Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 22nd October

In this Bulletin…

- Another herbal medicine recalled in China following infant’s death;
- India joins Asian space race with moon mission; and
- First Global Han Couture Competition hailed a great success.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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China’s Ministry of Health has banned another herbal medicine after it caused adverse reactions in four newborns and led to the death of one of them.

Staff at Zhidan County Hospital in Yan’an City, Shanxi Province, are said to have administered injections of Yinzhihuang to treat liver diseases in the infants.

The injections were all from a batch of 260,000 doses produced by the Taihang Pharmaceutical Company Limited. The entire batch has now been recalled following the Ministry of Health ban.

Recently injections of another herbal medicine, ciwujia, produced by the Wandashan Pharmaceutical Company also led to a number of deaths, seriously bringing into question the monitoring and practices of Chinese pharmaceutical companies.

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Another outbreak of hand, foot and mouth disease has left three children in Fujian Province dead. Attempts had been made to bring the potent toddler virus under control, but Jian’ou City has seen an increase in infections.

Health officials warned that the disease was epidemic in some parts of the coastal Fujian province. There have been 113 cases reported since the start of October, with 22 children still hospitalised and 29 under observation as outpatients, according to state controlled media.

Hand, foot and mouth disease is a common childhood illness. Outbreaks in China have been linked with an enterovirus worsens the disease, causing high fever, paralysis and meningitis.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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A Chinese official on a visit to Taiwan was attacked by pro-independence protesters calling for the island’s full independence. Zhang Mingqing, was pushed to the ground in the scuffle, and a protester jumped on the roof of his vehicle.

The incident was swiftly condemned by the communist regime in Beijing.

Mr Zhang is from a mainland body responsible for relations with Taiwan, which Beijing regards as a breakaway province.

The attack on Mr Zhang was shown on television news broadcasts across Taiwan, and correspondents say the images are likely to inflame tensions between the pro-independence and pro-Beijing camps.

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The Thai Supreme Court has sentenced Thailand’s fugitive ex-prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, to two years in prison after finding him guilty of corruption.

In a landmark ruling, he was found to have violated conflict of interest rules in helping his wife buy land from a state agency at a knock-down price.

The couple fled to the UK in August, saying they would not get a fair trial.

The decision comes amid growing tension between the former leader’s supporters and his opponents.

It is welcome news for the protesters who have been camped outside Government House for weeks, demanding the resignation of the government because they say it is too close to Thaksin.

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India is poised to turn up the heat on the Asian space race when it launches its first lunar mission this week. The country will join an elite group of nations with the scientific know-how to reach the moon.

Chandrayaan-1 will join Japanese and Chinese crafts in orbit around the moon for a two-year mission designed to map out the whole lunar surface. Chandrayaan means “Moon Craft” in ancient Sanskrit.

India’s economy has grown with developments in the high-tech sector in recent years. The country has sought to convert its new found wealth into political and military might and stake a claim as a world leader.

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Painted silks, long trailing sashes, and royal brocade were some of the fine details on display at the first Global Han Couture Design Competition recently held at Manhattan’s Prince George Ballroom, reports the Epoch Times.

The competition was part of a series of events held by New Tang Dynasty Television this year celebrating traditional Chinese arts.

The competition’s guidelines were to “borrow the patterns in clothing of the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties…to create contemporary garments,” leaving the door wide open for a variety of styles and inspirations. But because the Western-Eastern combinations tended not to work, judges reverted to authenticity as their main judging criteria.

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