Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 19th March

In this Bulletin…
- Dalai Lama calls for end to violence;
- Japan’s nominee to Governor of the Bank of Japan rejected; and
- Polish parliament to consider boycotting Olympics.

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The Dalai Lama has called for an end to the violence in Tibet and said that Tibetans needed to live side-by-side with Chinese people. He also rejected accusations by China that he was responsible for the recent unrest.

According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency more than 100 people surrendered themselves to police and admitted involvement in the deadly clashes last week.

Chinese authorities have urged those who participated in the protests to turn themselves in, offering them leniency if they did.

The number of people killed in Friday’s clashes remained in dispute. The Tibetan government in exile said at least 80 people were killed by Lhasa police, but local authorities — and Xinhua — said only 13 people died.

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The Japanese government’s latest nominee, Koji Tanami, who was to be governor of the Bank of Japan has been rejected by the opposition.

The Democratic Party also vetoed the previous nominee Toshiro Muto. It says both nominees were too close to the government.

The current governor, Toshihiko Fukui, is due to retire on Wednesday.

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Polish parliamentarian Karol Karski is leading the protest against China’s hosting of the Olympic Games, arguing that Poland should boycott the Games entirely.

Karski has mobilized the opposition Law & Justice party’s parliamentary association to call for a joint sitting of the Foreign Affairs and Sports & Physical Culture committees of the Sejm (the Polish parliament) to examine this very question.

The initiative would make Poland’s Sejm the first parliament in the world to make an official, public assessment of its country’s role at the Beijing Games. A date for the hearing is expected to be set in the next couple of days.

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Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has announced his new cabinet which represents a substantially changed government line-up.

The radical changes are in response to the worst election result by Malaysia’s governing party for 50 years.

More than half the members of the cabinet are new faces, including some well-known dissident figures.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China
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Villagers from China’s Guangzhou Province said that since the construction of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong passenger railroad cross-harbour tunnel began in early February, the nearby river has become increasingly polluted.

Some local villages reported observing ships transporting the mud from the construction site and secretly discharging it into the Shawan waterway which has been identified as a primary water conservation area and was listed as one of the three key water rectification projects in Guangzhou City.

The pollution will pose a serious health risk to millions of residents of Guangzhou City who rely on the waterway to supply drinking water.

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Rights advocate Hu Jia stood trial on charges of “incitement to subvert state power” yesterday, but did so without the support of his wife and father who were explicitly barred from attending the proceedings by authorities.

In addition, it has been disclosed that Hu Jia has been deprived of sleep for a long time since he was arrested, suffering mental abuse during interrogations.

Radio Free Asia reported that according to a reliable source, during the first month after being arrested, Hu Jia had been interrogated for 14 hours daily, being deprived of sleep, which has caused severe mental trauma, even leading to illusions.

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And now for our daily update on the NTDTV Divine Performing Arts “Spectacular” show
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Yesterday the Divine Performing Arts Spectacular gave its last day of performances in Taipei. Tomorrow it will open for one day of performances in Chiayi, Taiwan, and the European tour will open for seven days of performances in Stockholm, Germany.

The Former Major of Taipei and Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee Honorary Chairman Huang Ta-Chou, saw the show in Taipei and said that it was very touching to see the roots of their culture revealed through different dances.

Mr. Huang also said he was glad to find time to attend the performance and felt that the level of artistic creation of the entire show was very high.

For more information about the Divine Performing Arts world tour, please visit: www.divineperformingarts.org

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This has been Wilma Reynolds from the SOH Radio Network.