Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Tuesday 18th November

A contestant in the Canton competition at NTD’s International Chinese Culinary Competition. (Edward Dai/ The Epoch Times)

In this Bulletin…

- North Korea conducts annual mass prisoner executions;
- Chinese-born scientist admits to selling US rocket technology to China; and
- Inaugural International Chinese Culinary Competition Begins

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China

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At least 300 residents in Xiaxi province have staged a day long protest in the rain on Sunday (November 15) against their real estate developer for failing to provide heating for their apartments, The Epoch Times has reported.

The residents purchased apartments from the developer in Xi-Xing district in Xi-An City last year and were promised that heating systems would be provided this year.

The developer provided no explanation for the empty promise, prompting residents to hold up banners at the main streets in the city to voice their protest. Police and police vehicles were called in monitor the situation.

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Tests have found that formaldehyde and methanol have been added to mince in Wuhan city in Hubei Province after a report was made to the Hanyang District Branch of the Wuhan Industry and Commerce Commission by a local shopper, the Chu-Tian City News reported.

A local man made the report last Thursday (November 13) after he saw a butcher at the local market mincing meat that did not look fresh, and then adding some unknown liquid to the mixture, instantly turning the mince shiny and bright. When asked what the liquid was, the female at the stall became panicked and stuttered in her reply.

The mince and the liquid were subsequently taken to Wuhan University for tests. Results showed that the mince contained methanol and ethanol, and the liquid contained the chemical formaldehyde, which is carcinogenic and dangerous to humans if consumed.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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A defectors group has claimed that North Korea has continued its annual practice of mass executions of defiant prisoners this year.

Leader of the group, An Myong-Chul, has said that at this time of the year about 20 prisoners from each camp, labeled as defiant, are executed. This amounts to hundreds of people when considering the number of prison camps in North Korea, which are estimated to hold around 300,000 prisoners. Torture and sexual abuse is also common practice in the camps.

The group lead by An and supported by South Korean campaigners are seeking the release of political prisoners held by North Korea.

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On Monday, police in Sudan arrested and then released 77 journalists for their protest against state censorship in front of the parliament in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum. The journalists were released after five hours when they each agreed to appear in court separately.

Freedom of the press is enshrined in the constitution of Sudan, but the government has been cracking down on critical reporting. Journalists have experienced harassment and publishers have received regular late night visits from state security agents who then enforce the removal of critical reports from the next day’s news.

The arrests were condemned by the southern ex-rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement who are sharing government with the Arab-led north.

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On Monday, Shu Quan-Sheng, a Chinese-born scientist has admitted to selling US rocket technology to China. Shu admitted to selling information about the fuel system for a manned spacecraft to China in the period between 2003 and 2007.

Shu is a US citizen and is being charged under the US Arms Export Act. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail and multi-million dollar fines for the charges.

A spokesman from the Chinese foreign ministry has called the scandal a “sheer fabrication made out of ulterior motives”. China regularly releases statements denying it is engaged in spying on foreign nations.

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The first International Chinese Culinary Competition hosted by New Tang Dynasty Television began on Monday. The competition sees chefs compete for a US$10,000 main prize in the five main traditional Chinese cuisine styles: Sichuan, Shandong, Cantonese, Huaiyang, and Northeast.

In the Monday preliminaries for each style of cooking, chefs were provided the same ingredients and then asked to prepare two dishes, one signature dish of the style and one of their choosing, all in only 60 minutes.

The competition is being held in the Peking Hunan Park Restaurant in New York with a live audience. The competition is one of NTD’s series of nine competitions to revive the traditional Chinese arts, other competitions in the series included music and painting.

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