AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 27th May

In this bulletin…

- Beijing protesters gather for Nancy Pelosi visit;
- Tibetans defend sacred mountain from destruction; and
- North Korea threatens attack if ships checked.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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Thousands of Chinese protesters gathered in Beijing this week to protest against the communist regime and to urge US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who was visiting Beijing, to pay attention to human rights in China, reported The Epoch Times.

The protesters distributed fliers, and shouted phrases such as, “Bring down corrupt officials,” “Restore human rights,” and “Long live democracy.” They welcomed Pelosi and were asking her to please pay attention to human rights.

The protest lasted for about two hours and according to sources the Chinese police manhandled the protesters and injured many people.

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Hundreds of Tibetan have been peacefully fending off Chinese armed security forces for several months now in an attempt to keep a Chinese mining company from excavating at Ser Ngol Lo mountain in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Ser Ngol Lo which means “Year of Gold and Silver” is considered a sacred site and is a place where Tibetans have historically worshiped, conducting rituals in the event of drought and now Chinese miners are planning to excavate for gold.

Tensions are mounting as 300 armed police were deployed Sunday, and all phones and cellphones have been blocked and are unreachable, cutting protesters off from the rest of the village.

According to protesters, they are ready to die to defend the sacred mountain from destruction.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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In Taiwan, a Chinese tourist who was taken into custody for entering a military site and taking pictures, was released on his own recognizance Tuesday.

The man, identified as Ma Zhongfei, chairman of a Chinese technology company, entered Taiwan a few days ago as part of a tourist group from China.

He was caught taking sensitive photos of military equipment installed at a restricted computer warfare command centre that is part of a military recruitment complex in downtown Taipei.

Facing a one year prison term, Mr Ma retraced his steps for authorities and explained he was on his way to visit a friend’s grave site in Taipei county and had accidentally entered the compound, satisfying authorities who did not press charges.

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You are listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network

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North Korea has threatened to attack the South after Seoul joined an initiative to check vessels suspected of carrying equipment for weapons of mass destruction.

The threat comes after South Korean media reported that Pyongyang had restarted a plant that makes weapons-grade plutonium.

A spokesman for North Korea said that any hostile acts against their peaceful vessels including search and seizure will be considered an infringement and that they will respond with an immediate military strike.

The communist regime also threatened to launch a long-range ballistic missile if the Security Council does not apologize for tightening sanctions to punish it for the April launch which violated U.N. measures.

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At least 30 people were killed and more than 250 injured Wednesday when a vehicle packed with explosives blew up outside a police building in one of Lahore’s busiest areas, according to Pakistani officials.

The blast collapsed police building 15 which house’s the city’s rapid response team, a team that is dispatched during emergencies.

Pakistani news channels aired footage showing a gunman firing at the police building after the blast. Later, the same gunman was shown being taken in police custody. Two more suspects were also arrested.

The blast destroyed at least 20 vehicles and damaged other buildings, including the adjacent headquarters of Lahore police, said Mohiyuddin Wani, spokesman for the government of Punjab.

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

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Musician and drummer, Mr Harris, was among the audience on Friday evening May 22 at Seattle, Washington’s Paramount Theatre. Delighted by the internationally acclaimed Shen Yun Performing Arts Spring Tour 2009, this is what he had to say:

“Just the dynamics of the music the emotion that the music stirs up inside of you, it’s very passionate, it’s easy to draw you into the dance, and the music is really expressive of that, it’s great. All the different instruments, and the classic Chinese instruments, it’s just wonderful. We don’t get enough of that, it’s a very cultural experience.”

He also added that it was “very enjoyable, very captivating,” and that it was hard to take his eyes off the performers and the costumes were absolutely amazing.

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.”