Asia Cast

Asia Cast for Sunday 28th February

In this Bulletin…

- Will China’s property bubble burst?;
- Tsunami sweeps across Pacific from Chile; and
- Sri Lanka moves to protect sea turtles.

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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Chinese property experts have said Beijing’s policy towards the country’s property market may cause major upheavals in the market sooner rather than later.

A number of real estate bubbles formed in China as housing prices shot up during 2009. Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou and Sanya were identified as the five most high risk cities for property investors

Property experts said sales have plateaued over the Chinese New Year period. And there is some uncertainty over the future direction of China’s housing prices.

Listen to our Inside China Today podcast for interviews with property experts and a more in depth look at this issue.

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A group of human rights advocates have urged the United States government to fund a coalition working towards tearing down the great ‘firewall’ of China.

The Hudson Institute’s Project for Civil Justice Reform said campaigners were calling for funds to be granted to the Global Internet Freedom Consortium.

The Consortium says its work has become the largest anti-censorship project in the world. The organisation said most of its users are from China and Iran. It gets between half a million and one million users from each of the two countries alone every day.

The US Congress approved the spending of $30 million dollars for tackling Internet censorship in China, Iran and other closed countries.

Watch NTDTV for more of the details on this story.

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And now for the rest of today’s Asia Cast

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Pacific Ocean nations are on full alert after a massive earthquake in central Chile triggered a tsunami that has swept across the open sea towards them.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has said waves up to 3 metres could cause widespread damage.

About 50 countries and territories along an arc stretching from New Zealand to Japan were preparing themselves as the try to estimate if, and when, they could be struck by powerful waves.

Warning systems have improved since the devastating 2004 Indonesian earthquake. But small mid-ocean waves can suddenly rise up as they near land and the water shallows.

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Taiwan’s ruling KMT party suffered another setback on Saturday when it managed to win only one of four county by-elections it was contesting.

Some observers think the poor result could damage the party’s chances in the 2012 presidential elections.

Taiwanese political analysts said the KMT was brewing discontent among its core supporters as it tried to win over voters from the opposition and shifted away from its traditional ideals.

Some said the vote also showed public mistrust over the president’s China-friendly policy. But the KMT retains it’s parliamentary majority.

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

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Police in Bangkok said a grenade exploded outside a branch of Thailand’s biggest bank Saturday. The blast came a day after a court verdict against deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra sparked a security alert.

There were no reported casualties, but police said the doors and windows of the building were shattered. Police discovered and removed a second grenade at another branch of the same bank.

In a similar incident two weeks ago a grenade exploded near government offices and a bomb discovered near to the Supreme Court was defused. At that time the Supreme Court was considering it’s verdict on Thaksin.

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Sri Lankan authorities are preparing new guidelines to help protect sea turtles. Five of the seven species of sea turtle lay their eggs along Sri Lanka’s southern coastline. All seven species are currently either endangered or threatened.

As Sri Lankan turtle hatcheries try to bring in tourist dollars the government has said some in the region are contravening conservation laws.

All turtle hatcheries are being informed that the turtles can only be used for educational purposes and not for any other commercial activities. Anyone breaking the new guidelines faces prosecution.

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