Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 8th July

In this Bulletin…

- Death toll unknown in Uighur ethnic murders;
- North Korea suspected in Web attack; and
- Water Woes for Mumbai, India.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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Leaders around the world are calling for restraint as word of a possible massacre of Uighur reaches the outside world, reports The Epoch Times.

Residents of the Xinjiang region, home to the Uighur minority, have been shot and killed as Chinese police moved into the capital Urumqi Sunday with tanks and riot gear. The city is in complete lock down.

According to Xinhua, the Chinese regime’s mouthpiece, 156 have been killed in Urumqi-although the number is suspected to be many times higher.

A peaceful protest about murders of Uighur factory workers has turned into a large ethnic clash between the Uighur and Chinese authorities, and is reported to have quickly spread from Urumqi to remote Kashgar and possibly to Yarkand, Aksu, Khotan and Karamay.

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Chinese graduate student Liu Jiangyong was expelled from school after meeting with the Dalai Lama and other luminaries disliked by the Chinese regime, during a trip to the U.S. in April, reported The Epoch Times.

Liu a 31-year-old philosophy student at the Sichuan Institute of Social Science was invited to visit the U.S. by International Pen, a worldwide association of writers, as a member of its Chinese branch.

According to Liu, the school admitted that his expulsion was a political decision under pressure from the local state security department. School authorities dismissed Liu with the excuse of “unauthorized absence” after failing to persuade Liu to drop out of school.

Liu who was granted a leave before he left is now concerned for his personal safety in China. He plans to appeal to higher authorities and even bring the regime to court.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) stated more than two dozen Internet sites in South Korea and the United States, including the White house, were attacked and some disabled by hackers possibly linked to North Korea.

South Korean media, Yonhap news agency quotes parliament members as saying after a briefing with NIS officials that the spy agency believes North Korea or pro-North elements were behind the attacks.

In their official statements, NIS said there were signs of meticulous preparations for the act but did not offer further details.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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For the second time in history, Indonesians are going to the polls to directly elect their president.

Approximately 170 million Indonesian citizens from its 17,000 islands are choosing their next president which some say signals the end of an era of Indonesian politics, as democracy is strengthened in the elective process.

Running in the election is President Yudhoyono, who won in 2004, and has an over 60 percent approval rating.

His strongest opponent is Ms. Megawati, daughter of President Sukarno, the country’s first president and leader of Indonesia’s independence movement. Parliament elected her president in 2001, after her Democratic Party of Struggle won a majority of seats. She lost her re-election bid in 2004.

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Residents of Mumbai, India face hardship as the city’s civic authority dropped the city’s filtered water supply by 30 percent, said NTDTV.

The officials say that with dropping water levels in Mumbai’s reservoirs, it’s impossible to keep pace with the city’s water demand.

Water supplies to swimming pools and five-star hotels are also being reduced.

Officials say that despite heavy rains last week the catchment areas of the city’s six lakes didn’t get the amount of water that could lessen the water woes for the city.

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And now for our Shen Yun Performing Arts quote of the day
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Painter, artist, and musician, Mr. Mottino, found serenity in the divine while watching Shen Yun Performing Arts at the Auditorio Belgrano in Buenos Aires, Argentina during their world tour.

When asked what he would tell others about the show, this is what he had to say:

[Audio] “I would tell them that if they want to quickly find a place in their heart where the world stands still, that they come to see a watercolor painting truly come to life.”

Mr. Mottino said he was moved by the wisdom he gained from the show and said it was more than a feeling, that it was the feeling of going back to our inner child. He also said the show calls us to catch divinity, and maybe what we all have in common is to look to the heavens, towards the divine.

Shen Yun will perform three shows in Santiago, Chile, July 10th 11th and 12th. The show will then return to Argentina on the 16th in Cordoba, performing three shows until July 18th.

SOH is a proud sponsor of the Shen Yun Performing Arts 2009 World Tour, listen to our special coverage at sohnetwork.com.

For more information on the shows please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org.

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