Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 21st November

In this Bulletin…

- Chinese hospitals profited from Sichuan earthquake;
- Congress says US facing increased cyber attacks from China; and
- NTDTV’s latest cultural competition “a great success”.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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As the economic crisis facing China grows, workers in the financial sector have become the latest victims.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has been shedding staff in one large-scale job cut after an other for some time.

Staff who were unhappy with the terms of their dismissal, and who have been unable to find alternative employment, have been protesting the matter for the last four weeks.

The protesters say that they will call others to join them in Beijing and take their protest to the Banks’ headquarters, and then on to the authorities, until something is done about their situation.

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An alarming report has revealed that many Chinese hospitals used the Sichuan earthquake as an opportunity to make money through dishonest and distasteful means, according to The Epoch Times.

The Chongqing City Audit Bureau’s report stated some hospitals sold donated medicine to patients. Others made false expense reports for ‘rescue work’ after the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in May.

People from around the globe donated 40 billion yuan (US$5.7 billion) to the victims of the quake, but it is uncertain how actually reached victims of the disaster.

Executives at a Chongqing City hospital have had their pay docked in order to repay the money they made from selling emergency rescue medicine to patients.

According to a human rights activist, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Chen Yunfei, said that it’s common for regime officials to divert or retain donations and without effective supervision, the situation is getting worse.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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Activists from South Korean have ignored threats from the North to sever relations and have released thousands of propaganda leaflets into the sky over North Korea.

Activists launched 10 huge helium balloons, each stuffed with 10,000 flyers critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

Pyongyang said last week it would close the land border if the acts continued.

Seoul has appealed to activists to stop, but says its free speech laws protect the practice.
Earlier today, 10 South Korean activists gathered on a hillside in freezing rain to release the balloons.

The North has called the leaflet campaign “psychological warfare” and says that it risks provoking military confrontation.

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One person was killed and another 23 wounded in Bangkok after a grenade was apparently fired into a gathering of anti-government protesters.

It was the first fatal assault inside the Thai prime minister’s office compound since supporters of the People’s Alliance for Democracy seized Government House in August.

The grenade landed among the tents that protesters have set up inside the premises as they continue their movement to unseat the democratically elected Thai government, authorities said.

While the death was the first inside the compound, others have been killed in mass street demonstrations organized by the People’s Alliance for Democracy.

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The US government and American businesses are facing an increased threat from the campaign of computer espionage being conducted by the Chinese regime, according to an influential Washington congressional panel.

In its annual report to Congress, the panel warned that China was gaining increasing access to sensitive information from US computer networks.

It said China was aggressively pursuing cyber-warfare capabilities to gain an advantage over the US in any conflict between the two nations.

There has been no comment so far from the Chinese on the report.

The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission was set up by Congress in 2000 to advise, investigate and report on US-China issues.

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NTDTV’s recent International Chinese Culinary Competition in New York saw 38 chefs receive awards across five regional cuisine categories, reports The Epoch Times.

But Chen Yongming, a Chinese-American from the city’s borough of Queens was the only chef to win a gold prize and the $10,000 prize that went with it.

NTDTV said the idea of the competition was to “promote authentic Chinese culinary techniques, revive traditional Chinese culinary methods, as well as carry forward the exquisite culinary culture of China and disseminate orthodox Chinese culinary philosophy.”

The event attracted distinguished chefs and household cooks alike from as far away as Taiwan, California, and Hong Kong. Together they showed that there’s a lot more to Chinese food than takeaway.

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