Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 29th August

In this Bulletin…

- More unrest in Xinjiang leaves two police dead;
- Audit uncovers misuse and mismanagement of $6.73 billion by Chinese authorities; and
- Heavy rains in Japan cause evacuation of thousands.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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The latest outbreak of violence in China’s western Xinjiang region has left two Chinese policemen dead and another seven wounded, according to the authorities and an activist.

It is still not clear what triggered the incident, which occurred yesterday in a village in Jiashi County.

According to the World Uyghur Congress, witnesses heard “fierce gunfire”, and saw Chinese security personnel being attacked with traditional knives, but were unclear what the cause was.

A hospital later confirmed six police officers were being treated at the facility, including one for stab wounds.

An official confirmed one of the men involved had been captured but the others, six men and one woman, were still at large.

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In Jiangsu Province, a mob of over 100 labourers protested outside the police station in Yantou, Taixing City after officers beat a retired worker who had complained about the mismanagement of labour and finances at the Yizong Factory.

Officers at the police station were suspected of taking sides with factory owners, which incited resentment among the labourers.

The mob remained until 8 p.m, and only dispersed after local officials arrived at the scene.

It appears that the Taixing authorities have tried to cover up the incident, which was not reported in any of the local media.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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China’s National Audit Office announced yesterday, that central government departments misused or mismanaged more than 46 billion yuan ($6.73 billion) last year, including using disaster relief money to build government offices and diverting funds to speculate in stocks.

Offences were committed across a raft of departments, including the education and commerce ministries, the National Bureau of Statistics and the State Administration of Taxation.

Corruption is so endemic as to threaten the ruling Communist Party’s grip on power, but Beijing permits little independent oversight of government spending.

So far 192 people are said to have been prosecuted or handed administrative punishments and another 14 detained.

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Tibet’s most famous female author and blogger, Woeser, was questioned by police for eight hours last week, and forced to cut her trip home with her husband, Wang Lixiong, short due to police pressurising and harassing her family, says Voice of Tibet.

Police said they had been contacted by an individual who had seen Woeser taking photographs of soldiers and police on the streets of Lhasa.

Wang said, “As visitors, we just took some pictures of the paramilitary police who were standing in a public area. We didn’t visit any secret areas or military installations.”

Police confiscated Wang’s laptop. “They hacked my password and erased every picture they did not want the outside world to see. They don’t want the truth to be spread,” said Wang.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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Japanese authorities ordered tens of thousands from their homes Friday as fierce rains lashed central areas in the early hours, killing one woman and inundating vast stretches of rural and residential areas. One man was seriously injured.

The rains abated by midday Friday. Authorities dispatched about 100 soldiers to the hardest-hit city of Okazaki, 140 miles (230 kilometres) southwest of Tokyo, to rescue the stranded from flooded homes.

Hundreds of households were flooded, and some areas were left without power or telephone service hours after the storms. Several rivers overflowed, forcing drivers to abandon their cars in the streets.

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Tropical Storm Gustav could hit New Orleans and Gulf of Mexico oil fields as a potentially powerful hurricane next week, according to U.S. forecasters.

On Thursday the storm was blamed for at least 68 deaths caused by its passage through the Caribbean.

Energy companies prepared for Gustav to deliver what could be the hardest hit to the heart of the U.S. Gulf oil patch since the devastating 2005 hurricane season, which New Orleans is still struggling to recover from.

Oil prices rose above $120 a barrel in early trade on Thursday, adding to gains all week, as Gustav aimed deep into the heavy concentration of oil and natural gas platforms off Louisiana and Texas.

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