Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 20th August

In this Bulletin…

- More than 1,000 people forced to evacuate after a 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit China
- Olympic coverage in China, still blocked by Eutelsat; and
- Zambian President Mwanawasa dies in France

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China

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Chinese Consul General Peng Keyu could be expelled from the U.S. if allegations that he encouraged attacks against Falun Gong practitioners are found to be true, according to New York attorney Robert Gottlieb.

During an interview in his office near Wall Street, Gottlieb explained the legalities surrounding the possible expulsion of the consul general, as well as charges that others involved could face. Gottlieb’s law office has been following the case of the Flushing attacks.

Shortly after the assault against Falun Gong practitioners had begun in Flushing on May 17, an investigative call was made to the office of Chinese Consul General Peng Keyu by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG).

During the call, Peng was recorded admitting that he had met with and encouraged those who had attacked the Falun Gong practitioners.

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Olympic coverage in China is still blocked by Eutelsat, the French communications company which owns one of the three satellites capable of beaming programs throughout China.

Since June 16, they have refused New Tang Dynasty Television (NTDTV) and three Mandarin radio stations including Sound of Hope (SOH) any access to their Asian channels.

It has come to light through Reporters Without Borders (Repoters Sans Frontiers, RSF) that the technical problems which Eutelsat say are preventing them from honoring their contracts do not exist.

RWB has obtained new information indicating that the satellite is able to transmit NTDTV broadcasts to Asia today but have succumbed to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to prevent NTDTV from broadcasting.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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More than 1,000 people were forced to evacuate when a 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit China’s border with Burma earlier today, the US Geological Survey (USGS) and Chinese state media said.

The tremor struck at 5:35am (local time), 224 kilometres from the city of Dali in south-west China and 65 kilometres from Myitkyina in Burma, according to a statement on the USGS website.

About 1,200 people were forced to evacuate their homes near the epicentre, an populated with large numbers of ethnic minorities, China’s state media said.

Many homes collapsed in Sudian and several other towns also reported damage, state media reported.

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Eighteen miners have been confirmed dead after an explosion ripped through a coal mine in north-east China, the State Administration of Work Safety said.

The accident happened Monday (local time) at Baijiagou Coal Mine in Faku county, Liaoning province, the safety agency said in a brief statement.

China’s coal mines are among the most dangerous in the world, with safety standards often ignored in the quest for profits and the drive to meet demand for coal – source of about 70 per cent of the country’s energy.

Nearly 3,800 people died in Chinese coal mines last year, according to official figures, although independent monitors say the real figure was likely far higher as many accidents are covered up.

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Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa died in a French hospital on Tuesday after suffering a stroke several weeks ago, Vice President Rupiah Banda said.

The Zambian leader, 59, was a favourite with Western donors for tackling corruption in the southern African country and he had been one of the strongest critics in the region of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe.

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The United States has yet to see any serious pullout of Russian forces from Georgia, U.S. officials said Tuesday, adding that if the Russians had taken any U.S. equipment while in the Caucasus nation they must return it.

The U.S. Treasury, meanwhile, said Russia had hurt its business climate with its decision to send troops into Georgia, which it called a “Cold War tactic.”

“We don’t see much change in the (Russian) forces that were there,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters. At the State Department, spokesman Robert Wood said flatly he saw no evidence of Russian withdrawal from Georgia.

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And now for our daily round-up of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
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Australian cyclist Anna Meares is celebrating today winning a silver medal in the women’s sprint just months after coming within millimetres of becoming a quadriplegic.

Australian Sally McLellan’s surprise Olympic silver medal in the women’s 100 metres hurdles last night came as American Lolo Jones lost control and “crashed and burned”, giving the gold medal to compatriot Dawn Harper.

Meanwhile China’s defending 110m hurdles champion Liu Xiang has apologised to the supporters and fans after injury forced him to pull out of the Olympics on Monday.

Liu’s Athens Games win made him a Chinese icon but he managed just a few strides in the heats in Beijing before pulling up with an Achilles injury.

For more in depth coverage on events at today’s Games, why not check out Inside China Today, at www.insidechinatoday.net.

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