Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 15th August

In this Bulletin…

- Claims political infighting manipulated Xinjiang protests;
- Beijing backs-off over Green Dam; and
- Typhoon Morakot deathtoll could exceed 500 in Taiwan.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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Evidence suggests infighting between different factions within the Chinese Communist Party caused last month’s unrest in Urumqi to become quite as bloody and violent as it did, according to NTDTV.

A leaked memo from a former high-level cadre published on Boxun.com, a popular online news and commentary forum, said that news of the growing unrest in Xinjiang was deliberately prevented from reaching Party leader Hu Jintao.

The unnamed source of the information said that initially it may have only been a small scale protest and a peaceful expression of frustration, but that it was manipulated into a big, and bloody, event amidst a power struggle for control of the Communist Party.

The aim it seems was to cause Hu as much political embarrassment as possible.

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Despite having an eyewitness and the suspect turning himself in, the authorities in Beijing are still trying to make the case of a 21-year-old petitioner raped in one of the city’s a so-called black jails disappear, says The Epoch Times.

On August 11, one week after Li Ruirui was raped by a guard, Chinese state-media reported that the suspect had turned himself in to police. But Peng Guangfa, a petitioner who witnessed the attack, was not contacted by police.

The victim’s family told Radio Free Asia that they had been pressured to send Li to a mental hospital, and sign a guarantee that she would not petition in Beijing again.

Black jails are illegal, informal establishments set up by provincial authorities to detain petitioners appealing cases of alleged injustice ignored by local authorities.

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According to state-run media, China’s minister of Industry and Information Technology said Thursday that the controversial Green Dam internet censorship software will now only be compulsory on computers in public places.

Months of international pressure and criticism seem to have resulted in the Chinese authorities changing their minds about Green Dam. Back in May, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology had told computer makers that they’d be required to install the software on all computers sold in China.

Businesses and computer users complained that the software left computers open to cyber attacks, while others worried that the software represented government interference in the free flow of information.

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You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
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Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou has warned that the final death toll from Typhoon Morakot could more than treble to over 500.

Thousands of troops are struggling across shattered roads and collapsed bridges to reach stranded communities. But six days after the typhoon struck Taiwan, hopes are fading that rescuers will be able to save hundreds of people trapped by mudslides and floods.

The government has been criticised by some for being too slow in realising the magnitude of the event and not responding adequately.

Ma told a national security meeting that the typhoon had destroyed the homes of 7,000 people and caused agricultural and property damage in excess of US$1.5 billion.

He said it was the most severe damage to the island in more than 50 years.

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A government official in Yemen has said 15 aid workers were kidnapped on Friday by Shi’ite rebels who clashed with government forces in the north of the country.

Followers of rebel leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi took Red Crescent doctors, nurses, officials and administrators from a refugee camp, said Hassan al-Manna, governor of Saada province.

The rebels have displaced around 17,000 families from their homes in the mountainous northern province of Saada over the past four days, Manna said, according to the Yemeni Defence Ministry website.

Friday’s kidnappings came the day after Yemen issued the rebels with the terms of a ceasefire to end a government offensive against them in the north of the mainly Sunni Muslim Arab country.

The rebels rejected Thursday’s truce offer and denied holding any kidnapped civilians.
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“Asia Cast… keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the World.”