AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Tuesday 30th December

In this bulletin …

- Still no compensation for Chinese poison milk-powder babies;
- Former Taiwanese president back in jail; and
- World’s largest dinosaur fossil site discovered in China

But first here’s our SOH focus on China
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A Beijing lawyer representing families affected by China’s recent poison milk powder scandal, Xu Zhiyong, has criticised the legal process for lacking transparency. He also said that the level of compensation on offer is far too low.

The Sanlu Group and 22 other companies responsible for the scandal have suddenly offered compensation to families whose children became ill from consuming baby formula contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical.

Children who developed kidney stones will receive 2000 Yuan, around US$300, in compensation, while those more seriously affected will receive 30,000 Yuan, just under US$4,400, said Mr Xu.

It is thought that the compensation offer is a political show by the Chinese Communist Party to relieve domestic and international pressure over the incident.

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A list of new year’s gifts sent to various officials of the Chinese regime by a manufacturing company was accidentally made public earlier this week.

The list shows that the Nanjing Jiashide Toys Company Ltd spent a total of 144,800 Yuan, over US$21,000 on gifts. Each gift was directly proportional to the recipient’s rank and level of power.

Despite much rhetoric from the regime and the occasional show trial, corruption and graft practices are still commonplace in Chinese business culture.

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Chinese scientists say they have uncovered the world’s largest dinosaur fossil site in the eastern Province of Shandong.

Over the past 7 months palaeontologists have recovered around 7,600 fossils from a 300 metre long pit near Zhucheng City.

The finds included remains of a 20 metre hadrosaurus, which could be a record size for the duck-billed dinosaur.

Work on the site has been now suspended for the rest of the winter, but researchers say further excavations could yield yet more fossils.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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In Bangladesh’s recent elections, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League has won a landslide victory with a few results yet to be declared.

Election officials say the Awami League Aaliance has won more than 250 of the 300 seats in parliament.

The opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has managed to win just 30 seats.

The elections follow two years of military backed rule and were the first to be held there for seven years. The turnout was said to be high

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Taiwan’s former president, Chen Shui-bian, has been returned to prison after a court reversed a bail order, pending his trial on corruption charges.

The Taipei District Court judges are reported to have said there was a risk he could collude with other suspects, destroy evidence and flee the island.

Mr. Chen left office in May and denies any wrongdoing.

He was taken into custody in November and charged with embezzling government funds, fraud and money-laundering.

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And Now For Our Divine Performing Arts Quote Of The Day
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Here are some more quotes from the audience members who saw the Divine Performing Arts performance at the Chicago Civic Opera House on December 28.

Melissa and Robert who are both performers where astounded by the show….

Melissa: “I really enjoyed the show; it is artistically beautiful and very powerful”

Robert: “I thought it was absolutely and went and saw it last year and just had to come again this year.”

Melissa: “The costumes are just gorgeous, wonderful. I have seen a couple of demonstrations in Hong Kong, a couple of Parades and that’s where I saw it. It made me curious about it. So seeing them bring it up here, it’s nice that I have more information.

Divine Performing Arts will be bringing in the new year in Detroit and Los Angeles.

So if you are either of those cities and want to see 2009 in in style, look up www.divineperformingarts.com and start your New Year with the most divine performance to be shown in 2009.

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