Asia Cast

Asia Cast Tuesday 12th June

-China accused of Olympics merchandise child labour
-Beijing interfering with New York Chinese classical dance competition and
-Determined deaf man soars as pilot.
Chinese factories are churning out licensed bags, caps and stationery for the 2008 Beijing Olympics using child labour and paying workers less than half the minimum wage.

As members of the International Olympics Committee gather in London for a progress update on the 2012 Games, the report¨C”No Medal for the Olympics” ¨Cfinds evidence of children as young as twelve producing Olympic merchandise.

The Playfair Alliance, represented in Britain by the Trades Union Congress and Labour Behind the Label, researched working conditions at four factories making 2008 Olympic bags, headgear, stationery and other products.

In a release the TUC said , “It also reveals that factory owners are falsifying employment records, and forcing workers to lie about their wages and conditions.”

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The long arm of the Chinese Communist Party is being felt at New York University this week after a student club, allegedly under instructions from Beijing, attempted to have a Chinese dance competition shut down.

When New Tang Dynasty Television announced that its global Chinese dance competition¡ªa showcase of traditional dance with participants from around the world¡ªwould be held at New York University in July, the NYU Chinese Culture Club should have been thrilled, but instead the club posted a letter on its website blasting the competition and its organizers.

Former Chinese diplomat Chen Yonglin says the club was acting under directions from the Chinese Communist Party, which has a history of harassing the independent, Chinese-language television station.

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In February 1996, Stephen Hopson became the first deaf instrument-rated pilot in the world.

A license to deaf person to fly in all kinds of weather was an accomplishment that some considered near impossible; the FAA once forbid deaf pilots from earning an instrument rating.

In addition, he is an author of various articles on overcoming life obstacles and a speaker on motivational issues.

How did he overcome the challenges of deafness? Hopson says, “Establishing goals, visualizing myself achieving them, as well as having faith that it will all work out well are essential ingredients in overcoming deafness and obstacles.”

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Rain and landslides have killed at least thirty-five people in Bangladesh as early monsoon showers swept the country.

Heavy rains triggered landslides that buried hillside homes, killing twenty-two people with several missing on Monday in the port city of Chittagong.

Thunder storms killed thirteen people elsewhere in the country, including five in western Jhenaidah district alone.

The landslide deaths in Chittagong included five from one family.

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Later this week, Prime Minister John Howard will meet the Dalai Lama.

A spokesman for Mr. Howard said that the meeting would take place later this week, but it was not clear where or when.

The exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, who is on an eleven-day tour of Australia, has a scheduled meeting with Labor leader Kevin Rudd in Canberra today.

The visit poses a diplomatic headache for the federal government because it does not want to jeopardise trade with China, which last month warned foreign officials against meeting the Buddhist figure.

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The assets held by ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his family have been frozen by Thailand’s army-backed Government, which total at least 52.9 billion baht ($A1.9 billion).

The Assets Examination Committee, which the junta set up after taking power last year, says it will seize twenty-one accounts that hold the profits from the controversial sale of Mr.A Thaksin’s Shin Corp telecom giant to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings.

An AEC statement has said, “They have illegally obtained wealth through abuses of power to benefit Shin Corp.”

The committee also ordered a freeze on an unspecified number of personal accounts held by Mr. Thaksin and his wife.

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In Bali, the police have arrested a Sydney man over drug offences.

The Department of Foreign Affairs says police detained fourty-one-year-old Nicholas Bernard Taylor two days ago for narcotic related offences.

The Australian embassy has offered Mr. Taylor consular assistance.