Asean: Asia's Perfect 10: 08/01/2008

2008-08-25

(Update) Asean Final Medal Tally from the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Update 2008-08-27 Wed: Corrected the medal count and added the Malaysia to the list, which was correctly tallied in the original Asean Tally page. Thanks to Global Voices Online, I re-checked the count (the tally was done manually :p ).

The Beijing 2008 Olympics closed at 12:21am of 2008-08-25 Monday, the Closing Ceremony started at 08:08pm of 2008-08-24 Sunday, ACT (Asean Common Time). [Note: ACT and China Local Time are both UTC+0800, no DST.] The next Summer Olympics will be on 2012, London, England (for the 3rd time!)

But before we get excited about London 2012 Olympics, here are the Asean Beijing 2008 Olympics Final Medal Tally, the updates that transpired, and the results of the Wushu Special Event during the Olympics.

(Trivia: The International Olympics Committee never allowed any other competitions in the host city during the Olympics - 1 Week Before up to 1 Week After. The Wushu Competition was allowed due to the fact that it is embedded in the Chinese culture. This is a first in Olympics history, and Wushu is on a bid to be part of the 2012 Olympics.)

Congratulations to All Asean Athletes! The same goes to the Special Olympics Event (the first in Olympic history) - Wushu.

Wushu Medal Tally

Asean Total - 1 Gold; 4 Silver; 9 Bronze = 14 Medals
Indonesia - 1 Bronze = 1 Medal
Malaysia - 2 Silver; 3 Bronze = 5 Medals
Philippines - 1 Gold; 1 Silver; 2 Bronze = 4 Medals
VietNam - 1 Silver; 3 Bronze = 4 Medals

Under the Taolu discipline:

Men's Nanquan & Nangun combined
- Willy Wang (PHI) won Gold
- Pui Fook Chien (MAS) won Bronze
Men's Jianshu & Qiangshu combined
- Lim Yew Fai (MAS) won Silver
- Nguyen Huy Thanh (VIE) won Bronze
Women's Daoshu & Gunshu combined
- Chai Fong Wei (MAS) won Bronze
Women's Nanquan & Nandao combined
- Diana Bong Siong Lin (MAS) won Bronze
Women's Jianshu & Qiangshu combined
- Nguyen Mai Phuong (VIE) won Bronze
Women's Taijiquan & Taijijian combined
- Chai Fong Ying (MAS) won Silver

Under the Sanshou discipline:

Men's 56kg
- Benjie Rivera (PHI) won Bronze
Women's 52kg
- Mary Jane Estimar (PHI) won Silver
- Nguyen Thuy Ngan (VIE) won Bronze
Women's 60kg
- Luong Thi Hoa (VIE) won Silver
- Mariane Mariano (PHI) won Bronze

Nation				Total
ASEAN (Grand Total)	3	6	3	12
Indonesia [INA]	1	1	3	5
Malaysia [MAS]	0	1	0	1
Singapore [SIN]	0	1	0	1
Thailand [THA]	2	2	0	4
VietNam [VIE]	0	1	0	1

Updates Summary from Asean 2008 Olympics Medal Tally

UPDATE #7 (2008-08-23 SAT @10:00am ACT [Asean Common Time])

Congratulations to Thailand's Gold Medallist JONGJOHOR Somjit for winning the Boxing Men's Fly (51kg) division and Silver Medallist BOONJUMNONG Manus for the Boxing Men's Light Welter (64kg) division (I watched Manus' fight a few hours ago). That gives Thailand 2 Gold and 2 Silver Medals.

UPDATE #6 (2008-08-21 THU @09:40am ACT [Asean Common Time])

Congratulations goes to PUEDPONG Buttree of Thailand for winning the Silver Medal in the Women's 49kg Taekwondo competition.

UPDATE #5 (2008-08-18 MON @08:20am ACT [Asean Common Time])

Yesterday, ASEANs brought home a lot of medals from the Olympics.

Gold from KIDO Markis, SETIAWAN Hendra from Indonesia for the Badminton Men's Doubles
Silver from LILIYANA, WIDIANTO Nova from Indonesia for the Badminton Mixed Doubles
Silver from LEE Chong Wei from Malaysia for the Badminton Men's Singles
Silver from FENG Tianwei, LI Jia Wei, WANG Yue Gu, SUN Bei Bei from Singapore for the Table Tennis Women's Team

Congratulations to all Athletes, their respective Nations, and the ASEANs for bringing home Medals from the Beijing 2008 Olympics!!

UPDATE #4 (2008-08-16 SAT @10:30am ACT [Asean Common Time])

Another Bronze for Indonesia! YULIANTI Maria Kristin won in the Badminton Women's Singles today. Congratulations!!

UPDATE #3 (2008-08-12 TUE @7:20am ACT [Asean Common Time])

Indonesia brought ASEAN another Medal! TRIYATNO won Bronze in the Men's 62kg Weightlifting sports competition. Congratulations to TRIYATNO, Indonesia, and all ASEANs!!

UPDATE #2 (2008-08-10 SUN @11:00pm ACT [Asean Common Time])

VietNam's HOANG Anh Tuan and Indonesia's IRAWAN Eko Yuli won Silver and Bronze medals respectively in the Men's 56kg Weightlifting competition tonight. Congratulations to the athletes and to VietNam and Indonesia.

One-by-one, ASEAN Athletes are bringing home medals to our great region - the ASEAN Community.

UPDATE #1 (2008-08-10 SUN @6:10pm ACT [Asean Common Time])

Thailand brought us the first Olympic Gold for ASEANs!! Congratulations to JAROENRATTANATARAKOON Prapawadee and to Thailand for winning the Olympic Gold for Women's 53kg Weightlifting.
Read the official news here.

2008-08-23

Congratulations to Allen!

The Palanca Awards is the most prestigious literary awards in the Philippines. Known as the Philippines' version of the Pulitzer Prize, this is the award that most important writers in the Philippines have in their arsenal.

Guess who received an award from this coveted event? It's no other than our own member, our friend, our brother Allen! We should be all so proud of him! Congratulations, Allen! More power to you!

2008-08-18

(UPDATE #7) ASEAN 2008 Olympics Medal Tally

First posted on 2008-08-09 @02:19am ACT [Asean Common Time]

For the duration of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, we will keep a list of Olympic Medals won by each ASEAN Nation and a total for the whole. We are also including Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste who both have shown interest in joining, however, they will not be included in the ASEAN Grand Total.

You can also help us update this ASEAN Medal Tally, just reply back with your information. It will be much appreciated if we can all provide the sports event where each country won their respective medals.

Enjoy the Beijing 2008 Olympics - ONE ASEAN COMMUNITY!!

UPDATE #7 (2008-08-23 SAT @10:00am ACT [Asean Common Time])

UPDATE #6 (2008-08-21 THU @09:40am ACT [Asean Common Time])

Congratulations goes to PUEDPONG Buttree of Thailand for winning the Silver Medal in the Women's 49kg Taekwondo competition.

Nation				Total
ASEAN (Grand Total)	3	6	3	12
Brunei Darussalam [BRU]	0	0	0	0
Camdodia [CAM]	0	0	0	0
Indonesia [INA]	1	1	3	5
Laos [LAO]	0	0	0	0
Malaysia [MAS]	0	1	0	1
Myanmar (Burma) [MYA]	0	0	0	0
Philippines [PHI]	0	0	0	0
Singapore [SIN]	0	1	0	1
Thailand [THA]	2	2	0	4
VietNam [VIE]	0	1	0	1

Nation				Total
Papua New Guinea [PNG]	0	0	0	0
Timor-Leste [TLS]	0	0	0	0

* Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste have shown interest in joining the ASEAN Community and currently have Observer status.
** Medal Photos Copyright by 2008 Beijing Olympics.

UPDATE #7 (2008-08-23 SAT @10:00am ACT [Asean Common Time])

UPDATE #6 (2008-08-21 THU @09:40am ACT [Asean Common Time])

Congratulations goes to PUEDPONG Buttree of Thailand for winning the Silver Medal in the Women's 49kg Taekwondo competition.

UPDATE #5 (2008-08-18 MON @08:20am ACT [Asean Common Time])

Yesterday, ASEANs brought home a lot of medals from the Olympics.

Gold from KIDO Markis, SETIAWAN Hendra from Indonesia for the Badminton Men's Doubles
Silver from LILIYANA, WIDIANTO Nova from Indonesia for the Badminton Mixed Doubles
Silver from LEE Chong Wei from Malaysia for the Badminton Men's Singles
Silver from FENG Tianwei, LI Jia Wei, WANG Yue Gu, SUN Bei Bei from Singapore for the Table Tennis Women's Team

Congratulations to all Athletes, their respective Nations, and the ASEANs for bringing home Medals from the Beijing 2008 Olympics!!

UPDATE #4 (2008-08-16 SAT @10:30am ACT [Asean Common Time])

Another Bronze for Indonesia! YULIANTI Maria Kristin won in the Badminton Women's Singles today. Congratulations!!

UPDATE #3 (2008-08-12 TUE @7:20am ACT [Asean Common Time])

Indonesia brought ASEAN another Medal! TRIYATNO won Bronze in the Men's 62kg Weightlifting sports competition. Congratulations to TRIYATNO, Indonesia, and all ASEANs!!

UPDATE #2 (2008-08-10 SUN @11:00pm ACT [Asean Common Time])

UPDATE #1 (2008-08-10 SUN @6:10pm ACT [Asean Common Time])

2008-08-17

Malaysia failed to get Asean's second gold

Lee Chong Wei just lost to Lin Dai in badminton single. With it, gone is the only hope for gold for Malaysia and another for Asean. In any case, Chong Wei just saved Malaysia's ass by bringing home at least a silver medal.

I thought this Olympics has been disappointing for Malaysia. Badminton especially.

There was a hint of hope earlier because the archery team made it to the quarter final. The way they were performing, Malaysia might get a medal outside of badminton for the first time ever! But their journey ended there and so too an opportunity for medal. It was however a pleasant surprise for me because I didn't know that Malaysia has a great archery team.

~~Asean's only gold so far was won by Indonesia through, well, badminton, what else?~~ Ah yes, Asean has two gold medals! One from Indonesia and another from Thailand.

All in all, Malaysia only managed to contribute a silver medal to Asean. And there is no hope for more. And so, good night and good luck to the rest of folks in Asean from Malaysia.

Oh, wait, we still have cycling!

2008-08-15

The Great Bridge Kizuna

Kizuna Bridge in Kompong Cham province

Kizuna Bridge is a bridge with a special purpose.

Its purpose is to consolidate the relationship between Cambodia and Japan, and to provide a way to connect National Road Number 7 to the border of Vietnam.

It was inaugurated in December 4^th in the year 2001 at Kompong Cham Province.

In this speech during the opening of Kizuna Bridge, Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen said;

"Moreover, there was the construction of a new bridge across the Mekong River, that we named it the Great Bridge "Kizuna", - a great property on Tonle Bet of Kompong Cham. Kizuna means "a relationship of good treatment, great love and respect, tied one person with another or one group with another group of people". Kizuna represents "a solid friendship between the nations and countries, free of any discrimination in relation to race and religion". In this sense, this name is very thoughtful, reflecting friendly relationship and long-lasting cooperation between Cambodian and Japanese people."

And to mark this occasion, the Kizuna bridge was included in the 500 Riel, the Khmer currency.

2008-08-13

Horta Visits Manila

There was some uptight atmosphere when I came to school yesterday. Suddenly, I saw that familiar flag I've been seeing quite a couple of times around this blog. Then the news came to me later.

Jose Ramos-Horta, President of Timor-Leste is on a 4-day visit here in the Philippines and visits my school. I wanted to see him in personal (and tell him that I've been promoting his country on this blog, haha!) but I was unfortunate to even see his convoy at the gates.

Pres. Horta is here from August 10 to 14 and meets with Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to expand bilateral cooperation in business and trade and sign bilateral agreements on academic cooperation and on fishing.

Horta is also expected to speak at several colleges before he leaves town.

A memorandum of understanding will be signed to allow Timorese diplomats to undergo training at the Philippine Foreign Service Institute.

-------------------------------------------
To Pres. Horta;
Nós esperamos que você apreciou sua estada aqui nas Filipinas! Nós estamos esperando uns laços mais fortes entre seu país e as Filipinas!

2008-08-11

Win U$20,000 and Be Part of History

On Sunday, 2007-November-25, I wrote the A Citizen's Summary of the 1st ASEAN Constitution and gave suggestions about the ASEAN Anthem which according to Article 40: ASEAN shall have an anthem – meaning that we do not have an Anthem yet. Some people have mistaken the ASEAN Hymn Song of Unity and ASEAN Community Song Let Us Move Ahead as the ASEAN Anthem, however, the ASEAN Charter says otherwise.

ASEAN Hymn: Song of Unity

ASEAN Community Song: Let Us Move Ahead

Article 40: ASEAN Anthem

This one, the ‘new’ ASEAN Anthem is still to be written and composed. I strongly suggest to our Secretary-General that you make this an open competition for all ASEAN Citizens. Entries must be recognized as “Asean", not as “Filipino/Philippines", “Singapore", “Laotian", “Khmer", and so on. Then open a fool-proof voting system online and let the people take part in the voting for some percentage. Then the other percentage will be taken from the decision of the high-level and/or top-level ASEAN Ministers.

For the ASEAN Citizens, I suggest you start writing and composing, then gather everyone’s contribution together, I am listening to three ASEAN songs while writing this.

The time has come for all ASEAN Citizens to submit their compositions for the ASEAN Anthem! The winning entry will be played and sung during the ASEAN Flag Raising Ceremony on the 14th ASEAN Summit in Thailand and will receive U$20,000.

Format of Competition

This is an Open Competition - open to all the Nationals of the 10-Member Countries of ASEAN.

Competition Rounds

1st Round: National Competition in each member countries. Only 20 compositions will be selected for each country
2nd Round: Regional Competition in Thailand in mid 2008-October. Only 20 compositions will be selected
Final Round: Of the Final-20 Compositions, one will be selected as the Official ASEAN Anthem

Criteria

Language: English
The Anthem should incorporate the following elements:
- Should reflect ASEAN Dignity, Coopration, and Solidarity;
- Reflect ASEAN's diverse culture and ethnicity;
- The ASEAN Anthem should be an original composition;
- Must be no longer than 60 seconds

Form of Entries and Timeline

Entries to be sent with score and sheet music (note and lyrics) with voice and musical instruments (preferably piano) recording submitted on CD;
Submission of compositions is open from the date the Member Country decides but will be only until 2008-September-20 for all;
Thailand, as host of the competition, will be responsible for rearrangement of the winning entry, as well as adaptation into a full orchestra version for use at the 14th ASEAN Summit in Thailand in 2008-December
Entries should be submitted to the ASEAN National Secretariat - visit this Official List to know the address and telephone numbers of your ASEAN National Secretariat

Copyright

The selected composition can be revised and rearranged into the Anthem of ASEAN. The ASEAN Anthem will be the Reserved Copyright of ASEAN.

Prize

The winning composition will receive U$20,000 (Twenty Thousand US Dollars).

ASEAN Composers Forum

We require that National representations to the ASEAN Composers Forum are able to judge on both lyrics and melody of all entries.

Thailand will convene an "ASEAN Composers Forum" consisting of one prominent composer from each Member Countries plus up to three prominent musical experts from a musical institution in a neutral country, in mind 2008-October.

Sources:

2008-08-10

ASEANs won 3 Medals Today from the Beijing 2008 Olympics

Today, Sunday is when the ASEAN Community took home its first 3 Medals from the Beijing 2008 Olympics - One Gold, One Silver, and One Bronze from Thailand, VietNam, and Indonesia respectively.

These are all from the Weightlifting competition. Thailand's JAROENRATTANATARAKOON Prapawadee won Gold Medal for the Women's 53kg Weightlifting and two from the Men's 56kg Weightlifting category by HOANG Anh Tuan of VietNam who won Silver and IRAWAN Eko Yuli of Indonesia who won Bronze Medal.

Congratulations to the Athletes, to their Nations, and to the ASEAN People!! GO FOR GOLD!

See the latest and updated tally for ASEAN only here.

2008-08-08

Letters to AC contributors

To begin, I would like to personally thank you all for contributing to this blog, by any efforts mentioned and unmentioned.

So far, this blog has evolved into another stage. Nonetheless, our goal is not to compete or seeking profit. Today, I must remain you of our main goal, is to create a bond between ASEAN nations young generation. We are here to make them belief in ASEAN.

However, I noticed some downward trends in the clan progress. Less articles are being posted, and less people come to visit and comment on our article. But, are these our false? The answers are both yes and no. I dare say that the “yes” answer would be the highlight of our lacks of enthusiasm, lacks of belief for what we have done for AC. But why is “no?” I must admit that, everyone of us do value their closet goal than the AC’s, even me. Moreover, I must confess that I have been turning most of my attention from this blog to my PowerSix Group activities. My apology!

Despite this trend, I want to tell you that, I will continue to believe in this blog the way I still believe in all of you. For now, we must restructure the team to revive the blog.

Then, there comes the question: what must we do? To answer, we must also perceive the posting system of this blog. At this moment, we have no clear indication on each individual role in the clan. By defining our position in this party, we will understand our true intention to help the team.

My place is to search for “rare and new” story to post, because I believe that posting the articles where you can find a hundred similar contexts online is a waste of time. My method is quite time-consuming, but I will do it. Allen and Bhaskara are still our leading post makers. Hafiz and Dee Dee are to be the supporting poster while John, will be a site engineer as he always from the start. Sovanna will be the assistant and blog’s record keeper for he will collects information about the clan’s progress hence on. There are ways to contribute.

My address shall not be sufficient until obvious evidence emerges. For this month, I have tracked the ranking in two websites: technorati.com and alexa.com. We will rely on these sites to control our success.

I wish to continue cooperate with all of you and make a great achievement altogether.

Happy ASEAN day

With friendship, true love and brotherhood

Denith

Happy Asean Day!!

Let me be the first to greet all of you my fellow Aseans a Happy 41st Asean Day! The theme for our 41st anniversary is no other than "One ASEAN Identity, One ASEAN Community by 2015". We are going that way and we will be there just in time. You don't believe me?

Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) ratified the ASEAN Charter last July 21, 2008, though it was not expected, it wasn't a surprised either. Now three countries are left to ratify the charter namely - Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand, and I am still very positive the ASEAN Charter will be ratified by all 10 just in-time for the next ASEAN Summit in Thailand where ASEAN was born.

Before I ask the multi-billion dollar question, here are two videos I like to share with you all.

Animation for the ASEAN School Tour 2007

Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

One ASEAN Identity, One ASEAN Community by 2015. The question still lingers - what is an ASEAN Identity to us ordinary citizens? I've written about it before on my blog, but with the recent developments, more awareness, and the ASEAN Peoples now more responsive and voices out their opinions, it is only right that we ask the question again, perhaps this time we will have a clearer definition.

So tell us, your fellow Aseans, What is an ASEAN Identity to YOU?

2008-08-01

Cambodian National Election Official Website

Firstly, I'm sorry that the reports are all written in Khmer languages.

But let me point out only important parties to trace the result:

In order:

1. Norodom Ranarith Party - lead by Prince Norodom Ranarith, son of former King Norodom Shihanouk - royalist party
4. Cambodian People Party - the ruling party of Cambodia whose PM candidates is the current Prime Minister Samdech "AkaMohaSena Padey Tecjo" Hun Sen
8. Funcinpec Party - an old-aged royalist party - led by H.E. Keo PuthRasmey
9. Sam Rainsy Party - the leading opposition party in Cambodia - led by H.E. Sam Rainsy
11. Human Rights Party - newly born opposition party - led by Kim Sokha

Click on each site to see the regional report:

http://necelect.org.kh/Khmer/ElecResult/2008/Election%202008.htm