Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Thursday 10th July

In this Bulletin….

- A Tibetan monk commits suicide, being unable to endure Chinese Communist party’s harassment;
- India coalition looks for votes after left exit;and
- Heavily armed militia kills 7 peace keepers in Darfur.

But first, here is our original SOH news direct from China
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On 7th July, over 15,000 Chinese experts and scholars, jointly issued a proposed draft of a group of citizens opinions urging the Chinese government to abolish re-education through the labour system.

The draft proposal stated that defects at re-education through labour include the lack of legitimacy, which easily leads to abuse of administrative power.

According to the Voice of America (VOA) on 8th July, Fan Yafeng, a scholar from Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, also a participant on the joint signatures said that their proposal is to ease the growing tension between the government and people.

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With the Olympic Games coming up soon, commoners’ grievances have intensified in Beijing. Ms. Chen, a petitioner from Hunan who appeals in Beijing told reporters: “Now over 1,000 people appeal every day to the Supreme People’s Court.

Although Beijing has strict measures to drive away petitioners, however the number of petitioners has not dwindled but increased, petitioners had heard: that prior to the Olympics, some immoral issues would be redressed.

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Recently the Chinese Communist Party forced all Tibetans to sign a document criticizing the Dalai Lama.

Unable to tolerate the CCP’s constant harassment, a Tibetan monk named Lobsang Song, aged 16, was forced to commit suicide last Thursday.

According to Voice of Tibet, Norway on 8th of July, before he died, he said very angrily: “The Chinese officials came to the temple again, they basically don’t let others live their lives.” Fifteen minutes later, his brother found him dead.

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‘And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast’
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Concluding a summit in northern Japan, world leaders have proclaimed a “shared vision” on climate change, but failed to bridge differences between rich and emerging nations on curbing emissions.

China and other emerging powers declined to endorse specific targets.

The three-day summit on Hokkaido Island also discussed Zimbabwe, and the global rise in food and energy prices.

India and China dismissed the rich nations’ call for them to halve emissions by 2050.

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Cambodia’s court refused bail for the Khmer Rouge’s former social welfare minister

Ieng Thirith, 76, is accused of crimes against humanity for her part in the Maoist regime’s brutal four-year rule in the late 1970s.

Judges are still considering a bail appeal by her husband, Ieng Sary, who was the regime’s foreign minister.

The other three former Khmer Rouge leaders held by the court have already had their requests for bail denied.

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India’s government began on Wednesday the hard task of cobbling together votes to survive a no-confidence motion after the withdrawal of its communist allies in protest against a nuclear deal with the United States.

Communist parties, which provided the government with a parliamentary majority for the last four years, formally told India’s president on Wednesday they had ended their support and requested a no-confidence vote in parliament.

The withdrawal has left Prime Minister Manmohan Singh needing other parties to ensure his ruling coalition survives and escapes an early election, as well as finalising the nuclear deal.

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A heavily armed militia group have ambushed and killed seven members of a joint UN-African Union (UNAMID) peacekeeping mission and wounded 23 others in Darfur overnight.

The UNAMID soldiers and police were ambushed on a routine patrol by around 30 vehicles full of armed militia in the Um Haqiba area of North Darfur, UNAMID spokeswoman in Sudan Shereen Zorba said.

It was not immediately clear if the militias were government allies or backed by rebels fighting Khartoum.

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