Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Thursday 20th November

In this Bulletin…

- Tens of thousands involved in China’s largest incident of recent social unrest;
- UN joins in condemning Burma over harsh sentencing; and
- Flooding strikes Vietnam and the Philippines.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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The largest riot in China’s recent history broke out in Longnan City, Gansu Province this week, reports The Epoch Times.

Discontent had been brewing since local authorities announced plans to relocate the city’s administrative centre earlier in the year. The move would force local residents to be resettled. Some homes had already been demolished when the protests began.

An eyewitness told Radio Free Asia that several hundred people went to appeal at Longnan City’s Communist Party office on Monday 18, but that things turned violent.

Armed police broke up the riot, injuring over 100 protesters and killing about two dozen in the process according to some witnesses.

The number of protesters swelled to tens of thousands by the next day. Police used tear-gas and batons to break-up the crowds. Angry protesters smashed Communist Party offices and torched officials’ cars.

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More than 100,000 coal mining jobs have been lost in China’s main coal producing province, according to The Epoch Times.

The jobs in Shanxi Province have gone during the last 30 days as the market has plummeted and steel manufacturing has been massively scaled back.

Shanxi produces more than 70 per cent of China’s coal and coke, and 40 per cent of the nation’s electric power.

Experts warned that currently the Shanxi coke industry can only sustain a loss for another two more. Without an economic support policy, Shanxi’s coke industry will be wiped out.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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China has agreed a number of trade and investment deals with communist ally Cuba.

Party leader Hu Jintao agreed to continue buying nickel and sugar from Cuba and to send food aid to the island, said Cuban television.

The visit, Mr Hu’s first since 2004, saw the two nations sign agreements boosting trade and investment with Cuba which is struggling to recover from three devastating hurricanes.

China is now Cuba’s biggest trading partner after Venezuela, with bilateral trade at US$2.3 billion in 2007.

Across Latin America, China has seen its trade climb from US$13 billion in 2000 to more than US$100 billion in 2007.

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A team of United Nations experts have joined Western governments and human rights organisations in condemning the trials of dozens of political activists in Burma.

The trials, conducted in great secrecy during the past week, have resulted in sentences of up to 65 years in prison.

Those sentenced include leaders of the 88 Generation students’ movement and leaders of the monks’ alliance that led last year’s anti-government protest.

Burma’s courts have been sentencing dissidents every day during the past week.

The courts, often operating from behind prison walls, have been so secretive that it is difficult to be sure how many people have been convicted.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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A tropical storm is causing floods in Vietnam. Tropical storm Noul has unleashed heavy rains in southeast Vietnam causing flash flood and landslide warnings to be issued.

Two people died when the storm made landfall near the town of Nha Trang, swamping over 100 small fishing boats. Most streets and homes in the beach resort are still under water.

But the worst is not over yet, as some rivers in upland regions are beginning to reach dangerous levels. Provincial authorities say flash floods and landslides in the mountains could inundate in low-lying areas.

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A suspected outbreak of cholera has killed at least two people and hospitalised more than 1,500 in the southern Philippines, say health officials.

National Epidemiology Centre chief Eric Tayag said patients were suffering severe stomach pains and diarrhoea but added that field doctors were trying to verify if all the cases were due to cholera.

Tayag said the patients “were showing cholera symptoms” and most came from an area where heavy rain has caused minor flooding which could have contaminated the drinking water supply.

The Red Cross said water samples taken from the area were being tested.

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