Day: September 25, 2022

A Japanese art and manga website that was cloned by Chinese pirates has hit back by encoding forbidden keywords and hashtags banned by Chinese censors into its code, prompting the authorities to shut the pirated version down.

Pixiv, which describes itself as “an online community for artists,” is headquartered in Tokyo, and offers a showcase for artists’ works, as well as a rating system with feedback and user comments.

It has been phenomenally successful, garnering more than 3.7 billion page views a month.

Then, the entire site was cloned by Chinese pirates, who copied the site’s content almost verbatim, translating tags and titles into simplified Chinese, and offering the pirated site vpixiv to users in mainland China.

Pixiv fought back, however, with some of the site’s users adding “sensitive” keywords to their artworks, including “Tiananmen massacre,” which alerted the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP)’s massive, government-backed censorship system.

Other sensitive and forbidden keywords included “Free Hong Kong,” “Independence for Taiwan,” and “June 4, Tiananmen Square,” all of which are heavily censored terms behind China’s Great Firewall.

Germany-based university lecturer Zhu Rui said the move had deliberately and ingeniously manipulated government censors in China.

“The Japanese artists being pirated on Pixiv were forced to take this action as a last resort to defend their rights,” Zhu told RFA. “The pirated website was then shut down by the iron fist of the CCP, which was great to see.”

Piracy and plagiarism

Zhu said Chinese pirates have a long history of cloning platforms invented elsewhere.

“Some [people] plagiarize other people’s creations or steal technology overseas, and then put their name on it back in China, and make a lot of money when it gets famous,” Zhu said. “The vast majority of Chinese Internet users love it.”

One comment on a Chinese social media platform joked about Pixiv’s move, saying “insulting China has become the best defense against theft,” while another bemoaned the effect on the country’s overseas image: “Counterfeit China is adding to our international humiliation,” the user wrote.

France-based cultural commentator Wang Longmeng blamed authoritarian rule by the CCP for stifling innovation.

“This sort of surveillance leads to a lack of freedom and creativity, so China, which has lost the ability to innovate, has become the champion of intellectual property theft,” Wang said. “China’s reputation as a copycat nation is well-deserved.”

“Everything, it seems, is stolen, from high-tech to art … I just never expected the magic weapon that would defeat them would be their own sensitive keywords,” he said.

“It’s another real-world example of how they shoot themselves in the foot.”

Pixiv isn’t the first platform to use this method. Taiwanese YouTubers have been known to add keywords like #WinnieThePooh to their videos to prevent them from being reposted without permission to video-sharing sites in China like Bilibili.

All mention of Winnie the Pooh has been banned from China’s tightly controlled internet after users made memes and jokes on social media suggesting that the fictional bear resembled CCP leader Xi Jinping.

Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.

NEW YORK— Malaysia will continue to fight for important issues at international forums, especially concerning the fate of the Palestinian people, the situation in Myanmar, the economies of developing countries and the reform of the United Nations (UN).

 

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who described the mission of highlighting these issues at the 77th UN General Assembly (UNGA) here as a success, said Malaysia, for example, had been consistently fighting for the fate of the Palestinian people for a long time.

 

“Malaysia will continue to support Palestine until the cruelty against them is stopped and they establish their own country. We are disappointed that the Palestinian issue is still not resolved even though there have been three UN resolutions,” he said during a press conference on Sunday at the end of a four-day working visit to New York.

 

On Friday, the Prime Minister delivered a national statement at the UNGA, where he touched on the issue of Palestine, the war in Ukraine, the crisis in Myanmar which caused Malaysia to accept approximately 200,000 Rohingya refugees and the need to reform the UN which is now considered incapable of resolving various conflicts around the world.

 

“Most of the countries acted so quickly in the case of Ukraine. Malaysia wants similar action to be taken to resolve the issue in Palestine. Israel needs to stop being an apartheid entity!,” added Ismail Sabri who begins a working visit to the United Arab Emirates on Monday.

 

He said that the international community should also act quickly to resolve the political crisis in Myanmar, adding that the UN seemed to have washed its hands of the issue and left it up entirely to ASEAN.

 

Ismail Sabri said his call for immediate reforms to the UN at the governing body’s largest annual gathering attended by more than 150 world leaders – especially for the veto power to be removed – had received positive feedback from several other leaders he met, including UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres.

 

“By right, the principle of one country, one vote should be given priority. But in reality, the voices of 193 UN member countries are not important, because the five countries that have veto power can cancel whatever resolution that is brought up,” he added.

 

On his proposal for the UN to establish a mechanism for international monetary cooperation to deal with various economic issues, including inflation, Ismail Sabri said although the central banks of each country had the right to raise interest rates, the impact on other countries should also be given due attention.

 

“For example, when the United States raises its interest rates, it affects Malaysia and other countries as well. What we want is coordination or consideration before measures like this are taken,” he said.

 

In his speech at the UNGA, the Prime Minister said the proposed establishment of the mechanism was aimed at building a more effective, fair system that was able to bring balance to development in the world.

 

 

Source: Nam News Network

KUALA LUMPUR— The Malaysian ringgit continued to go down against the US dollar on Monday, dragged down by market volatility that was triggered by the recent steep US interest rate increase and the expectation of more hikes to come, said a dealer.

 

At 10.39 am, the local currency fell to 4.5960/5980 against the greenback from last Friday’s 4.5775/5800.

 

The ringgit opened at 4.5910/5950 against the dollar today.

 

Bank Islam Bhd chief economist Firdaos Rosli said the US dollar index emerged stronger, hitting 113.19,  on the expectation of more aggressive tightening as flagged by the US Federal Reserve during its recent September meeting.

 

“As such, the local note breached the 4.57 level on the back of the strengthening greenback following the latest move by the US central bank to hike the interest rate by 75 basis points, lifting the fractional flow reserve target rate from 2.25 per cent to 2.50 per cent to 3.00 per cent to 3.25 per cent,” he told Bernama.

 

He also said that the ringgit will likely continue its downward trend versus the US dollar, ranging from RM4.58 to RM4.61 in the week, driven by sentiments rather than fundamentals.

 

Meanwhile, the ringgit was higher against a basket of major currencies.

 

The local note strengthened versus the Singapore dollar to 3.2057/2073 from 3.2130/2152 at last Friday’s close, appreciated against the British pound to 4.8580/8601 from 5.0957/0985, and rose vis-a-vis the euro to 4.4393/4412 from 4.4686/4710 previously.

 

It also performed better against the Japanese yen at 3.1959/1975 from 3.2091/2113 previously.

 

 

 

Source: Nam News Network

KUALA LUMPUR— Malaysia’s hopes of ending a 44-year wait for glory in the Thailand King’s Cup ended in tatters after losing 3-0 in a penalty shootout to Tajikistan in the final at the 700th Anniversary of Chiang Mai Stadium in Chiang Mai Sunday night.

 

With the score tied at 0-0 after regulation time, Tajikistan goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov emerged as the hero when he saved two shots by Malaysia defender Dion Cools and midfielder Muhammad Nazmi Faiz Mansor.

 

Malaysia’s third effort by winger Muhammad Safawi Rasid hit the crossbar before substitute Rustam Soirov slotted in the winning goal to allow Tajikistan to lift the Cup for the first time.

 

Earlier, in the final of the 48th edition of the tournament, Malaysia’s head coach Kim Pan Gon made four changes to the team who edged Thailand 5-3 on penalties on Thursday (Sept 22), including fielding Muhammad Nazmi in place of Muhamad Nor Azam Azih, who was red-carded in that game.

 

Although Tajikistan, who are coached by Petar Segrt, dominated possession in the early stages, it was world number 148 Malaysia who had the first look at goal, with striker Muhammad Akhyar Rashid’s long-range attempt cleanly gathered by Yatimov in the 10th minute.

 

A downpour shortly after gave Malaysia a slight advantage as they began to find their rhythm and launch several attacks on the world number 109 Tajikistan team’s goalmouth.

 

Malaysia’s best chance in the first half fell to Brendan Gan in the 23rd minute but the Australia-born Malaysian header, off a cross from the right by Nazmi Faiz, sailed over the bar.

 

The match had to be halted for almost three minutes towards the end of the first half when Mohamadou Sumareh overreacted when he was given a yellow card for shoving Tabrez Islomov from the back.

 

Sumareh can consider himself lucky not to have been sent off in injury time when the referee decided not to book him again despite his overzealous tackle on Ehsoni Panshanbe.

 

Pan Gon, realising that Sumareh was just one card away from being sent for an early bath, replaced him with nippy winger Faisal Halim at the start of the second half.

 

Muhammad Safawi had a great chance to put Malaysia ahead but his left-footed curler was saved by Yatimov in the 57th minute before Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed was called into action to palm out a long-range piledriver by Tajikistan’s Muhammadjon Rahimov in the 68th minute.

 

Malaysia, who seemed to lose focus in the last 10 minutes, can thank their lucky stars when Soirov’s goal in the 84th minute was chalked off for offside and the score stayed 0-0 at full-time, forcing the game to be decided on penalties – which Tajikistan aced and Malaysia failed.

 

 

Source: Nam News Network

KUALA LUMPUR— Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are now able to strengthen their foothold in the international halal market following the launch of a dedicated online Halal Pavilion on the Alibaba.com business-to-business (B2B) platform.

 

Launched in conjunction with the 18th Malaysia International Halal Showcase (MIHAS), the Halal Pavilion will spotlight certified Malaysian halal suppliers, making it easier for them to grasp demand from buyers in more than 190 countries on Alibaba.com, ahead of sellers from all other markets.

 

The Halal Pavilion features multiple product categories with a stronger emphasis on food and beverages.

 

Alibaba.com Asia Pacific head of marketing and business development Nianci Phang said with a shift of B2B buyers towards e-commerce, as a legacy of the global pandemic, they have seen growth in halal products enquiries.

 

She said Alibaba.com recorded a year-on-year jump of 39 per cent in buyer enquiries from 2020 to 2021, of which 21 per cent were sent to Malaysian suppliers.

 

“The top buyer countries that are sending the enquiries include the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil and Pakistan.

 

“So, it’s not what we imagined that it (enquiries) should only be coming from Muslim countries, or the Middle East region,” she told reporters at the Alibaba.com online Halal Pavilion launch earlier this month.

 

Hence, she urged Malaysian SMEs to think beyond what they traditionally know, or beyond the traditional export sphere.

 

“E-commerce opens up a whole larger world of possibilities. With all the online data, Alibaba.com sellers can see which country is sending the highest number of enquiries into their products,” she explained.

 

Phang said the Halal Pavilion is also an important step toward making Alibaba.com’s marketplace more inclusive for global buyers with special sourcing needs while helping Malaysian SMEs better capture market opportunities.

 

Despite many challenges faced by SMEs in export, she firmly believes that Malaysian halal SMEs that are open to establishing an online presence and making full use of digital and e-commerce tools are much better positioned to grow their global footprint.

 

Through Alibaba.com, Phang said suppliers who have onboarded the platform automatically enjoy not only access to buyers in more than 190 countries but are also able to manage and own customer relationships while building a successful online export business strategy.

 

She noted that as the only B2B marketplace in Malaysia offering an end-to-end digital trade experience, Alibaba.com provides Malaysian SME exporters with a comprehensive suite of services covering online store management, translation support, digital marketing and sourcing, online transaction, logistics, customs clearance, foreign exchange and platform analytics.

 

“We also offer sellers a larger range of marketing opportunities through online sales festivals such as ‘Super September’, which is Alibaba.com’s largest annual B2B sourcing event, attracting millions of buyers all over the world,” she said.

 

Phang highlighted that Alibaba.com had also introduced an order protection service, called Trade Confidence in Malaysia, as early as 2017, and further enhanced it in 2021, to help create trust between buyers and suppliers and cover buyer’s losses in the event of payment, shipping and product quality-related disputes.

 

 

Source: Nam News Network