Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Wednesday 17th February

In this Bulletin…

- China pays over US$5 million for Confucius Institute website;
- Maoist rebels kill 24 policemen in Bengal, India; and
- Google and Yahoo question Australian plan for internet filters.

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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The Chinese regime recently gave a US$5 million winning bid for the creation of a Confucius Institute Online website to a party official-owned company. The Epoch Times reported on the insider dealing.

The officials company had only been in existence for one month before the bid for contract was put out.

Furthermore, the regime is breaking its own laws. According to a PRC procurement law, procurement staff and related personnel must avoid having conflicts of interest with suppliers.

One anti-corruption critic posted on his blog that it was a case of temporary company, temporary tender, temporary bid, and temporary money-laundering.

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In China, banks have been ordered to increase their reserves for a second time this year. Lending is allegedly being curbed in a bid to stop the country’s economy from overheating.

One analyst said China’s central bank is sending out clear messages to banks that it wants more reasonable bank lending and it is paying close attention to inflation.

However, analysts are surprised the order of a second increase is so soon after January’s move.

The bank has told commercial lenders to hike their reserve levels by half a percent to 16.5 percent by the end of February.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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In West Bengal’s Shilda region, a police camp was fired upon by Maoist rebels, killing 24 policemen.

About 100 rebels, who came mostly on motorbikes, overran the Shilda camp. They opened fire and lobbed hand grenades.

Authorities say the rebels took away a huge cache of weapons in the latest assault.

According to a top level district police source, three women, disguised as tribal dancers, came to the spot in the morning. The three women later did the final reconnaissance before launching the attack.

It is considered the biggest attack ever by Maoists against security forces in West Bengal.

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Residents in Tonga are now cleaning up after Tuesday’s Cyclone Rene has left.

Electricity poles and trees were knocked down and several houses were damaged. However, there were no injuries or fatalities on the country’s heaviest populated island, Tongatapu. Authorities said they will still be checking the situation in some villages.

The cyclone hit Tonga on Monday, but the storm weakened before hitting the island of Tongatapu that night.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand has pledged his country would provide aid to Tonga, if necessary.

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

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NTDTV recently reported Brisbane, Australia had the heaviest rainfall that it has seen in the past nine years. On Tuesday flash floods had hammered the entire city.

Within minutes, flooding had disrupted traffic and sank cars that were parked on city streets.

Power supplies had been cut off to thousands of homes in the afternoon hours. And, electric companies were working to restore power.

Local media reports said that around three inches of rainfall was recorded in just 50 minutes.

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Internet giants Google and Yahoo are raising doubts on Australia’s proposal for mandatory internet filters. Australia says the filters will only block all Refused Classification content.

Google, Yahoo and two Australian organizations argue that the subjects covered by Refused Classification material are too wide-ranging for a blanket ban. They also warn that the filter will not effectively protect children.

They claim this is because hardcore material, specifically that featuring children, tends to appear on chat rooms and peer-to-peer networks which are more difficult to filter.

Critics warn the filter proposals would create a false sense of security for Australian web-users.

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