Asia Cast for Saturday 18th April
Indonesia's popular Era Baru Radio told reporters that the Indonesian court's decision to cancel their broadcast license under pressure from the CCP was a major crime toward press freedom.
In this bulletin…
- Cold war budget cuts;
- Millions pay respect to Hu Yaobang; and
- Chinese citizens drinking pesticide cocktails.
But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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Hu Yaobang, a reformist in the communist party, won people’s hearts but was forced to resign in 1987 due to his weak response towards the 1986 student protests. Beijing was unusually quiet this April 15, a day that marks the 20th anniversary of his death.
The official ceremony was banned and Tiananmen Square was also closed early.
Hu’s remaining family held a private ceremony at his cemetery while the general public was seen in Beijing holding a tribute for him. Vigorous discussion was seen online to commemorate Hu as well.
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“Pesticide Cocktails: Have You Drunk Some Today?” Greenpeace China recently conducted a survey on vegetables sold in China’s large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
The organization found many pesticide-ridden vegetables; some of them even carried cocktails of many highly poisonous pesticides.
In the Greenpeace China report the organization said that residents in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou almost drink a cup of pesticide cocktail from their fruits and veggies every day. Among the pesticides found, five of them cause cancer and many others are illegal to use in China.
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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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The Indonesian Judiciary system has come under scrutiny and criticism today with the decision to shut down a well known radio station.
The Era Baru Radio Station has come under fire from the Chinese Communist Regime for its content criticizing the CCP. The station representative, Gatot Machali told reporters that the decision by the Indonesian court to cancel the Era Baru’s license to broadcast is a major crime toward freedom of the press.
He also stated that it shows another serious concern regarding the Chinese Communist Regime’s influence in Indonesia to stomp on human rights by using that influence against Indonesian citizens.
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Former Prime Minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, has told reporters that the King of Thailand was the only person that could help to stop the violent protests that are surging in the country today.
Thailand’s government turned its attention to new measures to revive the economy on Wednesday, a day after the end of violent protests that further dented confidence in a country heading into recession.
Thaksin, the ousted former Prime Mininster, has urged the king, seen by many Thais as semi-divine, to help end the political turmoil. He stated that without this intervention the violence will become wider and the confrontations will increase.
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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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The war that ended 20 years ago has lived on in a menu of weapons systems we have continued to develop, modify, and build at ever increasing cost, since then.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ announcement of significant cuts in several of those system signals in a new administration and a severe fiscal crisis, suggest that the Cold War legacy may finally be winding down.
In his speech last month to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama promised to reform the defense budget so that they are not paying for Cold War-era systems they do not use.”
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“Asia Cast… keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.”
April 18th, 2009
[...] of Era Baru Radio Station’s license Asia Cast | Posted by Dennis Wu | Saturday, April 18th, [...]
Cancellation of Era Baru Radio Station’s license « Chinese Indonesian