This photo taken on Jan. 20, 2023 shows a pet rabbit at a rabbit cafe in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province. (Xinhua/Yao Jianfeng)
SHENYANG, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) — Pet stores in northeast China are still busy after the Spring Festival holiday, during which many pet owners left their animals in the care of these businesses.
“During the holiday, our six chain stores provided boarding services for many pets, with our average turnover increasing by about 20 percent,” said Zhang Jiaqi, manager of a store in the city of Shenyang.
“Currently, our pet snacks and toys still sell well and the pets waiting to get groomed have to queue.”
Data from major online delivery platform Meituan shows that search volumes for Spring Festival pet boarding and pet grooming services respectively increased by 82 percent and 255 percent from the same holiday in 2022. And these services are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to pet industry consumption in China.
According to research firm iiMedia Research, the industry scale of China’s pet economy hit 493.6 billion yuan (about 72.71 billion U.S. dollars) in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 25.2 percent, and its market size is expected to reach 811.4 billion yuan by 2025.
Xinhua
The company noted that the pet economy is developing and expanding across the whole industrial chain, and its coverage is constantly expanding, leading to new businesses in areas such as pet livestreaming, pet boarding and pet training, which have strong growth prospects.
“Behind the booming pet economy is economic and social change,” said Zhang Sining, a researcher at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences.
“The current social rhythm is fast, and young people are under great work pressure. Also, with the increase of elderly people living alone and the intensification of an aging society, raising pets meets the emotional needs of many people.”
Zhang also noted that pets are no longer just animals but are now like their owners’ children, and relationships between pets and their owners are becoming closer.
Liu Yu, a 25-year-old human resources manager who comes from Shenyang and works in Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province, said that her mood improves greatly when she arrives home from work and sees her cat waiting for her.
Industry insiders say that China’s pet economy has not been developed for a long time, its foundation is relatively weak and there are some regulatory challenges.
The expansion of the country’s pet economy requires continuous follow-up regulatory policies, so that consumers and operators can benefit from the healthy development of the industry.
Turkish rescue workers carry Ergin Guzeloglan, 36, to an ambulance after pulled him out from a collapsed building five days after an earthquake in Hatay, southern Turkey, early Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Can Ozer)
ANTAKYA, Turkey (AP) — Rescue crews on Saturday pulled more survivors, including entire families, from toppled buildings despite diminishing hopes as the death toll of the enormous quake that struck a border region of Turkey and Syria five days ago surpassed 28,000.
Dramatic rescues were being broadcast on Turkish television, including the rescue of the Narli family in central Kahramanmaras 133 hours after the 7.8-magnitude temblor struck Monday. First, 12-year-old Nehir Naz Narli was saved, then both of her parents.
That followed the rescue earlier in the day of a family of five from a mound of debris in the hard-hit town of Nurdagi, in Gaziantep province, TV network HaberTurk reported. Rescuers cheered and chanted, “God is Great!” as the last family member, the father, was lifted to safety.
Turkish rescue workers carry Ergin Guzeloglan, 36, to an ambulance after pulled him out from a collapsed building five days after an earthquake in Hatay, southern Turkey, early Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023.(AP Photo/Can Ozer)
Five days after two powerful earthquakes hours apart caused thousands of buildings to collapse, killing more than 28,000 people and leaving millions homeless, rescuers were still pulling unlikely survivors from the ruins — one of them just 7 months old.
Turkish President Recep Tayypi Erdogan, on a tour of quake-stricken cities, said a disaster of this scope is rare, affecting an area so large that is home to so many people. He referred to it as the “disaster of the century” and said it had affected an area 500 kilometers (310 miles) in diameter that is home to 13.5 million people in Turkey and an unknown number in Syria.
“In some parts of our settlements close to the fault line, we can say that almost no stone was left standing,” he said earlier Saturday from Diyarbakir.
FILE – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and a survivor speak as he visits the city center destroyed by Monday earthquake in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (Turkish Presidency via AP, File)
Still, the day brought one astonishing rescue after another, numbering more than a dozen.
Melisa Ulku, a woman in her 20s, was extricated from the rubble in Elbistan in the 132th hour since the quake, following the rescue of another person at the same site in the same hour. Ahead of her rescue, police announced that people shouldn’t cheer or clap in order to not interfere with other rescue efforts nearby. She was covered in a thermal blanket on a stretcher. Rescuers were hugging. Some shouted “God is great!”
Just an hour earlier, a 3-year-old girl and her father were pulled from debris in the town of Islahiye, also in Gaziantep province, and soon after a 7-year-old girl was rescued in the province of Hatay.
A man pulls out a young girl from the debris of collapsed buildings in Hatay, southern Turkey, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. (AP Photo/Can Ozer)
The rescues brought shimmers of joy amid overwhelming devastation days after Monday’s 7.8-magnitude quake and a powerful aftershock hours later caused thousands of buildings to collapse. Along with the nearly 26,000 people who were killed, more than 80,000 were injured and millions were left homeless.
Not everything ended so well. Rescuers reached a 13-year-old girl inside the debris of a collapsed building in Hatay province early Saturday and intubated her. But she died before the medical teams could amputate a limb and free her from the rubble, Hurriyet newspaper reported.
Aerial photo showing collapsed buildings in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023.(IHA via AP)
Even though experts say trapped people can live for a week or more, the odds of finding more survivors were quickly waning amid freezing temperatures. Rescuers were shifting to thermal cameras to help identify life amid the rubble, a sign that any remaining survivors could be too weak to call for help.
As aid continued to arrive, a 99-member group from the Indian Army’s medical assistance team began treating the injured in a temporary field hospital in the southern city of Iskenderun, where a main hospital was demolished.
One man, Sukru Canbulat, was wheeled into the hospital in a wheelchair, his left leg badly injured with deep bruising, contusions and lacerations.
Turkish rescue workers carry Kamil Can Agdas to an ambulance after pulled him out from a collapsed building five days after the earthquake, in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey, early Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (Ismail Coskun/IHA via AP Photo)
Wincing in pain, he said he had been rescued from his collapsed apartment building in the nearby city of Antakya within hours of the quake on Monday. But after receiving basic first aid, he was released without getting proper treatment for his injuries.
“I buried (everyone that I lost), then I came here,” Canbulat said, counting his dead relatives: “My daughter is dead, my sibling died, my aunt and her daughter died, and the wife of her son” who was 8 ½ months pregnant.
A large makeshift graveyard was under construction on the outskirts of Antakya on Saturday. Backhoes and bulldozers dug pits in the field on the northeastern edge of the city as trucks and ambulances loaded with black body bags arrived continuously. Soldiers directing traffic on the busy adjacent road warned motorists not to take photographs.
The hundreds of graves, spaced no more than 3 feet (a meter) apart, were marked with simple wooden planks set vertically in the ground.
People bury their loved ones, victims of Monday earthquake, in Adiyaman, Turkey, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
A worker with Turkey’s Ministry of Religious Affairs who did not wish to be identified because of orders not to share information with the media said that around 800 bodies were brought the cemetery on Friday, its first day of operation. By midday on Saturday, he said, as many as 2,000 had been buried.
“People who are coming out from the rubble now, it’s a miracle if they survive. Most of the people that come out now are dead, and they come here,” he said.
Temperatures remained below freezing across the large region, and many people have no shelter. The Turkish government has distributed millions of hot meals, as well as tents and blankets, but is still struggling to reach many people in need.
People keep warm next to a fire at a camp for survivors of the earthquake in Gaziantep, Turkey, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Mustafa Karali)
The disaster compounded suffering in a region beset by Syria’s 12-year civil war, which has displaced millions of people within the country and left them dependent on aid. The fighting sent millions more to seek refuge in Turkey.
The conflict has isolated many areas of Syria and complicated efforts to get aid in. The United Nations said the first earthquake-related aid convoy crossed from Turkey into northwestern Syria on Friday, the day after an aid shipment planned before the disaster arrived.
The U.N. refugee agency estimated that as many as 5.3 million people have been left homeless in Syria.
President Bashar Assad and his wife have visited injured quake victims in a hospital in the coastal city of Latakia, a base of support for the Syrian leader.
Syria’s first lady Asma Assad, right, wife of Syrian President Bashar Assad, comforts a woman affected by the devastating earthquake that rocked Syria and Turkey, in the coastal city of Latakia, Syria, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023. (SANA via AP)
Syrian state TV said Assad and his wife Asma on Saturday morning visited Duha Nurallah, 60, and her son Ibrahim Zakariya, 22, who were pulled out of rubble the night before in the nearby coastal town of Jableh.
The head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, arrived in Syria’s northern city of Aleppo on Saturday, bringing with him 35 tons of medical equipment, state news agency SANA reported. He said another plane carrying an additional 30 tons of medical equipment will arrive in the coming days.
The opposition Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, said Saturday that it “is almost impossible to find people alive.”
The total death toll in Syria’s northwestern rebel-held region has reached 2,166, according to the White Helmets. The overall death toll in Syria stood at 3,553 on Saturday, including government-held parts of the country.
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Shaheen reported from Latakia, Syria, and Fraser reported from Ankara, Turkey. Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Ghaith Alsayed in Bab al-Hawa, Syria, and Zeynep Bilginsoy in Istanbul contributed to this report.
Is Move Forward Party Internally Undemocratic? A Q&A with Former Key Member Chris Pogtranandana
Prominent Move Forward Party member Chris Potranandana resigned from the party on Wednesday and accused the party of being non participatory, led by a small clique of people and on the verge of becoming a hypocritical party – allegations the party later denied. Chris answers five questions posted by Khaosod English.
How do you justify branding the Move Forward Party a party controlled by a small clique of “politburo” members?
Most of the important decisions are made by the so-called “politburo”. Decisions like, who is going to be members of the general committee of the Move Forward Party, which policy to campaign in the general election, who gets to be chosen to be partylist candidate.
There isn’t any “real” general party convention within the Move Forward Party. In fact, there was an election on 14 of March 2020, the first day that the party let the public apply for membership.
However, that election was a just a ploy, a mere formality (การเลือกตั้งปลอม). They didn’t let any members who registered participate in the election. The general committee is in fact appointed by a group that I called the “politburo”. So do other key decisions made.
FB : ChrisPotra
Despite your criticisms, would you say the party is still most open and participatory compared to other parties like Pheu Thai or Phalang Pracharath Party?
Yes. Move Forward Party might still be relatively more open compared to parties like Phue Thai or Palang Pracharath.
You started out by joining Future Forward before it was disbanded and evolved into Move Forward. Do you think people like former Future Forward Party Thanathorn Juangrungruangkit are aware of the problems?
Yes, he is aware of this problem. I have informed him in the past. There is some development regarding the democratic process within the party. They are trying to establish a representative system from members of each district. However, most decisions are still made by the “politburo”.
FB : ChrisPotra
Some say you left the party simply because you’re unhappy that the party is not choosing you as partylist candidate for the upcoming general election. What would you say to that?
I was a co-founder of Future Forward Party. I had served the Future Forward Party and Move Forward for 5 years without getting paid. I contributed time, effort, and capital to this party as much as I can. I am still proud of this party.
All I wrote is just constructive criticism from an old comrade.If they listen and are willing to change, the party will be better. If they don’t, they will see my criticism as a move to discredit them.
What’s your future political plan?
I intend to establish a new party because there is no other political party that reflects my beliefs in economic policies, freedom, better health of the people, and a genuine democracy
A British drug trafficking ring leader was arrested in Bangkok, five years after he skipped bail in Britain to hide in Thailand. The Royal Thai police disclosed on Saturday 11 February 2023.
Richard Mark Wakeling, 54, was sentenced by the English Court to 11 years in prison for trafficking 8 million pounds worth of methamphetamine from Italy to the UK by land.
Wakeling, who also goes by another passport name of Aaron Peter Lumsden, then skip bail and fled the UK before the ruling was made.
He had been living in the beachside town of Hua Hin before was arrested while visiting a friend in Bangkok. The Royal Thai Police arrested the fugitive on Friday at a Bangkok garage where he had been collecting his car after repairs.
According to Express, the British press, Wakeling, 55, from Brentwood in Essex, tried to import £8million of liquid amphetamine into the UK in April 2016. He fled in 2018 before his 12-week trial began and was sentenced to 11 years in his absence at Chelmsford Crown Court on April 9 of that year.
Wakeling, who has a prosthetic lower right leg, was placed on the National Crime Agency (NCA)’s “most wanted” list, and appeals were issued for information to help trace him.
He remains in custody with extradition proceedings under way.
A woman takes a photo of her child in front of a "Slam Dunk" poster at a movie theater in Seoul on Jan. 23, 2023. Kyodo
SEOUL – A recently released reimagining of hit Japanese anime “Slam Dunk” has proven hugely popular in South Korea and brought with it a wave of nostalgia for the 1990s manga and television series as well as the underdog basketball team the film features.
Jeong Jin Hyeok is one of many South Koreans in their 30s and 40s revisiting their childhood with “The First Slam Dunk,” a new film version of the beloved and wildly popular basketball manga.
The film has currently sold the third-most theater tickets ever for a Japanese anime film shown in South Korea, according to the Korean Film Council.
Written and directed by the manga’s author Takehiko Inoue, the film now trails only the blockbuster hit “your name.” and “Howl’s Moving Castle” from Studio Ghibli, the film promotion group said. It has moved into third ahead of 2020’s “Demon Slayer.”
This latest theatrical hit demonstrates Japan’s soft power can to some degree overcome historical issues such as compensation over wartime unpaid labor and comfort women who were forced to work in wartime brothels.
While these issues occupy the political classes of both countries, South Koreans have appeared to be happy to embrace Japanese culture through the film that started showing in early January.
A special section for “Slam Dunk” comic books is created at a bookstore in Seoul on Jan. 23, 2023. (Kyodo)
Lee Dalho, a 31-year-old actor who performs in musical theater, said he sees the current status of South Korea-Japan relationship having “no impact” in people simply enjoying the Slam Dunk movie.
“The boom is all about nostalgia and old good memories about our childhood,” he added.
As of Wednesday, more than 2.49 million people in total have seen the movie.
On the first day the film was shown, Jeong, 32, watched it with his basketball-loving friends. He recounted his passion for the sport and how when they were younger he and his friends would give each other nicknames based on Slam Dunk characters.
The country’s biggest theater complex CGV said people in their 30s and 40s made up more than 70 percent of the moviegoers. Some brought their children to theaters, South Korean local media reported, creating a whole new generation of fans.
In some parts of the country, specially-arranged sections for the Slam Dunk manga can be seen in bookstores, with translations in Korean. The manga has been translated into other languages including English and French.
The craze has also led to brisk sales of Slam Dunk-related merchandise. For example, The Hyundai, one of the nation’s department store chains, has opened a pop-up store where official merchandise such as uniforms attract many shoppers daily.
The story has also attracted new fans like Park Jeong Ah.
“I really liked how everyone in the movie put their best efforts possible to win the game. It’s entertaining enough for someone like me new to the manga series,” said the 30-year-old Park.
Chinese tourists pose for photos at the Grand Palace scenic spot in Bangkok, Thailand, Feb. 7, 2022. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)
BEIJING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) — China on Monday resumed outbound group travel to 20 countries, including Thailand, the Maldives, the United Arab Emirates, Russia and New Zealand.
Group tours between the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions also resumed.
The move came after the country downgraded its management of COVID-19 from Class A to Class B on Jan. 8. Resuming outbound travel is one of the measures in China’s COVID-19 response adjustment.
Customers learn about outbound travel at a travel agency in Guangzhou, south China’s Guangdong Province, Feb. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
It has been three years since the country suspended outbound group tours — the major form of travel for outbound tourists. The rebooting of the services is undoubtedly part of the certainty and momentum that the world’s second-largest economy is contributing to a world faced with uncertainties and bleak growth prospects this year.
Countries like Thailand, Cambodia and the United Arab Emirates welcomed the first tour groups from China in three years on Monday. Chinese tourists used to account for about a quarter of all arrivals in Thailand, which aims to receive 7 million Chinese tourists this year.
Tourists bound for Thailand pose for photos at Beijing Capital International Airport in Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 8, 2023. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong)
During the Spring Festival holiday from Jan. 21 to 27, China saw nearly 2.9 million cross-border trips, up 120.5 percent year on year, and 308 million domestic trips, up 23.1 percent and back to 88.6 percent of the 2019 level for the same period.
With the gradual and orderly recovery of outbound tourism, more countries are expected to receive tour groups from China.
An Egyptian artist performs a traditional folk dance to welcome Chinese tourists at the Cairo International Airport in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 20, 2023. (Xinhua/Sui Xiankai)
Over the past three years, China’s average growth rate was 4.5 percent, far higher than the global average of 1.8 percent. The resumption of group tours shows that in the new phase of its COVID-19 response, China will strengthen people-to-people and economic exchanges with other countries, and inject more confidence and strength into global economic recovery.
Tourists from China are welcomed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City, the Philippines, Jan. 24, 2023. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, left, calls on a reporter during a briefing with National Security Council spokesman John Kirby right, at the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. military fighter jet shot down an unknown object flying off the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday on orders from President Joe Biden, White House officials said.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the object was downed because it was flying at about 40,000 feet (13,000 meters) and posed a “reasonable threat” to the safety of civilian flights, not because of any knowledge that it was engaged in surveillance. Asked about the object’s downing, Biden on Friday said only that “It was a success.”
Commercial airliners and private jets can fly as high as 45,000 feet (13,700 meters).
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby speaks during the daily briefing at the White House in Washington, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Kirby described the object as roughly the size of a small car, much smaller than the massive suspected Chinese spy balloon downed by Air Force fighter jets Saturday off the coast of South Carolina after it transited over sensitive military sites across the continental U.S.
The twin downings in such close succession are extraordinary, and reflect heightened concerns over China’s surveillance program and public pressure on Biden to take a tough stand against it. Still, there were few answers about the unknown object downed Friday and the White House drew distinctions between the two episodes. Officials couldn’t say if the latest object contained any surveillance equipment, where it came from or what purpose it had.
The Pentagon on Friday declined to provide a more precise description of the object, only saying that U.S. pilots who flew up to observe it determined it didn’t appear to be manned. Officials said the object was far smaller than last week’s balloon, did not appear to be maneuverable and was traveling at a much lower altitude.
Kirby maintained that Biden, based on the advice of the Pentagon, believed it posed enough of a concern to shoot it out of the sky — primarily because of the potential risk to civilian aircraft.
“We’re going to remain vigilant about our airspace,” Kirby said. “The president takes his obligations to protect our national security interests as paramount.”
The president was briefed on the presence of the object Thursday evening after two fighter jets surveilled it.
President Joe Biden waits to greet Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his wife Rosangela da Silva upon their arrival on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, Feb. 10, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters Friday that an F-22 fighter aircraft based at Alaska’s Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson shot down the object using an AIM-9X short-range air-to-air missile, the same type used to take down the balloon nearly a week ago.
The object flew over one of the most desolate places on the nation. Few towns dot Alaska’s North Slope, with the two apparently closest communities — Deadhorse and Kaktovik — combining for about 300 people. Unlike the suspected spy balloon, which was downed to live feeds and got U.S. residents looking up to the skies, it’s likely few people saw this object given the blistering frigid conditions of northern Alaska this time of the year, meaning there are few people outside for a prolonged period of time.
Ahead of the the shoot-down, the Federal Aviation Administration restricted flights over a roughly 10-square mile (26-square kilometer) area within U.S. airspace off Alaska’s Bullen Point, the site of a disused U.S. Air Force radar station on the Beaufort Sea about 130 miles (210 kilometers) from the Canadian border, inside the Arctic Circle.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet Friday that he had been briefed and supported the decision. “Our military and intelligence services will always work together,” he said.
The object fell onto frozen waters and officials expected they could recover debris faster than from last week’s massive balloon. Ryder said the object was traveling northeast when it was shot down. He said several U.S. military helicopters have gone out to begin the recovery effort.
Later Friday, the Pentagon said: “Recovery is happening in a mix of ice and snow. Units located in Alaska under the direction of U.S. Northern Command, along with the Alaska National Guard, are involved in the response.”
The unknown object was shot down in an area with harsh weather conditions and about six and a half hours of daylight at this time of year. Daytime temperatures Friday were about minus 17 degrees Fahrenheit (27 degrees Celsius).
After the object was detected Thursday, NORAD — North American Aerospace Defense Command —sent F-35s to observe it, a U.S. official said, adding that the military queried U.S. government agencies to make sure it did not belong to any of them, and had confidence it was not a U.S. government or military asset. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about sensitive national security matters and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Because it was much smaller than the suspected Chinese spy balloon, there were fewer safety concerns about downing it over land, so the decision was made to shoot it down when it was possible. That happened over water.
The mystery around what exactly the flying object was lingered late into Friday night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a statement saying it was “not a National Weather Service balloon.”
“They do not hover,” said NOAA spokesperson Scott Smullen.
The development came almost a week after the U.S. shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the Carolina coast after it traversed sensitive military sites across North America. China insisted the flyover was an accident involving a civilian craft and threatened repercussions.
Biden issued the order but had wanted the balloon downed even earlier. He was advised that the best time for the operation would be when it was over water. Military officials determined that bringing it down over land from an altitude of 60,000 feet would pose an undue risk to people on the ground.
The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for “several years,” the Pentagon has said. The U.S. has said Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.
China responded that it reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”
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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Washington, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, and Mark Thiessen in Anchorage contributed to this report.
The Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice, and Human Rights, House of Representatives held a seminar on “the direction of Thai judicial and police reform” at Parliament on February 10, 2023.
Representatives from the Royal Thai Police, the Department of Special Investigations, the Drug Control Agency, the Anti-Money Laundering Bureau, the Immigration Department, the Border Guard Police and other involved government agencies attended the event.
Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, a Thammasat University law scholar, said a suspect or an accused who cannot get bail himself/herself must be placed in a non-prison facility and not treated as a criminal. He cited the case of activists Tawan and Bambam as an example.
Move Forward Party (MFP) MP Rangsiman Rome mentioned that he has listed several issues on justice and police reform such as how to improve the quality of policing or how the police can work proudly and happily. He also mentioned that he wants all police officers to have a camera with them when they work for the benefit of the people and themselves.
Rangsiman Rome
MP Rangsiman said he wanted police officers to be allowed to wear any hairstyle they preferred as long as it was polite. He said he did not want police officers to be restricted to a clean-shaven hairstyle because he is sure that the hairstyle will not make the police work better. It is the ability to work that makes Thai police better, he said.
He also mentions the ‘coupon’ system, in particular the so-called “elephant coupon”, i.e. a high-level corruption to reach a higher position. MP Ransiman mentioned that the coupon system has caused a big problem. In a system where the value of ‘coupon’ correlates with a higher rank, a police officer cannot work normally.
They have to look for loopholes. If this problem is solved, a police officer will no longer have to look for a corrupt way to reach a higher post, as all promotions will be based on his skills.
Former Thai politician Chuwit Kamolvisit said the real problem with police reform was the badly decayed core of the organisation due to the fact that no one dared to tell the truth.
Chuwit Kamolvisit
He cited as an example the traffic checkpoints where there were always reports of people being asked for money because the police officers were given instructions by commanders. When they were caught, the lower police officers were punished without investigating who had ordered such activities, but never the higher ones. He also mentioned that the Tuhao case could not happen without the help of the police.
Chuwit said he wanted the Thai police to dare to tell the truth because telling the truth does not harm anyone and helps the public to be informed.
Photo taken Feb. 8, 2023, in Manila shows vehicles transporting Yuki Watanabe and Tomonobu Kojima, two of the four Japanese men suspected of being behind a string of robberies across Japan, for their deportation to Japan from the Philippines, where they were detained on local charges. (Kyodo)
A man suspected to be behind a string of robberies across Japan that were coordinated from the Philippines also allegedly committed fraud remotely from Thailand, investigative sources said Friday.
Police sent Yuki Watanabe, 38, and another apparent senior member of the group, Tomonobu Kojima, 45, to prosecutors Friday after they were deported to Japan from the Philippines this week. Among the robberies being investigated is one that resulted in the murder of a 90-year-old woman in Tokyo in January.
Watanabe, whose immigration record shows he was in Thailand in 2017, allegedly collaborated with a partner in Japan between August and December of that year to obtain cash cards from people, including the elderly, by claiming someone had withdrawn money from their bank accounts, according to the sources.
In December 2017, a group of people were stopped by police when they tried to leave Japan for Thailand carrying concealed cash totaling around 36 million yen ($274,000). The money was believed to have been obtained using the cash cards, said the sources.
Watanabe later moved his base to the Philippines but was detained in April 2021. He and Kojima were deported to Japan on Thursday at the request of the Japanese authorities and arrested the same day for alleged theft related to a scam.
Two other members of the fraud group, Kiyoto Imamura and Toshiya Fujita, both 38, were repatriated from the Philippines and arrested on Tuesday also for alleged theft.
The group is estimated to have defrauded people of over 6 billion yen before appearing to switch its activities to robberies, according to the police.
The four suspects returned to Japan likely include the person, or persons thought to have used the pseudonyms “Luffy” and “Kim” when the crimes were allegedly committed.
VIENTIANE, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) — Laos is looking forward to welcoming back Chinese tourists after China optimized its COVID-19 response.
The Lao government and private sectors are preparing for the arrival of Chinese tourists after it was listed among countries greenlit by the Chinese government for outbound group tours.
“We are working in partnership with travel agencies, hotels and other tourism-related businesses to improve facilities and services in readiness for the return of Chinese tour groups,” Darany Phommavongsa, director general of the Tourism Management Department of the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, told the media last Friday.
“We held a meeting with private companies to discuss ways to improve facilities and design activities to entice more Chinese visitors to Laos,” he added.
President of Inthira Group Inthy Deuansavanh, who has been in the hospitality sector for almost 25 years, told Xinhua on Tuesday that tourism in Laos was severely damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic due to the absence of foreign tourists.
Tourists walk at a square by Mekong River in Lao capital Vientiane on Feb. 8, 2023. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
Since China resumed outbound group travel to countries including Laos, Inthy believed that it will bring a large number of Chinese visitors to Laos.
“We are waiting to welcome Chinese visitors again. And I believe that traveling to Laos will be more convenient because of the operation of the Laos-China Railway,” he noted.
“The local tourism businesses need to get ready to attract and welcome back inbound tourists. One of the most important things is that we need to promote our outstanding tourist attractions, especially nature-based tourism, to reach our target customers as much as possible.”
Inthy said tourism-related businesses must improve their services and make sure that customers can easily get access to their products.
“We opened a new department recently with Chinese-speaking staff. It aims to provide the best service to the Chinese visitors and try to reach the Chinese market increasingly,” he said.
He strongly believes that China’s resumption of outbound group tours after the optimization of its COVID-19 response will be a strong boost to revitalize Laos’ economy and tourism.
“Anyone who wants to explore rich natural resources and biodiversity will never get disappointed when traveling to Laos,” Inthy said, adding that Laos is also a fascinating destination for anyone seeking cultural immersion and outstanding eco-tourism.
Fireworks over the That Luang Stupa in Vientiane, Laos. That Luang Festival, running from Nov. 6 to 8 in 2022, is one of the most important religious festivals in Laos. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
In October 2021, the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism launched the Lao Tourism Recovery Roadmap for 2021-2025, which aims to support the recovery of the tourism sector in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak.
One of the three main policy options in the roadmap is the greening of tourism for environmental friendliness and better long-term recovery.
With its rich natural resources and biodiversity, Laos can offer an opportunity to promote nature-based tourism for sustainable and inclusive growth which will lead to green jobs and livelihood opportunities, thereby attaining green recovery and green growth.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Somphet Maopaseuth, president of Forestry Area Conservation Ecological Tourism, endeavored to transform challenges into opportunities.
“During our temporary close, we had a chance to restore ecosystems, train our staff and improve our service standard to another level. Therefore, we are more than ready to welcome back an influx of visitors,” he said.
Somphet advised tourism-related businesses to focus on ensuring the safety of tourists, training staff and upgrading their services to meet international standards.
He pointed out that the Laos-China Railway is a great advantage for Laos because it facilitates tourist travel, adding that the return of Chinese tourists will bring a lot of opportunities, as China is one of the world’s largest outbound tourism markets.
“I am very pleased to welcome back Chinese tourists. Their presence is vital to the country’s tourism and economic growth,” Somphet said.
A conductor serves drinkable water for a passenger on a train of the China-Laos Railway, Nov. 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)
The Lao government considers tourism as its top priority in revitalizing the economy.
“We need to improve facilities so we can accommodate more tourists this year and ensure that tourism makes a strong contribution to economic growth,” said Lao Deputy Prime Minister Kikeo Khaykhamphithoune during a meeting held by the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism in January.
Kikeo stressed that tourism-related businesses must improve their services and tourist attractions, as well as diversify tourism products and activities in response to travelers’ needs and expectations.
The government hopes to attract 1.4 million visitors in 2023, which is expected to generate more than 340 million U.S. dollars.
Pavina Phouminh, a receptionist at Landmark Hotel, a top-ranking hotel in Vientiane, told Xinhua on Tuesday that the hotel is all prepared with added facilities, amenities, and products to welcome the return of tourists from China.
This aerial photo taken on Feb. 7, 2023 shows the view along the Mekong River at Lao capital Vientiane. (Photo by Kaikeo Saiyasane/Xinhua)
“We have a lot of Chinese-speaking staff here. We are ready to provide all travelers with the best service. We are 100 percent ready! And we are looking forward to the mass return of Chinese travelers,” she said.
Viengxay Phasith, a 56-year-old van driver from Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge to the city, told Xinhua on Tuesday, “I was badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic because most of my clients are foreign travelers. The return of Chinese tourists gives me hope to get more income.”
“Welcome to Laos! Laos has a lot of beautiful places to visit. Please come and see for yourself. We are ready to give you the best service!”
Tourism experts predict that millions of Chinese tourists will visit ASEAN countries and many of them will travel on the China-Laos Railway, which runs from Kunming, the capital of southwest China’s Yunnan province, to Vientiane.
Stewardesses wait for passengers beside a Lane Xang EMU train at the Vientiane Station of China-Laos Railway in Laos on May 24, 2022. (Photo by Yang Yongquan/Xinhua)
Meanwhile, Lao Airlines plans to operate more flights in response to the expected influx of Chinese visitors. The airline currently operates three flights a week from the Lao capital Vientiane to China’s Kunming.
It is set to launch additional flights from Vientiane to the Chinese cities of Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chengdu, Changzhou, and Hangzhou. The airline also mulls increasing flights from the northern Luang Prabang province and the southern Champasak province to China.
