Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Monday 21st January

In this Bulletin…

- Malaysia to send home foreign workers;
- Cuban’s vote in parliamentary elections; and
- The UK announces new aid package for India.
Local newspapers in Malaysia say the Government expects to send home at least 200,000 foreign workers by next year to open up more jobs for its citizens.

Presently, approximately 2.3 million foreign workers are employed in the southeast Asian country, but the Government plans to cut down the number to 1.8 million by 2009 and trim another 300,000 by 2015, the official told the paper.

The country will apply stricter standards to achieve its goals and won’t renew the work permits of unskilled workers after five years. Skilled workers will have up to 10 years.

At present foreign workers make up 21 percent of the 11 million-strong labor force in Malaysia. Unemployment in the country is about 3.5 percent.

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Yesterday Cubans voted in parliamentary elections that may see Castro’s Government ousted from power, after half a century of rule by the Communist revolutionary.

Even though he has not appeared in public for almost 18 months, ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro was on the slate of 614 uncontested candidates for 614 seats in the rubber-stamp National Assembly.

The assembly will hold its first session in mid February, when the executive Council of State will confirm whether the elder Castro, 81, will continue as Cuba’s head of state or be formally succeeded by his brother, 76, or a younger leader.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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Speaking at the start of a two-day visit to India, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced a new aid package for India, worth 825 million pounds (equivalent to over 1.6 billion US dollars) over the next three years.

The funding is expected to target areas such as the eastern state of Bihar, one of India’s poorest.

Mr Brown said that of the new aid package, £500m will be dedicated to health and education.

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The Mayor of Beijing has pledged that his city will use the strictest standards to control emissions and curb pollution for the Summer Olympics but admits it will be an uphill task.

Guo Jinlong vowed to finish preparations for the Games and provide services in “high-level and high-caliber ways,” the official Xinhua News Agency cited him as saying.

That meant dealing with crippling gridlock and widespread pollution that have been major concerns, he said. So far, Beijing has begun shutting down blast furnaces in the city’s biggest steel company to improve air quality.

It is expected to enact temporary traffic restrictions to ease traffic and help reduce vehicle exhaust that creates the gray haze that often blankets the capital.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China

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In the last two weeks, over one thousand residents in Shanghai protested to the authorities against the new Magnetic-suspension rail route that is proposed and the forced demolition of their properties required to accommodate the rail route.

According to the reports of the Free Asia, a number of the protestors were forcibly detained and beaten by the authorities, with at least two residents ending up in hospital.

The local police station has refused to press charges against the authorities responsible sparking outrage amongst the residents and a pledge to appeal to higher authorities.

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According to the partly statistics from the “Power Ant” breeders, there have been approximately 20 people who have committed suicide in Shen Yang province as a result of the Yilishen Group declaring bankruptcy.

One such victim of the incident was a soldier whose mother in Fu Shun drunk agricultural chemicals and died, mentally affecting his sister and breaking up the family.

The soldier had little else to do but write to high ranking officials of the Chinese Communist Regime and appeal to the government to accept the fault, solve the issue as soon as possible and save the millions of “Power Ant” victims in Liao Ning who have been suffering the deepest misery.

The Government authorities are remaining tight-lipped on the incident, maintaining they are not responsible for the incident.

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And now for our daily update on the NTDTV Divine Performing Arts “New Year Spectacular” show.
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Today the Chinese New Years Spectacular show will be giving its one and only day of performances in Las Vegas, in the US.
Tomorrow the show will be moving on to Detroit.

Audiences have included numerous dignitaries and politicians such as Brenda Halloran Mayor of Waterloo, Canada who attended the Toronto show and explained “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite as beautiful as this show. The colours of the costumes and the music are just incredible, and the movements of the dancers. I think it’s probably one of the best shows I’ve ever seen…. It’s absolutely beautiful.”

Another audience member of the San Diego, a free-lance writer from China named Shi Wei, was delighted after seeing the final performance. “The show was great,” he exclaimed. “I felt like a spring rain has watered my soul. I would like to express my sincere thanks for the New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) for presenting us with such a marvellous show.”

For show information please visit www.bestchineseshows.com

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This is James Xu from the SOH Radio Network.