AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 12th March

In this Bulletin…
- US Chief of Central Command resigns;
- Malaysian state of Penang to drop policy of favouring ethnic Malays; and
- China’s CCTV sued by Falun Gong adherents.

US Admiral William Fallon has resigned as chief of US forces in the Middle East and Central Asia after more than a year in the post, citing what he called an inaccurate perception that he is at odds with the Bush administration over Iran.

Fallon, the head of the U.S. Central Command, explained there is a difference of opinion with the White House, which makes it difficult for him to effectively serve America’s interests.

In Washington, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters at the Pentagon that he accepted Fallon’s resignation “with reluctance and regret.”

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Following election upsets in Malaysia, the state of Penang says it will no longer follow a controversial central government policy favouring ethnic Malays above other citizens.

Malaysia has had a policy of favouring ethnic Malays in jobs and education for almost four decades leading to increasing frustration in the large Chinese and Indian minorities.

Penang is one of five states now controlled by the opposition, after elections on Saturday saw big losses for the governing coalition.

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A lawyer representing Falun Gong adherents filed an appeal on Monday against China’s main television network, CCTV, charging the station with aiding and inciting torture and genocide.

The lawsuit accuses CCTV of creating a network of lies about Falun Gong that encourage and incite the public, the police and other security forces in China to subject practitioners to unlawful arrests, illegal police interrogation and torture.

Terri Marsh, the plaintiff’s lawyer and Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Foundation explained that CCTV’s coverage has in many cases, resulted in the extra-judicial killing of practitioners who do not renounce their belief in the tenets of Falun Gong.

The lawsuit was initially filed in January 2006 under the Alien Tort Claims Act and the Torture Victims Protection Act on behalf of Falun Gong adherents currently residing in the United States after having been imprisoned and tortured in China because of their spiritual beliefs.

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China’s economic inflation rate hit an 11-year high of 8.7% in February, according to the National Statistics Bureau.

Soaring food prices were driving inflation, up 23.3% in February against the previous year, the bureau said.

It attributed the jump to snow storms last month that caused widespread disruption and to seasonal price rises over the Lunar New Year holiday.

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And now for our original SOH news direct from China
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CNN recently interviewed a group of young hackers around 20 years old who claimed they have successfully invaded government internet sites of the United States, Germany, Britain, France, and other countries.

The hackers claimed they had obtained important information from these websites and that the Chinese Government agreed to pay them for the information.

The United States Department of Defence recently confirmed that government internet sites of United States, Germany, Britain, France and other countries were hacked last year believing the source of many attacks to be from China.

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Mainland Chinese News have confirmed that a widely supported open internet petition was made to China’s National People’s Congress and the State Council, calling for justice against Government authorities who violently relocate residents and take control of their land with little or no compensation being paid.

The practice of forced land resumption is commonplace in China and has been more so since the implementation of the Law of Property Rights which gives local authorities increased powers.

The letter called for a stop to violent land acquisition and relocation, which it said threatened the fabric of society and the social justice system.

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And now for our daily update on the NTDTV Divine Performing Arts Spectacular show
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Today the Divine Performing Arts Spectacular completes its series of shows of Taichung in Taiwan and Prague, Czechoslovakia. After a one day break shows will open in Berlin on Thursday and Taipei on Friday.

Since the Chinese Spectacular came into being in 2004, there have been numerous attempts by the Chinese communist regime, through its embassies and consulates, to interfere with the production in various ways.

This occurred again during the show’s current run in Prague when Czech TV, the country’s biggest TV station, received a letter from the Chinese Embassy asking them not to attend the Spectacular.

The Communist regime dislikes the Spectacular because it includes two acts depicting the illegal persecution of the meditation practice Falun Gong, which the Chinese Communist Party has outlawed and sought to vilify since 1999 for no just cause.

Falun Gong is part of Chinese history along with Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism, and the values of these practices are embodied in the show. Other ethnicities portrayed in the Spectacular are Tibetans, Mongolians, Uyghurs and Koreans.

For more information on the Chinese Spectacular Shows please visit www.bestchineseshows.com

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This has been Wilma Reynolds from the SOH Radio Network.