Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Saturday 6th February

In this Bulletin …

-  NGOs concerned over missing human rights lawyer;
- Toxic melamine still being pumped into Chinese food; and
- Bombs kill 22 in Pakistan’s 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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A group of Taiwanese NGOs have called on Beijing to reveal the whereabouts Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng. They also appealed for lawyer and his family members to be able to visit him.

Gao, who disappeared a year ago, had become known as China’s conscience. In the past he had been arrested and tortured in China for defending the rights of those persecuted for their religious beliefs, including followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement.

NGO leaders spoke at a press conference in Taiwan earlier this week. They said that human rights activists in China should be able to freely express their opinions and exercise their rights without being harassed, intimidated, detained, tortured, or incarcerated.

Read The Epoch Times for more on this story.

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The toxic chemical melamine has once again found its way back to food products sold on supermarket shelves in China.

In 2008 the scandal involving melamine in powdered milk was exposed. It killed six babies and more than 300,000 fell ill from the poisoned milk, according to Chinese officials’ figures.

China’s southwestern province of Guizhou is where the latest contaminated foodstuffs were found.

Melamine is an industrial chemical. When added to food it makes it look more nutritious than it is. But it can  seriously damage the kidneys as well as cause other health problems.

Watch NTDTV for the full report.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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In the latest in a series of trade disputes between China and the US, China has said that they will enforce anti-dumping duties on US chicken imports.

China is accusing American poultry firms of exporting the meat at unfairly low prices.

China’s Commerce Department said the tariffs will start from February 13.

China launched an investigation into US chicken in September. The day after the US put tariffs on Chinese tyres.

Wang Xiulin, president of the Chinese Poultry Association said chicken feet and wings are not wanted in the US so they sell them to China. He said the US dumps them below cost, which has been hurting producers in China.

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A Feng Shui master suspected of forgery has been released by Hong Kong authorities.

Tony Chan the former lover and spiritual adviser to billionaire Nina Wang was accused of forging Wang’s signature on a will.

A police spokesman said Chan spent over a day in custody before his release early Friday on bail of $5 million Hong Kong dollars, that’s $640,000 US.

The police added that while the investigation continues Chan must report back to police in mid-March.

A Hong Kong court denied Chan’s proposal to be left Wang’s estimated $13 billion US dollar property empire, ruling he had forged Miss Wang’s signature on a 2006 will.

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North Korea will release the US activist they have been holding since December for illegally entering the country.

Robert Park, a religious activist, crossed into North Korea from China by walking across a frozen river.

North Korean authorities say they will forgive and release Mr Park, who was said to have confessed his mistake.

Mr Park had wanted to highlight human rights issues in North Korea.

According to his friends, Mr Park claimed he had seen a vision from God of North Korea’s freedom and salvation.

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Twenty-two people have been killed after two suicide bombers on motorcycles struck a bus and hospital in Karachi on Friday.

This has been the second attack in just months targeting Shiite Muslims in Pakistan’s financial capital.

Among those killed were 12 women and children. A motorcycle fitted with explosives smashed into a bus of Shiites. The bus was travelling on one of Karachi’s busiest roads to join a parade at the end of the holy Muslim month of Muharram.

Another 10 people were killed by a second bomb attack near the emergency ward at Jinnah Hospital, where the dead and wounded were being rushed in.

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