Hong Kong
Reader

Edited by James M. Kelly

China will sell Apple I Phone in Fourth Quarter

China, the largest market of wireless subscribers, is coming up with the sale of Apple Inc.’s iPhone in the fourth quarter of the year. The Chairman of Apple, Chang Xiaobing in Hong Kong said, “The three-year deal isn’t exclusive”. This signifies that other carriers may also provide iPhones in the country. The entrance of Apple in China gives rise to the competition among the top players that include Research In Motion Ltd (BlackBerry) and Google Inc. (Android).

According to Jeffrey Fidacaro, an analyst with Susquehanna Financial Group in New York, “If Apple can get into the market early, there’s a substantial opportunity for them to win subscribers” This strategic move is not only for the growth contributor to the company, but is also a boom for the world’s third- biggest economy, even during the global recession.

Announcing the agreement with Apple, Unicom reported a 45 percent decline in first-half profit and targeted higher-spending customers of wireless market for the iPhone. Capitalizing on the more profitable Internet services, such as Web browsing and game downloads, the company has a competitive edge, as a game changer,” said Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA China, a Beijing-based technology research firm. BDA is the sole company that provides the carrier compatible with the iPhone technology in China.

The Chief Operating Officer of Apple, Tim Cook says that China is a “priority project”. In the next 12 months, the company plans to provide an exclusive carrier for the iPhone in the U.S. In more than 80 countries, Apple plans to launch iPhone 3GS, the newest model, which was initially launched in eight countries only.

The initial plan of Apple is to offer the phones without the Wi- Fi communications standard. According to BDA, over 1.5 million iPhones have already been sold in China through unofficial distributors. But the official licenses to operate 3G services for faster data downloads on mobile phones would be acquired in January.

Beijing
Correspondent

Edited by James M. Kelly
Beijing to issue 900,000 coupons to promote patriotic films!

To encourage the viewers in watching patriotic films, Beijing cinema theatres have started issuing 900,000 coupons to all the moviegoers from 1st September 2009. It was stated by Mr. Wang Jian, (an official with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Radio and Television) that from 1st September to 20th September, coupons will be provided to all moviegoers after they buy a ticket for a domestic film at any cinema hall in Beijing.

Further, as per Mr. Wang’s saying, special movies are being screened from 30th August. These movies are screened for orphans, children of migrant & model workers of Beijing. He also said that from 1st October to 30th November, audiences with a coupon would have to pay only 10 yuan ($1.50) for a ticket to any movie being shown. This facility would help them in bringing home more audiences as this option of ticket and coupon system is of minimally priced as compared to an average ticket price of 34 yuan.

Mr. Wang states: “We hope all residents are able to share the achievements of China’s film industry during the past 60 years.” It is being expected that about 900,000 people will go to the cinemas during this time.

To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China on 1st October, it is being planned to screen a series of patriotic films from September throughout the month of October across all the movie theatres in Beijing.

Among the series of films to be screened, ‘Jian Guo Da Ye’ or ‘The great cause of China’s founding’, is one of them. It will be releasing on 17th September across the country. The main attraction of this movie is the casting of 100 stars, including super stars from Hollywood like Jet Li, Jackie Chan and Andy Lau.

Written by
James M. Kelly

Staunch Wealth Creation

It is not often that an opportunity comes along which offers not only stirling products but also the chance to make money from it.

Staunch International, based in Hong Kong with an office in Australia is rapidly expanding its retail and network marketing base and is likely to have representative offices in Singapore, Malaysia, UK and the USA before too long.

The Staunch range of prooducts includes: energy drinks; Staunch Blase Energy Strip; Staunch Talk or Staunch MMN; Staunch Bidz; and, Staunch Travel.

The company recently signed a multi million dollar contract with Metcash in Australia for the distribution of the Staunch Blast Energy Strips throughout the nation in such stores as IGA, 7-Eleven, Foodland and many thousands of Delis, Milk Bars and Service Stations.

People becoming involved in the company’s network marketing programme can benefit by earning Reward Points from all product purchases made by themselves or friends or contacts they introduce to the marketing system.

The company’s unique Quadrant Binary reward point distribution system is known to be the best in the industry whereby distributors do not have to qualify each month to stay in the system.

The big news for the company is Staunch Bidz which is a reverse auction system whereby participants use a token (nominally US$1) to expose the last big on a product of an amount of cash. Once the participant is satisfied a Sure Win exists they press the “buy now” button and can either make arrangements to pay the bid amount and take delivery of the product OR convert the right to CASH.

In the case of converting to CASH the difference between the opening big and the winning bid is deposited in the participant’s Staunch Virtual Finance Account which can be withdrawn by means of their Staunch Deibit Card.

The company is activly sourcing distributors worldwide to join the network marketing opportunity. Interested parties should check out the web page www.staunchinc.com/leadbellykelly

Further information may be obtained by writing directly to jkelly@staunchinc.com

Jakarta
Reader Contribution

Edited by – James M. Kelly

Muslims in Malaysia barred from a rock concert

Muslims in Malaysia have been barred from a rock concert that is being organized by beer giants Guinness. According to the Malaysian government, rules of the country forbid alcohol companies from organizing any event. However, an exception was made for this event in the hope that it will boost tourism, but Muslims have been strictly prohibited from the event.

The Malaysian government, in the past few days, has launched an extensive campaign against alcohol consumption by Malaysian Muslims. A Muslim woman was sentenced to canning by an Islamic court for drinking beer in public. However, the sentence was cancelled afterwards. The government has also banned the sale of alcohol in retail shops as part of its campaign against alcohol consumption by Muslims in the state.

Guinness has organized a concert near Kuala Lumpur as a celebration marking the 250th anniversary of its flagship brewery in Dublin. A famous rock band ‘The Black Eyed Peas’ are to perform in this concert on 25th September. But this ban on Muslims by the authorities has cast a shadow of doubt on the concert since over 60% of Malaysia’s population is Muslim.

This is not the first time that foreign performers had to face protest by the conservative Muslim society in Malaysia. Earlier, artists like Gwen Stefani and Avril Lavigne were hit by restrictions on grounds of immodest clothing, thus forcing them to change their whole attire to make it more descent.

According to the officials, only non Muslims who are over the age of 18 will be allowed to enter the concert, and Guinness will not be allowed to use its logo on the publicity materials. It is, however, not clear as to how the Malaysian authorities will enforce this ban on Muslims. Earlier performances in Malaysia, including one by the Black Eyed Peas in 2007, were always open to Muslims and enjoyed huge success in terms of crowds.

Hong Kong
Reader

Edited by James M Kelly
Iran attempts to enter into the video games market

Numerous video game developers from Iran assembled together at Gamescom, Cologne to showcase the games developed by them. The main aim of these game developers from Iran was to establish contacts, showcase their games and see whether the western retailers would sell their games.

However, they were aware of the fact that the political situation in their country would pose a challenge to them from achieving their goals. “We need more investors,” said Amir Tarbyatjoui, head of Parsan Business Development Solutions who represented the Iranian lobby. “The [US] sanctions do affect our industry, but they cannot stop it.”

Mr. Tarbyatjoui believes that Iran is becoming a global player in the video game industry, and this event in Cologne was to showcase their capabilities. “We are using this event to promote what is happening in the Iranian gaming industry,” he said.
“We believe we have more potential and we want to promote that potential.”

Most of the video games showcased by the Iranian developers had the unique Iran mythology as the basic theme. According to Mr. Tarbyatjoui, most of the games developed by western countries portrayed the Greek and the Roman mythology, but Iran also has its own mythology which could effectively be used in modern day games.

Iran emerged into the video game industry in 2007, with a game called Special Operation 85: Hostage Rescue. This game showed two nuclear scientists from Iran being kidnapped by Israel, while players acted as Iranian Special Forces and rescued the scientists while battling the Israel and American forces.

Speaking on the success of this years showcase, the Iranian group confirmed their presence in the next years E3 expo in Los Angles. However they told the media that there will not be a dedicated stall of Iranian game developers next year due to the strained relationship between Iran and the USA.

Tokyo
Correspondent

Edited by James M. Kelly

Internet campaigning: An instantaneous hit in Japan

The point that sets apart this year’s elections from previous year’s elections in Japan is the extensive use of internet for campaigning purpose. Japan is one amongst the most internet-savvy nations in the world, yet the use of internet as a campaigning medium was restricted till recently.

A 1950 law aimed to curb excess expenditure on election campaigns and level the competition among candidates. This law limits the use of different mediums like T.V and print, but there is no mention on the internet in this law. Officials are interpreting that this absence signifies the internet to be off-limits to the campaigners.

However, there are numerous candidates who have created their own websites and blogs to target voters. These websites and blogs are constantly being updated with relevant information regarding the activities conducted by the candidates and the development brought about by them. Although these candidates refrain from directly pursuing the people to vote, yet their language and style of writing encourages individuals to vote for them.

There are mixed views in Japan regarding the use of internet as a campaigning medium. Individuals who advocate this method are of an opinion that the internet is a fast and cost-effective way to dispense relevant information to the masses. According to them, it is the right of an individual in a democracy to possess relevant information regarding a candidate before they vote for him. Established media like news papers and TV news channels should not be the only source of information; therefore the use of internet should be propagated.

However, candidates this year are resorting to negative campaigning, which was not prevalent in Japan earlier. In one such negative campaign, a noodle chef is shown pleasing every customer by adding different food items in his bowl of noodles, until it becomes an overflowing mixture of fish, fruits and ice-cream. This campaign is targeted at the opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama, and the alleged indecisiveness of his party, the Democratic Party of Japan. This ad has induced over 200,000 hits on You Tube.

Malaysian Reader
Contribution

Edited by James M. Kelly

Flying Fox on the verge of extinction in Malaysia

According to a recent survey conducted by scientists, the world’s largest fruit bat, known as the Flying Fox, is on the verge of extinction in Malaysia. According to the team of scientists, Flying Fox could be extinct from Malaysia as early as 2015 if its illegal killings are not curbed.

The research concluded that around 22,000 Flying Foxes are hunted annually. These bats are hunted for food, medicinal purpose and as a sporting activity. The shooting takes place at dusk, when the bats fly around in search of food.

These fruit bats are an essential component of the rainforest ecosystem in Malaysia. Having a wing span of about 1.5 meters, these bats eat fruit and nectar, and while doing so they drop seeds around the forest and pollinate trees thereby, helping in the growth of rainforest trees.

The research team carried out an extensive survey to track the number of these fruit bats in Malaysia. They also collected the government data on hunting licenses and used a computer model to predict the future of this species while varying their death rates and their current population.

In a first such initiative in Asia, satellite telemetry was used to track these bats in Malaysia. Individual bats were tied a collar around their neck, and the signals coming from these collars were tracked by satellites to study the flying pattern of Flying Fox. This advanced tracking method showed that a Flying Fox can travel approximately 60 kilometers a night in search of food.

The team of scientists has suggested that the government should impose a temporary ban on the hunting of Flying Fox so that their study can be extended and a more extensive assessment can be done. Ironically, the hunting of Flying Fox is banned in the neighboring Thailand and parts of Indonesia. Thus, a coordinated effort needs to be undertaken by all the neighboring countries in order to save this species from extinction.

Singapore
Correspondent

Edited by James M. Kelly

Miss Singapore in Credit Card Scam

Ris Low was convicted for having used credit cards, obtained illegally and was sentenced to two years of probation for it. This incident has created a sense of anxiety amongst some beauty pageant organizers who told ‘Channel news Asia’ that contestants must be free of criminal records.

Ris Low was already a subject of discussion on the cyberspace due to her inability to speak fluent English and now mixed reactions from the people of Singapore are coming into view. Though some Singaporeans feel that a criminal act reflects badly on the personality of a person, who is going to represent her country & should not be allowed to do so, a whole lot others feel that even criminally convicted people should be given a second chance.

Ris Low is to represent Singapore in the upcoming ‘Miss World’ pageant slated to be held in Johannesburg later this year and already, there are a whole lot of speculations coming up, on whether the crown will be taken away from Miss Singapore or will she still be given a second chance and allowed to participate in the pageant.

Both, ERM world, the organizers of the Miss Singapore world pageant & Ris Low have not commented on the issue. Some people are also of the opinion that ERM organizers ought to be sacked for not doing a proper background check and it would be an embarrassment to send someone with a criminal record to represent the country.

Whether Ris Low will be seen in the Miss World pageant this year or not still remains unclear as a court decision on this is still awaited.