Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Thursday 26th March

In this Bulletin…

- China at top of Amnesty International executions list;
- North Korea places long-range missile on launch pad; and
- Indonesia cancels cultural show under pressure from Chinese regime.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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Ten months on from last May’s deadly Sichuan earthquake China’s authorities are still refusing to say just how many students died in the tragedy.

A leading Chinese designer now hopes to collect the names himself so they can be included on a monument.

Ai Weiwei helped design Beijing’s iconic Bird’s Nest stadium. When he asked the authorities for the names of those killed in the quake so they could be included on an artwork, he was criticised for trying to find out “state secrets”.

China’s strict household registration system should make this a simple task. Undaunted Ai is organising a team of volunteers so he can collect the names himself. He hopes to finish the list by the disaster’s anniversary.

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Amnesty International’s most recent report on the death penalty shows that the Chinese regime carried out more executions in 2008 than the rest of the world combined.

The report, which was released on Monday, revealed a significant increase in the number of people executed last year. In 2007 a total of 1, 252 people were executed worldwide. In 2008 this rose to 2,390, of which 72 per cent took place in China.

The Chinese regime is known for using the death penalty arbitrarily for 60 different offences, including tax evasion or even damaging electrical facilities. Those sentenced to death do not necessarily receive fair trials and, for some, evidence used against them is extracted through torture.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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North Korea is moving closer to launching a long-range missile, according to Japanese and US officials.

North Korea had already said it would send a satellite into orbit in early April, and is now thought to have placed a Taepodong 2 missile on a launch pad.

The missile is capable of reaching Alaska from the Musudan-ri base in Hwadae on North Korea’s north-east coast. The US, Japan and South Korea are concerned Pyongyang plan to test its military capabilities instead of launching a satellite.

North Korea has warned the US, South Korea and Japan not to interfere with its launch.

On Tuesday, Pyongyang said any UN sanctions imposed for the launch would mean the end of the six-nation talks.

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Japanese exports fell by almost half in February, compared with last year, according to the country’s finance ministry.

The record plunge saw exports fall 49.4 per cent year-on-year to 3.526 trillion yen (US$36 billion), though this was in line with forecasts. The latest data comes on the back of a similar drop in January’s year-on-year exports.

The world’s second-largest economy is suffering in the downturn as demand for its products has collapsed.

But it is not all bad news as Japan’s trade balance was in surplus in February because the decline in exports was offset by a sharp fall in imports, which were 43 per cent lower for the month.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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The Shen Yun International Company was forced to cancel its scheduled performance in Indonesia because the Federal Police refused to issue the related permit in time.

The Epoch Times has learned that the Chinese embassy had pressured the Indonesian government into stopping the show from going ahead.

The show in Jakarta was scheduled for March 25. The show’s organisers said over 4,000 tickets had been sold in just three weeks and that they were very disappointed after learning the news.

According to sources, before the incident, the Indonesian Ministry of Culture and Tourism had received a letter defaming Shen Yun, from the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta.

A sponsor of the show said that they had never encountered such a situation in over 20 years of show related experience.

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And now for our Shen Yun Performing Arts quote of the day
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The curtain opened on Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour at the world famous Fridrichstadtpalast on March 23, for the first of three performances in Berlin.

Mr. Kopman from Russian newspaper Russmedia was excited about the show. He especially enjoyed the balance of the performance, the colours, and the dances. “Very beautiful, colorful, emotional, truly I am excited. Very beautiful show, well mixed with dancing”, he said.

Experience true Chinese culture like never before as Shen Yun Performing Arts presents classical Chinese dance and music in gloriously colourful and exhilarating shows, visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org today.

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