Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 25th October

In this Bulletin…

- Over 1,000 students detained after political protests in India
- Two Koreas agree to hold military talks: Seoul; and
- Half-a-million Taiwanese take part in protest against tainted Chinese products

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China

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Sources in Guangzhou have reported that on October 20, a large amount of black waste water has again been poured into the Pearl River at Guangzhou’s South Bank Road.

The waste water is most noticeable in the west of South Ligang Bay when looking from afar at the merging of a tributary from the direction of Jinsha Zhou and Shijing River. The water flowing from Jinsha Zhou appears a silty yellow colour, and Shijing River looks pitch-dark.

According to statistics, around 200,000 tons of waste water pour into the upper reaches of the river every day.

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Two people have died in Riots in Jiangxi province and hundreds have been injured, according to the Hong Kong based Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy. The riots in Daduan town of Tonggu county were sparked on Thursday by attacks on local villagers by hired guards of Lu Hai Forestry Co.

Accusing locals of harvesting timber from its land, the company brought in hundreds of guards to protect its interests. Locals report that about 30 guards entered Daduan on Thursday night and began attacking locals with knives and clubs, leaving 2 dead and sparking the riots. Mobs of locals torched the offices of the company and battled with police for several hours.

Tonggu county officials have confirmed that the riots took place, but said only 12 were injured and denied any deaths.

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On Saturday, an estimated 500,000 people have taken to the streets for an anti-China protest in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei. Protesters were out in force to reject intentionally tainted products from China and seeking to protect the sovereignty of Taiwan from increasing connections to the mainland.

Protesters, who are mainly supporters of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party accuse President Ma Ying-jeou and his government of taking a weak stance against the Chinese regime in light of a series of recent food safety scandals, including the melamine contaminated milk powder imported from China.

While Taiwan-China relations have improved since the Kuomintang retook power in elections earlier this year, many Taiwanese are demanding better protection from the government against tainted products from China, and safeguarding the sovereignty of the island.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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After inter-Korean military talks ended without progress on October 2, the two Koreas have agreed to come together again next week to discuss issues including the improvement of military hotlines between the two nations, the South Korean Defence Ministry said in a press statement.

There are currently 9 military hotlines for the two Koreas, with one being out of service for technical reasons.

In their earlier talk, the North threatened to evict all South Koreans from a joint industrial estate at the North’s Kaesong City unless their counterpart stopped defectors passing cross-border propaganda leaflets.

The latest series of talks come after almost all official dialogue was cut by the North when a hardline approach was adopted by the South’s conservative President Lee Myung-Bak who took office in February.

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On Saturday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been called upon by the 43 nation Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) to intervene in countries seriously affected by the global financial crisis.

At the meeting in Beijing, ASEM leaders issued a joint statement saying that they would undertake effective and comprehensive reforms in international monetary and financial systems.

No concrete plans have been made, but economists are hopeful that the meeting will lay important groundwork for an upcoming global financial summit to be held in Washington DC.

On the same day UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has met with leaders from the World Bank, UN and IMF to discuss the global financial crisis and urged the establishment of emergency lines of credit for developing countries struggling in the crisis to draw upon.

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Thousands of students have turned out across the eastern Indian state of Bihar to protest against the release of a politician, linked with attacks by a militant Hindu party.

The students blocked highways, attacked infrastructure and enforced a general strike in Bihar, resulting in clashes with police and the subsequent arrests of at least 1,021 students.

The politician, Raj Thackeray, was released just 2 days after being arrested for allegedly inciting violence against domestic migrant workers who travel to find work in boomtowns, like Mumbai, from poor states, like Bihar.

Thackeray founded the New Maharashtra Army party, MNS, whose members allegedly carried out attacks on migrant workers last Sunday. His arrest sparked separate protests by supporters earlier in the week.

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