Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Friday 5th February

In this Bulletin …

- Chinese internet users find new way to freedom;
- Nepal told it should suspend adoptions; and
- Curfew imposed in Kashmir capital.

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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Internet users in China have found another way around the firewall set up by the Chinese authorities.

Many have started to use a virtual private network to access sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube which the regime has blocked.

Zhou Shiyu is an IT expert from Rutgers University in the US. He said that using a virtual private network makes it look like you are on a computer outside of China.

Zhou pointed out that a disadvantage of doing this is that it requires user installation, which limits the number of people who are able to use it.

Read The Epoch Times for more on this story.

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China has hit back at the US for making claims that China’s currency was not at a reasonable level.

The US president said he wants China to implement trade rules and further open up its markets. This is just one of a range of issues weighing on relations between two of the world’s biggest economies.

China’s foreign minister hit back by saying the Yuan was already at a reasonable level. He also said that China did not intentionally pursue a trade surplus with the United States.

Mr Zhaoxu told a regular news briefing that accusations and pressure would not help to solve the problem.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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China experts are predicting Beijing will make a meal out of the US president’s insistence on meeting the Dalai Lama later this month.

China warned that if the meeting went ahead it would damage trust and cooperation between the two countries. But as one commentator pointed out, as far as Beijing is concerned there is never a good time for any world leader to meet Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader.

The recent multi-billion arms sale deal between the US and Taiwan is unlikely to have helped matters.

President Obama is expected to meet the Dalai Lama in Washington on February 17 and 18.

Dr Kenneth Lieberthal from the Brookings Institute in the US said it was important for the US and China to find a way through these kinds of decisions so they can find a way to cooperate on the big issues.

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Nepal is being asked to suspend its adoption of children after children from remote areas were found to have been  falsely declared orphans.

The international body governing adoption between countries discovered many parents did not know their children had been adopted out.

The Hague Conference on Private International Law made a draft report urging Nepal to take steps to prevent abuses.

Nepal had previously suspended international adoptions in 2007. New rules were introduced in 2008 and international adoptions were resumed.

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

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In a rather unusual event, one of India’s low-caste communities has declared its own individual religion.

Followers of Guru Ravidass, a 14-century spiritual figure, will now have their own holy scriptures, a flag and a greeting.

Guru Ravidass’ writings have been compiled in a new holy book. Until now they were mainly found in sacred Sikh scriptures that the sect placed in its houses of worship.

A key Ravidass monastery made the declaration. The monasteries priest’s where killed in May last year in Vienna, Austria, which sparked furious protests in the Sikh heartland of Punjab.

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A curfew has been enforced in Srinagar, the capital of Indian-administered Kashmir. It follows violent protests over the killing of a 15-year-old boy.

The boy was knocked on the head by a tear gas shell as police broke up a protest in the city against Indian rule on Sunday.

Police patrols were increased ahead of a public ceremony Thursday to grieve the death of the boy.

The officer who fired the tear gas round at the boy has been suspended.

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