KATHMANDU – Workers usinghelicopters and battlingwaist-deep snow have rescuedmore than 150 people who wereleft stranded on Nepal’s Himala-yas – two days after a majorsnowstorm triggered avalanchesand killed more than 30.

Local officials said 23 bodieshad been found on the high-alti-tude Annapurna trekking route,while five climbers who werestaying at a mountain basecamp, when it was hit by an ava-lanche, could not be found andwere presumed dead.

Three Nepalese yak herderswere killed as well when severeweather triggered by the tail endof Cyclone Hudhud hit thepicturesque Annapurna region incentral Nepal.

However, most of the victimswere tourists – among whomwere Canadians, Israelis and In-dians – as well as their guidesand porters.

“We have made a lot ofprogress today. We have airlift-ed 154 people to safety, inclu-ding 76 foreigners,” said MrGanesh Rai, the police official incharge of the rescue effort.

As dusk fell yesterday, strongwinds gathered speed in the af-fected districts of Manang andMustang, which made it toorisky for pilots to continue scan-ning the snow-blanketed slopesfor signs of victims, officialssaid.

It was the second major moun-tain disaster to strike Nepal thisyear. An ice avalanche killed 16

sherpa guides on Mount Everestin April.

“This is one of the worstmountaineering accidents that Ican remember,” said Mr GopalBabu Shrestha, the treasurer ofthe Trekking Agencies Associa-tion of Nepal.

The 240km Annapurna cir-cuit – which offers spectacularviews of jagged peaks andBuddhist villages – is perhapsthe most popular walking routein the Himalayas.

The Nepali government,which collects up to US$20(around S$25) per trekker for apermit, has come under firefrom hiking officials.

“The government is happy col-lecting money from trekkers butdoes nothing for them,” said MrKeshav Panday, an official of theTrekking Agencies Associationof Nepal. “It must now spendthe cash making arrangementsfor weather forecasts.”REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

By TEO CHENG WEEREGIONAL CORRESPONDENTIN HONG KONG

HONG KONG’S government andstudent protesters are set toreopen talks, even as the adminis-tration insists that negotiationsmust be held within the city’sconstitutional framework.

Leaders from the Hong KongFederation of Students (HKFS)agreed to a dialogue with the gov-ernment last night, following anannouncement earlier in the dayby Chief Executive Leung ChunYing that the government hopedto meet students after talks werecalled off last week.

However, Hong Kong’s com-mitment to Beijing’s rules for the2017 chief executive electionmeans it will be hard to reach acompromise, analysts say.

Mr Leung said the governmenthas, in the past few days, been

reaching out to HKFS through“middlemen”, whom he did notname. “An early meeting betweenthe two parties is in line with ex-pectations of the community,” hesaid yesterday, suggesting that auniversity vice-chancellor couldact as a moderator for the talks.

HKFS secretary-general AlexChow responded hours later, say-ing that the group will talk to thegovernment and reflect the re-quests of the people.

Mr Leung said the governmentis also working to restore publicorder and traffic flow across HongKong and start the second roundof public consultation on electoralreform before the end of the year.

The offer of new talks came af-ter a two-day spike in violence be-tween police and the protesters,as they battled over a series of bar-ricades near the government’s be-sieged headquarters in Admiralty.

Thousands of Hong Kongers

have taken to the streets sinceSept 28, after China’s NationalPeople’s Congress (NPC) Stand-ing Committee decided on Aug 31that candidates for the first direct-ly elected chief executive will bescreened by a nominating panel,which will likely pick only pro-Bei-

jing candidates. But protesterswant public nominations.

Mr Leung said yesterday thatrequesting a reversal of the NPC’sdecision, or the changing of HongKong’s Basic Law, is “not practi-cal” and that the various partieshave to “draw a line between pos-sibilities and impossibilities”.

“The most constructive thingthat the Hong Kong governmentcan offer the students is to sitdown and listen to the students(about) what we can do togetherunder the framework,” he said.

Political analyst Ma Ngok fromthe Chinese University of HongKong feels HKFS can benefit fromtalks, given that there are signs inrecent days that it is losing con-trol of the movement. “More radi-cal elements have been usingmore confrontational methods.”

Mr Leung yesterday also de-fended the police, saying theyhave worked hard and shown“maximum tolerance” under pres-sure. He said the authorities willinvestigate impartially the allegedassault of activist Ken Tsang byseven policemen on Wednesday.The seven have been suspended.

chengwee@sph.com.sgL SEE OPINION A26

Nepalese armypersonnelpreparing tolift an injuredsurvivor of asnow stormintoa militaryhelicopter inManang districton Wednesday.

PHOTO: AGENCEFRANCE-PRESSE

Police using pepper spray in a clash with pro-democracy protesters near thegovernment headquarters building in Hong Kong yesterday. Seven policemen whoallegedly assaulted an activist have been suspended. PHOTO: REUTERS

By RACHEL CHANGIN BEIJING

AS WESTERN countries expressincreasing support for the pro-democracy protesters in HongKong, China has warned that “oth-er nations have no right to inter-fere in any shape or form”.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Af-fairs spokesman Hong Lei saidthis line twice yesterday at a regu-lar press briefing. He was respond-ing to reporters’ questions on theUnited States’ call for a “swift,transparent and complete” investi-gation into allegations of HongKong police beating up a protesterand British Prime Minister DavidCameron’s pledge to “stand upfor the rights” of Hong Kongers.

“Hong Kong is a special admin-istrative region of China. Noforeign government or individualhas the right to make indiscreet re-marks or criticisms on this issue,”he said. As for Mr Cameron’sremarks, he said Hong Kongers’basic rights and freedoms havebeen fully protected since thecity’s handover to China in 1997.

Meanwhile, state media editori-als have escalated their rhetoricdecrying Western influence overthe Hong Kong pro-democracymovement, which Beijing has char-acterised as a “colour revolution”backed by the Western powers.

The Global Times yesterdaywarned the protesters not to turnHong Kong into “a boxing ringbetween the West and China”.

Analysts said that in thescheme of China’s relationshipswith Western powers, the HongKong protests are a small matterand none involved wants them toaffect the substance of bilateralties. The sharp rhetoric from Bei-jing, Washington and London areall partly directed at home audi-ences, they noted, with the Westmaking a stand against China toward off domestic criticism.

For China’s part, “it’s empha-sising outside influence now first-ly to warn young protesters inHong Kong not to go too far, andsecondly to shift attention fromits own handling of the issue”,said Renmin University analystJin Canrong.rchang@sph.com.sg

By ZAKIR HUSSAININ MILAN

EVEN as European leaders grap-ple with more pressing economicconcerns, Prime Minister LeeHsien Loong yesterday remindedthem to seize the many opportuni-ties to partner Asia and benefitboth continents.

Europe still has know-how, ca-pabilities and resources that willbe very useful to Asia in areassuch as urban solutions, infra-structure development and financ-ing, where many European compa-nies are world leaders.

And Asia’s rising incomes andgrowing middle-class are creatingnew markets for goods and ser-

vices, and opportunities for insti-tutional investors, he told leaderson the opening day of the Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) in Milan.

“There is a lot of synergy be-tween our two continents and Ihope that we will be able to devel-op them and strengthen ourlinks,” he said.

One way to strengthen econom-ic ties and benefit both sides, hesaid, was to work towards a Euro-pean Union (EU)-Asean free tradeagreement (FTA).

Speaking before Mr Lee, Euro-pean Commission president JoseManuel Barroso noted that the EUhad concluded an FTA with Singa-pore late last year.

Together with other FTAs that

the EU is negotiating withSouth-east Asian countries – Ma-laysia, Thailand and Vietnam –these could form the buildingblocks for an eventual EU-AseanFTA, Mr Barroso said.

This year’s summit, with “Re-sponsible Partnership for Growthand Security” as its theme, hasadded interest because of contin-ued weakness in the global econo-my and concerns over conflicts inthe Middle East and Ukraine.

Ukraine is not a member, butits President Petro Poroshenkohas been invited by the hosts andwill meet Russian PresidentVladimir Putin today – along withseveral European leaders – to dis-cuss a solution to the crisis there.

The two-day meeting is a mile-stone, being Asem’s 10th summit.Membership has doubled from theoriginal 26 at the first gathering inBangkok in 1996.Croatia and Kaza-

khstan were yesterday welcomedas its newest members, makingthe group 53-strong, including theEU and Asean.

Asem gathers top leaders fromcountries that account for 63 percent of the world’s population and57 per cent of the global economy.Those attending include ChinesePremier Li Keqiang, Japanese Pre-mier Shinzo Abe and GermanChancellor Angela Merkel.

Asem was started as a bridge tolink Asia and Europe.

In a reference to this at aclosed-door session on promotingfinancial and economic coopera-tion through greater connectivity,Mr Lee said: “Since then, the linkhas strengthened considerably.”

More countries have joined asthey see it as valuable, and a fewmore are waiting to join.

Mr Lee felt it was timely to con-sider how to build on what Asemhad done for the future as mem-bers mark its turning 20 in 2016.

Mr Barroso told the summitthat FTA negotiations with Viet-nam are very advanced, and theEU was looking for an upgradedstrategic partnership with Asean.

Referring to Europe and Asia,he added: “As two of the most im-portant stakeholders of the globalorder, we have a shared responsi-bility to shape a more prosperous,sustainable and fairer world.”

Other leaders were expected tocall for improved transport anddigital links between the conti-nents to make it easier to movegoods, services, capital and peo-ple along a “New Silk Road”.

Yesterday, Mr Lee met FinnishPrime Minister Alexander Stubband Hungarian Prime MinisterViktor Orban separately, andspoke about enhancing bilateral re-lations. Mr Lee thanked both lead-ers for their support for theEU-Singapore FTA, Mr Lee’spress secretary Chang Li Lin said.

Mr Lee has further meetings to-day before leaving for Singaporethis evening.

zakirh@sph.com.sg

Student leaders agree to dialogue butanalysts not hopeful of a compromise

PM Lee Hsien Loong – seen with Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy secretary Simon Wong (far left) – waving to fellow Asianand European leaders at the opening ceremony of the Asia-Europe Meeting in Milan yesterday. ST PHOTO: CHEW SENG KIM

Europe has know-how, capabilitieswhile Asia has new markets, he says

INDIA

CHINA

Graphics adapted from AFP

Mustang

Manang

Pokhara

Annapurnarange

Disaster in the mountains

NEPAL

Kathmandu

Mt. Everest

HK govt stands its groundbut offers to resume talks

Others have no right to meddle: China

154 stranded on Nepal’smountain slopes airlifted

PM Lee urges Europe toseize opportunities in Asia

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