Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 3rd June

In this bulletin…

- Beijing bans ceremonies commemorating Tienanmen Square Massacre;
- North Korea announces new leader; and
- Indian student assaults in Australia on the rise.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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The Chinese communist regime has banned all ceremonies commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Tienanmen Square Massacre as human rights defenders around the world are urging the regime to reveal the truth behind the event, reports The Epoch Times.

Overseas Chinese dissidents are hoping to raise awareness of the anniversary by calling for a “White Clothes Day” campaign. The movement aims to completely cover China in white by appealing to Chinese people all over the nation to wear white clothing on June 4th.

But Chinese authorities have issued an order to ensure that students won’t participate in the event, and at the same time, tightened their control of known dissidents across the country.

Police departments throughout the country have tightened their grip on known dissidents by giving warnings, stalking individuals, issuing house arrests, and forcing many to leave their hometowns.

Afraid of a possible domino effect on the Internet, Chinese authorities have closed 26,000 blogs and network user groups and have blocked social networking sites such as Twitter, Hotmail and Flickr.

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In mainland China two hotel workers are in the hospital after a violent scene broke out in Heifei Province’s capital city of Anhui, reports NTDTV.

10 local communist party officials along with two women booked one room at an area hotel but could not cover the costs. When the hotel staff told the group they had to pay, the troubles began.

The hotel security cameras recorded the violent outbursts by the party officials with scenes of them kicking and beating a hotel chef and waitress who were seriously injured in the attack.

Videos of the violent scene were posted on websites and blogs but all videos have been mysteriously deleted.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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North Korea has told its diplomatic missions that Kim Jong-il’s youngest son, Jong-un will be the regime’s next leader.

Kim sent the message after the May 25th nuclear missile test, demanding that diplomats pledge allegiance to his 26 year-old son.

It is reported that North Koreans are making pledges of loyalty to Jong-un and that North Koreans are being taught new songs aimed at instilling loyalty to the next dictator, addressing him as General Kim.

Jong-un, who is the son of Kim’s third wife who died of breast cancer in 2004, was educated at an international school in Switzerland.

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India has elected its first woman speaker, Meira Kumar, whose name was put forward by the Congress Party which won an unopposed victory in the recent general elections.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described it as an historic occasion, saying the members of parliament were paying tribute to the womanhood of their country.

Kumar is a five-term member of parliament who was sworn in as a cabinet minister last week but resigned after she was offered the speaker’s post.

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You are listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network

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A report by the United Nations children’s fund, Unicef says hunger in South Asia has reached its highest level in 40 years because of food and fuel price increases and the global economic crisis.

The report which named Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan as the worst affected areas, focused on the impact the economic crisis had on women and children, saying they are the most vulnerable.

It cited a number of factors such as declining wages, higher interest rates in lending, drops in money sent from overseas for the increasing numbers of people living in hunger.

It said that it was important for the two biggest countries in South Asia, India and Pakistan, to reduce their defense budgets to allow for increased social spending.

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A wave of assaults on Indian students in Australia has authorities stepping up their efforts for student safety in the Melbourne area, where many of the attacks have taken place.

Dubbed by the Indian media as “curry bashings” – reports calling Australia the land of racists have sparked public protests in India leaving some parents fearing sending their children to the country.

2007-2008 statistics say 1,447 people of Indian origin were robbed or assaulted in Victoria state in that time frame, although students from the country say they have risen since then.

Many of the most serious cases occurred in the western suburbs of Melbourne, where police estimate Indians account for about 30 percent of all robbery and assault victims.

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