AsiaCast

Asia Cast for Saturday 17th October

In this Bulletin…

- Chinese officials fear exposure by SOH;
- Report accuses Nepalese government of making empty promises; and
- Indonesia struck by new earthquake.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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Police in eastern China’s Jiangsu Province have threatened to charge an entrepreneur with treason after he told SOH how he was ruined by corrupt officials.

Wang Shuqin told our Chinese reporters he has been appealing to the authorities since he was wrongly jailed a decade ago. He said a policeman named Chen Shihong had aided a criminal steeling machine parts from Wang’s factory and fabricated the charges that landed him in jail.

Wang’s factory went bankrupt while he was imprisoned.

As well as appealing his own case, Wang has also helped other petitioners seeking justice over the years.

One local human rights activist said local officials were frightened by the SOH coverage of Mr Wang’s plight.

Read The Epoch Times for more on this.

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According to NTDTV, the influential Chinese business magazine Caijing may be about to lose its founder and managing editor, Hu Shuli. Many consider her the most powerful business editor in China.

Since Ms Hu founded Caijing in 1998 it has become one of the most independent publications inside China. She is known for pushing the boundaries of reporting in a country with very little media freedom.

But the magazine is facing turmoil. Increased pressure from its state-run owners and Chinese authorities to tone down its aggressive reporting on so-called sensitive issues like government corruption have led to the resignation of several key staff, including the general manager.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Tensions between India and China continue to run high. Barely a day after both New Delhi and Beijing were in a tense row over a border region along Tibet, India protested China’s reported insistence on continuing projects in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

The Indian External Affairs Ministry was reacting Wednesday to reports in Chinese state media regarding China’s activities in part of Kashmir that New Delhi claims is held illegally by Islamabad.

New Delhi accuses Beijing of occupying about 38,000 square kilometres in the Kashmir region. India also alleges Pakistan has ceded 5,180 kilometres in Kashmir to China.

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Human Rights Watch and Advocacy Forum have released a joint report criticizing the Nepalese government.

They highlight the fact that there has been no credible investigation or prosecution of those responsible for thousands of extrajudicial killings, torture, and enforced disappearances three years after the end of the country’s decade-long armed conflict.

Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch said Nepalese politicians, police, prosecutors, as well as the army was letting the people of Nepal down once again. He said the government had had plenty of time to set the wheels in motion to prosecute the perpetrators, but all it had done is make empty promises.

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

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The Indonesian Island of Java has been struck by a magnitude 6.1 earthquake. The quake caused buildings in the capital Jakarta to sway, but there have been no reports on damage or casualties.

A more powerful 7.6-magnitude quake devastated western Sumatra last month and left more than 1,100 people dead.

An official at the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, Suharjono, told reporters that Friday’s tremor was the result of movement in the same tectonic plate, but that it was impossible to say whether the two events were related.

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Computer manufacturer Acer Inc. has made it to the top of the list of Taiwan’s Top 10 Global Brands for the first time ever.

Anti-virus software maker Trend Micro and computer maker AsusTek close behind in second and third places

Event officials said Acer’s mergers with Gateway and Packard Bell in 2007 and the successful launch of netbook computers, helped it to the number one position.

But global brand consultancy Interbrand said it was also worth noting the continued presence of conventional businesses such as food processor Master Kong and bicycle maker Giant, along with rice snack maker Want Want.

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