Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 22nd March

In this Bulletin…

- UN envoy says the world must pay attention to Somalia;
- Taiwan voting for next President; and
- China under pressure from US and Germany.

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Special UN envoy, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallahm, has told the UN Security Council that the international community must overcome its reluctance to get involved in Somalia and help put an end to abuses there.

Mr. Ould-Abdallahm made the statement to the Security Council during a debate on whether to send U.N. peacekeepers to the African country.

Last month the Security Council extended for six months U.N. endorsement of an African Union mission in the lawless country. It consists of two Ugandan battalions, totalling 1,600 troops, and an advance party of 192 Burundians.

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Today Taiwan will go to the polls to elect their next President where Frank Hsieh, of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, faces a tough battle against Ma Ying-jeou of the Kuomintang. Mr Ma, whose party has traditionally taken a more conciliatory line towards Beijing, has led consistently in opinion polls.

While both candidates favour closer economic ties with China, Mr Hsieh has accused his rival of being soft on China and portrayed himself as the man best placed to defend Taiwan’s interests.

Over 17 million people are eligible to vote and turnout is expected to be high. Polling stations opened at 0800 local time on Saturday (0000GMT), and close at 1600 local time with results expected a few hours later.

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In a trip that angered Chinese officials, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has slammed Chinese “oppression” in Tibet as thousands of Tibetan exiles cheered her arrival in India to meet the Dalai Lama.

Hours after her arrival, the Tibetan Regional Government upgraded its estimate of the death toll in the Tibetan unrest in Lhasa, saying that 18 “innocents” and one police officer had been killed over the past week and a half.

US presidential hopeful John McCain added to the comments from the speaker, saying China was behaving unacceptably in Tibet.

He urged Beijing to look for a peaceful end to clashes between anti-government protestors and police.

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In related news, Germany’s Foreign Minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has said that China should let the world know what is happening in Tibet and the Olympic host is only hurting itself by denying access to foreign observers.

Steinmeier said that China, which seeks political stability, and Tibet, which wants to protect its cultural identity, should find common ground to avert further bloodshed.

Relations between China and Germany chilled after Chancellor Angela Merkel in September became the first German chancellor to meet with Tibet’s spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, whom China views as a separatist.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China
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On the 18th of March, the Dalai Lama’s Office spokesman told an SOH journalist that on the 14th of March, a Thai Chinese lady in Lhasa witnessed police posing as Tibetans, holding weapons and joining the protests.

Later, the lady said she recognized a policeman addressing the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) television programme again in Tibetan clothes, and talking about the protests.

It is believed that the policemen were instructed to pose as Tibetans and incite violence to discredit the protests.

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A traffic accident in China’s Guangdong Province caused 30 tons of chemicals to leak from a truck into the drinking water supply of almost 100,000 residents in the vicinity.

Guangzhou’s “South Urban Newspaper” reported that vehicles collided at Fogan County in Guangdong on the Beijing-Zhuhai expressway on 20th March.

A truck carrying the chemicals, thought to be hydrochloric acid was involved in the accident and some 30 tons of the chemicals leaked from the truck into the nearby stormwater system.
The extent and severity of the pollution is unclear at this stage.

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And now for our daily update on the NTDTV Divine Performing Arts “New Year Spectacular” show.
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The Malaysian office of the NTDTV Global Media Network held a press conference on March 18 to explain to the media how Beijing forced the Divine Performing Arts’ to cancel its Chinese Spectacular shows in Malaysia. Dozens of citizens, police, and reporters attended the conference.

Huang Meiyi, a spokesperson for NTDTV in Malaysia, explained that the Chinese Communist Party’s embassy in Malaysia pressured Malaysia’s Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage to cancel the Chinese Spectacular. The MCAH then sent a notice to the DPA at the end of February instructing them to cancel the shows.

Ms Meiyi said that NTDTV has started to refund tickets sold. Many audiences regretted the cancellation.
NTDTV is asking for the Malaysian Prime Minister to intervene and allow the shows to proceed.

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

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“Asia Cast… keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.”