Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Sunday 28th October

- Libya opens peace talks on Darfur

- War protestors march across US cities

- China’s plan to clean up polluted waterways

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Libya opened peace talks this weekend aimed at ending conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region. The Sudanese government announced an immediate cease-fire Saturday, but prospects for a settlement are unsure.

Hundreds of thousands of Sudanese civilians have been killed in the fighting in Darfur, with millions more displaced. The fighting is largely split along ethnic lines, involving the Sudanese army, its Arab militia allies and various black African groups.

The Sudanese government quickly proclaimed the unilateral cease-fire at Saturday’s talks — something it has done before. But two of Darfur’s main rebel groups are boycotting the conference, and that casts doubt on prospects for success.

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Anti-war demonstrators marched in a dozen U.S. cities on Saturday to call for an immediate end to the war in Iraq and a cut-off of funding by Congress.

The “national day of action,” sponsored by the United for Peace and Justice Coalition, attracted thousands of protesters in cities from Boston and New Orleans to Chicago and Los Angeles on the fifth anniversary of the U.S. Senate’s vote authorizing the invasion of Iraq.

Protesters carried signs reading “End the war now,” “Healthcare, not warfare;” and there were numerous calls for the impeachment of President Bush for “war crimes.”

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China is to spend millions of dollars in an effort to clean up one of its largest lakes, which has been severely polluted by years of waste dumping.

An algae infestation earlier this year in Lake Tai, in Jiangsu province, led to a public panic and the suspension of water supplies from the lake.

The province now plans to spend almost fifteen million US dollars in a five-year plan to improve water quality and control polluters.

Research shows that more than 70% of China’s rivers and lakes are badly polluted.

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After being contacted by a volunteer worker in China’s Wuxi City, China’s SkyNet Human Right Centre reported that the local authority was applying a little known ordinance to detain people who made repeated complaints to the local government about worker rights and human rights abuses.

The detained were then allegedly transferred to psychiatric hospitals.

It is unclear how many have been detained at this stage with the Human Rights Centre vowing to bring those responsible to justice.

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Heavy fog mixed with pollution enveloped Beijing and much of northern China over the weekend, forcing highways to close and delaying flights across a land area as large as Great Britain.

Fog is not uncommon in Beijing and northern China. And since China’s industrialization, the fog often becomes smog, as coal-fired heating systems compound construction dust and exhaust from millions of automobiles.

After years of promoting economic growth at almost any cost, Beijing is now struggling to change official attitudes, despite a raft of new policies, including tying civil servants’ career prospects to their energy-saving achievements.

Large swathes of China are affected by chronic air pollution from factories, vehicles and coal-burning power plants. In addition, water and land pollution has poisoned many other parts of the country.

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China’s New Tang Dynasty television has reported that resignations from China’s Communist Party have now reached over twenty seven and a half million people.

The resignations were motivated by the release of The Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, by the Epoch Time, which exposed the injustices of the Communist Party.

Listeners can visit ninecommentaries.com to find out more about this growing phenomenon.

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We are pleased to announce that marks two weeks since the relaunch of the SOH network and our new website and we are happy to say that the launch went smoothly and has been well received by our valued listeners and readers.

For those who have not yet visited please take a look at www.sohnetwork.com. There are a number of new shows as well as the all of the original shows for you to enjoy. While you are there please don’t hesitate to leave some feedback and let us know how we are doing.

Again that website is www.sohnetwork.com.

And again we thank our listeners and readers for enjoying our shows and for being part of the SOH community.

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