Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 22nd July

In this Bulletin…

- Attorneys advised not to handle Uighur cases;
- China shuts down more social-network sites; and
- Asia’s long solar eclipse.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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Beijing’s Bureau of Justice gave notice to attorneys to be prudent when considering accepting cases related to the Xinjiang uprising, which lawyers say deliberately ruined the rights to commission entitled under the criminal act, reported The Epoch Times.

The bureau notified Beijing lawyers to accept the Xinjiang cases with prudence, report to the authorities and follow the supervision and guidance of the authority.

Beijing Lawyer Li Fangping questioned the approach, saying it served as an order which forbids attorneys to accept any Xinjiang incident related case, taking Tibetan cases as examples which were very difficult to work with.

With the order aimed at Beijing attorneys, one Beijing lawyer noted that if no Beijing lawyers dared to take a Xinjiang case, no other lawyers would, excepting prop lawyers designated by the regime.

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Two more social-networking sites went offline this week amid China’s extreme internet censorships that have blocked Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace among other social sites that allow free expression.

China’s crackdown on social sites, which began in March when YouTube contained a video that showed Chinese authorities mistreating Tibetans, is showing no signs of ending or slowing.

Experts say the fact that the sites are not coming back online shows that the harsh measures are part of a long-term strategy to pare back the power of the Internet and silence voices finding expression.

And, Chinese bloggers are speculating that having two social sites shut down the same day indicates pressure from authorities, and believe the timing is probably related to the 10th anniversary of the banning of Falun Gong, a spiritual practice.

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China’s decision to hold out for lower iron-ore prices in negotiations with the world’s biggest mining companies is forcing its steel mills to pay far more than competitors around the globe; about 20% higher than the long-term contracts agreed to by Japanese, South Korean and European buyers earlier this year.

Analysts say China’s insatiable demand for growth will continue to fuel the demand for iron ore and this fact alone will undermine China’s bargaining power in any resource-related negotiations.

China imported nearly 300 million tons of iron ore in the year’s first half, nearly 30% more than the same period last year. Without long-term contracts, Chinese steel mills have to buy more ore on the spot market without discounts-driving up the spot price even higher.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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In Asia the longest total solar eclipse this century took place, lasting six minutes and 39 seconds at its maximum point.

First seen early on Wednesday in eastern India, the eclipse moved east across India, Nepal, Burma, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Japan and the Pacific. Elsewhere, a partial eclipse was visible throughout much of Asia.

In India and Nepal, where it is considered auspicious to watch the eclipse while immersed in holy water and many believing it the best time to improve one’s afterlife, crowds gathered at rivers or ponds, including tens of thousands of people at Varanasi on the Ganges.

The next total solar eclipse will occur July 11th, 2010. It will be visible in a narrow corridor over the southern hemisphere, from the southern Pacific Ocean to Argentina.

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The lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai railway station attacks Ajmal Qasab, described on Tuesday the indoctrination he received in Pakistan before being sent to India to kill as many people as possible.

Qasab, a Pakistani on trial, caught prosecution and defence lawyers by surprise Monday when he suddenly told the judge he wanted to plead guilty to the November attacks that left 166 people dead.

The judge sealed the testimony and deferred a decision on whether to accept the surprise confession. He also issued an order forbidding journalists from reporting Qasab’s comments, saying it was not in the interest of communal harmony.

The confession, which Qasab says was made voluntarily, gave strength to India’s charges that terrorist groups in neighboring Pakistan were behind the well-planned attack, and Islamabad is not doing enough to stop them.

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Fiji’s military regime has banned a Methodist church annual conference and is holding for questioning seven of the church’s senior members who are involved in the conference’s planning.

Fiji officials are accusing the church of being too political and will lift the ban if the church hierarchy agrees to exclude two former presidents and remove any political discussion from the agenda.

Fiji is currently ruled by Commodore Frank Bainimarama who took power in a coup in 2006. Since then, Fiji has suspended the constitution, detained opponents and suppressed freedom of speech.

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