Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 10th April

In this bulletin…

- Thousands on strike for over seven days in Baoding;
- China executes Uighur “militants”; and
- Japan creates new stimulus package.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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For over seven days now, thousands of workers have been on strike at the Yimian Group in Baoding, Hebei Province, a company that had been secretly sold at the end of last month while workers knew nothing, reported The Epoch Times.

Sources report, there are three to four thousand workers guarding the factory every day to prevent the new buyer from moving out factory equipment.

Owed retirement insurance and delayed salaries are strong sources of motivation for protecting the factory and its contents.

According to the report, about one hundred out of nearly four thousand workers will be retained to work at the new factory and the rest will be laid off.

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The two men who were found guilty in China of killing 17 policemen in the western region of Xinjiang four days before the 2008 Beijing Olympics have been executed.

China says the two men detonated explosives and drove a stolen truck into a group of police officers who were out jogging. It is believed to be one of the worst attacks on Chinese security forces.

The Chinese regime has stepped up security in the Xinjiang area and has been conducting security checks at night in people’s homes because of a perceived threat to the regime and its forces during the 60th anniversary of the so-called “peaceful liberation of Xinjiang.”

However, human rights groups believe the Chinese regime is exaggerating the threat in order to justify the suppression of the local population.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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North Korea declared that Kim Jong-Il has been re-elected as its leader in an unopposed election, in effect being appointed by North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly reported NTDTV.

He is said to have suffered a stroke last summer, and his health has been called to question. Still photos show a much thinner and frail Kim as he toured factories.

In a recently released video, he is shown talking and moving both hands while visiting a pig farm in August of last year.

Without explanation the footage jumps to late November and December where he is wearing a parka and gloves and his left hand is in his pocket most of the time.

Yet, recently Kim’s displays of wielding an iron grip on power and a staged re-election have been proclaimed by analysts as a maneuver to cement his legacy and pass power on to one of his three sons.

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Thailand’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva is refusing to quit his post as thousands of red shirt protestors continue to call for his resignation.

100 taxies had joined the protest in Bangkok by blocking a central intersection Thursday evening in show of solidarity.

Thailand has been in the middle of a political crisis, with thousands of protestors positioned outside of government headquarters – the red shirts – called this because of the red shirts they wear.

The red shirts have threatened to strengthen their movement if the prime minister ignores their ultimatum to step down.

They say Abhisit Vejjajiva was not elected in a democratic process and want him to schedule a fair election.

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20 second ID: You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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Japan Prime Minister Taro Aso announced a US$150 billion stimulus package, worth about 3% of its gross domestic product in hopes of reviving a declining economy.

The package which is the government’s third stimulus plan this last year will contain measures to boost fuel-efficient vehicles and consumer electronics.

Japan is reported to be going through its worst recession since World War II as the global financial crisis has lowered the demand for exports.

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During a nationally televised address to the people, Fijian President Ratu Josefa Iloilo has declared the constitution null and void and says he is going to assume all governing power.

With the backing of Fiji military forces behind him, he has also removed all of Fiji’s judges and magistrates and says it will establish a new legal order.

Mr. Iloilo also says elections cannot be held until 2014 because five years is necessary for the interim government – and a newly appointed prime minister – to put into place the necessary reforms and processes.

It is unclear what Mr. Iloilo has planned, but according to a BBC correspondent, Mr. Iloilo’s actions could be an attempt to cleanse a troubled political system or they could simply be a way for him to reinstate the military administration under a revised constitution.

The Australian Government has issued a travel warning to Australians travelling to Fiji to be cautious because of the unresolved political situation.

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And now for our Shen Yun Performing Arts quote of the day
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Ms. Caesar is a Maori New Zealander who lives in Australia and is ambassador for peace with the New York-based Universal Peace Foundation.

She attended the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour April 9th at the Queensland Conservatorium in Brisbane and had this to say about it:

“I wasn’t aware really of what I was coming to see, but what I did see I felt very receptive [to] and I understood how it was all choreographed … and it’s all been so close to heaven. That’s what it was for me—that we are all close to heaven, all of us.”

When speaking of the dancers she said, “They were fresh-faced; they were beautiful. What a shining example!”

Experience true Chinese culture like never before as Shen Yun Performing Arts presents classical Chinese dance and music in gloriously colourful and exhilarating shows.

SOH is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour. For more information please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org.

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