Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 6th September

In this Bulletin…

- Suicide ranked as the fifth major cause of death in China;
- Blind Chinese human rights lawyer and activist has phone blocked ahead of Paralympics; and
- U.N. relief supplies reach hurricane-ravaged Haiti.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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The website established by Catholic rights advocate Xing Jingsheng, “Citizens suffering injustice in Baoding”, was recently shut down by Chinese authorities. A “lack of records” was the reason cited for taking the site down.

Commentators have said that this is yet another example of the regime’s suppression of press freedom.

Xing Jingsheng began working to protect real estate rights of Catholic believers before assisting more local citizens in rights battles.

It was for conducting these activities that he was sent to a labour camp, according to Radio Free China reports.

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According to Beijing’s deputy Health Minsiter Zhao Chunhui, 250 thousand people in China commit suicide every year, making it the fifth major cause of death in China’s troubled society.

An additional two million make unsuccessful attempts at committing suicide.

The World Health Organization has designated September 10th as “World Suicide Prevention Day”. It aims to promote worldwide commitment and action to prevent suicides with the campaign that carries the message, “think globally, plan nationally, act locally”.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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The Paralympics is due to open in Beijing Saturday, and could help to elevate the profile of those with disabilities in China.

China’s dominance of the Athens Games, which is expected to be repeated, is due to the regime’s hunger for medals and acclaim rather than support for China’s disabled, who have long suffered discrimination in social, education and employment sectors.

Over 4,000 athletes from nearly 150 countries will battle for 472 gold medals in 20 sports.

The event dates back to 1948, when Sir Ludwig Guttmann organised a sports competition involving World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries in Stoke Mandeville, England.

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In related news; the Chinese regime has been condemned by Reporters Without Boarders (RSF) for attempting to prevent foreign journalists covering the Paralympics getting in touch with those close to blind human rights lawyer and activist Chen Guangcheng.

Chen was sentenced to four-years in Linyi prison, Shandong Province, after he tried to sue the authorities over a campaign of forced sterilization and abortion.

Chen’s wife told Radio Free Asia (RFA), “My mobile phone has had no signal for the past 30 days. At first I tried turning it off and on again, but none of my calls got through.”

The phones of the residents of his village, as well as his lawyer’s, have also been blocked.

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Opponents of Thai prime minister Samak Sundaravej have dismissed his proposal to hold a referendum as a stalling tactic.

Mr Samak announced the plan on Thursday, in an effort to defuse the ongoing political crisis.
Anti-government protesters have now been occupying Mr Samak’s official headquarters for 11 days, and have vowed not to leave until he resigns.

In a sign of continuing tensions, two protesters were injured in a drive-by shooting late on Thursday.

The anti-government protesters – from the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) – say Mr Samak is merely a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and is now in exile.

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U.N. relief supplies, including food and water, arrived in the hurricane-ravaged Haitian city of Gonaives by ship Friday, an official with the United Nations’ World Food Programme said.

Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, has endured three storms over the past month: Hanna, Gustav and Fay. The last storm, Hanna, killed at least 137 people when it passed over Gonaives Tuesday and lingered nearby for days.

It left water more than 4 meters deep in some places in the city, according to Abel Nazaire, Haiti’s assistant coordinator of Risk and Disaster Management.

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