AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Fri 20th July

-Fears of power shortages in Tokyo
- Washington forum predicts collapse of Chinese Communist Party and
-Moscows refusal to extradite sparks row with Britain

There are fears of power shortages in Tokyo, as the scale of the earthquake damage to the country’s biggest nuclear power station becomes clear.

The government reportedly wants the Kashiwazaki plant, which contributes about 12% of the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s supplies to the capital, to stay closed for more than a year for safety checks.

The power company is considering restarting six mothballed thermal power plants to meet demand over the summer and has apparently also asked six other Japanese power companies to sell it emergency electricity until the end of September.

********************

A forum of panellists at the Revealing a True China forum, held in Washington D.C. this week found that the Chinese Communist Party is quite likely on the verge of collapse.

The notion that things are getting better and better and that with more time and patience China will become democratic and respect human rights was firmly rejected by the panellists, consisting of four U.S. Congress members, two journalists, a Taiwanese official and a China scholar.

Congresswoman Jackson Lee praised the “movement of renouncing communism,” as a way for the Chinese people to take the next step ¨C referring to the 24 million Chinese who have quit the Chinese Communist Party and related organizations.

********************

In a related storey, according to respected Taiwanese scholar, Dr. Chucheng Ming, parallels can be drawn between the downfall of previous communist regimes, and the decline of the Chinese Communist Party.

Professor Ming identified some important historical precedents in the overthrow of communism, being that it happens very fast, and it occurs in the absence of major opposition parties.

Professor Ming believes that the Chinese Communist Party could be on the verge of such a collapse because of factors such as economic inequalities, political corruption, and growing public discontent.

Presently over twenty four million Chinese citizens have quit the Communist Party. This equates to 19% of the party membership. By comparison, when East Germany fell 8.3% had quit their communist party, when Eastern Europe fell 15 to 18% had quit their communist party, and when the Soviet Union fell, 22% had quit their communist party.

********************
You¡¯re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
*****************

A bitter row over Moscow’s refusal to extradite a murder suspect has led to Russia expelling four British diplomats on Thursday and suspending cooperation with London on fighting terrorism.

The Kremlin said Russia had been forced into a “proportionate response” after Britain threw out four Russian diplomats earlier this week.

Britain called the expulsions “completely unjustified” and said it was disappointed Moscow had not signalled any fresh cooperation in the case of Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian security agent murdered in London last year.

The row has resulted in the greatest rift between the two former Cold War foes since the end of the Cold War.

********************

The Chinese Communist Party¡¯s Representative Congress held in Shanghai earlier this week faced demonstrations from local and regional citizens protesting the Communist Party¡¯s mistreatment of its citizens, human rights abuses, and political wrongdoings.

Over 600 protesters marched outside the 2nd session of the 9th Representatives Congress until they were restrained by police and held in a nearby school. Nine of the protestors have been detained with charges pending.

The protestors highlight the ongoing struggle of many residents in China, with some of the demonstrators protesting Government practices such as forced evictions for over ten years.

********************

At least 29 people were killed and many others injured when a building collapsed in the centre of the Indian city of Mumbai on Wednesday.

Officials say people are still trapped in the rubble of the seven-storey building in the Borivali suburb.

Authorities say faulty repair work being carried out on the building could have caused the collapse.

In Indian cities where land is at a premium, thousands continue to live in old and dilapidated buildings and civic authorities are often accused of not enforcing building codes.

********************

The Vatican has praised the man set to become the new bishop of Beijing, even though he was not selected by the Pope.

Father Joseph Li Shan was nominated to the post by members of the Beijing diocese earlier this week and still needs approval from leaders of the state-controlled church.

The Vatican’s response will ease fears that the appointment would jeopardise fragile ties with China.