Asia-Cast

Asia Cast Monday 24th September

Thousands of monks and civilians are marching through Burma’s former capital in what appears to be the biggest anti-government protest so far.

Eyewitnesses said the number of people demonstrating on Monday was as high as thirty thousand.

It follows Sunday’s march in Rangoon by twenty thousand monks and nuns.

Events are now moving unpredictably, analysts say. So far the ruling generals are showing unusual restraint.

Monks are revered in Burma and any action against them by the military government would spark an outcry.

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According to Falun Gong practitioners in Mainland China, since the beginning of September, the Beijing Public Security Bureau has initiated a large-scale effort to forcefully abduct Falun Gong practitioners from their homes and work places.

In some cases, both husbands and wives were abducted, leaving behind young children and babies unattended.

Human Rights activists in Mainland China also disclosed that the CCP has started suppressing political dissidents, human rights activists in Beijing and appellants who came to Beijing from other areas.

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Germany¡¯s Chancellor Angela Merkel met the Dalai Lama on Sunday despite opposition from Beijing and concerns among German trade industry that the talks could harm trade ties with China.

Merkel met Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader at the Chancellery in Berlin for what her spokesman said were “private, informal talks”.

The meeting took place despite China summoning Germany’s ambassador in Beijing earlier this month to protest.

Germany had confirmed its adherence to a one-China policy ahead of the meeting, Merkel’s spokesman added. The German leader made an official visit to China last month.

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Recently, the Chinese Communist government ordered police to remove human rights lawyer Gao Zhi-Sheng from his home.

At present, no one is able to contact Gao and his family.

On 12th September, Gao Zhi-Sheng wrote an open letter to the US Congress, calling on Western governments to take more notice of human rights violations in China.

On 20th September, officials from the United States, Canada and the European Union Parliament held a press conference at the US Congress to voice support for Gao Zhi-Sheng.

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A Falun Gong practitioner from Hebei Province, China, was tortured to death within three hours of his kidnapping.

The practitioner had moved from Ning-Jin County to Zhao County to avoid persecution.

He was kidnapped from his rented home by the local 610 Office and forcibly sent back to Ning-Jin County where he was tortured.

Apparently Shen Jian-Zhong is the member of the local 610 Office responsible for his murder.

Shen is infamous for carrying out persecution in Ning-Jin County.

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Regular exercise may work as well as medication in improving symptoms of major depression, researchers have found.

In a study of depressed adults, investigators found that those who went through group-based exercise therapy did as well as those treated with antidepressant drugs.

A third group that performed home-based exercise also improved, though to a lesser degree. Importantly, the researchers found, all three groups did better than a fourth group given a placebo inactive pill identical [in appearance] to the antidepressant.

While past studies have suggested that exercise can ease depression symptoms, a criticism has been that the research failed to compare exercise with a placebo. This leaves a question as to whether the therapy, per se, was responsible for the benefit.

The new findings bolster evidence that exercise does have a real effect on depression.