Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Monday 16th November

In this Bulletin …

- Chinese Communist Party’s newspaper sets up in Hong Kong;
- Obama discusses rights in China; and
- Suu Kyi calls for talks in Burma.

But first, here’s our SOH focus on China
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The official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), established a branch in Hong Kong on November 9.

Qiu Mingwei, former deputy director of the People’s Forum, which is part of the Communist Party’s paper web site, talked with The Epoch Times about how the party plans to increase its influence through this media outlet.

Qiu said that the paper has offices in almost every province of China. A branch is also being set up in Macao, with Taiwan being the only place that doesn’t yet have a branch.

For more on this story visit The Epoch Times.

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A court in China coined a new legal term when punishing two policemen last month, saying they were guilty of the temporary rape of a high school graduate; they were given lenient sentences because of the pronouncement.

The Nanxun District Court of Huzhou County, Zhejiang Province, said in its verdict that the two police committed the crime of rape, but issued a light sentence of three years imprisonment, saying that they had committed a temporary and on-the-spot crime, without premeditation.

The two policemen had taken two high school graduates, who had just completed their college entrance exams, out to eat and drink.  They had all drank a lot and because one of the girls was very drunk, the poicemen took her to a hotel under pretext of “helping her to come to” but then raped her while she was passed out.

The policemen later turned themselves in.

Chinese bloggers and commentators were shocked and outraged at the judgement passed down.

For more on this story visit The Epoch Times.

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US President Barack  Obama told an audience of Chinese students that certain freedoms were universal  and not just limited to Americans.

President Obama added that China and the United States were not predestined to be adversaries.

He was speaking at a question and answer session in Shanghai, before travelling to Beijing for talks with Chinese leaders.

Mr. Obama also made comments that his hosts would have been less pleased to hear.

Although he was careful not to attack the Chinese government directly, he declared that certain rights and freedoms were universal.

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

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Six owners of Hong Kong-based transportation companies have travelled to Beijing to appeal for the monetary and property losses they suffered when their ships were ransacked offshore by the Chinese police.

An open letter written from the business owners stated that police from Jieyang City, Guangdong Province, China, sent boats near Hong Kong to rob ships on October 11, 1997, and confiscated shipments from seven companies.

Over the last 12 years, the business owners have appealed to various government entities without success.

For more on this story visit The Epoch Times.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has reportedly sent a letter to the head of the country’s military government, calling for direct talks.

Ms Suu Kyi has not met Senior General Than Shwe since 2002.

The move comes after a recent visit by two senior US diplomats, part of Washington’s new policy of pragmatic engagement with Burma.

In the letter, Ms Suu Kyi thanks the military leadership for allowing the recent visit of a high-level American delegation, and welcomes opportunities to discuss sanctions imposed on Burma.

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A suicide bomber detonated a car laden with explosives, killing six people on Monday near the Budbhair area in Peshawar.

Twenty-five others were injured the senior superintendent of police in Peshawar said, and all those killed and injured were civilians, he added.

About 250 kg of explosives were used in the attack, which targeted a police station.

The car rammed an adjacent wall of a mosque and the police station, Khan said. The mosque collapsed, and part of the police station, shops and other buildings were damaged.

Intelligence officials said the attacks are retaliation against an army offensive to rout militants from their havens along the border with Afghanistan.

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“Asia Cast … Keeping you across the top headlines from Asia and the world.”