AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 14th January

In this Bulletin…

- Carcinogenic shampoo banned in China;
- Australia’s treatment of refugees slammed; and
- 2009 a big year for SOH’s Chinese language broadcasting

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China

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Chinese authorities have recently banned a shampoo under the brand of “Wash Black (yi-xi-hei),” which claims to contain medicinal herbs to trigger the growth of black hair, reports The Epoch Times.

The shampoo, made in Guangdong Province, is believed to contain cancer-causing chemicals, such as benzenediamine. Consumers using the shampoo often suffer from allergic reactions and other symptoms.

The Guangzhou Provincial Drug Administration has been investigating four products, which have been banned from the market. The factory has been ordered to stop making these products.

Experts say that the ingredients in the shampoo are chemical dyes, not cosmetic formulations. If used as frequently as shampoo is used, they may cause mutations in genes and cell chromosomes, potentially leading to cancer.

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Video footage revealing shocking abuse in a Chinese mental hospital has sparked great anger among Chinese bloggers recently, The Epoch Times has revealed.

The video footage shows three hospital staff workers in white lab coats kicking and beating an elderly patient with a mop and tying her to a bed.

The footage was posted by Zhu Chuanming, who claimed that nurses in Shandong Province’s Laiwu Mental Hospital abused his mother, Wang Xiuying. She died eight days after she was admitted to the hospital.

Overseas Falun Gong practitioners say the footage provides some evidence for what they’ve stated over last nine years; that the Chinese Communist Party uses mental hospitals to commit human rights violations against Chinese people on a large scale.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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2009 is set to be a big year for SOH’s Chinese language broadcasting, the radio station’s Chief Operating Officer told The Epoch Times in an interview.

Zeng Yong said SOH plans to set up live broadcasting that encourages Chinese people to participate and express their own views. In addition, some programs about “life and music” will be added.

The Chinese SOH team are based in New York. Their AM, FM and online broadcasts are well received by listeners in mainland China, Taiwan and neighbouring countries. The station’s independence, popularity and continuing growth is the reason its website and signal has suffered interference from China’s communist regime.

You can find the Chinese language website at soundofhope.org

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A severe flood warning has been issued for all of the Fijian islands after days of heavy rain inundated the Pacific nation.

With thousands of people in emergency shelters, officials warned that more downpours would trigger fresh floods.

Storms since late last week have left at least eight people dead.

According to Fiji’s Meteorological Service, it is the worst flooding seen in recent history.

As rivers burst their banks, crops were washed away and roads submerged on the main island of Viti Levu, where a state of emergency has been declared.

Australia and New Zealand have promised emergency funds to the Fiji Red Cross to help with relief work, despite sanctions put in place after the 2006 military coup.

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

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The treatment of refugees in Australia has been slammed by the country’s human rights watchdog.

Asylum seekers were being held in “utterly miserable conditions” for prolonged periods of time, the Human Rights Commission said.

Children continued to be detained, it said in its annual report.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd promised a more humane refugee policy when he was elected in November 2007 and scrapped the policy of mandatory detention.

But a report from the government’s own human rights watchdog has found that refugees continue to be held in poor conditions.

Most detention centres had the feel of prisons, the report said, with razor wire, cramped conditions and detainees kept under surveillance.

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With Israel’s military operation in Gaza well into it’s third week there is still no end in sight to the violence in this troubled part of Asia.

Hamas continues its rocket attacks on Israeli civilians while Israeli troops push deeper into Gaza in an effort to eradicate Hamas terrorists.

For the past few days the Israeli ground forces have been pushing deeper into the Gaza Strip as the Israeli Air Force have attacked targets from above.

Dozens of rockets and mortar shells continue to strike Israel. Most of them are targeted at large Israeli cities like Ashdod, Ashekon and Beer Sheba. Some rockets have hit cities only a half-hour drive from Tel Aviv.

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