit of a rollercoaster.

“You need to stay calm, take it one step at a time and make the changes you need to make and then things will go in the right direction. But it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Widely-criticised chairman Dan-iel Levy has made Pochettino his third manager in under a year after Villas-Boas and predecessor Tim Sherwood and Klinsmann urged him to exercise more patience with the 42-year-old.

“If you have only four or six months you’re not making that big difference. Arsene Wenger is (at Arsenal) for many years so you can only make that difference over a long period of time that he did.

“Look at Alex Ferguson, how much did he win in the first three or four years? Not much. But then he brought the consistency to what Manches-ter United is today. That’s the way it works.”

Give Spurs manager Pochettino more time, says Klinsmann

MILAN, Nov 15 — Roberto Mancini said he hopes to get stuttering Inter Milan back to winning ways quickly after returning to the Serie A giants for a second spell as coach on a two-and-a-half-year deal today.

“I don’t have a magic wand,” Mancini

told reporters in Milan.

“In football you don’t have much time. So as of today, we have to start working hard and get back to winning as soon as possible.”

Mancini, who spent four success-lad-en years with the club in 2004-2008, has replaced Walter Mazzarri, who was sacked yesterday after Inter had slipped to ninth in Italy’s Serie A with only four wins from their opening 11 games.

Mancini’s contract will expire in June 2017, with reports claiming he is set to become the league’s highest-paid coach in history.

Gazzetta dello Sport today claimed the deal will total €21million gross with Inter expected to pay him €14million before tax over the next two seasons.

Having led the Nerazzurri to a club

record of three consecutive league titles plus two Italian Cups and two Super Cups in his previous stint in charge, Mancini was welcomed back to the club with open arms.

But despite being hotly tipped to replace Mazzarri since last month, for-mer Manchester City manager Manci-ni, who was out of work after leaving Galatasaray in the summer, claimed his return was totally unexpected.

“I never thought I would come back to Inter after 10 years, but they con-vinced me to come back after laying out their vision for the future,” said the Italian.

“Inter called me on Thursday night.”

He added: I’m very happy with the enthusiasm shown by the fans. We

have to use that to attract them back to the stadium, but above all to start winning games. That is fundamental.

“It’s hard to compare with my first experience here 10 years ago, when I was much younger. Every experience is different.”

In his four-year spell with City Mancini led the club to the league title in 2012, but the Italian ultimately failed to take the English giants past the last 16 knock-out phase of the Champions League.

In his single season with Galatasaray, Mancini led the Turkish giants into the last 16 of the competition having notably held Juventus to a 2-2 draw in Turin in his first game in charge.

Mancini said the experience gleaned from his stints in both England and Turkey has enriched his vision on coaching in the sport.

“I’ve had some great experiences working abroad, with different play-ers and different football experiences, and I’ve learned a lot in these past six years,” he said.

“The Premier League is the best league in the world, Galatasaray is a great club and that was an extraordi-nary experience.

“When a coach does these things, it’s a great help. Now, I’m back at Inter and these six years will be a huge help.”

Mancini, however, played down suggestions that he could on to be the club’s new Alex Ferguson, the legend-ary Manchester United manager who spent 27 years at the Old Trafford helm.

“Ferguson stayed at United for 27 years. I don’t think I’ll be at Inter for the same time,” smiled Mancini.

“I’m thinking of the present, not the future. We’re thinking of getting back to winning.”

Reappointed coach Mancini hopes to get Inter Milan winning again

HEALTH

Researchers have found that if a man’s parents were older at the time of his birth, he was more likely to have lower blood pressure, more favour-able cholesterol levels and improved glucose metabolism.

The study was conducted on mid-dle-aged men who were overweight.

It was unknown whether the bene-ficial effect was due to having an older mother, an older father, or both.

Paternal age at childbirth has been increasing worldwide.

Researchers assessed whether this increase affects growth, body com-position and metabolism in their children.

Additional studies are necessary to help shed light on the effects of paren-tal age at childbirth on the metabo-lism of men and women.

“In particular, more research is required to understand whether these effects are due to epigenetics or post-natal factors such as the child-rearing environment,” said lead researcher professor Wayne Cutfield, director of the University of Auck-land’s Liggins Institute.

The study appeared in the American Journal of Human Biology.

Parental age at chilbirth may affect metabolism in kids


Obesity costs more than US$8b in lost US productivity

Obesity among workers in the United States is costing the nation $8.65 bil-lion a year in lost productivity, accord-ing to a study released Friday.

The study by Yale University re-searchers is the first to give state-level estimates of the cost of worker absen-teeism due to obesity.

Those costs ranged from $14.4 million in Wyoming to $907 million in California, it said, adding that obesity accounts for 9.3% of all absenteeism costs nationwide.

“Understanding all economic costs of obesity, including lost productivity, is critical for policymakers working on obesity prevention at any level,” said lead author Tatiana Andreyeva.

The report said overweight people often had to miss work for health reasons.

“Quantifying not just obesity-related health care costs, but also economic costs, is essential for informed deci-sion-making,” she added in a state-ment.

Nearly 35% of American adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which estimates the annual medical cost of obesity at $147 billion.

The Yale study appears in the Jour-nal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Language learning at any age is good exercise for the brain

HARRISBURG, Nov 14 — If the brain is a muscle, learning a new language is its barbell, according to a new study from Pennsylvania State University.

“Learning and practicing some-thing, for instance a second language, strengthens the brain,” says Ping Li, professor of psychology, linguistics and information sciences and technology. “Like physical exercise, the more you use specific areas of your brain, the more it grows and gets stronger.”

Dr. Li and his colleagues worked with a group of 39 native English speakers over the course of six weeks during which half the participants learned Chinese vocabulary words.

In the interest of tracking neural changes, the research team performed two fMRI scans on each participant, one before the Chinese classes began and one after the course ended.

Before the classes started, the most successful learners among the group had exhibited a more connected brain network than those who were slower to catch on.

According to the researchers, inte-grated networks make the brain more adept at language learning.

After Chinese classes ended, the suc-cessful learners had undergone func-tional changes that made their brain networks even better integrated.

Dr. Li and his colleagues say that these anatomical changes can occur in the brain at any age as a result of learn-ing a second language.

“A very interesting finding is that, contrary to previous studies, the brain is much more plastic than we thought,”

says Li. “We can still see anatomical changes in the brain [in the elderly], which is very encouraging news for ag-ing. And learning a new language can help lead to more graceful aging.”

The paper was published in the Jour-nal of Neurolinguistics.


Misc Asia

Yangon, November 14, 2014 – Pres-ident Barack Obama has wrapped up a visit to Myanmar, also known as Burma, warning that reforms in the country are “by no means complete or irreversible.”

The president stopped in Yangon and met with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace laureate who spent years under house arrest when Myanmar was under military rule.

Aung San Suu Kyi met the president in the house by a lake where she was confined. After a warm embrace in front of cameras, the two spoke with reporters.

Obama repeated a warning that he had also given to Myanmar President Thein Sein one day earlier.

“It’s clear how much hard work re-mains to be done and that many diffi-cult choices still lie ahead. The process for reform is by no means complete or irreversible. For many, progress has not come fast enough or spread far enough,” said Obama.

The president was critical of a con-stitutional rule that bars Aung San Suu Kyi from running in next year’s presi-dential elections because her children are British citizens.

Obama brought up U.S. concerns of how Myanmar treats members of its minority Muslim population. Most are denied citizenship. Following clashes with Buddhists in Myanmar’s Rakhine state in 2012, thousands of have been displaced, many confined to squalid camps.

The subject is politically sensitive among Myanmar’s Buddhist majority. Aung San Suu Kyi has received criti-cism for not taking a stand on whether the should be granted citizenship. On Friday, when answering an American journalist’s question on the situation, she cited the importance of the rule of law.

“If you ask how do we propose to resolve all these problems of violence between communities, between dif-ferent ethnic groups, we’ve got to start with rule of law. People have to feel secure before they can start talking to

Reforms not complete in Myanmar, says Obama

one another. We cannot achieve har-mony without security. People who feel threatened are not going to sit down and sort out their problems,” she said.

President Obama said ensuring that all of Myanmar’s people’s voices are heard in the political process is crucial to the country’s transition to a full democracy. He said the United States is paying attention to how religious minorities are treated in Myanmar.

“I am a firm believer that any legit-imate government has to be based on rule of law and a recognition that all

people are equal under the law and discrimination against the or any other religious minority, I think, does not express the kind of country that Burma over the long term wants to be,” said Obama.

This was President Obama’s second visit to Myanmar. His first was in 2012, two years after elections marked the end of military rule that spanned a half-century.

Two Americans prisoner freed by North Korea

Washington, Nov 8, 2014 — US citi-zens Kenneth Bae and Matthew Todd Miller have been freed from detention by the North Korean government and are returning to the United States, the US government said.

Bae and Miller were being accompa-nied by James Clapper, the director of national intelligence, his office said.

Bae, a missionary, was arrested in North Korea in November 2012 and sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for crimes against the state. Miller, who reportedly was tried on an espionage charge, had been in custody since April this year and sentenced to six years of hard labour.

“We are grateful to Director of National Intelligence Clapper, who engaged on behalf of the United States in discussions with DPRK authorities about the release of two citizens,” the US State Department said in a state-ment.

“We also want to thank our in-ternational partners, especially our Protecting Power, the government of Sweden, for their tireless efforts to help secure the freedom of Mr. Bae and Mr. Miller.”

Misc AsiaGeorgia Asian Times November 15-30, 2014 Page 17

Hong Kong protest leaders stopped from flying to Beijing

HONG KONG, Nov 15 — Three Hong Kong democracy protest leaders were today denied permission to board a flight to Beijing, where they had hoped to bring their demands for free elec-tions to Chinese authorities.

The leaders of the Hong Kong Feder-

ation of Students, spearheading mass rallies that have paralysed parts of the city for six weeks, said airline officials informed them that their permits used for travel to the mainland had been cancelled by Chinese authorities.

“Airline officials informed (the leaders) they did not have the required travel documents to get on the plane,” Lester Shum, deputy secretary general of HKFS, told reporters.

Fruitless talks with the Hong Kong government almost a month ago have led to an impasse and protest leaders had planned to travel to Beijing to bypass the unpopular local administra-tion altogether.

“We have received information from relevant departments on the mainland that the Home Return Permits of the passengers in question have been can-celled,” a Cathay Pacific staff member told the trio, footage from Cable Televi-sion News showed.

The permit, issued by mainland au-thorities, allows Hong Kong residents free travel within mainland China.

Before they were turned back, the

three leaders—Nathan Law, Eason Chung and Alex Chow—were mobbed by supporters who unfurled yellow um-brellas, a symbol of the city’s democra-cy movement.

They also carried banners with pro-democracy messages including “we want real elections”.

“Dialogue is important for resolving the current (situation) but it depends on whether Beijing has the initiative to open talks with students,” HKFS leader Alex Chow said before he was turned back.

The protesters are demanding civil nominations in leadership elections for the semi-autonomous city in 2017.

But China has refused to back down on its insistence that candidates must be vetted by a loyalist committee, a de-cision critics say is designed to ensure the election of a pro-Beijing stooge.

Political change in Myanmar was “superficial” and the government was averse to films that rake up social and political issues, Burmese filmmaker The Maw Naing said here Thursday.

Maw Naing recently made his feature film debut with “The Monk” and pre-fers to swim against the tide.

It is one of the few features shot by a Burmese director in the neighbouring country - formerly known as Burma - in the last decade.

Also a poet, performance artist and painter, Maw Naing said there were two kinds of movies that are made in his country -- either love stories or comedies.

“The Burmese government doesn’t support my kind of films because they talk about the problems of common man. I like telling stories centred on social or political issues. If the govern-ment is saying that they are changing, then why don’t they allow my films?

“The media reports that there is change but change is superficial. It has not touched the common man,” Maw Naing told reporters here at the ongoing 20th Kolkata International Film Fest.

Screened as part of the fest’s ‘Asian Select’ segment, “The Monk” showcas-es the dilemma of a monk who has to choose between a religious life (monk-hood) or opt for a secular one.

The film is a Burmese-Czech collab-orative effort and was shot on location in a village near Kunchankone and also in Yangon in 2012. It opened the 49th Karlovy Vary Film Festival this year, one of the most prestigious European film fests.

“The government doesn’t allow the shooting of low budget independent films that highlight issues of society,” said Maw Naing, who attended the Yangon Film School and later studied directing at FAMU in Prague, Czech Republic.

A fan of Indian independent cinema, the director, who forayed into filmmak-ing with documentaries, said audiences in his country equate Indian cinema with Bollywood.

“We would like to see more inde-pendent cinema from India. People in Burma think Indian films are only about Bollywood. They like Bollywood films,” he said.

Films on social issues not allowed in Myanmar: Filmmaker


TRAVEL

New York City, Nov 16, 2014 — The jewel of the New York skyline, the pride of a whole nation, is back.

The opening of One World Trade

Centre, on the site of the Twin Towers that were destroyed on September 11, 2001, signals a long-awaited return to normal in the Big Apple.

Since November 3, with little fan-fare, some 500 employees of the media group Conde Nast moved in. They are due to be joined by another 3,000 in early 2015.

There are also support staff on site—brought into sharp relief this week by the spectacular rescue of two window washers suspended from the 69th floor.

The symbolic 1,776-foot tower—in-cluding its antenna—is the tallest in the United States and in the Western hemisphere.

Its tapered glass silhouette overlooks the September 11 Memorial, dedicated to the 2,753 victims of the New York attacks, along with six victims of a first attack on the Twin Towers in 1993, and sits next to the museum focused on the drama.

The US$3.9 billion, 104-story tower

“is the most secure office building any place in the world,” said Patrick Foye, executive director of the Port Authority of NY and NJ, which owns the site.

The monumental lobby, with soaring ceilings some 47 feet high and white marble throughout, is protected by a special wall that can withstand explo-sions.

Its concrete foundation is 185 feet tall. A staircase is dedicated to emer-gency responders, and concrete pro-

tects the elevators and stairways.

The communications system was designed in collaboration with police, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security as well as private experts, Foye said.

360-degree vistas

From high up in the tower, the 360-degree view offers glimpses of the Statue of Liberty to the south and the Empire State Building and Central Park to the north.

For Big Apple visitors looking to orient themselves within Manhattan, One World Trade Centre is a clear landmark at the southern end of the urban island.

For New Yorkers, it’s a long-awaited sign of the determination to rebuild, slowed for years by political negotia-tions over just what should be done on “Ground Zero,” and then by a hurting economy.

Initially dubbed “Freedom Tower,” before its name was changed in 2009, One World Trade Center finally broke ground in 2006. Construction was completed at the end of 2013.

Some 65 per cent of the space has already been rented out, Foye said during a visit to the 61st floor, reject-ing the idea that some were afraid to move there because of the site’s bloody history.

Among the new tenants—aside from Conde Nast, which will occupy floors 20 to 44 -- are online game maker Hi5, publicity group Kids Creative and the China Center, which fosters cultural exchanges between the United States and China.

One World Trade Center becomes New York’s latest landmark

In all, about 5,000 people will be working in the new tower.

And by next spring, the observatory, on the 100th, 101st and 102nd floors, will open to the public, with entry fees set at US$32.

Return to normal

The opening of the new tower “rep-resents a return to normalcy down here,” Foye said, emphasizing that the people will be working there, eating in the nearby restaurants, using the subway stop that should be ready early next year, and shopping in the hun-dreds of thousands of square feet of shops that continue to open.

When the Twin Towers still stood, the neighborhood was mainly used as offices, and was nearly deserted by evening. But thanks to new residential construction, the population of lower Manhattan has tripled, from 20,000 to 60,000.

“This is a sign of the revitalization of downtown New York city,” said Foye, of “the city and state and region and nation’s response to 9/11.”

The memorial and museum “will for ever commemorate what happened here,” and the nearly 3,000 people who died, he said.

“We will never forget that, but I think that we want to do now is to look for-ward, and the site is a site of progress.”

Documents

Georgia Asian Times November 15-30, 2014