Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 1st August

In this Bulletin…

- Beijing authorities announce taboo topics of conversation as residents are prepared for Olympic visitors;
- International journalists covering Beijing Games will be allowed wider, but not full, Internet access; and
- Japanese police raid company suspected of exporting machinery for nuclear weapon manufacture.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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The Beijing authorities recently announced eight taboo topics not to be discussed with foreign visitors during the Olympic Games; one’s age, love life, health status, address, personal experiences, religious or political beliefs, as well as profession are all off limits, according Reuters.

The “ban” triggered heated debates, leading Beijing officials to state the regulation is being introduced to provide the general public with some knowledge of etiquette as the authorities fear that the locals’ bad habits may give visitors a poor impression of Beijing.

In the run up to the Games emergency national etiquette classes are being held for Beijing residents to make sure that the people uphold the harmonious image the regime is try to present to the world.

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After widespread outcry from journalists Chinese regime appears to have unblocked some, but not all, banned websites.

The move follows talks between Chinese organisers and officials from the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Games officials will no doubt be hoping this defuses a growing row about internet access for journalists reporting on the sporting event who had found that some sites, including news websites and those of human rights groups, were blocked.

It is likely that this wider access s monitored closely and removed once the games finish.

Separately, Chinese head of state Hu Jintao said efforts to politicise the Olympic Games would not work.

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Over 200 Falun Gong practitioners and supporters gathered outside the Chinese Consulate in New York on Wednesday to hold a candlelight vigil for the thousands of Falun Gong practitioners arrested in China since December of last year, said the Epoch Times.

According to the Falun Dafa Information Center (FDIC), 8,037 Falun Gong adherents from 29 provinces have been jailed, some for up to 2.5 years. The mass arrests are part of the Chinese Communist Party’s attempt to silence dissidents and those who the regime thinks might disrupt their “harmonious Olympics.”

The vigil is a reminder that the Olympics hasn’t improved human rights, as Beijing promised, but rather has worsened them, especially for Falun Gong practitioners.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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Over a dozen crop circles have mysteriously appeared in wheat fields in Zhaosu of Xinjiang Province, according to a Central News Agency report. The circles are not only identical in size and shape, but are arranged in a very orderly fashion and interconnect with each other.

In June scientists identified that a highly complex crop circle discovered in the UK was a coded representation of the first ten digits of pi (a fundamental mathematical symbol). The circle, which was 46m in diameter, excited enthusiasts and was described by one researcher as an outstanding development and a seminal event.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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A company suspected of illegally exporting machinery that could be used to make nuclear weapons has been raided by police in Japan.

Officers targeted the headquarters of Horkos Corp and several related sites in the southern city of Fukuyama.

The company is accused of exporting tools that could be used in enriching uranium without government permission.

Police say the equipment, which was sent to South Korea, could have been sold to North Korea or the Middle East.

The tools are normally used to manufacture automotive components, but they can be modified to produce the centrifuges used to enrich uranium.

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The East Timor parliament has ignored calls for it to reassess a controversial budget increase of more than 120 percent, and has let it pass.

East Timor relies on gas revenues for almost all its income, and is trying to create other industries. However, this budget has caused a lot of noise both in East Timor’s parliament and outside it.

The government now has more than $788m to spend this year. It plans to use much of the extra money to subsidise food and fuel prices and develop the economy, but opponents say the planned subsidies risk dampening East Timor’s emerging non-oil economy.

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