Asia Society honors Game Changers of the Year; Pacquiao among awardees

Ellen Wallop/Asia Society

The Asia Society's 2015 Game Changers, left to right:Shuji Nakamura, Aasif Mandvi, Mariam al-Mansouri, Kiran Bir Sethi, Li Cunxin, Manny Pacquiao, Chanda Kochhar, and Lei Jun. 

MANNY PACQUIAO, besides being a boxer, is gaining notice for his work outside the ring as a philanthropist and since 2010, a politician.

He was among the nine Asia Game Changers named by the Asia Society in New York in ceremonies held Oct. 13 at the United Nations.

He represents Sarangani in the Philippine House of Representatives. On Monday, Pacquiao confirmed his interest in seeking a seat in the Philippines’ Senate, and would not rule out an eventual run for the presidency.

“In the Philippines, politics is like boxing — people are always fighting each other,” he said in a press conference prior to the ceremonies, adding that “a lot of politicians masquerade as righteous, especially at election time. But what I’ve learned is that you have to forgive your enemies.”

Manny Pacquiao at his press conference.

Here is the Asia Society press release:

Asia Society Honors Manny Pacquiao, Other 'Asia Game Changers' at United Nations

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - October 14, 2015) - In a ceremony held at the United Nations on Tuesday evening, Asia Society honored Philippine boxing great Manny Pacquiaoand eight other dignitaries as its second annual class of Asia Game Changers for making a transformative and positive difference for the future of Asia and the world. Honorees also included Chinese telecommunications magnate Lei Jun, Indian/American comedian and actor Aasif Mandvi, and Emirati fighter pilot Mariam al-Mansouri.

After receiving the award, Pacquiao credited his humble upbringing in a village outside General Santos City, Philippines, for forming his desire to give back to the community. "I've experienced in life not having shelter and having to sleep in the street," he said. "So even with my success I will never forget my past."

Against the backdrop of New York's East River and Queensboro Bridge, Pacquiao and his fellow awardees mingled with Asia Society trustees, officers, and other guests from around the world. Josette Sheeran, Asia Society's President and CEO, began the ceremony by noting that Asians have received insufficient recognition for their contributions to the world. "More than 950 Nobel prizes have been awarded since 1901, and less than six percent have gone to Asians -- even though 60 percent of the world's population is in Asia and Asia has 50 percent of the world's patents."

"We at Asia Society want to recognize the brilliance of Asia -- those who are changing the world for the better."

In his acceptance speech, Mandvi spoke of comedy's role in eroding negative stereotypes and tackling issues -- such as Islamophobia -- that often elude more conventional comedians. Recounting a career that began in Off-Broadway productions before achieving widespread recognition a decade ago as the "Middle East Correspondent" for The Daily Show, Mandvi struck a characteristically humorous tone in his remarks. Referring to Pacquiao, his fellow nominee, Mandvi joked: "Little known fact about Manny -- he also always wanted to be a fake news correspondent. I guess I won that, Manny. Good luck."

Kiran Bir Sethi, an education innovator whose Design for Change organization has improved learning outcomes across India, spoke of the importance of spotlighting instructors. "It's because of honors like (Asia Game Changers) that the response goes from 'Oh, you're just a teacher' to 'Teachers are game changers.'"

Pacquiao was introduced by tennis great John McEnroe. "I was fortunate enough to meet Nelson Mandela, and one of the things he said to me was that sports have the potential to change the world," McEnroe said. "And Manny Pacquiao is one of the individuals who can do that."

Additional honorees spanned the scientific, artistic, and military world across the continent: Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano, and Shuji Nakamura, inventors of LED light bulbs and 2014 Nobel Prize winners for physics; Chanda Kochar, the CEO of Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India; and Li Cunxin, the Artistic Director of the Queensland Ballet.

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Last year, Chinese billionaire Jack Ma — the businessman behind Alibaba — received the Asia Game Changer of the Year award. Like Pacquiao, Ma was chosen for his humanitarian and charitable works.

Other past awardees include Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Prize and female rights activist from Pakistan, and Filipino social entrepreneur Illac Diaz, for his Liter of Light program.

While some say that Pacquiao's boxing career is on the downside, he remains one of our favorite athletes - not simply for the fact that he is Filipino or Asian - but for the fact that he is so generous with his success. 

Raised in a poor village near General Santos City, he frequently donated fight earnings to family members and neighborhood children. This practice has continued despite his tremendous success in the ring. “My life has changed because of the money I’ve earned in boxing,” he said. “I can go all over the world and enjoy myself. But every time I hear the voice of poor people, I feel it in my heart because I’ve been there.”

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Were Chinese explorers in America 3,300 years ago?

American Southwest petroglyphs is ancient Chinese script, says researcher.

RESEARCHER JOHN RUSKAMP has found evidence that Chinese explorers may have visited North America 3,300 years ago, centuries before Christopher Columbus landed on a Caribbean island thinking he had discovered a route to China. If his evidence survives scientific scrutiny, our country's historic turn towards Europe may do an about face.

He presents as evidence a series of petroglyphs that he says is actually ancient Chinese writings in the American southwest. He claims they indicate Asians were present in the Americas around  1,300 BC - nearly 2,800 years before Italian explorer Columbus sailed the ocean blue.

He said: "These ancient Chinese writings in North America cannot be fake, for the markings are very old as are the style of the scripts. 'As such the findings of this scientific study confirm that ancient Chinese people were exploring and positively interacting with the Native peoples over 2,500 years ago.

"The pattern of the finds suggests more of an expedition than settlement."

The 82 petroglyphs he discovered in scattered sites in New Mexico, California, Oklahoma, Utah, Arizona and Nevada appear to be an ancient script that was used by the Chinese after the end of the Shang Dynasty.

Ruskamp published an academic paper on the subject on his website in April and that is being peer reviewed.

One of his supporters is MacArthur Foundation Genius Award recipient Dr. David Keightley, an expert on Neolithic Chinese civilization at the University of California, Berkley. He has been helping to decipher the scripts found carved into the rocks.

Translation: “Set apart (for) 10 years together.”(Courtesy of John Ruskamp)

One of the series of ancient rock writings in Arizona indicates that the expedition may have been exploring America for ten years. It translates: "Set apart (for) 10 years together; declaring (to) return, (the) journey completed, (to the) house of the Sun; (the) journey completed together."

Dr. Michael Medrano, chief of the Division of Resource Management for the Petroglyph National Monument, has also studied the petroglyphs found by Mr Ruskamp. He told the Epoch Times: "These images do not readily appear to be associated with local tribal entities ... they appear to have antiquity to them."

There is a school of thought that maintains that Asian mariners arrived in the Americas before Columbus based on DNA similarities of Asian and native peoples and the pottery style of the indigenous people in Central and South America that resemble Asian pottery. 

However, barring archaeological evidence of a settlement or pottery shards, historians are reluctant to change their Eurocentric views of who "discovered" a land already populated by the original peoples who most likely, everyone agrees, journeyed to the Americas during one of the Ice Ages when there was a land bridge between Asia and Alaska. 

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But consider what an ancient Chinese expedition might have looked like over 3000 years ago. (About the time that King Tutankhamen ruled ancient Egypt.) The explorers far from their home  would not have heavy equipment or pots with them. Besides the clothing they wore, they would carry wooden implements and weapons. All of it perishable or subject to deterioration over time. They would travel as light as possible therefore not leaving the "hard evidence" that would confirm their presence.

It also shows that contrary to popular belief, Europeans were not the only one with brave people willing to go into the unknown and that Asians were also also explorers, curious and daring.

If the petroglyphs are accepted as authentic, Ruskamp's findings could force another round of fierce debates among historians, archaeologists and other scientists over who really "discovered" America.

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