Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Monday 27th July

In this Bulletin…

- Computer manufacturers in China pre-installing spy ware;
- China and US in economic talks; and
- North Korea hints at ‘specific’ talks.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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At the end of June, the Chinese regime announced it would delay the requirement that all computers sold in the country carry a specific software known as “Green Dam,” which serves as spyware to aide them in their censorship endeavours. This came with strong opposition from business groups and Chinese computer users, as reported by The Epoch Times.

Recently, some famous computer makers including Acer, Lenovo, Sony and Asus have already started shipping computers with the pre-installed Green Dam monitoring software, as per request of the Chinese regime.

However, two notable U.S. based PC companies, HP and Dell, have not put Green Dam on PCs as of yet.

Observers say that the “Green Dam” situation is yet another part of the Communist regime’s plan to tighten Internet control.

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At the Chinese Childhood Cancer Parent Conference on July 25th it was found that roughly a third of paediatric leukaemia patients in Guangzhou city, Guangdong Province, discontinue chemotherapy because their families are unable to afford it.

Fang Jianpei, director of the paediatrics department at Guangdong Medical Association and Sun Yat-sen University Second Hospital, says that despite a 70 percent recovery rate at the treatment centres, there exist a large proportion of children who discontinue treatment.

Approximately 40 percent of patients discontinue treatment as a result of the expense.

The cost of chemotherapy for acute lymphocyte leukaemia in Guangzhou ranges between 60,000 ($US8,783) to 80,000 Yuan ($US11,711.) Treatment for severe cases may cost above 100,000 Yuan ($US14,639) plus an additional 200,000 Yuan ($US29,277) for bone marrow transplantation.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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In Washington the first meeting of the Obama administration’s US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue is due to get underway.

President Barack Obama is due to address the two-day meeting, to which China has sent Vice Premier Wang Qishan and State Councillor Dai Bingguo.

China is worried about the value of the US dollar, because it holds huge amounts of American debt; which includes more than $US800bn of US Treasury securities alone.

It fears President Obama’s stimulus spending will stoke inflation in the United States, eroding the value of the dollar, making the American debt China holds a lot less.

Within these talks, the US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will be seeking to soothe China’s fears.

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The prosecution in the military government’s trial of the Burmese pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is to deliver its closing arguments.

Ms Suu Kyi faces five years in prison if she is convicted of having violated her house arrest when an American man swam to her lakeside home uninvited.

Her lawyers, who delivered their final statement on Friday,  say they expect a verdict in two to three weeks.

Unusually, diplomats have been allowed into the court for this session.

The prosecution may wrap up its case against Suu Kyi later on Monday, court officials said.

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North Korea has again insisted it will not return to six-party talks aimed at ending its nuclear weapons programme, though it was still open to “a specific and reserved form of dialogue;” state media quoted a foreign ministry statement as saying.

The statement did not elaborate on what form any new dialogue might take, but Pyongyang has previously said it is open to direct talks with the US.

The US has said it will only hold talks within the six-party format.

Some analysts are seeing the latest statement as a sign that, after a series of provocations to the international community, North Korea may now be ready to find a way to ease tension.

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A suspect of the terrorist bombings in Jakarta 10 days ago, has been released due to lack of evidence. This has suffered a setback in the investigation.

Three Australians were among the nine people killed when suicide bombers targeted two luxury hotels.

Last Wednesday a man named Achmadi surrendered himself to police and reportedly told them Noordin Mohammed Top had talked him into becoming a suicide bomber.

The Jakarta Globe newspaper quoted Central Java police chief saying that an unexploded bomb intended for another suicide attack was found at Achmadi’s house.

When later contacted, a national police spokesman said the information was not true.

The Central Java police chief now says Achmadi’s information cannot be trusted therefore he is being released.

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