Asia-Cast

Asia Cast for Thursday 18th February

In this Bulletin…

- Investigator into Sichuan earthquake “tofu buildings” convicted;
- Muslim separatists in Philippines reject power-share proposal; and
- Foreign student survey finds Australia racist.

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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Famous environmentalist Tan Zuoren has been sentenced to a five year prison term in China.

He was convicted of inciting subversion of state power, allegedly for criticizing the Chinese regime over its handling of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Tan’s lawyer told SOH it was an extreme case of punishing people for their speech. The conviction was based on an article Tan wrote commemorating the Tiananmen Square incident.

Tan, 55, is a well known writer and environmentalist in China. After the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, he called for an investigation into the quality of the construction of school buildings, which collapsed like “tofu” during the quake.

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An SOH investigation has found thousands of bird flu patients are being left undiagnosed in Daqing city, Heilongjiang Province.

Patients with bird flu are instead being diagnosed with unknown pneumonia.

Doctors say cases peaked with nearly ten thousand patients with bird flu symptoms. The death toll still remains unknown.

One doctor told reporters they identify the cases as bird flu but cannot give that diagnosis.

Last year the health department had circulated a document that forbade hospitals to diagnose anyone with bird flu.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Muslim separatists have rejected a power-sharing scheme proposed by the Philippine government.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front called the plan unacceptable and said it would not give the southern region of Mindanao enough autonomy. This means a peace deal before the end of the current president’s term in office, is unlikely.

A Liberation Front negotiator told AFP news there was nothing in the Philippine government’s draft agreement that is worth considering at this stage.

At least 100,000 people have died in the decades-long conflict between the Front and the Philippine government.

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Malaysia’s Home Minister announced on Wednesday, three Muslim women have been caned under Islamic law, for acts of adultery.

The minister said the punishment was carried out to educate and make the offenders realise their mistakes and to return to the right path.

The canings are a punishment that continues in Malaysia since the British colonial era of the 19th century. It considers itself a moderate Muslim country, and has a dual-track justice system, in which Islamic courts operate alongside civil ones.

Caning has been denounced by one Amnesty International official who says caning is tantamount to torture.

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

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An Afghani general has announced Taliban militants are increasingly using civilians as human shields as they battle against an Afghan-NATO offensive.

He said his soldiers had seen Taliban fighters placing women and children on roofs of buildings and firing from behind them.

They have faced sustained machine-gun fire from fighters hiding inside bunkers and in homes and mosques.

The general said the Taliban are trying to get them to fire on them and kill the civilians.

The joint offensive in southern Helmand province has entered its fifth day.

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A survey on violence against international students of Melbourne, Australia found about 50 percent think their race or religion puts them at risk of attack.

Some police involved in the study said sometimes racism could be a secondary element, designed to humiliate or weaken resistance from the victim during the attack.

The study finds that a variety of factors put students at risk, including their reliance on public transportation and their housing in disadvantaged districts of Melbourne.

But the motive for assaults on foreign students is harder to determine.

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