Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Monday 27th October

In this Bulletin…

- The Dalai Lama loses hope of China talks;
- Food safety scare in Hong Kong, melamine found in eggs; and,
- World leaders call for economic action.

-But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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The race was on in Mainland China as thousands vied for a top positions as civil servants on the weekend.

The entrance exam to recruit civil servants for 2009 closed at 12am on October 25, with a total of 4,584 potential civil servants contending for the top position in the “Building of Grass-roots Organasition” under the Organsiation Department of China Disabled Persons Federation.

Following a close second in popularity was the customs supervision position in Wuxi city, attracting 4,125 candidates.

According to the Central News Agency candidates are still keen on positions in and directly under the central organs and central institutions. In most circumstances, one job is competed by hundreds of people, they reported.

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Thousands of medium to small business in Guandong province have declared bankruptcy following the downturn of the global economy, the Oriental Daily News reports.

According to the Oriental Daily 9,000 factories in Guangdong will be faced with closure, and 2.7 million workers will lose their jobs.

China’s 6 million college graduates also face an uncertain future after colleges and universities all over the country received notification of cancellation of business recruitment activities.

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And now for the rest of Asia Cast
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The Dalai Lama has said he’s lost hope in China talks. Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader told a crowd gathered at Dharmasala, India Saturday, he spent many years advocating autonomous status with no positive response from Chinese leaders.

He said it is now up to the Tibetan people to decide how to take the dialogue forward, and called a special meeting of Tibetan exiles to discuss the future of the Tibet movement next month.

The unexpected comments come ahead of this week’s visit to China by two of his envoys for another round of talks with Chinese officials.

Chinese officials have met several times with the Dalai Lama’s envoys since 2002, however the Chinese government recognizes them only as his private representatives.

The Chinese government claims the Dalai Lama secretly supports Tibetan independence activities and has blamed him for planning a series of protests in Tibet earlier this year. The Dalai Lama has denied both accusations and asked the Chinese government to produce evidence.

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Hong Kong has stepped up food safety testing after a recent scare involving China-produced eggs. Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety, or CFS, will now test pork, farmed fish and offal products imported from China, ATV news reported a government health secretary as saying.

CFS said it recently found melamine present in a brand of eggs. The chemical is at the centre of a toxic milk scandal which has rocked China’s dairy industry but this was the first example of eggs testing positive in Hong Kong.

A total of 10 Hong Kong children have fallen ill with kidney stones after drinking melamine-tainted milk products. Some Chinese manufacturers had been using the chemical to make watered-down milk appear to have a higher protein content.

An array of China-made foods and drinks have been removed from store shelves around the world since the contamination first came to light

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Beijing welcomed leaders from across Asia and Europe on Friday and Saturday calling for a coordinated response to the global financial crisis, however the event fell short of offering specific solutions.

The presidents, prime ministers and other leaders tilted toward more regulation in the difficult balance between preserving financial innovation and ensuring adequate regulation. A joint statement at the conference did not suggest how to accomplish this, but noted that “necessary and timely measures should be taken.”

Although no solutions were given, the leaders indicated to resolve the financial crisis the relationship between financial innovation and regulation must be handled properly, and to maintain sound macroeconomic policy. They recognized the need to improve the supervision and regulation of all financial actors, in particular their accountability.

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Israeli acting Prime Minister and Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni said Sunday she has asked Israeli President Shimon Peres to hold early general elections after being unable to form a new coalition government.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party rejected a bid to join a coalition headed by Livni, who would have become prime minister. Other minority parties also rejected her invitations and the likelihood of holding early elections became a near-certainty Friday.

Livni spokesman Gil Messing said the elections would most likely be held in mid-February. The developments further imperil President Bush’s desire for the Israelis and Palestinians to reach a peace deal by the time he leaves office in January.

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