Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Monday 1st September

In this Bulletin…

- A large-scale demonstration took place in Chao yang district of Beijing;
- Chinese soldiers enthusiastically quit the Chinese Communist Party during the Olympics; and
- At least 150,000 Mexicans dressed in white marched the streets.

-But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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According to Beijing resources, a large-scale mass demonstration took place in Changying and Guan zhuang areas of Chao yang district, Beijing City on August 30 to protest against the authorities who have done nothing to deal with the stench from the area’s large waste treatment centre.

The demonstration blocked the traffic of north Chao yang road for more than three hours, and a large number of police rushed to the scene.

The protesters were beaten. It is learnt that there are large garbage disposal plants in this area, with a stench filled the air, and the carcinogenic substance from the garbage after being burnt is 40 times higher than normal level.

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According to comprehensive information, the president of the Global Quit the Chinese Communist Party Service Centre; Mr. Gao Dawei, expressed that since July, a lot of soldiers in mainland China have sent declarations to Quit the CCP stating they are disappointed with how their government handled the Olympics having the CCPs true evil nature.

According to the announcement of the quit the CCP website, up to the end of August, over 42 millions Chinese people have posted their withdrawal declarations from the Communist Party, the Communist Youth League and the Young Pioneers on the Internet.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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At least fifteen people have been killed and six injured when a massive explosion occurred in a fireworks factory in northern China, state press reported.

Fifty workshops at the Xinxin Fireworks Plant were destroyed, state media said.

According to a preliminary investigation, safety regulations at the plant were being violated at the time of the blast, the report said without providing details.

China has a huge fireworks industry that is notorious for its lax safety standards.

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At least 1 million people are still stranded, Survivors of floods in India’s north-east say the rescue operation is now working.

Millions of people are homeless in what has being described as the area’s worst flooding in 50 years after the Kosi River burst its banks in the state of Bihar two weeks ago.

Police and the military have rescued about 400,000 people who are now in makeshift camps along with another 800,000 survivors who made their own way to safety.

But at least another 1 million people are yet to be rescued and survivors say entire villages have been abandoned.

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Ferocious Hurricane Gustav moved into the oil-rich Gulf of Mexico on Saturday where it was expected to strengthen and threaten New Orleans after its 150 mile per hour winds cut a swath of destruction through western Cuba.

The Category 4 storm swept across Cuba in a matter of hours and now poses a threat to Gulf oil fields on a projected path that could take it ashore near New Orleans, still recovering from Hurricane Katrina in August 2005.

Forecasters said Gustav’s winds had dropped to 140 mph (220 kph) crossing the island, but, like Katrina, it could swell into a catastrophic Category 5 storm, with winds above 155 mph (249 kph), as it surges across the Gulf’s warm waters.

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At least 150,000 Mexicans dressed in white marched on Saturday to protest a wave of kidnappings and gruesome murders, putting pressure on President Felipe Calderon to meet his promises to crack down on crime.

Demonstrators filled the capital’s historic Zocalo Square, holding candles and pictures of kidnap victims and bearing signs that read, “Enough Is Enough”.

People marched in cities throughout the country, including along the U.S.-Mexico border where increasingly brazen drug gangs are battling each other for control of smuggling routes. More than 2,300 people have been killed in drug murders this year.

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