Category: Asia and Pacific

Worker’s case was lost in translation

By Yaniv Kubovich

The Israel Police’s track record of hiring unqualified Chinese interpreters is a lengthy one. Yandong Wang, a Chinese construction worker, was arrested in Rishon Letzion this past February after he engaged in an altercation with other workers. For eight months he was placed under house arrest without any indictment being filed against him. He was also not summoned to any court hearing.

The delay in his case was due to police negligence in hiring a Chinese interpreter with inadequate knowledge of Hebrew. After a court ruled that the investigation suffered from poor translation, another translator was hired.

A few months later, an Israeli translator with experience in teaching martial arts and who lived in the Far East was brought in, but he too was disqualified by the court.

Ultimately, an indictment was issued a full eight months after the initial arrest of Yandong. This was made possible only after his lawyer, Nachmi Finblat, provided an interpreter. The evidence stage of the trial is expected to begin this coming March.

https://www.haaretz.com/2010-11-04/ty-article/workers-case-was-lost-in-translation/0000017f-e328-d804-ad7f-f3fa735e0000, 04.11.10

November 5, 2010
European Union parliamentarians applaud Mother-Child Health project in Uzbekistan

By Savita Varde-Naqvi

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, 2 November 2010 – Members of Parliament from the European Union visited Tashkent in October to see the positive results that Uzbekistan’s Mother and Child Health (MCH) project has produced – including improvements in safe motherhood and survival of newborns and children under the age of five.

Implemented by the Ministry of Health in partnership with UNICEF and the EU, the first phase of the project launched in 2008 and will continue into 2011. Officials from the Uzbek Ministry of Health and UNICEF briefed the parliamentarians on the initiative.

Commitment to health care

The EU delegation visited the MCH training centre at the Republican Scientific Research Institute of Paediatrics in Tashkent and was addressed by Deputy Minister of Health Prof. A. Kamilov and UNICEF Representative in Uzbekistan Jean-Michel Delmotte.

Prof. Kamilov highlighted the importance of the project to health sector reform. “Our President, Islam Karimov, was recently at the UN General Assembly Special Session on the review of the Millennium Development Goals and reiterated Uzbekistan’s commitment to achieving these global targets,” he said. “The MCH project supported by EU and UNICEF helps us considerably to move forward on MDG 4 and 5.”

The targets referenced by Prof. Kamilov call for reducing child mortality and improving maternal health.

© UNICEF/2010/Uzbekistan

European Union delegates with (front row, from left) Uzbek Deputy Minister of Health Prof. A. Kamilov, EU delegation Vice-Chairman Alfreds Rubiks and UNICEF Representative in Uzbekistan Jean-Michel Delmotte.

“After the adoption of the Lisbon Treaty, children’s right to education, nutrition and better health care has become one of the core agenda items of the European Union, Mr. Delmotte told the parliamentarians. “Your presence here shows the commitment of European Union to ensure that all children have access to and enjoy better health care,”

‘Participatory strategies’

Working through 85 maternity hospitals, regional and district level children’s hospitals, and more than 2,000 primary health care units, the MCH project has covered 14.5 million people – more than half the population of Uzbekistan. It has brought high-impact and low-cost interventions such as the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses (IMCI) model to families who would not have been able to afford them previously.

The project has so far focused on improving the technical skills of service providers and medical staff through a series of training sessions and the introduction of new, evidence-based practices. Funding for Phase II of the project – planned for 2011 through 2014 – has already been sanctioned by the EU to consolidate the gains of Phase I and expand them in the form of good governance across the health sector.

“Phase II of the project will introduce new participatory strategies of working with families and communities to involve them in the management of their own health and that of their children,” explained Mr. Delmotte.

Reduced costs for families

UNICEF Health Manager Dr. Hari Krishna Banskota presented highlights of the progress made by the MCH project in less than three years. One of its key achievements, he said, was a reduction in hospitalization costs and in over-prescription of medicines.

Citing evidence provided by the Children’s Hospital in the eastern province of Namangan, Dr. Banskota said the introduction of IMCI interventions have brought down the cost of treating a bronchial asthma case from 50,000 Soms (about $31) to 6,000 Soms ($4). In addition, the length of stay in hospital was drastically reduced from an average of 13 days, to just 4. Perhaps most important, patients were being treated with just one drug (Salbutamol) and oxygen therapy rather than with nine drugs, which was the case earlier.

Meanwhile, a pool of 665 national and regional MCH trainers have already trained thousands of doctors and other health providers, extending the positive impact of the project to primary health centres and households. This effort demonstrates that an equity-based approach – taking life-saving interventions to communities that have little access to quality health services – can make a significant contribution in reaching the UN Millennium Development Goals.

“Safe motherhood is high on the list of priorities of the EU’s development agenda,” said delegation Vice Chairman Alfreds Rubiks. “Thanks to this partnership, we were able to see the best use of EU development assistance in this part of the world.”

November 4, 2010
“Turkey, China Can Cooperate In Contracting”

Turkey’s state minister for foreign trade said on Wednesday that Turkey and China could cooperate in contracting services.

Zafer Caglayan said many countries were willing to cooperate with Turkish contractors, and defined China and Turkey as the two leaders in contracting industry.

“Let us join our forces and make business in other countries,” Caglayan said during a Turkish-Chinese Business Forum in Hangzhou, China.

Caglayan called on Chinese businessmen to invest in Turkey as Turkey had started to implement a new incentive system.

The minister also said Turkish Airlines (THY) was eager to operate cargo flights to Beijing and Shanghai every day.

After the forum, Shanghai Textile Association and Turkey’s Uludag Textile Exporters’ Association signed a memorandum of understanding.

Caglayan later proceeded to the Japanese capital Tokyo, the last stop of his tour of the Far East.

Caglayan’s first stop in the Far East was Hong Kong, where he discussed contracting business opportunities, possible commercial and economic cooperation between Turkey and Hong Kong.

Turkish State Minister Caglayan will begin his talks in Japan on November 4. After being received by Prince Tomohito, Caglayan will meet CEO of Toshiba Corp., Toshiba Power, and Japanese business federation.

Caglayan is set to have a meeting with Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade, & Industry Akihiro Ohata and attend Turkish-Japanese Business Council meeting.

The minister will also come together with chairmen of Aeon, Sojitz, Sumitomo, Itochu and Taisei companies, and call on main investors of the country to make best use of attractive investment opportunities in Turkey.

Turkey’s trade with Hong Kong, China and Japan has been on the rise in years. Turkey’s exports to Hong Kong amounted to 226 million USD and its imports were 100 million USD in 2009.

Turkey’s exports to Hong Kong were up 30.5 percent in the first eight months of 2010 to 152 million USD, and its imports were up 15.6 percent to 72 million USD when compared with the same period of 2009.

Turkey earned 1.6 billion USD from its exports to China, and imported goods worth 21.7 billion USD from China in 2009. Turkey’s exports to China were up 62.7 percent to 1.5 billion USD between January and August 2010, whereas its imports from Russia amounted to 10.7 billion USD with a 37.8 percent rise.

Exports to Japan were around 233 million USD, and 175 million USD in the first eight months of 2010 with 20.5 percent rise over the same period of 2009. Imports to Japan were 2.8 billion USD in 2009 and 2 billion USD between January and August 2010. The rise in imports was 12.6 percent in the first eight months of 2010 over the same period of 2009.

AA

November 4, 2010
Turkey Tries to Engage Mongolia, Despite Dim Prospects

Turkey Tries to Engage Mongolia, Despite Dim Prospects

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 199

November 3, 2010

By Saban Kardas

Turkey and Mongolia held their sixth Joint Economic Commission (JEC) meeting in Ulaanbaatar on October 26. Deputy Prime Minister, Bulent Arinc, headed the Turkish delegation, and Mongolia’s Environment and Tourism Minister, Luimed Gansukh, signed a memorandum of understanding to boost economic and commercial relations. Related protocols also signed during Arinc’s four-day trip concerned an exchange of experience between KOSGEB (Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization) and its Mongolian counterpart, and cooperation between the Turkish State Planning Organization and Mongolia’s planning unit on development (Anadolu Ajansi, October 26; www.kosgeb.gov.tr, October 27).

Turkey established diplomatic relations with Mongolia in 1967. As a corollary of Ankara’s growing interest in Central Asia following the independence of the Turkic republics, Mongolia also started to attract Ankara’s attention. The two countries signed a trade, economic and technical cooperation agreement in May 1992, which also initiated the JEC, and heralded a wave of other agreements to follow in subsequent years (www.tika.gov.tr, Mongolia Country Report, July 2005). Turkey set up its permanent diplomatic mission in Ulaanbaatar in 1996, while Mongolia opened its representation in Ankara in 1997. Through various agreements, Turkey stepped in to share the experience it accumulated in free market economics with Mongolia, which was seeking to move away from a socialist economy, and facilitate the latter’s integration into the world economy. Ankara specifically concentrated its assistance on the creation of basic economic and administrative infrastructure and the emergence of small and medium scale companies in a free market economy.

Although Mongolia joined the World Trade Organization in 1997, its overall foreign trade volume remains low. Its exports are largely in minerals, leather and textiles, while it imports machinery and fossil fuels. Trade relations between Turkey and Mongolia also remained very limited, largely due to distance, and lack of direct transportation routes. The bilateral trade volume reached $14 million in 2008, while it dropped to $5.5 million in 2009 after the global financial crisis. There is an enormous trade imbalance in Turkey’s favor (www.mfa.gov.tr). While Turkey exports processed food, machinery and soap, it imports some animal products. Turkish investments and construction operations in the country have also remained at negligible levels. Various Turkish trade associations, seeking to expand Turkish business opportunities in Mongolia, had urged Turkish firms to invest in energy, natural resources, agriculture, telecommunications, construction and tourism (www.btso.org.tr, May 4, 2005).

During Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s historic visit to Ulaanbaatar in July 2005, the first prime ministerial visit since the establishment of diplomatic ties, both parties issued a joint declaration to boost bilateral cooperation. The Turkish Eximbank offered a $20 million credit to Mongolia, an issue which had been lingering for some time (www.ankara.mfat.gov.mn, July 19, 2005).

Although this visit and subsequent JEC’s increased Turkey’s assistance to Mongolia’s economic transformation, such calls overall failed to prompt Turkish businessmen to invest in Mongolia. The Turkish-Mongolian Business Council, organizing a meeting in Istanbul ahead of Arinc’s trip, stressed the low volume of Turkish investment. The council pointed to the growth potential of Mongolia in the future, and called on Ankara not to fall behind Chinese, Russian and Western companies that increasingly invest in the untapped natural resources of this country (www.deik.org.tr, October 7).

Unlike the poor standing of their economic ties, Turkey and Mongolia had close political relations, as was reflected in a myriad of bilateral agreements and mutual visits. Mongolia became one of the major recipients of development assistance, provided by Turkey’s official agency, the Turkish Cooperation and Development Agency (TIKA). Since 1994, TIKA has carried out various educational, social and cultural programs in Mongolia, and opened a coordination office in 2005. TIKA projects focused on the improvement of Mongolia’s administrative infrastructure, training of bureaucrats and security personnel, developing statistics and accounting practices, among other initiatives (www.tika.gov.tr, July 2005).

TIKA has also run a project since 1995, entitled “Turkish Monuments in Mongolia,” which emphasized the historical-cultural dimension of Turkey’s interest in this country. Mongolia hosts many historical monuments remaining from the earlier Turkish states established in Central Asia. Energized by the approaching eighth centennial celebrations of the Mongolian Empire in 2006, the Turkish government accelerated this project. Following Erdogan’s 2005 visit, Turkey has spent substantial resources on the excavation and renovation of many Turkic and Mongol monuments. Moreover, in recent years Turkey has funded the construction of roads to enable access to those historical sites. Perhaps, this historical significance of the country and the linguistic affinity explain Turkey’s political interest in Mongolia, incommensurate with the extent of their economic ties. The Turkish foreign ministry also acknowledges the role played by shared the cultural background in facilitating political ties (www.mfa.gov.tr).

Similarly, Turkey has provided scholarships to many Mongolian students to enable them to study at Turkish universities and military academies. Various private Turkish-Mongolian schools also offer education up to high school level in Mongolia, while Turkology departments have been opened in some Mongolian universities. The Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs offers scholarships to Muslim Mongolian citizens of Kazakh origin to receive Islamic education in Turkey. Overall, there is a lively educational and cultural exchange between the two countries.

Most Turkish analysts agree that Mongolia is a distant, yet culturally close country. Nonetheless, some Turkish analysts find Ankara’s policy towards Mongolia lacking. They portray Mongolia as a country seeking to balance the pressures from its large neighbors, namely China and Russia. They believe Turkey could serve as the virtual “third neighbor,” if it pursues correct policies. Turkish analysts further contend that the poor standing of economic relations between Turkey and Mongolia, and most importantly their inability to develop closer military cooperation, are largely due to pressures from Russia and China. Moscow and Beijing have blocked Turkey’s shipments of military equipment to Mongolia or joint exercises between the Turkish and Mongolian Special Forces. Therefore, some analysts support the Turkish government’s development assistance, educational exchange programs and cultural projects, while urging Ankara to go further and facilitate Ulaanbaatar’s efforts to play a more influential role in international organizations in order to break its encirclement. Moreover, Turkish Airlines have failed to launch direct flights to Ulaanbaatar, which would symbolically mark establishing of a direct link to Turkey (www.usak.org.tr, January 4; Turkiye, March 31).

https://jamestown.org/program/turkey-tries-to-engage-mongolia-despite-dim-prospects/

November 3, 2010
KYOCERA Solar Modules Illuminate “Cathedral of the Holy Cross” in Turkey

KYOTO, Japan, Nov 02, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Kyocera Corporation (KYO 99.91, +0.43, +0.43%) (tokyo:6971) today announced that it has supplied solar modules that help to illuminate the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross — located on the island of Akdamar, Turkey. This year church services were held there for the first time in 90 years. As an important cultural landmark, the church is illuminated in the evenings throughout the year. The energy required for the illumination, which was previously supplied by diesel fuel, now comes from Kyocera solar modules. The modules were supplied by KYOCERA Fineceramics GmbH and installed by the Turkish company Ezinc A.S.

The uninhabited island of Akdamar in Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkey, is the location of the Armenian Cathedral of the Holy Cross. In recent times this Christian house of worship was only used as a museum. Now, with the permission of the Turkish government, a church service is again to take place there every year. Illumination outside of the church is now made possible from power generated by solar energy.

The Province of Van, which includes the island of Akdamar, records the third highest sunlight values in Turkey. In combination with the cool island climate, the location offers ideal conditions for the operation of a solar power generating system. The installation consists of 145 modules that supply an average energy yield of 25,000 kilowatt-hours per year.

Before the installation of the solar plant, the power supply for the church came from a diesel generator, which even when operated for only three hours a day, incurred high costs of 25,000 euros per year. As a result, the return period for the investment on this solar installation will be significantly shorter than typical cases.

For more information about Kyocera:

About KYOCERA

Kyocera Corporation (KYO 99.91, +0.43, +0.43%) (tokyo:6971)(http://global.kyocera.com/), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine ceramics (also known as “advanced ceramics”). By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of solar power generating systems, telecommunications equipment, electronic components, printers, copiers, semiconductor packages, cutting tools and industrial ceramics. During the year ended March 31, 2010, the company’s net sales totaled 1.07 trillion yen (approximately USD11.5 billion). The company is ranked #554 on Forbes magazine’s 2010 “Global 2000” listing of the world’s largest publicly traded companies.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available:

SOURCE: Kyocera Corporation

November 3, 2010
Turkey, China move for ‘new cooperation paradigm’

In a move displaying its desire to deepen bilateral relations with China, Turkey has decided to open a new consulate general in this giant Asian nation, with plans to open several more consulates general in the near future. In addition, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu pointed out on Tuesday that developing ties between the two countries should be assessed through the concept of “normalization of history.”

Shanghai, China

Wrapping up his six-day tour of Chinese cities on Tuesday with his last stop being the capital city of Beijing, Foreign Minister Davutoğlu told reporters that the new consulate general will be opened in Guangzhou, southern China’s largest city. After having talks with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Monday, Davutoğlu met with his Chinese counterpart, Yang Jiechi, on Tuesday.

In addition to its embassy in Beijing, Turkey already has two consulates general in China — one in Shanghai and the other in Hong Kong.

Davutoğlu’s visit came weeks after a landmark visit to Turkey by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. During last month’s visit, the two countries located on the opposite edges of Asia took a landmark step in developing their bilateral relationship by defining it as a “strategic partnership.”

Accordingly, several concrete steps will be taken to strengthen bilateral relations, including intensifying preparations for building a Turkish industrial zone in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, populated by ethnic Turkic Muslim Uighurs, and mutually increasing the number of flights and new destinations. While 2011 will be declared “China Year in Turkey,” the next year will be celebrated as “Turkey Year in China.”

During Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s planned visit to China, which is expected to take place in the summer, Chinese and Turkish officials will institutionalize the declared strategic partnership through new bilateral mechanisms. Chinese President Hu Jintao, meanwhile, is expected to visit Turkey next year on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations between Ankara and Beijing. Turkey recognized the People’s Republic of China, founded in 1949, in 1971.

Both Wen’s and Davutoğlu’s official visits and the two countries’ will for materializing a strategic partnership have been used by some commentators as proof of a so-called axis shift from the West to the East in Turkish foreign policy.

Yet, Davutoğlu, speaking to reporters ahead of his departure for Turkey, firmly reiterated that Ankara’s developing relations with these global powers are not emerging at the expense of neglecting its cooperation with the West, and these relations should not be considered as an alternative to existing relations with Western countries.

Turkey’s increasing contacts with China should be assessed within the general strategy framework in which Turkey’s foreign policy is shaped, Davutoğlu went on to say. The minister, who frequently uses metaphors to explain the government’s understanding of foreign policy, this time likened Turkish foreign policy to “an Asian rug.”

“Every pattern and every color presents a harmony,” he said, reiterating that the basis of Turkey’s foreign policy is the normalization of history. With his conception of the “normalization” of history, Davutoğlu underlines the importance of eliminating Cold War and colonial abnormalities.

“In a sense, a new Turkey-China cooperation paradigm is emerging via getting out of the abnormal situation of the period following the Cold War,” he said.

Turkey, which considers China to be like “a continent,” plans to open “a great number of representative” missions in the country. The opening of a representative mission in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, was not on the agenda of talks between Davutoğlu and Chinese officials. Yet, sources mentioned opening such offices “in every part of the country over time,” signaling that such an option was not out of the question.

03 November 2010, Wednesday

SERVET YANATMA/OSMAN EROL BEIJING

November 3, 2010