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From The Asian Reporter, V22, #01 (January 2, 2012), page 2.

MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — Who says plane travel can’t be fun? Flight attendants for a low-cost Philippine airline who gained fame by dancing through safety demonstrations were back swaying through the aisles, swapping the Lady Gaga tunes that made them popular for Mariah Carey’s "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Manila-based Cebu Pacific airline says the choreographed dance helps passengers pay more attention to the safety demonstration. "We wanted to bring a little more fun into the flight (during Christmas)," said spokeswoman Candice Iyog. She told The Associated Press that reaction was good. Video of the routine shows four attendants in orange shirts and khaki shorts dancing away on select flights.

BEIJING (AP) — China is proposing to ban several types of movie content, including that which it says disturbs social stability and promotes religious fanaticism. The draft law is the authoritarian government’s latest attempt to tighten control over what people see. It says films must not harm national honor and interest, incite ethnic hatred, spread superstition, or propagate obscenity, violence, or terror. A total of 13 types of content are banned in the draft law posted on the website of China’s cabinet. No terms or phrases are defined. The proposal is part of an overall tightening of cultural industries that are fuelling more independent viewpoints, particularly social media and hugely popular microblogs where citizens often vent anger and frustration.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — China and Vietnam have signed agreements pledging cooperation on youth affairs and the health sector during a visit by the Chinese vice president. China’s Xi Jinping and his Vietnamese counterpart vice president Nguyen Thi Doan witnessed the signing at a ceremony at the presidential palace in Vietnam’s capital. They also presided over the signing of four agreements in which Chinese banks agreed to provide loans to Vietnam. China and Vietnam, along with several other Asian countries, have competing territorial claims in the South China Sea, which is believed to be potentially rich in natural resources.

TOKYO (AP) — Director Yoshimitsu Morita, whose films including the award-winning Family Game, depicting the absurdity and vulnerability of conformist Japan’s everyday life, has died. He was 61. Morita, who won international acclaim over a prolific 30-year career, died of acute liver failure at a Tokyo hospital, said Yoko Ota, spokeswoman at Toei Co., which is behind his latest work set for release next year. He is survived by his wife Misao.

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnam may block its citizens from using Facebook, but that didn’t stop website founder Mark Zuckerberg from vacationing in the communist country. Zuckerberg spent Christmas Eve in the popular tourist destination Ha Long Bay, local official Trinh Dang Thanh reported. State-run media said Zuckerberg arrived in Vietnam December 22. Zuckerberg spent Christmas Day at an ecolodge in the northern mountain town of Sapa and rode a buffalo, said Le Phuc Thien, deputy manager at the Topas Ecolodge. Zuckerberg, Facebook’s 27-year-old CEO, founded the social networking site in 2004. Vietnam’s aggressive internet censors block access to Facebook and other websites, but young Vietnamese easily bypass the restrictions.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s cabinet said in a long-awaited report that a July bullet train crash that killed 40 people was caused by a design flaw and sloppy management. The cabinet said 54 officials were responsible for missteps that led to the disaster near the southern city of Wenzhou. Those blamed include a former railway minister. The disaster prompted a public outcry about the dangers and high cost of China’s showcase bullet train network.

HONG KONG (AP) — The son of late Taiwanese industrialist billionaire Wang Yung-ching is suing his half sisters and others in a Hong Kong court to recover $4 billion in assets belonging to his father’s estate. In legal documents filed with the High Court of Hong Kong, Winston Wong alleges that three half sisters and 10 other defendants siphoned off assets from Wang’s estate, which is estimated to be worth $17.6 billion. Wang died in 2008 at the age of 91 without a will. He is survived by nine children from two women he never married who have feuded over his fortune in U.S. courts. Wang was also survived by his wife, who did not bear him any children. Wang built Formosa Plastics Group into a multinational conglomerate headquartered in New Jersey. Forbes estimated his personal fortune the year he died was $6.8 billion. The lawsuit says the Hong Kong portion of Wang’s global estate includes assets in mainland China, including two power plants and a hotel. Wong, the eldest son, said that research has uncovered a "web of deception intended to conceal his assets and deny the majority of his heirs, including my brother and sisters, their rightful legacy." Wong said he and his legal team intended to show the court that businesses and assets "were wrongfully diverted into shadow corporations, bank accounts, and secretive offshore trusts." Other defendants include two longtime Formosa Plastics employees who were entrusted with Wang’s personal finances. The company declined to comment on the lawsuit.