Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 26th December

In this Bulletin…

- Chinese regime’s crackdown in Tibet continues;
- Aid agencies say things improving four years on from Boxing Day Tsunami; and
- Man charged for his part in hate crimes against Falun Gong practitioners in New York.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China

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Reports from Tibet indicate that a number of those arrested after the mass demonstrations against the Chinese occupation of Tibet in March have been beaten to death in prison.

Armed police are currently everywhere in Tibet’s capital Lhasa.

The Chinese regime’s heavy handed response to the protests resulted in large numbers of Tibetans being shot, arrested or simply disappearing.

The news coverage of these events that state-run media broadcast in China amounted to propaganda aimed at turning popular opinion against Tibet and especially the Dalai Lama.

Many Tibetans are now so scared of the Chinese security forces they dare not pass patrols on the street when they see them.

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Lawyers for two Falun Gong practitioners on trial in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province raised serious doubts about the evidence and transcripts produced by the courts.

Falun Gong is a peaceful practice of meditation and exercises based on the principals of truthfulness, compassion and tolerance. It was banned by the Communist Party in 1999 after becoming hugely popular across the country and has been severely persecuted ever since.

Lawyers representing the practitioners were repeatedly interrupted by the judge as they delivered statements of innocence for their clients.

The families of the two practitioners said, “We hope all the media pay close attention that the Chinese government is still persecuting Falun Gong”. They also called for an end to the illegal detention of Falun Gong practitioners and for all charges against them to be dropped.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Many of the world’s current economic problems stem from China being a major contributor to the global free market, said Chinese democracy advocate Wei Jingsheng in a report from Radio Free Asia.

During Mr Wei’s recent European tour, he said that China, a country without freedom participating in a free market is the cause for economic troubles in Western countries. He added that if Western countries fail to pay attention to China’s human rights, the world financial crises will only worsen.

According to Mr Wei, the recent backlash against Deutsche Welle, a German broadcaster that made pro-communist China remarks, is tied to Germany’s deepening economic crisis. He believes it was a reflection of built-up public discontent over Chancellor Schröder’s increasing closeness with China in recent years having damaged German businesses.

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As domestic and overseas demand falls, South Korea’s economy ministry has said the country’s economy is in an unprecedented crisis, but that the government will endeavour to avert an annual decline in exports in 2009.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy said in its new year policy report to President Lee Myung-bak that it would aim to boost 2009 exports to $450 billion from around $430 billion projected for this year and earn a trade surplus of more than $10 billion.

But an influential local trade research institute said export prospects for the first quarter of next year looked the worst in at least six years in the face of a deepening global recession.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network

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Boxing day marked four years since the tsunami that left 230,000 people dead swept across the Indian Ocean.

Humanitarian groups have said that improvements can now be seen in many of the devastated areas

Hundreds of thousands were left homeless and jobless after the tsunami.

Today, new schools have been constructed, and armies of workers, many of them volunteers, have cleared and rebuilt homes and towns, and helped get people back to work.

Referring to the lasting peace in Banda Aceh, Jonathan Cauldwell, chief of UNICEF’s Tsunami Transition Support, said “The tsunami, despite being a horrific event, also provided a lot of opportunities for those countries,”

According to UNICEF and Oxfam, the response to the tsunami and the lessons learned have changed the way they deal with such emergencies.

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A member of a pro-Chinese Communist Party group has been charged and fined for his part in a series of hate crimes committed against Falun Gong practitioners in New York, reports The Epoch Times.

Mr Fu Ni was arrested after attacking Mr. Boon Tion Erh in Flushing on May 20 and charged with third degree assault. Mr Ni has been ordered to pay damages of US$1,020.

Flushing became a focal point of violence and religious intolerance instigated by New York’s Chinese Consul General in May.

Mr. Erh asked only for $1,000 to cover his hospital fees, saying, “I did not go to sue him for the money. This verdict has meaning, because justice needs to be upheld. Good will always be rewarded while evil will always be punished, that’s an unchangeable truth.”

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Stay tuned for Asia Cast’s continuing coverage of the Divine Performing Arts world tour.
“Asia Cast… keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.”