AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 24th June

In this bulletin…

- Massive protest for Chinese chef’s mysterious death;
- Western companies responsible for Internet censorship in Asia and Middle East; and
- Voices from Iran reaching out to world

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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One of China’s best-known dissidents, Liu Xiaobo has been formally arrested on suspicion of inciting subversion after being detained since late last year for promoting an end to one-party rule.

China’s state-run media said prosecutors approved Liu’s arrest for alleged agitation activities aimed at subversion of the communist regime and trying to overthrow the socialist system.

Liu is one of China’s most prominent dissidents having been heavily involved in the pro-democracy protests in Tienanmen Square, for which he spent two years in prison.

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A substantial protest of over 70,000 people and 10,000 riot police called to disperse the crowds was sparked by the mysterious death of a chef at a hotel in Shishou city, Hubei Province, said The Epoch Times.

24-year-old Tu Yuangao worked as a hotel chef at a state-run hotel where he fell from a third-story window. Witnesses say his body was already cold when it hit the ground, leaving no blood stain.

Rejecting the authorities’ report that Tu left a death note and committed suicide, his family refused to give police his body for cremation, and a massive amount of protesters eventually gathered to prevent police access into the hotel where Tu was kept.

The state-run hotel where Tu died is known by locals for its involvement in corruption and drug trafficking.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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Reporters without Borders has called for the need for legislation to allow U.S. and European Internet companies operating in repressive countries to escape rules imposed on them by these regimes.

The organization said countries like Iran and China now block access to news and information thanks to western technologies and believe the U.S. and the European Union should protect their companies from dangerous misuse of their products.

It has been reported that European companies like Siemens and Nokia have supplied software for surveillance of telecommunications in Iran which uses Deep Packet Inspection, DPI.

DPI allows interception of all kinds of communications such as emails, phone calls, and images or messages posted on social network sites like Twitter and Facebook. Chinese companies Lenovo, Inspur and Hedy have reportedly already installed the software on more than 52 million computers.

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Afghan army general Sher Mohammad Zazai said Wednesday that 23 suspected Taliban fighters had been killed after Afghan and coalition forces stormed a Taliban stronghold near Uruzgan province, totaling 48 suspected militants killed in two operations.

Among the militants killed in the assault was regional Taliban commander Mullah Ismail.

In neighboring Helmand province, officials reported troops killed at least 25 suspected militants while seven civilians were killed in a roadside bombing.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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Iranians are reaching out to the world through whichever channels they can find. Using anti-censorship software, they are breaking through internet blockades in record numbers, and using the phone they are calling Farsi-language radio stations in droves, said The Epoch Times.

The Global Internet Freedom Consortium, a U.S.-based company that provides software to break through Internet blockades, reopened “Freegate” to Iranians in the Farsi language.

Shiyu Zhou, a computer scientist and part of the consortium team said traffic quickly doubled and then re-doubled with 200 million hits per day in just a few days.

For over 20 years, Iranian citizens have been calling in to Israel’s public radio-the Voice of Israel, or Kol Yisrael. More and more Iranians are phoning in recently, some talking about their difficulties, some talking about the repression, and others are asking Israel and the West to help with bringing down the regime.

For coverage of the protests in Iran visit The Epoch Times.

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Australia’s wharfs and airports have been infiltrated by organized criminals and are vulnerable to criminal exploitation, according to a confidential inquiry by the nation’s crime commission.

In a three-year operation, the Australian Crime Commission has uncovered large gaps in security at ports and airports.

They found outlaw motorcycle gangs and other crime groups working at airports, an airline executive smuggling drug money through a Melbourne airport, and that the maritime security ID card system had failed to stop criminal infiltration among other things.

Last year the Australian Federal Police uncovered maritime industry workers in Melbourne warning alleged drug boss Rob Karam that a container filled with drugs had been intercepted by police.

The commission said its three-year probe had 349 reports and intelligence briefs on waterfront criminality and 86 reports on criminality in the airport sector.

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