Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 2nd July

In this Bulletin…

- State of emergency declared in Mongolia;
- Confidence drops among Japanese manufacturers; and
- Pro communist mob attacks Paris rally.

But first, here’s our original SOH news direct from China

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Restricted power supplies are hitting Taiwanese manufacturers operating in China, increasing production costs, causing some stoppages, and leading some businesses to try and move production shifts to the evening in a bid to save on air-conditioning costs.

According to a statement from one official, the reason for the power shortages in Shanghai, Jiangsu County of Zhejiang Province, and around the Yangtze River, is because of a “gap in coal reserves”.

But Taiwanese businessmen familiar with the situation say that’s just deceiving common folk, and that the main reason for the power shortage is because of the recent jump in the price of oil coupled to the fact that the price of electricity was frozen for two years.

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Nearly one thousand demobilized cadres and volunteer soldiers in Yantai City, Shandong Province visited the Municipal National People’s Congress on June 27. They demanded answers from local officials regarding non-compliance with the demobilized cadres’ benefits policies.

Instead of conducting an official dialogue with the petitioners, communist party officials responded with a 500-man police blockade, which resulted in a physical confrontation, according to a report by the Epoch Times newspaper.

It has been revealed that since 2005, there have been several public appeals by massive demobilized cadres and retired employee groups in Yantai. A total of 5,000 people have requested answers regarding benefits including unemployment, delayed paychecks, and issues such as welfare, housing and subsides.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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Eighteen miners were killed when a shaft collapsed at a state-owned mine in Shaanxi Province, central China, state controlled media said.

A group of 28 miners were working underground when the accident happened on Tuesday morning.

Twelve men were rescued, but two of them later died in hospital. Today, rescuers confirmed that they had found the bodies of the other 16 miners.

China’s coalmines are the deadliest in the world, with an average of 10 miners killed every day in 2007. Safety officials are investigating the cause of the collapse.

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The president of Mongolia Nambaryn Enkhbayar has declared a state of emergency after violent protests erupted over alleged electoral fraud.

Five people were killed and more than 300 were hurt, including many police. Hundreds of people have been detained following the unrest.

Parts of the capital, Ulan Bator, have been sealed off and a curfew imposed.

Preliminary returns suggest the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party has taken at least 45 seats in the 76-seat parliament, but the opposition Democrats allege fraud.

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The confidence of major Japanese manufacturers has continued to drop as soaring oil prices and fears of a U.S. economic slowdown weighed on the economy, according to a central bank survey.

The central bank’s closely watched “tankan” survey showed that the index for large manufacturers’ business sentiment fell from 11 in the previous quarter to five in June. The figure represents the percentage of companies saying business conditions are good minus those saying conditions are unfavourable.

The latest result was the lowest in almost five years but slightly better than market predictions for a reading of between two and four.

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The rising cost of fuel is contributing to higher food prices around the world and hitting millions of the poorest people in South Asia hard.

Diesel and kerosene are up by 37.5 percent a litre in Bangladesh, while the price of a cylinder of cooking gas is up by 66 percent.

In Pakistan, natural gas prices rose by up to 31percent on Monday, a day after petrol and diesel prices went up by ten percent.

In India nearly four million trucks have been taken off the road after their owners began an indefinite strike to protest against rising fuel costs following a cut in government subsidies.

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A pro-communist Chinese mob attacked attendees of a rally in Paris supporting Chinese people who denounced the Chinese Communist Party on June 29, the Epoch Times newspaper said.

Communist supporters verbally and physically assaulted supporters of the rally, and attempted to destroy a TV used to show programs about the persecution of Falun Gong, and about the recent Flushing mob attacks instigated by the Chinese Consulate in New York.

Volunteers from the Service Center said they would continue doing what they have been doing for years despite the violent assaults.

“All we’re trying to do is to let people know the truth,” said a volunteer calmly.

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