A series of wedding photos belonging to a Taiwanese woman diagnosed with terminal breast cancer has touched the hearts of many around the world.
Four years ago, Q May Chen, now 28, was declared cancer-free after having underwent multiple treatments for her stage two breast cancer.
Two years ago, she was informed that her cancer had relapsed as the cancer cells spreaded to her bones, making it terminal stage, she told AppleDaily in an interview.
The bad news hit her hard, but she was accustomed to the plight of fighting cancer. “I’ll just have to try out different medications and try to control the spread of cancer cells to my bones,” she said in the interview.
However, Chen’s fighting spirit is adamant.
“When I wake up tomorrow and my eyes open, its a brand new day, a day more that I’ve attained,” she told AppleDaily, “since I’m a person who is racing with time.”
Determined to live her remaining days to the fullest, Chen set out to fulfil her childhood dream of wearing a wedding gown, even if it means doing it solo without a groom.
Her wedding photos, which have since gone viral online and featured in the pages of magazines like Cosmopolitan and Brides, comprise four different dresses, each representing something that she wishes to portray.
Taiwanese woman with terminal cancer takes wedding photos solo
Her strength and independence comes as no surprise as she later revealed that her parents divorced when she was four years old and was since raised by her single mom.
Chen’s mother had been her pillar of support through her battle with cancer the first time, and would continue doing so by accompanying Chen to her “honeymoon” to Bali, she told AppleDaily.
Netizens who have viewed her wedding photos mostly revelled in the beauty of the wedding photos, with many also extending their prayers to her.
#InternationalMuseumDay How much do you know about the planet we inhabit? The Singapore Art Museum presents the 7th edition of the family focused exhibition, Imaginarium: To the Ends of the Earth. Featuring immersive installations by 9 Asian contemporary artists, the exhibition introduces explorers to new ways of seeing and experiencing the world around us.
From multi-coloured fabric lizard tails bursting out of the walls to drawing robots that can be controlled by visitors and anyone around the world in real-time, you and your family will definitely have a blast! https://www.sistic.com.sg/events/cimagin2017
Singapore Art MuseumImaginarium: To the Ends of the Earth Family Night at the MuseumJoin us for a night of fun and parent-child bonding at the museum as a SAM curator introduces you to the artworks and brings you on a journey of discovery around Imaginarium: To the Ends of the Earth.Recommended for…
That was the central theme of a media tour I went on recently in the Philippines.
The Singaporean founder of Makansutra, KF Seetoh, who led the tour, had warned us that we were not going to get an answer to the question that even local chefs have a hard time addressing.
We were going to be merely scraping the tip of the iceberg, Mr Seetoh said, due to the diversity and colourful background of Filipino cuisine.
The tour was a prelude to the upcoming World Street Food Congress, which will be held in Manila for the second straight year from May 31 to June 4.
And although we didn’t get around the defining Filipino food at the end of it all, one thing I noticed about each of them was that they were never bland. They were all rich in not only taste, but also culture and history – with many dishes, you can savour the foreign and indigenous influences from centuries ago.
We sampled more than 30 types of food over 15 hours (including travelling – and jamming – time), visiting seven eateries in Manila and Pampanga province, aka the culinary capital of the Philippines.
Here are my favourites:
Bulalo, a Filipino beef shank stew, at Bulaluhan sa Espana.Photo: Makansutra
1. Bulalo
The clear broth may look plain, but it’s full of flavour. This comes from simmering beef shanks and marrow bones for hours, until the fat and collagen are melted into the stew.
2. Chicharon bulaklak
A popular appetiser and pulutan (beer grub) in the Philippines, this is essentially deep-fried ruffled fat. Sounds super unhealthy, but it’s super shiok.
3. Balat ng manok
Deep-fried chicken skin, another pulutan favourite. Unlike the chicken skin I’ve tried in Singapore, the one we had at Bulaluhan sa Espana in Manila came with a thick seasoning batter which tasted somewhere along the lines of KFC’s Original Recipe.
The dishes we tried at Bulaluhan sa Espana: (clockwise from top left) tortang talong, bulalo, chicharon bulaklak, balat ng manok, ginisang ampalaya and tawilis.Photo: AsiaOne
4. Ginisang ampalaya
Sauteed bitter gourd with eggs, sometimes with meat thrown in as well. The one at Bulaluhan sa Espana was served with pork, and came with a good level of saltiness. Ginisang ampalaya is usually served with rice at breakfast or as an appetiser at lunch.
5. Tawilis
A type of freshwater sardine found exclusively in the Philippines, deep-fried to a crispy crunch.
6. Tortang talong
There are plenty of things we cook omelette with – what about eggplant? This is an amazing combination unique to the Philippines. The eggplant is grilled first, then flattened before it is fried into an omelette. I like that the squashed eggplant blends perfectly into the savoury omelette so I didn’t get jelak (Malay for cloyingly rich), which I usually do from too much of the mushiness.
Pork tocino, a sweet cured pork dish, at Cucina ng Atching Lillian Borromeo.Photo: Penang Travel Tips
7. Pork tocino
We were taken to Pampanga to for this sweet cured meat dish, as the province is known to have the best. We had the good fortune to try the ones cooked by Lillian Borromeo, hailed as the queen of traditional Pampangan cuisine. They reminded me of bak kwa, but they were heavier on the porkiness and not as sweet.
Pork longganisa, a sweet and garlicky pork sausage, at Cucina ng Atching Lillian BorromeoPhoto: Penang Travel Tips
8. Pork longganisa
Also known to be a Pampangan specialty, pork longganisa is similar to lup cheong (Chinese sausage), but richer in taste and very garlicky. It has its roots in the Spanish sausage called longaniza.
Kalderetang kambing, a Filipino-style goat stew, at Taldawa.Photo: Makansutra
9. Kalderetang kambing
Goat meat stewed in tomato sauce. It is supposed to be a little spicy but I personally did not feel any heat at all. The place we went to, Taldawa, specialises in goat meat dishes using animals farmed by the owners themselves.
A taho vendor engaged for the media event at 25 Seeds.Photo: AsiaOne
10. Taho
I’m not a fan of tau huay (soya beancurd), but the Filipino rendition blew me away. I much preferred the brown sugar syrup, called arnibal, to the palm sugar syrup that is used in Singapore. Then there was the soft, melt-in-your-mouth silky tofu which was awfully (in a good way) close to custard.
Halo-halo, the quintessential Filipino dessert, at 25 Seeds.Photo: AsiaOne
11. Halo-halo
Another dish I liked more than the Singaporean version, namely ice kacang. I don’t know about others but the one we had at farm-to-table restaurant 25 Seeds was not overwhelmingly sweet. It contained a good mix of ingredients from purple yam to jackfruit and topped with brown sugar and pinipig – immature glutinous rice that is pounded and toasted.
Pancit luglug, a shrimp-flavoured Filipino noodle dish, at 25 Seeds.Photo: AsiaOne
12. Pancit luglug
Rice noodles in a thick, shrimp-flavoured gravy, accompanied by ingredients such as hard-boiled egg, prawns, fish flakes and chicharon (pork crackling). It’s somewhat like dry laksa, sans coconut milk.
Sisig paella, a creation by Filipino chef Sau Del Rosario, at 25 Seeds.Photo: AsiaOne
13. Sisig paella
A divine marriage between paella and the Philippines’ culinary star sisig – chopped pig cheeks and chicken liver served on a sizzling plate. A creation by 25 Seeds’ owner and chef Sau Del Rosario, this dish will be making its public debut at the upcoming World Street Food Congress, and will be available at 25 Seeds from June 5.
Lechon, or roasted suckling pig, at one of Cebu-based restaurant chain Zubuchon’s Manila outlets.Photo: Penang Travel Tips
14. Lechon
Roasted suckling pig renowned for its extremely crisp skin. The best ones are said to be found in Cebu, where celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, who will be speaking at the World Street Food Congress, also declared he had “the best pig ever”.
Pramanik Liton, 24, allegedly pressed a knife to the victim’s throat, forced her off Lornie Trail and raped her twice in 2015.
(Updated: )
SINGAPORE: A Bangladeshi man is on trial for allegedly abducting a hiker at MacRitchie Reservoir Park in 2015, forcing her off the Lornie Trail at knifepoint and raping her twice in a forested area.
Construction worker Pramanik Liton, 24, denied the charges on Tuesday (May 16) at the opening of his trial. He faces four counts, including two for aggravated rape, one for sexual assault and one for abduction for illicit intercourse.
The victim, a 40-year-old Chinese national, had been hiking the Lornie Trail alone on Feb 8, 2015, when Liton accosted her and asked her to have sex with him. When she refused, Liton pressed a knife to her throat, covered her mouth and forced her off the trail.
He took her deep into the forested area off the trail, where he raped her twice at knifepoint and forced her into other sexual acts. She feared for her life and pleaded with Liton to let her go, the High Court heard.
The ordeal lasted nearly two hours, from 1.45pm when the woman was abducted, until about 3.37pm when Liton threw the knife in the bushes and left the victim in the forest.
She called her then-boyfriend for help. They met at the Mushroom Cafe near the entrance of MacRitchie Reservoir Park, and he took her to make a police report immediately.
Trackers from the Gurkha contingent were sent into the forest to locate the scene of the crime and to recover the weapon.
The crime scene was located at about 9.30pm the same day. The soldier who discovered the scene said the ground was flattened in places and pieces of tissue were littered around the area. The pieces of tissue were seized by the police, and tested positive for Liton’s semen.
The knife was recovered the next day by another Gurkha soldier and handed over to the police. A crime scene specialist lifted a fingerprint off the blade of the knife, which matched Liton’s. He was arrested on Feb 10 at the construction site where he worked.
Blood samples were taken from both Liton and the victim, which allowed investigators to tie Liton to the rape. His semen was found on the victim’s panties, as well as on swabs taken from the victim’s mouth and vagina. His DNA was also found on the victim’s blouse, and hers was found on the knife.
Prosecutors Stella Tan and Sruthi Boppana said they would adduce evidence from 44 witnesses to make their case, including the victim and her then-boyfriend.
Liton is not represented. Through a Bengali interpreter, he told the court: “I don’t want any lawyer.” At one point, he also insisted he “doesn’t know anything about the knife”.
The trial continues.
If convicted of aggravated rape, Liton faces at least eight years in jail and a minimum of 12 strokes of the cane, per charge.
With students now active in this year’s job-hunting season, many companies are trying to attract excellent human resources with worker-friendly workplaces, such as those with less overtime and allowance for more days off.
The employment market has been favourable for students, and companies are at a disadvantage when it comes to securing capable students if the firms’ work is seen as too hard on employees.
New measures have also been spurred by the suicide of a new recruit at major advertising agency Dentsu Inc. due to excessive overtime, which has raised students’ awareness of companies’ work styles.
“The era of long working hours with low productivity is over,” an employee in charge of personnel affairs of major financial firm Orix Corp. told about 100 students at its corporate information session in Tokyo in late April.
Photo: The Japan News/Asia News Network
At the event, the company described the work style reforms it launched in April. The efforts include a system in which up to ¥50,000 is paid as an incentive to employees who take paid leave for five consecutive days or more, as well as regular work hours per day decreasing by 20 minutes to seven hours.
The amount of overtime hours and the number of days off are now essential factors for students when they decide which company to join.
Since the job-hunting season started in March for students who are expected to graduate in the spring of 2018, employment information websites – such as Rikunabi and Mynavi, which are often used by students – have posted a wide range of corporate data, including the average overtime hours and days off at each firm.
On the “career +” (kyaritasu) website run by employment information provider Disco Inc., about 16,000 companies are registered and about 1,800 have posted average overtime hours.
A senior private university student, 22, who references these websites said: “The websites have made it easier to compare companies’ workplace environments and working conditions. Even if it’s an industry I want to enter, I won’t prioritize it if there’s a lot of overtime.”
Working conditions key
According to a recent survey by job information provider Mynavi Corp. that asked university students about what kind of companies they do not want to join, companies where employees “cannot take days off and vacations” accounted for 25.7 per cent, up from 15 per cent in the previous survey for those who entered the workforce in 2001.
“A lot of overtime” was chosen by 14.5 per cent of respondents, up from 2.9 per cent in the previous survey. Meanwhile, 21.6 per cent chose “the work is boring,” down from 34 per cent.
These results indicate current university students are focusing more on holidays and overtime than the actual work duties.
Many of the students currently in job-hunting activities were freshmen or sophomores when the issue of “burakku baito” (black part-time jobs) – in which part-time workers are forced to work under severe conditions – became a social problem.
Therefore, they are highly aware of working environments, which is believed to influence the tendency of students to attach more importance to overwork and days off.
Sharp drop in Dentsu’s popularity
In a survey asking university students which company they want to join, Dentsu plummeted to 23rd place from the top place the previous year. The survey was conducted through March by job hunting information website Minnano Shushoku Katsudo Nikki (Everyone’s job hunting diary), operated by Rakuten Inc.
Mitsubishi Electric Corp. ranked 143rd, down from 59th, after its employees’ long overtime hours came to light.
In contrast, Ajinomoto Co., which has made efforts to shorten working hours, ranked seventh, up from 15th.
Companies used to be cautious about disclosing their working conditions, but they began to reveal data as students increased their awareness and the government started to urge companies to disclose overtime hours and the numbers of days off employees can take.
“Work style reforms promoted by the government and the Dentsu problem have had a significant impact,” personnel consultant Yohei Tsunemi said. “If companies don’t disclose their overtime hours, students will suspect they’re concealing harsh working conditions.
BEIJING – Poly Technologies Inc., a controversial Chinese arms trader, will provide military equipment to the Philippines under a $500-million (S$699 million) loan agreement between Beijing and Manila, according to the Philippines’ Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.
Speaking at a press briefing on Sunday night, Lorenzana said the Chinese company provided a letter of intent for an arms supply deal.
Poly Technologies officials met with President Duterte on Sunday, Lorenzana said.
‘Wide array’
Mr. Duterte was in Beijing to attend the two-day Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, joining delegates, including some heads of state, from 28 other countries.
Lorenzana said Poly Technologies was offering the Philippines “a wide array of defence equipment” for some of which the Chinese government offered a $500-million loan.
A subsidiary of China Poly Group Corp., Poly Technologies, was sanctioned by the United States in 2013 for violating the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act.
The law imposes sanctions on private and public entities that provide equipment or technology that could have a “material contribution” to the development of weapons of mass destruction or cruise or ballistic missile systems to rogue states.
The sanctions on Poly Technologies were lifted in 2015.
Lorenzana said the Philippines would send a technical working group to China to look at the equipment being offered by Poly Technologies.
He could not say what weapons the Philippines needed, as these would depend on the recommendation of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
“We are not saying that we will buy from them or we will not buy from them, but if we need anything from the Chinese defence industry then we’re going to procure using the loan that they are going to offer to us,” Lorenzana said.
Territorial defence
The Philippines needs warships and multirole jet fighters to defend its territory in the South China Sea.
China claims almost all of the South China Sea, a claim that the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidated last year in a challenge brought by the Philippines after Beijing seized Panatag Shoal, a rich fishing ground off Zambales province, after a two-month maritime standoff in 2012.
China rejected the ruling, insisting on bilateral talks to settle rival territorial claims.
Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also have claims in the South China.
But while it offers talks, China is building artificial islands in the South China Sea and topping them with military facilities, including runways and missile batteries.
Unlike Vietnam, which has fought naval battles with China over territory in the South China Sea, the Philippines has nothing to defend its own territory in the globally important waterway.
Separate matters
Lorenzana, however, does not relate the South China Sea dispute with the modernization of the Philippine military.
“I think we should separate our dispute from the South China Sea from our relationship with the Chinese,” he said.
He said China also offered $14 million in December last year, although he did not clarify if this was also a loan.
He said the money would be used to purchase four fast boats, 200 sniper rifles and several hundred grenade launchers with ammunition-all of which would be delivered by the end of the year.
Keio University and other organisations will launch a project to develop a next-generation rehabilitation facility that aims to help patients recover from hard-to-treat serious paralysis, it has been learned.
With support from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, the group will work on building a model facility for rehabilitation for stroke victims by using machines that help move a patients’ body in accordance with their intent by detecting their brain waves.
Nineteen organisations, including Osaka University and seven domestic companies and others, will participate in the development.
The research will be conducted at a private hospital located next to Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus and is scheduled to open in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture in November.
The main feature of the project is a rehabilitation device applying a technology called the brain machine interface, which connects the brain with machinery.
Photo: The Japan News/Asia News Network
The device will be used in restoration of damaged neural circuits and detect patients’ intent to move their body – in brain waves as well as cerebral blood flow – and help in conducting rote exercises to help move the paralysed parts of their bodies.
In clinical research conducted by Keio University, 29 of 42 patients who had not been able to move their fingers were demonstrated degrees of mobility after rehabilitation with the device attached.
In addition to the device, the facility is equipped with an apparatus to assist in walking by stimulating the spinal cord as well as a robotic-type suit designed to support the movements of the ankle.
There has been an increase in the number of companies and universities that are engaged in research on such next-generation rehabilitation programs.
However, this will be the first large-scale research base to be established.
Participating companies will conduct clinical research with the aim of putting the system into practical use within five years.Speech
