Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Monday 29th December

In this bulletin …

-Falun Dafa practitioner in China sentenced to 10 years imprisonment;
-Thousands Rally Against New Thai PM; and
-300 Migrants Feared Dead Off Remote Indian Islands.

But first here’s our SOH focus on China
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According to Shanghai sources, a 41-year-old Falun Gong practitioner from Shanghai, Lanbing, was illegally sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment due to believing in “Truthfulness, Compassion, Forbearance.”

He is detained in Tilan Qiao prison in Shanghai. His physical condition is very bad; his eyes are almost blind, coupled with high-blood pressure and other illnesses. His parents and wife have called for the urgent attention of the international community to rescue him, hoping the authorities  release him with a verdict of “not guilty” as soon as possible.

Lanbing and his wife began to practice Falun Gong in 1994, and the chinese communist party started its crackdown on Falun Gong in July of 1999. In order to let more people know the truth of the persecution by the ccp, they began to clarify the truth to the outside world, and thus they where subjected to suppression by the authorities. They have been forced to leave their home, and are seeking refuge.

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Hubei sources have stated, a typhoid epidemic has broken out in a secondary school in Enshi city, Hubei province. An official said the disease is under control; however, they are still tracing the source of the disease.

According to a report from Central News Agency on December 27, 81 people in Enshi City secondary school appeared to have  a “fever of unknown origin” symptoms.  After medical treatment by Enshi City Centre Hospital, 63 people were diagnosed with typhoid fever.

A thorough study has been conducted, and it is considered as a traumatic outbreak of typhoid.

Enshi is the capital of Enshi Tuchias Miaozu Autonomous Prefecture, and is the only minority autonomous prefecture in Hubei Province.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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Thousands of supporters have rallied against the new leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, in support of fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, threatening to engulf the kingdom in a fresh wave of political unrest.

One day before Mr. Abhisit was due to deliver his first policy speech to Mps, red-clad protestors waved signs saying “We love Thaksin” at a central Bangkok parade ground while a separate group halted traffic outside Parliament.

The demonstrations bring Thai politics full circle after a year of turmoil, with Thaksin loyalists now using the same tactics that helped their rivals to bring down a government led by the tycoon’s allies earlier this month.

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The Indian coast guard has said about 300 illegal migrants, mostly Bangalis, are feared dead after they jumped from a boat and tried to swim ashore in India’s remote Andaman Islands.

On Saturday, a senior coast guard official said they had rescued 88 people from a small boat near Little Andaman Island, about 90 kilometres south of Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar islands in the Bay of Bengal.

Commander of the coast guard for the Andaman region, SP Sharma, said another eleven men were found on a nearby Sandy Point-Island, adding that about 300 men were still missing.

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You are listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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Bangalis will stream the polls today with tens of millions expected to vote in an election that returns the country to democracy after two years of emergency rule.

The impoverished South Asian nation of more than 140 million people has a history of questionable elections, sporadic periods of military rule, and politically motivated violence.

Polls open at 8:00am local time and close at 4:00pm.

Counting begins on Monday evening but results are not expected until Tuesday.

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The Divine Performing Arts Show has hit Chicago with three shows over the weekend at the Civic Opera House.

An audience member at one of the shows had only one great word to describe the show.

“Simply put it was magnificent.”

After Chicago, the Divine Performing Arts Troupe will be in Detroit for two days only.

Don’t miss this once a year opportunity to rediscover true traditional Chinese culture at its best.

Visit www.divineperformingarts.com to find out when this magical show will be coming to your local city.

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“Asia Cast…Keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the world.”