Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 16th January

In this Bulletin…

- Chinese residents criticize reimbursement of medical expenses for H1N1 flu;
- Ex-soldier of China appointed as governor of Tibet; and
- North Korea accepts aid from South Korea.

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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Residents in China are criticizing a new policy that offers reimbursements of H1N1-related medical expenses.

The policy was introduced on December 10, 2009, by the Provincial Centre of Medical Insurance Management, according to the Hebei Province Centre for H1N1 Flu Control and Prevention’s website.

Under the new rule, participants of the Urban Workers and Residents Medical Insurance and the Rural Cooperative Medical System province-wide are eligible for the reimbursement.

However, reimbursement seems difficult to access.

A resident from Shijiazhuang believes the policy is a ploy played by the regime.  He said it’s difficult to find out if you have the H1N1 flu because doctors only say it’s an acute flu. He added that even if you died, the regime would say that you died from pneumonia and will never admit you died of H1N1.

Read The Epoch Times for more

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Local authorities in China sent 120 police to arrest 12 villagers who had successfully sued them in a land-dispute case, which erupted into a severe conflict.

In 2006, the Lipu County government collected 65 acres of land in Longyatun Village to build an industrial park. Two-thirds of the villagers disputed the land acquisition, claiming unsatisfactory compensation. They obtained a lawyer, filed a lawsuit against the local government, and won.

The government then filed an appeal with the Guilin Intermediate Court. The testimony of 12 villagers would be necessary during the appeal. According to the villagers, the conflict erupted January 12 when police arrived at 4:00 am to arrest the 12 villagers, making it impossible for them to testify.

Read The Epoch Times for more.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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A former soldier has been chosen as the new governor of Tibet by China.

The previous one, Qiangba Puncog, resigned unexpectedly and was in office during the deadly riots in Tibet in early 2008.

The new governor, Padma Choling, is an ethnic Tibetan. He served in China’s army for 17 years before joining the regional government, state media said.

The most powerful official in Tibet is still the local Communist Party boss, Zhang Qingli, who is a former military man. Analysts say this seems to suggest China sees Tibet as an issue of military control.

Tibet is a resource-rich, mountainous region advantageously bordering India, Nepal, Pakistan and Burma.

The region is supposedly independent, but policy for the region is tightly controlled by the central government in Beijing.

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The Indonesian government says it may still send home some of the Tamil Tiger asylum seekers to Sri Lanka.

For the past three months around 240 asylum seekers have been refusing to come ashore to go into detention in Indonesia.

The asylum seekers may face persecution if they go back to Sri Lanka, Australian refugee advocates say.

The government says it still cannot confirm whether among the group of asylum seekers there are any Tamil Tigers.

The group say they want refugee status in Australia or another country.

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

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Officials in Seoul have announced that North Korea accepted aid of ten thousand tonnes of food from South Korea.

The offer was made in October, but no response has been given until now.

It will be the first official aid since relations lessened two years ago. The UN said last year the North was very short of food following an unsuccessful harvest.

The amount of food offered was rather low, but the approval may be another sign that the North is looking to improve relations with the South.

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A Ballarat magistrate yesterday sentenced a man to three months’ jail for threatening to kill an Indian cabbie.

Paul John Brogden, 48, was arrested early Friday morning for attacking a 24-year-old Indian taxi driver.

Ballarat Magistrate, Michelle Hodgson, strongly criticized drunken attacks on defenceless taxi drivers and night-time convenience store clerks.

The court heard that Brogden became verbally abusive towards the Indian taxi driver, after assuming the driver had taken him the wrong way.

The court heard that Brogden swore at the driver threatening to kill him when he dropped him off.

The taxi driver pulled into a service station and ran out of the car. Brogden then chased the taxi driver into the service station store before attacking him and another unknown man who was pumping petrol.

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