Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 30th December

In this Bulletin…

- Mentally ill British man executed in China;
- Former Samsung chairman to be pardoned in South Korea; and
- Iran steps up crackdown on protesters.

But first we have our Shen Yun quote of the day

[audio]

For more information, please visit www.shenyunperformingarts.org.

Our SOH focus on China is next

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Concerned Londoners and family of British citizen Akmal Shaikh gathered outside the Chinese embassy in London calling for the Chinese regime to cancel his execution, their attempts futile.

Shaikh was convicted of smuggling 9 lbs of heroin into China in a one half-hour hearing.

Family said he was mentally ill and had bipolar disorder.

They said drug smugglers had convinced Shaikh to go to China, claiming they could help him launch his pop music career there.

Shaikh, taxicab firm owner and father of three, was the first national of a European country executed in China in the last 50 years.

For more on this, watch NTDTV.

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Authorities in China have adopted a new term for demolishing houses outside prescribed channels; it’s by accident.

One family’s case documented in pictures and texts on Internet posts shows only a pile of rubble after their home was demolished while they were away.

The family of Wuhan City says that when they went to a bureau to protest, officials said it was by accident as it had been confused with another.

They added, however, that the building had been newly added to a list of those to be demolished in a later phase, and that the family shouldn’t cause trouble.

For more on this story please read The Epoch Times.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee who was convicted of tax evasion charges last year in South Korea is being pardoned.

South Korea’s Justice Minister said Lee is to be specially pardoned and reinstated December 31, saying it would form a better situation for the 2018 Olympics.

Lee was charged on suspicion of brokering a deal that would allow his children to have a greater stake in ownership of Samsung.

Cleared of the charges, he was handed a suspended three-year jail term for tax evasion instead.

South Korea presidents have a history of granting pardons to the leaders of its family-owned corporations.

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The United Nations refugee agency has formally asked Laos for access to more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong forcibly repatriated from Thailand.

The agency has also called on the Thai government to provide details of a Thai-Laotian accord regarding the treatment of the Hmong.

The Hmong say they face persecution in communist-led Laos because they backed US forces during the Vietnam War.

The Swiss-based Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said it recognised that some of those sent back had refugee status and needed international protection.

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

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Two people have died in a fire that broke out at an Indian nuclear research facility located on the outskirts of Mumbai.

However, a representative for the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre said that the accident had not led to any leakage of radiation.

He said the blaze, which broke out in a laboratory had been brought under control within 45 minutes.

Indian police officials told news agencies that the charred bodies of two research students were found on the third floor of the laboratory.

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Iranian representatives called for maximum punishment against opposition demonstrators as the regime stepped up its crackdown on dissidents.

The announcement came from the conservative Iranian Parliament after the arrest of several journalists and activists. Among them the sister of Iranian poet and Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi.

On Sunday, eight people had been killed as security forces opened fire on demonstrators who had gathered on the Shiite holy day of Ashura.

Iran has seen a steady increase in the number of protests in recent months following the results of the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

For more on this story, go to The Epoch Times.

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