MDM November 17, 2018

MDM
MDM
DAGUPAN CITY --
Filipino delegates to the
4.01 million, Jiang Fan of
Fujian Provincial Foreign
XIAMEN VISIT.
China-Philippines Youth
Exchange Program
delegates pose for a group
photo during the welcoming
dinner at Royal Victoria
Hotel in Xiamen by the
Xiamen Foreign
Affairs Office.
HILDA AUSTRIA
Youth Friendly Exchange
Program commended the
technological advances
and the preserved Chinese
cultural heritage in Xiamen
City in China.
“Very impressive ang
Xiamen. Ang ganda ganda
ng city, nakuha nila yong
mga industries and tourism
(Xiamen is very impressive.
It is also very, very beautiful
and they were able to develop
appropriate industries and
tourism). The China national
government fully supports
its development. Hopefully,
in the our country, we would
also develop other provincial
cities like Cebu, where I
live, not just Manila as the
provincial cities also have a
lot of potential,” said Tyler
Abad, one of the delegates
from Cebu City.
Jessa Mae Sato was
astonished by how the city
developed into a “smart city”
within a span of only 40
years.
“Mabilis napaunlad
ang city within 40 years
lang. Maganda lalo na yong
underwater subway nila.
Nag-ask ako paano kapag
lumindol pero may nagsabi
na malayo sila sa
nakaready
yong structure para sa mga
ganoong instances (The
city developed swiftly
within the span of 40 years.
It is beautiful specially
the underwater subway. I
asked what if there will be
an earthquake, somebody
answered that the city is
is ready for such instances),”
Sato said.
Li Xiangping, director
general of Xiamen Foreign
and Overseas Chinese
welcome remarks during
the delegates’ visit there on
October 24, said the city was
set up as Special Economic
Zone (SEZ) in 1980 upon
the approval of the State
Council.
“We are putting together
our strength and working
together like a dragon boat,”
he said.
Xiamen comprises
six districts within its
jurisdiction, covering
land area of 1,699 square
kilometers, and has a
residential population of
“Xiamen has a most
competitive economy in
China. As one of China’s
rapid economic and social
development. The city’s
competitiveness ranks top
among all large and mediumsized
cities in China. It is
also one of the 10 most
innovative cities in China
and a National Model City
for Balanced Development,”
he added.
Song Yuan Zhuang of
Xiamen Information Group
said the city uses real-time
monitoring.
“Passengers can check
the actual location of the
buses at the bus stops, while
every resident in the city uses
electronic cards (e-cards)
for payment, whether for
transport, shopping, among
others,” he said.
Song admitted that
the use of e-cards, which
also serve as the resident’s
strengthened the city’s
security system.
“If another person uses
another person’s e-card, the
system can detect hence,
identity theft or e-card theft
can be prevented,” he noted.
Song disclosed that
with the city’s smart or high
technology monitoring,
recorded crime rate on 2017
is only at 5 percent, or a ratio
of 300 crimes per 100,000
population average crime
rate.
“There advances in
technology is high-end
compared to other countries
and they are thoughtful
on ensuring their people’s
security. This is like a
challenge for us (youths) to
someday lead our country
to development like Xiamen
City,” said Shanylle Reluya,
one of the Filipino delegates
from Cebu City.
The delegates in the
recent China-Philippines
Youth Exchange Program
were toured in Gulangyu
Island, one of the most
popular tourist spots in
Xiamen, where they rode a
ferry to get to the island.
Xiamen’s other tourist
attractions are Wanshi
Mountains, South Putuo
Temple, Hulishan Fort, and
Jimei University, among
others. Hilda Austria/
PNA
BENI, DR Congo | AFP
| - Eight United Nations
peacekeepers were killed in
an operation against a rebel
militia in eastern DR Congo,
the UN Security Council said
on Thursday.
One Tanzanian and seven
Malawian peacekeepers were
killed, the council said, raising
the toll from an earlier count.
The deaths mark the
biggest loss by the large
UN force in the Democratic
Republic of Congo since the
rebels killed 15 troops nearly
a year ago.
Earlier Thursday, General
Bernard Commins, deputy
head of the MONUSCO
peacekeeping force, said
a joint operation had been
launched with DRC troops
on Tuesday against the Allied
Democratic Forces (ADF),
a jihadi group blamed for
bloody attacks on civilians.
MIGRANTS from poor
Central American countries
-mostly Hondurans- moving
towards the United States in
hopes of a better life, walk
along the road between
Zapopan and Tequila
in the Mexican state of
Jalisco, on their trek north,
on November 13. Defense
Secretary Jim Mattis said
Tuesday he will visit the
US-Mexico border, where
thousands of active-duty
soldiers have been deployed
to help border police
prepare for the arrival of a
“caravan” of migrants.
ULISES RUIZ
AFP Photographer
North Korea tests new
‘ultramodern tactical weapon’
SEOUL, South Korea |
AFP | - North Korean leader
Kim Jong Un has overseen
the testing of a “newly
developed ultramodern
tactical weapon”, Pyongyang’s
state media reported
Friday, in a move that will
raise the temperature over
denuclearization talks.
report of a weapons test by
North Korea in nearly a year
since it launched a delicate
diplomacy with Washington
over its nuclear and missile
program.
“Kim Jong Un...visited
the test ground of the
Academy of Defense Science
and supervised a newly
developed ultramodern
The offensive aimed at
Kididiwe, about 20 kilometers
(12 miles) from Beni, a city of
between 200,000 and 300,000
inhabitants, said Commins.
“We are holding Kididiwe
at present, after violent
At present, we are evacuating
wounded Congolese troops
and Blue Helmets,” he told
AFP. He added he was unable
to provide any information
about reports at that time of
fatalities.
Malawi’s armed forces
its soldiers with MONUSCO
-- a sergeant and three privates
aged between 29 and 38 -- had
been killed on Wednesday.
The military “has lost
courageous, hardworking
and disciplined soldiers who
were always ready to serve to
ensure that peace prevails,”
tactical weapon test,” said
News Agency.
It said the test was
successful but did not specify
the type of device involved.
Pyongyang’s suspension
of testing for nuclear
weapons and ballistic
missiles has been key to
this year’s rapid diplomatic
developments and North
Korean-US negotiations, and
has been repeatedly praised
by President Donald Trump.
Trump and Kim met in a
historic summit in Singapore
in June, where they signed a
vaguely worded document
on denuclearization of the
peninsula.
Progress has since
the Malawi Defense Force
said in a statement.
It gave no further details
on where or how they died.
Commins described
Kididiwe as a “major
stronghold” of the ADF.
speaking on condition of
anonymity, said the town had
been used as a springboard
for militia attacks on Beni’s
suburbs this year.
On Wednesday, Commins
said MONUSCO had deployed
attack helicopters against
ADF forces threatening UN
troops in the Mayangose area,
northeast of Beni.
The region is also battling
an Ebola outbreak that has
left more than 200 dead.
Insecurity is hampering efforts
to contain the disease, the UN
spokesman said.
In its statement the
Security Council “underlined
stalled as Washington and
Pyongyang spar over the
meaning of the document,
and a return to testing would
cast grave doubts over the
future of the process.
The use of the word
“tactical” in the KCNA
report suggests that no longrange
ballistic rocket or
nuclear device was involved,
and there were no immediate
indications any such test had
been detected by the South.
However, one of the
as accompanying Kim was
by the specialist website NK
Leadership Watch, as head
of the Korean People’s Army
Artillery Command
that deliberate attacks
targeting peacekeepers may
constitute war crimes under
international law.”
The Council called for
a swift investigation from
Congolese authorities and
warned that attacks against
UN personnel constitutes a
basis for sanctions.
Notorious militia
The ADF is an Islamistrooted
group that rose in
western Uganda in 1995, led
by Jamil Mukulu, a Christian
turned Muslim.
Forced out of Uganda, it
operates in the border area in the
DRC’s North Kivu province.
It has been blamed for
recruiting and using child
soldiers, killing hundreds of
civilians since 2014, as well
as 15 Tanzanian peacekeepers,
who died in an attack in
December 2017. Agence
France-Presse
reports, Adam Mount of
the Federation of American
Scientists tweeted: “That
pit of dread you felt in your
stomach when you read this
is your reminder that the
DPRK missile test pause is
voluntary, partial, and can
fail without notice if it isn’t
DPRK is the abbreviation
name.
Running out
Kim expressed “great
satisfaction” and said the
test marks “decisive turn
capacity” of the North’s
military, KCNA said. Agence
France-Presse
CHINA’S President Xi Jinping waves as he leaves his plane
upon arrival at Port Moresby International Airport on
November 15, ahead of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
(APEC) Summit. SAEED KHAN/AFP
PORT MORESBY,
Papua New Guinea | AFP |
into the unlikely venue of
Port Moresby Saturday for a
summit developing into a tugbetween
an assertive China
and an increasingly withdrawn
United States.
Donald Trump is skipping
the two-day APEC meeting,
sending Vice President Mike
Pence in his place, who is
leaving after one day and
staying in Australia rather
than the dusty and notoriously
crime-ridden Papua New
Guinea capital.
The contrast with China
could hardly be more stark.
President Xi Jinping arrived
two days before the summit
for a state visit, and will open
a road and school -- both
funded by Beijing.
Papua New Guinea has
rolled out the red carpet for
the new road and images of
the Chinese leader beaming
down from massive billboards
around Port Moresby.
In an opinion piece
published ahead of the visit,
Xi vowed to “lend fresh
impetus to our common
US studying Turkey's
demands to extradite preacher
WASHINGTON, United
States | AFP | - The United
States is studying Turkey’s
demands for the extradition
of preacher Fethullah Gulen,
who is accused by Ankara
of orchestrating a failed
2016 coup attempt, the State
Department said Thursday.
But spokeswoman
Heather Nauert rejected the
allegation in an NBC report
that the White House is
seeking a way to extradite
Gulen -- who reportedly has
a US Green Card -- in a bid
to reduce Turkish pressure on
Saudi Arabia over the murder
of a dissident journalist.
“We have received
multiple requests from the
Turkish government... related
to Mr Gulen,” Nauert said.
“We continue to
evaluate the material that the
Turkish government presents
development” and “expand
practical co-operation with
trade and investment.”
Ben Rhodes, former
president Barack Obama’s top
foreign policy advisor, said
Trump’s absence had “opened
up an enormous opportunity
for China to expand its
Beijing has a “historic
opportunity to make inroads
across the region during
Trump’s presidency,” Rhodes
told AFP.
Setting the scene for
a potential clash in Port
speaking ahead of the summit
accused Beijing in engaging
in “dangerous debt diplomacy
throughout the region.”
Several countries in the
accepted loans from Beijing
that are “not transparent,”
declined to be named.
war between the world’s two
largest economies -- as well
as tit-for-tat tariff measures --
will also serve as a backdrop
to what could be a tense
gathering. Agence France-
Presse
requesting his extradition,”
she said.
But Nauert insisted that
“there is no relation” between
the Gulen extradition issue
and Turkish pressure on Saudi
Arabia over the murder of
journalist Jamal Khashoggi
at the kingdom’s consulate in
Istanbul.
The White House “has
not been involved in any
discussions related to the
extradition of Fetullah Gulen,”
she said.
NBC, citing four anonymous
sources, reported that
had asked law enforcement
agencies about “legal ways
of removing” Gulen, 77, from
the US to persuade Turkey’s
president “to ease pressure
on the Saudi government.”
Agence France-Presse