Day: September 12, 2021

Posted on

Roundup: Indonesian Tourist Sites Reopen Following Relaxed COVID-19 Restrictions

JAKARTA– A number of tourist destinations in Indonesia reopened their doors in regions that have relaxed their COVID-19 public activity restrictions, locally known as PPKM, earlier this week.

Among the reopened tourist sites is the Mount Ijen National Park in East Java province’s district of Banyuwangi, which resumed operation since Thursday, after being closed for two months, during the early stages of the pandemic restrictions.

According to Purwantono, the Banyuwangi Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA)’s section head, the national park was visited by around 600 visitors daily, on average, during pre-pandemic times.

Following Banyuwangi’s pandemic restrictions being lowered to level 2 this week, the national park will limit daily visits to approximately 150 people, in accordance with the 25-percent capacity limit for national parks, during the PPKM Level 2 implementation.

Mount Ijen’s latest opening hours are from 3:00 a.m. to 12 p.m. local time, for all days. Hikers are required to be vaccinated at least with the first doses and bring vaccination certificates as proof.

Similarly, the Dieng Volcanic Complex, also called the Dieng Plateau, located both in Wonosobo and Banjarnegara districts in Central Java province, also reopened on Friday, following the two districts’ restrictions being lowered to level 2 this week.

The complex is also implementing a 25-percent capacity limit in compliance with level 2 restrictions. “We’re ready to open. We’ve already done health protocol simulations,” the Banjarnegara Cultural and Tourism Agency’s Head, Agung Yusianto, said on Thursday.

Just like Mount Ijen, the Dieng recreational area requires visitors to be vaccinated with the first shots at minimum.

Furthermore, state-owned Ancol Dreamland Park in North Jakarta, also reopened two of its attractions, Ancol Beach and Allianz Ecopark, for visitors who want to do outdoor vacation.

Meanwhile, other attraction sites inside the park, such as, the famous Fantasy Land (Dufan) amusement park, Sea World, Ocean Dream Samudra, Atlantis Water Adventures and the Art Market remained closed as of yesterday.

However, PT Taman Wisata Candi, the operator of Borobudur Temple in Magelang, in Central Java, Prambanan and Ratu Boko Temples in Yogyakarta, and Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) cultural park, confirmed that it had received the green light to reopen and operate whilst implementing screening, using contact tracing mobile application.

The Taman Wisata Candi’s Corporate Secretary, Emilia Eny Utari, said that, the decision on the operating permit was made for the tourist sites by the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs, on Sept 7.

The reopening of the four destinations was because they have all obtained the Cleanliness, Health, Safety, and Environment Sustainability (CHSE) certificates from the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry, Utari said, adding, another reason is they are located outdoor.

“We still haven’t decided when the trial reopening will start, because we are still preparing the implementation process of the PeduliLindungi app. Right now, we’re still awaiting the QR codes for the destinations. Once the codes are ready, trial reopening will be held.”

As of this week, Yogyakarta’s (Prambanan temple) pandemic restrictions stay at level 3, the same with Magelang district (Borobudur and Ratu Boko temples), and Jakarta (Taman Mini Indonesia Indah).

In addition, popular tourist destinations, Kawah Putih (White Crater) and Glamping Rancabali camping site, in Bandung district in West Java province, were also expected to reopen immediately, according to Bandung district head, Dadang Supriatna.

On Sept 6, the Indonesian government decided to extend its public activity restrictions on the country’s most populated island of Java and famous tourist destination of Bali for another week, and as for some regions outside the two islands, the restrictions are extended until Sept 20.

The PPKM policy has been imposed by the government, in response to the surge in COVID-19 cases from late June to July, driven by the highly transmissible Delta variant.

Yesterday, Indonesia reported 5,001 newly-confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 270 more deaths, according to the Health Ministry. In total, there are 4.16 million COVID-19 cases reported and 138,701 deaths, since Mar last year.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Posted on

Philippines Logs 21,411 New COVID-19 Cases, Death Toll Tops 35,000

MANILA – The Philippines’ Department of Health (DOH), reported 21,411 new COVID-19 infections today, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 2,227,367.

The DOH also reported 168 more coronavirus-related deaths, raising the death toll in the country to 35,145.

The Philippines, which has around 110 million population, tested over 18 million people since the COVID-19 outbreak in Jan, 2020. Yesterday, the DOH reported the country’s highest ever daily tally, with 26,303 cases.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Posted on

Malaysia Reports Highest Daily COVID-19 Death Toll, 19,550 More Infections

KUALA LUMPUR– Malaysia recorded a fresh high of 592 single-day death toll from COVID-19, as of midnight, bringing the total deaths to 20,419, according to the health ministry.

Another 19,550 new infections were reported in the past 24 hours, with seven imported and 19,543 local transmissions, bringing the national tally to 1,960,500, data released on the ministry’s website showed.

Another 21,771 patients were released after recovery, bringing the total number of cured and discharged to 1,700,730.

Of the remaining 239,351 active cases, 1,272 are being held in intensive care units and 724 of those are in need of assisted breathing.

Malaysia reported 258,929 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, administered yesterday alone. So far, some 65.2 percent of the population have received at least one dose and 52.1 percent are fully vaccinated.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Posted on

As Japan Seeks New Leader, Analysts Say China Policy Unlikely to Change

As Japan eyes contenders to replace the unpopular Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga who effectively announced his resignation by not running for reelection as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, analysts expect the island nation will not change its China policy under new leadership.

Analysts say that whoever wins the party leadership role will likely continue the overall foreign policy trend maintained by Suga and his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, who resigned as prime minister on Sept. 16, 2020, citing health reasons. Suga in his brief tenure pushed back against China’s increasingly assertive behavior, and in April, he was the first foreign leader President Joe Biden welcomed in person at the White House. Among the topics covered was “the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” according to Kyodo News.

“Since World War II, Japan has always maintained the belief that only through gaining the trust and support of the United States can Japan maximize its national interests,” Chen Wen-chia, an advisor at the Taipei-based Taiwan Japan Academy and a professor at Kainan University in Taiwan, told VOA Mandarin.

“Regardless of who wins the September 29 election, the ruling conservative Liberal Democratic Party’s foreign policy is unlikely to change,” said Izuru Makihara, a professor at the prestigious University of Tokyo focusing on postwar Japanese political history. “They will align with the U.S., view Beijing as a rival, and support Taiwan.”

Campaigning for the leadership position begins Sept. 17, and votes will be tallied on Sept. 29. Once a new party leader is elected, the parliament, or Diet, will be called into session to elect Japan’s next prime minister. Because the LDP holds a majority in the Diet, the winner of the party election is expected to become prime minister. Whoever that is must call a general election by Nov. 28. The LDP has retained power in Japan for all but three years since 1955.

Low ratings

Suga’s announcement came as his ratings dipped to an all-time low of 26%, largely the result of popular disappointment over his handling of COVID-19, the pandemic’s economic impact, and the Olympic Games.

“Suga lacks experience in foreign affairs and insisted on hosting the Olympics while COVID-19 cases were on the rise, so he basically had no time to develop any kind of meaningful foreign policies during his one-year term,” Katsuhiko Eguchi, president of Japanese think tank PHP Institute and a former LDP senator, told VOA Mandarin.

Eguchi said that a lack of diplomatic achievements and failure to develop effective pandemic countermeasures contributed to Suga’s low ratings and factored into his decision against seeking reelection.

However, Suga’s government did voice concern over Beijing’s crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement and abuses of the Muslim Uyghur minority in China’s far western Xinjiang region.

“Many Chinese officials have been disappointed with Suga,” a Beijing-based diplomat told Kyodo News in a Sept. 4 report. “Their attention has already turned to who will become Japan’s next prime minister and how the new government will handle the Taiwan issue.”

Top contenders

Former foreign minister Fumio Kishida declared his candidacy on Aug. 31.

In a Sept. 4 interview with Nikkei Asia, Kishida, who also served briefly as defense minister, said that dealing with China would be a top priority in his government, expressing “deep alarm” at Beijing’s aggressive behaviors on multiple fronts.

“Kishida has more than four years of experience as the minister of foreign affairs in the Abe Cabinet. From his track record, we expect him continue to adopt a tough attitude toward China, from national defense matters to economic competition,” Makihara told VOA Mandarin by phone.

Taro Kono, Japan’s popular coronavirus vaccination minister, announced his candidacy on Sept. 10. A Georgetown University graduate, he served as foreign minister and defense minister in Abe’s Cabinet. Although seen as something of a maverick in Japan’s staid political world, the Twitter-adept Kono comes from an LDP dynasty.

Kono leads in the polls with 31.9% support in a nationwide telephone survey conducted on Sept. 4 and 5, according to Japan’s Kyodo News.

A onetime mentee of former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Kono is an effective communicator, according to Eguchi.

“I’ve met him in person on multiple occasions. He’s tech-savvy, great at social media, humorous and speaks good English, so he’s very popular in the U.S. political circles,” Eguchi said. “On the foreign policy front, I think he’s going to continue his tough stance towards China as he did during his time as foreign minister and defense minister under Abe, and that’s consistent with the current U.S. policy.”

Kono tweets in both English and Japanese on two separate Twitter accounts. His Japanese account has 2.3 million followers, surpassing Suga’s 471,000 followers.

Former Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said on Sept. 3 that he was ready to serve as prime minister if the conditions and environment are right.

He has criticized Beijing for interfering with Hong Kong’s autonomy, according to Lexology. That stance appealed to voters in 2020, when a Kyodo News poll found that 23.6% of Japan’s voters approved of Ishida as a future prime minister. Abe, prime minister at the time, placed second with a 14.2% rating.

According to Eguchi, Ishiba is a big advocate for Taiwan.

“Seven or eight years ago, when the U.S.-China relations and Sino-Japan relations were not as tense as today, I arranged for Ishiba to meet with Taiwan’s former President Lee Teng-hui,” Eguchi told VOA Mandarin in a phone interview. Lee was Taiwan’s first democratically elected president and he championed Taiwan’s separate identity from China.

“Ishiba later told me that Lee had given him a lot of good advice in regard to Japan’s relations with Taiwan. So although we don’t see him publicly supporting Taiwan, he’s actually very pro-Taiwan,” Eguchi said.

Change unlikely

Makihara of the University of Tokyo said that no matter who becomes Japan’s next prime minister, it is unlikely that the robust relationship with Taiwan will change. “This is not only the consensus of the leading Liberal Democratic Party, but also the consensus of the Japanese society,” he said, adding that in the bigger context of U.S.-China competition, Japan will continue to align with Washington.

“Taro Kono has said China is a threat, Kishida has said Japan needs to protect freedom, democracy and human rights, and Ishiba was very tough on China when he served as defense minister,” he told VOA Mandarin. “So there’s no question that Japan will keep its alliance with the U.S.”

Kainan University’s Chen said while the chances of improving Sino-Japan relations are very slim, the two sides will likely refrain from engaging in any major conflict.

“Suga’s successor will continue the Japan-U.S. alliance and fight against China. It also conforms to the anti-China sentiment among the Japanese public and the Liberal Democratic Party,” he said. “However, Japan is still dependent on China’s trade. I think Tokyo will maintain a flexible policy towards China: work with Beijing on trade and align itself with the U.S. on defense matters.”

Source: Voice of America

Posted on

Country Violators to be Scrutinized by UN Human Rights Council

The human rights records of more than 40 countries will come under scrutiny by the 47-member United Nations Human Rights Council during its upcoming four-week session.

The session promises to be extremely busy. Nearly 90 reports on a wide range of thematic issues will be presented. They include torture, enforced disappearances, the right to development, slavery, the rights of people of African descent and racism.

As in previous years, the council’s laser-lens focus on the way governments treat their people is expected to garner a lot of attention. Reported abuses, some amounting to crimes against humanity, will be examined in countries such as Myanmar, Belarus, Syria, Eritrea, Burundi, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet will present an oral update on the situation in Afghanistan Monday as a follow-up to the council’s August 24 special session on that country. The European Union, Mexico and Britain along with human rights activists have criticized the resolution that was adopted for failing to establish a robust independent mechanism to monitor violations by the Taliban.

Council President Fiji Ambassador Nazhat Shameem Khan says discussion on Afghanistan has not ended with the special session.

“And, really, it is a matter for states to decide whether they want to take the outcome of the special session further and achieve another result,” she said. “But I do want to note that the Security Council on the 30th of August adopted a resolution on safe passage. It addressed human rights concerns particularly as it relates to women and children.”

Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth says he is dismayed at the council’s reluctance to take on powerful countries such as Russia and China. He says he fears the Kremlin will not be held to account for its unprecedented crackdown on opposition parties in advance of this month’s parliamentary elections.

“Ideally, we would like to have a resolution. At minimum, there should be a joint statement. But, again, this is a situation that just because a government is relatively powerful, should not mean that it escapes scrutiny. And this is again a bit of a test of the council’s credibility,” he said.

Roth says the same dynamics are playing out regarding China’s abusive treatment of more than a million Uyghurs in internment camps in Xinjiang province.

“China has always escaped formal scrutiny by the council. There has never been a resolution on China. It is time to end that, given the severity and the atrocities, the crimes against humanity being committed in Xinjiang,” he said.

China maintains the Uyghurs are being held in reeducation camps and that the vocational training they are receiving is necessary to counter terrorism and alleviate poverty.

Roth is calling on Bachelet to present a report describing the inhumane conditions under which the Uyghurs are being incarcerated and to call for the Chinese government to be held accountable.

Source: Voice of America

Posted on

Thailand and Cambodia to move forward together in the digital era

Thailand and Cambodia are ready to promote cooperation on digital economy as a path towards inclusive growth and post COVID-19 economic recovery during an online seminar “Connecting Digital Opportunities between Thailand and Cambodia”.

On 9 September 2021, an online seminar on “Connecting Digital Opportunities between Thailand and Cambodia” was co-hosted by the Department of East Asian Affairs, the International Studies Center (ISC) and the Royal Embassy of Cambodia in Bangkok as the two countries are embracing digital economy as a path towards inclusive growth and speedy economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The seminar was joined by policy makers and technology startups from both Thailand and Cambodia to exchange information on emerging trends, policies and developments which are shaping the digital economy in both countries. They also discussed possible areas of cooperation to connect and enlarge the pool of digital opportunities between the two countries.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Ajaree Sriratanaban, Director-General of the Department of East Asian Affairs, stressed the need for Thailand and Cambodia to move forward together in the fast-changing digital era and to harness the power of the digital transformation for the benefits of their businesses and peoples, especially SMEs and young entrepreneurs, through closer interlinkages between their respective digital economy ecosystems.

Mr. Hideaki Iwasaki Country, Director of ADB Thailand Resident Mission, the keynote speaker, said that digital platforms are expected to propel Asia’s economic recovery, help attain the SDGs, and improve the region’s quality of policymaking through big data. He also suggested that in order to unlock the digital potential of Thailand and Cambodia, priority should be given to improving affordable ICT infrastructure, e-payment options, logistics infrastructure, digital literacy, taxation policies, and regulatory frameworks for data privacy and cybersecurity between the two countries.

During the panel discussion, all panelists from the private sector highlighted the fast-growing digital economy in both Thailand and Cambodia, especially e-commerce, which is supported by the high level of internet penetration, more payment options and the emergence of efficient

last-mile delivery. They emphasised that the development of digital economy should be inclusive for everyone to be able to take part and benefit from it. They also exchanged views on possible ways to make Thailand and Cambodia more digitally connected through harmonisation of rules and regulations on taxation, customs, data privacy and the interoperability of systems, including digital ID verification and KYC (know your customer) processes.

Dr. Kasititorn Pooparadai, Senior Executive Vice President, Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) of Thailand, and His Excellency

Dr. Kong Marry, Under Secretary of State, Ministry of Economy and Finance of Cambodia, gave an overview of their respective government policies on digital economy as a main driver of economic and social development. They agreed that Thailand and Cambodia should promote closer collaboration on smart cities, development of shared digital solutions and platforms, capacity development, resource mobilisation, and programmes to connect startups and investors through DEPA’s Digital Startup Institute. Dr. Marry also proposed a bilateral digital economy agreement between Thailand and Cambodia to foster interoperability of standards and systems and support businesses across the two countries.

His Excellency Ouk Sorphorn, Ambassador of Cambodia to Thailand, closed the seminar by saying that Thailand and Cambodia should focus on closing the digital gap between the two countries, promoting partnership between governments and the private sector, and opening up more opportunities for small businesses and young entrepreneurs in both countries through education and capacity development.

It is expected that results of the seminar, including its key recommendations, will be reported for consideration by the next Joint Commission (JC) for Bilateral Cooperation between Thailand and Cambodia which is scheduled to be held later this year. The meeting is to be co-chaired by

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of both Thailand and Cambodia.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Thailand