Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 22nd May

In this bulletin…

- Death In China for Man Writing With Crayon;
- Japan has increasing parental abductions; and
- Glory for Gurkha veterans.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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The Epoch Times has reported an update on the death of Mr. Fu Ziming, a Falun Gong practitioner from Jianli County in Hebei Province, who was arrested and tortured to death while on a group tour held by the local post office where he worked.

The group had taken a tour at the Mount Wuyi scenic area, a popular tourist site, and security cameras reportedly captured Mr. Fu writing in crayon on a rock the words: Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good; Falun Dafa is good,” a grass-roots gesture.

That night in mid April he was detained by local authorities and only two days later died while in custody, reportedly from torture during his incarceration. His family was arrested as well and their whereabouts are still unknown.

Local authorities have denied the death, and one report states that Mr. Fu died from a “train accident.” A staff member at the police station in Jianli admitted briefly that Fu’s corpse was in police custody, but the officer hung up when pressed for further details by a reporter.

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A protest of over 1,000 angry people in China’s Huining County in Gansu province was triggered after many bystanders witnessed traffic police beat a cyclist for failing to stop at a red light.

The protest quickly escalated as the protesters reportedly overturned a police car before about 100 backup police arrived.

According to witness statements, 200 protesters later then moved to a government building and stayed until midnight.

Local residents said the confrontation reflects the public’s long-time resentment of the heavy-handed tactics of police officers in the area.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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Japan is being urged to sign an agreement against parental child abductions, because of reports that scores of abducted children are being held in the country.

British, French, U.S. and Canadian diplomats launched a joint appeal, listing increasing numbers of cases of foreign parents who have been unable to see their children in Japan after a breakup or divorce.

Japan is the only Group of Seven member country that has not signed the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which requires a country to expeditiously return abducted children to their country of habitual residence.

In contrast to other developed nations, visitation rights are not enshrined in Japanese law and child abduction by a single parent is not a crime.

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Iran successfully test-fired the Sejil-2, a medium range missile Thursday with a range of at least 2,000 kilometres, initial reports suggest, in spite of UN resolutions on its nuclear program.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon expressed concern for the testing and said in a statement: “Canada calls on Iran to immediately cease its ballistic missile programs and engage positively in reaching peaceful solutions to its regional concerns.”

He also said the test launch of the Sejil-2, following similar missile tests by Iran in 2008, further eroded the world’s trust regarding its intentions in the region and are especially worrisome due to Tehran’s disregard of UN resolutions on its nuclear program.

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At the end of a long and hard campaign, Gurkha veterans who served in the British military will finally be allowed to take up residence in the UK.

Home Secretary and Redditch MP Jacqui Smith said all Gurkha veterans with more than four years of service who retired before 1997 would be allowed to settle in the UK with their spouses and children under 18.

Mr Salter, who chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Gurkhas’ Rights stated there is a need for a “clear and coherent policy that treats Ghurkas the same as other foreign nationals who fight for the British crown” and “honours the debt of gratitude that Britain owes” to the men who served the country well.

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And now for our Shen Yun Performing Arts quote of the day
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The Keller Auditorium in downtown Portland hosted the New-York based Shen Yun Performing Arts Company on May 19 for the second time this year on its Spring Tour 2009.

Among the audience were members of the Tiger Lilies, a multi award-winning cabaret-style bellydance troupe, featuring Middle Eastern dances. Ms Cassiopia the Director of the dance troupe had this to say:

“I think this is absolutely fabulous. It makes me happy just to watch the whole thing ― it’s so bright and so colourful and just fantastic.”

“I think the whole thing is just lovely. I’m glad I came. I love the way everybody works together. The choreography is wonderful. Everybody is just fun.”

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.