AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Tuesday 24th February

The Dalai Lama has asked Tibetans not to celebrate the New Year in memory of last year's Lhasa riots (By mrpattersonsir/Flickr)

In this bulletin …

- 70 people poisoned by Clenbuterol in China;
- Chinese human rights law firm faces six month closure; and
- Falun Gong practitioner in China reveals her persecution story.

But first here’s our SOH focus on China
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Another food poisoning case in China was exposed last week, according to the Guangzhou City Food Safety Office, as reported by the Epoch Times.

Since February 17, about 70 people were poisoned by clenbuterol after eating pig offal.

Clenbuterol is a drug used for breathing disorders such as a decongestant or in asthma treatment in humans and horses. Clenbuterol is banned for use in animal feed, however it has been widely fed to pigs to keep their meat lean. The chemical will most likely accumulate in the animal’s organs such as the liver.

Test results from the Health Bureau in Tianhe District, Guangzhou, showed that the clenbuterol contained in the pork exceeded the standard. At present, most patients are better and have been discharged from the hospital.

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Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials ordered well-known Beijing human rights law firm, Yitong Law Office, to cease operations on February 17 for six months for allegedly allowing a lawyer in the firm to practice without a license.

The lawyer in question, Li Subin, had his license suspended after he filed a case against Henan Province’s Judicial Bureau for overcharging legal fees. He was illegally detained for 391 days before eventually winning the case. However, he still has not been able to get his license back. Liu then moved to Beijing and joined Yitong as an administrative assistant.

Li believes the closure order, is just a front. He feels the real reason behind the closure is a number of controversial cases the firm has taken up, such as the case of Hu Jia, winner of the European Parliament’s top human rights award in 2008 and who is now serving a three-and-a-half year sentence for supposedly “inciting subversion”.

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Before the Chinese New Year in 2008, Ms. Lu Xueqing, a Falun Gong practitioner, was kidnapped by police in Qingdao city while she was shopping, as reported by NTDTV.

NTDTV reporters were recently able to contact Ms. Lu and bring out her story.

She says she was severely beaten up at the city police station for nine days. The beatings caused her whole body to swell and bruise. She has also developed life threatening blood clots and her lower body is now paralysed. She is currently under house arrest.

Ms. Lu says she was arrested by people from the 6-10 office, created as a kind of Falun Gong Gestapo. Twelve others were arrested with Ms. Lu ahead of the Olympics.

Nine attorneys are trying to represent the Falun Gong practitioners, but their cases keep getting pushed back by the authorities.

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The region of Tibet has been closed to outsiders until the end of March.

Last year in March, Tibet witnessed a wave of violent anti-China protests, the worst unrest there for 20 years.

The month also marks the 50th anniversary of the escape into exile of the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama has called for Tibetans not to celebrate New Year, or Losar, partly in memory of those killed or jailed in a crackdown after last year’s riots.

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Thousands of supporters of ousted Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra have taken to the streets of the capital, Bangkok, to call for the government to resign.

The red-shirted demonstrators, who say current ministers are stooges of the army, are threatening to blockade Government House for three days.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has moved his cabinet meetings to the southern resort of Hua Hin.

The protests come as Thailand prepares to host a regional political summit.

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And now for an insight into the Divine Performing Arts show
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The artists in the Divine Performing Arts Shows make audience members wonder what that special something is about them.

More than just being accomplished artists, members of the Divine Performing Arts bring a different depth to their work. They take to heart an ancient Chinese belief: that to create true art, there must first be inner beauty.

Many draw personal inspiration from traditional Chinese culture and practices, such as the self-cultivation method of Falun Dafa, and naturally bring calm expressiveness and depth to their work.

Find out more about this extraordinary show by visiting www.divineperformingarts.org.

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