Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Tuesday 28th April

In this bulletin…

- New toxic dairy scare in China;
- UN urged to take action on Chinese regime’s genocidal persecution of Falun Gong ; and
- Swine flu confirmed in New Zealand.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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China’s food safety record has been further damaged by yet another dairy scandal following the melamine-tainted milk incident, says The Epoch Times.

Potentially carcinogenic hydrolysed leather protein has been found in many batches of dairy products produced by the Morning Garden dairy company in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province.

An anonymous letter was sent to the City Express newspaper exposing the Morning Garden’s illegal practice to boost the apparent protein content of its product by adding leather protein powder.

Experts also said that leather protein is similar to melamine but different in that leather protein is harder to detect because it is a real protein that is also toxic.

It is currently not known how many people have been affected by consuming contaminated products.

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The European Parliament vice president, Edward McMillan-Scott, has called on the United Nations to launch an inquiry into the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Writing on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Chinese regime’s crackdown on the traditional meditation practice, he called it, “the most systematic persecution of one group since the Nazi persecution of the Jews”.

McMillan-Scott drew the UN Secretary General’s attention to the substantial evidence of genocide in China gathered by the UN rapporteurs on torture and religious freedom.

He added that In his view, the persecution of Falun Gong amounts to genocide as defined in Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and urged the UN to take action.

The full letter has been published on The Epoch Times website.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Tibetan exiles in northern India held a candlelight march on Monday, to urge China to release the Panchen Lama, reports NTDTV.

Tibetans believe the Panchen Lama is their second highest spiritual leader. Human rights activists say the Panchen Lama who disappeared when he was six years old is the world’s youngest political prisoner.

Gendhun Chockyi Nyima, was chosen as the 11th Panchen Lama by Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama. But his choice was rejected by China and the young boy disappeared soon afterwards.

China, meanwhile, installed its’ own Panchen Lama, Gyaltsen Norbu, who has only recently stepped into the spotlight to praise the Chinese Communist Party.

Tibetans around the world say the Chinese authorities kidnapped the original Panchen Lama. Beijing however, continues to deny holding him.

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What is thought to be the first case of swine flu in the Asia Pacific region has been confirmed in New Zealand.

Health Minister Tony Ryall told reporters that at least three students who had recently returned from Mexico had tested positive for the disease.

Other nations in the region are testing travellers to check for symptoms.

In Australia, 19 people are being tested for the virus and several hundred others are being sought.

China is on full alert, as several children have fallen ill with symptoms resembling those of swine flu.

More than 150 people are already thought to have died from the disease in Mexico. Cases have also been confirmed in the US, Canada and Europe.

The World Health Organization has warned of a possible pandemic.

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

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Five Central Asian states have been unable to reach an agreement on how to share their limited water resources, an issue some say is the key to stability in the region.

Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan hold 80 per cent of the region’s water, but much of this is needed in the three states downstream, which are semi-arid.

Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan rely on water from their neighbours for their important cotton industries, as well as for agriculture.

A compromise statement that did not mention water sharing, but concentrated instead on the decline in the level of the Aral Sea, was signed.

A barter scheme left over from the Soviet era that enabled the five states to share water and energy resources is no longer active and is yet to be replaced.

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A major police operation was conducted in the Afghan capital, Kabul, to ensure the safety of a ceremony marking the 17th anniversary of the overthrow of the Communist government.

On the same day last year militants tried to assassinate President Hamid Karzai, who has decided to scale down this year’s commemorative events.

The day when Kabul finally fell to the mujahideen is usually marked in the Afghan capital by a military parade. But the government says its budget can be better spent elsewhere.

It said it would donate the money it would have spent to victims of recent floods and an earthquake in Afghanistan. International / Asia Article 2 : 3-4 sentences

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And now for our Shen Yun Performing Arts quote of the day

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The Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour, during its final performance in Australia at the packed Parade Theatre in Kensington, Sydney, was honoured with three curtain calls and resounding applause before the last curtain fell.

Ms Arax Mansourian, an opera singer highly-acclaimed in Europe and Australia, was impressed with the dances, the music, and especially the songs.

“Every number or dance was like a picture, like a fantasy. It was beautiful, it is unusual for this country to see a show like this”, she said.

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.”