AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Tuesday 23rd of August

In this Bulletin…

- Chinese elementary teacher kills students;
- Japans PM vows to stop flagging economy; and
- Burmese Junta release prisoners.

 But first, here’s our SOH focus on China.

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According to Hong Kong Sun Press, there have been a rash of consumer complaints in Europe regarding a Sofa made in China.

The Sofa, produced in Dongguan, had an anti – mould agent added, which was found to be ten times over the recommended safety limits. The anti – mould agent was used to prevent mould growth during export.

In France 38000 units have been sold so far. In Britain at least 1300 people have collectively claimed for skin complaints caused by the anti-mould agent. The public image of products made in China has been continually worsening due to poor standards, lax regulation and government corruption.

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According to China’s Internet News, on September 19, an elementary teacher, Hu Qizhi, in Hunan Province pushed four students out of the fourth floor of a building, killing two and critically injuring the others.

Internet sources reported that the night before the teacher was in a fierce domestic dispute with his wife, relating to their ongoing divorce. She is also a teacher at the same school.

Hu had previously been confined to a bed for 4 years due to mental illness. There has been speculation that he suffered a relapse.

State controlled sources have been accused of trying to cover up the story, remarking that only four were injured.

Several Chinese Internet users posted their disbelief with the regime’s official report. One upset forum user said, “There is more to this! We should demand that the officials investigate the matter thoroughly,” demanded another.”

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast.

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Japan’s next prime minister, Taro Aso, has vowed to revive the flagging economy but his immediate plans are unlikely to give the economy anything more than a short-term boost.

Japan’s economy is skirting around a recession. This is due to high energy and raw material prices amid global economic gloom, whilst its sky high public debt, already 1-½ times its GDP, faces fresh pressure, as a wave of baby boomer retirements boost welfare spending.

“As I traveled around the regions, I became even more convinced that the economy was in a recession,” Aso told a news conference on Monday after being picked to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and thus become Prime Minister.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network.

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A powerful Australian parliamentary committee urged the government to postpone plans to sell uranium to Russia on Thursday, saying it could not be sure Moscow would continue to honour non-proliferation obligations.

The committee, dominated by members of the ruling centre-left Labor Party, also said recent events, with Russia’s military incursion into Georgia, should be considered before Australia allows uranium to be sold to Russia for nuclear power.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said his government would take its time considering the recommendations, but Australia would work with other governments when considering how to deal with Russia following last month’s military incursion into Georgia.

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Burma’s junta is releasing 9,002 prisoners as a gesture of “loving kindness and goodwill”, official media said on Tuesday, although political detainees are unlikely to be on the list.

“We haven’t heard of any political prisoners being freed,” said Nyan Win, a spokesman for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), whose leader, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under house arrest for the last five years.

“I do hope they will be released, but I don’t think it will happen.”

Burma, or Myanmar, has more than 2,000 people behind bars on account of their political or religious beliefs, human rights groups say.

The junta, which has ruled unchecked since 1962, denies the existence of any political prisoners, saying all detainees have committed crimes.

Official newspapers said the prisoners were being released for the “social consideration of their families” and to take part in elections scheduled for 2010, part of a seven-step “roadmap to democracy”.

Western governments dismiss the roadmap as a charade.

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