Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 1st November

In this Bulletin…

- Japan Air Force head sacked over inflammatory WWII essay
- Leaders to meet in Congo summit; and
- World heading to ecological “Credit Crunch”

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China

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The trial of two Falun Gong practitioners at Jiguan District Court in Heilongjiang province on Thursday (October 30) was adjourned at the request of prosecution after the defence counsel requested investigations into allegations of state police extracting confessions through torture.

One of the accused practitioners, Sun Lixiang stated in her evidence that she was illegally arrested, and that a confession was extracted from her by means of cruel torture, including beatings and electrocution by state police. She then solemnly declared her innocence.

One of the defence lawyers Jiang Tian-yong speculates that the court was adjourned because it wanted to seek the directions of the infamous “610 Office” which was established to oversee the handling of Falun Gong practitioners persecuted by the Chinese communist regime.

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Prior to the arrival of his special envoys in Beijing for a new round of talks, the Dalia Lama has told the BBC that his expectations of results from negotiations with Beijing are diminishing.

The Tibetan Spiritual leader says while he is sincere to participate in the negotiations, the Chinese Communist Regime has stepped up repression in Tibet, adding that, ‘They say one thing and do another.’

Until now, the Dalai Lama has always advocated the policy of seeking to achieve self-government of Tibet within China. However, the Dalai Lama now says that it should be left to the Tibetan people to decide whether to abandon the ‘middle ground” policy, or to fight for the independence of Tibet.

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A scrap metal trader from Britain has claimed that he was kidnapped by his customers in Ningbo in China, after an argument with a representative of Ningbo Yibao, over the quality of a scrap metal shipment.

The victim, Anil Srivastav of Goldarrow Metals Ltd, alleges that his passport was taken away when he asked for an independent inspection and he was then held by his captors for several days. Goldarrow Metals Ltd claims that $350,000 of goods was forwarded to secure Srivastav’s release.

This is the latest in a string of similar incidents, and authorities are worried that with the Chinese economic slowdown, numbers of these incidents will continue to increase.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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On Saturday, the Chief of Staff of Japan’s Air Force, General Toshio Tamogami, has been sacked over an online essay he penned that describes Japan as the victim of an aggressive Unite States in WWII and that Japan should reclaim its “glorious history”.

The essay titled “Was Japan an Aggressor Nation?” also states that other Asian countries were in favour of the brutal Japanese occupations of China and Korea in the first half of the twentieth century.

Japanese Defence Minister, Yasukazu Hamada, has told the press that General Tamogami would be immediately dismissed, saying that the essay made it inappropriate for him to remain in his position.

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On Saturday, the Presidents of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have agreed to meet for an emergency summit over the current dispute in the eastern Congolese region of North Kivu after the city of Goma was surrounded by rebel forces from the Tutsi ethnic group.

DRC President Joseph Kabila and Rwandan President Paul Kagame will meet in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, in a meeting held by the United Nations and African Union after talks of a forced intervention from British Foreign Minister David Miliband, his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner who were set to visit the DRC with Washington’s top diplomat for Africa, Jendayi Frazer.

There have been allegations that the armies of each nation have been aiding their respective rival militias, through the provision of food and weapons.

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The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has warned that the continued borrowing against the already scarce resources of the planet will create a future ecological “Credit Crunch”.

In its “Living Planet Report”, the environmental organisation says current resource demands already outstrip capabilities to renew them by more than 30 per cent. WWF Director James Leape, explained that if the rate of increase of resource usage is maintained, by the 2030’s the equivalent of two Earths will be required for some resources.

An EU study has estimated global financial losses incurred by ecological damage at up to $5 trillion per annum, a relatively large amount compared to the bailouts of the current global financial crisis.

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