Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 5th September

In this Bulletin…

- Are Chinese authorities poisoning prominent petitioners?;
- 21st Summer Deaflympics opens in Taiwan; and
- Death toll from Indonesian earthquake expected to rise.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
**********************

One of the organisers of a Hong Kong-registered society for people with grievances against the Chinese authorities has died under mysterious circumstances.

Zhou Minzhu had spent years petitioning the Shanghai authorities for compensation after they demolished her home. She was arrested on returning from registering the Chinese League of Victims in Hong Kong earlier this year.

Tang Chuanhai told The Epoch Times that while Zhou was detained she was forced to take medication despite being healthy. When she was released in April she was half paralysed and in poor health.

Zhou never recovered and died this week. Other prominent petitioners have also died after being given medication by Chinese authorities.

**********************

Authorities in southern China’s Hunan Province are facing a public backlash after accusing Falun Gong practitioners of the recent lead poisoning incident to spread rumours and incite public unrest, says NTDTV.

Local residents said there were no practitioners there and that the accusations didn’t make sense.
Falun Gong, a popular spiritual practice, was banned by the Chinese communist regime in 1999. The regime has severely persecuted Falun Gong adherents ever since.

Gail Rachlin, a spokeswoman for the Falun Dafa Information Center, says local officials were probably embarrassed about the incident and were using Falun Gong as a scapegoat to avoid taking responsibility themselves.

**********************
And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast
**********************

The 21st Summer Deaflympics starts in Taipei on Saturday. President Ma Ying-jeou will declare the Games open using sign language, then in Mandarin and English.

The opening ceremony’s director, Stan Lai, said he has created a memorable event that calls forth the beauty of the human heart and reaches out to the deaf community.

About 4000 athletes in 81 countries will compete in 20 sports including athletics, cycling, football, handball, shooting, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, water polo, wrestling and martial arts.

**********************

After making a series of conciliatory diplomatic gestures, North Korea has responded to tighter sanctions from the international community by declaring it was closer to a second way of enriching uranium.

The announcement by state media coincided with a visit to Asia by chief U.S. envoy for the North, Stephen Bosworth, to discuss ways to bring Pyongyang back to long-stalled negotiations on giving up its efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

The North has long been suspected of having a secret program to enrich uranium for weapons. But, experts have said it has not developed anything near a full-scale enrichment program.

**********************
You’re listening to Asia Cast on the SOH Radio Network
**********************

Government agencies in Indonesia are warning that the death toll from the earth quake that hit West Java could rise significantly.

The quake has killed at least 57 people and destroyed more than 24 thousand homes. Some affected coastal areas could not be contacted after the quake.

Indonesia’s islands are scattered along a belt of volcanic and seismic activity known as the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” one of the most quake-prone places on Earth.

**********************

According to lawyers for Burma’s pro-democracy opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese courts will hear their appeal against her latest sentence.

Legal representatives say the hearing will take place in Rangoon on September 18.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention was extended by 18 months after she was convicted of breaching security laws. But, her lawyers have argued her conviction was not in accordance with the law.

Suu Kyi’s latest sentence would prevent her from contesting upcoming elections and has drawn international condemnation.

**********************

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